Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1926 - 1950 of 3636
NEW YORK (JTA)—It has become conventional wisdom in certain circles that the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, which was signed 25 years ago Sept. 13, 1993, on the White House lawn, was simply a failure. There is no doubt that the great hopes of Israeli-Palestinian peace and reconciliation engendered by Oslo have not been realized. Twenty-five years later not only is there no peace, but the parties are not even talking to each other and the Palestinians themselves remain irreconcilably divided. Moreover, not only was peace n... Full story
By Yoni Ben Menachem (The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs via JNS)—The statement from the Jordanian government spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat about Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas’s comments on a new U.S. proposal for a Jordanian-Palestinian confederation was short and to the point: ”The matter is not an option. Jordan supports a two-state solution and an independent Palestinian state along the 1967 borders.” According to senior Fatah officials, Abbas shared the proposal, which came from U.S. President Donald Trump, with a group o... Full story
Eighteen and a half years ago, when our third and last child was born, I remember thinking, “I’m going to be 62 when he goes to college. That’s so old!” Now that time has come, as has Rosh Hashanah, a new year, a pause, a moment to look back and evaluate who we are and where we’ve been. Our youngest child has left the nest for college, and we new empty nesters are moving into the inevitable next phase of life, not the last phase but a very different one, an older one, one that has long been... Full story
(JNS)—A demonstration last month in Washington consisting of two-dozen right-wing extremists set the world on its head. The event on the anniversary of last year’s Charlottesville rally by neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan was a pathetic flop, but it still generated massive coverage from the mainstream media. Many pundits, especially those from the Jewish community, urged us not to be deceived by the proof of their insignificance. After a year-and-a-half of touting the notion that the radical right was gaining influence, nothing could be all... Full story
It can be claimed that no single day in the Jewish liturgical calendar is clearly meant to showcase the unity of the Jewish People than Yom Kippur. And during Yom Kippur no single service symbolizes that unity more than the famous Kol Nidre. A short declaration made with a call that we all stand together is made near the start of the service: “By the authority of the Court on High and by authority of the court down here, by the permission of One Who Is Everywhere and by the permission of this congregation, we hold it lawful to pray with s... Full story
(JNS)—In this topsy-turvy world, if you’d like to see Palestinians living in peace, gainfully employed, with access to quality medical care and reason to believe tomorrow will be brighter than today, you’re denounced as anti-Palestinian. If, by contrast, you prefer that Palestinians remain impoverished and on the dole of America and other “donor nations,” hating their next-door neighbor and bequeathing that hatred to their children, viewing themselves as victims while aspiring to “martyrdom” in an endless war, you get to call yourself a ch... Full story
(JNS)—With the Trump Administration reportedly planning various steps against UNRWA—the U.N. aid agency devoted solely to Palestinian refugees—Israeli defense officials have leaped to UNRWA’s defense. A rapid cutback of U.S. funding would create a vacuum in basic services, especially in Gaza, that Hamas might fill, and could even spark violence, they warned. But their argument is wrong on at least three counts. First, U.S. cutbacks won’t actually cause a financial crisis. Second, forcing Hamas to provide basic services in UNRWA’s stead would... Full story
(JNS)—Perhaps more than any other issue in the Middle East today, the situation in Gaza under the control of Hamas—a designated foreign terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel and aspiring to the genocide of world Jewry—is one of the greatest obstacles to regional peace, security and prosperity. Since Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, and after Hamas brutally seized control from its Palestinian rival Fatah in 2007, conditions for residents have dramatically worsened. Hamas has stolen vast amounts of mone... Full story
(JTA)—The High Holidays are approaching. It is a time when Jews worldwide join together in the spirit of camaraderie, pouring out their hearts for a good new year. But the lead-up this year has been different, often pitting Jews against Jews in bitter controversy Rosh Hashanah 5779 arrives with the passage of legislation declaring that Israel is a Jewish state with the right of Jewish self-determination. Supporters and detractors have been characterizing each other using inappropriate, explosive language. On one side, too many have called t... Full story
(JNS)—In all the furor around the anti-Semitism plaguing the British Labour Party, I’ve noticed two distinct forms of defense of both the party and its far-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn. The first defense, favored by those for whom Corbyn is a Socialist equivalent of L. Ron Hubbard, is to dismiss any and all accusations of anti-Semitism as a “hoax” or “smear” aimed solely at destroying their leader’s prospects of becoming Britain’s next prime minister. The second, which may be wrong-headed but is at least grounded in intellectual sincerity, is t... Full story
In a previous Everywhere column, “Love is not the antidote to hate,” (Heritage Florida Jewish News, Aug. 17, 2018), I suggested that respect for one another was the only effective antidote to hate. Now, as we approach the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, a time of self-reflection in our relationship with the Divine, we will also likely hear from the pulpit of many synagogues, the need to reflect on our many personal relationships, on our general behavior, and how well we treated those with whom we have interacted within the pas... Full story
(JNS)—Anybody who pays attention to the sorts of things honored by contemporary popular culture knows that stories about heroism are passé. But why then do we still long for them? One example comes from an incident that took place almost a century ago. In March 1920, Arab gangs attacked the Jewish settlement of Tel Hai in the Upper Galilee. Josef Trumpeldor led the defense of the isolated farming village. He was a rare Jew who had served in the army of the Tsar and then helped lead the first contingent of Zionist Jews fighting with the Br... Full story
(JNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump gave the Jewish people a gift of historic proportions by taking the issue of Jerusalem off the table back in December. On Aug. 25, President Trump gave a gift that is arguably of equal or greater value to the Jewish nation by significantly reducing by $200 million the aid that the United States gives to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine. PLO Secretary General Saeb Erekat predictably called the decision “disgraceful,” and said that President Trump was “meddling in the interna... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C. (JTA)—On Sunday, the theater community’s reactions to the death of playwright Neil Simon came even as social media were still processing the death the day before of Sen. John McCain. The homages to McCain bordered on the hagiographic until fights erupted (this being Facebook) between those who remembered the Arizona senator’s opposition to Martin Luther King Day and those who admired his bipartisanship and self-scrutiny. Almost everyone remembering Neil Simon, on the other hand, did so with wistfulness, because everyone in th... Full story
Dear Editor: To lose as titanic a warrior and statesman as John McCain at any time is cause for national sorrow. As Jews and as Americans, we are filled with sadness at the loss of this implacable ally of the Jewish people and Israel who served as the epitome of American patriotism. It is our hope—and we will do all that we can to ensure—that Senator McCain’s legacy of courageous, moral leadership will endure, and help light the path out of the darkness in which we now find ourselves. Thank you, Jack Rosen, president Dr. Munr Kazmir, vice... Full story
The ceasefire negotiations between Israel and the Hamas terror group’s regime in Gaza point to a central truth about the nature of the Palestinian conflict with Israel. Before anyone speaks any more about a possible “deal of the century,” or a “two-state solution,” it is imperative that the implications of those talks be fully understood. The ceasefire talks are being held between the sides of two separate international coalitions. On the one side are Israel, the U.S., and Egypt. On the other side are Hamas, Qatar, and Turkey. The party tha... Full story
It’s an old story and has resonance probably only for people of a certain age whose life made it almost necessary to look at everything through the “I am a Jew” lens. Back in 1969, When I told my 93-year-old immigrant grandmother “Bubby! We just landed a man on the moon!” She replied, “Oh. Is that good for the Jews or bad for the Jews?” Well, we’ve come a ways since then. But, Israel... yeah, Israel. Not as simple as it used to be. When the State became a reality in 1948, Jews around the world rejoiced. We, the People of the Book were back... Full story
It appears that the split between Gaza and the West Bank is serious. There’s a line of culture between us and them that keeps us from knowing what’s occurring. We do know that the Fatah of Mahmoud Abbas is out of touch with the Hamas that controls Gaza. We don’t know more, but there’s speculation that it is or isn’t a matter of Abbas’ stubbornness. He’s in his mid-80s, and ill, and there are several competitors for his job. One or more may have connections with Gaza. Hamas appears to be dominant in Gaza. Its competitors include several groups e... Full story
(JNS)—In the international hit Israeli TV series “Fauda,” the head of the Palestinian Authority security service is a fictional character named Abu Maher. Played by Qader Harini, an Arab actor from eastern Jerusalem, Abu Maher is reconciled to peace and coexistence, and therefore willing to cooperate with the Israelis to combat Islamist terror. In an episode of the show’s second season (this is not a spoiler for the main plot line, so you can keep reading even if you haven’t watched the series), Abu Maher takes his son—a student who sympath... Full story
(JNS)—Much has been published against the new Israeli basic law: Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish People. Many, both in Israel and abroad, ask: Why is it necessary? How can it comport with democracy? Where does it leave minorities, particularly Muslim-Arabs, who make up some 20% of the Israeli population? In order to understand the need for the new Nation-State law, we must understand the challenges to Israel’s existence in the Middle East. First of all, there is the religious aspect. According to Islam, Judaism and Christianity are... Full story
(JTA)—In the Trump era, even the deporting of Nazis can’t bring Americans together. A number of Jewish organizations and lawmakers were quick to thank the Trump administration for deporting Jakiw Palij, a former SS guard at the Nazis’ Trawnicki concentration camp in Poland. But they weren’t as quick as the administration itself, whose news release Monday announcing the deportation was explicit in commending President Donald Trump for making Palij’s expulsion a priority while noting that “past administrations were unsuccessful in removing Palij.... Full story
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA)—In a dramatic scene, word reaches local officials that the leader of a militant black organization coming to town is intent on stirring up trouble. An undercover operation ensues when an African-American attends the event, taking copious notes and reporting his findings back to his Jewish colleague. In this moment, it seems, the black-Jewish relationship stood strong. Racists and bigots, no matter what side of the racial or religion divide, will face blacks and Jews working together in pursuit of justice. It sounds like a... Full story
(JNS)—When security breaches threaten airports, there’s not much doubt about who is usually called in to deal with the situation. Israel’s prowess in dealing with threats to its borders, and especially its air-transportation system, is legendary. What makes their methods so reliable? Leaving aside the reputation for toughness, smarts and facial-analysis techniques that the Jewish state’s security services have cultivated both inside airports and during covert operations, it’s actually something that doesn’t require much derring-do: a willingnes... Full story
(JNS)—There is two-stage subversion project at work against Israel and its Zionist-base ideology. The first stage seeks to cozy up, in a sense, and to equalize, falsely, two movements: Zionism and Palestinianism. If we are “equal,” then we are the “same.” Here is a first-stage formulation: ...you [Israel] will never be free until the Palestinians are... That has an emotional as well as philosophical/moral message. “We” are just like “you.” And for “you” to be really “you,” “we must be “we.” If that reads a bit confused, that is the point. Wh... Full story
How would you feel if your child came home from school and said that he/she had to memorize and recite the Apostles Creed? The Apostles Creed is a statement of faith that many Protestant Christians recite in church every Sunday. What if your child was required to make rosary beads for a class art project and recite the Hail Mary prayer, commonly called the Ave Maria or Angelic Salutation, a traditional Catholic prayer asking for the intercession of the “Blessed Virgin Mary”? By refusing to do the art project or recite the creed or prayer in cla... Full story
