Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2001 - 2025 of 3743
Earlier this month my wife and I flew to Iceland to chase and hopefully observe the Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights, a spectacular colorful light show appearing in the night sky above the arctic circle, and in some instances even at lower latitudes. This heavenly event is caused when intense solar activity increases the solar wind and spews out highly charged particles strong enough to break out of the sun’s gravitational pull, which then travel to the outer limits of the solar system. As this solar wind passes through Earth’s magnetic fie... Full story
Rabbinic debate has a long history in Judaism. In that spirit, I am responding respectfully to Rabbi Sanford’s Olshansky’s article in the Heritage accusing Mayor Andrew Gillum of being anti-Israel and Chris King of being anti-Semitic. Both charges are extremely serious and should not be made without full investigation, knowing all of the facts, and speaking to those who personally know them. Truth is a basic value in Judaism and we are not permitted to accuse someone of something that is not true in order to create fear of that person. How oft... Full story
(Israel Hayom via JNS)—Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced on Saturday that he was stopping the newly resumed supply of fuel and gas to the Gaza Strip, and added: “As long as the violence on the Gaza border does not come to a complete halt, including sending burning balloons over the fence and setting tires on fire near Israeli communities located near Gaza, Israel will not be resupplying the Gaza Strip with fuel or gas.” On the other hand, Hamas leaders claim daily that the “marches of return on the border will end only wh... Full story
(JNS)—Given the rising tensions on the Israel-Gaza border, it is time we ask Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman: How many times can you threaten Hamas? How many times can you say “Somebody stop me” before your credibility, as well as the military’s ability to effectively generate deterrence, will be completely eroded? The Palestinians have marked significant propaganda achievements over the past seven months. Islamic Jihad has declared that its operatives will not allow any normalcy for the border-... Full story
At the end of the month, the Jewish Federations of North America will hold their annual General Assembly in Israel. And while the Federations’ decision to hold their annual conference in Israel rather than America seems at face value to be a statement of solidarity with Israel, in this case, it isn’t. Five months after U.S. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in an extraordinary act of friendship, the Jewish Federations of North America chose to hold their annual General Assembly in... Tel Aviv. The nam... Full story
There was a time when “real” anti-Semitism was alive and doing well in the United States. I have written before that had we moved to Shaker Heights, Ohio, two years earlier than we did, we could not have bought a house there. It was not until 1948 that the “No Jews” restriction was declared illegal. At that time there were quotas on the number of Jews allowed in many medical and law schools around the country. Most country clubs did not allow Jews (we retaliated by opening our own country clubs and not allowing gentiles). Before the war, Je... Full story
(JNS)—Some American pundits are slamming Israel for denying entry to Palestinian-American student Lara Alqasem. Perhaps they should take a look at America’s own laws concerning the admission of extremists before they throw mud at Israel. In 2014, Ms. Alqasem became a member of the anti-Israel group Students for Justice in Palestine at her home campus, the University of Florida. She didn’t join as some passing lark; she was an activist who rose through the ranks, becoming vice president of the chapter, and then serving as president in 2016-... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Something is rotten in the state of liberalism that threatens the future of progressive Judaism. Jews who call themselves “liberal” join organizations seeking to boycott, divest and sanction Israel in disproportional numbers. They lead the attack against Israel with a kind of ferocity normally reserved for the world’s worst regimes. Their antipathy for Israel leads them to join groups that even have anti-Semitic tendencies. But the danger is not only in the political realm. Like everything else in life, our actions, our politic... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—I write this just hours after an Arab terrorist shot and killed two Jews and seriously wounded a third in the Barkan industrial center in Israel’s Shomron region, where thousands of Jews and Arabs work side by side. I write this just after learning that Arab terrorists set fire to chicken farms in the Yizrael Valley in northern Israel. I write this as southern Israel is still ablaze, for months, due to Arab terrorists in Gaza that began their arson attacks early this past summer. I write this just 22 days after Ari Fuld ... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—There is an evil that exists in “Palestinian” society. An evil that seeks to destroy and to kill and to hurt and to eliminate all those around it. An evil that takes great joy in the murder of innocents. An evil that celebrates the tears and heartaches of the Jewish people. An evil that has only darkness in its heart, and only murder in its mind. Destroy. Murder. Burn. Wreck. These are the words it lives by, and these are the words it kills by, too. Today that evil visited two beautiful Jewish souls and snuffed out their light. K... Full story
(JNS)—Though his fans thrill to his speeches, there’s little doubt that when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the U.N. General Assembly, few there listen. So when Netanyahu issued what seemed like a blockbuster revelation about a new Iranian nuclear site that was not being monitored by international inspectors, the reaction from the world body and the mainstream media was one of indifference. The reasons for this are no mystery. While Israel is often treated as a pariah nation at the United Nations, the disdain for Net... Full story
(JNS)— Ahed Tamimi, the Palestinian teenager jailed for assaulting an Israeli soldier, says she supports violence against Jews and seeks the destruction of Israel. I believe her. And I believe that groups such as J Street, which have defended Tamimi and claimed that she is nonviolently resisting “the Israeli occupation of the West Bank,” owe the Jewish community an apology for refusing to believe her. When Tamimi was arrested last December for assaulting an Israeli soldier, the Jewish left leaped to her defense. J Street president Jerem... Full story
It is not surprising that the Arabs of Gaza, worked into a frenzy of hate and victimhood by their Hamas masters, have bought into the fantasy that they are entitled to claim what is now Israel. After the British Mandate ended, Gaza was ruled by Egypt from 1947 until 1967. During this period the Egyptian government used the territory to mount frequent cross border terrorist attacks by the fedayeen on Jewish communities along the border. The fedayeen were made up of irregular Egyptian troops with some assistance from the local Arab population... Full story
This year’s election for governor of Florida presents a great challenge to Jewish voters. Historically, most Jews vote consistently for Democratic candidates, at all levels, largely on the basis of domestic social issues. Most American Jews also feel some emotional commitment to Israel. Until recent years, this has not been a problem because most Democratic government officials and office seekers used to express support for Israel, even if this was not always borne out by their actions. Now the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, A... Full story
(JNS)—There was one corner of New York City last Thursday where the Senate Judicial Committee hearings into the accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh went largely unnoticed: the United Nations building perched on the East River, where the 73rd General Assembly has been in full swing this week. But while the proceedings in Washington were electrifying, the spectacle at the United Nations had all the feel of an annual routine. Most of all, there were the usual lengthy speeches, laden with protocol and platitudes, and d... Full story
Maitland, FL I’m a lucky man. I saw my great-grandson last night. We are about to celebrate his first birthday, so at this point in his life I am just a part of his landscape. I have a good shot at seeing him turn 10, and a poor likelihood of being at his 20th birthday. However, he will know me, and I feel an obligation to contribute to his well-being. For most people, voting will be their only opportunity to influence the future in a major way. I have been a Republican for most of my adult life. This upcoming midterm election is different, a... Full story
(JNS)—The international community made no secret of its contempt for U.S. President Donald Trump when he spoke to the U.N. General Assembly this week. So it was little surprise that when the president uttered a typical piece of Trumpian braggadocio with a tenuous connection to the truth—“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”—the response was peals of laughter from the normally restrained audience of officials in the chamber. For most of the media, this was... Full story
(JNS)—The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights recently delivered welcome news for Jewish students. OCR reopened a student-backed civil-rights case brought by the Zionist Organization of America against Rutgers University. Importantly, in deciding to reassess whether Jewish students at Rutgers were harassed and discriminated against in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, OCR stated that it will be using the U.S. State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism. This definition accurately recognizes the many ways... Full story
LAS VEGAS (JTA)—This summer, America’s Jewish youth rebelled. Or at least a very small minority of them did. But through orchestrated stunts and aggressive marketing, they garnered the headlines they sought. These youth are demanding that Israel end its “occupation,” presumably of the West Bank. They are targeting pro-Israel organizations they deem to be insufficiently zealous in opposing said occupation. They want peace. They want it now. And they know who’s to blame for its absence: Israel. This agenda is not new. It’s a throwback t... Full story
(JNS)—Yet another woman was made a widow on Sept. 16, and another four children were made orphans by the egregious act of a Palestinian terrorist, Khalil Jabarin. The victim, Ari Fuld, had simply been running an errand for his wife in a local shopping center in Efrat, just south of Jerusalem. Ari was a true fighter for Israel. He was assistant director of “Standing Together,” an organization that supports Israeli soldiers. Ari served in the Israel Defense Forces, narrowly escaped death in Lebanon. He saved his shrapnel-ridden vest as a remin... Full story
(JNS)—I feel a certain perverse pleasure in the fact that Italy is getting a taste of the United Nation’s complete brazenness and double standards now that it has announced that it will send investigators (not “peacekeepers”) in order to ascertain to what extent Italy is failing to uphold human rights. Now perhaps Italy will begin a process of re-evaluating its relationship with the world body, and stop voting or abstaining in order to please the automatic majority that solely condemns Israel. As when, on Dec. 23, 2016, former U.S. Preside... Full story
(JNS)—Contrary to conventional wisdom, U.S.-Israel relations have outgrown their one-way-street mode, evolving into a mutually beneficial two-way relationship. The United States enjoys a well-deserved, high return on its annual $3.8 billion investment in Israel, which it calls “foreign aid,” even though Israel is not like any other foreign country that receives aid from America. The strategic compatibility between the United States and Israel is underscored by the two allies’ national security orientation—allocating 3.6 percent and 4.7 perce... Full story
Two events took place yesterday; both were the kind we have gotten used to, especially since the Oslo accords were signed a quarter of a century ago. One was the murder of yet another holy, beautiful Jew by an Arab, and the other was a meeting between a group of Israeli “thinkers and intellectuals” and the PLO leadership in Ramallah. They made the trip to the terror incitement capital in order to keep the dialogue and communication channels open for peace. They wanted to lift their “peace partner’s spirits and encourage him to stay the path as... Full story
By Mel Pearlman This has been a rough year for the Palestinian Arabs. First they lost the diplomatic battle for Jerusalem. Then they lost the battle to prevent the relocation of the U.S. and Guatemala embassies to Israel’s declared capital city. On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law The Taylor Force Act. The Act is named for an American college student who was stabbed to death in Jaffa in 2016 while on an educational tour of Israel as part of his studies at Vanderbilt University. His killer, a Palestinian from the territories, w... Full story
Dialogue and argument among Jews are as old as our people. When God told Moses to “get out of town” not every Jew in Egypt agreed. “Too dangerous!” “Moses is meshugana.” Luckily for us all, the “ayes” won and the Jews became a nation. The synagogue was always a place for discussion—not just about Torah portions or arguments over particular rabbinical sayings—but about politics, business and various other subjects. Part of the tradition is to “join” discussions—okay: Butt in. It’s going away. The younger generation arrives with earphones in a... Full story
