Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2026 - 2050 of 3636
Most people are familiar with the biblical story of David and Goliath, which occurred during the reign of King Saul. The ancient Philistines, who did endless battle with the Israelites in a futile attempt to conquer the land of Israel and to bring the Jews to their knees in servitude, had gathered a massive army on a mountainside near a place called Socoh. The Israelites were camped and arrayed for battle on an opposite mountainside overlooking the valley of Elah, in what was then Judah. Apparently, they were locked into a battle in which... Full story
It’s an old expression: A definition of insanity is doing the same thing in the same way time after time and expecting different results. It’s been said many times about the Arabs in Israel time after time. And of course, not much ever changes. I realize by writing for a Jewish audience, I am preaching to the choir. But all of us are out in a general society where we hear a lot about Israel—and a lot of it is not particularly flattering—or true. So let’s arm ourselves with a little fact checking, and the next time you hear or read something... Full story
Jewish tradition teaches that when our ancestors left Egypt 3,500+ years ago they were pursued by the Egyptian military still bent on their destruction. As they stood at the water’s edge faced with two very bad choices, the hand of God split the Reed Sea so our ancestors could cross on “dry” land and evade their pursuers. And when salvation came and everyone had safely crossed to the other side, the waters returned to their normal state and drowned the Egyptian enemy that had enslaved them for over 400 years. The angels, as the story relat... Full story
(JNS)—When confronted with absolute evil or the depths of human depravity, some of us experience a very particular kind of depression. It’s as if we just can’t cope with such a repudiation of humanity. Some experience it when exposed to the details of child sexual abuse. And some feel it over the libelous falsehoods hurled at Israel whenever it’s forced to defend itself against genocidal fanatics, as happened this week in the Hamas onslaught on the Gaza border fence. There is actually a strong thematic connection between these twin evils.... Full story
It’s an irony that as Russia celebrated Victory Day, 73 years since the Allied victory of the tyranny of the Nazis, President Putin hosted Prime Minister Netanyahu as an honored guest. The timing and symbolism were meaningful. At the same time, Israel was preparing to launch a bold military strike against the modern regime that’s the Nazi’s successor: Iran. According to reports, Netanyahu informed Putin of impending strikes on Iranian military targets in Syria, and at least passively received Putin’s blessing. Numerous reports have been pu... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, known as the Iran nuclear deal, is bad policy and calls into question America’s international credibility. Mr. Trump has now set the international community on a slippery slope, imperiling the national security interests of the United States and our allies, particularly Israel. I voted against the Iran nuclear deal three years ago because I felt it left certain long-term questions about Iran’s enrichment capabilities unanswe... Full story
(JNS)—While we cannot know the future, past history gives a good indication of how Iranians react when confronted with force. Iranians fear confrontation. They most often get others to do their dirty work so that others would be forced to take the blame. That’s why they created Hezbollah, which carried out terrorist acts for which Hezbollah would be held responsible. An example of this is the 1982 bombing of the American embassy in Lebanon. Americans blamed that organization for the destruction of the embassy, but focused U.S. action on Leb... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—An inflection point in American policy towards Iran came this afternoon, when President Trump announced he will re-impose nuclear sanctions on Iran and effectively withdraw the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. Having done so, the administration should anticipate the range of responses available to Iran and plan for how to counteract them. One half of the Iranian response is guaranteed to be rhetorical, with an emphasis on persuading Europe to resist the U.S. move by taking actions favorable to T... Full story
(JNS)—A fundamental red line was crossed. For the first time in our collective memory, radical activists successfully used anti-Semitism to convince one of America’s largest companies to turn its back on an established and respected civil-rights organization. A little history, for perspective. About a century ago, this country suffered from a plague of rampant and normalized anti-Semitism. In that context, B’nai Brith—the venerable Jewish social services organization—established two major entities that still thrive today: Hillel and the Anti-... Full story
J.K. Rowling, French celebrities and German officials are making it clear they stand with the embattled Jewish minorities within their midst. In the past few days, the author J.K. Rowling—along with dozens of other people in Britain, France and Germany—have been saying enough is enough in the face of relentless anti-Semitism. Their words, coming amid record-breaking levels of anti-Semitism, are a welcome beacon of moral clarity. Rowling issued a series of Tweets on April 18, 2018, (Holocaust Remembrance Day), attacking anti-Semitism and ass... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—For decades, world Jewry helped Israel. Organizations gathered and sent funds to the feeble, small state; our Air Force and Navy were formed and trained by Jewish volunteers from around the globe. As we celebrate our 70th Independence Day, we should thank the previous generations while shifting to a new era, one in which we reverse the roles and Israel spends more time and resources helping the Jews of the world. Since its inception, Israel has played two roles: First, it is the country of all of its citizens, Jews and n... Full story
Dear Editor: The American Jewish Congress applauds President Trump’s announcement that the US will abandon the undesirable Iran nuclear deal. The status quo has clearly and demonstrably failed and Iran has so far refused to commit to renegotiating a bad deal that will allow it to pursue a nuclear program within 15 years. Iran has for too long showed itself to be a bad actor in this process, as demonstrated by the discovery of the secret cache of files by Israel last week. The previous administration hoped that by signing a deeply flawed a... Full story
(JTA)—Last week, Shabbat couldn’t come soon enough for the Anti-Defamation League. On Wednesday, Starbucks announced that the Jewish group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, seemed to have been demoted from top adviser to a supporting role in the coffee company’s day of diversity training. And on Thursday, the ADL apologized for the way it tweeted about an anonymous group, Canary Mission, that publishes the names and personal information of campus anti-Israel activists. I can’t make you care about the travails of a Jewish institution, but I’ll try:... Full story
(JNS)—A Pennsylvania high school teacher, who says he was deprived as a teenager, is now taking it out on his students—by lying to them about Israel. Sam Schindler, co-founder and history teacher at the Stone Independent School, a private school in Lancaster, Pa., explains in The Forward this week how the “truth” about Israel was hidden from him. His teachers only taught him about the positive side of Israel, he complains. “What was kept from me then were images of the occupation, of pulverized houses, of bloody civilians and of terrified... Full story
This coming week the United States of America will officially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The selected date, May 14, 2018, comes exactly 70 years after the declaration of the establishment of the modern state of Israel with its capital in Jerusalem. On May 14, 1948, the longing of the Jewish people for the return to Zion, memorialized in its prayers and literature for almost two thousand years, had finally become a reality. Within hours of its nascent existence the country was attacked by all the surrounding Arab nations whose... Full story
(JNS)—To Obama administration alumni and other detractors of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there was nothing all that new or noteworthy in his presentation of a treasure trove of Iranian nuclear intelligence obtained by the Mossad. While Netanyahu’s remarks contained dramatic revelations about a secret Iranian nuclear program and proof that Iran had been lying for years up to the implementation of the nuclear deal it concluded with the West, to the prime minister’s critics the speech was just another excuse to bash him for his styl... Full story
Dear Editor: The American Jewish Congress is very concerned by the emerging allegations that Iran historically continued to expand its nuclear weapons program and may continue to do so, despite its claims otherwise. We remain concerned that the Iranian regime is growing bolder and more dangerous, with catastrophic potential consequences for the region and the world. While we opposed the Iran deal at the time, we were happy to be proven wrong, but there are now worrying signs that Iran has been less than honest with the international community... Full story
Dear Editor: Thank you for including a quote from me about Henri (“Henri Landwirth dies at age 91,” April 27, 2018 issue). I had the honor of knowing and working with him for the years we spent in Orlando, and for some time afterwards. He WAS a unique and special Human Being. What I would like to add is that, very quietly, Henri made major contributions to support Youth Villages in Israel. When he visited them he always came back telling me that providing for needy children in Israel was something of which he was most proud. The world is a bet... Full story
Dear Editor: Have you ever noticed that it appears all of the reporting about the goings on in Gaza all come from the Gaza Strip? Also, all of the reporters seem to have Arabic names. Are you aware that there is no freedom of the press in Gaza? Thus, all of the dispatches are highly censored by the Hamas leadership. Nothing disparaging against the Palestinians is allowed to be sent out of Gaza to the free world. Thus, all we get is very biased reporting—fake news. What a shame. I’m sure if the Israeli wanted they too could provide cov... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Natalie Portman’s statement explaining why she declined to attend an award ceremony in Israel in her honor was a pointed rebuke, and of a particular individual. “I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu,” she said of the Israeli prime minister. But it also was an intimate and tactile embrace of her native land, covering its flavors, its images, its vision, even its movement. “I treasure my Israeli friends and family, Israeli food, books, art, cinema, and dance,” the Jerusalem-born director and actor said late F... Full story
(Sephardi Perspective via JNS)—German Chancellor Angela Merkel has finally woken up and smelled the coffee. Speaking after a 19-year-old Syrian refugee lunged with a belt at an Israeli wearing a kipah, Merkel denounced a “different type of anti-Semitism” that has taken root in her country. “We have refugees now, for example, or people of Arab origin, who bring a different type of anti-Semitism into the country,” Merkel said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 10. Jews have been among the first to “virtue signal” their compassion for refugees... Full story
(JTA)—We are Jewish and pro-Israel students who are active within our Jewish communities on college campuses across North America. Many of us have helped organize against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions-affiliated movements throughout our time on campus. Over the course of our time fighting BDS campaigns, Canary Mission was brought to our attention repeatedly. Canary Mission is an anonymous site that blacklists individuals and professors across the country for their support of the BDS movement, presumed anti-Semitic remarks and hateful r... Full story
There’s a famous quote attributed to Henry Wotton that “An ambassador is an honest gentleman sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.” If one takes this aphorism to heart, it is not limited to ambassadors, but to anyone in a nation’s foreign policy establishment. Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is not an honest gentleman, has taken the art of lying for his country to a new level. He brazenly lies about easily verifiable facts. He claims that his nation that is currently exporting its revolution across the Middle Ea... Full story
(Israel Hayom)—The five days it took the U.S. administration to respond to a chemical attack in Syria were vital in order to on one hand consolidate a diplomatic coalition with two other U.N. Security Council member states and on the other hand define the military targets that would send a clear message the use of chemical weapons crosses a red line, while not serving to undermine the foundations of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime, and as a result, change the rules of the game with Russia. From a military perspective, the Americans did... Full story
The Anne House employee isn’t the only person told not to wear his kippah at work. When Barry Vingerling, a 25-year-old Dutch Jew, started working at the Anne Frank House in 2017, he might have assumed his new employers would be sensitive to his religious identity. After all, Anne Frank House commemorates a teenager who was hounded and murdered solely because she was Jewish, helping to make “never again” a reality when it comes to anti-Jewish discrimination. Vingerling wore a kippah to his interview and got the job. Yet, when he started weari... Full story
