Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2283 - 2307 of 3736
We were heartened to learn that a Philadelphia synagogue is offering an adult education course about anti-Semitism, a timeless scourge that every generation must combat. But why is the course seemingly prompted, as its website suggests, solely by Christian sources of Jew-hatred and August’s despicable anti-Jewish events in Charlottesville—rather than July’s equally despicable calls in two California mosques for Jews to be slaughtered, or even the continuous despicable Jew-hatred from Nation of Islam leaders? Are Jew-hatred and threats from... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—Leaders of North America’s Jewish federation movement kicked off their annual conference here Sunday with a tribute to the 1987 march on Washington that brought out hundreds of thousands of people in support of Soviet Jews. The film and testimonials by refuseniks were moving, but felt a little like those perennial tributes by the New York Mets to their 1986 championship team: a reminder not only of what was, but what’s gone. The rescue of Soviet Jews and their resettlement here and in Israel was a high point for the netwo... Full story
Defenders of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the Iran nuclear deal is known, have argued that Iran’s aggression was intentionally not addressed by the deal. For example this week, Federica Moghereni, the high representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy said, “The Iran deal has been designed to address one thing only: the Iranian nuclear issue.” One problem with this argument is that it isn’t true. The agreement addressed a number of other issues between Tehran and the rest of the world, and when it did, it went... Full story
One of the complaints about the organized Jewish community is that it is silencing criticism of Israel. Left-wingers paint a dismal picture of a Jewish community in denial about Israel’s sins and determined to squelch debate about the peace process or controversial issues like settlements. So it probably came as quite a shock to many American Jews to read what happened at Princeton University this past week when the Center for Jewish Life—as the campus Hillel is called—cancelled a speech by Tzipi Hotovely, Israel’s deputy foreign ministe... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—In a famous episode of “Seinfeld,” Jerry is upset that his dentist, a recent convert to Judaism, is already telling Jewish jokes. He complains to the dentist’s former priest. “I wanted to talk to you about Dr. Whatley,” Jerry says. “I have a suspicion that he’s converted to Judaism just for the jokes.” “And this offends you as a Jewish person,” the priest says “No,” Jerry says. “It offends me as a comedian.” Larry David, the co-creator of “Seinfeld,” did a Holocaust bit on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, and a lot m... Full story
US President Donald Trump initiated an important change in US policy toward Iran. No, in his speech de-certifying Iran’s compliance with the nuclear accord it struck with his predecessor Barack Obama, Trump didn’t announce a new strategy for preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, or stemming its hegemonic rise in the Middle East, or limiting its ability to sponsor terrorism. Trump’s move was not operational. It was directional. In his address Friday, Trump changed the policy dynamics that dictate US policy on Iran. For the first time... Full story
What an eventful day Sunday, Nov. 12, was! It was the opening of the Kehillah: A History of Jewish Life in Greater Orlando exhibit, and it is an amazing history. As a volunteer for the project, I attended the opening “thank you” luncheon for volunteers and sponsors. During the program, Marcia Jo Zerivitz, LHD, exhibition curator, said in the word “history” is the word “story,” and this is the living story of this Jewish community. Walking through the exhibit is enlightening, but to walk through with descendants of the first Jews to arrive in C... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—What is MBS? Why did Lebanon’s prime minister resign, and why in Saudi Arabia? What’s Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas doing in Saudi Arabia? Where is Jared Kushner in all this? And what does it all mean for Israel? It’s been a busy week in the Middle East and, for a change, the two ground-shifting stories—they may be the same story, but we’ll get to that—don’t directly involve Israel. Mohammed bin Salman (the MBS contraction is so cool, it’s already uncool), the recently minted Saudi crown prince, has place... Full story
One of Israeli’s prime time evening news programs ran a series on what it called the Palestinian middle class. It featured glitzy hotels, shopping malls, and restaurants in Ramallah and other West Bank cities, interviews with managers and patrons, details of West Bankers, Israeli Arabs, and overseas tourists sharing in what seems like the good life, and interviews with individuals seeing their future in Palestinian high tech Some of the extravagance portrayed was over the edge, too much for a modest Israeli to enjoy. The design of hotels and re... Full story
Every year, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration passes by quietly in Israel with hardly any notice. Only this year it is being noted and celebrated because it is the 100th anniversary. However this is not true of the Palestinian Authority. Ever since Palestinian Media Watch has been monitoring the PA, the date of the Balfour Declaration was among the most important days on the PA calendar. Each year, PA schools would have special sessions discussing Balfour. In 2011, for example, the PA organized a letter writing campaign from schoolchil... Full story
It was a minor news story when it broke in the summer of 2016. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas announced he was suing Great Britain over the Balfour Declaration, issued on Nov. 2, 1917. But as we prepare to observe the centennial of the document this week, it’s important to understand that although his lawsuit was a stunt, Abbas was serious. More than that, the symbolism of his protest tells us more about what is preventing peace between Israel and the Palestinians than any of the usual explanations about settlements, b... Full story
For the Palestinians, the year zero is not 1948, when the state of Israel came into being, but 1917, when Great Britain issued, in the November of that year, the Balfour Declaration—expressing support for the establishment of a “Jewish national home” in Palestine. So central is the Balfour Declaration to Palestinian political identity that the “Zionist invasion” is officially deemed to have begun in 1917—not in 1882, when the first trickle of Jewish pioneers from Russia began arriving, nor in 1897, when the Zionist movement held its first congr... Full story
In his keynote survey of the descent of American democracy in the Trump era, at the recent Zionism 3.0 conference in Palo Alto, Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg dwelled for some time on the proliferation of “fake news,” which he attributed, in large part, to the thousands of portals of entry of information—be it true or false—into the public consciousness. Not surprisingly, he gave much higher marks for accuracy and objectivity to the old media, which while not perfect, does a pretty good job of bringing pertinent and accurate informa... Full story
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) late in 2018 is one shot across the U.N.’s bow. Notoriously hospitable to dictatorships, hostile to Israel and mismanaged as well, UNESCO deserves the warning. But what does the U.S. do about UN member countries consistently voting against it and against Israel without even a national policy excuse for doing so? Not enough, yet. The countries in question are not adversaries like Russia or Iran, which pursue policies... Full story
While Americans have been tearing down statues that honor people who don’t deserve to be honored, Palestinian Arabs are doing exactly the opposite. A statue honoring Saddam Hussein, the notorious dictator, terror sponsor and mass murderer, was unveiled last week in the Palestinian Authority (PA) city of Qalqilya. Technically, the statue was sponsored by the Arab Liberation Front (ALF), not the municipality of Qalqilya or the PA itself. But the PA’s district governor for the Qalqilya District, Rafi Rawajba, attended the unveiling ceremony. Raw... Full story
Have you ever asked yourself or wondered why after almost 70 years there are still “Palestinian” refugee camps? Have you ever wondered why there are still “Palestinian refugees”? I have asked myself the same questions. Apparently this one issue has been a constant stumbling block in finding a resolution to this horrific situation between the “Palestinians” and the Israeli government. So, I started to do a little research. It was easy using Google Chrome as my search engine, I was able to find a wealth of information. To begin with, you have to... Full story
President Trump’s first overseas trip in May 2017 coincided with a very special day—the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, when for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman armies 2000 years ago, Judaism’s holiest sites were finally under Jewish sovereignty. Jerusalem is a vibrant, modern, thriving city. A pilgrim site central to the history of Jews, Christians and Muslims, and open to people of all faiths. The home of the Israeli government, parliament and high court. A place interspersed with unive... Full story
Just when you thought things couldn’t get any messier over at the Center for Jewish History, a New York Times columnist who was invited to speak at an event there has unleashed a barrage of verbal attacks on Israel. The columnist, Roger Cohen, was invited to deliver this year’s Leo Baeck Memorial Lecture. The Leo Baeck Institute is one of six Jewish organizations that operate from the Center for Jewish History building. I did not attend Mr. Cohen’s lecture Oct. 15. But in a pre-lecture interview with the Baeck Institute’s newsletter, LBI New... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—If a woman called the JTA office and said she wanted to tell her story of sexual harassment by a prominent community figure, we’d have questions. Would she put her name to the accusations? Can she corroborate them? Can she provide specific dates and descriptions of when and where the alleged abuse took place? Are there other people who could confirm her story? We’d also tell her that we are going to seek comment from the other side and she should prepare herself for the response. On Monday, an author named Jennifer Listman publi... Full story
(JTA)—Here we go again: The issue of how and why the United States should engage with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is back in the news. The announcement by the Trump administration that the U.S. will be pulling out of UNESCO over its biased treatment of Israel is only the latest manifestation of a fraught relationship between America and this U.N. body. Established soon after World War II as an effort to ensure the de-Nazification in Germany and the promotion of democratic values, UNESCO took a more c... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Jewish month that began two weeks ago, Cheshvan, has traditionally been dubbed “mar,” or bitter, because it alone among the months is devoid of any holidays. It is time for the Jewish people, and the Jewish calendar, to drop mar from Cheshvan, since it is blessed with one of the most remarkable and sweetest Jewish holidays: Sigd. At the end of Cheshvan for well over a thousand years, the Jewish community of Ethiopia would dress in white, climb Mount Ambover in Gondar and pray for their redemption and aliyah to Jerusalem. The... Full story
Eliza Grey, writing in TIME magazine in October 2015 and commenting on the democratic primary debate between Senators Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders had this to say. “There is no question about who came out strongest in the debate, Denmark!” Both candidates, exclaimed how much they and all Democrats love Denmark, the ideal model of so many “Progressive Americans,” many of whom would be hard pressed to reveal how little they actually know about the country, and yet still regard it as an iconic model to which the United States should aspire.... Full story
European countries are not exactly known for their love of Israel. Yet recent actions taken by the governments of Norway and Belgium suggest that, in at least one important respect, those two nations have gone much further than the U.S. in confronting the problem of Palestinian incitement against Israel. Belgium, which has been giving the Palestinian Arabs more than $20 million annually, announced this week that it “will put on hold any projects related to the construction or equipment of Palestinian schools.” This followed a report by Pal... Full story
The Jewish Community is divided. Oh my, what a shock. There was a time that we were one Tribe. As the Community grew, the kids moved on, just like today. And so, as each family grew we became 12 tribes –The tribes split—and not harmoniously. Supposedly, although the rabbis can spend yet another millennium arguing about it, it was because of an economic dispute. Jewish families fighting and splitting up over family money and inheritance? Well, yeah! The State of Israel? Surely we all agreed on that! Wrong. Many Jews in the 1800s thought tha... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Last month, New York’s Center for Jewish History was the target of a right-wing campaign seeking to oust its new president, David Myers, over his dovish views on Israel. The campaign drew an appropriately outraged response from leading Jewish scholars, who rallied around Myers, a highly regarded historian who has publicly opposed the anti-Israel BDS, Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, movement. Now, one of the five independent historical organizations housed at the center, the American Jewish Historical Society, is also com... Full story
