Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2406 - 2430 of 3712
A disagreement between Jews? Whoda thought? That three Jews in a room could not agree on much—except that they disagree. It is part of our DNA. Look to any Orthodox Study Group and you will see the same arguments dealing with Torah interpretation that have been going on, probably since the original authors sat down in Babylonia. We like to argue. Maybe that’s why the world is so full of Jewish lawyers. We argue about the best Deli in New York or LA or even, God Forbid, Lynchburg, Virginia. Best baseball player ever? Fahget about it! But sometim... Full story
U.S. President Donald Trump’s optimism about Middle East peace might be justified. Perhaps Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’ pledge that he will be a “true partner” to Trump in the search for peace is genuine. Or maybe Trump’s negotiating skills—and his lack of interest in the details or his loyalty to formulas like the two-state solution—will provide what is needed to achieve progress. But a statement issued only a few days before Trump’s meeting with Abbas shows that there’s more at stake here than the real estate deal... Full story
(JTA)—Sunday night in Teaneck, New Jersey, Daniel Kurtzer and Ruth Wisse spoke at separate synagogues, roughly at the same time, about a quarter mile apart. Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and a professor of Middle East studies at Princeton, supports the two-state solution and doesn’t think the Israeli government is heading in the “right direction.” Wisse, a famed Yiddish scholar at Harvard, regards Jewish support for the peace process as “self-delusion” and planned to speak on the topic “Are American Jews their own worst enemies... Full story
(JTA)—The festival of Shavuot, which begins at sundown May 30, focuses on Moses receiving the tablets of the law. But an even more fascinating part of the story is when he shatters them. In an astounding midrash, or rabbinic commentary, Moses’ act is portrayed as the epitome of loyalty to the people, but also teaches God about community and continuity. Descending Mount Sinai, Moses sees the golden calf that the Israelites made while he was gone, a mortal sin according to the Torah he’s carrying, so he decides not to give it to them. The midra... Full story
There is no reason to suspect that President Trump harbors anything but the warmest feelings for Israel. And many of his closest advisers—his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, and Ambassador to Israel David Friedman—have long records of support for Israel. Yet it is possible to do harm without intending to do so, and Trump’s meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas suggests that he may fall into that category. A less egotistical man might have been given pause by the abject failure of so many of hi... Full story
On March 8, 2016, American Taylor Force was murdered along the Tel Aviv beach. Bashar Masalha stabbed Force and wounded 12 others, including a pregnant woman. Sadly, Force was not the first, and will likely not be the last, American victim of Palestinian Arab terror. More sadly, and shocking, your U.S. tax dollars indirectly motivate, and fund, such acts of terror against Americans, Israelis and others. In light of Palestinian Authority President Abbas meeting with President Trump recently, and... Full story
The Washington Post’s chief correspondent in Israel has discarded all pretense of objectivity and is now openly lobbying for a political cause—and it’s one of the most distasteful causes imaginable: justifying the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) policy of paying imprisoned terrorists and their families. William Booth, the Post’s longtime Jerusalem bureau chief, has never been very careful about keeping his personal opinions out of his news articles. But his May 3 report on PA payments to terrorists crossed the line from journalism to outright advo... Full story
www.carolineglick.com By all accounts, U.S. President Donald Trump is a friend of the Jewish state. It is due to Trump’s heartfelt support for Israel and the U.S.-Israel alliance that his meeting with PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas at the White House is most discouraging. By meeting with Abbas, and committing himself to working toward achieving a peace deal between Abbas and his PLO and Israel, Trump undermines Israel. He also undermines himself and his nation. Israel is the most immediate casualty of Trump’s decision to embrace Abbas and the PLO... Full story
San Francisco State University has been a hotbed of anti-Semitism for decades. During this time, Jewish community leaders either ignored the hostile campus environment or worked quietly behind the scenes, failing to alleviate the problem. But a year after protesters from the General Union of Palestinian Students prevented Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat from speaking, shouting him down with amplified obscenities while the police stood by, the anger in the Jewish community has recently surfaced in a long series of published articles. SFSU President... Full story
(JTA)—As Israel turns 69, world Jewry is in a state of crisis. Israel and American Jewry are drifting apart, and within each of those groups we’re seeing increased polarization on fundamental issues like the two-state solution, Israel’s democratic vs. Jewish nature and the definition of who is a Jew. Rather than wallowing in malaise, I’d like to propose a solution that could resolve many of our challenges, a Grand Bargain fit for these chaotic times. I propose that we create a class of Jewish “citizenship” that will reinvent the relationshi... Full story
J Street, the left-wing group that claims to be staunchly opposed to Israeli settlements, has embraced an Israeli settlement. What? How can that be? This strange but true story began when the Israeli Knesset overwhelmingly adopted a law to prohibit the entry of foreign citizens who actively promote the BDS movement against Israel. The law does not prevent Israeli citizens from boycotting Israel. Their right to seek the destruction of their own country remains protected. The law does not block the entry of foreigners who happen to agree with... Full story
Some time ago I attended a “know your rights” workshop sponsored by an immigration rights organization near my home in Los Angeles. The attorneys conducting the workshop offered a broad array of ideas and suggestions, but one piece of advice stood out for me. It dealt with potential workplace raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, and the attorneys’ advice was straightforward: If you are told at your workplace to get into two lines—one for those “with papers” and one for those “without”—simply refuse. Stay in one... Full story
When the Obama administration managed to avoid a congressional vote on its nuclear deal with Iran in the fall of 2015 courtesy of a Democratic Senate filibuster, the argument surrounding the controversial agreement seemed to be over. That’s why Democrats are reacting with impatience and skepticism about statements from the Trump administration about re-evaluating the deal. Yet rather than an impotent gesture designed to distract us from a decision not to tear up the accord that President Donald Trump blasted throughout the 2016 election c... Full story
Dear Editor: With the recent and current influx of Muslim “refugees” coming into Europe and the United States, one has to ask, “Are these Muslims migrants, immigrants or are they invaders?” There is a drastic difference. The prophet Mohammed said, according to the Hadith, there are five responsibilities or charges for those who practice Islam. They were “to assemble, to listen, to obey, to immigrate and to wage jihad for the sake of Allah.” This is exactly what is happening with today’s immigration. This is also what is known as the “stealth... Full story
Israel observed Yom Hashoah—Holocaust Memorial Day—last week, pausing to remember the six million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. As Holocaust survivors age and die, it’s not long before our memory will be without the benefit of people who actually suffered and still bear witness to these unspeakable and unparalleled horrors. It’s all the more important to remember in light of Holocaust denial; claims that the Holocaust simply didn’t happen, that there was no systematic murder of European Jews, or that we are exagg... Full story
There’s always something to bother the Jews of Israel. Currently we’re smelling the preparations for a national election. Some may suspect that it wafts over the continent from Britain or France, but it comes from local pressures. The major responsibility may be those long-running police investigations into Sara and Bibi Netanyahu, with a lesser inquiry into one of their sons. Likud politicians are positioning themselves, still careful to say that they support the Prime Minister, but getting ready to replace him. Also playing the election game... Full story
I am loath to criticize other organizations that are trying to help students and combat the BDS campaign on college campuses; however, I have also felt an obligation to correct misinformation put out to create hysteria about the alleged dangers faced by Jewish students. Selective use of extraordinary incidents and flawed data have been disseminated to create a picture of campuses across the country being engulfed with anti-Israel activity and anti-Semitism, a portrayal that is simply inaccurate. Earlier this year, I criticized the AMCHA... Full story
Three opinion pieces on U.S. policy toward North Korea have appeared in the New York Times in the past week. They deserve critical comment. The writers are all very capable people who share a deep concern about Korea’s security and the possibility of a major blowup that would cause enormous human and material losses throughout the Asia Pacific. As a longtime student of Korean affairs, however, I find that these commentaries—which reflect analysis in the U.S. mainstream media generally—are narrowly focused and alarmist. They would make it seem... Full story
As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assumed near-dictatorial powers following his dubious victory in a constitutional referendum April 16, Andrew Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina, was marking his sixth month of incarceration inside a Turkish prison. Brunson, who has lived in Turkey with his family for the last 23 years, was the head of the Resurrection Church in the coastal city of Izmir—that is, until he was detained last October on the vague and unsubstantiated charge of “membership in an armed terrorist org... Full story
What is the one value that the Jewish community should care most about? To listen to many who run Jewish organizations and communal philanthropies, the answer is inclusion. At a time when it is difficult to engage young people, maintaining a “big tent” is a sacred concept. Drawing a line and declaring those on the other side to be outside the community is not merely seen as divisive, but as antithetical to the preservation of the community. But the left-wing group that calls itself Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) seems determined to prove tha... Full story
YouTube is one of the marvels of the Electronic age. You can play eight hours of the singers and jazz artists of the 1940s. You can take a Friday and play Yiddish and Israeli music all the way up to Shabbat. And then there are the other sites. Rachel and I were scrolling and typed in “History of the Jews.” The first video that came up was a vile attack on the Jews from some obscure group that shall remain nameless. Basically it said we had a chance given to us by God and blew it by not recognizing the Messiah and then killing Jesus. It the... Full story
In 1998, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. After chemotherapy and the removal of my left lung, have been cancer free for 19 years. Luckily, I am able to say that I am a lung cancer survivor. I am one of the lucky ones, because in our country, every five minutes a woman learns she has lung cancer. And the rate of new cases in women has almost doubled in the last 39 years. Yet getting tested for lung cancer is not a top-of-mind cancer concern for 98 percent of women. For many, early detection is key. Only 16 percent of people are diagnosed at an... Full story
Recently, I had a chance to spend a day with one of my closest friends from law school. Near the end of our time together, he shared the story of the passing of his mother whom I had the pleasure of meeting many decades ago. Towards the end the end of her life, she was hospitalized with pneumonia. The doctor told her oldest son that she would not be able regain her strength unless a feeding tube was inserted. Her son decided against the feeding tube on the grounds that his mother had lived a full life—she was then 96—and that the operation ent... Full story
I’ve written many times about the anti-Semitism that continues to plague the British Labour Party—once a noble party of both opposition and government that has now, under its current far-left leader Jeremy Corbyn, become a laughably ineffective opposition with little hope of attaining government leadership. One key reason for that involves the scandals around open expressions of anti-Semitism from party activists and leaders alike, discrediting the party among voters in general and forcing Jewish members to leave what was once their nat... Full story
Those cruel Israelis! Palestinian residents of Gaza just want some soccer balls and perhaps a few Frisbees, to help break the monotony of life under siege. Yet the insensitive Israeli authorities, enforcing their ruthless blockade, recently intercepted a shipment of innocent, humanitarian sporting goods that would have brought a little light to the dark of lives of Gaza’s children. That’s what you can expect pro-Palestinian human rights groups and their media supporters to report. The truth, however, is different. Very different. In an attempt... Full story
