Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2515 - 2539 of 3854
The Jews of Israel are watching Muslims near and far killing themselves, and contemplating horror scenarios of a serious threat from Iran, Hezbollah, or some other evil source. There are near daily efforts of individual Palestinians to attack Jews, but for the most part, the Muslim front is quiet for us while chaos prevails among those who have declared their intention to destroy us. The furor among Jews has ratcheted up to what we haven’t seen in some time. Optimists or the indifferent see it as another round in the rituals of conflict, w... Full story
There are four important aspects to the government’s decisions on Sunday relating to egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall and the conversion bill. The first is that by and large, the headlines of the stories distort rather than explain what the government decided. The second is the nature of the American Jewish community’s response to the government’s moves. The third important aspect of the story is what the government’s decisions tell us about how the government perceives Israel’s relations with the American Jewish community. Finally,... Full story
Dear Editor: It looks like this will be a repeat year. The United States Postal Service will not be issuing a new Chanukah stamp design in 2017. This means it will be up to each local post office to order Chanukah stamps. Past history has shown that a vast majority do not do so. They claim it an “old” stamp and they do not reorder old stamps. So, it is important that you that go to your local post office and tell them to order Chanukah stamps now so they have them in time for you to purchase them. Chanukah is early this year. It begins the nig... Full story
The headlines of the Jewish press this week were filled with stories about angry American Jews arriving in Israel and denouncing the Israeli government’s decision regarding egalitarian prayer at the Western Wall. Jerry Silverman, head of the Jewish Federations of North America, called the government’s decision “a direct insult” to diaspora Jewry and vowed to launch a “campaign” to “fight back.” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, said the battle to reverse the decision is “worth fighting for.” A statement issued by the... Full story
For me, the main takeaway from the British election June 8 was that Jeremy Corbyn, the far-left leader of the opposition Labour party, didn’t win it. Most of the ridicule in the wake of the election has been aimed at Conservative party Prime Minister Theresa May, for her political error worthy of an Elizabethan farce—calling an election with the aim of increasing her majority, only to end up needing the votes of a right-wing Unionist party in Northern Ireland in order to form a government. The scorn heaped on May by most of the British med... Full story
The Israeli authorities last week confiscated two tractors, a hydraulic excavator and other equipment used by Palestinians to carry out illegal quarrying that has been damaging a rare nature reserve in the Judean Desert. If major American newspapers reported the story, the headline would probably read: “Israel Confiscates Palestinians’ Tractors.” I say “if,” because there’s really not much chance The New York Times or Washington Post would ever cover a story that reflects badly on the Palestinian cause. That would undermine their drive to pr... Full story
In the fabulous opening of “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye engages in a uniquely Jewish argument: taking two dissenting opinions and agreeing that they are both right. This is possible because of Talmudic study; an exercise in which only Jews can engage and whose twisted logic all Jews are born to innately understand. Jews are used to debate. Debating (okay—arguing) is built into our DNA. We will argue over the best bagels, the age of the universe and the best shortstop the Yankees ever had. The best of friends can go toe to toe with rising decibe... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—America. Bipartisanship. Compulsory. The literal ABCs of Israel’s national security doctrine remain Jerusalem’s airtight bond with the United States. The tangible friendship expressed for Israel by elected officials at all levels of the U.S. government, the robust cooperation between their business, scientific, defense and intelligence communities, and grassroots American support for the Jewish state endure as the sine qua non of Israel’s success. None of this would have been possible unless Democrats and Republi... Full story
www.carolineglick.com How can we explain the international community’s indifference to Palestinian suffering? Every day, angry bands of protesters burn the flag of Israel, call for the destruction of the Jewish state and insist that Israel and its Jewish citizens be shunned from polite society and thrown out of the global economy all in the name of opposing “the Occupation.” Although the breathless protesters insist that all their efforts are directed toward the Palestinians, as it works out, none of their assaults on Israel have impro... Full story
Dear Editor: Because God has opened the door for me to serve as a Special Envoy to the UN, I’m greatly moved by any “light” I can see being shed for Israel within these corridors. I was especially encouraged with the news that all seats of the democratic nations of the world were empty yesterday for the annual “Item 7” Israel bashing debate held by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. The executive director of the UN Watch NGO reported: “The democracies are absent to protest prejudice because this is the only agenda item that singles out... Full story
It may very well be that this week was the week that Israel and the U.S. put to rest former president Barack Obama’s policies and positions on Israel and the Palestinians. If so, the move was made despite the best efforts of Obama’s team to convince the Trump administration to maintain them. The details of Obama’s policies and positions have been revealed in recent weeks in a series of articles published in Haaretz regarding Obama’s secretary of state John Kerry’s failed peacemaking efforts, which ended in 2014. The articles reported segments... Full story
The slippery subject of academic freedom has moved into our headlines with a draft code of ethics for universities and their personnel. It is the work of Professor Asa Kasher, a philosophy professor at Tel Aviv University, and the author of the IDF’s code of ethics. He prepared this code at the request of the right of center Minister of Education Naftali Bennett, known for his support of settlers, increasing the importance of Judaism in the lessons of primary and secondary schools, and a frequent criticism of Jews and others who condemn I... Full story
Is there a double standard when it comes to derogatory terms for race? Read no further than the writings of June Chu, dean of students of Pierson College, one of the twelve residential colleges for Yale undergraduates. Chu has written in the “Inside Higher Education” of the need for “cultural sensitivity” and the avoidance of “micro-aggressions” in discussions with minority students. And she describes her job, as a Pierson dean, as supporting students in their “holistic and multifaceted identities.” But apparently that sensitivity onl... Full story
(JTA)—The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement has demanded that we all ask ourselves where we stand on questions of climate change, global warming and our collective responsibility for the planet we call home. That the earth has been warming in recent years is indisputable. At issue are the causes of this warming and its consequences. The vast majority of scientists agree that human activities are a significant contributor to global warming, and that the consequences will be significant and even cat... Full story
There is a widespread but false belief that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is finally prepared to accept the two-state solution proposed by the United Nations in November 1947, when it divided Mandatory Palestine into two areas: one for the Jewish people, the other for the Arab people. At the time, the Jews of Palestine accepted the compromise division and declared a nation-state for the Jewish people, to be called by its historic name: Israel. The Arabs of Palestine, on the other hand, rejected the division and declared that... Full story
Every time I see the movie “Titanic” I hope that there will be a different outcome. I hope that the captain will successfully avert the massive iceberg. I hope that the ship won’t sink, that so many of its passengers won’t perish. I hope that “Jack” will live to write his strongly worded letter to the shipping line. Despite knowing the outcome, that’s the same feeling I got when reading “Six Days of War” by noted historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., now Knesset member Michael Oren. Leading up to the 50th anniversary of th... Full story
Why aren’t Muslim countries leading givers to the Palestinian cause? The question has renewed relevance upon a United Nations agency’s recent release of its list of donors. The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East claims to provide aid to around 5 million Palestinian “refugees,” a number that is disputed by the pro-Israel community because UNRWA also serves refugees’ descendants. Published this month, UNRWA’s list of donors for 2016 says Western countries and Japan are the most significant contributor... Full story
He says that he wants to settle things between Israel and Palestine. His initial venture outside the U.S., to the Middle East, may indicate the importance that he assigns to it. There was also a business deal with the Saudis, that will bring more work to American industries. Along the way to that, he got some positive words from reigning Arabs about shared interests against Iran, and their intentions to help bring peace to Israel and Palestine. Perhaps all are on board except the Palestinians. We’re hearing about Trump’s temper against Pal... Full story
The decision by the Jewish weekly newspaper The Forward to publish a paid advertisement supporting imprisoned Palestinian terrorist Marwan Barghouti is being questioned by some editors of other American Jewish newspapers. The full-page ad appeared in The Forward’s June 2 edition. It was sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a controversial organization that supports the BDS movement and is described by the Anti-Defamation League as the largest “Jewish anti-Zionist group” in the U.S. The ad featured a statement by Barghouti calling for m... Full story
The most important incident during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East took place out of view of the international press. At the time, it went unreported and unremarked upon. The president not only didn’t mention it publicly, he also failed to tweet about it. But Trump’s outburst of anger at Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Bethlehem may have set a tone that will either create real progress toward peace or, more likely, instill a degree of realism about Israel’s antagonists that has bee... Full story
Where is the Anti-Defamation League? As a “new anti-Semitism” casts the Jewish state as the cruelest of nations, and her Jewish supporters as “racists,” the ADL has been largely silent. The lies are spread in newspapers, churches and college classrooms. On campuses, Jewish students are harassed and intimidated. Even the curricula in many public high schools and middle schools is biased against Israel. Yet the ADL, once the Jewish people’s defense agency, seems unable or unwilling to effectively fight back. Case in point: Linda Sarsour,... Full story
Anybody who thought the new Jerusalem bureau chief of The New York Times would be any less pro-Palestinian than his predecessor was sadly mistaken. Ian Fisher replaced Peter Baker as head of The Times’s Jerusalem bureau in January. Many of Fisher’s articles in recent months have been slanted against Israel, but his coverage of the lynching attempt in the Palestinian Arab village of Hawara May 18 was the worst so far. The facts of the Hawara episode are well-documented in a graphic video that can be seen on YouTube. Arabs waving PLO flags and... Full story
On Thursday, less than 48 hours after U.S. President Donald Trump completed his successful visit to Israel, his chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt was back in town. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson set the tone for Greenblatt’s mission when he told reporters aboard Air Force One that during his visit, Trump “was putting a lot of pressure” on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas “to get back to the table” and negotiate a peace deal. Tillerson went on to explain why Trump is so keen to make a deal. “We solve... Full story
Upon the 50th anniversary of the Jewish state of Israel’s reunification of Jerusalem, there is no better time to end the propaganda myth that Jerusalem is a holy city to Muslims. The Muslim fixation and clamor on Jerusalem is actually a very recent historical development—a product of political conflict, not historical truth. Jerusalem rates not a single mention in the Quran, and Muslims face Mecca in prayer. In the 7th century A.D., the Damascus-based Umayyad rulers built up Jerusalem as a counterweight to Mecca. This is when the important Mus... Full story
When it comes to winning the argument against the BDS movement, the strategy may be as simple as a pan of shakshuka, a Mizrahi album, and a real or virtual tour through Jerusalem. A celebration of culture and a walk through the history of Israel may not be enough to win over the hardcore anti-Zionist proponents of BDS, as their convictions are rooted in the belief that the Jewish people aren’t entitled to their state or protection. In their view, Jews are mere occupiers in David’s kingdom, and Fatah and Hamas are entitled to sweep from the riv... Full story
