Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2526 - 2550 of 3644
NEW YORK (JTA)—They’re all true, all those stories you’ve heard. The Jewish student questioned about whether her Judaism and involvement in the Jewish community would disqualify her from serving in student government. The Israel bashers who besieged a movie night put on by a pro-Israel group, forcing Jewish students to escape under police protection. The man from Students for Justice in Palestine who stood up at a rally of campus rape survivors and their allies and used his time at the microphone to attack Israel. And, of course, the swast... Full story
When Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses came out in 1989, Viking Penguin, the British and American publisher of the novel, was subjected to daily Islamist harassment. As Daniel Pipes wrote, the London office resembled “an armed camp,” with police protection, metal detectors and escorts for visitors. In Viking’s New York offices, dogs sniffed packages and the place was designated a “sensitive location.” Many bookshops were attacked and many even refused to sell the book. Viking spent about $3 million on security measures in 1989, the fatal y... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—Two essential parts of preparing for Rosh Hashanah, our clean slate for the year, is asking forgiveness from anyone we wronged and making a list (mental or written) of the ways we fell short since the last time we heard the shofar. Ideally that hard work of going to friends, family and anyone else deserving of our forgiveness happens in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah. By the time Yom Kippur rolls around 10 days later, we should be ready to confess our mistakes as a community, having already considered our personal p... Full story
Last month, Barbra Streisand announced to great fanfare that if Donald Trump wins the presidential election, she’ll move to Canada or Australia. Threatening to emigrate, usually to Canada, if the Republican candidate wins is a quadrennial threat among liberals—both celebrity and not—who want to express their horror at a Democratic loss in November. But it pains me when the one voicing the threat—whether Streisand, Lena Dunham, or one of my Facebook friends—is an American Jew. Because Jews already have a home ready to welcome them if they no l... Full story
By Jonathan Feldstein Recently, Donald Trump visited a church in Detroit where something unusual took place. Yes, one might say that something unusual takes place in many of Trump’s appearances. But it wasn’t something he did but, rather, something he received that created the buzz. Trump was given a traditional Jewish prayer shawl, a tallit. Hosting Trump, Bishop Wayne Jackson of Great Faith Ministries draped the prayer shawl around the Republican presidential nominee’s shoulders. The congregation burst into applause. Since then, social media... Full story
While walking through my Jerusalem hotel dining room thinking about the news from the states that a U.S. court has tossed out a $655 million terrorism judgment, a young woman came up and gave me a big “Hi!” Seeing that I was not connecting her face and name, she spared me that now all too frequent embarrassment and quickly said, “Sarah.” She was one of the first girls that my late daughter Alisa met when we moved to West Orange, New Jersey in 1978. She and Alisa attended nursery school and then started yeshiva together, and it was this now 41-y... Full story
When individuals move to Israel, most are transformed by the new experience in obvious ways. Some become more religious, others become more right wing, and many become more, well, Israeli. Over the last 13 months, I’ve witnessed my own transformation as the aliyah experience has challenged me, encouraging growth and risk taking. I didn’t realize the extent to which my mentality had changed until a recent phone conversation with my mom. I spoke with her about my plans for that evening, only to realize how much the plans entailed completely ste... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Over 300,000 Jewish college students have arrived or will arrive shortly on American campuses—and what they experience there is likely not only to broaden their minds and uproot long-held assumptions, but shake their Jewish selves to the core. They will contend with powerful faculty and student voices accusing them of complicity in a regime of privilege and oppression here in America and of colonialism, genocide and apartheid in Israel. The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and its campus allies have far had little imp... Full story
Political theorist Mark Lilla has noted the irony that “Once upon a time, the Jews were mocked for not having a nation-state. Now they are criticized for having one,” and their stubborn determination to defend it. That is why the dramatic reassertion of national sovereignty in the Brexit vote is important for Israel. Nor was the British public alone. Laurent Wauquiez, former French minister for European affairs, said in the wake of the Brexit vote, “[T]he result would have been the same in any other country in the EU. Perhaps an even great... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—“We are committed to helping ensure that the State of Israel welcomes Jews of all colors.” “We say we have black lives that matter in Africa.” “In America, race has been a central area of Jewish concern historically.” These are all statements that have been made in the course of a well-orchestrated public relations campaign to hasten the implementation of an Israeli government decision, reached in 2015, allowing the immigration of a number of Ethiopian citizens. These Ethiopians claim Jewish lineage as Falash Mura, descendants o... Full story
Recently, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif embarked on a five-nation tour of Latin America to spread the message that Tehran’s global influence is on the up. Zarif is one of those Iranian leaders eagerly embraced as a “moderate” by the Obama Administration. Like other Iranian officials of his rank, Zarif’s room for maneuver is strictly regulated by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader. Still, the notion that he represents a genuinely reformist faction within the Islamic Republic has been a convenient and comforting tool for persu... Full story
We’re taught to honor principles, and there is merit to that principle. But they are also the traps in which disappear decency and good sense. Those who think and express themselves in absolutes and reject dispute from those who doubt the value of the principles being promoted, risk a lonesome life in politics, where the language of survival and success is nuance. Fierce opposition to occupation is one of the principles that gets in the way of dialog. Occupation has become a four-letter word pointed at Israel. It is said to be occupying P... Full story
It’s one of the most disturbing photos from Israel that I’ve seen in years. I’m referring to last week’s image of the hundreds of Palestinian terrorist weapons captured in Israeli raids. It was enough to send shivers down one’s spine. And it revealed more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than all the panel discussions, research papers, and expert analyses with which we are always being bombarded. Friends of Israel often complain about what they say is the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s inadequate effort to make Israel’s case to the internati... Full story
Despite your grievances with the country, refusing to stand for the national anthem is no way to advance a cause. At times we face conflicting values. For me, Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem is a perfect example of this. For one, Judaism maintains that you should not judge a person until you have spent a day in their shoes. Inevitably, as no two people are dealt the same circumstances and no two individuals wear the same shoes, we really can’t ever pass judgment on others. It is with that value deeply ingrained in me... Full story
Dear Editor: I would like to respond to the staunch advocate of the “plight of the poor Palestinians,” Linda Gradstein’s recent article, “Gaza reconstruction proceeding slowly.” There is much to be said for the current situation resulting in an almost total lack of reconstruction of the damage caused by their unprovoked attack(s) on Israel. There are several reasons for the slow show of a desire to rebuild. First, that would not enhance the projected image of the living conditions in Gaza. By maintain the image of poverty, the governmen... Full story
The far left U.S. Green Party marked a significant milestone in the current campaign cycle when CNN broadcast a town hall debate with its presidential candidate, Jill Stein, and her running mate, Ajamu Baraka. It was a chance for the largely obscure party to build upon the momentum generated by Sen. Bernie Sander’s bid for the Democratic Party nomination with a progressive platform untainted, as Stein and Baraka emphasized again and again, by the paw prints of corporate lobbyists, special interest groups and dubious foreign governments. L... Full story
It’s not the end of the world just because an Egyptian athlete refused to shake hands with his Israeli counterpart at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro last week. After all, the Egyptian is the one who violated judo etiquette. He’s the one whom the fans booed. I won’t lose any sleep over his petty insult, and I doubt many Israelis will either. But the incident, as small as it was, does offer some food for thought about much bigger issues, such as the prospects for peace between Israel and her Arab neighbors. The Judo Snubber, Mr. Islam El Sheha... Full story
We’re all on the borders of cultures. We express the condition by where we travel, with whom we deal, and how we deal with those who are different from ourselves. Staying close to home and minding our own business are conventional ways of dealing with strangers, some of whom may worry or threaten us. Americans who feel safe in upscale neighborhoods don’t venture into Black ghettos, unless they know the way and want to purchase something available there. Jews living in French Hill stay away from Isaweea, Shuafat, or Beit Hanina, unless they spe... Full story
MIAMI (JTA)—Every four years the same movie plays at the Jewish Political Film Festival: It’s the one where the Democrats pass another party platform with more ironclad support for Israel and then nominate yet another presidential candidate whose record on Israel is beyond question. The ending is always the same, too, with two-thirds to three-quarters of American Jews voting for the Democrat. This year will be no different. American Jews again will vote for the Democratic candidate, confident that Democrats will have Israel’s back. Not only... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—For years, the leaders of America’s most established Jewish organizations—AIPAC chief among them - have assured their members that when it came to Israel, there wasn’t much difference between the Democratic and Republican parties. Even suggesting that control of the White House or Congress might matter to the U.S.-Israel relationship was taboo, often decried as “anti-Israel” if not “anti-Semitic.” The 2016 platform debates and conventions have shattered this outlandish insistence that in our hyperpartisan era, Israel policy s... Full story
As a minority group that has faced down centuries of anti-Semitism, the Jewish people have long stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other long-suffering and persecuted minority groups such as African-Americans. This was evident during the Civil Rights Movement when Jewish leaders stood against segregation in the south. That allegiance continues today with Jewish figures speaking out against inequality that many African-Americans face. Despite this solidarity, Jewish and African-American relations today face one of their biggest challenges yet.... Full story
When I was in my late teens, I listened to the second side of the Beatles’ Abbey Road album, pretty much every day for three weeks in a forest about an hour north of Montreal. I was living in a tent with other Jewish wannabe hippies at Camp Bnai Brith, and the camp leaders allowed us to have a turn table outside our tent, where we could spin our vinyls at will. It’s hard to imagine living my life without the second side of Abbey Road. On my way to visit my son at Camp Ramah the other day, I played it in my car, a few times over. Every note is... Full story
Not much of anything. This is a time for watching and waiting. The biggest crap shoot is in the United States. Currently it seems wisest to bet the nickel on Hillary, and a dime or even a quarter that the stay-at-homes will have more votes than any candidate. If the bet on Hillary wins, we can assume more of the same from the government she will be leading. If Donald wins, all bets are off. Picking his direction defies the odds-makers. There is a lot going on elsewhere. The Israeli government and its security services should continue investing... Full story
If a bomb was thrown at a prominent synagogue in Brooklyn, the media would treat it as front-page news and politicians would rush to condemn the assault. But watch what happens when Palestinians throw a bomb at a prominent Jewish holy site and synagogue in Israel: editors bury the story, and politicians are focusing their attention elsewhere. On Aug. 7, a Palestinian terrorist hurled a bomb at the Tomb of Rachel, near Bethlehem. The building contains a synagogue, a study area and, of course, the burial site of one of the Jewish biblical matriar... Full story
(JTA)—American Jewish voters have naturally voted for Democratic candidates because it has meant voting to support strong social justice and a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. Hillary Clinton and her vice presidential choice, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, will continue Democratic action on economic and educational opportunities, retirement security and quality, affordable health care, and especially Israel’s security and Middle East peace. The Clinton-Kaine ticket promises to build upon a strong tradition of Democratic leadership. Clinton has... Full story
