Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2556 - 2580 of 3706
You have to wonder if the barbarians fighting under the flag of the Islamic State still believe that 72 virgins will be waiting for them in paradise once they become “martyrs.” I say this not because the leaders and foot soldiers of ISIS have suddenly woken up to the possibility that this belief is based, according to several scholars, on a mistranslation of the relevant verse of the Qu’ran; that would be expecting too much of them. I say this because they have already had a taste of that paradise here on earth, as a result of their campa... Full story
Last week, the United Nations Educational and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) voted to declare that this millenniums-old site was not Jewish at all, but exclusively Islamic. This outrageous vote is an affront not just to the Jewish people, but to all those who value the vital role of historical truth in navigating current global issues. And yet, two dozen countries voted in favor of the resolution, with only six opposing—the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, The Netherlands, Lithuania and Estonia. Many other countries abstained, i... Full story
Israeli politicians and Jewish activists here and there are calling for unity, typically behind whatever point of view they are supporting. In extremis, we hear that it is essential for the survival of Israel or the Jewish people. Yet it never takes long before we hear other Israelis or Jews demanding unity behind something quite different. God Himself gave us the label of a stiff-necked people, in the 32nd chapter of Exodus. The meaning since then has involved antagonism, stubbornness, argumentative, and going into minute detail in order to... Full story
Off the coast of Yemen and at the UN Security Council we are seeing the strategic endgame of Barack Obama’s administration. And it isn’t pretty. Since Oct. 9, Iran’s Houthi proxies in Yemen have attacked U.S. naval craft three times in the Bab al Mandab, the narrow straits at the mouth of the Red Sea. The Bab al Mandab controls maritime traffic in the Red Sea, and ultimately control the Suez Canal. Whether the Iranians directed these assaults or simply green lighted them is really beside the point. The point is that these are Iranian strik... Full story
Great suffering is occurring in Iraq and Syria. The region is ravaged by terror. Millions have been forced from their homes. Christians and other ethno-religious minorities have suffered genocide at the hands of the Islamic State (ISIS). The shutting down of U.S. military operations in Iraq created political instability that left a power vacuum filled by terror groups bent on destroying Western civilization. ISIS has forced millions of Iraqis and Syrians from their homes destabilizing the surrounding nations and exporting the problems of the Mi... Full story
For years during the High Holidays my family sat with my mother (of blessed memory) near the front of our synagogue. If you knew her you knew her generosity, and she cut no corners with either her family or shul. She was always a “dues plus” member, someone who gave more than the required dues for membership, and so she had cushy reserved seats near the front on the left hand side. The view was great. We were surrounded by our friends, and close to the bimah. It was immersive, and won... Full story
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas suffered chest pains last week and was rushed to a hospital in Ramallah. The episode was an important reminder of the dangers and risks Israel will face if it heeds demands for the quick creation of a Palestinian state. In recent weeks, the S. Daniel Abraham Center has been sponsoring full-page ads in The New York Times calling for a Palestinian state. The Obama administration this week issued an overheated condemnation of Israel for approving the construction of a handful of houses for Jews, because that constr... Full story
I have begun re-reading Menachem Begin’s book “The Revolt—The Story of the Irgun.” It still makes fascinating reading some 60 to 70 years after its original publication. The book opens with Begin having a spirited discussion with his Soviet interrogator. Begin was imprisoned in Russia having been captured as a member of the Polish Army at the beginning of WWII. The interrogator insists that Zionism is a fraud perpetrated by the British to have an excuse to remain in the Middle East. Begin, in what even then was a professorial manner, explains t... Full story
On Election Day back in 1940, in front of PS 97 in Brooklyn, I carried a poster for FDR. I was 7 years old and a fervent Jewish-Umbilical-Cord-Democrat. How could I not be? My parents, uncles, cousins and friends knew nothing else but Roosevelt, Socialism and The Party. As I matured I got the message that our Supreme Leader whose picture adorned our living room wall was a Jew hater. From then on it was the candidate and not The Party that got my vote and support. And my major considerations when casting my vote became Israel and the survival... Full story
It can’t be true—the American Jewish community has “forgotten,” or more accurately no longer chooses to remember, the existential threat to Israel, America, and Western civilization posed by Iran and the Iran Deal. Only last year virtually every mainstream Jewish leader boldly denounced the deal as dangerous, and existentially so. Did our concern dissipate after the Iran deal passed because the ambitions of Iran, the No. 1 sponsor of terrorism, have been tamed in any way? Of course not. Every week there is another statement about destroy... Full story
Dear Editor: The claim that the Democrats and Cinton-Kaine are good for Israel and the Jewish people is a happy delusion. The reasons their policies will weaken Israel is the same reason they will weaken America. Iran has been strengthened, Russia emboldened, and Islamic fascism ignored and denied. There will NEVER be a two-state solution as long as the Palestinians hate their children more than they desire peace. A strong America and strong Israel together are crucial for a safe and secure future. Trump-Pence WILL deliver that! Dr. Norman... Full story
Dear Editor: This letter is in follow-up of and in objection to a large full-page ad that recently appeared in the Heritage Newspaper supporting the Hillary Clinton campaign. In this ad, she highlighted some of her goals and distorted those of Donald Trump on a comparison basis. Accordingly, I would like to voice my observations and comment in a newspaper rebuttal against this ad and counter with support for Donald Trump for president: FINALLY Donald Trump attacked Hillary for what she is in last week’s second debate. She’s been in government f... Full story
Dear Editor: I was quite taken aback by the full-page ad in last week’s Heritage taken out by the organization Jews For Progress. This was a good example of the old adage that “If you can’t convince them with facts, baffle them with Bulls—t.” The quote, “Trump pledges to be ‘neutral guy’ in Israel-Palestinian negotiations” is totally taken out of context. In reality, he said at the 2016 AIPAC Conference, “Each side must give up something it values in exchange for something it requires. A deal that imposes conditions on Israel and the Palestinia... Full story
Dear Editor: I am responding to the advertisement in Heritage associating presidential candidate Donald Trump with anti-Semitism. This is done purely in the hope that the casual reader will accept those remarks as truth. The goal of the opposition is to smear Donald Trump with untruths. Before I support a candidate, I do my research and that is what all voters should do. For the opposition, truth is not the goal. Here is the real Donald Trump: Some years ago he purchased Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach and turned it into a country club. At that time... Full story
A new Syria is emerging. And with it, a new Middle East and world are presenting themselves. Our new world is not a peaceful or stable one. It is a harsh place. The new Syria is being born in the rubble of Aleppo. The eastern side of the city, which has been under the control of US-supported rebel groups since 2012, is being bombed into the Stone Age by Russian and Syrian aircraft. All avenues of escape have been blocked. A UN aid convoy was bombed in violation of a fantasy cease-fire. Medical facilities and personnel are being targeted by Russ... Full story
Initially, this was going to be written in the future tense, not the past tense. As much as Americans may be equally tired of, and curious about, the outcome of the upcoming presidential election, I wanted highlight on another election scheduled for this week, one with many implications for the US, and the world. Yet keeping on top of the scheduled Palestinian Authority municipal elections, called for October 8, has been a bit like sitting at center court at a tennis match. As soon as the ball lands on one side and seems like it’ll never be r... Full story
It isn’t easy summarizing the relationships between Jews and Arabs in Israel, or extending that to Israeli Jews and Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza. Animosity is more apparent than accommodation in most summaries of Israeli and Palestinian history. Yet accommodation has been more apparent than bloodshed. There has been violence, but never of the magnitude shown by what Muslims have recently been doing to one another in Syria, Iraq, Libya, or Yemen. The Second Intifada, from 2000 to about 2005, took 1,100 Israeli and perhaps 5,000 P... Full story
I don’t know you personally, but I know what you do. You demonstrate on college campuses, in front of stores that sell Israeli products, at co-op grocery outlets, and in the town squares of liberal places like my community of Seattle. You wear a keffiyeh and carry signs that say “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Shall Be Free” and other slogans that deny Israel’s right to exist. I see your swastikas and other classic antisemitic images. I see your placards with names of villages lost when Israel’s neighbors invaded in 1948. I see your props... Full story
(JTA)—Building up to Sukkot, with its temporary, shaky sukkah, it’s easy to forget that the holiday comes with something more substantial: its own book, Ecclesiastes—Kohelet in Hebrew—which is read during the festival and gives us a solid sampling of earthly wisdom. “A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven,” Kohelet famously tells us, which this year brings to mind the campaign season. And though in the last few months we do seem to have experienced “everything,” I think we can all agree that not much of it... Full story
Ten years ago my life started to unravel. Not completely. I always had love and support—my wife, my children. But a corner of it frayed, and the loose strands couldn’t easily be fixed, and holes that couldn’t be patched appeared. When my younger brother Ray died, I lost more than a family member. I lost a best friend who couldn’t be replaced. I lost faith in the order of things. The youngest in the family isn’t supposed to go first. I lost visions of the future, which had always included... Full story
Several of our headlines have dealt with an issue that is always in the near background: Who are the Palestinians and Israeli Arabs? How do they think? and Is there any chance of living in a condition of peace, or at least reasonable quiet? One of the headlines came from responses to a comment by a prominent radio journalist, Razi Barkai. He began a mini-storm by questioning the policy of holding back the bodies of Palestinians killed while attacking Israelis, noting the feelings of Palestinian families, and comparing them to those of Israeli... Full story
Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes Israeli entrepreneurs succeed because they challenge authority, question everything, and don’t go by the rules. “The impact of the Israelis on science and technology is immense, so that’s why I’m here and why I’m investing here,” he told a large crowd at Israel’s Weizman Institute in 2015. Schmidt’s statements not only apply to Israel’s high tech businesses and start-up companies, but also to Israel’s budding medical marijuana industry. From organic chemists to entrepreneurs, nearly everyone in Israel’s field o... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ statement before the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday revived old hatreds more than it broke new ground. It was little more than a rote diatribe against Israel and a call for international pressure to coerce the Jewish state in place of the hard give and take that happens at the negotiating table. It shed light on why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has endured so long through so many failed final status negotiations—and, consequently, why the Palestinians continue to li... Full story
(JTA)—A Jewish educator who works on behalf of the Jewish people every single day recently received a letter that began with harsh words about her support for the anti-occupation group Breaking the Silence. Before long it took a startling turn. “I regretfully must express my utmost hope,” the author wrote, “that you are hit by a car to put a stop to the injury you will cause the children that I love.” This was not an anonymous comment hiding in the murky depths of a blog post somewhere. It was a signed letter fervently praying for the viole... Full story
By Jason Dov Greenblatt NEW YORK (JTA)—As my family and I prepare for Rosh Hashanah, we look back with grateful hearts for the brachot, blessings, in our lives. We take time to reflect on the joys and the challenges, the ups and downs, that we experienced during the previous year. To me, a meaningful observance of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur requires taking stock of life’s hard-earned victories and heartfelt woes, its underappreciated blessings and unfulfilled potential. As Jews, we have the opportunity—indeed, the obligation—to renew ourselv... Full story
