Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Opinions


Sorted by date  Results 26 - 50 of 3478

Page Up

  • All eyes on Rafah

    Clifford D. May|Nov 8, 2024

    (JNS) — Young Israeli soldiers on patrol in Gaza two weeks ago encountered and eliminated Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas commander who plotted and implemented the invasion of Israel on Oct. 7 and the brutal massacre that followed. This long-anticipated milestone was a significant battle won in a war that will not soon end. To understand why, you need to understand who Sinwar was and the cause for which he fought. His goal was not to force Israel to end the “occupation” of Gaza because, as a matter of incontestable fact, all Israelis departed Gaza...

  • A new era for evangelicals and Israel, a bridge to progressives?

    Shlomo Fischer and Dov Maimon|Nov 8, 2024

    (JNS) — In recent years, the American evangelical community—long considered a bastion of conservative values—has been undergoing a significant shift. The younger generation of evangelicals, millennials and Generation Z is embracing a more progressive outlook, especially on issues like climate change, racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights. Many see this as a potential threat to evangelical support for Israel, which has been historically unwavering and tied to conservative politics. For decades, evangelical support for Israel has been a corne...

  • The 21st-century's great flood

    Rabbi Yossy Goldman|Nov 8, 2024

    (JNS) — Believe it or not, the hero of this week’s Torah portion, Noah, needed a not-so-gentle push to get him into the Ark that he himself had built! “And Noah, his sons, his wife and his sons’ wives went into the ark because of the flood waters,” (Genesis 7:7). Interpreting this verse, the great commentator Rashi says that Noah only went into the ark because the floodwaters pushed him inside. He himself wasn’t quite sure this flood thing was really going to happen, but eventually, when he was getting rather wet, he decided to seek refuge... Full story

  • President Biden can still save the world

    Alan Dershowitz|Nov 1, 2024

    (The Gatestone Institute via JNS) — The legacy of the last two Democratic presidencies — Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s — will be the appeasement of Iran in its efforts to dominate the Middle East and eventually expand its influence through the acquisition of a nuclear arsenal. Obama has been the “Chamberlain” in this 21st-century version of Great Britain’s and France’s appeasement of an evil and dangerous regime. In 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain thought he had a secure peace treaty with Hitler — “Peace in our time,” he prom...

  • Israel's best strategic position in decades

    Avi Abelow|Nov 1, 2024

    (JNS) — One year ago, our enemies launched an unprecedented assault on the Jewish state. On Oct. 7, Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s proxy terror network unleashed an unprecedented and heinous massacre to kill as many Jews as possible and destroy the State of Israel. Decades in the making, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, Qatar, and yes, the Palestinian Authority plotted together, united by a common goal: to wipe Israel off the map. Despite knowing about such plans over the years, Israel chose to hold back. No Israeli government, including those led by Isr... Full story

  • The killing of Yahya Sinwar

    Melanie Phillips|Nov 1, 2024

    (JNS) — Some people here in Israel reportedly cried tears of joy over the killing by the Israel Defense Forces of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the Rafah area of Gaza on Wednesday. Others were jubilant. I was not. Yes, there’s enormous relief. There’s huge satisfaction that at last Sinwar has met his long overdue fate. The world is a better place without him. It’s also an immense victory for the Israel Defense Forces. And it’s another vindication of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s determination to send the IDF into the Hamas stron...

  • The world against Israel: Prophecies fulfilled

    Raphael Shore|Nov 1, 2024

    (JNS) — Last week, the Jewish people celebrated the holiday of Sukkot. Last year, the holiday ended with the Oct. 7 pogrom in Israel. This year, we are celebrating our strength, resilience and success in fighting evil. Sukkot is the holiday when everything culminates: The annual holiday cycle that begins with Passover, the High Holidays that begins with Rosh Hashanah, and, in the mystical tradition, references the culmination of human history. That is why our Torah readings speak of the “end of days” and the final battles that will happe...

  • 'New' antisemitism sure sounds like the old kind

    Moshe Phillips|Nov 1, 2024

    (JNS) — Is it just me, or is the “new” antisemitism starting to sound a lot like the old kind? In recent weeks, The New York Times has twice published remarks that directly invoked classic antisemitic stereotypes. Many of us had thought that kind of crude bigotry had finally been eliminated from the mainstream media. Apparently not. Book reviewer Sam Kriss wrote in the Times on Aug. 20 that his Jewish identity is rooted in his affinity for books, matzah-ball soup and his “overbearing mother.” If a reporter would ask him about it—althou...

  • A Jewish and former Democratic congressman's case for electing Donald Trump in 2024

    Peter Deutsch|Oct 25, 2024

    (JTA) — Voters weigh their values and priorities before casting their ballot for president. For me, achieving and maintaining peace in the world is the single most important issue to consider when choosing the president of the United States. When we look at the last four years of the Harris-Biden administration versus the four years of President Trump’s administration, there is no comparison. For the four years of Trump’s presidency we had peace, but the world is very different today. President Trump eliminated the funding to Iran when he wi...

  • An Israeli-American activist's case for electing Kamala Harris

    Esther Sperber|Oct 25, 2024

    (JTA) — I was born and raised in Israel, the oldest of 10 siblings, in a liberal-minded Orthodox Jewish family. I love my family, a diverse gang of smart people who respect one another even when disagreeing. Politically we are a mixed group. Some of us are fiscally conservative or libertarian. Others are traditional liberals who believe in a social safety net. Although only three of us live in the United States, we are all American citizens and eligible voters in the November elections. We share a concern for the State of Israel and for the saf...

  • My reasons for voting for Kamala Harris

    Marilyn Shapiro|Oct 25, 2024

    On Nov. 5, 2024, Americans will be voting in what many view as the most consequential elections in our history. As I make my selections, it will be imperative that my choices reflect the values that are important to me not only as a Jew but also as a human being, those concerning freedom, truth, justice, equality, intelligent leadership, and empathy. In a recent poll by the Jewish Democratic Council of America, 72 percent of Jewish voters backed Vice President Kamala Harris, and 25 percent supported former President Donald Trump. In 2021, the P...

  • Myths and facts about Trump's Middle East policy

    Mitchell Bard|Oct 25, 2024

    For single-issue voters for whom Israel is the most paramount, the choice in November hinges on which candidate is truly best for the Jewish state. Voters leaning toward Donald Trump tout him as the most pro-Israel president in history. Without trying to compare his policies to, say, Harry Truman, who made the Partition Plan happen, or Lyndon Johnson, who established the U.S. as Israel’s principal arms supplier and guarantor of its qualitative edge, or Ronald Reagan, who institutionalized U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation, let’s examine Tru...

  • Tel Aviv tales of terror and toenails

    Ruthie Blum|Oct 18, 2024

    (JNS) — Tuesday evening. The conductor of the train from Jerusalem to Herzliya apologizes to passengers ahead of the first stop in Tel Aviv after Ben-Gurion Airport. “Sorry, but we can’t go any farther,” he announces over the loudspeaker. “The security situation doesn’t allow for it.” Irritated sighs could be heard from rush-hour commuters, tired mothers with cranky children and travelers with suitcases in tow. Sketchy internet connections disrupted the updated emergency alert instructing the entire country to shelter until further notic...

  • The Palestinian 'Emperor's New Clothes'

    Jonathan Feldstein|Oct 18, 2024

    “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, was published in 1837. It has been adapted in many forms. Today, “the emperor has no clothes,” is a metaphor for people living or perpetrating a lie or are too stupid to admit that. In the original story, an emperor with an obsession for fancy clothes hires conmen posing as weavers to make him magnificent clothes that are so unique, they are invisible to those who are incompetent or stupid. One day, the “weavers” report that the emperor’s new clothes are finished. They...

  • Effective steps for confronting campus antisemitism

    Rabbi Menachem Schmidt|Oct 18, 2024

    (JNS) — On Oct. 7, Hamas carried out the most heinous attacks on Jews since the Holocaust. While Diaspora Jews watched in horror and disbelief at events taking place in Israel, few could have imagined the impact on their own lives, especially the outburst of antisemitism to ensue in their communities. Nowhere has this been more acute than at America’s finest universities. Over the past year, Jewish organizations have fought tirelessly to counter this torrent of antisemitism, battling a brand of hatred we thought died generations ago. As the...

  • To the pondering Jew

    Andrew D. Lappin|Oct 18, 2024

    (JNS) — On his nightly program recently, long-running HBO news pundit Bill Maher, in reference to one of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s dire misassessments of Hamas’s nefarious intent, demanded that she just “shut up” already. Coming from a lifelong liberal, Maher’s acerbic reprimand should cause pondering Jews to sit up and take note. Maher’s negative assessment of Harris’s grasp on the true nature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is further reinforced by the vice president’s completely out-of-touch cheerleading during the presid...

  • We will not let our country and continent be destroyed

    Geert Wilders|Oct 18, 2024

    (Gatestone Institute via JNS) — The hatred of extreme left-wing agitators and parts of the left-liberal elite in politics and the media against our Jewish compatriots and the State of Israel since the barbaric massacre of innocent civilians on Oct. 7, 2023, has directly fueled antisemitism and hatred of Jews. It started immediately after Oct. 7 with inflammatory demonstrations of millions of people with false flags and slogans in many European capitals, including many non-Western immigrants, who thereby demonstrated that they do not share a...

  • Celebrating the downfall of Israel's enemies

    Jonathan Feldstein|Oct 11, 2024

    Yeah, I’m celebrating. For the past two weeks, Israel (including the Mossad, IDF, and military intelligence) have shown unparalleled prowess and success in the global war on terror. First, thousands of Hezbollah beepers exploded on command. Then their walkie talkies. This is recognized as the most precise anti-terrorist operation ever. Before and after, Israel took credit for the targeted assassination of nearly all the top Hezbollah leaders. Israel targeted and destroyed countless Hezbollah missiles and launchers, along with other weapons a...

  • New year, new light, new life

    Rabbi Yossy Goldman|Oct 11, 2024

    (JNS) — Hey, does anybody still make New Year’s resolutions? Maybe you do, and yours goes something like mine, “My New Year’s resolution this year is to keep the resolutions I made last year!” My friend said that his goes like this, “My New Year’s resolution is to have a fat bank account and a skinny body. Last year, I got mixed up.” Most people I know have long stopped making New Year’s resolutions because they know it doesn’t work. They just go “in one year and out the other!” In much of the world today, especially for us Jews in Israel a...

  • The tides are turning

    Sarah N. Stern|Oct 11, 2024

    (JNS) — Starting with the explosion of thousands of beepers and pagers of Hezbollah members in Lebanon on Sept. 17 and with the elimination of Hezbollah senior leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sept. 27 along with practically all of the highest-ranking members of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, Israel is once again reclaiming its vaunted military might that seemed to have atrophied on Oct. 7. This might constitute a sea change in the Iranian grip on the Lebanese political landscape and could have ramifications for the Islamic Republic of Iran, thr...

  • Hassan Nasrallah and the tone-deaf American Jewish left

    Moshe Phillips|Oct 11, 2024

    (JNS) — At almost the exact moment that Israeli forces were eliminating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon—one of the world’s most notorious mass murderers of Israelis and Americans—left-of-center American Jewish groups were delivering a letter to Israel’s ambassador in Washington, demanding that Israel make more concessions to Hamas. The juxtaposition of the two developments shines a light on the extreme tone-deafness that has overtaken many on the U.S. Jewish left. The letter that the liberal groups delivered to the Israeli e...

  • Penalize 'settlers,' but let the Palestinian Authority get away from its responsibilities

    Stephen M. Flatow|Oct 11, 2024

    By (JNS) — Despite all that’s happening in Israel, the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, three U.S. senators—the chairs of important senate committees—are outraged over the behavior of some Jewish residents of the Shomron and Yehuda. The three—Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the committee; Jack Reed (D-R.I.), chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee; and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence—sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen expressing their growing...

  • Occupied or liberated?

    Jerold S. Auerbach|Oct 11, 2024

    (JNS) — Among many journalists who seem to know little about Jewish history or international law, New York Times Jerusalem bureau chief Patrick Kingsley and unrelenting critic of Israel Thomas L. Friedman (among others) share a common misnomer. They repeatedly refer to Israel’s “occupied territory,” located in what became known as Jordan’s “West Bank” after Israel’s war of independence in 1948. Two decades later, following its stunning victory in the Six-Day War, Israel regained the biblical homeland of the Jewish people in Judea and Samar...

  • For a Jewish world in despair, we need High Holiday prayers that meet the moment

    Alex Weisler|Oct 4, 2024

    (JTA) — I’ve spent the last year traveling the world — two trips each to Israel and Ukraine, along with time in Bulgaria, Ghana, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Georgia and beyond — and I have new eyes for the situation we Jews find ourselves in. We face skyrocketing antisemitism, an agonizing war with Hamas and its allies, and the grim Whac-A-Mole of so many other pressing concerns. And in early October, we’re somehow meant to endure a Jewish New Year that will force us to confront the chasm between our prayers and our reality. Attemptin...

  • We have met the anti-Israel student terrorists - now we will defeat them

    James Sinkinson|Oct 4, 2024

    (FLAME via JNS) — Jewish students from the City University of New York recently attending a Hillel welcome-back dinner were surrounded by masked, screaming protesters who banged on windows and chanted, “Terrorist! Terrorist! Terrorist! All Zionists are racist! Dogs off campus!” The protesters shoved pictures of murdered babies in students’ faces and assaulted a Hillel staffer. Campuses are already paying the price of last school year’s weak-kneed, appeasing administration responses, as violence and threats by radicals rachet up again. Th...

Page Down