Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2626 - 2650 of 3644
‘Sometimes there’s a stink you just can’t wash off, kinda like a venereal disease... That’s the problem Trump’s got.” It can’t get much worse than that, a quotation in The Economist attributed to a Republican Congressman. Polls are showing that stinking mess tied with Hillary. If there is such a thing as “momentum” in politics, it doesn’t look good for the lady who will be the Democrats’ nominee. A month ago, she was a clear leader in Clinton vs. Trump surveys. In the bluster that marks a political campaign, and perhaps this one more than mo... Full story
The current American presidential campaign features candidates who seem all too willing to set aside ethics for the sake of greater profits. One presumptive nominee proudly made large donations to politicians “so they would do what I want” to facilitate his business goals. The other took actions that benefited special interest groups, which then “coincidentally” donated large sums to her family’s private foundation. It’s clear that their approaches to accumulating wealth have worked. According to Forbes, Donald Trump is worth more than $4.5 b... Full story
PITTSBURGH (JTA)—As a U.S. immigrant and a parent, I’m somewhat fanatical about my kids’ appreciation for their citizenship. Last year I organized what I hope will be an annual second-grade field trip to our local swearing-in ceremony for new American citizens. As a result of that experience, I discovered the students at our children’s Orthodox day school weren’t reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day. I just assumed—like a lot of parents at the school—they did. Years ago, when the school had a PA system, the pledge was recited to th... Full story
Ever ask yourself why during the 30 year period-between 1917 and 1947- thousands of Jews throughout the world ‘woke up’ one morning and decided to leave their homes and go to Palestine? The majority did this because they heard that a future National Home for the Jewish people was being established in Palestine, on the basis of the League of Nations obligation under the “Mandate for Palestine” document. The “Mandate for Palestine,” an historical League of Nations document, laid down the Jewish legal right to settle anywhere in western Pal... Full story
The last time I wrote about Donald Trump in this column was back in December 2015, when the Republican presidential primary race was in full swing. Then, I voiced concern about what the Middle East policy of a Trump administration might look like, pointing out that his failure to address Iran’s hegemonic ambitions, along with his deference to Russian autocrat President Vladimir Putin, was perilously similar to the approach of President Barack Obama—whom the New York billionaire reviles. Six months later, and in the face of endless hig... Full story
Israel’s Yom Ha’atzmaut—Independence Day—is particularly meaningful to my family. My uncle brought his family to the country from Poland in 1936, and he and my aunt fought on the streets of Tel Aviv in the War of Independence in 1948. My grandmother’s sister and her husband escaped the Nazis, making aliyah in the 1930s. My brother, sister, first cousin, and their families all have made aliyah. Two nephews and a niece are now serving in the Israel Defense Forces. As I was growing up, Israel was an ever-present part of my life, and my father co... Full story
It seems appropriate to call these two contenders for the world’s most powerful office by their first names. Even this far away from their campaigns, where the news is usually about something else, we’ve been listening for more than a year to a great deal of commentary, along with video clips of them speaking in numerous settings. Neither seem up to the best who have reached the office they seek. Indeed, there is enough in both of their records to suggest that they may compete for the lowest ranks of presidential esteem. So first names app... Full story
Islamophobia: dislike of or prejudice against Islam or Muslims, especially as a political force. When UCF students walk toward the Student Union, they are greeted by a cacophony of music and welcomed by tables of students. Among the student organizations manning these tables are the Catholic Ministry, Knights for Israel, College Republicans and so on. As students continue to walk, they are handed pamphlets from religious, political, recreational and student government organizations. Students can walk inside the Student Union and witness many... Full story
As the British began to dismantle their Mandate (The British Mandate) and leave western Palestine, Israel’s War of Independence began (November 30, 1947‑ May 14, 1948). During the war, Palestinian Arabs became belligerents in the conflict, and by its end, rather than accept a Jewish state after five-and-a-half months of warfare, Palestinian Arabs called upon their brethren from seven surrounding countries to invade and crush the nascent Jewish state. Six thousand Jews—1 percent of Israel’s Jewish population—lost their lives during the War o... Full story
Sophie Wortsman. 16. Toronto. Student. Benji Zoller. 18. Dallas. Student. Sam Peltz. 83. Florida and New York. Survivor. Jacob Kamaras. 30. Houston. Journalist. We all shared the same experience on May 5—the 28th annual March of the Living, a 1.86-mile walk from Auschwitz to Birkenau as a tribute to victims of the Holocaust. But we took vastly different journeys to get there, and we arrived at the former death campsites with divergent emotions. Worstman—who marched with a sign bearing the name of her great uncle, Holocaust victim Abraham Rotenb... Full story
“It is generally admitted that anti-Semitism is on the increase, that it has been greatly exacerbated by the war, and that humane and enlightened people are not immune to it. It does not take violent forms (English people are almost invariably gentle and law-abiding), but it is ill-natured enough, and in favourable circumstances it could have political results.” So wrote George Orwell in a 1945 article for the Contemporary Jewish Record journal titled, “Anti-Semitism in Britain.” In that short essay, Orwell related a series of personal encount... Full story
I’ve hesitated to write this for some time because every time I think there might be a lull in the plague of terror attacks to which Israel has been subjected these past several months, there’s another attack. This past week alone there was a stabbing, an attempted stabbing, a “successful” car ramming, car stoned with a mother and three kids, a shooting at Israelis from across the border with Gaza, and something else. I forget. Israel has been suffering an ongoing plague of terrorist attacks - shootings, stabbings, stoning and car ramming... Full story
Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin are at opposite poles. One comes from a long tradition of idealism, speaking about great values, and usually ending up a long way from what was promised. The other represents the essence of realpolitik, or “if I can take it, it’s mine.” Woodrow Wilson was an extremist of the American type, fighting a war to end all wars, demanding open diplomacy, and working to create a world parliament and free nations from their colonial masters. Wilson couldn’t convince his own Congress to join the League of Nations. He coll... Full story
(JTA)—They survived unimaginable horrors, yet went on to live productive lives, despite the haunting memories, the profound loss and physical scars from years of deprivation. Now many Holocaust survivors need our assistance so they may live their twilight years with dignity in their homes and communities. Most Holocaust survivors are in their 80s and 90s, and an astounding 25 percent of them in the United States live in poverty, struggling to meet basic needs for food, housing, health care and transportation. Many live alone and have no e... Full story
MONTREAL (JTA)—Yom Hashoah arrived this year on the eve of two historic anniversaries: the 80th anniversary of the coming into effect of the Nuremberg Race Laws, which served as prologue and precursor to the Holocaust, and the 70th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, which served as the foundation for the development of contemporary international human rights and humanitarian law. This historic juncture was the theme of an international legal symposium on May 3 at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. It was followed the next day by the March o... Full story
Have you ever bought a slice of pizza in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem? Have you visited friends at the Hebrew University dormitories in the city’s French Hill section? Or taken the Jerusalem light rail train to the Neve Yaakov stop? Guess what—you just might be a Zionist war criminal! Ramot, French Hill, and Neve Yaakov are decades-old Jewish neighborhoods that are physically indistinguishable from other sections of Israel’s capital city. Ramot (population: 70,000), French Hill (23,000), and Neve Yaakov (40,000) technically are situa... Full story
In the ongoing struggle between Islam and the West, one civilization has the will to triumph, but not the way; the other has the way to triumph, but not the will. Some who dread Islam do not seem to understand this. They think that Islam is an irresistible force to be reckoned with; they see Muslim migrants as hordes of violent men invading Europe; they call on Western men to make a stand, resist the onslaught, save their women and children. To be sure, this portrayal is historically valid: for one thousand years, Muslims repeatedly invaded and... Full story
Loud voices of “fair but not biased” countries, members of the UN, and “well informed but not at all anti-Semitic” private citizens can be heard almost daily demanding the establishment of a Palestinian state. Why is it not established yet? Of course the answer of those who hate the Jewish people and Israel is: “It’s Israel’s fault.” Really? What prevented Palestinian Arabs from accepting the UN partition plan of November 1947, which allocated to Jews a miserably small portion of the historic Jewish land (lately conveniently called Palestin... Full story
I returned to the UK for Passover having been out of the country for about six months. Living in Florida had shielded me from the anti-Semitic goings on in the mother country, that is, until I landed. It is not uncommon for the far right or far left in politics to heap scorn on the State of Israel or indeed for moderates to criticize its policies; the opposition party in the democratically elected country is very good at leading the charge. I have no issue with people expressing opinions with which I may not agree on the state of the... Full story
Every group of people has its betrayers. And if Jews needed a reminder of that adage, 11 Jewish law students and alumni at Harvard Law School just might have provided it. Indeed, the surprise was that it was only 11. These students and alumni became witting apologists for Husam El-Qoulaq, the Harvard law student and Palestinian activist who invoked the anti-Semitic stereotype of the smelly Jew, when he hurled a question at former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni as to why she was so “smelly.” Livni was a panelist at a law sch... Full story
As recently as the 1940s, anti-Semitism was so common in the United States that even the president privately told offensive jokes about Jewish immigrants in a faux New York Jewish accent. Yet in the past few months, a candidate who is the son of Jewish immigrants and has a pronounced New York Jewish accent has won 18 presidential primaries and caucuses, and more than 6 million votes. He has received donations from more than 4 million Americans—the largest number of individual contributors to any political campaign in U.S. history. Have A... Full story
Dear Editor: The other day I was having a conversation with some friends. During the discussion I was asked if I had ever heard of Sidney Blumenthal and his son Max. I responded, “No, should I have heard of them ?” It was suggested to me that I go on line and do a search for my own benefit. Later that day, I did. Well, what an eye opener that was! According to the information I found, the father, Sidney Blumenthal has been a close adviser to both former President Bill Clinton and also to former Secretary of State and presidential candidate, Hil... Full story
Israelis of a certain age have a saying that translates from Hebrew as, “We’ve already seen that movie.” It’s the approximate equivalent of, “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” It came to mind after seeing the most recent full-page ad in the New York Times that was sponsored by advocates of a Palestinian state. At the top was photo of Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin, and Anwar Sadat, next to the headline, “Israel Made Peace With Egypt—and Got Peace.” That was followed by a photo of Bill Clinton, Yitzhak Rabin, and King H... Full story
It is difficult to determine what is most offensive: the Jewish candidate for president condemning Israel’s actions, exaggerating by five times the deaths in Gaza during the military operation in 2014 without anything like an appropriate weighing of chronic attacks on Israel from Gaza; his emissary to Jews describing Gazans’ deaths as “murder”; or UNESCO’s resolution condemning Israel’s violation of Muslim holy places, without any consideration of their central place in Jewish history. We shouldn’t forget the even greater offense to good sense... Full story
Bernie Sanders drew a reported 28,000 people to a rally in Brooklyn. That’s a lot of folks for a 74-year-old man to draw to a speech. But, it doesn’t seem to translate into wins in primaries. Bernie has struck a chord with unhappy Democrats (and Socialists) who feel the odds stacked against them in the present system of politics and big business. And, pretty much they are right. The five biggest financial institutions issue 75 percent of the credit cards in this country as well as most of the car loans and mortgages. So, what to do about it?... Full story
