Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2815 - 2839 of 3854
Every Iraqi Jew has a tale to tell about the Farhud, the two-day pogrom that befell the Jews of Baghdad 75 years ago in June 1941. In the case of my own family, it was a matter of heeding the advice of a Muslim business colleague of my grandfather, who told him that dark days were looming for the Jews, and that he would be wise to get his family out of the country as quickly as possible—which my grandfather did. But my grandfather was part of a fortunate minority. When the Farhud—which means, in Arabic, “violent dispossessio... Full story
The June 8 terrorist massacre in Tel Aviv exposed all five of the major myths that cloud discussions of Israel and the Palestinians. Myth #1: “The problem is the settlements” This was not a massacre of “settlers.” The attack did not take place in some disputed territory. Nobody can claim that the victims “provoked” the violence by living in some predominantly Arab area. These were people drinking coffee in the heart of Tel Aviv. Myth #2: “It was a reaction to the occupation” The attackers are residents of the village of Yatta. The Israeli occ... Full story
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)—Normally, to quote the famous song, “I love a parade.” Except when I don’t. This weekend was the celebration of the 49th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War. The anniversary was accompanied by gleeful, one might even say ecstatic, observances throughout the capital of the Jewish world. I celebrated as well, in my own way: I discussed the reunification in my Shabbat sermon and offered a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. In less than a month, I am about to visit Jerusalem for the 45th ti... Full story
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Long before Emma Lazarus’ quote was mounted on a pedestal plaque for the Statue of Liberty, “Native Americans” were immigrants to what became American soil. There’s really nothing unique in America about an immigrant background. We all have one; just some more recent than others. On my mother’s side, nine generations settled in America before I was born here. On my dad’s side, I’m a first generation. I exist because my Czech Jewish father escaped the Nazis and mad... Full story
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton both harshly condemned the recent bloody terror attack in Tel Aviv. Clinton stated in a statement, “I condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Tel Aviv today. I send my deepest condolences to the families of those killed and I will continue to pray for the wounded.” “I stand in solidarity with the Israeli people in the face of these ongoing threats, and in unwavering support of the country’s right to defend itself,” she stated, adding, ... Full story
“It’s the state of Israel I’m against, not the Jewish people.” A mere justification to continue pushing an irrational narrative. “I’m anti-Zionist, not anti-Semitic.” A clarification to dispel any notion that one can discriminate against an entire group of people. “Make America Great Again.” All expressions that evoke a specific set of emotions. We have become numb to the point of blind acceptance when it comes to these statements when we should be questioning the underlying meanings and intentions of these dangerous assertions. Taking issue wi... Full story
“He’s not Hitler. He wants to help America.” Melania Trump’s comment about her husband, GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump, will go down as one of the more memorable quotes in an election cycle that has had its fair share of gaffes, outbursts, and the like. While her second sentence is debatable, the first one is undoubtedly true. If you are looking for this era’s aspiring Hitlers, you will not find them in America. In another country and in another political system, Donald Trump could quite conceivably become a dictator. Given his admir... Full story
“I’m sure you get this question a lot, but...” It always starts with those words. What follows is the predictable, frequently asked question on the minds of friends, family, and Jewish mothers when I get back to the U.S. “Is it safe?” “Do you feel safe?” “So, how’s the security in Israel?” It’s not that I blame people for asking. I’m sure that I asked my Israeli friends the same question before some of my trips to Israel. But every time I get asked this question (which is usually a knee-jerk reaction to telling people I live in Israel), I can... Full story
There’s been another resignation associated with the appointment of Avigdor Liberman as Minister of Defense. This one comes from the Minister of Environment, who associated his resignation not only with the appointment of Liberman, but with the government’s loss of Moshe Ayalon, and with the approval of the gas deal. The Environment Minister had opposed the deal, lost in several governmental votes, and made it one of the reasons for his resignation. He added an emotional, quasi-religious element to his resignation, saying that he saw the est... Full story
Palestinian terrorist attacks that result in only a few casualties vanish quickly from the headlines. The victims are hospitalized, the politicians issue condemnations, the Palestinian Authority praises the attacker, and then the episode is quickly forgotten. It’s rare that anybody is still paying attention weeks later, when the attacker appears in court. That’s a shame, because sometimes what comes out during the legal process can be very revealing. Consider the attack on May 2, when a Palestinian terrorist named Muhannad Muhtaseb stabbed an... Full story
The U.S. State Department’s admission that it altered an embarrassing video exchange about its nuclear negotiations with Iran is disturbing—but it’s not the first time that the Obama administration, or some of its predecessors, have tampered with words that it deemed politically inconvenient. State Department spokesman John Kirby confessed this week that part of a 2013 video recording in its archive had been deliberately removed. In that portion of the video, then-State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki confirmed to a reporter that the depar... Full story
OMER, Israel (JTA)—As Jews, we tend to pride ourselves on our tradition’s values and how we pass them on to future generations; values such as education, tzedakah, loving the stranger, pursuing justice and tikkun olam, “repair of the world.” But if you were to start a conversation today with a teenager, would you be ready to articulate Jewish values related to dating and sexuality? Several such values can be gleaned straight from the Book of Ruth customarily read during the holiday of Shavuot, which begins this year on the evening of June 11... Full story
Dear Editor: This may come as a shock to many, but I have to agree with letter writer, Lexi Goldstein. The Muslim Student Association at UCF does deserve both acceptance and respect as an organization and as individuals. However, in order to earn acceptance, they have to be accepting. In order to be respected, they have to respect others. In order to listen to the truth, they must first speak the truth. To the best of my knowledge, the MSA (Muslim Student Association) on many college campuses does none of the above prerequisites. I have no... Full story
What a thrill it was to be in Cleveland, Ohio! You may not hear that sentence too often, but it was truly thrilling for me, your JCRC staff director, to attend the Jewish Council on Public Affairs (JCPA) annual conference there in mid-May. For three days, Jewish public affairs and community relations professionals learned, debated, and schmoozed together in one of the strongest, best-supported, and most well-organized Jewish communities in the United States. With a generous full scholarship from JCPA in hand, I was able to be among them. With... Full story
Bibi (Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu) is a caricature of Israel, both as viewed from within and without. He is loved and hated, admired and loathed, perhaps in about the same proportions among Israelis and those who watch Israel. Being the archetype of Israel helps to explain his longevity at the top, currently without an obvious candidate likely to replace him in the near future. He is a walking and talking manifestation of what makes people admire Jews or become anti-Semites. His power of articulation, in both Hebrew and English, is part... Full story
There is a worldwide Syrian refugee crisis. The numbers are staggering. Homeland Security chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, confirmed that ISIS is targeting the U.S. Refugee program to attack America from within. Peter King, chairman of the sub-committee on counterterrorism and intelligence, warned that President Obama’s decision to admit more Syrian migrants “will put more American lives at risk.” Contrary to the White House, FBI Director Comey and Department of Homeland Security, and Secretary Johnson have stated our present vetting syste... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Yes, there’s the Avigdor Liberman who wants to behead bad guys, mandate loyalty oaths and pay Arabs to leave the country—the one who makes fun of the disabled and who dodged a fraud charge. But Israel’s onetime foreign minister and maybe-next defense minister is not quite the cartoon he’s made out to be—OK, the cartoon he at times seems determined to make himself out to be. As defense minister, Liberman would double to two the Cabinet ministers who have seriously considered a two-state outcome: himself and Prime Minister Be... Full story
HOBOKEN, N.J. (JTA)—Kosovo is a “newborn” country, a majority Muslim state that fought for its independence from Serbia only eight years ago. Yet it has erected a Holocaust memorial outside its parliament, elected a female president, held pride parades in support of LGBTQ rights and supported the building of a major Catholic cathedral in its capital city to honor Mother Teresa. As a Jew and a rabbi, I have walked the streets of its capital and several countryside locales with a yarmulke and felt safe and even extensively welcomed when ident... Full story
Dear Editor: In response to the May 20, 2016, Lexi Goldstein letter to the editor, ‘Registered student organizations have a right to exist on campus,’ is really about shutting down free speech. Ms. Goldstein makes the argument that the UCF Muslim Student Association (MSA) couldn’t possibly have any real troubling terrorist connections because ‘Rez’ told her so. Rez, a follower of Islam, holds a dual membership in the UCF MSA and UCF Knights For Israel. Rez describes himself as simultaneously pro-Israel and pro-Palestine which is a very diff... Full story
Despite leaving the world an unsafer place than when he found it, President Barack Obama isn’t shying away from busting those foreign policy taboos. The president who brought us a nuclear deal with the Iranian mullahs, and who gave Cuba’s fossilized communist regime a new lease on life, is about to fly to Japan. Once there, he will highlight the grave dangers of nuclear war in the city that has become a synonym for Armageddon: Hiroshima. Today, May 27, Obama will become the first president to visit Hiroshima since the U.S. dropped an ato... Full story
There is a war going on in the United States. It is being fought on college campuses across the nation. This battle is not about Affirmative Action or the ridiculous costs of a college education. Not even about Bernie and Hillary—that’s a different one with its own dynamics. No, this is about a well-funded, well-organized movement to discredit the State of Israel and by proxy every Jew in the world. Of all the injustices piled upon the peoples of the world, why should so much attention be paid to tiny Israel? Why not Russia with its aby... Full story
‘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
