Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3443 - 3467 of 3854
Dear Editor: Excellent column by Alan Kornman regarding encouraging Jews to become more active seeking climate change mitigation through lower emissions. Rabbi David Kay gave great examples, but when asked about the Heritage Foundation’s opposition to EPA regulations which will curb the use of coal and other dirty fuel, Kay chose not to answer a hypothetical question. However, since that article was written, the EPA has already made it clear what their regulations will be (they released the regs on June 2). An upcoming Torah reading guides u... Full story
When I last wrote about the archive of Jewish treasures from Iraq rescued by U.S. forces in Baghdad in 2003, I noted that the prevalent opinion among Iraqi Jews—a community from which I hail on my father’s side—was that the books, photographs, scrolls, writings, and communal documents in this extraordinary collection should remain in America, rather than being returned to Iraq. I then argued that while this view couldn’t be faulted on legal or moral grounds, I nonetheless wished that the situation were different, and that Iraq could celebra... Full story
When I offer to share information I have gathered over the past seven years with some people about what the Islamic fanatics are doing here in America. I frequently hear “I do not see Islamic trouble around here” and “it’s no big deal” and “I have a very nice Muslim friend” and “there are only a few fanatics.” To me, responses such as these simply say they are ill-informed because the majority of the media do a very poor job of reporting Islamic actions. You have heard about major attacks, World Trade Center suicide bombings, the Boston Maratho... Full story
The attack at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, resulting in four deaths including those of a visiting Israeli couple, has elevated once again the issue of anti-Semitism. It comes against the background of recent studies of the subject, including one based on questions about attitudes toward Jews in various countries, another on Jews’ sense of threat, and yet another that examined actual attacks attributed to anti-Semitism. The findings support those who would emphasize the continued threat against Jews, as well as those who argue that the f... Full story
The thin line dividing criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism just got a little thinner. BBC journalist Chris Rogers this week was revealed to have amused himself by giving the Nazi salute and strutting about in a Hitler-style goose-step while filming a documentary—on, of all things, anti-Semitic soccer fans in eastern Europe. The British Daily Mail newspaper first reported on Rogers’ vile actions on their website on May 19. Rogers’ “defense” was that his behavior was “intended as a joke.” Humor can be very revealing. Is it just a coincidence... Full story
When Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah/Palestinian Authority (PA) signed a reconciliation agreement with Hamas, a recognized terrorist group that calls in its Charter for the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews, the State Department’s spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, observed, “It’s hard to see how Israel can be expected to negotiate with a government that does not believe in its right to exist.” Despite the obvious truth of this statement, Secretary of State John Kerry blamed Israel. As he told the Congress, “700 settlement units were announced i... Full story
During the wedding scene in Fiddler on the Roof, Perchik, the student revolutionary, breaks with tradition by crossing from the men’s side to the women’s side to dance with Tevye’s daughter Hodel. On stage it plays like a breakthrough; even the rabbi joins in the mixed dancing. So each time I see the film, why do I want to yell, “Don’t do it, Perchik!” I should explain. I am not an Orthodox Jew. I am a committed egalitarian. I belong to a synagogue where men and women have the same opportunities on the bima, in the pews, and in the study hall.... Full story
I had a dream that I was attending a political convention with my wife. I wore one of my favorite wool jackets from my college days, and glasses (this was pre-Lasik), and I had hair on top of my head. As speaker after speaker traipsed to the podium, I grew more and more impatient. I felt my anger heat up, the bile in my throat rise. Finally, I couldn’t stand it. I stood in the center of the group and started lecturing them, as if they were children. “This is all wrong!” I told them. “All... Full story
By Rafael Medoff JNS.org U.S. officials say it would be “too risky” to send commandos to rescue the 300 schoolgirls being held hostage by Islamist terrorists in Nigeria. If that’s the problem, they should look to the late George McGovern for the solution. Back in 1944, the future U.S. senator and Democratic presidential nominee was the 22-year-old pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber in World War II. Among his targets: German synthetic oil factories in occupied Poland—some of them less than five miles from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. And that’s... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—UCLA has some proud moments in the history of civil liberties. After World War II, UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley, were the hotbeds of opposition to an anti-communist loyalty oath that California tried to impose on academics. Ultimately the professors won in court in 1954. Sixty years later, a different pressure group purportedly speaking for the “progressive” grassroots wants to impose on UCLA students a loyalty oath of sorts—a pledge foreswearing going on trips to Israel sponsored by certain Jewish organiz... Full story
Recently we remembered and reflected upon Yom ha Shoah. We must also look back at what could have been done to prevent this tragedy. We are all aware of what happened. We are all aware of how it happened. We are all aware of when it happened. But are we aware of why it was able to happen? If we look back to the period of the early to mid 1920s in Germany, we see a country in difficult economic straights. High unemployment after the staggering defeat of World War I. The humiliation, the disgrace, the asking of why? During those terrible days, a... Full story
After rejecting the United Nations Partition Plan in 1947, which would have given approximately half of geographical Palestine to the Arabs, Palestinian Arabs officially became belligerents in the conflict that persists today. 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. This decision to invade the new Jewish state on May 14, 1948, made by the Arab League on April 10, 1948, marked a watershed... Full story
Dear Editor: The recent “mohel article” (“The quest to find America’s top mohels,” May 9 issue) brought back some memories. Fifty + years ago in Flushing, N.Y., my oldest son was born. The bris was to be performed by Rabbi Zimmerman. Little did my late wife and I realize he was a “frustrated Catskill comedian.” With a roomful of elderly aunts in attendance, he proclaimed that he “only performed for the first show.” After that he would “give the parents a diagram and instructions to cut along indicated lines.” I can still hear the screaming of... Full story
Dear Editor: The JFGO May 16th article, “What’s next for Jewish teen education?” does not provide a thorough analysis of the main issues facing supplementary Hebrew high school education and offers no solutions. The Federation indicates that in 2005-2006 over 230 students were enrolled in our Beit Hamidrash and now a maximum of 35 students come. Then it indicates that three key reasons for the decline in numbers in 8 years: 1) greater high school student competition for colleges and extracurricular involvement, 2) high school student incre... Full story
On Shabbat mornings, when I go outside to pick up the newspaper from the front stoop of my house, I am aware of a deep sense of responsibility. I know that where and how I open the paper to check the scores during the baseball season determines whether my beloved Baltimore Orioles won or lost the previous night’s game. I know, I know. Some might think it illogical—after all, the game has been over for hours and the players are home, asleep, no longer on the field. But over the years I’ve learned that if I check the scores before I bring the pap... Full story
When Hassan Rouhani was elected as Iran’s president in June 2013, you could hear the sighs of relief in Washington, in Brussels, at U.N. Headquarters, and across key European capitals. Finally, we were told, the terrorism-supporting, human rights-abusing, Holocaust-denying Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had left the political stage. Finally, a moderate, rational leader with whom we could conduct business was in power. Finally, there was a real chance of securing an enduring deal to thwart Iran’s dangerous nuclear ambitions. Almost a year later, we... Full story
John Kerry regrets his use of the word apartheid in connection with Israel, but his half-hearted apology, which included a reiteration of his accusation against Israel’s leadership as well as that of the Palestinians for not having the courage to do what he thought was right, put him squarely with the Jewish and international left that thinks Israel has no choice but to cave in to Palestinians or to absorb them. Apartheid will come, in Kerry’s view like that of Jimmy Carter, when Israel has to protect itself from the Palestinians who have bec... Full story
This week, the Hollywood left finally discovered something it had apparently been missing for the last few decades: Countries that impose Islamic law, known as Sharia, brutally violate human rights. This shocking realization came after the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the Beverly Hills Hotel, announced on May 1 that Brunei, a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia, will implement Sharia, which dictates that homosexuality and extramarital sex be punished with penalties including... Full story
I was in one of those big boxes in another city, waiting for a prescription. After wandering around for a few minutes, I sat down across the aisle from the pharmacy on one of the benches kindly provided by the store. I was wearing my cassock and vest and skufia (a priest’s cap). I had attended the New Mexico Orthodoxy clergy April meeting, and stopped on my way home to fill a prescription, because it was significantly less expensive than at our home pharmacy. Several people wheeled their carts past me and said hello or made various comments. I... Full story
Dear Editor: On behalf of the many food banks in this area, I want to commend the Postal workers who volunteered for the Annual Post Office food drive. The food was of excellent quality and in date. During the holidays, donations are plentiful but around this time of year, people forget that hunger is a year around event. There are still many people who are not employed because they are sick, and disabled and even if they were successful in finding employment, it was at a much lower salary. The need of food banks is still a necessity. The Post... Full story
Dear Editor: I am responding to Richard Ries’ May 9 Viewpoint, “Beware the ides and tides of Jewish racism.” In Mr. Ries’ conclusion he states, “It is well past time for Islam to usher in Reform movements of their own with equality for women and gays.” I agree with Mr. Ries’ conclusion however, non-Muslims need to understand the Islamic concept of ‘Ijtihad’ or innovations in Islamic doctrine. Ijtihad is a technical term of Islamic Law that describes the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the legal sources, th... Full story
Dear Editor: I was so disappointed to read the letter to the editor in the May 9th edition that was so pointedly critical of Temple Israel. I felt compelled to share my experience, which has been completely opposite to hers. While I am happy to know that she had good experiences at the other synagogues, I actually had to read the letter twice to make sure she was talking about Temple Israel in Winter Springs! I have found this congregation to be very warm, friendly, and extremely welcoming. I can only wonder what “function” she attended tha... Full story
By Alan Dershowitz When President Barack Obama warned of “international fallout” if Israel fails to embrace the latest U.S. Middle East peace proposal, Newsmax asked noted author and Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz to comment on the growing talk of a European boycott against Israel. Why are so many of the grandchildren of Nazis and Nazi collaborators who brought us the Holocaust once again declaring war on the Jews? Why have we seen such an increase in anti-Semitism and irrationally virulent anti-Zionism in western Europe? To answer the... Full story
This article also ran in the Times of Israel. The Heritage ran the article about the anti-Semitic vandalism at Feldman’s off-campus housing in the May 2, 2014 issue. “We have something important to tell you and we really think you should know. We found at least 3 swastikas on the walls on the third floor.” This is how Saturday, April 26, ended for me. Not only did I find those three swastikas, but I found six more when I was making my rounds in the building. This is any Jewish college student’s worst nightmare. It is a reminder that either... Full story
(JTA)—The vote is over, but the debate rages on over the recent rejection of J Street’s application to join the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Depending on where you stand, the 22-17 vote rejecting the application was either about J Street’s own missteps or the conference’s failure to live up to its billing as the Jewish community’s vehicle for bringing together organizations from across the political and religious spectrum to forge a strong pro-Israel consensus. With passions running high, it seemed like a go... Full story
