Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — On Oct. 7, the Palestinian terror group Hamas committed the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Two of the most prominent and deplorable reactions to the slaughter have been the antisemitic denial of this crime and widespread media bias against Israel. A careful analysis of both phenomena exposes the absurdity of two antisemitic myths: That “all Jews are liars and are not to be trusted” and that “Jews control the world media.” Denial of the crimes seems to stem from the antisemites’ need to disbelieve anything Jews say. They s...
(JNS) — The curtain has finally been lifted on the raging antisemitism that has taken hold of college campuses over the course of decades. While it has festered ever since leftists, Marxists and other Jew-haters took over academia after their stint protesting the Vietnam War and other American transgressions, campus antisemitism is finally being covered by the media. Thus, it is now impossible to ignore. Undeniably and inexplicably, the frequency and number of rabid, protesting Jew-haters on campuses is far greater since Hamas’s genocidal att...
(JNS) — There are regular news accounts of children in Gaza being indoctrinated via United Nations Relief and Work Agency schools to dehumanize Jews, while portraying Israel as completely lacking in legitimacy. The role this played in the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre may well have been decisive. IMPACT-se is the leading organization making this terror indoctrination in Gaza and Palestinian Authority schools accessible to English-speaking audiences. You can find examples on their website. Most Americans I know, when they hear about the brainwashing o...
(JNS) — The concept of proportionality in warfare is well-defined. It measures civilian casualties and collateral damage against military necessity. There are people who don’t like that, who prefer to think that every operation in an ostensibly “civilian” area and every civilian casualty is a war crime, but it isn’t. Anyone who says otherwise is either ignorant of or lying about international law. There is another concept in warfare that is less well-defined: the motivation of the parties to the conflict. It is more of a “you’ll know it when yo...
(JNS) — Since these false claims that Israel created Hamas or that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Hamas are circulating across social media, let’s address them. Hamas is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization founded in Egypt in the 1920s, before the rebirth of the State of Israel, but which now has a presence in Israel and in much of the world. In its early days it coordinated with the Nazis and received support from Nazi Germany. The Gaza Strip used to be ruled by Egypt, which helps explain the strength of Ham...
(JNS) — A few days ago, I was finally able to speak to my friend Akiva. Like so many other reservists, he was called into active duty on Simchat Torah when the war broke out. “I need the things in my car,” he told me. Prior to our conversation, his battalion was transferred from Netanya to outside of Beersheva. Due to the rush, he was unable to collect his belongings before they left. “I’ll get it for you,” I replied, unsure how it would become a reality. In addition to the contents of his car, Akiva sent me a list of things his platoon nee...
(JNS) — Elie Wiesel famously wrote, “We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” For many years, when it came to Israel, too many were silent. Part of it was fear, part of it might have been economic, part of it might have been simple ignorance. What happened on Oct. 7 should lay all that to rest. The bloody pogrom unleashed by Hamas tortured and then killed members of families in front of each other, beheaded and burned babies, raped and kidnapped women, child...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday outlined the IDF’s three-step plan for the war in Gaza. The plan calls for the complete destruction of Hamas’s terror infrastructure and ultimately a transition of power to a Palestinian group—likely the Palestinian Authority—with the backing of the United States. This plan, propped up by the United States during visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden, aligns with the regional goals of the United States and in many ways is essentially a much larger, costlier...
This article initially appeared in My Jewish Learning’s Shabbat newsletter Recharge. (JTA) — Abraham saw a world that was burning. A vivid midrash on last week’s Torah portion, Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 – 17:27) recounts the story of how the Jewish patriarch first encountered God. Abraham saw the world as a bira doleket, a flaming tower, and demanded indignantly, “Is there no one in charge?!” At this, God shows his face and admits, “I am the one in charge.” Thus begins Abraham’s relationship with the divine. Like Abraham before us, we too...
It was one of the best, most clear and resolute speeches calling out the evil of Hamas, clearly branding them as terrorists, and making the case why Israel needs to defeat this Islamist enemy. “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination. (Hamas’) stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and murder of the Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed (with) no regard who pays the price.” At a time of war, one would e...
I wrote this originally in June of this year...it seems more appropriate now than ever When the Second Jewish Commonwealth was declared in 1948, there were Jews in America who were not sure whether to cheer or pretend not to care. 1948. What I call the “Sha Still Generation.” It was a time of meekness in the American Jewish psyche. A time when Jewish parents would take their young daughters to get their noses bobbed so they “wouldn’t look so Jewish.” When families changed their names from Cohen to Kane so they could more easily “fit in....
On Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, I sent the following e-mail [edited] to the White House: “Dear Mr. President, Your decision to unambiguously support Israel and the Jewish people in their hour of need after the horrendous, barbaric, and totally immoral invasion into Southern Israel by the Hamas terrorists this past weekend is deeply appreciated. Unquestionably, this decision is in the best interest of both the U.S. and the State of Israel. Terrorism, especially against the Jewish people and antisemitism at home and abroad must be vigorously c...
(JNS) — Let’s state a few things at the outset. Many Palestinians oppose Hamas and violence. Every possible effort should be made to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip. No one residing in Gaza would be in danger if Hamas had not launched rockets into Israel and committed a massacre of Jews not seen since the Holocaust. What else do we know about the people of Gaza? The people elected Hamas in the last election held in the Palestinian Authority, and surveys consistently have shown that Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh is more popular than P.A. hea...
Israel’s heart has been broken. At war once again against genocidal enemies, its people are shattered by shock, grief and horror. At time of writing, the number of those murdered has risen to 1300, with at least 2,315 wounded and more than 100 being held hostage in Gaza. The images of what happened will stay with us forever. Dozens of Israelis were gunned down in their homes and their cars. Elderly people and small children were slaughtered; women were raped; bodies taken into Gaza were paraded and desecrated; mothers with children in their a...
(JNS) — I have so many unanswered questions. I am free to ask them because I am not an Israeli being held hostage in Gaza. I am not one of the half-million Israeli refugees in internal exile in their own country. I’m not in a stalled-at-the-border IDF fighting unit (I only wish I were). And so I wonder: Have Israeli leftists finally been “mugged by (a terrible) reality?” Does anyone realize that their/our problems may be far greater than the mere presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Are any of the chanting, drumming, “in your face...
In the summer of 2014, my 17-year-old daughter knocked on my bedroom door late one night shortly after my wife and I had gone to sleep. She asked us not to come downstairs, saying that she had just brought two guys home. This was not an announcement I ever expected, except she didn’t use the word “guys.” She said soldiers. Israel was embroiled in what became known as Operation Protective Edge which began a few weeks after the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers, one of whom was our neighbors’ nephew. The seven-week-long battle saw the Isl...
(JNS) — President Joe Biden’s address yesterday on Israel’s war was almost everything you could have hoped for. It was tough. By naming Hamas as the enemy of civilization and condemning their acts of evil, it was unambiguous. It pledged unconditional support for Israel. In retrospect, it seemed like the most pro-Israel speech that an American president has ever delivered. Yet these incredibly strong and supportive words were uttered by the same man who, despite Israel’s vehement protestations, did his best to restart the Iranian nuclear...
I am writing this because I have to. I am writing this for myself. If it gets read or answered, that’s fine. If it does not, I care not. I am writing this, but I have no words. I am writing this because I have not lived a day like this in my 93+ years. I was 11 years old when Pearl Harbor was struck by the Japanese. I was sad, felt somewhat scared — but not angry, sorrowful and helpless as I feel now. I am writing this because while September 11 was a “one off” what happened in Israel this week has been going on for thousands of years. No Jew...
(JNS) — Originally published on July 31, 2015. “The flagbearer of Jihad to liberate Jerusalem.” This is how the blurb of “Palestine,” published by Islamic Revolution Editions last week in Tehran, identifies the book’s author. The author is “Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Husseini Khamenei,” the “Supreme Guide” of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a man whose fatwa has been recognized by former U.S. President Barack Obama as having the force of law. Edited by Saeed Solh-Mirzai, the 416-page book has received approval from Khamenei’s office a...
Dear Editor: As an associate professor of Judaic Studies, I cannot speak officially on behalf of my university, but as a private citizen I can express my deepest solidarity with the State of Israel (where I resided for several years) during this perilous time of unprovoked atrocities against its civilian population. Mere words seem insignificant in the face of such brutality, enacted by the terrorist organization called Hamas. However, there is little doubt that every thought, every sentiment, every prayer offered on behalf of the people of...
Dear Editor: I am angry, disgusted, and most of all not surprised. The silence is deafening. The comparisons are gruesome, and the justification is just, well, I don’t have the words. If you believe that speaking about what is happening in Israel is “too political” and “you don’t share about politics” you are part of the problem. If you identify with groups whether on the left or right that say “let’s look at the context” you are part of the problem. There is no context in this scenario. If you are staying silent when you speak out about everyt...
Please note: The referenced book, compiled by Charles Jacobs and Avi Goldwasser just came to print in June. It is a compilation of Jewish thinkers and academics whose credibility warrants thoughtful consideration. It is my hope that the result will stimulate every contemporary Jew to become a proactive contributor in protecting our Jewish future. In the recent publication of “BETRAYAL, The Failure of American Jewish Leadership,” authors Charles Jacobs and Avi Goldwasser, assess the reasons for Jewish leadership’s ineffectiveness in comba...
(JNS) — My neighbor doesn’t work in an office. He created a niche company that offers adventure experiences to Israelis and visiting tourists. His experience in the outdoors have taught him certain life skills that are needed by the IDF during emergencies. When he drives off in a rush, especially on a quiet Shabbat, there’s no need to check the news to know something has happened. We returned from prayers on Saturday and one of our children told us our neighbor had rushed off early in the morning. That was the first sign something was wrong...
On our return to Warsaw we took some time to rest from our day’s touring, to prepare for Kabbalat (Evening) Shabbat services at a local synagogue and Shabbat dinner at our hotel. We were advised at the last minute that we would not be attending the local synagogue; rather Kabbalat Shabbat services would be in the hotel led by one of the guides from a companion group which had combined with our tour group for Shabbat services and dinner. I was a looking forward to Kabbalat Shabbat services at an actual “working” local synagogue since all the syn...
(JNS) — Earlier this week, ultra-Orthodox Jews parading through Jerusalem’s Old City passed a group of Christians bearing a large wooden cross. Some of the Jews spat on the ground in the Christians’ direction. Two days later, Jerusalem police arrested five Jews involved in a similar spitting incident. The spitters provoked widespread outrage and disgust. They were denounced by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the chief rabbis of Israel and the U.K., and a number of ultra-Orthodox politicians too. The rabbis and other Orthodo...
