Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 3842
(JNS) — Congressional critics of the war with Iran are not in short supply. Their statements and social-media posts read as if they come from the same song sheet. No surprise there. These voices are marching in lockstep on the applicability of the War Powers Act, breaches of “international law” and “illegal regime change.” And there is no question that party politics play a role in all of this. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) decried the attack on Iran that occurred during Ramadan, saying, “I am convinced it isn’t what these countries [Iran now and...
Iran’s evil regime has been fomenting terror and instability in the region and far beyond almost since its inception in 1979. Trampling human rights is its bread and butter. The ayatollahs who lead it have harnessed Iran’s resources to destroy Israel and advance a messianic religious vision. That is why dealing it a lethal blow is the right and moral thing to do. In moments like these, the shameful hypocrisy of some leaders of the American and European left is plainly exposed. Instead of joining the fight against evil, they condemn Israel and...
(JNS) — There is a war going on in Israel. Iran is launching barrages of ballistic missiles at targets all over Israel, particularly at night, to keep them exhausted. The country is locked down in a state of siege. No one can leave their homes to do anything that will bring them more than a few minutes away from a shelter. Everyone there, whether they admit it or not, is terrified of the dangers they face. And yet I desperately want to be in Israel now. Here is why. I am a strong advocate for Israel and a huge supporter of the war we are w...
The United States, Israel, and Qatar have now attacked the Islamic Republic of Iran along with several other countries providing defensive coordination. News across the U.S. has been about the success of the military operation, congressional approval or lack thereof, the cost of the war in gross numbers and to Americans individually, and whether this war is justified. As an Iranian-born American who was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging because of my faith in Jesus, let me assure you it is not only justified but necessary. I spent...
(JNS) — There is a great deal of anger swirling around California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s description of Israel “as sort of an apartheid state.” That anger is entirely justified. The smear that Israel has duplicated the cruel Jim Crow-style segregation in the U.S. South that prevailed in South Africa for most of the previous century was originated at the height of the Cold War by the Soviet Union, as an ideological justification for both its alignment with Israel’s Arab enemies and its persecution of its domestic Jewish population. But rather lo...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump has done much to stabilize the Middle East and support Israel, but as during the Iran-Israel 12-day war in June 2025, it is imperative that Israel should once again do this operation as much alone as it can. Not only should it initiate and go first, but it must also remain the heavy-lifter and guide this through. In retrospect, one can argue that it would have been better last summer to avoid having “Operation Rising Lion” become “Operation Midnight Hammer,” although managing American pressure to intervene...
(JNS) — Harvard, Penn and other “elite” universities were Patient Zero for the recent resurgent contagion of Jew-hatred. What should be done on other campuses where such pathogens have yet to spread? We are higher-education leaders in Texas who have lessons to share in this context. We served together as regents of Texas Southern University, a Historically Black College and University in Houston’s historic Third Ward. Our student-focused approach centers on economic mobility, international experience and interfaith outreach. Our experie...
(JNS) — Hats off to Mike Huckabee, U.S. ambassador to Israel! With elegant professionalism, he tolerated a two-hour-plus hostile interview by conservative political commentator and podcaster Tucker Carlson. Simply, the former governor of Arkansas endured a torturous assault of loaded questions bordering on “blood libel.” Carlson’s inquiries were framed as variants of the infamous, “Do you still beat your wife?” They were complex questions based on false, malevolent assumptions. It was a “gotcha” for the unsophisticated recipient—a dis...
Just a few months after I was born in Iran, the Islamic (Demonic) Revolution took place, hijacking the country of my birth and, today 90 million Iranians, giving birth to the Islamic Republic. Make no mistake, the Islamic Republic was conceived by evil, born in sin, and against the United States to the core of its DNA. Anyone who thinks that a war against the Islamic Republic and the ayatollahs is wrong, does not know the history and does not understand the dangerous threats that it poses to all Americans. At its inception, the Islamic...
(JNS) — Zionophobia is a term people should get used to using. It deserves to be amplified far and wide. According to Wiktionary, “Zionophobia means hostility toward Zionism or people who identify as Zionists, often extending into prejudice against Jews when Zionism is treated as an inherent Jewish trait.” Judea Pearl, a computer scientist (and father of Daniel Pearl, employed by The Wall Street Journal, who was murdered by Al-Qaeda in 2002), has been trying to spread the word about this language change—and it is indeed worth spreadi...
(JNS) — On July 20, 2023, Zohran Mamdani, then a state assemblyman, led supporters at a rally promoting his “Not on Our Dime” campaign, repeatedly invoking a single word, “exception,” asking, “Who is ready to end the exception? … If New York State stands for justice, there can be no exception!” He framed his argument as a moral absolute—fairness without carve-outs, public policy without favored beneficiaries. Absolutist rhetoric invites scrutiny. When a politician insists there can be “no exception,” voters are entitled to examine whether th...
(JNS) — A constitution is the moment a national movement decides what it will leave behind—and what it intends to carry forward. When a national movement publishes a draft constitution, it is making a statement not only about governance but about its future intentions. It is saying: This is who we are. This is what we aspire to become. This is how we intend to live with others. The newly released draft constitution of the “State of Palestine” does many things. It speaks the language of rights. It promises democratic institutions. It describ...
(JNS) — The press contact person for the group Jews for Racial Equality and Justice released a position statement on Feb. 9 that included the joint agreement of the American Council for Judaism, the Jewish Voice for Peace-New York City and IfNotNow NYC. Sophie Ellman-Golan, “a committed activist working on issues of racial and gender justice, queer liberation and police violence” and “is a proud member of the #JewishResistance,” informed the media that they are urging New York’s City Council to reject “anti-democratic buffer zone bills” that p...
(JNS) — As the United States and Israel move closer to action in Iran, which is needed to make the world a safer place, they must cooperate more closely than ever before. Thankfully, the U.S. ambassador to Israel is a closer friend to the Jewish state than anyone who has ever been in the very sensitive role. Mike Huckabee recently told a delegation of more than 200 American lawmakers that Israel is akin to the “wife” of the United States. “If you came to my house tonight for dinner, and you came in and said, ‘Oh, Mike, we like you. We really...
(JNS) — When I was a kid, I remember always wondering why all the older people around us were forever using the Yiddish catchphrase Abi Gezunt—“as long as we have our health.” In my youth, I never understood why they kept saying that. Why was gezunt (good health) such a problem for them? When youngsters, our biggest health issues were the occasional winter cold or a bruised knee on the baseball field. What were all these people going on about, I wondered. Well, my friends, what should I tell you? All I can say is I wonder no more. Becomin...
(JNS) — Antisemitism, an enduring scourge that has plagued humanity for centuries, has resurged in recent years, challenging the assumption that the Holocaust fundamentally transformed attitudes toward Jews. For roughly three-quarters of a century after World War II, antisemitism was pushed to the margins of public life. Expressions of hatred were widely condemned and considered socially unacceptable. Today, that restraint is eroding. We are witnessing a troubling return of open hostility toward Jews, one that threatens the foundations of d...
Dear NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: In light of Spike Lee’s antisemitic attire at the NBA and the NBA’s failure to follow their own Fan Code of Conduct in this incident, I am writing this open letter to you about the NBA’s failure to follow your own fan code of conduct and choice to be silent in the face of blatant Jew hatred at your 2026 NBA All Star Game. Your league’s code of fan conduct states, “The National Basketball Association seeks to foster a safe, comfortable, and enjoyable sports and entertainment experience in which: Obscene o...
(JNS) — America’s classrooms are under siege. Not from budget cuts or test scores, but from an ideology that undermines our very foundations of liberty, equality and mutual respect. A new White Paper by the North American Values Institute titled “When the Classroom Turns Hostile” lays out the case in unmistakable terms: what’s happening in K-12 education is not a series of isolated incidents, but a systemic crisis that is robbing our children, especially Jewish children, of a safe, honest and empowering education. The battle for the minds of...
(JNS) — The proliferation of semi-autonomous Muslim majority communities in Western Europe applying aspects of “Sharia,” Islamic law jurisdiction, has alerted some U.S. lawmakers to this same developing phenomenon in America. During a Feb. 10 hearing titled “Sharia-Free America: Why Political Islam and Sharia Law Are Incompatible with the U.S. Constitution,” the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Constitution will examine evidence about the potential threat that Sharia poses to the basic freedoms underpinning our constitutional republic. Sharia is...
(JNS) — Among the many fascinating factors of maintaining offices in Metzuzat Ze’ev (Ze’ev’s Fortress) on King George Street in Tel Aviv, which has long served as the ideological and administrative headquarters of Ze’ev Jabotinsky’s movement, including Revisionist Zionism, Betar and the Herut/Likud movement, is how often Jewish history repeats itself. The building, which started as a Betar club, was renamed the Jabotinsky Institute. As when Betar became illegal during battles to remove the British from our land, it was clear that a museum—an a...
(JNS) — “Gaza Crossing to Egypt Reopens in Step Forward for Fragile Cease-Fire,” celebrated The New York Times on Feb. 2, Groundhog Day. And just like the 1993 Bill Murray film of the same name, it feels like we are seeing the same thing occur yet again. Only this is real life and far from funny. It’s deadly serious. Opening the Rafah border crossing while Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad continue to be fully armed benefits the terrorists more than anyone. Aside from handing Hamas more to brag about to everyday Gazans, it gives the terrori...
Robert Kraft deserves credit for something I have long urged: that wealthy Jews devote their philanthropy to Jewish causes and Israel. While his choice to spend millions—reportedly $15 million this year—on Super Bowl ads combating antisemitism is well-intentioned, it raises questions about the most effective use of limited Jewish resources. Kraft can spend his money as he wishes. But Jewish philanthropy is not unlimited. $15 million is more than spare change; it can endow an institution for decades or determine whether an organization sur...
(JNS) — I have long grappled with understanding the origins of evil. The events unfolding in Iran offer a stark example. Millions have taken to the streets, bravely demanding their basic human rights, in addition to such simple conditions as clean water in their homes and the necessities to provide for their families. As it stands now, one U.S. dollar is valued at about 42,000 Iranian rials. But what they are really after—what causes a pain in their hearts with a yearning so incandescently profound—is freedom. Freedom to walk about the stree...
(JNS) — When Israel demolished the abandoned former Jerusalem headquarters of the disgraced United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, Western press reflexively condemned the Jewish state for a myriad of bogus transgressions. Their accusations falsely claimed Israel violated international law, threatened the welfare of Palestinian “refugees” and acted out of unwarranted political motivations. In fact, Israel has in no way violated international law, nor did its demolition of the UNRWA compound threaten the welfare of Pales...
(JNS) — The protests against illegal immigration enforcement, the Black Lives Matter movement, Occupy Wall Street, No Kings marches and the umpteen demonstrations against Israel and for terrorists—they are all branches of the same ideological tree. These are not like the civil-rights protests of previous generations, despite their best efforts to convince the public that they are. These people have exposed themselves to be divisive and hateful. Until people recognize that connection, they will keep losing the arguments, one issue at a tim...
