Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Accused killer of Samantha Woll charged with first-degree murder

(JNS) — Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, faces multiple charges for allegedly stabbing to death Detroit Jewish leader Samantha Woll on Oct. 21.

In a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Kenneth King set an arraignment date for Jan. 30 and added an additional charge of first-degree premeditated murder. Prosecutors had already charged Jackson-Bolanos with murder, home invasion and lying to police.

Woll had served as president of the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue and worked on multiple political campaigns.

Police continue to maintain that no evidence indicates antisemitism or that the Oct. 7 terror attacks fueled the killing, and that the apparent motive was robbery. Evidence that was presented on Tuesday showed surveillance footage, data from Jackson-Bolanos’s cell phone, and blood—DNA matched to Woll—on his jacket.

Woll is believed to have been killed at 4:20 a.m. Neighbor Kevin Mull, who discovered Woll’s body, testified he found her barefoot, in a fetal position, and with skin that had turned blue.

Israeli Tourism Ministry looking to Spanish-speaking countries for post-war plans

By Akiva Van Koningsveld

(JNS) — Israeli Tourism Minister Israel Katz, together with the country’s ambassador to Spain, on Wednesday inaugurated the Israeli pavilion at FITUR in Madrid. The event is the world’s largest tourism fair catering to the Spanish-speaking market.

The fair opened with a ceremony in the presence of the king of Spain, Felipe VI, and tourism ministers from 33 countries.

On the sidelines of the fair, Katz is slated to meet with counterparts from other countries, as well as representatives of airlines and leading tour operators from Spain and Latin America.

“Israeli resilience is the ability to look to the future with optimism. Today, we express this optimism by broadcasting to the whole world that the State of Israel, the people of Israel and the Israeli tourism industry are strong,” said Katz.

“We are looking towards and beyond the day after, when we will once again welcome record numbers of tourists who will enjoy the very best that Israel has to offer,” he added, in reference to Israel’s war against Hamas.

Nearly 8,500 exhibitors from 130 countries will participate in FITUR this year, with more than 220,000 visitors expected to arrive, including approximately 130,000 professionals from the tourism industry.

In a press release, the Israeli Tourism Ministry said that, as part of its preparations for the post-war reality, and alongside its investment in traditional markets, it is examining and reconsidering its priorities.

The ministry said it “recognizes the unrealized potential in the Latin American market, which includes tens of millions of believers with religious motivations, who will be the first to return to Israel as tourists.”

Katz traveled to Spain alongside representatives of dozens of Israeli tourism organizations, including hotel chains, tour operators, airlines and tourist sites.

According to Jerusalem’s tourism ministry, hundreds of thousands of tourists from South America and Mexico visited the Jewish state in 2023. The average expenditure per person, not including flight tickets, is $1,950 per visit, it said.

Hamas banks up to $12 million a month through online donations

(JNS) — Hamas has been receiving $8 million-$12 million per month through online donations since its bloody Oct. 7 assault on Israel, Bloombergreported on Wednesday.

The funding, mostly from organizations posing as charities to assist Gaza civilians, represents a “multi-fold increase” over what the terrorist group was getting before the massacre, officials at the National Bureau for Counter Terror Financing of Israel told the news agency.

Washington is aware of the online donations and is assisting Jerusalem in halting what Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh called in a speech earlier this month “financial jihad,” a senior U.S. official said.

Since Oct. 7, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed four rounds of financial sanctions on Hamas.

Israel and the United States are part of a 16-member task force established since the start of the war to counter fundraising by the Gaza-based terrorist group, which includes Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K.

“There is no question that there is a sharp increase in legitimate and illegitimate charitable giving to Palestinians in wake of the Gaza hostilities,” Matthew Levitt, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Bloomberg.

“An uptick in the interest to donate gives increased cover for Hamas. I’ve seen charities that were previously designated [for sanctions] by the US popping up, some under new names, but there are also lots of new ones,” the analyst continued.

Additionally, Hamas has been receiving around $30 million a month from its patron, Qatar, with Israeli approval, along with funds from the Palestinian Authority and local tax revenues. According to Israeli intelligence, Iran gives more than $100 million for Hamas’s “military.” Other income streams come from foreign investments and donations.

Senate, House Democrats push Palestinian statehood

(JNS) — Democrats in both chambers of the U.S. Congress have expressed support for a Palestinian state in recent days, despite Israeli opposition to the move as a threat to its security.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) led 48 Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday in announcing plans to introduce a two-page amendment to the national security supplemental package affirming that U.S. policy is to support a two-state solution.

Two Democrats in the 100-member chamber did not sign on to the measure—Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.).

A spokesperson for Fetterman told Axios that while the former progressive and current pro-Israel moderate supports a two-state solution, he “also strongly believes that this resolution should include language stipulating the destruction of Hamas as a precondition to peace.”

On the other side of the Capitol, 44 House Democrats signed a letter sent to President Joe Biden on Tuesday calling for a “two-state solution as the only viable path for a sustainable peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

The letter, led by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and Jim Himes (D-Conn.), also criticizes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks rejecting Palestinian statehood. 

Netanyahu said in a televised address on Jan. 18 that “Gaza must be demilitarized, under Israel’s full security control,” adding, “I will not compromise on full Israeli security control of all territory west of the Jordan River.”

His comments drew a backlash from the Biden administration, Democratic members of Congress, the European Union, and the United Nations.

Earlier this week, the Republican Jewish Coalition slammed the Biden administration for its “growing pressure” on Israel to support the creation of a Palestinian state.

“Today, Israel is at war against the monstrous terrorists who perpetrated the October 7 atrocities, dozens of Israelis remain captives of Hamas, and no Palestinian faction has condemned the horror that led to the current crisis,” stated Norm Coleman and Matt Brooks, national chairman and CEO respectively of the RJC.

“Until those objectives are accomplished, pressuring the Jewish state to make irreversible and potentially perilous long-term diplomatic commitments is a grave failure to live up to America’s proud history of standing with Israel against its deadly enemies,” said the RJC heads.

“Let’s be clear: As long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive ‘pay-for-slay’ subsidies and refusing to condemn the October 7 atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state,” the two men added.

Israeli forces thwart terror attack outside Psagot

(JNS) — Israeli security forces on Tuesday thwarted a Palestinian terrorist attack outside Psagot in the Binyamin region of Samaria.

The suspect, armed with a knife, approached a military position along the fence of the Jewish community. Soldiers identified the would-be infiltrator and shot and neutralized him before he could cross the barrier.

Several hours later, Israel Defense Forces troops shot a terrorist attacker in the area of Anabta, a Palestinian village just east of Tulkarm in Samaria. The soldiers, who were operating at the nearby Einav intersection, killed one terrorist who opened fire at them, the IDF said.

Soldiers subsequently confiscated the terrorist’s rifle, a knife and other weapons he carried. No casualties to Israeli forces were reported in the incident.

Overnight Monday, Israeli forces arrested eight wanted Palestinian terrorism suspects and seized weapons, cash and bomb-making materials in counterterror raids across Judea and Samaria.

Soldiers confiscated tens of thousands of shekels in terror funds in operations in Hebron, while arms were confiscated in Mazra’a, Khairbat al-Luz and Dhahiriya.

Last week, an Israeli woman in her 70s was killed and at least 17 other people were wounded in a combined car-ramming and stabbing attack in the central city of Ra’anana.

Israeli forces arrested Mahmoud Zaidat, 44, and his nephew Ahmad Zaidat, 24, who were employed at a car wash in the Ra’anana industrial area without valid work permits. Both suspects, from Bani Naim near Hebron, were known to Israeli security forces.

Since Oct. 7, approximately 2,700 Palestinian terrorism suspects have been arrested in Judea and Samaria, of whom around 1,300 are associated with Hamas.

US State Department warns of Jew-hatred emerging from Asia

(JNS) — A U.S. State Department official warned that China is increasingly promoting antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories in the wake of Hamas’s Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.

Delivering a keynote address to the American Bar Association on Monday, Aaron Keyak, deputy special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, said China is trying to undermine the United States by claiming that Jews control the country.

“I have particular concern that since [the] Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, there’s been an increase in the People’s Republic of China’s state media and online discourse of antisemitic tropes that Jews control the United States through deep U.S.-Israel ties, as well as control over banks, the media and that they have influence over government leaders,” he said.

Keyak cited the example of an October 2023 program on “uncovering the Israel elements of U.S. elections in history,” during which the national Chinese broadcaster alleged that “Jews who represent 3 percent of the U.S. population control 70 percent of its wealth.”

“Conjecture that Jews control the U.S. government and U.S. wealth is an antisemitic falsehood intended to degrade trust in the United States, our democratic institutions, and ultimately, democracy around the globe,” he added.

Since Oct. 7, U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that Chinese-owned media outlets and social-media platforms, including TikTok, have promoted anti-Israel and even pro-Hamas propaganda. 

The Chinese government has been deeply critical of Israel throughout the conflict against Hamas, hasn’t condemned the Oct. 7 massacre and has accused Israel of “collective punishment” against the Palestinians. 

“It’s high time to implement the two-state solution with concrete steps, including a full membership for Palestine in the U.N.,” wrote Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the United Nations, on Jan. 21.

Yale, ASU, Northwestern latest colleges under Title VI investigation

(JNS) — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights announced five new investigations “for discrimination involving shared ancestry” on Monday and Tuesday.

Yale University (New Haven, Conn.) Arizona State University (Tempe), Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.), Ann Arbor Public Schools (Michigan) and Abraham Lincoln University (Los Angeles) are currently under investigation under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

There are currently 102 open such investigations. The department has been announcing new probes on a weekly basis.

In December, some 1,500 parents, alumni and faculty sent a letter to Yale’s president and provost calling on the administration to more adequately combat antisemitism on campus.

Abraham Lincoln University is a private, online for-profit school with a controversial history and record.

As for Northwestern, in December, an advertisement that aired during the Las Vegas Bowl accused the Midwestern university of being soft on Jew-hatred. On Tuesday, the same day that the investigation was announced, the school happened to name the members of its President’s Advisory Committee on Preventing Antisemitism and Hate.

RJC slams White House push for Palestinian state

(JNS) — The Republican Jewish Coalition slammed the Biden administration for its “growing pressure” on Israel to support the creation of a Palestinian state.

“Genuine solidarity with Israel requires a clear understanding of the difficult realities confronting the people and government of the Jewish state,” stated Norm Coleman and Matt Brooks, national chairman and CEO respectively of the RJC. 

“Today, Israel is at war against the monstrous terrorists who perpetrated the Oct. 7 atrocities, dozens of Israelis remain captives of Hamas, and no Palestinian faction has condemned the horror that led to the current crisis,” the two RJC leaders stated jointly.

They also noted that Israelis are unified across ideological divides in defeating the Hamas terror organization and rescuing as many as 136 hostages still being held captive in the Gaza Strip.

“Until those objectives are accomplished, pressuring the Jewish state to make irreversible and potentially perilous long-term diplomatic commitments is a grave failure to live up to America’s proud history of standing with Israel against its deadly enemies,” said the RJC heads.

“Let’s be clear: As long as the Palestinian Authority is still rewarding terrorist murderers through its massive ‘pay-for-slay’ subsidies and refusing to condemn the Oct. 7 atrocities, it remains unfit to administer a Palestinian state,” the two added.

Israeli-made ‘Letter to a Pig’ nominated for Academy Award

(JNS) — “Letter to a Pig,” by Israelis Tal Kantor and Amit Gicelter, has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

The 17-minute film is about a Holocaust survivor who writes a letter to a pig that saved his life, then reads it to a classroom of teenagers.

The film has won awards at a number of international film festivals since its release in 2022.

“Letter to a Pig” was directed by Kantor, who teaches at Jerusalem’s Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design. The film is her debut work.

Gicelter, the film’s producer, is the founder of The Hive Studio, which has locations in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Sderot.

Four other animated films are competing for the Oscar.

Winners will be announced on March 10.

Nova festival massacre survivors in France to recount horrors

(JNS) — A delegation of survivors of the Oct. 7 Supernova music festival massacre arrived in France this week for what the Israeli Foreign Ministry described as a “special outreach mission.”

The delegation includes Michal Ohana, 27, Yuval Vakanin, 24, Itai Razumenko, 25 and Israel Defense Forces Lt. Col. Eitan, 41.

Some 364 people were murdered at the outdoor rave near Kibbutz Re’im, Israel, attended by 3,500 partygoers—nearly one-third of the 1,200 people killed by Hamas terrorists during their mass invasion of the northwestern Negev. Many were wounded, and at least 40 were taken back to Gaza as hostages. There have been widespread reports of rape and sexual abuse during the attack.

During the visit to Paris, members of the delegation were slated to meet with senior parliamentary officials and members of the Jewish community, with student organizations and youth leaders.

“In these twisted days when Israel is accused of genocide, it is our duty to tell the truth about what happened on Oct. 7 above all else. We went through an inhuman massacre and the world must not close its eyes,” said Ohana.

Added Razumenko: “My family experienced the Holocaust and World War II. Humanity has not learned a lesson. What we went through on Oct. 7 should not happen to anyone.”

The delegation also met with Arthur Denovo, president of the Bataclan Massacre Victims Organization, which was founded after the coordinated Islamic State terror attacks in France in November 2015.