Week of May 22, 2026
Week of May 22, 2026
(JNS) — A unanimous U.S. House of Representatives approved its annual resolution on May 13 marking Jewish American Heritage Month, “calling on elected officials and civil society leaders to counter antisemitism and educate the public on the contributions of the Jewish-American community.” The vote was 419-0. “I’m thrilled,” Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), chief sponsor of the bill, told JNS. “When you have three-fourths of Jews, who report that they’ve experienced some kind of antisemitism directly in the last year,...
EU foreign policy chief: Close to deal on sanctions for ‘violent settlers’ By JNS Staff (JNS) — European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas used her doorstep remarks in Brussels to signal that E.U. foreign ministers are close to a deal on sanctions targeting “violent settlers,” saying she expects a political agreement at the Foreign Affairs Council. “I expect a political agreement on the sanctions of violent settlers. Hopefully we’ll get there,” the Estonian politician and diplomat told reporters, referring to accusations...
(JNS) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Wednesday Washington’s stance that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon, adding that he would welcome a more active role from China in helping resolve the Mideast conflict. “Iran is an example of a bilateral issue that is irreconcilable. Their clerical regime wants a nuclear weapon and the world, led by President [Donald] Trump, says that can’t happen,” Rubio told Fox News aboard Air Force One while en route to Beijing to join the U.S. delegation and the president for the...
(JNS) — A Georgian national known as “Commander Butcher,” who admitted to plotting a mass-casualty attack targeting Jews and minorities in New York City, was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in federal prison, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Michail Chkhikvishvili, 22, a leader of the neo-Nazi extremist group Maniac Murder Cult, pleaded guilty in November to soliciting hate crimes and distributing bomb-making and ricin instructions. He was extradited from Moldova. Federal authorities said that the plot evolved into a plan to...
(JNS) — Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) led a Democratic effort on May 13 to force U.S. President Donald Trump to get congressional approval to continue the war against Iran. Gottheimer forced a debate on his resolution, which he sponsored with a group of moderate Democrats, that would force the president to end military action unless Congress either declared war or authorized the use of force. The Jewish lawmaker has been a fierce critic of the Iranian regime but said that his resolution was designed to ensure that Congress could use its...
(JNS) — Republican governors across the United States issued a joint statement recognizing May as Jewish American Heritage Month, condemning antisemitism and expressing support for Israel and the Jewish community. “America’s Governors once again unite to celebrate Jewish American Heritage during the month of May,” the statement read. It was issued by the Republican Governors Association and signed by all 27 Republican governors. “Since our nation’s founding 250 years ago, Jewish people have played an important role in America’s...
(JNS) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday lashed out at those who mark so-called Nakba Day, screenshotting an image from a video posted by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “The Nakba was the result of the Arab rejection of the U.N. Partition Plan [of 1947] and decision to launch war to annihilate the State of Israel,” the ministry tweeted. It added, “You can’t start war, openly vow to ‘throw the Jews into the sea,’ and then pretend being the victim of the conflict you started. The real forgotten victims are the 850,000...
(JNS) — The New York Times is defending its reporting on Israel after one of its star columnists penned an opinion piece which Israel calls one of the worst blood libels ever published and after a freelancer for the paper apparently tried to placate anti-Israel protesters by holding up a paper, upon which he wrote, “Have you read Kristof?” Nicholas Kristof and the paper have drawn widespread criticism for his recent column, in which he accused Israel, among other things, of training dogs to rape Palestinian prisoners. Video footage...
(JNS) — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, on Saturday condemned a pro-Palestinian march in New York as “blatant antisemitism disguised as activism,” saying demonstrators chanted slogans calling for Israel’s destruction and to “Globalize the intifada” under a “Nakba Day” banner. In a video posted on X, a woman is heard leading the crowd in the slogan “Resistance is justified when people are occupied,” appearing to condone acts of violent terrorism directed against Israeli civilians and soldiers....
(JNS) — Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday accused The New York Times of publishing “one of the worst blood libels ever to appear in the modern press.” “In an unfathomable inversion of reality, and through an endless stream of baseless lies, propagandist Nicholas Kristof turns the victim into the accused,” the MFA tweeted, referencing the Pulitzer Prize-winning NYT columnist who wrote “The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians.” The opinion peace alleged that, despite an absence of evidence, the Jewish state utilizes...
(JNS) — Although Democrats have long decried Jew-hatred on the far right, “today, too many Democrats are noticeably and shamefully silent when antisemitism comes from the far left,” according to Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.). “It’s a glaring double standard,” the congressman wrote in the New York Times. “Consider the response to—really, the embrace of—Hasan Piker, a prominent left-wing commentator with millions of online followers,” who “referred to Orthodox Jews as ‘inbred’ and said ‘America deserved 9/11,’ both...
On May 17, Congregation Ohev Shalom students and families celebrated the end of the school year along with a special send off for Amy Geboff, director of youth and family education, who is retiring after 30 years of service. A native of Philadelphia, Geboff came to Orlando with her husband, Eric, and their daughters, Sara and twins Alana and Rebecca. Prior to joining Congregation Ohev Shalom, Amy worked as youth director and program director of the JCC in Youngstown, Ohio, for nine years. After...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s new counterterrorism strategy is now public, and its stated objective is exactly the right one: to protect Americans from terrorist groups and deter the support they receive from enemy actors. The strategy promises “peace through strength.” It repeats the president’s warning that those who hurt Americans or plan to hurt Americans will be found and killed. That is a powerful standard. But it will be measured not by words aimed at enemies alone, nor by how aggressively Washington names threats. It...
(JNS) — The veteran British broadcaster Trevor Phillips began a recent Sunday-morning program by telling his audience that he had been distressed to learn of a conversation that is increasingly common around Shabbat dinner tables in the United Kingdom. The question being asked is: Who among our non-Jewish neighbors would try to rescue us should we find ourselves being rounded up for the second time in less than a century? I thought of Phillips’s monologue last Tuesday, when I attended the funeral in Manhattan of my former boss, the...
(JNS) — From May 21 sundown until May 23 sunset, Jews around the world observed the holiday of Shavuot. Arguably it is the most important of all Jewish holidays because it commemorates God giving, and Jews receiving, the Torah. Indeed, one of its names is z’man matan Torateynu—“the time of the giving of our Torah.” And of course, without the Torah, there would be no Judaism and (again, arguably) no Jewish people. Those who were in synagogue for the holiday read and heard Exodus 19 and 20, the traditional Torah selection for this...
(JNS) — The question of how a democratic society balances free expression with public safety becomes especially urgent when protests begin to escalate. The landmark National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie case (1977) is often cited as a defining moment in which the United States reaffirmed its commitment to protecting even deeply offensive speech. The concern behind that protection was that the government should not be trusted to decide too easily which movements are legitimate and which are hateful. For that reason, the...
(JNS) — Every year around Shavuot, people start talking about cheesecake, all-night learning and staying awake until sunrise. And honestly, I love all of it. There is something powerful about walking into a synagogue late at night and seeing Jews still learning Torah together. In a world that moves so fast, there is something beautiful about traditions that have lasted thousands of years. But this year, I keep thinking about a more foundational part of Shavuot. I keep thinking about Mount Sinai. Not just as a moment when the Torah was...
Confronted with absolute evil, Henry Lesser asked himself, "Why?" What could make a person so completely hateful, so completely psychopathic? Henry Lesser was a 26-year-old, idealistic Jewish boy from Falls River, Massachusetts. He took a job in Washington, D.C.'s prison system as a jailer on March 1, 1928. Criminology was a deep interest of his. What was the nature of good and evil? Was it nature or was it nurture? Growing up, Lesser had been exposed to seemingly contradictory Jewish answers....
(JNS) — At sundown on Thursday, May 21, Jews around the world will start the two-day holiday (which lasts only one day in Israel) of Shavuot. Also known as the Festival of Weeks because it marks the completion of the counting of the Omer period — which is 49 days long, or seven weeks of seven days—Shavuot is one of the Jewish calendar’s shalosh regalim pilgrimage holidays. Unlike the other two pilgrimage festivals — Passover, which is marked through the retelling of the Exodus story...
Submitted by Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Caring for an aging loved one is challenging under any circumstances, but caregiving becomes even more complex when families live far apart. Adult children and relatives who provide long-distance support often miss the subtle day-to-day changes that signal a need for additional help. Small shifts in appearance, household organization, or health can go unnoticed until concerns become more serious. With thoughtful planning, observation, and the right local resources, long-distance caregivers can play...
I visited with a friend named Linda recently whom I had not seen in 40 years, but who has been my neighbor for the last 20. In 1985, as young students, Linda and I had planned to visit the Soviet Union together as part of our respective and collaborative activism on behalf of Jews in the USSR. Other than catching up on our children, grandchildren, and careers, we reflected on how the movement among Western Jews like us to free Soviet Jews was in many ways the movement that strengthened us and...
COVID taught us a word most of us hoped we could forget: “quarantine.” Now the word has returned to the headlines, with passengers exposed to the Andes strain of hantavirus being flown into the United States and elsewhere for monitoring and isolation. While the risk to the public may be low, the practice is routine: separate those who have been exposed, protect the general population, and wait for the danger to pass. That headline made me think of Odessa, once part of the Pale of Settlement in the Russian Empire. Odessa was a cosmopolitan...
(JNS) — Historically, Shavuot is the celebration of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai, beginning seven weeks after the first day of Passover. Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, thus the “Festival of the First Fruits.” Indeed, fresh fruit and flowers are the hallmark of the holiday, as is wearing white clothing. It symbolizes the purity, joy and the spiritual “marriage” between God and the Jewish people. This year, the holiday starts at...
How is the holiday of Shavuot different from all other holidays? Cheesecake is one way — along with a whole lot of other dairy foods. But especially the cheesecake. Oh, my goodness; it’s overwhelming. I think of the many varieties of this delicious dessert. Then, whatever flavor you choose there’s also the decision of whether or not to add a flavored topping and also a dollop or squirt of whipped cream. And closely related is the memory of my hometown and Philadelphia cream cheese. What a...
(JNS) — It is no small thing to get a street in Manhattan named after you, but the creator of such timeless superheroes as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, the Hulk and Iron Man received that honor on Monday, when the Lower East Side block where he was born was named “Jack Kirby Way.” Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg in 1917 near the corner of Delancey and Essex Streets, which is now home to a McDonald’s but in his youth was filled with horse-drawn carts selling all manner of...
(JNS) — Abe Foxman, who grew from being a hidden child during the Holocaust into the country’s best-known fighter of Jew-hatred, was called a “towering” and “giant” figure in statement after statement from Jewish groups after his death. At his funeral on Tuesday, May 12, the capacity crowd that filled the pews at Park Avenue Synagogue heard a different aspect of Foxman’s life — the man who was a close friend and mentor to many, a father of two and grandfather of four. The crowd heard of the man, who regularly sent texts to...
Former Winter Park resident Eva London Ritt, a Holocaust survivor who fought for the rights and freedom of Soviet Jewry, passed away peacefully in Chicago, Illinois, surrounded by her loving family, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. She was 93. Eva was born Jan. 23, 1933, in Hamburg, Germany to Max and Charlotte Bianca (Wolff) London. She often shared with all seriousness that Hitler became Chancellor of Germany one week after her birth. Kristallnacht, the infamous "Night of Broken Glass," took place...
Teri Gorelick (née Golden), 77, of Sanford, Florida — a woman known for her wit, her music, and her devotion to animals — passed away peacefully on the evening of May 12, 2026. Born on May 19, 1948, in Jersey City, New Jersey, to Edward and Irma (Gizang) Golden, Teri eventually moved with her husband and daughters to Sarasota to escape the northern winters and be closer to her parents and brothers. She lived for the heat. To Teri, anything below 85 degrees was chilly. While she lived in...
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of a wonderful woman. Judy Jackson was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Judy left us peacefully at her home on May 11, 2026, at the age of 79. Family was extremely important to Judy. It was through her cooking that she created a warm, loving environment for family and friends, especially on holidays and special occasions. She is fondly remembered for her warm hugs and loving smiles. Judy was a source of love and...
Mrs. Judith Ann Neuman, 80, of St. Cloud, Florida passed away peacefully Monday, May 4, 2026, surrounded by family at Orlando Health St. Cloud following a brief illness. Mrs. Neuman was born May 19, 1945, to the late Norman and Ruth (Picker) Glucksman of blessed memory. She was the former owner and operator of a travel agency and a member of Congregation Ohev Shalom, Maitland, Florida. Mrs. Neuman is survived by her loving and devoted husband of 55 years, Bart Neuman of St. Cloud, Florida;...
Miss Pamela Leventer, 63, passed away Thursday, May 7, 2026, at her Altamonte Springs, Florida home following a brief illness. Miss Leventer was born Oct. 13, 1962, in Brooklyn, New York to the late Seymour and Sandra (Silverman) Leventer of blessed memory. She moved to the Orlando area in 1984 from New York with her parents and was a retired sales representative for AT&T. Miss Leventer is survived by her uncle, Sol (Dorothy) Silverman of East Hanover, New Jersey and her cousins. Graveside Services for Miss Leventer were held at Beth Israel...
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of Altamonte Springs — Sunday morning minyan, 8 a.m. Weekday morning minyan 6:30 a.m., 407-720-8111. Chabad of South Orlando — Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael — Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona — Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community...
