Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 26 - 41 of 41
(JNS) - A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Israeli officials celebrated Independence Day on Tuesday at a small event hosted by the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett was on hand to welcome the visitors-the first official congressional delegation to travel to a foreign country since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Since COVID required the number of attendees to remain low, the program was also livestreamed by the embassy....
(JNS) — While the Biden administration’s negotiations to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has generally being seen as successful, experts have low expectations that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit this week to the Middle East will accomplish anything more substantial than to ensure the international community that the United States remains engaged in the region. Dispatched at the request of U.S. President Joe Biden, Blinken met with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian and Jordanian offic...
(JNS) — With Israel coming under the fire of more than 1,300 rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, many U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have vocalized their support for Israel. As to be expected, some in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party harshly criticized Israel’s response. Three Muslim lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives released a joint statement characterizing the violence Monday as “attacks on Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.” “We are horrified by the violent assault by Israeli forces on the Al...
(JNS) — In recent days, conflicting reports have emerged over the ongoing negotiations in Vienna to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, leading to questions over to what extent the United States will undo Trump-era sanctions against Tehran. Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, as well as an expert on Iran negotiations and sanctions, told JNS that he believes the reports coming out of Iran reflect leaks that the Islamic regime is already declaring victory at the negotiating table with the United States g...
(JNS) — Speaking at the virtual J Street national conference on Monday, former Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) indicated that they were willing to place conditions on the aid Congress has promised Israel. “I strongly believe that we must also be willing to bring real pressure to bear, including restricting U.S. aid, in response to moves by either side that undermine the chances for peace,” Sanders said in his virtual speech. “The truth is that the United States gives an enormou...
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week via JTA)—Don’t make the enemy of your enemy your friend. That’s the message some lawmakers hope to convey to the Obama administration as they consider its request for a war authorization to combat ISIS. Concerns about how best to shape such an authorization without empowering Iran -- a concern shared by Israel—are emerging as a factor as lawmakers consider Obama’s request for what is known formally as an Authorization for Use of Military Force, in this case against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or...
What’s the cure for the recent ills of the United States Secret Service? American officials might consider taking some advice from their Israeli counterparts at the Shin Bet security agency. White House security breaches have sent the Secret Service scrambling to restructure itself in order to prevent similar or more serious mistakes in the future. But former Israeli security and intelligence officials note that the Shin Bet, which also protects top dignitaries, has virtually the same tactics, rules of engagement, and training procedures as i...
As the Republican party pushes to retake the majority of the U.S. Senate in the upcoming November midterm elections, which would give it control of both houses of Congress, a partisan shift in power may significantly affect a broad range of foreign policy and domestic social issues that are prioritized by American Jews. Midterm elections in the Senate and House of Representatives have been historically difficult for the party holding the presidency. Democrats have held the Senate since public disapproval with the administration of President...
Washington Jewish Week A new Pew Research Center poll showing Republicans as more sympathetic to Israel than Democrats has left Jewish Democratic leaders searching for an explanation of the partisan gap. Conducted from July 8-14, the week Israel began its air operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip but before its ground invasion, the poll asked 1,805 respondents, “In the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, which side do you sympathize with more—Israel or the Palestinians?” Possible answers were: Israel, Palestinians, both, neith...
Washington Jewish Week Hours after tahe Israel Defense Forces began its ground operation in the Gaza Strip on July 17, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) spoke on the Senate floor to express their support of Israel and its operation, while denouncing the Palestinian Authority's unity government and the moral equivalency drawn by those critical of Israel's actions. Graham noted that moments before his speech, the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution (S....
Washington Jewish Week Facing a constant barrage of rockets from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Israel’s economy is proving just as dependable during the current crisis as the much-acclaimed Iron Dome missile defense system, helped in part by capital investments made internationally through the work of organizations like Israel Bonds. A product of the Development Corporation for Israel, an American-run brokerage and retail firm, Israel Bonds has long been a financial boon for the Jewish state’s economy. Now, the bonds are increasingly seen by bot...
Washington Jewish Week “Hard Choices,” the title of a recently released foreign policy memoir by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, comes across as surprisingly ironic. While dedicating a chapter of her 656-page autobiography to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace negotiations, Clinton, even in her own words, appears to be a passenger in peace efforts rather than a driver of them. As with most U.S. politicians aspiring to high office, Clinton is diplomatic on the subject that for more than a half a century has bee...
Washington Jewish Week Religious freedom, family values, fiscal policy, and Israel were the primary drivers of discussion as faith activists and Republican politicians recently gathered in Washington, DC for the Road to Majority 2014 conference, put on by the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition. Despite the group’s reputation as being mostly focused on evangelical Christians, Jewish speakers, pundits, and issues were prominent on the agenda, as was quoting the Old Testament, an apparent nod to the broad range of inclusion that the group c...
Washington Jewish Week A prominent Republican senator considered by many to be a contender in the 2016 presidential election has embarked on a foreign policy push of late, with a strong focus on Israel and the Jewish community. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, a Tea Party favorite, recently returned to the Capitol after a tour of Europe and the Middle East with Secure America Now, including a two-day stop in Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of the Knesset, and Isr...
Washington Jewish Week She may not be flashy, a firebrand speechmaker, or even very well known outside of her Queens congressional district, but despite her brief legislative career, freshman U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) has become one of Congress's most steadfast supporters of Israel and Jewish issues. Along the way she has endeared herself to colleagues and supporters on both sides of the aisle and the Jewish community in her district. Meng's demeanor, both in conversation and in Congress,...
Washington Jewish Week The killing of a major pro-Israel bill in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week has ignited another round of finger pointing between Democratic and Republican legislators, with both sides accusing the other of playing politics. Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) pulled the U.S.-Israel Strategic Partnership Act of 2013 (S. 462) from the committee's agenda May 19, after ranking member Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposed an amendment requiring the...
