Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS)-Canadian sports executive, lawyer and author of the new book "Alley-Oop to Aliyah: African American Hoopsters in the Holy Land," David A. Goldstein is often asked why he decided to write about hasbara, or positive propaganda used to convince others to support Israel. But according to Goldstein, when he started on the book 11 years ago, he discovered an unknown, upbeat phenomenon. "I didn't set out to create that positive feeling about Israel. That feeling is created by this country-how...
(JNS)—As a small Islamic sect of an estimated 20 million people—about 1 percent of the global Muslim population—the Ahmadiyya community is a persecuted minority across the Middle East. But at the southern entrance of the northern Israeli city of Haifa lies Kababir village, home to 2,000 residents, 70 percent of whom are Ahmadi Muslims. In Kababir, Ahmadis enjoy full religious and cultural freedom and pray in the only Ahmadi mosque in the Middle East, opened in 1934 and redone in 1979. The safe haven they have found in the Jewish State, as co...
Salt and pepper, peanut butter and jelly, Zionism and progressivism. Few question the inherent, irrefutable bond between the first two of those pairs, but civil rights attorney and co-founder of the Zioness Movement, Amanda Berman, argues that the latter is just as natural-and she has several thousand left-leaning Jews with strong Zionist identities backing her up on that sentiment. The four-month-old Zioness Movement was born in a "watershed moment," several months after the inauguration of...
As a child, I spent my summers at Camp Solomon Schechter, a Conservative Jewish camp in Tumwater, Wash., set on the shores of Lake Joshua Stampfer. My experiences at Camp Schechter were central to the development of my Jewish identity and eventual decision to immigrate to Israel. Each day began at “the flagpole.” Kicking off every morning, hundreds of sleepy-eyed campers and counselors from all around the Pacific Northwest strolled to the flagpoles, where we would circle up around the American, Canadian and Israeli flags. Just as everyone cir...
Israelis celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem's reunification May 23-24. Leading up to the holy city's semi-centennial milestone, here are 50 facts highlighting the rich tapestry of Israel's capital: Reunification 1. Jerusalem Day is an Israeli national holiday commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War. 2. During the Jordanian occupation of Jerusalem, Jews were not allowed to access their holy sites, including the Western Wall. History 3. Jerusalem has been...
Two days into my first Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, during which I led a group of 40 Americans around Israel, I heard the news of the Obama administration’s unprecedented refusal to veto a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel’s settlement policies. As an American immigrant to Israel who has many times heard President Barack Obama reaffirm the unbreakable alliance between the U.S. and Israel, the news was a bitter reminder of his administration’s hypocrisy as well as the U.N.’s disproportionate condemnation of Israel,...
Google CEO Eric Schmidt believes Israeli entrepreneurs succeed because they challenge authority, question everything, and don’t go by the rules. “The impact of the Israelis on science and technology is immense, so that’s why I’m here and why I’m investing here,” he told a large crowd at Israel’s Weizman Institute in 2015. Schmidt’s statements not only apply to Israel’s high tech businesses and start-up companies, but also to Israel’s budding medical marijuana industry. From organic chemists to entrepreneurs, nearly everyone in Israel’s field o...
When individuals move to Israel, most are transformed by the new experience in obvious ways. Some become more religious, others become more right wing, and many become more, well, Israeli. Over the last 13 months, I’ve witnessed my own transformation as the aliyah experience has challenged me, encouraging growth and risk taking. I didn’t realize the extent to which my mentality had changed until a recent phone conversation with my mom. I spoke with her about my plans for that evening, only to realize how much the plans entailed completely ste...
In the wake of expanding East African-Israeli relations, African nations often reach out to Israel for know-how on a range of topics: water conservation, energy, agricultural productivity, counter-terrorism; and now business negotiation. Although it may seem like the beginning of a tasteless joke about Jews and negotiation tactics, this work is anything but a joke. DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, a title that comes with big responsibilities. They take pro-bono work particularly seriously and have worked on dozens of...
When I made aliyah over a year ago, I was warned that it would be hard. With no family here, many people gave me their contact information and an open invitation for any assistance when needed. But for me, for the first year, it really wasn’t all that hard. Thanks to a great absorption experience, a steady job and an amazing support system, I felt great about my choice to make aliyah. I didn’t need much assistance and had nearly 100 percent positive experiences. That is, up until this week. The pain in my back returned, but this time with a v...
By Eliana Rudee (JNS.org) Living in Israel comes with many hardships, some of them known and some of them unknown. I expected certain dilemmas with the language, bureaucracy, cultural immersion and finances, for example. But there is one thing that I did not expect to deal with when I made aliyah, namely, experiencing loss from abroad. I believed that if I didn’t think about such a situation, maybe it would go away. As my boyfriend says, “that’s a problem for future Ellie,” as if I could put the problem off in my mind. So I did. Well, at leas...
(JNS.org) Exactly six years ago, when I was just 18 years old, I wrote as my Facebook status, “Doesn’t want to go home tomorrow :( I live in America but my heart is in Israel.” It was only my second time in Israel and I just knew. I knew that the minute I stepped off the plane back in the U.S., my heart would be split in two, and nothing would ever be the same again. I remember how when I got home from my first trip to Israel, I got into my onesie, a down jacket, and a blanket. It wasn’t actually that cold in Seattle, in fact, it was the summer...
“I’m sure you get this question a lot, but...” It always starts with those words. What follows is the predictable, frequently asked question on the minds of friends, family, and Jewish mothers when I get back to the U.S. “Is it safe?” “Do you feel safe?” “So, how’s the security in Israel?” It’s not that I blame people for asking. I’m sure that I asked my Israeli friends the same question before some of my trips to Israel. But every time I get asked this question (which is usually a knee-jerk reaction to telling people I live in Israel), I can...
This week, I was able to talk to many Jewish students from around the world (including a friend from my alma mater who is visiting Israel) about what it is like to be a Jewish student on their university campuses. I graduated from college just about a year and a half ago, and although much has stayed the same, it’s getting more difficult for Jewish students. When I entered college in 2010, my professors were accommodating when I needed to miss class for the high holidays. Yet there always seemed to be a bonding event on Yom Kippur, and I had t...
Last week, Israel commemorated the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, a prime minister of Israel and hero in the eyes of the Israeli people. I was struck by how significant the day is for Israelis and what this means in the context of ongoing conflict in the Jewish state. The way that Rabin is revered as a hero truly shows the extent to which the Israeli people desire peace. Born in Jerusalem, Rabin predates Israel by more than a dozen years. As a young man, Rabin witnessed and even led in various wars in which Israel was attacked by its...
Every day now, I am waking up to news of more murders around Jerusalem. Outside my window, I hear screaming, and as my stomach twists in fright, I have to wonder whether I am hearing yet another Arab attack against Jews in my area. This violence is personal. Four Arabs and their pit bull chased my ulpan friend down the street the other day. Over the Jewish holidays, five Jews were killed in terror attacks in and near Jerusalem. And other than the Israeli media, the world is silent. I am sorry that I have to take up my weekly post this way, but...
