Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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ERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz signed a deal Monday to form a “national emergency government” that keeps Netanyahu as the prime minister for now. Israel has spent more than a year under a caretaker government as neither Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, nor Gantz of the center-left Blue and White could assemble a coalition government. With the agreement, the country avoids a fourth national election in less than a year and a half. The agreement also accedes to Likud deman... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel will hold its annual Independence Day torch-lighting on Mount Herzl, but only with a television and digital audience because of coronavirus regulations. Among the torch-lighters announced by the Culture and Sport Ministry is the one representing Diaspora Jewry, which has become a tradition in recent years. The honor goes to Lori Palatnik, the founding director of Momentum, formerly known as the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project and colloquially called "Birthright for Moms... Full story
(JTA)—Forget about “The Chanukah Song.” Actor Adam Sandler’s latest earworm is a tribute to doctors and nurses and an exhortation for people to stay home to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Sandler debuted “Quarantine Song” from his home during a guest appearance Thursday on “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.” Fallon was broadcasting from his home as well. Sandler pulled a hoodie over his baseball cap and put on sunglasses (so viewers would not see him reading the lyrics, he said) before he began strumming on his guitar. “Doctors and nurse... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will give Benny Gantz the task of forming a new government, his office said Sunday. Rivlin met Sunday with the heads of all the parties that won seats in Israel's parliament in its last election earlier this month. At the end of the consultations, which were broadcast nationally, 61 lawmakers recommended Gantz form the new government, while 58 lawmakers recommended the current prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Later, Gantz and Netanyahu met with... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel held its unprecedented third election in less than a year on Monday and, yet again, the results raised more questions than answers. At first it seemed as if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had finally garnered the votes he needed to break the longstanding impasse and consolidate his power. The final tally, however, paints a less than clear picture. But the numbers aren't the only issue creating news. In fact, Monday was only the start of a new round of negotiating, debat... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Over 200 Israelis, most of them middle school students, have been ordered into quarantine after coming into contact with a group of South Korean tourists, some of whom were infected with the coronavirus. Students and teachers from three Israeli cities have been ordered by the Health Ministry to self-quarantine in their homes after visiting tourist sites at the same time as the group from South Korea. Nine members of the group, who returned home last week after a two-week visit to Israel, have since tested positive for c... Full story
This is a developing story. NEW YORK (JTA)—More than 50 Jewish community centers in 23 states have received emailed bomb threats since Saturday. None of the threats have been found to be credible, though local law enforcement agencies have been notified. Officials do not know who sent the threats. They targeted Jewish community centers in New York, New Jersey, California, Texas and elsewhere throughout the country. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has learned from officials familiar with the threats that most of the JCCs affected received identica... Full story
(JTA)-A group of undergraduate students at Harvard University has formed what they call an "anti-Zionist Jewish organization" that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The Harvard Jewish Coalition for Peace introduced itself in a public statement posted Monday on Facebook as "a new organization founded in the idea that Jewish liberation is inextricably bound up with the liberation of all people." The group said it will focus on Palestinian solidarity work;... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-As evening descended on Jerusalem one Friday last month, 1,000 students gathered at the Western Wall for the traditional prayers to welcome the Jewish Sabbath. They joined the throngs who dance and sing at the holiest site in Judaism as Shabbat begins. When it was over, they repaired to the homes of local families for a traditional Shabbat meal with all the customary trappings. For many, it was a highlight of a trip to Israel that had cost them almost nothing. Except these were... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Trump administration’s peace plan is an attempt to destroy the Palestinian cause and could lead to violence on the part of the Palestinian public, Palestinian Authority officials warned. In addition, a senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Ynet that the decision to release the plan now is a result of “internal Israeli political self-interests.” “It is obvious to us that the presentation of the peace deal is meant to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his elections. We know when personal... Full story
(JTA)—South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order on Tuesday prohibiting state offices from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. South Dakota is the 28th state to have enacted an anti-Israel boycott executive order or legislation. Its measure requires vendors who want to contract with South Dakota agencies, authorities, commissions, departments or institutions not to work with companies that participate in boycotts of Israel. It applies to companies or contractors with more than five employees and on contracts of $... Full story
(JTA)—New York Times columnist Bret Stephens came under fire on social media for an op-ed in which he wrote that Ashkenazi Jews are more intelligent than other people and cited a paper by a researcher who promoted eugenics. The reference to the paper later was removed. “The Secret of Jewish Genius” published on Saturday had received nearly 700 comments on the online edition of The Times by Sunday afternoon when the comments were closed. Many of the comments also thanked Stephens for his column and praised his conclusions. The column cited... Full story
(JTA)—Iran will no longer honor the nuclear deal it signed with world powers. The announcement came Sunday following a meeting of the Islamic Republic’s National Security Council to discuss the country’s nuclear policy following the assassination on Friday of Qassem Soleimani by the United States, The New York Times reported. Soleimani was the head of the Iranian Quds Force, which operates a number of regional militias and is allied with terrorist groups targeting Israel, including Hezbollah and Hamas. “The Islamic Republic of Iran will en... Full story
(JTA)—Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged to fight for a quadrupling of funding for federal security grants for nonprofit organizations. It would raise the amount provided by the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $360 million annually from $90 million. The program provides funding to improve the security of nonprofit organizations at risk of being targeted for terror attacks such as synagogues, churches, mosques, schools, Jewish community centers and other faith-based community centers. Schumer, D-N.Y., also called for financial s... Full story
(JTA)—Rosalee Glass, a Holocaust survivor recognized by President Donald Trump during the White House Chanukah party, has died following injuries sustained during travel to Washington, D.C. Glass died in Los Angeles on Dec. 14 of a blood clot to her heart. She was three weeks shy of her 103rd birthday. She was accidentally dropped while being transported in a wheelchair to a plane in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, on her way to Washington, D.C., for the White House event, her daughter Lillian Glass said... Full story
(JTA)—A federal complaint has been filed against Columbia University accusing the school of anti-Semitic discrimination. It is the first case filed since President Donald Trump’s executive order on combating anti-Semitism, which grants Jewish students the same protections as other minority groups. The complaint requests a formal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into alleged anti-Semitic discrimination at Columbia. It was filed by the Lawfare Project on behalf of a Jewish Israeli-American under... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A haredi Orthodox mother of five may have to give up her dream of running in the marathon at the 2020 Olympics after the race was scheduled for a Saturday. “I felt like I was punched in the stomach this morning,” Beatie Deutsch, 29, wrote late last week in a post on Facebook. According to the post, when Deutsch first decided to pursue her Olympic goal nearly a year ago, the first thing she did was check to make sure she would be able to participate. She was relieved to learn that the marathon was set for the last Sunday of th... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel will hold an unprecedented third election in less than a year after lawmakers failed to form a government coalition by Wednesday night. The date of the next election is set for March 2. Elections are usually set for 90 days after the dissolution of the Knesset, but as that would have put them on the Jewish holiday of Purim in 2020, legislators set the date a few days earlier. The government’s fall comes after both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White party head Benny Gantz were each unable to form a gov... Full story
(JTA)-The gunmen who entered a Jersey City kosher supermarket and engaged in a deadly shootout with police deliberately chose the store, the city's mayor said. "Based on our initial investigation (which is ongoing) we now believe the active shooters targeted the location they attacked," Steven Fulop said on Twitter Tuesday night. "Due to an excess of caution the community may see additional police resources in the days/weeks ahead. We have no indication there are any further threats." The... Full story
(JTA)—Billionaire philanthropist Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against political candidates in the United States who support or normalize anti-Semitism. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, announced the new campaign, called the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, on Monday. The effort will include a nonprofit organization and a super PAC. Lauder will have the final say on which politicians—federal, state and local—will be targeted for defeat, according to The New York Times. He is a longtime Repub... Full story
(JTA)—The United Nations General Assembly passed five resolutions against Israel, but for the first time, 13 countries switched their positions and voted against a pro-Palestine measure. The five resolutions passed Tuesday are among 20 against Israel that the international body will vote on during the 74th session of the General Assembly. By contrast, it will consider resolutions about six other countries—one each on Iran, Syria, North Korea, Crimea, Myanmar and the United States (for its embargo on Cuba), the nongovernmental organization UN Wa... Full story
(JTA)—The undergraduate student government of Arizona State University passed a resolution in support of the Tempe school’s Jewish students. The resolution, which passed Tuesday by acclimation, comes amid public discussion among campus student organizations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the wake of fliers bearing swastikas and Stars of David circulated on campus, The State Press student newspaper reported. Last month, four pieces of legislation were submitted to the Undergraduate Student Government Tempe on the topic of the con... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged in three corruption cases, marking the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been indicted. The charges, announced on Nov. 21 by the Justice Ministry and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, include bribery and breach of public trust. Netanyahu has denied all the charges and has called the investigations against him a "witch hunt." He has 30 days to request that the Knesset grant him parliamentary immunity in order to avoid a... Full story
(JTA)—President Donald Trump will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Israeli-American Council. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a Trump supporter and mega donor to Republican candidates, is one of the council’s major supporters. The council said in a statement that it will be Trump’s first appearance to a non-political Jewish organization. Since Trump took office, the only Jewish group he has spoken to is the Republican Jewish Coalition. The summit will take place on Dec. 5-8 in Florida and is expecting nearly 4,000 atten... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A rocket fired by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza struck an assisted-living facility in the southern Israel city of Ashkelon on Wednesday afternoon, injuring a woman in her 70s. The resident was injured in the face and arms by flying glass after the rocket crashed through her living unit. The Israeli military said 360 rockets had been fired at Israel from Gaza between Tuesday morning—since its targeted killing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad senior commander Baha Abu al-Ata—and about 5 p.m. Wednesday. Two Israelis have been injur... Full story
