Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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This article originally appeared in the Summer 2023 issue of CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly and is reprinted with permission of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. The full special issue on “Israel at Seventy-Five” can be found at https://ccar.co/summer23. “A Tough Neighborhood” This is the line of Noah. Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God. — Genesis 6:9 JPS 1962, 1985, 1999 A rabbinic midrash on this verse suggests that a person should not be judged by absolute standards — that time,...
In May 2019, Governor DeSantis went to Jerusalem to sign a law that makes religion a protected class with respect to discrimination in public education, equating antisemitism with racism. In signing the bill, protecting students from discrimination based on religion at all grade levels, K through college, Governor DeSantis said “…antisemitism has no place in our state and our educational institutions will not tolerate discrimination against the Jewish people. … Florida is the most Israel-friendly state in the country and as long as I’m Governo...
“Follow the money” is a cliché in politics. It shows how knowledgeable people expect an officeholder to act. For Congresswoman Val Demings, a Democrat, who is running against Florida’s incumbent Senator Marco Rubio, a Republican, the facts show that liberal, progressive donors in California and big labor unions expect her votes to be aligned with their interests and agendas, not necessarily Florida’s. Moreover, Demings’ voting record in Congress confirms her alignment with the policies of liberal House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, from California...
I was outraged when I read Jim Shipley’s rambling column “Unleashing the Hounds of Hell” in the Feb. 26 Heritage. Mr. Shipley seems intent to continue to stoke the fires of Trump hatred, even though he is out of office. He makes undue assumptions about President Trump’s mindset and intentions and perpetuates lies and inaccuracies. I was first struck by Shipley’s statement that when President Trump was elected in 2016 “We did not know a whole lot about the guy.” Donald Trump had been in the public eye in New York City for most of his adult lif...
“The Jews have endured terrible persecution, and you know that we’ve all read it. We’ve studied it. They’ve gone through a lot and those seeking their destruction … we will seek their destruction.” President Trump said this after the horrific synagogue shootings in Pittsburgh and Poway. No American president ever aligned himself so fully with the Jewish people or committed himself so clearly to their protection and survival. He has lived this commitment in many ways, before and after those tragic events. President Trump’s relationship...
Just before Donald Trump was sworn in as our 45th president, outgoing president Barack Obama told him his biggest problem would be North Korea. Obama was wrong! North Korea, though problematic, proved less troublesome than expected, due to President Trump’s skillful handling of its volatile leader, Kim Jung Un. President Trump’s biggest problem, more than Russian collusion investigations and the Democrats’ impeachment effort, all intended to destroy his presidency, was instead a virus from China for which our Centers for Disease Control and H...
President Donald Trump’s accomplishments establish him as an effective social justice president. He speaks proudly and joyfully of results — not platitudes: improving the lives of minority communities through increased employment, reducing income disparity by bringing highly paid manufacturing jobs back to the USA, giving offenders a second chance at life through criminal justice reform, securing ongoing funding for historically Black colleges and universities, and supporting parents in their efforts to get a good education for their chi...
This year’s election for governor of Florida presents a great challenge to Jewish voters. Historically, most Jews vote consistently for Democratic candidates, at all levels, largely on the basis of domestic social issues. Most American Jews also feel some emotional commitment to Israel. Until recent years, this has not been a problem because most Democratic government officials and office seekers used to express support for Israel, even if this was not always borne out by their actions. Now the Democratic nominee for governor of Florida, A...
