Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles written by Shalle Mcdonald


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  • Will Black Lives Matter drive a wedge between Jews and African-Americans?

    Shalle McDonald and Sean Savage, JNS.org|Sep 2, 2016

    As a minority group that has faced down centuries of anti-Semitism, the Jewish people have long stood shoulder-to-shoulder with other long-suffering and persecuted minority groups such as African-Americans. This was evident during the Civil Rights Movement when Jewish leaders stood against segregation in the south. That allegiance continues today with Jewish figures speaking out against inequality that many African-Americans face. Despite this solidarity, Jewish and African-American relations today face one of their biggest challenges yet....

  • Dallas gathering educates on Israeli issues

    Shalle McDonald, JNS.org|Aug 19, 2016

    Several of the country's most prominent pro-Israel groups participated in the first Israel Today Symposium designed to educate the Dallas, Texas, community on understanding the complex issues Israel faces. The event, organized by Dallas's Reform synagogue Temple Shalom, drew more than 300 people to hear speakers including Lillian Pinkus, president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC); Charles Pulman, founder of Why Israel Matters; and Daniel Agranov, deputy consul general of...

  • The grassroots and interfaith effort behind the GOP's pro-Israel, anti-two state platform

    Shalle McDonald, JNS.org|Jul 22, 2016

    Amid the intrigue and speculation over the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, one item that the party has settled is its firm support for Israel and opposition to a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On July 12, the Republican Platform Committee unanimously approved a number of significant changes to its platform in an attempt to further set the party’s pro-Israel credentials apart from the Democrats, who are facing concerns over their party’s future support for the Jewish state. The GOP’s platform...

  • Shared support for Israeli youth village fosters growing Jewish-Christian bonds

    Shalle McDonald, JNS.org|Jun 24, 2016

    Dr. Tim Shepherd raised his son Adam, a pre-law student at the University of North Texas, to become a devoted supporter of Israel. The Shepherds not only support Israel from their vantage point as Christian Zionists, but they also prioritize connecting fellow Christians to the Jewish community in order to foster deep, lasting friendships. "We need to be best friends," Tim Shepherd told JNS.org, detailing how he and his Jewish friends attend each other's birthday parties, bar mitzvahs, weddings,...

  • Israeli, Arab, Christian, and gay: Jonathan Elkhoury's story hits U.S. campuses

    Shalle McDonald, JNS.org|Feb 19, 2016

    Jonathan Nizar Elkhoury wants minority populations in Israel to speak up about what life is really like in the Jewish state. He wants the world to know that Israel is a safe haven for persecuted Middle East minorities. For Elkhoury, this isn't just loose talk. He is gay, Christian, and a Lebanese refugee. Elkhoury was 9 years old when his family fled war-torn Lebanon for Israel. His father was a soldier in the South Lebanon Army (SLA), which was established in 1982 and was supported by Israel in...

  • For persecuted Mideast Christians, Obama admin tongue-tied on genocide

    Shalle McDonald, JNS.org|Dec 18, 2015

    While Christians in Iraq and Syria face the threat of extinction at the hands of the Islamic State terror group, the U.S. State Department remains silent on the prospect of publicly designating the atrocities against Christians and other Mideast religious minorities as “genocide.” According to a recent investigative piece by journalist Michael Isikoff for Yahoo! News, the State Department is in the midst of internal discussions to officially recognize the Yazidi people as genocide victims. But a lingering question remains: Will other rel...