Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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In the middle of June, Heritage received an email from a French man named Jean-Frederic Voltz. The email stated that the writer had found a helmet that belonged to Private First Class George Braunstein. He explained that the soldier had been wounded on Nov. 26, 1944, in "Lalaye 15 Km near St Die in France." He even knew Braunstein's laundry number, which was in the helmet, and said Braunstein was a member of the 103rd US-409 Regiment-Compagnie [sic]. "Have you more information of this soldat...
(JNS)-The U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted two resolutions on Wednesday, one condemning the anti-Israel BDS movement and another endorsing a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The anti-Israel BDS resolution, which also reaffirms support for the Jewish state, currently has 340 co-sponsors. It was introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Ann Wagner (R-Mo.). It currently has 340 co-sponsors: 172 Democrats and 168...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando recently hired Rebecca Tregerman as the director of Outreach and Engagement. In that role, Tregerman will oversee the Federation's PJ Library, PJ Our Way and Jewish Teen Education Network programs. Tregerman grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich., and fostered her Jewish identity and love for Israel with Young Judaea. After completing her undergraduate studies at Western Michigan University, she worked in public health research and policy in Washington, D.C., for...
The Hebrew Bible indelibly molded the American founding, and its influence remains a part of its national story. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia approved the final text of the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July, but it wasn’t until July 8, 1776, that the historic document had been printed and could be publicly read. From the tower at Independence Hall the great bell rang out, summoning citizens to hear the new nation’s proclamation of sovereignty. What we know today as the Liberty Bell had not yet acquired its iconic cra...
Temple Israel's recent tour of Israel in June included 18 participants. The trip was carefully planned by Natan Brener, who defined the goal of the trip as providing a great opportunity for people to strengthen their Jewish identity and build a powerful connection to the land of Israel. "People could understand and study in depth key aspects of Israel's modern history, its political system, and current affairs in the Middle East. Part of the goal was to give participants the tools to become...
Best-selling author Jenna Blum, who rose to prominence with 2004’s Holocaust-themed novel “Those Who Save Us,” will be in Maitland next month to discuss her latest work, “The Lost Family”—just released in paperback—which last year was named a summer must-read by The Jewish Journal, JewishBoston.com and Detroit Jewish News. Blum will speak at 7 p.m. Aug. 27, at The Roth Family Jewish Community Center as part of the JCC Cultural Arts Department’s Visiting Author Series. Blum’s talk will also se...
By Jackson Richman (JNS)-Former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who is running for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, said on Friday that, if elected, he would undo US. President Donald Trump's relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem-the first candidate running next year for the highest office to explicitly say so. "We have to have a two-state solution, and I believe the administration made a mistake to move the embassy to Jerusalem," the former two-term Pennsylvania...
(JNS)—U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, have said that if elected president in 2020, each of them would keep the U.S. embassy in Israel in Jerusalem, despite criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump for making the move in May 2018. The three gave their answers to Axios. “Vice President Biden would not move the American embassy back to Tel Aviv,” said a campaign spokesperson. “But he would re-open our consulate in East[ern] Jerusalem to engage the Palestinians.” In March, the U.S. embassy i...
(JNS)—U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) compared Israel’s “dehumanization and racist policies” to 19th-century segregation in the United States. “There is continued dehumanization and racist policies by the State of Israel that violate international human rights, but also violate my core values of who I am as an American,” the freshman congresswoman told the left-wing outlet Jacobin, which published a Q&A with her on June 13. “ ‘Separate but equal’ doesn’t work. I know that my ancestors were killed, died, uprooted from their land,” she continue...
(Israel Hayom via JNS)—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared his commitment on Wednesday to the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu was speaking at an event marking the 4oth anniversary of the Samaria Regional Council, held in the town of Revava. “Accept my commitment,” said Netanyahu. “It doesn’t come with a time limit: We won’t let any community in the land of Israel be uprooted in the name of a diplomatic plan. We don’t uproot people; we’re done with that nonsense. Israel under my leadership hasn’t and won...
(JNS)—The exposé on anti-Semitism in the British Labour Party, broadcast in the United Kingdom last week by the BBC’s flagship Panorama program, gave viewers an opportunity to see the extraordinary confrontation in April 2016 between John Mann, a Labour parliamentarian and leading fighter against anti-Jewish bigotry, and Ken Livingstone, the former Labour Mayor of London and leading promoter of conspiracy theories about Zionist “collaboration” with Nazi Germany. Livingstone had given a radio interview in which he repeated the slander he’d utt...
The 50th anniversary of the first successful Apollo-Saturn Moon Mission was met last week with great fanfare and enthusiasm by the national and international media, the American people and the entire global community. There were inspiring speeches, recognition of our brave astronauts, celebration of a great national achievement and a remembrance, if not a renewal of the spirit of unity that at the time prevailed among the American people. While NASA, the astronauts and the leaders of the project were acclaimed as national heroes, less attention...
(JNS)—Early last week Tehran announced its intention to enrich uranium above the level permitted by the nuclear deal to which it is a signatory. Over the weekend, soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attempted to seize a British oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. The attack was retaliation for British forces seizing an Iranian tanker delivering oil to Syria in violation of E.U. sanctions on Damascus, but the wider context is Tehran’s threats to shut down oil exports from Persian Gulf states if American sanctions are not lifted. Sur...
(JNS)—The radical anti-Zionist IfNotNow group hit the jackpot last week with its initial investment in efforts to impact the 2020 presidential election. IfNotNow’s attempts to infiltrate Jewish summer camps and alter the way they teach about Israel, as well as its campaign to disrupt Birthright Israel trips, haven’t had much success in terms of changing curriculums or deterring young Jews from visiting the Jewish state. But they have served to move the discussion about its anti-Zionist agenda from the margins of Jewish life to the mains...
How could the world forget the Beatles? “Yesterday”—first the song, now the movie. For fans of the Beatles, “Yesterday,” the song Paul McCartney says came to him note by note in a dream, has a well-deserved claim on the best popular song ever written. Released as a single on Sept. 13, 1965, “Yesterday” went to the top of the charts globally and was broadcast on American radio more than seven million times in its first 30 years. According to the “Guinness Book Of Records” it is the most covered pop song of all time. Now it is back in the news...
Todd Cohn Just recently, the South Florida Jewish community collectively took a very deep breath when Spanish River High School’s Principal William Latson weighed in on the school’s approach to State-mandated Holocaust education. I was in complete and total shock when I learned of what had transpired just a few miles from our NCSY office. Principal Latson said he had to remain “politically neutral” when choosing how to educate our children about the Holocaust. He also stated in the email, ““Not everyone believes the Holocaust happened an...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona—Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orlando—Monday—Friday, 7:45 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Temple I...
(JTA)—Joe Biden said that Israel’s occupation is a “real” and “significant” problem, but would not go as far to say it is a “human rights crisis.” At a campaign event Friday in Dover, New Hampshire, the leading Democratic presidential candidate was asked the human rights crisis question by an activist who also asked if Biden would pressure Israel to end the occupation should he win the presidency. Biden first responded by saying that Israeli settlements are “unnecessary.” “The only answer is a two-state solution No. 1, No. 2 the Palestinian...
(JNS)—Williams College has reached a resolution agreement with the U.S. Department of Education in lieu of an investigation over the student government rejecting a new pro-Israel group, Williams Initiative for Israel (WIFI), in an anonymous vote in April. The college administration overrode the student government’s rejection of WIFI the following month. “This Agreement contains no findings of fact, does not constitute an admission of liability on the part of the College, and does not repre...
(JNS)-Turkey began to receive the S-400 air-defense missile-defense system on Friday despite U.S. warnings not to do so. The move by Turkey is likely to have "major ramifications" for the U.S.-Turkish relationship, according to Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. "Turkey will no longer be able to receive F-35 stealth jets and Turkish companies removed from the F-35 supply chain will lose $12 billion of revenue. Also, the United States is likely to...
NEW YORK (JTA)-There are fans of Philip Roth who enjoy his books. Then there are the fans who want to own his typewriters. The latter have their shot: Some of the late Jewish author's typewriters are among the 129 items from his estate going up for auction via Litchfield County Auctions. Online bidding was held July 20, with the profits going to charity (the specific charities have not been disclosed by the Roth estate). The starting bids for most of the items are not high relative to other...
(JNS)—Iran’s underground Fordow uranium-enrichment facility has not followed the 2015 nuclear deal, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Institute for Science and International Security. Apparently, it has “never been repurposed” in that “everything required to enrich uranium to weapons grade could be quickly reconstituted in the underground portion of the facility,” continued the report. The deal stated, “Iran will convert the Fordow facility into a nuclear, physics and technology centre. International collaboration...
Bulgaria's Tolerance March... "The World Jewish Congress and its affiliate, the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria Shalom, recently drew more than 1,500 people from across Bulgarian society onto the streets of Sofia for the first-ever march of tolerance and unity, held in response to the neo-Nazi Lukov March that takes place each February despite strong government opposition. The march was initiated by WJC President Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER, who traveled to Sofia to participate. 'Today in...
(JNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone Wednesday about Iran, in addition to joint American-Israeli security interests, as Trump threatened that U.S. sanctions on Iran will be “increased substantially” in response to the regime last week exceeding the uranium-enrichment limit under the 2015 nuclear deal. “The two leaders discussed cooperation between the United States and Israel in advancing shared national-security interests, including efforts to prevent Iran’s malign actions i...
NEW YORK (JTA)-If you're going to physically block an entrance to an ICE detention center, the handbook says, don't act nice about it. Do chant in Yiddish. Do sing Hebrew prayers. "Defiant, angry, urgent, Jewish," reads the #NeverAgainIsNow Action Toolkit, a six-page Google Doc meant for Jews planning to protest at Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers. "The goal is to actually make it impossible for ICE and/or the Democratic Establishment to do business as usual. Find the...
