Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 36
(JNS) - Israeli forces continue to battle Hamas terrorists deep inside the Palestinian enclave. A humanitarian corridor for Gazan The IDF on Tuesday again opened a humanitarian corridor for Gazan civilians to evacuate to the safe zone south across the Wadi Gaza. It is the fourth consecutive day that Israeli troops have facilitated the movement of Gazans from the north, despite coming under attack by Hamas terrorists. Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces' Arabic-language spokesman,...
(JNS) — In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent onslaught of antisemitism, Christians have an opportunity to write a new chapter in their history; one in which they show up as allies and friends of the Jews. Thousands of Christians around the world are doing just that. The long and painful history of Jewish-Christian relations has seen few heroes and many moral failures. Both Protestantism and Catholicism, at different moments in their history, adopted antisemitism as doctrine. One famous example was Pope Paul IV’s Cum...
(JTA) — It was one of the few questions that united all five candidates at what was a no-holds-barred Republican primary debate: What would they advise Israel’s prime minister as he wages war against Hamas? The uniform answer: Finish them. Israel and antisemitism featured large in the latest GOP primary debate in Miami on Wednesday, in part because a cosponsor of the debate was the Republican Jewish Coalition, which got to ask two questions, a first for a Jewish group. But they would have been asked even without the RJC’s influence, becau...
(JNS) - Israeli soldiers prayed at a sixth-century synagogue in Gaza on Tuesday for the first time in decades. In recent days troops entered Gaza City, where the headquarters of Hamas is located, as they pursue their mission to dismantle the terrorist organization after the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,400 persons in Israel, nearly all civilians. There is a synagogue in the Rimal neighborhood built in 508 C.E., during the Byzantine period. A mosaic featuring King David with a lyre and his name...
Known to many as "Jerusalem Jones," "Sherlock," or "Hercule," as well as many other characters, Professor Kenneth Hanson, who teaches Judaic Studies at UCF, believes that students don't retain enough by simply reading or hearing lectures. For this reason, he has worn many faces to make history more interesting and appealing to his audiences. In fact, he still uses these characters and others to teach Jewish history to various groups. Most recently he "performed" a history teaching on the Dead Se...
In the wake of recent events in Israel, the Jewish community and others in South Florida have joined forces to support the soldiers and individuals thousands of miles away. Meir Shemtov, a member of Chabad of Southwest Broward, has been one of the main organizers collecting supplies for his shul. He finds soldiers — typically Israeli American reservists — before they go to Israel and lists things they need. He then turns to the other shul members and asks for donations. He helps fill up duffel bags of protein bars, flashlights, gauze pads and...
In 2019, local resident Bob Herpe published his first suspense novel, "Gravnick." It is a story of the intertwining of two families - one Jewish, one Mafioso. Now, three years later, as promised, Herpe has completed the sequel, "The Other Side of Crisis." Herpe is a late comer to writing novels. He wrote "Gravnick" in his late 80s and is now in his 90s - and he is not slowing down. He already has the opening for his third book. "The Other Side of Crisis" picks up where "Gravnick" left off in...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives censured Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the Palestinian American Democrat, for her rhetoric in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel, including using the term “from the river to the sea.” The 234-188 vote late Tuesday night saw 22 Democrats vote to censure Tlaib, and was sure to sharpen divides among Democrats over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza. Some Democrats vehemently defended Tlaib’s right to free speech and others said the “From the river to the sea” term signifies the elimination...
(JTA) — Brandeis University is revoking recognition of the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, saying the group “openly supports Hamas.” Brandeis informed the student group on Monday about its decision, which means that the group will no longer receive university funding or be able to hold activities on campus. The group canceled a “Vigil for Palestine” that had been scheduled for Monday night as a result. “This decision was not made lightly, as Brandeis is dedicated to upholding free speech principles,” the university wr...
(JNS) — Despite reports of Jews being fearful to display their faith outwardly amid rising antisemitism globally, so many Jews are reconnecting with their faith that supplies are short, according to the largest Jewish network, Chabad-Lubavitch. “There’s a global shortage of tefillin and mezuzahs,” Rabbi Motti Seligson, a spokesman for Chabad, told JNS. “We’re seeing an immense amount of people wanting to connect, wanting to double down and leaning into their Jewish identity and practice,” Seligson said. “People wanting to start putting on tefi...
(JNS) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced his intention on Monday to pursue a $1 billion surge in funding for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which helps bolster security for synagogues, day schools and other at-risk locations. The legislation would more than triple the existing $305 million in annual funds available for the program, which the Federal Emergency Management Agency administers. Speaking at a press conference, Schumer said that that level of funding was necessary in response to the spike in a...
(JNS) — In times of crisis, the public looks to its most revered leaders for insight and wisdom. But in the case of Barack Obama, what passes for wisdom is not only unwise but amoral. After weeks without saying much of anything about the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel on Oct. 7, the 44th president has weighed in on the subject while appearing on a podcast hosted by former staffers Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vieter. In the wake of the greatest mass slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, the most brazen example of t...
(JNS) — A month ago, all the sirens in Israel were not enough to warn of the descent of Hamas barbarians on the communities of Israel’s southern border. Now, fog has enveloped the future of the entire world, and only one certainty remains: We are disoriented, in shock. We now realize that there are many essential things we do not know: We do not know if there is a limit to human cruelty, after having witnessed live, through the cameras of the terrorists themselves, the atrocities committed against children in front of their mothers, against mot...
“Jews worldwide haven’t been this fearful in living memory” Jewish media outlets worldwide call for combating the surge in antisemitism Two decades ago, the former British Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, astutely likened antisemitism to a constantly evolving virus. One that, in the modern era, specifically targets the Jewish nation-state. He aptly described this prejudice as a deeply ingrained malignancy, perpetually lingering beneath the surface of society. For many of us in the global Jewish community, the great man’s words were not mer...
(JNS) — We hear repeatedly from Western leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden himself, that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people. I beg to differ. There’s a big part of the Palestinian people who consider Hamas their representative—not only in the Gaza street but even in Judea and Samaria. Hamas represents a very important part of the Palestinian people, something to bear in mind when we speak of “the day after” the war. On the ground, many civilians in the Gaza Strip followed Hamas operatives into Israel to loot and murder, w...
Dear Editor: It is not widely known that Yahya Sinwar, one of the top planners of the massacre on Oct. 7 was once a prisoner in Israel for murdering Israelis. While in prison he developed a cancerous tumor on the brain. And yes, you guessed it. He was successfully operated on, had the tumor removed and in gratitude for saving his life he planned the murder of as many Israelis as possible. He was released from prison in exchange for Gilad Shalit, a former IDF soldier who had been abducted and was released in a prison swap in 2011. Another...
MORNING MINYANS 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 Israel — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3...
(JNS) — Germany on Thursday announced a complete ban on Hamas activities in the country. Already designated a terror organization in the Germany, Berlin moved to ban its activities following the Oct. 7 massacre of 1,400 Israelis. “With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organization whose aim is to destroy the State of Israel,” said German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. The German wing of Samidoun, a Palestinian organization with close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terror group...
(JNS) - The Israel Defense Forces saw some 50,000 Gazan civilians move from northern to southern Gaza on Wednesday via an Israeli evacuation corridor, a military spokesman said, adding that these are people who refuse to comply with Hamas's demand that they serve as human shields in the current confrontation. IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said: "They understand that Hamas lost control of northern Gaza; in the south, there are safer areas where water food and medicine arrive. We will...
(JUSTTHENEWS) — Even as President Joe Biden touts his support for Israel, many of his appointees have expressed anti-Israel and antisemitic sentiments, even after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel and killed more than 1,400 people, including at least 31 U.S. citizens. “Biden has appointed the most antisemitic, anti-Israel people to important posts we’ve ever seen,” Zionist Organization of America National President Morton Klein told Just the News. ZOA has identified dozens of current and former Biden administration officials with a history of ant...
Alzheimer’s disease is a leading cause of death in the United States, and millions of Americans are affected by the disease. It’s important to distinguish the facts from the myths about Alzheimer’s, especially when it comes to finding information online. 1. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are the same thing People often use the terms Alzheimer’s disease and dementia interchangeably, but there is a difference. Dementia refers to impaired memory, thinking, reasoning, and behavior, and Alzheimer’s is just one type of dementia. The terms are l...
(JNS) — Israel forces captured a Hamas stronghold in western Jabaliya after 10 hours of fighting, the IDF said on Thursday. Troops from the 933rd Nahal Infantry Brigade battled Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists both above and below ground at the site in northern Gaza, known as Outpost 17. “The troops completed the takeover of the outpost after 10 hours of fighting, during which they eliminated terrorists, captured many weapons and uncovered terrorist tunnel shafts, including a shaft located near a kindergarten and leading to an...
(JNS) — Judea and Samaria leaders sharply criticized the Biden administration on Monday following a report that it had barred a shipment of rifles from going to Israeli civilian volunteer defense forces. The New York Times reported on Sunday that U.S. State Department officials had received “assurances” from Jerusalem that 24,000 M-16 rifles to be purchased from the United States by Israel would only go to uniformed police officers. Many Israeli towns and villages, particularly in Judea and Samaria, have armed volunteer defense forces, calle...
(JNS) - The Israel Defense Forces is intensifying its maneuvers in Gaza City against Hamas, military spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stated on Nov. 6, adding that the growing number of Hamas terrorists and field commanders being eliminated is creating pressure on the terrorist army that rules the enclave. Addressing IDF efforts to demolish the underground terror tunnel network dubbed "the metro," Hagari said that Hamas, which deliberately places tunnel shafts under hospitals, mosques, schools...
(JTA) — A Florida organizer of the right-wing activist group Moms For Liberty who successfully pressed her school district to remove a version of Anne Frank’s diary recently appeared on a livestream banned from YouTube because of its pastor host’s antisemitism. Jennifer Pippin, who chairs the group’s chapter in Indian River County, Florida, appeared in September on the show TruNews, which is hosted by End Times preacher Rick Wiles. Wiles is a conspiracy theorist who has claimed that Jews and Zionists have “attacked Christian culture...
