Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - Former hostage Emily Damari took to Instagram for the first time since being taken captive by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, thanking her family, friends and God for her release on Sunday. "I'm loving, loving, loving. Thanks be to God. Thanks to my family, to Oreli, to the best friends I have in this world. I have returned to life, my loved ones," she wrote on Monday, according to a screenshot shared in local media. "I have only managed to see just a tiny bit of everything, and you...
Their names, faces and stories have resonated around the world, on posters and in prayers, since they were taken hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. Now, some of the 98 remaining hostages abducted that day, when Hamas invaded southern Israel, could soon be free. Under the terms of a ceasefire deal, 33 of the hostages would be released over six weeks, starting with three on the deal's first day: Emily Damari: The only British citizen to remain in Gaza, Damari, 28, was shot on Oct. 7; Romi Gonen: Taken...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — As Donald Trump reclaimed the White House, an extensive portfolio of international and domestic challenges awaits—with Israel’s security concerns commanding significant attention. Unlike his first term, Trump enters office on Jan. 20 following methodical preparation and with a clear grasp of both priorities and implementation strategies. The Iranian nuclear threat stands as the foremost security concern. Having withdrawn from the nuclear agreement in 2018 during his previous term, Trump demonstrates acute aware...
(JNS) — FireDome, a startup founded in Israel in 2024, is developing an AI-driven defense system to combat wildfires such as those currently ravaging the Los Angeles area. The system is inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense technology. The system utilizes eco-friendly fire retardants and AI technology to form protective barriers and extinguish spot fires caused by wind-blown embers. Initially designed to protect 100-acre areas, FireDome aims to expand its coverage to larger regions. Testing is set to begin in Israel in 2025, with U.S...
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day will be observed on Jan. 26, from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., at The Roth Family JCC. The event is held yearly in remembrance of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau on Jan. 27, 1945, and to commemorate those who lived through or were murdered during the Holocaust. State House Representative Anna Eskamani will speak at the event, as well as Irving Locker, a D-Day veteran and Jewish-American liberator. The event is free and open to the public. Register at www.holocaustedu.org....
(JNS) — At a confirmation hearing, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said that as state secretary he’d belong to “perhaps the most pro-Israel administration in American history,” pushing Israeli-Saudi normalization and lifting sanctions from Jews in Judea and Samaria, among other actions. The emerging ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Rubio said, was “a foundation to build upon” in working toward peace between Israel and Palestinians and normalization of Israeli-Saudi ties as an extension of the Abraham Accords. “We’re still going to have so...
By JNS Staff (JNS) — A group of conservative Jewish and Christian leaders has launched a public petition urging The Jerusalem Post to stop using the term West Bank in reporting on Israel’s biblical heartland and to call it by its historic name of Judea and Samaria. “As Israel’s oldest English newspaper when it was called ‘The Palestine Post,’ The Jerusalem Post holds significant influence in shaping public opinion, influencing policies and defining global narratives,” the petition addressed to Eli Azur, the media outlet’s owner, and Zvik...
In a disturbing revelation, Israeli media reported that Hamas forced three recently released hostages faroma Gaza — Emily Damari, Romi Gonen, and Doron Steinbrecher—to participate in a staged propaganda ceremony before their release. The hostages were handed “gift bags” by their captors, an act that highlights the psychological manipulation employed by the terror group. The gift bags, reportedly handed to the hostages just before they were transferred to the Red Cross, included unsettling items: a photo of Gaza, photographs of the hostage...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Following security warnings about escalation in Judea and Samaria due to the release of hundreds of terrorists into the area, the Security Cabinet is expected to approve on Friday a comprehensive decision to address this front. This is one of the demands that Finance Minister and Religious Zionism Party chairman Bezalel Smotrich presented in his discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, prompted by numerous warnings about increased terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria following the ceasefire deal with H...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Israel's Health Ministry has formulated a comprehensive protocol for treating hostages, due soon to be released from Hamas captivity in Gaza, based on lessons learned from the 2023 exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian terrorists. The protocol includes detailed guidelines for medical examinations, mental health care, privacy protection and long-term support for returnees and their families, emphasizing personalized care and respect for dignity. Key guidelines...
By (JNS) — The Jewish population of Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley grew by 12,297 in 2024, according to a report published over the weekend by the Yesha Council umbrella group of Jewish communities. As of Jan. 1, 2025, 529,704 Israelis live in the territory, amounting to approximately 5.28 percent of the total population of the Jewish state. That figure does not include the some 350,000 Jews living in the eastern part of Jerusalem, which the Palestinians claim despite it being part of the Jewish state’s capital. The Yesha Council not...
(JNS) — Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya repeated the terrorist organization’s commitment to the destruction of Israel in his first public remarks since green-lighting the truce deal with the Jewish state on Wednesday night, Jan. 15. According to al-Hayya, the terrorist group during negotiations succeeded in thwarting Israel’s “declared and hidden goals.” “Today, we prove that the occupation will never defeat our people and their resistance,” he said in a televised address from Doha which ran for some 18 minutes. Jerusalem “only secured...
(JTA) — WASHINGTON – April 25, 2019, marked an extraordinary moment in American Jewish history: It was the first time a presidential candidate framed his decision to run around fighting antisemitism. The candidate was Joe Biden. At first, Biden hadn’t seemed eager to run for president in 2020. But that changed when Neo-Nazis marched through Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, shouting slogans that Biden’s father taught him represented the worst of human nature. Worse, Trump could not bring himself to unequivocally condemn the marchers and the...
These are the 65 hostages whose release would not come during the six-week ceasefire. Negotiation toward their release would begin partway through the ceasefire and would be contingent on further Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Five male soldiers captured on Oct. 7 remain hostages. • Edan Alexander: A New Jersey native, Alexander, 20, joined the IDF after graduating from high school. He was captured while serving near the Gaza border. If the first phase of the ceasefire deal goes through, he could become the only living U.S. citizen to remain i...
(JNS) — U.N. Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, widely known for her antisemitic and anti-Israel views, recently visited the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her presence raised significant concerns in Jewish societies and the wider Jewish community as her previous so-called lectures have gathered dozens of radicalized youths who often wage a campus war on Jewish and Zionist students. Albanese is a proud supporter of antisemitic mobs who proudly deny Israel’s right to exist, as well as an outspoken “critic” of the world’s...
Israel advanced 2,300 homes in Judea and Samaria in six weeks (JNS) — Israel has advanced plans to build more than 2,300 housing units in Judea and Samaria since Dec. 1, as part of a push by the Settlement Administration, a unit in the Defense Ministry under the authority of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. The Settlement Administration has convened every week since early December to approve construction in the region, approving a total of 2,377 units, whereas the body would previously meet once every three to four months on average, Ynet r...
(JNS) — Relatives of hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza on Monday urged right-wing politicians to leave the government if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a deal with the terror group that leaves some abducted Israelis in captivity. “Unless the deal includes all the hostages unconditionally, living and dead, in one go, we call on the Religious Zionist and Otzma Yehudit parties, along with the Likud Knesset lawmakers who have so far only supported a full deal, to immediately announce that they are pulling out of the gov...
(JNS) — A report from the New England branch of the American Jewish Committee details efforts by the Massachusetts Teachers Association to slant classroom instruction against the Jewish state. The AJC says the report, released on Dec. 12, shows the teachers union “waged an aggressive campaign that has encouraged K-12 teachers to become pro-Palestinian activists and bring anti-Israel propaganda into their classrooms.” Examples of the MTA’s bias cited in the report include promoting “multiple one-sided anti-Israel resolutions,” including o...
One million paper clips are piled high on black construction paper on the stage, lit by a spotlight. Above it, the flickering black and white film of Jews walking to their deaths in a Nazi concentration camp is being shown on a theater-sized screen. And standing in front of the stage is the 17-year-old Edgewater High School senior who orchestrated this scene, along with several other exhibits that make a powerful stand against antisemitism and all sorts of hate. The first thing you notice about...
(JTA) - A synagogue with more than 100 years of history in Pasadena, California, burned down overnight as fires swept across parts of Southern California. The fate of a Chabad center about 40 miles away near the coast was unclear as a major fire flared in the Pacific Palisades, one of three different blazes destroying structures and threatening lives in multiple pockets of the greater Los Angeles area. Additional Jewish institutions lay in evacuation zones, while others took preparations in...
Speaking at a fundraising event held at the home of Barry and Donna Render, newly elected State Senator Randy Fine confirmed that he is running for Florida's 6th congressional district U.S. House of Representatives. Governor Ron DeSantis called for this special election to fill the seat vacated by Republican incumbent Michael Waltz, who was chosen by president-elect Donald Trump to be White House national security adviser. Keith Dvorchik, who has known Fine for more than six years and worked with him when he was CEO of the Greater Orlando...
(JTA) — Two blocks away: a school reduced to ruins. Across the street: rubble. Under the door: ashes. And yet at Kehillat Israel, things look much the same as they did at the beginning of the week, before the fires. That’s what the clergy found when they reentered their synagogue’s building on Thursday in the wake of the blaze that devastated Pacific Palisades. A reporter with NBC News who himself grew up at Kehillat Israel accompanied Rabbi Amy Bernstein, Rabbi Daniel Sher and Cantor Chayim Frenkel as they took stock of their synagogue’s remar...
Longwood, FL -Rabbi Yanky and Chanshy Majesky of Chabad North Orlando, in partnership with the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute, will be leading a trip to Israel from March 17 to March 24, 2025. This exclusive eight-day experience aims to foster unity and connection, leaving a lasting impact on participants' hearts, minds, and souls. Rediscover Israel in a New Light Show Solidarity: Stand in solidarity with Israel by visiting soldiers on the front lines, former hostages, and communities affected...
(JNS) — Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he will resign as Canadian prime minister after his replacement assumes control. “I am a fighter, and I am not someone who backs away from a fight, particularly when a fight is as important as this,” he said outside his Ottawa home. “But I have always been driven by my love for Canada, by my desire to serve Canadians and by what is in the best interests of Canadians—and Canadians deserve a real choice in the next election,” he added, per the New York Post. “It has become obvious to me, with the...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 19 recipients on Saturday including George Soros and Hillary Clinton. The White House citation for the nation’s highest civilian honor noted Soros’s rise from surviving the Holocaust as a young Hungarian Jew to becoming one of the richest men in the world. “Soros escaped Nazi occupation to build a life of freedom for himself and countless others around the world,” the citation read. “Educated in England, he settled in America as he became an investor and philanthrop...
