Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi ordered the military on Monday to prepare for counter-terror operations in Judea and Samaria amid an uptick in terror following the ceasefire in Gaza. “In addition to the intense defensive preparations in the Gaza Strip, we must be prepared for significant operations in Judea and Samaria in the coming days in order to get ahead of and catch the terrorists before they reach our citizens,” Halevi stated following a situational assessment. Halevi’s remarks came hours after one IDF...
Sa’ar hails Trump’s executive order to curb ‘disease’ of Jew-hatred (JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Thursday praised U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order to counter the scourge of Jew-hatred. “Thank you, President Trump, for your executive order to combat the disease of antisemitism. This critical step sends a clear message: the antisemitic support for Hamas’ October 7th atrocities will not be tolerated,” tweeted Sa’ar. “Your important decision helps ensure the safety of the Jewish people on campuses and elsewhere in A...
(JNS) — Seventy-one percent of Israelis oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, according to a poll conducted on Jan. 29. The survey comes on the background of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure on Sunday to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. “The findings are public just in time for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s visit with President Trump. Bibi can now go to the president of the United States with a clear statement that this is the will of the people of Israel,” Avi Abelo...
(JNS) — Israel Defense Forces soldier Liri Albag, who was released on Saturday after 477 days in captivity in Gaza, took to social media on Friday for the first time since being freed. “The people of Israel, I want to thank you again for all your support, love and help,” Albag wrote in her first Instagram post since Hamas terrorists took her hostage on Oct. 7, 2023. “Together, we are a force,” the IDF field observer wrote. “I want to thank the soldiers of the IDF and the security services, who risked their lives and fought for us and for our...
(JNS) — The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a nonprofit based in Los Angeles, is “deeply concerned” that Facebook parent company Meta is discontinuing its fact-checking policy and relying more on users to say which posts they deem unfactual. “This decision comes at a time of unprecedented surging antisemitism, particularly following the events of Oct. 7, making the rollback of critical safeguards exceedingly dangerous,” the center stated. “This reckless move disregards the immense responsibility social media companies bear in protecting vulnerable...
(JTA) - Hamas released four hostages on Saturday in a choreographed ceremony in Gaza, making them the second group of captives to go free in the ceasefire. The four hostages released on Saturday are Daniela Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev. All are Israeli soldiers. Before being allowed to return to Israel after nearly 16 months in captivity, they were paraded across a stage in Gaza wearing green fatigues, against a banner with English, Arabic and Hebrew slogans such as "Zionism...
(JNS) — Israel-related issues dominated the Senate confirmation hearing of Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Tuesday to become the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Nearly every senator on the Foreign Relations Committee probed her views on the Jewish state and the region. The congresswoman vowed to use her seat in Turtle Bay to combat antisemitism just as she had done in Congress. “If you look at the antisemitic rot within the United Nations, there are more resolutions targeting Israel than any other country, any other crisis, com...
On Jan. 19, graffiti was painted on the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum. The graffiti included the racist “SS lightning bolts” symbol and hateful, explicit language. Since then, a felony criminal mischief investigation has been launched. Seminole County deputies said they painted over the graffiti. The following is the Holocaust Center’s statement: On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida solemnly honors the 1.1 million victims—most of whom were Je...
(JNS) - The first three female hostages freed by Hamas terrorists during the current ceasefire have been released from the hospital, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan announced on Sunday. Former Gaza captives Romi Gonen, 24, Emily Damari, 28, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, completed their tests and initial medical treatment at the hospital, according to the statement, which noted that "Sheba Medical Center will continue to support them and their families." The ex-hostages and their...
The Jewish Chamber of Commerce of Orlando invites community members to its free monthly Networking Breakfast, held the first Thursday of the month at One Senior Place, 7157 Lansdowne Blvd, Orlando, FL 32810. This event is free Ffor Chamber members. There is a nominal fee for nonmembers. This monthly gathering is a great opportunity for local professionals to connect, collaborate, and build relationships in a welcoming and vibrant environment. The next breakfast is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6, at 8:30 a.m. The event, designed to foster...
Many Seminole County subscribers received their Jan. 10 and Jan. 17 issues of the Heritage after Jan. 20. Several readers called Heritage to ask what had happened? We don’t know why this only affected the Seminole County papers, but we do know that there were several holidays that delayed delivery of the paper: Christmas day, New Year’s day, former President Jimmy Carter’s death and Martin Luther King day. We aren’t “passing the buck” but in our defense, for over 40 years, through hurricanes and power outages, the Heritage has gone to the prin...
The Israeli American Council Central Florida, in collaboration with Shalom Orlando, is bringing The Anti-Zionism Escape Room to the Roth Family JCC, 851 N. Maitland Ave., on Feb. 4-5, 2025. This Escape Room is an immersive experience designed to address the challenges of anti-Zionism, inspired by the events of the past year and the rising protests on campuses and in public spaces. Through collaboration and critical thinking, participants will learn definitions and ways to identify anti-Zionism and develop strategies for addressing cases of...
The Jewish National Fund-USA Orlando Women for Israel is presenting "United With Purpose: Special In Uniform" on Feb. 6, from 6:45 p.m.-8:30 p.m. The location will be provided upon RSVP. Special in Uniform is a program in which the Israeli Army integrates young adults with disabilities into the IDF, and in turn, into society. Guest speaker Lt. Col. (Res.) Tiran Attia, Special In Uniform director, will discuss the program and its effectiveness in Israel. Omer Lahat, a young adult in the SIU...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump revoked a host of what he called “harmful” executive orders and actions under former President Joe Biden, including Executive Order 14115 of Feb. 1, 2024, which sanctioned Jews living in Judea and Samaria accused of “undermining peace, security and stability in the West Bank.” “The previous administration has embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal and radical practices within every agency and office of the federal government,” Trump stated on Monday. “The injection of ‘diversity, equity and inclus...
(JTA) — President Donald Trump says he has asked Jordan to accept Palestinians from Gaza and plans to press Egypt to do the same. Trump said he spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Saturday, five days after being inaugurated for his second term and six days into a ceasefire that he pressed for in the Israel-Hamas war. “I said to him I’d love you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess. I’d like him to take people,” Trump told reporters Saturday night aboard Air Force One followi...
(JNS) — Eight of the 33 hostages intended for release during the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal are dead, according to a list provided by Hamas. Israeli government spokesman David Mencer confirmed that the terrorist group stated the remaining 25 hostages are alive. The list was delivered to Israel overnight Sunday. After repeatedly violating the truce deal with Israel, Hamas released three additional captives on Thursday — civilian Arbel Yehud, IDF soldier Agam Berger and an unidentified man — the Prime Minister’s Office...
(JNS) — The Israeli passport is the 19th strongest worldwide, according to a global ranking released last week. Israeli passport holders can now enter 170 countries without a visa, according to The Henley Passport Index, which measures the number of visa-free destinations available to holders of a given passport. The Israeli passport increased in strength from last year, when it was ranked 21st. Singapore tops the ranking of nearly 200 passports included in the index, followed by Japan, Finland, France, Germany, South Korea and Spain. The U...
(JNS) — The three Israeli hostages who returned from captivity in Gaza Sunday recalled in testimonies how they helped each other survive for 471 days amid uncertainty and lacking medical care, Israel’s Channel 12 reported. In statements vetted by the military censor and approved by the hostages for publication, they recalled living in underground facilities with little medical attention, tremendous uncertainty and, at times, despair. Emily Damari, who has a leg injury and lost two fingers on her left hand during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attac...
The Jewish Pavilion Senior Services hosted a successful Sponsors Breakfast at Legacy Pointe recently, creating a welcoming space for board members, sponsors, and community leaders to connect over a shared commitment to supporting seniors in the Orlando area. The event was a unique opportunity for sponsors and board members to build lasting friendships while also engaging in meaningful business discussions that strengthen the organization's mission. The event highlighted the Jewish Pavilion Senio...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Emily Damari (28), Doron Steinbrecher (31) and Romi Gonen (24) have begun their journey back to life at Sheba Medical Center following 471 days in Hamas captivity. Medical teams, having spent months preparing for the hostages’ return, prioritized the family reunions while establishing the foundation for an intricate medical and psychological rehabilitation process. Following the hostages’ return, Hospital Director Dr. Yael Frankel Nir announced: “I am deeply moved to report that we have received the three hostages. Thei...
(JNS) — Harvard University has resolved two federal lawsuits alleging antisemitic discrimination on campus with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education. As part of the agreement, Harvard will incorporate the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, and the contemporary examples appended to the definition, when evaluating whether alleged discrimination violates the university’s non-discrimination and anti-bullying policies. Harvard Unive...
(JNS) — The U.S. has provided Israel with a written guarantee that Jerusalem can resume its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip if negotiations for the second and third phases of the ceasefire agreement fail, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told JNS on Tuesday. U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Joe Biden have provided Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an official missive confirming that “the State of Israel will be able to return to the war on day 43” if talks fail during the 42-day first phase of the a...
(JTA) — Police in Tennessee are investigating whether an antisemitic manifesto posted online was written by a teenager accused of carrying out a fatal school shooting in Nashville on Jan. 22. The alleged shooter at Antioch High School appears to have posted a livestream of the shooting as well as content on his social media accounts prior to the attack, in which one student was killed. The material was removed after its connection to the shooting became known. According to The Tennessean newspaper, the materials attributed to the shooter, i...
(JNS) — Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Sunday night welcomed the return of Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari from Hamas captivity. “We are happy and excited about your return and await the return of the remaining hostages—through the use of [military] force, cutting off fuel [to Gaza] and stopping the flow of humanitarian aid [to Hamas]—not through surrender,” tweeted Ben-Gvir. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit Party formally resigned from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on Sunday morning, a da...
Sen. Cruz gives Trump drawings by children held hostage in Gaza By JNS Staff (JNS) — U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Sunday that he presented pictures drawn by Israeli children who were held hostage in Gaza to President-elect Donald Trump. “This week, I met with an Israeli hostage family who had been released from Gaza,” Cruz wrote on X. “The beautiful children drew pictures for President Trump, and they asked me to deliver them.” The Senator, who is a staunch defender of Israel and has emerged as a close ally of the president...
