Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — In his first meeting with the new Palestinian Authority prime minister on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the PA’s plans to pass a series of administrative reforms. Blinken stressed “the need for full and consistent implementation of those reforms to achieve the aspirations of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza” in his meeting in Sweimeh, Jordan, with Mohammad Mustafa, the P.A. prime minister, per a U.S. readout of the meeting. The U.S. secretary also reaffirmed the Biden administration’s “support...
(JNS) — Hamas has rejected the Israeli hostage-ceasefire deal, claiming that it is fundamentally different than the one presented by U.S. President Joe Biden on May 31, the Saudi daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Thursday. The Gaza-based terror group sent a clarification memorandum to the Palestinian terror factions on Wednesday, the text of which was seen by the news outlet. It claims that the current proposal “does not promise a permanent ceasefire, the occupation’s forces will remain in Gaza, and when they receive the hostages, they will...
(JNS) — Messages sent to mediators by Hamas leader in Gaza Yahya Sinwar show that as far as he’s concerned, the more civilians die in Gaza the better. He sees such deaths as working “to his advantage,” The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The Journal reviewed “dozens of messages” Sinwar sent to ceasefire negotiators and others in which “he’s shown a cold disregard for human life and made clear he believes Israel has more to lose from the war than Hamas.” “We have the Israelis right where we want them,” said Sinwar in a message sent rec...
IDF has downed more than 150 drones since Oct. 7 (JNS) — Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, the Israel Defense Forces has intercepted over 150 drones using ground-based systems such as the Iron Dome, the military announced Monday night. Additional UAVs have been downed by fighter jets, according to the IDF. On Tuesday morning, the IDF announced the interception of a “suspicious aerial target” heading towards Israel “from the east.” No warning sirens were activated as the target did not cross into Israeli territory. Hours ear...
(JNS) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted 247 to 155 on Tuesday to pass H.R. 8282, the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act. Two Republicans voted “present” and 42 Democrats voted with Republicans for the bill. AIPAC stated that the bill responds to the “morally bankrupt and legally baseless attack against Israel” leveled by Karim Khan, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, a United Nations agency located in The Hague. Khan announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
(JNS) — Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on Tuesday slammed a reported decision to release 30 Palestinian terrorists who were captured by Israel Defense Forces troops in the Gaza Strip. “The decision by the IDF and the National Security Council to release terrorists back into the Gaza Strip without conditions is unfathomably delusional,” the Otzma Yehudit Party leader told Channel 14 News. “The IDF is expected to withstand the shortage of prison space during a war when there are tens of thousands of detained terrori...
(JNS) — The Jewish state should task a committee with probing the state’s defense budget amid a war that appears poised to cost $67 billion between 2023 and 2025, Amir Yaron, the governor of the Bank of Israel, said on Thursday. Speaking at the College of Management Academic Studies in Rishon Letzion, Yaron said that “a prosperous economy requires security, and security requires a prosperous economy,” Reuters reported. “The war should not bring with it a blank check for permanent defense expenditures, and proper balances have to be found,” h...
(JNS) — “I am very cheerful and full of joy. For the first time since October 7, I feel that I can breathe again,” Aviram Meir, the uncle of Almog Meir Jan, told JNS on Thursday. Meir Jan was rescued during “Operation Arnon” last Saturday along with Noa Argamani, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv from two separate locations in Nuseirat Camp in the central Gaza Strip. Hamas terrorists abducted all four from the Supernova music festival near Kibbutz Re’im during the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre. “We thank all the decision-makers, the planners and the soldi...
(JNS) - Thousands of Israelis converged on "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, many euphoric over the daring operation to rescue four captives from Gaza even while demanding a deal with Hamas to secure the freedom of the remaining 120 Israelis held by the terrorists. During a complex daytime operation in the heart of a crowded residential neighborhood, Israeli forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26, Almog Meir Jan, 21, Andrey Kozlov, 27, and Shlomi Ziv, 40. "I was so...
(JNS) - Israel will rename Saturday's hostage rescue operation after Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora, a member of the Israel Border Police's "Yamam" National Counter-Terrorism Unit who was mortally wounded during the mission. Zamora, 36, from Sde David, a moshav in southern Israel, leaves behind a wife, Michal, and two children. His wife eulogized him in a Facebook post. "Everything is now filled with the image of the hero Arnon Zamora. Long before he was a warrior and hero, he was a sweet and...
(JNS) - Israeli forces on Saturday rescued four hostages from two separate locations in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. During a complex IDF/Border Police/Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) daytime operation in the heart of a crowded residential neighborhood, the forces recovered from Hamas captivity Noa Argamani, 26; Almog Meir Jan, 21; Andrey Kozlov, 27; and Shlomi Ziv, 40. A fighter from the Border Police's Yamam National Counter-Terrorism Unit was mortally wounded during the rescue missio...
(JNS) — Western officials have expressed relief at the rescue by Israeli forces of four hostages Saturday, though some have also echoed Arab countries in condemning the operation in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp as a “massacre.” “Noa Argamani, Almog Meir Jan, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv are free and safe today. We share the relief of their families and call for the release of all the remaining hostages,” tweeted E.U. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell. He went on to call for the implementat...
(JNS) - Israeli jujitsu fighter Yarin Shriki won a gold medal at the European Championship in Germany over the weekend, seven months after surviving the Hamas massacre at the Supernova music festival near Gaza. "I dedicate the victory to my good friend Yohai Ben Zecharia, may God avenge his blood, who was murdered on October 7, as well as to the speedy return of all the hostages," Shriki told Israel's Channel 14 News. Shriki entered the final against Belgian Florian Bayili, ranked No. 1 in the...
(JTA) — The next leader of AIPAC will be Elliot Brandt, who has served as a senior official of the pro-Israel lobby for decades and will take the helm shortly after the November elections — a move toward continuity as Israel faces volatile conflicts on multiple fronts. Brandt, currently the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s vice CEO, will succeed longtime CEO Howard Kohr, who is stepping down at year’s end after nearly 20 years leading the group. Under his leadership, the organization burgeoned and, in recent years, shifted to launchi...
(JTA) — The German government has agreed to allocate $1.5 billion in Holocaust reparations this year, setting a new record for how much the country is spending to support survivors. The increase from a total of $1.4 billion last year is due to a rise in the amount the government is paying to reimburse survivors’ medical expenses. But the sum paid directly to survivors has once again declined, reflecting the accelerating deaths of survivors. And the growth in the total package is expected to end soon as the number of living survivors plu...
(JNS) — Israel Ganz, chairman of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, is in Washington this week to advocate against a Palestinian state. Ganz met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort counter the push by the White House to establish a Palestinian state in the wake of the Hamas-led massacre of Oct. 7. “There is no room for a two-state solution. [President Joe] Biden cannot appoint conditions for Israel, whether with regard to the Palestinian state or to stopping the war with Hamas. We in the United Sta...
(JNS) — Otzma Yehudit Party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir on Wednesday said he would suspend his role in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition until the premier revealed the details of the ceasefire proposal announced by U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday. “As long as the prime minister continues to hide the details of the deal, Otzma Yehudit will disrupt his coalition,” tweeted the right-wing leader, who also serves as Israel’s national security minister. The proposal was announced publicly by Biden in a televised address o...
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on July 24, his fourth time appearing before the legislative body. The Netanyahu speech, coming against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, is meant to demonstrate American support for Israel at a time when Israel has come under widespread criticism for its military campaign and Netanyahu faces a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court. “We look forward to hearing the Israeli government’s vision for defending democ...
(JNS) — United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan called the leadership of the Palestinian Authority “Ali Baba and the forty thieves,” speaking during a meeting of Arab countries that was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Axios, citing five sources, reported that a shouting match erupted during the April 29 meeting in Riyadh that also included the top diplomats of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, as well as top P.A. official Hussein al-Sheikh. The meeti...
On the evening of June 5, Oakmonte Village hosted the much-anticipated Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Cocktail Cabaret party. More than150 attendees gathered to support elders in long-term care, a mission that lies at the heart of the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services. One of the highlights of the evening was the live music, as well as the numerous raffle prizes. There were so many prizes that every single participant walked away a winner. The Jewish Pavilion Senior Services organization is...
(JNS) - "It's a miracle," Liat Ariel told JNS on Monday. Ariel's cousin Shlomi Ziv, along with Noa Argamani, Almog Meir and Andrey Kozlov, was rescued by Israeli forces in a daring daylight raid on Saturday after spending 246 days in Hamas captivity in Gaza. "We are still digesting the news. We don't really quite understand what happened to us. Suddenly, Shlomi is back," Ariel said. "We are so happy and a bit nervous. We want to make sure that he is fine. He looks alright physically but...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken commented on Saturday on the Israeli military operation that freed four hostages. All three stressed their belief that a ceasefire deal is the appropriate way to secure the release of the other estimated 120 hostages. Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the freed people during a press conference at the Élysée Palace in Paris on Saturday. “In Gaza, we want to obtain the immediate liberation of hosta...
(JNS) - Yossi Jan, 57, died on Saturday just hours before his son Almog Meir Jan was rescued from captivity in Gaza along with three other Israeli hostages. Officials arrived at Yossi's home in the central Israeli city of Kfar Saba around noon to inform him of his son's rescue, only to find him unconscious. Magen David Adom paramedics called to the scene determined his death. The cause of death remains under investigation. "My brother died of grief and didn't get to see his son return. The...
(JNS) - BBC news anchor Helena Humphrey was ridiculed after asking former IDF International Spokesman Lt. Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus on Sunday whether Israel should have warned Gaza's civilians before launching Saturday's rescue operation. Referring to the high Arab casualty count reported by Hamas sources, Humphrey asked, "Would there have been a warning to those civilians for them to get out on time?" Conricus, now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a...
(JNS) — A journalist and a doctor were among the family members holding Israeli hostages in their home in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Sunday night. “Following checks by the IDF and the Shin Bet, it can be confirmed that [journalist] Abdullah al-Jamal was an operative of the Hamas terrorist organization, who kept the hostages Almog Meir, Andrey Kozlov and Shlomi Ziv in his family home in Nuseirat,” the military said in a statement posted to X. “Abdullah’s family home held hostages alongside family m...
