Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Winter storm Coral: Hermon turns white, rare snow in Mount Carmel (JNS) — The winter storm “Coral” peaked in Israel on Monday morning, covering Mount Hermon in snow and bringing light snowfall to northern and central Israel. Light snow fell in the Galilee, the Jerusalem area, and, for the first time in nine years, Mount Carmel. The last time Israel’s capital saw the white stuff was in January 2022. Unusually cold temperatures were recorded nationwide, dropping below freezing in the north and reaching 32 degrees Fahrenheit in Jerusalem. The coa...
(JNS) — The New York State Education Department wrote in English and Yiddish to two Chassidic schools in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., on Feb. 11, notifying them that they will no longer receive public funding and directing the schools to tell parents that the institution “is no longer deemed a school, which provides compulsory education fulfilling the requirements of Article 65 of the Education Law.” According to section 3204 of state law, “instruction given to a minor elsewhere than at a public school shall be at least s...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A pro-Israeli Hollywood collective known as “The Brigade” has issued a strongly-worded response to a campaign urging Oscar attendees to wear red pins in support of Gaza. In a statement shared on Monday night, the collective—comprising approximately 700 producers, actors, agents and filmmakers—criticized the symbolism and timing of the Artists4Ceasefire initiative, which was sent to Hollywood celebrities on Feb. 20, the same day Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children. “In 2000, Palestinian terrorists...
(JNS) - Kibbutz Nir Oz announced early Saturday morning that resident Shiri Bibas was murdered while held captive in Gaza, after Hamas said it returned her body to Israel late the previous night. "With pain and deep sorrow, Kibbutz Nir Oz announces the murder of Shiri Bibas, may her memory be a blessing, who was kidnapped from her home," according to a statement from the community. On Thursday, Hamas returned the bodies of the Bibas children, Kfir and Ariel, along with that of octogenarian Oded Lifshitz. However, the fourth body freed from...
In March 2014, RAISE (Recognizing Abilities and Inclusion of Special Employees), a Federation of Greater Orlando program, was launched with five employees who worked part-time, two days a week for three hours at The Roth Family JCC and JFS Orlando. Ten years later, RAISE launched its program in Teaneck, New Jersey, which is now beginning its second year with four employees, and this year RAISE officially launched at Shalom Orlando in Austin, Texas. Interestingly, the launch is during Jewish Disability Awareness, Acceptance and Inclusion Month....
(JNS) - Israel on Saturday, Feb. 22, redeemed six living hostages from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip: Eliya Cohen, 27, Avera Mengistu, 39, Hisham al-Sayed, 36, Omer Shem Tov, 22, Tal Shoham, 40, and Omer Wenkert, 23. Cohen, Shem Tov, Shoham and Wenkert were all abducted during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre, while Mengistu and al-Sayed were taken captive over a decade ago. During the release of the hostages, Israeli hostages Guy Gilboa-Dalal and Evyatar David were forced to watch...
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday night ordered the military to conduct a "massive" counter-terrorism operation in Judea and Samaria, after three buses exploded near Tel Aviv and bombs were found on two others in what is being investigated as a coordinated attack. Netanyahu also instructed the Israel Security Agency and Israel Police to step up "preventive activities" against possible additional attacks across the country. Following a situational assessment on...
Shalom Orlando Come in costume to the Orlando Solar Bears hockey game on March 9. The Solar Bears will take on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at the Kia Center, 3 p.m. Schedule of events include: 1:30 – 2:50 p.m., snacks and children's activities; 2 p.m., doors open, 3 p.m. the game begins, and at 5:40 p.m. the Jewish Academy of Orlando Choir will perform and there will be a parade on the ice. Tickets are $22 each. For more information email Zipporah.Hruby@shalomorlando.org. Southwest Orlando J...
Every Friday morning at 8:30 a.m. fresh Challah is available for purchase (only $10 each) in the JCC lobby and on Wednesday evenings from 5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. in the Congregation Ohev Shalom lobby. The Challah is made by RAISE employees taught by Ben Breslauer from B&K Bakery. RAISE n’ Challah is mission driven to provide meaningful work experiences to adults with disabilities. The Challah may also be pre-ordered. If you have any questions or issues with pre-ordering, contact Robin Merkel at 407-621-4036 or robin.merkel@Shalom...
(JNS) — It is for Israel to decide whether to resume the war in Gaza or continue into the second round of talks with Hamas to free more hostages, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Feb. 21. Asked by Brian Kilmeade on Fox News whether he was “okay either way,” Trump answered, “I am.” Hamas is “so violent and vicious,” the president continued, “it’s a decision that has to be made; it’s a rough decision. One group [of hostages] came in so bad, it looked like [they came out of] a concentration camp in Germany,” Trump said in reference to Eli Shar...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — French fashion brand Yves Saint Laurent has ignited a firestorm of controversy by selecting Palestinian rapper Marwan Abdelhamid, notorious for his antisemitic statements, as the face of its latest restaurant campaign. This has prompted calls for a boycott from Jewish organizations and customers worldwide. Abdelhamid is known by his stage name Saint Levant. YSL’s new campaign, which debuted Monday evening, promotes “Saint Laurent Sushi Park,” the brand’s new Japanese dining venture in Paris, developed in partnersh...
(JNS) — The nation’s chief law enforcement officer threatened Thursday to expel foreign students engaging in antisemitic protests on college campuses. “All of our students deserve to be safe,” Pam Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, said at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Gaylord National Resort Hotel and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Md., on Feb. 20. “These students, who are here on visas who are threatening our American students, need to be kicked out of this country,” Bondi added. Many college campuses erupted in protests...
(JNS) — The American comedian Jerry Seinfeld swiftly shot down an anti-Israel activist telling him he doesn’t “care about Palestine” when the online personality attempted to ambush him this weekend with a video, according to a clip posted on social media on Sunday. Instagram provocateur “Subway DJ” requested a selfie with Seinfeld outside an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live.” “Free Palestine,” the activist then said as he flashed a peace sign in the selfie with Seinfeld in the backdrop as the video rolled. “Mayb...
(JTA) — Most American Jewish adults are altering their behavior due to fears of antisemitism, according to a new survey commissioned by the American Jewish Committee and published Tuesday. When asked in late 2024, about 56 percent of respondents said they changed their behavior in the preceding 12 months, up from 46 percent in 2023 and 38 percent in 2022. This figure includes respondents who said they avoided wearing clothing or displaying items that might identify them as Jewish, such as Stars of David; chose not to post content on social m...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The family of Hamas hostages Gali and Ziv Berman has received the first sign of life from the twin brothers in nearly 500 days. The brothers were abducted from Kibbutz Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023, along with Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher and Amit Soussana, who have since been freed. "On one hand, we can breathe a little easier, but we also know whose hands they are in and the grave danger to their lives," said the twins' aunt, Makabit Meyer. "They are alive, and we must...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Intelligence gathered from hostages released from Gaza suggests Alon Ohel, 24, abducted from the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, may lose his vision. According to information disclosed Sunday morning on Kan Reshet Bet radio, reports from captives freed from Gaza indicate Ohel has sustained shrapnel injuries to an eye and can’t even detect shadows with it. Medical sources indicate that based on survivor testimonies, he risks losing vision in both eyes. As discussions continue over the future of the hostage/ceas...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The purported remains of Oded Lifshitz, 84, one of the founders of Kibbutz Nir Oz, were returned to Israel on Thursday, as part of the first phase of the hostage deal after his death has been all but confirmed a day earlier. Lifshitz was abducted from his home during the Oct. 7, 2023, attack alongside his wife, Yocheved. The body was handed over to Israel on Feb. 19 as part of the latest swap in the hostage deal with Hamas, after which confirmation of its identity...
(JTA) - The oldest hostage in Gaza is not alive, Israeli authorities announced on Tuesday. Shlomo Mantzur was killed 16 months ago, during Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and his body was taken to Gaza, Israeli officials said they determined after assessing intelligence data gathered in recent months. He was 85 at the time and is survived by a wife, five children and 12 grandchildren. Mantzur, who moved to Israel as a child after his family fled their native Iraq following the 1941...
(JNS) - Hundreds of thousands of shattered and fire-damaged wine bottles, some with wine remnants, line the floor of a once-thriving winery in Moshav Avivim, a picturesque community on Israel's border with Lebanon. The tableau of devastation at the former winery in this deserted Israeli village in the Upper Galilee just down the hill from Lebanon has remained frozen in time since four Hezbollah missiles demolished the site last year in multiple attacks and with it some 300,000 bottles of wine....
(JNS) — Many terrorists released by Israel are millionaires, flush with cash from years of receiving monthly Palestinian Authority “pay for slay” stipends, an analysis by a Jerusalem-based watchdog group revealed on Wednesday. Palestinian Media Watch posted a list of all 734 terrorists scheduled for release from Israeli prisons in the first phase of the hostages-for-ceasefire agreement with Hamas, together with their “salaries”—the dollar amounts each terrorist had received from the Palestinian Authority’s “pay-for-slay” program, official...
Fear forces Berlin Jews to hide their identity in community paper By Nissan Shtrauchler (Israel Hayom via JNS) — Growing security concerns have prompted the Berlin Jewish community to implement a protective measure: publishing only the first letter of community members’ surnames, rather than their full family names, in birthday announcements in the community newspaper, Bild reported on Friday. The community’s monthly journal, “Jewish Berlin,” traditionally includes a section for “Mazel tov” wishes to members over 65 and announcements...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Despite rising antisemitism and diminishing tolerance, Iran's Jewish community maintains a strong sense of cultural pride and national identity, according to David Nissan, an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence officer who was born and raised in Tehran. "Jews in Iran face increased suspicion, yet they remain deeply proud of their heritage. It's crucial to understand that Iranian Jews' national identity is tied to Iran, not to any other country, including...
(JNS) — In a column titled “Qatar is Hamas, and Hamas is Qatar,” Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh quoted Yigal Carmon, president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI: “Any Arab who hears American officials say that Qatar is America’s ally would burst into laughter. … Ask Egypt, not just the rulers, but the people and journalists. Ask the Emirates, the government, and people. Ask Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan. They all know that for decades Qatar has been promoting Islamist and terrorist organizations.” Toameh add...
(JNS) - Some 3,500 Jewish teens from 50 countries gathered in Denver on Thursday night for the opening ceremony of the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization International Convention, kicking off the youth movement's annual weekend-long retreat. Organizers told JNS that it is the largest annual gathering of Jewish teen leaders worldwide. The event includes leadership training, cultural programs and guest speakers, bringing together thousands of teens to connect, learn and celebrate their Jewish...
