Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - Jewish groups are mourning Jimmy Carter, the former president and broker of Israel's peace deal with Egypt who died Sunday at 100. In statements issued following his death, many of the groups are citing the peace deal and other landmark moments in Carter's presidency, which stretched from 1977 to 1981, as examples of Carter's legacy. Several of them are also acknowledging that in his post-presidency, the longest in American history, Carter aggrieved some American Jews by aggressively...
(JTA) — TEL AVIV — Ilana Decker, who moved from Israel to New York three years ago, says she doesn’t agree often with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Arguing, as he does, that the government should not make health mandates, she said, makes her “sound like an anti-vaxxer, which I’m not.” But there is one issue, she said, where she and Kennedy do line up: The man whom Donald Trump has picked as the next secretary of health and human services has publicly floated ending the decades-long policy of encouraging cities to inject fluoride into the American wa...
Stop ‘incendiary’ remarks about Israel, Conference of Presidents tells pope (JNS) — The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations appreciates and shares the pope’s “concern for the suffering of innocent civilians and desire to spread peace and compassion around the world.” But Pope Francis has gone beyond that and said troubling things about the Jewish state, Harriet Schleifer and William Daroff, chair and CEO respectively of the umbrella Jewish group, wrote to the pontiff on New Year’s Eve. “We write in the spirit of this...
(JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called for an emergency meeting to prepare for an expected spike in immigration as antisemitism rises globally in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre. In a letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Wednesday evening, Sa’ar said that a wave of worldwide antisemitism has eroded Jews’ sense of security in the Diaspora and has already generated a greater demand for immigration to Israel. “A broad national plan is required that will also include optimal absorption of the expected immigrati...
(World Israel News) — Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters descended onto Times Square to mark New Year’s by calling for an intifada against Jews. They carried signs with slogans like “End Zionism,” “No War on Iran,” and “End All Aid to Israel.” The Palestinian Youth Movement, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and the People’s Forum organized the protest. Members of the crowd, many wearing keffiyehs and face masks, chanted, “There is only one solution: Intifada revolution,” “We will honor all our martyrs,” and “Gaza, you make us proud....
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Externally, the Iranian regime appears preoccupied with managing its proxies, future investments in Syria, and rehabilitating Hezbollah—but behind the scenes, Iranian society is approaching collapse. Air pollution, shortages of oil and gas, frequent power outages, unpaid salaries, and brain drain are just some of the problems that Iranian citizens face. These issues are worsening daily with cumulative damage. In conversations with researchers studying Iranian society, issues of corruption and sanctions emerge. Will all... Full story
(JNS) — The 37th anniversary of the Hamas terrorist organization’s founding on Dec. 10 came during a period of decline due to defeats in Gaza and the broader region, a senior Hamas official based in Turkey told Saudi media. “Hamas is suffering from a genuine leadership crisis,” the official said. “The Al-Aqsa Flood [Oct. 7, 2023], attack backfired on us, submerging us in a sea of blood and crises. The most recent blow was the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, with which Hamas had been attempting to rebuild relations.” The Syrian govern...
By Mike Wagenheim (JNS) — Some 150 people gathered on Dec. 18 at the Cannon House Office Building to discuss ongoing efforts to convince the U.S. government to mint a commemorative Gold Meir commemorative coin. Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 987, the Prime Minister Golda Meir Commemorative Coin Act, on Feb. 10, 2023. The bill, which has drawn another 221 cosponsors, calls on the U.S. Mint to create up to 50,000 gold $5 coins, up to 400,000 silver $1 coins and up to 750,000 half-dollar c...
Israel investigating suspected settler attack on West Bank mosque By Ben Sales (JTA) — Israeli authorities are investigating after a mosque in the northern West Bank town of Marda was torched and graffitied with Hebrew slogans. No one was injured in the incident. Footage from the scene appeared to show burn marks and Hebrew graffiti featuring a Star of David and reading “revenge” and “burn the mosque, build the temple.” Israel’s police and Shin Bet security service have opened an investigation and have not yet made any arrests. Palestinian...
(JNS) — Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, formerly of Fox News, provides the “leading platform” for Jew-hatred, according to Amichai Chikli, the Israeli diaspora affairs minister. “Congratulations to Tucker Carlson for becoming the leading platform for fringe Holocaust deniers, conspiracy theorists and blood libel enthusiasts who oppose the State of Israel,” Chikli wrote on Tuesday. Carlson, with whom Fox News “agreed to part ways” on April 24, 2023, hosts an eponymous show on social media, where he has 15 million followers. Chikli’s cri...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz warned on Tuesday that any entity threatening Israel’s security would face dire consequences. Speaking at a naval base in Haifa, Katz revealed that Israeli forces had destroyed Syria’s navy, as part of a broader campaign to neutralize strategic threats that could later pose a danger to Israel. “The IDF has acted in recent days to attack and destroy strategic capabilities that threaten the State of Israel,” Katz stated, cautioning rebels that “whoever follows [ousted president Bashar] al-Assad’s...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden on Dec. 16 reiterated his commitment to bring the remaining 100 hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza home, as he enters the final month of his presidency. “I will not stop until I get every single one of them out,” said Biden at his final White House Chanukah party. The remarks come amid reports of an imminent deal with Hamas for the release of hostages before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. President Biden added that he was inspired by the power of the Jewish people’s hope and optimis...
Remarkably, in a city in East Africa that is home to two million people, as of 2018 there were no streetlights. In 2019, we installed solar-powered streetlights at the city's 'bus station'-a name that doesn't quite fit, as it was essentially a dirt field in the center of town. When I visited after the lights were installed, the impact was immediately visible. Nearby stores stayed open later, crime in the area decreased, and, most unexpectedly, young children gathered under the lights to do...
(JNS) - Former hostage Judith Raanan met with President-elect Donald Trump in Florida on Monday at his golf course in West Palm Beach. She was the first female hostage to be released from Hamas in the Gaza Strip after being kidnapped from Kibbutz Nahel Oz in the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Raanan, a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen based in the Chicago area, gave Trump a drawing she had made and described the trauma of her captivity. She expressed her trust in the...
(JNS) — The Biden administration has privately asked Israel to approve an urgent request for U.S. military aid to Palestinian Authority forces, Palestinian, American and Israeli officials told Axios. The request comes after the P.A. launched a rare counter-terror raid in Jenin, where Ramallah for years refused to act against Iranian-backed terrorist groups, in violation of its commitments under the Oslo Accords. Ramallah launched its operation, dubbed “Defense of the Homeland,” following the Dec. 5 seizure by Hamas and Islamic Jihad of a P.A....
NYC Israeli shawarma spot makes NYT’s ‘Best New Restaurants’ list By Adi Nirman (JNS) — Spice Brothers, the Mediterranean restaurant operated by Israeli chef Lior Lev Sercarz, has earned a spot on The New York Times’s “New York’s 14 Best New Restaurants of 2024” list. Sercarz, born in northern Israel, met David Malbequi, the restaurant’s former co-owner, while working together for renowned chef Daniel Boulud. They opened Spice Brothers in September 2023, but the two eventually parted ways and Lev Sercarz remained to manage the restaurant. The r...
By Rossella Tercatin (JTA) — In April, when a group of pro-Palestinian activists pressured Florence’s city hall to have the local honorary Israeli consul resign, they also took aim at a politician, Sara Funaro, who was running for mayor. “We’re sorry that we haven’t heard one word of condemnation of the Israeli government’s behavior from Marco Carrai,” the honorary consul, the activists said. “Just as striking is the silence of Councilor Funaro, who has actually wished this person well in his work.” Funaro didn’t respond — and doesn’t appear to...
JewBelong to put up antisemitism awareness billboards during holidays (JNS) — December 2023 had the highest number of antisemitic incidents of any month last year, the Anti-Defamation League reported. The activist group JewBelong is attempting to make sure that doesn’t repeat itself this month. To that end, as of Dec. 9, the nonprofit organization is placing billboards on main roads near four airports in the United States: Chicago O’Hare International Airport in Illinois, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia, Fort Laude...
(JNS) - Syrian President Bashar Assad has fled the country after a coalition of rebel groups stormed Damascus, ending his family's five-decade rule over the Arab Republic, Reuters reported on Sunday morning. Syria's army command notified officers on Sunday that the regime had fallen, an officer who was informed of the move told the press agency. A Syrian airplane took off from Damascus International Airport as the capital was being taken by the rebels. Reuters said it could not immediately...
(JNS) - Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu, visiting the Syrian border on Sunday, hailed the collapse of the Assad regime, "a central link in Iran's axis of evil," describing it as a "historic day in the history of the Middle East." Netanyahu said the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who fled the country after a coalition of rebel groups stormed Damascus on Sunday, was the direct result of blows Israel inflicted on Iran and Hezbollah, "the main supporters of the Assad regime." U.S. National...
(JNS)— Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced legislation on Thursday that would ban the federal government from using the term “West Bank” and instead use Judea and Samaria, the terminology preferred by Israel. Formally titled the “Retiring the Egregious Confusion Over the Genuine Name of Israel’s Zone of Influence by Necessitating Government-use of Judea and Samaria (RECOGNIZING Judea and Samaria) Act,” the bill would prohibit government funds from being used to describe “the land annexed by Israel from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War...
A synagogue in suburban Melbourne, Australia, was set ablaze on Friday, causing congregants to flee and injuring at least one person. The fire before dawn on Friday at Adass Israel, a haredi Orthodox synagogue in the town of Ripponlea, sent congregants gathered for morning prayers into the streets at 4:10 a.m. Those who fled the fire reported assailants breaking windows and throwing firebombs into the building. The damage from the fire appeared to be extensive and was brought under control by 5 a.m. by a team of 60 firefighters and 17 trucks,...
(JNS) — The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for a “High-level International Conference” to be held in June to push forward the establishment of a state of Palestine. The conference will advance implementation of U.N. resolutions regarding “the question of Palestine,” reads the resolution, one of three passed on Tuesday concerning the two-state solution. The conference will take place in New York on June 2-4, with a preparatory meeting to be held in May. It will adopt an “outcome document” that will out...
Seven women from Orlando — Sarah Gittleson, Stacey Soll, Shifra Yachnes, Carol Feuerman, Debbie Cohen, Limor Raz and Orly Wilf — were part of a group of 100 women from eight American cities who visited Israel from Nov. 4-11 as part of an eight-day trip organized by the global Jewish organization Momentum. The organization aims to inspire Jewish women to lead a Jewish future by becoming more connected to their identity, heritage, and Israel. The eight-day trip was part of the Momentum year-long program known as the Journey of Growth, an ini...
(JNS) — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump announced his selection of Adam Boehler to be the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs in the incoming administration. Boehler previously led negotiations on the 2020 Abraham Accords, the agreement that normalized diplomatic relations between Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that was later expanded to include Sudan and Morocco. Trump touted Boehler’s experience as a negotiator and his unanimous confirmation by the Senate as the first CEO of the U.S. Development Finance Cor...
