Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) — Voting March 10 in an election that gives American Jews a rare chance to directly shape Israel’s future. The U.S. election for seats in the 39th World Zionist Congress will help determine the balance of power in the legislative authority of a Zionist organization founded by Theodore Herzl 128 years ago. Influence over $5 billion in funding for Jewish causes is at stake, as is authority over quasi-governmental institutions such as the Jewish Agency, which plays a central role in immigration to Israel, and the Jewish National Fund, whi...
(JTA) — The World Zionist Congress election, which runs from March 10 to May 4, determines how $5 billion will be spent in Israel — and is seen as a referendum on the future of the country. Jews in the United States can choose among 21 lists of candidates, or slates, each with a specific agenda and profile. There are options by denomination, demographics and outlook on Israel. Here are the slates on the ballot for U.S. voters and what they stand for. Achdut Israel — Founded in response to the Hamas attack of Oct. 7, 2023, Achdut Israel is fo...
(JNS) — A group of American Christian leaders are publicly reaffirming the Jewish people’s right to the biblical heartland of Israel, ahead of a key U.S. decision on Israeli sovereignty over the territory. The move comes weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump is slated to announce whether or not he supports the Israeli annexation of Judea and Samaria—a goal backed by many evangelicals including some administration officials—amid international plans to rebuild post-war Gaza. The declaration will be made public on Tuesday at the annual National...
(JNS) — A Spanish-language documentary on the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, told through the eyes of Latino immigrants who were targeted in the country’s south that day, premiered in Los Angeles in February. The four-part series, “7/O: Testigos del Terror” (“10/7: Witnesses of Terror”), tells the story of the largest single-day attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust by focusing on Latin Americans living in kibbutzim and other farming villages on the border with Gaza, the largest immigrant group that came u...
(JNS) — A new study from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., highlights the impact of Birthright Israel across the generations, revealing how the effects extend beyond participants to their children as opposed to those who applied to the program but did not go. The study, which tracks long-term outcomes of Birthright participants, found that children of participants are more likely to be raised as Jews, more likely to have had a Jewish circumcision or a baby-naming ceremony, and more likely to b...
Some Columbia classes reportedly canceled in solidarity with anti-Israel activist By Izzy Salant (JNS) — The Washington Free Beacon reported on Monday that at least three professors at Columbia University canceled in-person classes in solidarity with the anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, whom federal agents arrested on March 8. “Given that the college and Columbia University has neither issued a public statement with any clear explanations as to why or how this arrest was allowed nor offered any serious reassurances for international stu...
(JNS) — A group of Judea and Samaria leaders made history last week by visiting Abu Dhabi on the first-ever organized trip by the Yesha Council to a Muslim country, the umbrella organization announced Thursday. Yesha Council chief Israel Ganz and CEO Omer Rahamim, as well as Hebron Hills Regional Council head Eliram Azulay, returned on Wednesday from their first visit to the United Arab Emirates. They were accompanied by Rabbi Matanya Yedid, who heads the Sifra Institute. During the visit, the three met government officials, business l...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Friday that he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging him to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Washington or face possible military action. “I said: ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,’” Trump said in an interview with the Fox Business Network channel. The missive was sent on Thursday, he added. “I think they want to get that letter,” Trump said. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot h...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump shared a video message to him from American-Israeli Keith Seigel, who was freed from Hamas captivity in Gaza on Feb. 1, urging further efforts to release the remaining hostages. In the message, Siegel also expressed his gratitude for Trump’s ongoing support. Speaking in front of a ruined home in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, from where the 65-year-old was taken during the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, Siegel described the massive destruction caused during the attack. “It’s hard to believe and comprehend what I...
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) - 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) — 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 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...
(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...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump held a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday in which the two leaders agreed to hold talks to end the war in Ukraine. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the call as “lengthy and highly productive.” “First, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine,” Trump wrote. “We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations. We h...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump might be surprised to learn that long before he proposed moving Arabs from Gaza to Jordan, Yitzhak Rabin recommended the exact same thing. It happened in 1973. Rabin, a former chief of staff of the Israeli army, was serving as Israel’s ambassador in Washington. In an interview with the Israeli daily Ma’ariv, on Feb. 16, Rabin discussed the question of what should be done about the large number of Palestinian Arab refugees residing in the Gaza Strip. Much of Gaza’s population consisted of Arabs who had set...
(JTA) — The Palestinian Authority will no longer pay stipends to the families of convicted terrorists and other prisoners, in a gesture to President Donald Trump. The longstanding program determined the size of the stipend based on the length of a prisoner’s sentence, meaning that those who were convicted of the worst offenses often received the largest stipends. While Palestinians often view the thousands of prisoners with admiration as the front line of resistance against Israel, the payment program had been maligned for years by Israeli and...
(JNS) — A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), introduced a resolution affirming that Hamas should no longer be allowed to exercise political or military control of the Gaza Strip. “One of the defining moments for the future of the Middle East and the world at large is to state directly and with moral clarity that Hamas—a terrorist organization—will no longer have political or military control of Gaza at the end of this conflict,” Graham stated in a press release announcing the measure. Besides launching the terro...
(JNS) — The three latest returnees from Hamas captivity in Gaza reunited on Saturday with their families in heartfelt scenes of elation and relief. American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, met with his wife, Avital, and his parents at the IDF’s Re’im camp just outside the Strip before being flown by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan. During the reunion, Avital informed him of their third daughter’s name. She was seven-months’ pregnant when Dekel-Chen was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. “Do you remembe...
