Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1001 - 1025 of 1311
Z3 Presents: Who Can Predict the Future? Future Workshopping as a Tool for Jewish Peoplehood By The Z3 Project War games, also known as simulations, are often used by policy planners to come up with new ways of thinking about longstanding threats and challenges. This year’s Z3 2021 Futures Workshop uses a simulation to game out the year 2025, in Israel and the Diaspora. For approximately 200 individuals, this exercise will happen in person, at the Palo Alto JCC. For others this will happen virtually. In this fully participative experience, spea...
(JTA) — Polish nationalists shouted “death to Jews” as they burned a book representing a historic pact protecting the rights of Poland’s Jews. The book burning Thursday at a rally in Kalisz, a city of about 100,000 inhabitants situated 120 miles southwest of Warsaw, was part of a series of nationalist events on Nov. 11, National Independence Day, which is the anniversary of when Poland regained its sovereignty in 1918. Videos and eyewitness accounts on social media show that Wojciech Olszański, a far-right activist, lit a red-covered book tha...
(JNS) - Lebanon, the least stable country in Israel's environment at this time, is home to Iran's strongest proxy, Hezbollah, which continues to get stronger despite the many crises plaguing its host country. Lebanon's multi-faceted dysfunction at the political, economic and social levels has seen its citizens plunged into misery with many of them staring into the abyss of a humanitarian crisis (the country has recently declined Israeli offers for humanitarian assistance). At the same time,...
Sally Rooney’s boycott of Israel publishers gets backing of 70 writers By Asaf Shalev (JTA) — Seventy notable writers and publishers including Rachel Kushner, Francisco Goldman and Eileen Myles have signed a letter supporting Irish novelist Sally Rooney in her refusal to have her third novel translated into Hebrew by an Israeli publisher. The letter calls Rooney’s boycott of Israeli publishers “an exemplary response to the mounting injustices inflicted on Palestinians.” Rooney published her newest novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” in Se...
(JNS) — The United States voted last week to abstain on a resolution concerning the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, the U.N.’s agency that handles Palestinian refugees — part of several resolutions put forth in the U.N. General Assembly concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that largely targeted Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. The text, called “Assistance to Palestinian Refugees,” demands “compensation” for descendants of Palestinian refugees who lost property when they fled their homes, as wel...
(JTA) — Danny Fenster, a Jewish American journalist who has been imprisoned in Myanmar since May and was sentenced to 11 years in prison Friday, has been released just days later, according to reports. Former New Mexico governor and former diplomat Bill Richardson, who was in the country on a humanitarian visit, told reporters Monday that Fenster would travel back to the United States “through Qatar, over the next day and a half,” CNN reported. Fenster’s brother Bryan celebrated the news in a tweet Monday morning. “We are overjoyed that Danny h...
(JTA) - An impression of Adolf Hitler at Cambridge University has touched off a fight over the limits of free speech and has drawn Monty Python comedian John Cleese into the fray. The impersonation was delivered at a debate last week on whether there's such a thing as "good taste." Andrew Graham-Dixon, an art historian, impersonated Hitler as an example of bad taste, in order to argue that good and bad taste do exist. At the time, Keir Bradwell, the president of the Cambridge Union, a debating...
Is US Men’s National Team soccer player Brenden Aaronson Jewish? By Emily Burack (JTA) — The men’s World Cup soccer qualifier games are underway, and the U.S. team has a shot at making the tournament that will take place next fall in Qatar. For those fans who have suppressed the memories — the U.S. men’s team failed to qualify last time around. One of the team’s six forwards is Brenden Aaronson, a 21-year-old from Medford, New Jersey, who has gone from playing in the American Major League Soccer league to the Austrian Bundesliga, where he su...
(JTA) - A prominent rabbi in the Netherlands compared her country's COVID-19 safety measures to the policies of Nazi Germany, drawing harsh rebuke from Jewish groups. Tamarah Benima, an outspoken 71-year-old Reform rabbi from Amsterdam, made the comparison on Nov. 4 in a speech in the northern Dutch city of Leeuwarden. She left the Dutch Union for Progressive Judaism on Nov. 9, the rabbinical council of the umbrella group wrote in a statement. "Scientists worldwide apparently allowed themselves...
Zionist Organization of America President Morton A. Klein released the following statement: ZOA strongly condemns President Biden, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield, and U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN Richard Mills for refusing to oppose the one-sided, illegitimate, dangerous UN Resolution A/C.4/75/L.9, which calls for a so-called “Right of Return” (“repatriation”) or compensation to Palestinian Arab refugees. This so-called “right of return” could destroy Israel as a Jewish State. The resolution is aimed at ov...
Polish soccer referee sends antisemitic rant to group fighting anti-Semitism By Cnaan Liphshiz KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — Jewish groups in Poland complained after a professional soccer referee ridiculed the work of a group trying to root out antisemitism in the sport. Lukasz Araszkiewicz, a referee from Poznan, called the work of the Never Again association “hogwash by Jewish centers and milieus.” Never Again, which seeks to curb expressions of racist hatred in soccer, had invited him and others to participate in the group’s activities, the Poz...
(ISRAEL21c) - Eytan Buchman calls it a "shipstorm." Speaking from the Israeli headquarters of Freightos, the CMO is referring to the confluence of events behind a global supply-chain crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic triggered many of these events, such as increased online purchasing, labor shortages, port shutdowns and passenger flight cancellations. There is a severe backlog at the world's biggest ports, long delays in getting goods to consumers, and skyrocketing costs at every point along the...
(JNS) — After a year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Israeli-American Council is looking forward to holding an in-person summit this December. IAC CEO Shoham Nicolet said it was more important than ever for people to show their support for Israel and denounce rising antisemitism in the United States and around the world. “The feeling was that it’s not a luxury to have the summit, but really essential,” he said. “Because for us to really support Israel, to really show our united voice against antisemitism, you need to bring peo...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — New York State’s state pension fund will divest its holdings in Unilever in response to the July decision by the conglomerate’s affiliate Ben & Jerry’s to restrict ice cream sales in the West Bank. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s announcement Thursday makes New York the fourth state to move to sanction the Ben & Jerry’s corporate parent over its Israel stance, following New Jersey, Arizona and Florida. At least four other states have launched reviews investigating whether the Ben & Jerry’s decision coul...
(JNS) — Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Matt McKeon confirmed on Wednesday that the administration is seeking to reopen the U.S. Consulate for Palestinians in its original location in Jerusalem. McKeon was grilled by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.), co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus, during his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee and asked whether he was involved in planning the reopening of the consulate. McKeon confirmed that he was, telling Zeldin that the administration was contemplating o...
(JNS) — Three-dozen Republican senators introduced a bill on Tuesday that aims to block the Biden administration’s plan to reopen the U.S. consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 was introduced by Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) and co-sponsored by 34 additional Republicans. It calls on the Biden administration to uphold the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 and not reopen the U.S. Consulate to the Palestinians, which was merged into the U.S. embassy when it was relocated to Jerusalem in May...
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas visited the Vatican on Thursday where he had a private audience with Pope Francis. A Vatican press release described the talks as “cordial” and called for renewed peace talks towards a two-state solution. “With regard to the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, it was stressed that it is absolutely necessary to reactivate direct dialogue in order to achieve a two-state solution, also with the help of more vigorous effort on the part of the international community,” the statement said. ...
(J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — Two Jewish Google employees are playing a key role in a worker petition calling on Google and Amazon to cancel a joint contract to build cloud-based data centers on behalf of the Israeli government. The massive, $1.2 billion contract, dubbed Project Nimbus, was signed in May and is one of Israel’s largest technology infrastructure ventures. Google and Amazon will transfer Israel’s data into six cloud-based storage centers over the next several years. The open letter says the deal viola...
Israeli State Comptroller releases report criticizing climate change preparedness (JNS) — Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman published a scathing report on Tuesday concerning Israel’s preparations for hazards related to climate change. According to a report by Kan news, Englman’s report, published on the eve of the Glasgow Climate Summit, concluded that Israel has failed to limit its pollution levels and has inadequately planned for the challenges posed by long-term climate change. “Israel is one of the few countries in the world not y...
Noam Chomsky says Scottish university newspaper shouldn’t apologize for article it deemed ‘antisemitic’ By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) — Some 500 scholars, including the prominent linguist and Israel critic Noam Chomsky, accused a Scottish university of curbing free speech after a student publication apologized for a 2017 essay it said promoted “an unfounded antisemitic theory.” The essay, published in the University of Glasgow’s eSharp magazine in 2017, was titled “Advocating Occupation: Outsourcing Zionist Propaganda in the UK.” It’s author, Jane...
Cedarhurst, New York - One Israel Fund, the premier organization in the United States providing humanitarian support and essential needs for the residents of Judea and Samaria, is delighted to announce the appointment of Jacqueline L. Herman of Englewood, NJ as its new president of the board of trustees. Mrs. Herman has been a dedicated member of the organization's board of trustees for many years, and has worked tirelessly to raise funds for a variety of the organization's important projects...
During her remarks at the United Nations Security Council on Oct. 19, 2021, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called for the UNSC to reduce its criticism of Israel and adopt "a more balanced approach." But then Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield engaged in the same type of unbalanced criticism of Israel that she complained about. The U.S. Ambassador exaggerated and condemned "violence perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank against Palestinians and their property,"...
Alta Fixsler, a 2-year-old Jewish girl, taken off life support in UK despite parents’ wishes By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) — A 2-year-old Jewish girl died in the United Kingdom Monday after she was taken off life support despite her parents’ objections. Alta Fixsler of Manchester, England, had serious natal complications that made her dependent on life support from birth. When medical authorities at the hospital where she was treated wanted to take her off life support, her parents, both haredi Orthodox Jews, took the medical authorities to court...
(JNS) - On the first of a three-day visit to Washington, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid made his rounds in Congress on Tuesday, highlighting the Israeli government's push for bipartisan support for Israel in the United States. Lapid met with a bipartisan group of U.S. House of Representative members in the early afternoon and held a brief press conference in a Capitol hallway with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Pelosi began by saying that the U.S.-Israeli relationship has always bee...
Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania’s Jewish AG, declares candidacy for governor (JTA) — Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania attorney general who made national headlines last year pushing back against attempts to reverse Joe Biden’s win in the state, is running for governor of the state. Shapiro, a Democrat who has deep roots in the Jewish community, made the long-expected announcement on Monday, The Associated Press reported. The incumbent governor, Tom Wolf, who cannot run for a third term, said as long ago as 2019 that he favored Shapiro to succeed him....
