Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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After criticism, Taylor Swift adds Orthodox-friendly dates to her upcoming tour By Caleb Guedes-Reed (JTA) — “You’re On Your Own, Kid,” isn’t just the name of a track on Taylor Swift’s newest album — the phrase describes the way many of the pop star’s Jewish fans were feeling after she released the dates for her upcoming tour. This week, Shabbat-observant Swifties voiced their disappointment with the dates, which were all slated for during or just after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, on Friday or Saturday nights. (There was one scheduled for Ap...
(JNS) — Many Tesla and other electric vehicles are being shipped to Israel to avoid an impending increase in purchase tax. The largest shipment of Tesla vehicles ever sent to Israel arrived at Ashdod Port on Tuesday. The consignment includes slightly more than 2,500 Model 3 sedans. A quarter of the vehicles are destined for Israeli leasing companies. A similar-sized shipment is due to arrive in Ashdod in the coming weeks. Both batches are from Tesla’s Shanghai factory. The massive imports are timed to beat the January increase in Isr...
(JNS) - StandWithUs, an international organization that educates about Israel and combats antisemitism, has officially opened national operations in the country whose history forms the foundation of the "Israeli apartheid" slander. In South Africa, the continued rise in antisemitism, the challenge of fighting misinformation about Israel, and the call from Jewish and Christian Zionist communities for ongoing support from SWU have created the impetus for the organization to strengthen its presence...
(JNS) — Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk meets with his American counterpart Tom Nides every week in a bid to convince Washington to pressure Jerusalem into providing weapons to Kyiv for use in its war against Russia. In an interview with The Hill on Sunday, Korniychuk referred to Nides as his “secret weapon” in this diplomatic offensive. “The Americans are the only country that Israel is listening to … [and] this is why we discuss the … need to change this major trend that makes Israel’s position different from the rest of t...
(JNS) - While members of the United Nations Security Council on Friday expressed alarm over the rising number of Palestinian casualties, Israel's ambassador urged them to take a look at the underlying reason: ongoing security operations meant to stop a brutal escalation in terrorism. "Israel is in the midst of a terror wave," Israeli envoy Gilad Erdan told the council during Friday's quarterly debate on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Since the start of this year alone, there have been over...
With an overwhelming 152-5 majority, a UN committee devoted to world security called on Israel Friday to renounce its nuclear arsenal and put all its nuclear-related sites under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Disarmament and International Security Committee or First Committee) resolution, submitted annually by Egypt for years, demands that Israel join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, even though Jerusalem never acknowledged possession of nuclear weapons. It is “important” that Israel sign onto the NPT “witho...
Baku to establish an embassy in Israel amid Iran threat (JNS) — After 30 years of diplomatic relations and amid tensions with Iran, Azerbaijan has decided to open an embassy in Israel, media in the South Caucasus nation reported. Arzu Naghiyev, a lawmaker and member of the Azerbaijan-Israel parliamentary friendship group, told his country’s Pravda news site last week that “there is already a decision” and that “the opening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Israel can only be delayed by technical reasons.” The lawmaker also mentioned Iran opening...
(JTA) — Thousands marched to the grave of the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in Predappio on Sunday to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of his coming to power in Rome, days after the new Italian prime minister, whose party has fascist roots, decried the Italian race laws of the 1930s that targeted Jews. The crowd of up to 4,000 wore all black and chanted praise for Mussolini, a key Hitler ally, according to the Associated Press. Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has worried Italian Jews through her past connections to the I...
(JNS) — Former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ plans to move the British embassy in Israel to Jerusalem have been abandoned by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Downing Street has confirmed. Asked whether the U.K. government was still considering a move, a No 10 spokesperson said: “It has been looked at. There are no plans to move the British embassy.” When she was prime minister, Truss directed a review of whether the U.K. should follow the Trump administration’s lead and relocate the embassy from Tel Aviv. The development followed a statement by Britis...
(JNS) — Let’s set aside speculation as to why President Joe Biden has yet to congratulate Israel’s former and soon-to-be prime minister, Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, on his victory in the Nov. 1 Knesset elections. One could argue that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides’s call on Thursday—to wish Netanyahu well and say that he’s “looking forward to working together to maintain the unbreakable bond”—was a sufficient temporary stand-in for the real thing. It’s worth remembering that Biden’s got his own political hurdles to cross at the moment. P...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Israeli president Isaac Herzog had a message and stuck to it: Israel and the United States are on the same page no matter who wins elections in both countries next month. "We have elections in Israel, and you're having midterm elections in the United States," Herzog told President Joe Biden in the public portion of their meeting Wednesday, Oct. 26, in the Oval Office. "But one thing is clear - and I think this visit epitomizes it best - is that our friendship and strong bond...
(JTA) - The past few years have been tumultuous at 10 Downing St., the residence of the British prime minister in London. Last week, Liz Truss, who lasted just over six weeks in the role, became the third prime minister to resign since 2019. But the succession of Conservative Party leaders has kept some things steady: they have all had strong ties with mainstream British Jewry and professed a right-leaning foreign policy that is staunchly pro-Israel and hawkish on its enemies in the region. Rish...
(JNS) — Illegal Palestinian construction in the Israeli-controlled regions of Judea and Samaria, known collectively as “Area C,” increased by 80 percent over the past year, according to a new report by Israeli NGO Regavim. According to the report, titled “The War of Attrition,” 5,535 illegal Palestinian structures have been built in Area C during Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s tenure. Meanwhile, Regavim pegs the total number of illegal Arab-built structures in Area C at 80,000. The organization’s members recently protested out...
(JTA) — The athletic wear company Adidas is ending its relationship with Kanye West, days after the rapper boasted that he could “literally say antisemitics — and they cannot drop me.” The brand had faced growing criticism of its continued relationship with West, who is known as Ye, as other brands affiliated with West broke ties with him. Adidas reportedly brings in $2 billion a year through its Yeezy brand, accounting for about 10 percent of the company’s revenue. Now, the brand will stop making Yeezy products and stop all payments to West a...
Orthodox basketball player Ryan Turell selected in NBA minor league draft (JNS) — Orthodox Jewish basketball player Ryan Turell on Saturday was selected No. 27 overall in the 2022 NBA G League Draft, ESPN reported. Turell, who went unpicked out of Yeshiva University in June’s NBA Draft, was selected by the Motor City Cruise, the minor league affiliate of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons. The NBA G League is the NBA’s official minor league system. “Being the first Orthodox Jew in the NBA would mean the world to me, and a dream come true, God willing,...
(JTA) — Over the past several years, dozens of Spanish courts have rejected Israel boycotts by nonprofits, municipalities and other groups. Now, the country’s top court has ruled that the movement to boycott Israel represents “discrimination” that “infringes on basic rights.” Separately, the Spanish parliament on Wednesday passed legislation that bars public funding for organizations that “promote antisemitism.” The law uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism, which cites as examples of antisemitism so...
(JNS) - Russia's Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar on Wednesday called on Moscow to denounce a top official's "vulgar" antisemitism, saying it posed a "huge danger" to the Jewish community in the country. The call to condemn Alexei Pavlov, assistant secretary of Russia's Security Council, came in response to an article (Russian) he wrote claiming that "neo-pagan cults," including the Chabad movement, had taken over Ukraine. Pavlov added that Chabad's guiding principle was to enshrine its superiority...
(JNS) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned on Thursday just 45 days after assuming office, amid a political firestorm set off by her economic plan that was panned by investors, sent the pound and stocks tumbling and created chaos in her Conservative Party. Truss, who goes down as the shortest-serving prime minister in Britain's history, was under increasing pressure from fellow lawmakers following Wednesday's resignation of Home Secretary Suella Braverman, and after she last week sacked h...
(JNS) — Israel has rebuffed repeated Ukrainian requests to supply the war-torn country with its Iron Dome system and other military equipment. This week, Israel’s refusal came into the spotlight as Russia attacked Ukraine’s civilian centers using Iranian “kamikaze” drones. Ukraine said on Tuesday that it will formally request Israel to supply air defense systems. It had made informal requests until now. Israel has provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid, including a fully staffed $6.5 million field hospital. But its desire to maintain a delicat...
(JTA) — Australia’s new left-leaning government is reversing the decision made nearly four years ago under a conservative administration to move the country’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced in December 2018 that Australia would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The move put him in line with then-U.S. President Donald Trump, who had made a similar announcement a year earlier, pleasing his base, and had already opened an embassy in Jerusalem. But it made Morrison an outlier among the vast ma...
(JNS) - The United States is applying pressure on the Palestinian Authority to increase security coordination with Israel, as part of a larger effort to reduce violence in Judea and Samaria, commonly known as the West Bank, a former Israeli defense official tells JNS. A senior P.A. delegation arrived in Washington in early October, headed by Hussein al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the PLO Executive Committee. The delegation met with senior American officials including National Security Advisor J...
ANTAKYA, Turkey (JTA) - Jews have lived in the city of Antakya, known in ancient times as Antioch, for over 23 centuries. And the city wants visitors to know that. A symbol composed of a Star of David entwined with a Christian cross and Islamic crescent has practically become the city's logo, as it's plastered all over town, especially on restaurants peddling the southern Hatay province's patently spicy cuisine. "I was born in Antakya and I will die in Antakya," said Selim Cemel, a Jewish...
(JNS) — The Lions’ Den terror group, recently formed in Nablus, comprises dozens of gunmen and is not very well organized. Nevertheless, the group’s activities serve the purposes of established terror factions like Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which are amplifying its influence, according to a senior Israeli terrorism expert. The group has also been punching above its weight in terms of influence on the Palestinian street due to its shrewd use of social media, according to Dr Michael Barak, a senior researcher specializing in terro...
VINNYTSIA, Ukraine (JTA) — Under a haze of early morning cigarette smoke, two Jewish men from Ukrainian cities in areas occupied by Russia were discussing how much they miss their parents. Neither had seen them for months and in the brief exchanges that they have had with them, they could only say so much without fear of putting them in danger. “We can’t talk about the war,” says Moshe, who is from Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine that has been occupied by Russian troops since early in the war. “I don’t want to make things difficult f...
Family of fallen IDF soldier donates corneas, saving sight of two people (JNS) — The family of an Israeli soldier who was killed last week in a drive-by shooting in Samaria has donated his corneas to two people, saving their eyesight, Israeli media reported on Monday. The recipients, both in their 80s, “Were moved to tears when they heard about the identity of the donor,” Walla reported. Baruch was securing a civilian march near Shavei Shomron in northern Samaria when he was shot from a moving vehicle. He was evacuated to Meir Medical Cente...
