Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — U.S. Jews who participated in Birthright trips to Israel are more highly identified and engaged in communal life than their peers who did not, according to an analysis of the Pew Research Center’s 2020 survey of American Jews conducted by researchers at the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. The profound disparity in attitudes and behavior also held true when the analysts took into account differences in the respondents’ backgrounds. Among the adults surveyed by Pew, nearly 45 percent had been eligible to pa...
(JTA) — Elon Musk bantered with Kanye West and trolled the Anti-Defamation League this weekend, in the latest of mounting signs that he is choosing to let the platform become a free for all after acquiring it last month. West, the rapper and designer who also goes by Ye, had been banned from Twitter last month for threatening Jews; he returned to the platform Nov. 4 and was swiftly banned again after he launched a new round of anti-Jewish invective. “Testing Testing Seeing if my Twitter is unblocked,” West tweeted midday Sunday. Several hours...
(JTA) — It was unseasonably cold on Sunday morning when thousands of rabbis crowded on risers in front of Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Brooklyn to snap a photograph. The group photo is a signature moment during any gathering of the Orthodox movement, allowing the movement to create a visual record of its growth: Unique among Hasidic movements, Chabad is known for sending rabbis and their wives to far-flung locations around the globe to minister to local Jews, regardless of denomination or beliefs. (A picture taken at a smaller gathering o...
US imposes sanctions on Tehran’s IRIB media group (JNS) — The U.S. Treasury Department has placed sanctions on a state-run Iranian media corporation for forcing confessions from Iranians detained by the Islamic Republic. The department is sanctioning the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting group and six individuals associated with it, for its involvement in the Iranian government’s censorship activities. The organization, which has a monopoly on television and radio broadcasts in Iran, forced and broadcast hundreds of confessions from Iranian...
(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) — “We stand with Israel because her cause is our cause,” former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said, addressing Tuesday night’s Iranian American Jewish Federation of New York gala in Manhattan. “Her values are our values. Her fight is our fight. We stand with Israel because we believe in right over wrong, in good over evil. We stand with Israel because like millions of Americans through all generations, we hold fast to that ancient promise, that those who bless her will be blessed,” he continued. When Steven Khadavi, president o...
(JNS) — The Biden administration on Tuesday called on Israel and the Palestinian Authority to take steps to calm tensions in Judea and Samaria, just hours after a Palestinian terrorist killed three Israelis in a stabbing and car-ramming rampage in and around the city of Ariel. “The United States is deeply concerned by the increased violence in the West Bank,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. “We convey profound condolences to the families and loved ones of the Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including childre...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel will not cooperate with an FBI investigation into the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist who died in May in an exchange of fire between Palestinian and Israeli troops, Israel’s defense minister said. “The American Justice Department’s decision to investigate the regrettable death of Shireen Abu Akleh is a grave mistake,” Benny Gantz, Israel’s defense minister, said Monday on Twitter. “I made clear to American representatives that we stand behind Israeli soldiers, we will not cooperate...
Blast rocks Istanbul, killing at least 6 and canceling memorial for Jews killed in 2003 attacks By David I. Klein ISTANBUL (JTA) – So far six are reported dead and dozens injured in a blast on Istanbul’s İstiklal Caddesi, a major tourism hotspot and thoroughfare that sees tens of thousands of tourists every day. The perpetrators and full extent of the attack are not yet clear, but Israel’s Channel 13 news reported that one Israeli was injured in the attack. Turkish authorities said they suspected terrorism. The blast took place as Istanb...
(JNS) — In a renewed push of faith-based diplomacy, three heads of the U.S. Congressional Israel Allies Caucus have written to the leaders of more than two dozen countries urging them to vote to shutter two anti-Israel U.N. institutions in a vote that will come before the General Assembly later this year. The appeal comes as the Palestinians pushed through a draft resolution at a U.N. committee Friday over the objections of the U.S. and Israel calling on the International Court of Justice to issue a legal opinion on Israel’s “prolonged occupati...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - President Joe Biden called Benjamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on being reelected Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu said the two would work to expand the Abraham Accords. "President Biden called me to congratulate me on my elections victory and said the U.S.-Israel alliance is as resilient as ever,' Netanyahu said Monday in Hebrew on Twitter. "I thanked President Biden for our close personal friendship of 40 years and for his commitment to the state of Israel. I told him...
(JTA) — King Charles III wants to make sure that the United Kingdom’s chief rabbi can make it to his coronation ceremony next year — so much so that he’s letting the Jewish leader sleep over at his house. The coronation is set for May 6, 2023, which falls on a Saturday, in the middle of the Jewish sabbath. Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and his wife Valerie, who are Orthodox, are not allowed under Jewish law to travel by car or use electricity on Shabbat. King Charles’ current residence, before he moves into Buckingham Palace, is Clarence House, lo...
(JTA) — Since Feb. 24, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Jewish groups from around the world have flooded the country with support, from food to medical care to evacuations. Now, as temperatures fall and Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid ramp up, those groups are directing their efforts toward making sure that Ukrainian Jews can remain warm and safe in the coming months. A Ukraine response group organized by the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch movement, whose rabbis are the Jewish leaders in many Ukrainian cities, is raising funds to buy...
(JNS) Arab expansion into land in Judea and Samaria is far outpacing Israeli growth in the area, according to a report by the Israeli NGO Regavim. "In the past year, the rate of illegal Palestinian construction has increased by 80%," the researchers wrote. So far in 2022, Palestinians built 5,535 illegal structures in Area C, which was placed under full Israeli control by the Oslo Accords. In contrast, illegal Israeli construction in Judea and Samaria amounted to 406 structures in 2022. Over...
(JTA) — Three weeks after saying he was “alarmed” by Adidas’ ties to Kanye West, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, donned the company’s sneakers for his group’s “Never is Now” conference in New York City. The about-face happened after Adidas ended its relationship with West weeks after the rapper began making antisemitic comments, satisfying the ADL’s demands. Now, Adidas is making a major donation to the anti-hate group and working with it to fight antisemitism among student and professional athletes. The new...
(JTA) - This week, Jewish communities across the United States are commemorating the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the anti-Jewish riots that marked a brutal turning point in the Nazi campaign of persecution. In Germany, cities and towns also will commemorate this day, but under a different name. They refer to the events of November 9-10, 1938, as "the November Pogrom," or variations on that term. That's became to many in Germany, the term "Kristallnacht" - night of shattered glass - sounds...
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...
