Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1676 - 1700 of 1886
By Ron Kampeas NEW YORK (JTA)-At Abe Foxman's farewell, there were the hugs, there were the recollections of the hugs, and there was the sheer diversity of the huggers. Abe likes to hug, and he hugged everyone who came out to the June 17 gala marking his retirement from the Anti-Defamation League after 50 years, the past 28 leading the civil rights agency. So plenty of people got an Abe embrace: About 1,200 were in attendance, necessitating the use of the balconies in the vaulted Waldorf Astoria ballroom. Onstage there were tributes from Jews,... Full story
A University of Missouri (MU) fall 2015 honors tutorial that pro-Israel students felt would promote bigotry and misinformation on their college campus has been cancelled. “Perspectives on Zionism,” which was scheduled to be taught by self-proclaimed “post-Zionist” and “Nakba Jew-in-law” George Smith, was nixed due to no enrollment, according to a June 10 announcement. Yet the catalyst behind the cancelled course—Smith, a tenured biology professor who pushed for a curriculum that the instructor himself said would have included works by anti...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Three leading Jewish organizations—BBYO, Hillel International and Moishe House—are teaming up in a rare and pioneering global initiative to recruit, train and retain top professionals throughout their organizations. Called the Talent Alliance, the novel collaboration links 780 Jewish communal professionals in 37 countries in a global ecosystem designed to promote rising stars in these Jewish non-profits. The initiative is among the first of its kind in both the Jewish and nonprofit sectors. The pilot year of the Talent Allia... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-If there's one thing that can be said of longtime Anti-Defamation League leader Abraham Foxman, who is stepping down this month after nearly 30 years at the helm, it's that he never holds back from speaking his mind. In an age of canned, anodyne statements from public figures reticent to say what they really think, Foxman offers an authentic, unabashed voice free of artifice, hesitation or restraint. Foxman also has something else when he speaks: listeners. Though the ADL doesn't... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority in the Supreme Court decision that will keep "Israel" off the passports of Jerusalem-born Americans, begins by calling Jerusalem a "delicate subject." Competing claims to the Holy City were not the only timeworn and sensitive issue the justices contended with in their 6-3 decision on Monday, which upheld the State Department's policy of not allowing Americans born in Jerusalem to list "Israel" as their birthplace. The Supreme... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-It's early days for the White House's latest charm offensive among American Jews, but a new poll suggests that the wooing effort is having little effect. The poll, published Wednesday by J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that generally backs President Barack Obama's Middle East policies, shows Obama stuck at the same mid-50s approval ratings he was registering in April, when U.S.-Israel tensions were prominently in the news. Jim Gerstein, whose GBA Strategies conducted the po... Full story
(JTA)-A day after a radio host falsely said that Sen. Bernie Sanders has Israeli citizenship, the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination spoke publicly about how his Jewish identity has influenced him. In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor Thursday, Sanders (I-Vt.) said that he was "not particularly religious" but that as a child being Jewish taught him "in a very deep way what politics is about." "A guy named Adolf Hitler won an election in 1932," he told the Monitor.... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Rochelle Shoretz was fond of saying, "There are no problems, only solutions." Her approach to life was not to dwell on bad news, but to channel the energy that friends described as boundless into somehow making things better. It's what drove her to establish the national cancer organization Sharsheret after she was first diagnosed with breast cancer at age 28. On Sunday, Shoretz died of complications from the disease at her home in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was 42. At the time of... Full story
(JTA)-Two synagogues and the homes of countless Jewish residents were damaged in the floods that swept through Houston on Monday and into Tuesday, inundating homes and businesses, sweeping away cars and leaving at least five people dead. Houston, America's fourth-largest city and home to more than 40,000 Jews, was paralyzed when many of the canals that run through the city (known locally as bayous) crested after torrential rains soaked the city. Some 8-12 inches of water fell in a matter of... Full story
Illinois became the third state in a month to pass legislation formally opposing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. But going further than non-binding anti-BDS measures in Tennessee and Indiana, the Illinois bill took concrete action against those who boycott the Jewish state. The legislation-which unanimously passed both the Illinois House (102-0) and Senate (49-0), and will be signed into law by Governor Bruce Rauner-prohibits state pension funds from... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-A 39-year-old executive with an education startup and a 20-year-old naval academy student were among the seven people confirmed dead from an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia. Rachel Jacobs, the executive, who also is the daughter of former Michigan State Senator Gilda Jacobs, and Justin Zemser, a second-year student at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, were both Jewish. The accident, on a northbound train Tuesday night, injured more than 200 people, and... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Pew Research Center’s newly released 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study offers a trove of data on American Jews based on interviews with 35,071 American adults, 847 of whom identified their faith as Jewish. Here are some of the more interesting findings about the Jews. We’re highly educated: There are more American Jews with two or more university degrees than those who have just one—31 percent have a graduate degree and 29 percent have just a bachelor’s degree. With a college graduation rate of about 59 percent (more tha... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-From roundtable discussions to protests and prayers to candid talk with law enforcement officials, American Jewish communities are joining in the debate about community policing in the wake of several high-profile deaths of unarmed black men while in police custody. Officials were short on specifics, but several told JTA that protests in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray on April 19 have sparked a determination to confront the tensions between police and minority... Full story
For just more than a month now, the Virginia State Bar (VSB)-which, it should be noted, is a state body working with the legal profession in Virginia-has been embroiled in a nasty political row over its apparent boycott of Israel. I say "apparent" because this hasn't been the kind of run-of-the-mill boycott row one encounters on college campuses. Leading officials of the VSB are insisting that they are not boycotting Israel and that, moreover, they were not even aware of the Boycott, Divestment... Full story
The University of Florida chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was closed last Tuesday, April 28, after a misconduct investigation by the university was started in light of reports that ZBT members attending a spring formal yelled at, spat on, and hurled beer bottles at a group of military veterans who were also staying at the same Panama City Beach resort. The veterans were attending the Warrior Beach Retreat at the Laketown Wharf to relax and heal. After receiving the information of the fraternity members’ behavior, the university charged t... Full story
(JTA)— On Rosh Hashanah, according to the liturgy, our fate is written in the Book of Life. But Jewish football fans may be spending the holiday thinking about something else: the NFL opening games they are missing. The 2015 NFL schedule was released on Tuesday, and the season kickoff is on Sept. 13, which is the first night of Rosh Hashanah. The first game of the season, as it has been in recent years, is on a Thursday (Sept. 10). But the following Sunday (Erev Rosh Hashanah, Sept. 13) kicks off the season for most of the league’s tea... Full story
(JTA)- Critics love to nitpick Hillary Clinton's personal and policy choices, as they have during the recent email scandal and the Benghazi scandal. This time, however, the critics may have a substantial case against her. As soon as Clinton's campaign was launched, her campaign logo was lampooned from all sides. Some called it too simple, others thought it looked too corporate. Some were just confused that it features a red arrow pointing to the right – a feature that seems to contrast the blue... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Jewish leaders expected President Barack Obama to sell them hard on the Iran nuclear deal. Instead, participants in two White House meetings on Monday said he offered a softer pitch on how deeply he cares for Israel and the Jewish people. "He tried to explain he understands Jewish trauma, history, the Jewish feeling of being alone in a bad neighborhood," said a participant in the first meeting, which was attended by 15 top officials from Jewish organizations. Another described... Full story
(JNS.org) Former U.S. senator, secretary of state, and first lady Hillary Clinton on Sunday announced that she will run for president in 2016. She lost to President Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary. The National Jewish Democratic Council (NJDC) welcomed Clinton's candidacy, saying in a statement that she "not only has been a true and valuable friend to Israel over her long and illustrious career, but also has consistently defended the most vulnerable among us." "She... Full story
(JNS.org) U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) told donors that he is joining the field of Republican candidates running in the 2016 presidential election, The Associated Press reported Monday. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) had previously announced their campaigns. Reacting to the recently reached framework nuclear agreement with Iran, Rubio said in a statement that he fears the preliminary deal "will have devastating consequences for nuclear non-proliferation, the security of our all... Full story
WASHINGTON—In furtherance of the strategic “Drive to Excellence” plan, Hillel International today announced the addition of Matthew E. Berger as senior adviser for strategic communications. He assumed his post on April 20. Berger joins Hillel International with more than 15 years of experience in communications as a journalist and private consultant. “Matthew combines strong communications skills with a deep dedication to Jewish values. His commitment to our foundational principles and skill in working with specialized audiences is the precise... Full story
Leading up to the 67th birthday of the State of Israel, more commonly referred as Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), it may be difficult to stay upbeat given the rising anti-Zionism and anti-Semitism around the world. On American college campuses, the situation has been especially grave-but the picture may not be as gloomy as it seems. A report released in February by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) revealed that pro-Israel activity on U.S. campuses has actually increased in the... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-At noon Monday, several hundred students marched through the bright March sunshine from the J Street conference at the Washington Convention Center for a protest. "This is not a march!" organizers pleaded as the orderly group moved south from the Carnegie Library to the headquarters of Hillel International. With Hillel staffers mostly sequestered inside, student leaders of the self-described "pro-Israel, pro-peace" organization stood on folding chairs, held a megaphone to their... Full story
(JNS.org)-U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), upon announcing that he will run for president, said he would support Israel "unapologetically." "Instead of a president who boycotts Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel," Cruz told an audience at Virginia's Liberty University on Monday. Earlier this month, Cruz-now the first official candidate in the 2016 presidential race-told Israel Hayom that the Obama administration is not doing... Full story
(JNS.org) After being listed as a speaker for the upcoming national conference of the left-wing J Street lobby, Hillel International President and CEO Eric Fingerhut announced that he will pull out of the conference due to concerns regarding other speakers' history of "inflammatory statements" against Israel. The current list of J Street conference speakers includes Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that collapsed in the spring of 2014. Erekat has... Full story
