Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1582 - 1606 of 1886
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A bill unanimously approved by the U.S. House of Representatives would extend religious protections to advocates of circumcision and ritual slaughter as well as atheists, addressing what its sponsors describe as an increase in religious persecution in recent years. The bill, passed Monday, would broaden the definition of “violations of religious freedom” in the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to include the persecution of advocates of male circumcision or ritual animal slaughter. Atheists would become a new prote... Full story
(JTA)—Just days after rejecting four resolutions calling for divestment from companies that profit from Israel’s control of the West Bank, the United Methodist Church recommended withdrawing from the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation. In a nonbinding vote of 478-318 at its general conference in Portland, Oregon, on Tuesday, the church accepted a petition requesting its withdrawal from the group, Religion News Service reported. It was not clear if the church would act on the recommendation. The U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occ... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—When it comes to Israel, Democrats and Republicans simply do not see eye to eye, and for all their love of Zion, evangelicals will turn out for a candidate who is less than 100 percent on the issue. Welcome to the 2016 presidential election, when the conventional pro-Israel wisdom has been turned upside down. For years it was sacrosanct that whatever else divides the parties, backing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s line on Israel unites them. And Republicans who want to be elected better count on eva... Full story
WORCESTER, MA-Clark University announced that the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies is curating a unique online Holocaust exhibit and teaching materials based on over 1,000 letters written between parents and their children who were separated during the Holocaust. In the late 1930s, as anti-Semitism grew, many Jewish parents sent their children to other European countries to enhance their safety. When the war began and civilian mail between Axis and Allied countries ceased,... Full story
Iowa on Wednesday became the latest U.S. state to pass legislation designed to undermine the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. In a 38-9 vote with three excused absences, the Iowa Senate passed one of the strongest anti-BDS bills in the country. While all nine "no" votes came from Democrats, that party controls the State Senate with a 26-24 majority. The prospective law would prohibit both investment and contracting by the so-called "Hawkeye State" with companies... Full story
Over the past few years, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been making headlines-but not only for academic or athletic achievement. Acts of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism have been rampant among the school's press clippings, adding UCLA to the long list of American colleges that have made many Jewish students feel unwelcome and, at times, fearful to be on campus. For the past few weeks, anti-Israel forces have staged Israeli Apartheid Week, an annual global event on 150... Full story
Ninety percent of Congress sent a clear message to President Obama—back Israel. House Republicans and Democrats united in urging President Barack Obama to reject any one-sided actions by the United Nations attempting to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that are biased against Israel, a move Obama is reportedly considering. In a letter sent to Obama on Thursday, authored by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) and signed by 394, including Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, House members warned that one-sided initiatives may come up at the U.N. in the c... Full story
The United States Postal Service describes the stamp. The 2016 Hanukkah stamp features a holiday menorah in the window of a home. Artist William Low added visual interest to the scene by highlighting the contrast between the hot candles flames and the cool snow, the vertical candles and the horizontal window frame, and the dark menorah with brightly lit candles. Bhel Kessler was the art director." The 2016 Hanukkah stamp should be issued sometime in October.... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-It might appear churlish to criticize the teaching of Islamic studies in America. After all, "Between Sharia and Democracy: Islamic Education in North America," a just-released study by Impact-SE, finds that the most widely used Islamic textbooks published in the United States are generally free of imagery and ideologies that generate prejudice or contempt for others. They aim to present Islam as harmonious with many aspects of Western society and, in the main, with UNESCO's... Full story
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), joined by Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) and Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), called for the “immediate suspension” of Students for Justice in Palestine from City University of New York college campuses on Tuesday in light of several incidents that have left many Jews feeling fearful and intimidated by the actions of SJP across college campuses nationwide. In writing a letter to CUNY Chancellor James Milliken that garnered the support of 33 elected officials from both Republicans and Democrats, Ass... Full story
(JTA)-When Jews visit the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, they can learn about the two most celebrated members of the tribe who have been inducted into the hallowed museum: Hank "The Hebrew Hammer" Greenberg and Sandy Koufax. Now they'll have the chance to find out about the dozens of other Jews who played in the major leagues or made contributions to the game. Thanks to the effort of a dedicated memorabilia collector, clearly taking Theodor Herzl's legendary words to hea... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-You get to listen to Jews yelling at you. You get to listen to mandarins tell you why they won't listen to Jews. You get to emcee a cappella competitions. Who wouldn't want to be White House Jewish liaison? Matt Nosanchuk lasted nearly three years in a post-officially titled associate director of public engagement-that may be the apotheosis of thanklessness. He stepped down last week. Notably, Nosanchuk wound it up with plenty of thanks from some of those who made clear their... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Hear out Donald Trump. Ignore Donald Trump. There were two distinct approaches to the Trump moment last week at AIPAC's annual conference here, and there were mutual warnings that one or the other side would get burned. The burn came fast, and it came to those who said listening to the front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nod was the right thing to do. After days of repeated warnings to its activists not to disrupt Trump, and to treat speakers with respect, t... Full story
During the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference, hundreds of protestors, including representatives of the Students for Justice for Palestine, gathered outside the Convention Center in D.C. and started chanting "Shut it down!" The group, which was organized by Al-Awda: The Palestine Right to Return Coalition and the ANSWER Coalition, marched from the White House to the Verizon Center where the conference was held. It was the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in the U.S.... Full story
In a much-anticipated speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on Monday, March 21, Republican presidential primary front-runner Donald Trump said that dismantling the “disastrous” Iran nuclear deal would be his top priority as president. Trump also unveiled a three-pronged strategy for dealing with Iran, offering the type of detailed policy talk that many critics have accused him of leaving out of previous speeches. “We’ve rewarded the world’s leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, and we’ve receive... Full story
As Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican contender Donald Trump emerge as the clear front-runners for their respective parties’ nominations, Clinton on March 21 told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference that she is a “steady” alternative to Trump when it comes to Israel and the Middle East. “We need steady hands. Not a president who said he’s neutral on Monday, pro-Israel on Tuesday, and who knows what on Wednesday…Israel’s security is non-negotiable,” Clinton said, referring to Tr... Full story
(JNS.org) Ohio Governor John Kasich, who labels himself as a moderate Republican presidential candidate with a “positive message,” held true to form at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference. “I will not take the low road to the highest office in the land. I will not do it,” Kasich told the AIPAC crowd. “We need to work together with Congress on an agenda that serves the nation as a whole. We are Americans more than we are Republicans and Democrats,” he said, echoing AIPAC’s organizational calling card of bipartisanship... Full story
(JNS.org) Speaking at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) said he “will not be neutral” on Israel as president, taking a swipe at GOP opponent Donald Trump’s past statements about being a neutral broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “America will stand unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” said Cruz, who also mocked Trump’s use of the term “Palestine” in the preceding speech at the same AIPAC session. “Palestine” has not existed since 1948,... Full story
(JTA)-Americans have heard a lot about Merrick Garland since President Barack Obama nominated him to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But there's a lot we still don't know. What are his views on abortion? Will the Republican leadership give him a hearing in the Senate? What was his bar mitzvah Torah portion? Garland may have an extensive judicial record-he has more federal judicial experience (19 years) than any other Supreme Court nominee in history, according to the White House-but... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Has Donald Trump's time come, and will Jewish political conservatives embrace him? Trump, the real estate magnate and front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, rolled closer to victory on Tuesday with wins in at least three primary states. His strong showing, earning 161 delegates or more depending on the final tally in Missouri, brought his delegate tally to 621-halfway to the 1,237 he needs to secure the nomination. The question for Jewish political... Full story
WASHINGTON—The Reform movement harshly criticized Donald Trump’s “hate speech,” but backed AIPAC’s invitation of the Republican frontrunner to speak at its annual conference. Reacting to Trump’s acceptance of the invitation on Friday, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis on Monday called his campaign bigoted. “His campaign has been replete with naked appeals to bigotry, especially against Hispanics and Muslims. Previous comments he has made—and not disavowed—have been offensive to women, people of color,... Full story
(JTA)—Former Anti-Defamation League director Abraham Foxman will head a new center for the study of “anti-Semitism and other forms of hatred” at the Museum of Jewish Heritage-A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. “Unfortunately, anti-Semitism has never gone away and other forms of hatred including prejudice, bigotry, and bullying continue to persist,” museum chairman Bruce Ratner said in a news release Monday. “We believe it remains essential to understand the genesis of these events, and I can think of no one better suited to take this on tha... Full story
An overflowing, standing room only crowd at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida welcomed Central Florida’s own Mitchell Bloomer and Duke University’s Imam Abdullah Antepli as they co-presented the Feb. 25, forum titled, “Is History Repeating Itself: Jewish and Muslim Immigrant Experiences in America.” The forum treaded near the grounds of the controversial, even as one of the speakers noted, and a significant police security presence was on the premises for the evening. The contentious issue was brought about b... Full story
By David Stanley FLINT, Mich. (JTA)—At 86, Jeanne Aaronson is blind and lives alone, but she has seen a lot over the years. She lived in Flint when it was a manufacturing powerhouse, a center of the automotive business and a symbol of American industrial might and ingenuity. She lived through the city’s decline in the 1970s and ’80s as the auto factories closed and the population decamped for better opportunities elsewhere. And more recently, she witnessed the beginning of its revival, with the opening of new businesses and a slew of brewp... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The controversy over whether laws protecting Israel from boycotts should include West Bank settlements found its way into a presidential signing statement this week, but President Barack Obama's decision to ignore a trade law's requirement to oppose boycotts of Israeli settlements likely won't settle the argument. The president said Wednesday he had signed the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 and embraced its provisions protecting Israel from the Boycott,... Full story
