Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1587 - 1611 of 1920
Several of the country's most prominent pro-Israel groups participated in the first Israel Today Symposium designed to educate the Dallas, Texas, community on understanding the complex issues Israel faces. The event, organized by Dallas's Reform synagogue Temple Shalom, drew more than 300 people to hear speakers including Lillian Pinkus, president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC); Charles Pulman, founder of Why Israel Matters; and Daniel Agranov, deputy consul general of...
NARBERTH, PA—The Kohelet Foundation has announced the inaugural year of its Kohelet Prize. The unrestricted $36,000 prize will be awarded to educators or teams of educators, who currently work in Jewish day schools and whose work skillfully demonstrates a progressive approach to education in the following six categories: Interdisciplinary Integration; Real-World Learning; Learning Environment; Differentiated Instruction; Development of Critical and/or Creative Thinking; Risk Taking and Failure. “We know there are incredible, creative and hig...
(JTA)-There are athletes, and then there are Olympic athletes. And then there are Jewish Olympic athletes. When the 2016 Summer Olympics open Friday, we'll of course be cheering the American athletes-all 555 of them-and we'll be rooting for Israel, too, which this year is sending its largest ever cohort to Rio. But we're saving a special shout-out for some of the Jewish-American Olympians who have given the Tribe extra reasons to be proud this year. (Interestingly, Jews make up about 2 percent...
JERUSALEM-Love him or hate him, Republican candidate for president Donald J. Trump is doing it his way, ignoring what the American professional political world believed was the only way to become a party's nominee and win "the Oval." No issue is more imbued with slogans and adherence to conventional wisdom than is the Middle East. Two-state solution, occupied territories, illegal settlements, incitement and even terrorism-the list is long. Yet, notwithstanding the extreme sensitivities of the...
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-Amanda Renteria, the national political director for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, was running through the campaign's messages for minorities and women: immigration for Hispanics, land use for Native Americans, various policies for defending children and women. She didn't mention Jews in her briefing Tuesday morning for specialty media, and there's a reason for that: There wasn't a Clinton issue that was unique to the Jews. When I asked her to mention some,...
NEW YORK (JTA)—It’s never been easy for Jewish Republicans. Jews have broken overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates since Woodrow Wilson. Despite rising American Jewish affluence, usually a harbinger of conservative voting patterns, a plurality self-defines as liberal. Republican Jews have poured millions into upping their share of the Jewish vote in recent elections, portraying the GOP as the pro-Israel party and telling largely affluent Jewish Americans to vote their economic self-interest. The needle has only moved a little, despite tho...
In the aftermath of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's selection of Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate, Democratic contender Hillary Clinton tapped U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) as her vice presidential candidate. Kaine, Virginia's former governor, is being touted by his supporters as a moderate Democrat with considerable domestic and foreign policy credentials from his experience serving on the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees as well as formerly...
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)-When Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke to the Florida delegation as the national Democratic convention got underway, some delegates cheered. Other delegates booed. The chaos at the Marriott Hotel here demonstrated the degree to which the Florida congresswoman, perhaps the party's most prominent Jewish leader, had become a divisive figure since she emerged a decade ago as the tyro no one in the party could praise enough. Wasserman Schultz, 49, was forced over the weekend to step...
After a selection process that more closely resembled a reality television show than the usual political appointments, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that his choice for vice president is Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who beat out flashier contenders such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. For the pro-Israel community, Pence is viewed as a strong advocate for the Jewish state who can bolster Trump's...
CLEVELAND (JTA)-An issue of historical concern to American Jews drew waves of applause when Donald Trump Jr. preached about it Tuesday night from the stage of the Republican National Convention. It wasn't Israel, Iran or the fight against anti-Semitism. It was a call for the government to assist with private school costs, referred to as "school choice." Echoing Republican orthodoxy, the son of the party's nominee said it would promote competition and raise educational standards. American public...
CLEVELAND (JTA)-Wednesday night's gripping tale of a dramatic, sudden repudiation of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by Sheldon Adelson, the major pro-Israel philanthropist and Republican donor, seems a little less consequential in the light of Thursday morning, according to folks who are close with Adelson and his wife, Miriam. There is no rift, they say, only a cooling off until after Nov. 8, Election Day. Until then, the Adelsons are invested in Donald Trump, while Cruz remains a darling of the...
NEW YORK (JTA)—At a time when many Jewish federations are reporting flat or declining fundraising, North America’s largest Jewish philanthropy said its annual campaign revenue has increased for the fourth consecutive year. UJA-Federation of New York announced Tuesday it had raised $153.4 million through its 2016 annual campaign, which ended June 30, up by $2.6 million from 2015. Outside the annual campaign, the federation raised $39.2 million through planned giving and endowments, and $15 million for capital projects and special ini...
CLEVELAND (JTA)- On the day Donald Trump wrapped up the Republican primaries, Marc Zell was ready to resign his position as vice president of Republicans Overseas, the party's expatriate group. Zell, who lives in Israel, was put off by Trump's inconsistent statements regarding the country. In particular, he felt insulted when Trump, at a Republican Jewish Coalition forum last December, said, "You're not going to support me because I don't want your money." He felt that the Republican...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Voters who have their hearts set on supporting a left-wing secular Jew running an insurgent campaign still have a candidate. Jill Stein, the 2012 Green Party candidate, is making another run. And this year, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump both earning historically low popularity ratings, she hopes she can attract at least some of Bernie Sanders' 13 million Democratic primary voters. With a far-left platform, Stein advocates government-guaranteed full employment, a national...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-They're elusive, but show up in the right place at the right time-and you might find one! No, we're not talking about the latest iteration of Pokemon Go. This is about tracking prominent Jewish GOPers and Jewish organizational representatives attending the Republican National Convention next week in Cleveland. They'll be barely visible, and the reason has everything to do with the presumptive nominee, Donald Trump. The Republican Jewish Coalition usually rolls out major sheb...
(JTA)-Investigators may never know with certainty what combination of factors led Micah Xavier Johnson to methodically fire upon police officers in Dallas. Five white officers were killed in the attack, which came during a peaceful rally protesting the shooting deaths of young black men by law enforcement in other cities. Johnson has been variously portrayed as a follower of the Black Lives Matter movement who was pushed to the edge by recent police shootings; a loner who not only was...
Amid the intrigue and speculation over the upcoming Republican National Convention (RNC) in Cleveland, one item that the party has settled is its firm support for Israel and opposition to a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On July 12, the Republican Platform Committee unanimously approved a number of significant changes to its platform in an attempt to further set the party’s pro-Israel credentials apart from the Democrats, who are facing concerns over their party’s future support for the Jewish state. The GOP’s platform...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg launched a broadside against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump over the last week, calling him unfit for office. She subsequently apologized, but not before voices on the right and left criticized her for seeming to compromise the high court's dignity and objectivity. "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg needs to drop the political punditry and the name-calling," The New York Times editorial board said. The Washington Post...
WASHINGTON D.C.-In the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, the worst mass shooting in our nation's history, Rep. Alan Grayson (FL-09) has introduced the Freedom From Fear Act that will reinstate the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban, which Congress allowed to expire in 2004. For the Congressman this attack was close to home: many of the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting lived in his district. There were 49 people murdered and 53 wounded in a matter of minutes. The gunmen used a semi-automatic...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Sen. Marco Rubio cited his intention to kill the Iran nuclear deal in his decision to run for reelection to the Senate. The Florida Republican, first elected in 2010, opted out of running to keep his seat when he announced his candidacy last year for the Republican presidential nomination. He was driven out of that race this year by Donald Trump, who defeated Rubio in his home state primary and is now the presumptive nominee. But on Wednesday, Rubio reversed his decision and...
In a 65-4 vote, the Rhode Island House of Representatives passed legislation prohibiting the state from contracting with companies that participate in boycotts of allies and trade partners of the United States—most notably, Israel. HB 7736 passed the Rhode Island House on June 16 and received unanimous support two days later in the state’s Senate. Governor Gina Raimondo is expected to sign the measure later this week. Rhode Island’s measure against the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement was introduced by State Rep....
WASHINGTON (JTA)-An exhibit over 20 years old against an iPhone: Docents at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum are increasingly noting the battle with hand-held devices to keep the interest of young people. Now a $20 million gift to help revitalize the Washington, D.C., museum will aim to assist the docents while focusing on the challenges posed to democracies by rapid changes in technology. Allan and Shelley Holt announced their grant for the Washington, D.C., museum on Monday, June 13, in...
NEW YORK (JTA)—It happened all at once and not to me alone. There was Hillary Clinton, in her June 7 victory speech, honoring her mother’s memory; saluting her daughter, Chelsea; paying tribute to herself for raising such a child, and claiming her party’s nomination as the “milestone” it is. “I really wish my mother could be here tonight,” Clinton said. “I wish she could see what a wonderful mother Chelsea has become and could meet our beautiful granddaughter, Charlotte. And of course, I wish she could see her daughter become the Democratic...
It's not really a question of "how" Jason Greenblatt, the real estate transactions lawyer and son of Hungarian-Jewish immigrants who grew up in New York City's Queens borough, became a presidential candidate's adviser on issues related to Israel. For him, it's more a question of "what"-what will he do with the immense opportunity he has been given? Greenblatt-a Teaneck, N.J., resident who in April was named as a primary Israel adviser to presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald...
Washington, D.C.—A two-page American Jewish Committee ad in June 6’s Wall Street Journal lists the 508 U.S. and European mayors and municipal leaders who have signed on to its Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism initiative, pledging to combat the rise of anti-Semitism. There were 35 mayors in Florida who signed, including two from Central Florida: Apopka Mayor Joe Kilsheimer, Ocala Mayor Kent Guinn, and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “Bravo to those urban leaders from cities, big and small, across the U.S. and Europe, for their courage, convi...
