Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 873 - 897 of 1886
(JTA) - A top Justice Department official sent a letter to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio last week that claims the mayor has enforced uneven social distancing rules that "favor certain secular gatherings and disfavor religious gatherings." The letter, which was shared Tuesday by Agudath Israel, an organization representing haredi Orthodox Jews, specifically cited the mayor's focus on dispersing Jewish community gatherings. "During the period in which all gatherings were banned, you...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In 2015, the Zionist Organization of America gave John Bolton a standing ovation when he said he wanted to be U.S. president. In 2018, the ZOA gave him its Defender of Israel Award. This week, Bolton is about as far away from the presidency as he’s been in his life, and the ZOA doesn’t appear interested in defending him. Nor does the broader centrist and right-wing pro-Israel community, which lobbied for Bolton just 3 1/2 years ago to be secretary of state. Bolton is dominating headlines this week with his new tell-all book,...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - House Democrats have put together a letter that they hope will unite their entire caucus in warning Israel against annexation of part of the West Bank. The letter, now circulating among the party's House caucus and obtained exclusively by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, warns Israel about the dangers annexation would pose to Israelis and to the region. But it does not hint at any danger to the U.S.-Israel relationship and restates the signers' commitment to the relationship....
(JNS) - The Jewish Democratic Council of America has affirmed that it will not support Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in her upcoming primary, but did not provide a endorsement to her chief primary opponent, progressive Antone Melton-Meaux. Omar is set to face Melton-Meaux, who has been critical of Omar's anti-Semitic and anti-Israel statements, in an Aug. 11 primary for Minnesota's 5th Congressional District. When asked by JNS about whether JDCA would be taking on Omar, executive director Halie...
(JTA) — The Anti-Defamation League, along with the NAACP and other civil rights groups, is calling on corporations not to advertise on Facebook in July because of the social media platform’s unwillingness to police hate speech. The campaign, which launches Wednesday with a full-page ad in the Los Angeles Times, charges that Facebook has not done enough to combat hate and disinformation on its platform. It points to CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s repeated refusal to moderate posts for misinformation, even as extremists have used the platform to incit...
(JTA) — They protested the mayor’s decision to keep the parks closed on Sunday. By Monday, they vowed to cut the chains of the park gates themselves if Mayor Bill de Blasio didn’t accede to their requests. In a tweet Monday evening, New York State Sen. Simcha Felder said he and two other Orthodox lawmakers, City Councilman Kalman Yeger and state Assemblyman Simcha Eichenstein, would open the parks themselves if the mayor refused to do so. “We’ve asked nicely and waited patiently. We’ve made every logical argument. The people have spoken and the...
(JNS) — The Republican Jewish Coalition announced on Tuesday that it will not endorse or support a candidate in a safely Republican district in Georgia who is leading in fundraising, as she has trafficked in conspiracy theories and posed for photos with a former neo-Nazi leader. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a businesswoman, has posed for photos with former Ku Klux Klan leader Chester Doles, posted them on social media and shared conspiracy theories about the Rothschild banking family, left-wing billionaire George Soros and factions of Saudi A...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Four Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives — Jan Schakowsky, Ted Deutch, David E. Price, and Bradley S. Schneider — are circulating a letter among their colleagues that would warn Israel of the perils of annexation. The full text is below. Dear Colleague, Recent reports indicate the Israeli government may soon consider annexation in the West Bank. We believe unilateral annexation, and unilateral action by any side, would jeopardize long-standing efforts to achieve a viable two-state solution that addresses the aspira...
A leading Evangelical Christian leader has spoken out publicly against the Black Lives Matter movement’s anti-Semitic manifesto and silence after synagogues and churches were attacked and defaced during their protests last week. “All true American patriots wept bitter tears at the brutal and needless death of George Floyd. Jews, Christians and people of conscience understand the inherent problems within our society that need to be addressed and healed. Racism of any kind does not belong in America and must be relegated to the annals of his...
The Zionist Organization of America reiterates that, as ZOA President Morton Klein previously tweeted, we condemn and deeply mourn the despicable, horrific murder of George Floyd. ZOA moreover reiterates Klein’s call strongly urging that the former police officers involved must be held accountable to the full extent of the law. The killing of George Floyd, shown in an excruciating video, was an intolerable, depraved act. ZOA leadership has a long personal history of anti-racism activism. Klein fought for Black civil and voting rights, i...
(JNS) — A federal judge has denied Bernie Madoff’s request for compassionate release from prison in which the disgraced financier claimed to be terminally ill and likely to die in the next 18 months. Madoff, 82, has served 10 years of a 150-year sentence for running a Ponzi scheme worth almost $65 billion — the largest in history and one that inflicted heavy financial loss upon Jewish investors. Following his request in February to be released early, 520 of his victims wrote to the court with 96 percent of them objecting to such a move. “When...
(JTA) — More than 800 rabbis and cantors, including the leaders of three major denominations, signed a statement in support of peaceful protest against racism and in memory of George Floyd. The statement invoked Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, an iconic Jewish civil rights activist who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was written and distributed by the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, a political advocacy organization that has a long history of civil rights activism. “Mr. Floyd was a victim of the nation’s long history...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - As many Jewish organizations across the United States sent out statements decrying racism over the past week, the head of the Zionist Organization of America took a different approach. Black Lives Matter "is a Jew hating, White hating, Israel hating, conservative-Black hating, violence promoting, dangerous Soros-funded extremist group of haters," ZOA President Mort Klein tweeted on Saturday. That tweet, expressing anger as others sought to show solidarity with nationwide...
The Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University has created the Bright Futures Scholarship Initiative for students seeking master’s degrees in science and technology in industries that are redefining the modern economy and high technology in New York and around the world. For a flat rate tuition of $25,000, students admitted for the 2020-2021 academic year can now complete master’s degrees in artificial intelligence, biotechnology management and entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, data analytics and visualization, digital mar...
(JNS) - Amid the rise in anti-Semitism in the United States and abroad, U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Never Again Education Act into law as part of Jewish American Heritage Month, one month after the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany. The story behind the passage of this landmark legislation is one that transcended the usual partisan politics of Washington, D.C., bringing together Jewish and Christian groups, and liberal and conservative lawmakers in a rare display of bipar...
(JNS) — The annual AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., has been canceled for 2021 due to issues concerning the coronavirus, announced the pro-Israel lobby’s president, Betsy Berns Korn, in a mass email on Sunday. “On behalf of the AIPAC Board of Directors, I’m writing to let you know that given the continued uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, and without a predictable avenue to safely bring together thousands of pro-Israel Americans, we have been forced to cancel the 2021 AIPAC Policy Conference,” she wrote. “While we...
ORLANDO, FL — As Jewish National Fund-USA continues to support Israel’s immediate needs in response to the global health pandemic, the organization is preparing to phone thousands of supporters in Northern Florida as part of its June 14 Spectacular Sunday telethon. In addition to a world-class line up of online entertainment, the day of giving will also feature a $1 million match enabling donors to double the value of their gift for the land and people of Israel. “I have always admired the Jewish National Fund for its unwavering commi...
(JNS) — Jewish and pro-Israel organizations have expressed outrage over the death of African-American George Floyd, 46, who died on May 25 in the custody of Minneapolis police. Police officer Derek Chauvin put his left knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes on May 25, according to the criminal complaint against the officer, causing Floyd physical distress to the point where he lost consciousness and needed medical attention. Three other police officers were also on site. The incident, filmed on civilian phones, went viral. Floyd was acc...
(JTA) — Right-wing conspiracy theorists are increasingly claiming that George Soros is funding recent protests and riots across the United States in the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. According to the Anti-Defamation League, “aggressive language towards Soros has exploded on social media” this week. Negative tweets about the billionaire Jewish philanthropist rose from 20,000 per day on May 26 to 500,000 per day on May 30. The posts, according to the ADL, mostly allege (without evidence) that Soros is funding riots across the country, an...
(JTA) - Dr. Vivian Fischer spent five hours Saturday walking toward Minneapolis's devastation from her home in a suburb immediately outside the city. The family physician put on gray scrubs, her stethoscope, a mask and gloves, filled a backpack with whatever she had at home - extra masks, medical gloves, asthma inhalers, bandages, tweezers to pick glass out of cuts and water, and went to see where she could help. She found countless people sweeping up the glass on the streets from storefront...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump signed the Never Again Education Act, which seeks to expand Holocaust education in the United States, into law on Thursday. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation in January, while the U.S. Senate did so on May 13. The new law expands the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s education programming to teachers nationwide, requiring the museum to develop and disseminate resources to improve awareness and understanding of the Holocaust and its lessons. A total of $2 million will be allocated ann...
(JTA) — Many New York City restaurants are closing for good as their owners are unable to pay rent during the state’s shutdown, which has now gone on for more than eight weeks. In addition to the city’s high rents, eateries catering to observant Jews have to shoulder additional costs. Kosher products, especially meat, is pricier than nonkosher counterparts. Kosher certification can cost more than $1,000 a month and many eateries hire full-time kosher supervisors. Most kosher restaurants are also closed on Shabbat, which means they lose a cruci...
(JTA) — His rise was meteoric and his fall just as sudden. Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, an Orthodox Jewish doctor who rose to fame in March while promoting a cocktail of drugs he claimed had successfully treated coronavirus — including one that President Donald Trump said Monday he is taking himself, despite the drug’s potentially dangerous side effects — has announced that he is leaving the Jewish community where he has practiced medicine for decades. In a video shared by the Orthodox news site Yeshiva World News, Zelenko announced he would leave Kir...
By Ben Sales (JTA) - Here's a story that would have been unremarkable until just a few months ago: A Jewish camp is planning to open this summer. Camp Modin in Maine has announced that it will open July 9 - two weeks later than originally planned - despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And it has set out a detailed plan to make it happen. "COVID is something that's going to be with us for the foreseeable future," said Howard Salzberg, the camp's co-director with his wife, Lisa Wulkan Salzberg....
(JTA)—At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, and as recently as a couple weeks ago, some Jewish camps had hoped they could run for part of the summer. For a growing number of camps, that hope now appears to be vanishing. Two Conservative Ramah camps look increasingly likely to cancel their sessions this year. And two state governments—Georgia and Connecticut—have, for now, prohibited overnight camps from running in their states. Each of the states is home to several Jewish camps. While neither of the Ramah camps—in Wisconsin and California...
