Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 997 - 1021 of 1886
WASHINGTON (JTA)—If where you spend your money is the clearest sign of your priorities, Congress seems to be saying that it remains invested in Israeli-Palestinian peace and in robustly supporting Israel’s defense systems. The House of Representatives threw its support this week behind a spending package that restores support for what have long been considered key planks upholding an eventual two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Senate is expected to likewise approve the bills. The $1.3 trillion spending package inc... Full story
CHICAGO (JTA)-Josh Nelson sat onstage in front of 5,000 people, accompanied by eight other musicians and perched next to a ginormous video screen bearing the words to one of Judaism's central prayers, the Shema. It was the largest Shabbat service in America and the apex of the Reform Jewish movement's biennial conference, which ended here on Sunday morning. The service had a vibe that was half Jewish rock concert, half revival tent. Thousands of worshippers sat in cushioned chairs while... Full story
(JTA)—A Board of Education member in Jersey City has sparked controversy with social media comments following the shooting last week at a kosher market there. “Where was all this faith and hope when Black homeowners were being threatened, intimidated and harassed by I WANT TO BUY YOUR HOUSE brutes of the jewish community? (sic) They brazenly came on the property of Ward F Black homeowners and waved bags of money,” Joan Terrell wrote on Facebook, according to a screenshot circulating on social media. Terrell was commenting on an article about an... Full story
(JNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday, Dec. 11, addressing anti-Semitism amid the rise in hatred toward Jews in education in the United States, announced the White House in a call with reporters on Tuesday evening. The measure is particularly focused on activities on American college campuses, where the anti-Israel BDS movement has taken a hold among students and even faculty. It would require the U.S. Department of Education to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance definition of anti-Semitism in e... Full story
(JTA)-The gunmen who entered a Jersey City kosher supermarket and engaged in a deadly shootout with police deliberately chose the store, the city's mayor said. "Based on our initial investigation (which is ongoing) we now believe the active shooters targeted the location they attacked," Steven Fulop said on Twitter Tuesday night. "Due to an excess of caution the community may see additional police resources in the days/weeks ahead. We have no indication there are any further threats." The... Full story
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)-President Donald Trump slammed American Jews who he said did not sufficiently "love Israel." "So many of you voted for the people in the last administration. Some day you will have to explain that to me because I don't think they like Israel too much," the president said Saturday evening at the Israeli-American Council's annual conference. More than 4,000 people gathered at the Diplomat Beach Resort here for the four-day conference, which concluded Sunday, Dec. 8, and featu... Full story
ATLANTA (JTA)-Voters in Georgia will face elections next year for each of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. Jewish Democrats are vying to be in the mix in both races. Incumbent David Perdue, a Republican, is up for re-election in 2020, while Johnny Isakson, also from the GOP, is retiring at the end of the year because of ill health. Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, almost certainly will name someone from his party to replace Isakson, but both slots will be on the ballot in November.... Full story
Here’s what you need to know about the movement (JTA)—Police have identified one of the dead suspects in a shootout at a kosher market in Jersey City as David Anderson, who reportedly was once a member of the Black Hebrew Israelites. Here are some things to know about the movement. Are they Jewish? Black Hebrew Israelites can refer broadly to people of African descent who claim to be descended from the biblical Israelites and practice certain Jewish rituals. The movement emerged from a stream of late 19th-century black nationalism that claimed... Full story
(JTA)—Billionaire philanthropist Ronald Lauder is funding a $25 million campaign against political candidates in the United States who support or normalize anti-Semitism. Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, announced the new campaign, called the Anti-Semitism Accountability Project, or ASAP, on Monday. The effort will include a nonprofit organization and a super PAC. Lauder will have the final say on which politicians—federal, state and local—will be targeted for defeat, according to The New York Times. He is a longtime Repub... Full story
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (JTA)—Hours after gunfire that started in a cemetery and ended in a shootout at a kosher supermarket here left six dead on Tuesday, there were more questions than answers. As of Tuesday night, the crime scene was cordoned off, keeping onlookers far from the scene. Some two dozen area residents, several reporters and many more police vehicles lingered outside the JC Kosher Supermarket on Martin Luther King Drive, on the western side of Jersey City. Some of the residents took video or livestreamed the scene on Facebook. I... Full story
PHILADELPHIA—Millions of students nationwide check their free speech rights at the door when they arrive on campus, according to a new report from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. Spotlight on Speech Codes 2020: The State of Free Speech on Our Nation’s Campuses analyzes the written policies at 471 of America’s top colleges and universities for their protection of free speech. The report finds that 89 percent of American colleges maintain policies that restrict—or could too easily be applied to restrict—student expressio... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Democrats in Congress passed a resolution on Friday saying that only a two-state outcome would bring peace to Israelis and Palestinians. The nonbinding resolution approved largely on party lines has been subject to considerable behind-the-scenes drama since its introduction in the spring by Rep. Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif. The only Democrats who voted against were the Squad, the grouping of four freshman congresswomen who to varying degrees have been critical of Israeli government policies. Lowenthal cast the resolution as a m... Full story
(JTA)—The undergraduate student government of Arizona State University passed a resolution in support of the Tempe school’s Jewish students. The resolution, which passed Tuesday by acclimation, comes amid public discussion among campus student organizations about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and in the wake of fliers bearing swastikas and Stars of David circulated on campus, The State Press student newspaper reported. Last month, four pieces of legislation were submitted to the Undergraduate Student Government Tempe on the topic of the con... Full story
(MEMRI)—At a pro-Gaza rally in Times Square in New York on Nov. 15, speakers called for “an intifada in every classroom” and denied Israel’s right to exist. Nerdeen Kiswani, of an organization called Within Our Lifetime, led a chant that went: “There is only one solution: intifada, revolution!” Husam Kaid of the City College, N.Y. branch of Students for Justice in Palestine called for an intifada in every classroom and in every college campus, saying: “We are going to shut down all the Zionist events [and] start an intifada everywhere!... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Last month, Bernie Sanders wrote about his support for Israel, calling the nation an “enormous achievement” and “a democratic homeland for the Jewish people.” A few weeks later Linda Sarsour, a prominent Arab-American activist and an official Sanders campaign surrogate, said that support for Israel as a state is unacceptable in the progressive movement. The contrast is sharp and, one would think, irreconcilable. Neither Sarsour nor the Sanders campaign has answered the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s request for comment. Le... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-First Bernie Sanders. Now Michael Bloomberg. This cycle's Democratic primary is shaping up to be the all-time greatest troll of white nationalist Twitter-a battle royale featuring both a Jewish socialist from Brooklyn and a Jewish billionaire who made his fortune catering to Wall Street. Talk about trope bait! It's not necessarily just the anti-Semites who will be triggered. The fight between Uncle Bernie and Mayor Mike has the potential to tap into a century's worth of Jewish... Full story
ATLANTA (JTA)-For Jewish voters, Bernie Sanders mentioning the Palestinians seemingly out of nowhere during last week's presidential debate here was a striking moment. But for some Jews in this state, what resonated most was the applause from a majority black audience. The setting for the most recent Democratic debate was a gleaming symbol of African-American success: film mogul Tyler Perry's new studio complex in the southwest part of this city. Much of the crowd in the soundstage named for Opr... Full story
(JNS)—Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) have introduced a bipartisan resolution in the House of Representatives condemning the recent rocket attacks on Israel and supporting the country’s right to defend itself. “When heinous terrorist groups like Palestinian Islamic Jihad fire hundreds of rockets at innocent civilians in Israel, there should be no question who the United States stands with. We must stand with our historic ally, Israel—the key democracy in the region. That’s why members on both sides of the aisle have come... Full story
(JNS)-Proclaiming Justice to The Nations, a Tennessee-based nonprofit evangelical Christian organization committed to standing with Israel and fighting anti-Semitism, has been removed from the AmazonSmile program, which enables Amazon customers to donate a percentage of their purchase to their favorite charity. PJTN president Laurie Cardoza-Moore told JNS that "all of a sudden, we began being inundated with e-mails from supporters whose AmazonSmile donations to Proclaiming Justice to the... Full story
This is a developing story. (JTA)—Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Jewish National Security Council staffer whose firsthand account of the July phone call between President Donald Trump and the president of Ukraine is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, testified in the impeachment hearings on Tuesday. Here are the biggest takeaways from his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. Vindman was thrice offered the position of Ukrainian defense minister. He rejected the offers. This minor bombshell has not yet been reported. Steve C... Full story
This is a developing story. NEW YORK (JTA)—An Orthodox man was stabbed multiple times on his walk to synagogue for morning prayers. The man was approaching the synagogue Toshnad Heichel Torah Utfila in Spring Valley, New York, when a man got out of a car, began beating him and stabbed him. The assailant fled the scene before police and first responders arrived, according to Aaron Hershkowitz, an assistant to the synagogue’s rabbi. The incident occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m. “Upon arrival it was quickly determined that the individual had b... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-One of the most active times of day at the West Side Jewish Center begins precisely at 1:40 p.m., when 60 or so middle-aged men trudge in, mutter through the afternoon prayer service with their coats on, maybe throw a couple dollars of charity into a metal cup and walk back to their jobs. The whole thing is over in about 15 minutes. Other than that and two shifts of morning prayers, the building is mostly empty during the day. On a recent weekday afternoon, two men studied Jewish... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Days after a series of attacks against Jews across Brooklyn, the Anti-Defamation League announced that it would double funding for a school program combating hate. But city officials say more than education is needed to stop the rash of attacks, which have spiked across this city in 2019. That's because the problem is hard to diagnose. Is it the local effect of a national rise in anti-Semitism? The resurfacing of old resentments? Are Jews being scapegoated for the impact of... Full story
AMHERST, Mass. (JTA)-For the second time in six months, several high-profile proponents of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel are sharing a stage at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst-and prompting concern and counteractions from pro-Israel students. Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour, Harvard professor Cornell West and other BDS supporters were due to appear at a Nov. 12 event at the university's main campus titled "Criminalizing Dissent: The attack... Full story
(JTA)—President Donald Trump will be the keynote speaker at the annual conference of the Israeli-American Council. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, a Trump supporter and mega donor to Republican candidates, is one of the council’s major supporters. The council said in a statement that it will be Trump’s first appearance to a non-political Jewish organization. Since Trump took office, the only Jewish group he has spoken to is the Republican Jewish Coalition. The summit will take place on Dec. 5-8 in Florida and is expecting nearly 4,000 atten... Full story
