Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 10 of 10
(JNS) - Amid a sharp increase in Jew-hatred after Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack in southern Israel, many elected officials and university presidents stood silent. That's why Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center gathered Jewish groups to "find ways to start fighting back," Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, the Israeli nonprofit's president, told JNS. Shurat HaDin aimed "to retake the streets, to retake the campuses, to retake the social media, to combat antisemitism in a way that we haven't,"...
(New York Jewish Week) — Republican Rep. Mike Lawler retained his seat in New York’s 17th Congressional District in a race that saw both candidates vie for the area’s large Jewish vote and spar over support for Israel. The race was one of several swing districts in New York State that could sway control of the House. Lawler defeated Democratic challenger Mondaire Jones in the district, which covers territory north of New York City in Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Westchester counties. Lawler won around 57 percent of the vote, 16 points ahead...
(New York Jewish Week) - Shai Davidai, an Israeli assistant professor at Columbia University's business school and outspoken pro-Israel activist, said he has been barred from the school's campus again. In a video posted to Instagram on Tuesday, Davidai said his lawyer had been informed that Davidai was barred from campus after he posted videos of himself confronting university officials about anti-Israel protests on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of Hamas' attack. "The university decided to...
(New York Jewish Week) — Three hundred and seventy years ago this week, a group of 23 Sephardic Jews arrived on the shores of New York — then called New Amsterdam — and created the first organized Jewish community in the city. What a difference a few centuries make: Today, New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. On Thursday, the City Council will vote on a resolution to honor both, turning Landing Day from an event marked by a few Jewish leaders into an official date on the city’s calendar. The resolut...
(JNS) — Some 120 protesters gathered near the Columbia University campus on Tuesday evening to call on U.S. universities to ban people from protesting on their campuses with face coverings masking their identities. Columbia was one of many sites of anti-Israel encampments that spread across campuses. In April, school’s president Minouche Shafik, who has since resigned, called police to campus to remove anti-Israel vandals who occupied the school’s Hamilton Hall. Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, largely dropped charges again...
By (New York Jewish Week) - Vandals defaced the apartment building of Cas Holloway, Columbia University's chief operating officer, on Thursday, splattering red paint around the entrance to the building and painting inverted red triangles, a Hamas symbol, on its facade. The vandals also smashed a glass door, put up threatening posters, and released insects inside the building, according to the New York Post. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul condemned the vandalism, saying the NYPD's Hate Crimes Task...
(New York Jewish Week) — Columbia University restricted access to its campus on Monday, a sign that the university is girding for a renewal of anti-Israel student protests as the fall semester is set to begin. The university’s chief operating officer, Cas Holloway, said in a Friday statement that the campus would effectively be closed to members of the public starting on Monday. The official first day of classes is Sept. 3, though some schools’ orientation activities begin this week. “This change is intended to keep our community safe given r...
(JNS) — Three deans at Columbia University, who the university’s president said exchanged messages that “disturbingly touched on ancient antisemitic tropes,” have resigned, the New York Times reported on Thursday, adding that a fourth, who participated “to a lesser extent,” remains in his job. “About time. Actions have consequences, and Columbia should have fired all four of these deans months ago,” stated Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), chair of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. “Instead, the university continues to send mixed sig...
(JNS) — Reports from watchdog group Middle East Media Research Institute show a boisterous anti-Israel demonstration in Times Square on the evening of July 31 against a Jewish-organized rally to support the Israel Defense Forces. The New York Post reported that about 300 people attended the rally, which featured a speech by Jonathan Conricus, former spokesperson for the IDF during its ongoing war with Hamas in the wake of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in southern Israel. The Post wrote that the demonstration was reportedly organized by the r...
(JNS) — Minouche Shafik, president of Columbia University, should either step down or be fired by the school’s board, the Coalition for Jewish Values says. The group, which represents 2,500 Orthodox rabbis, noted that Shafik allowed a dean to remain in his role after exchanging text messages mocking the panelists during an event on Jew-hatred. Three other Columbia officials involved lost their administrative roles, but remain on the payroll and the faculty. “The bigotry and double standards are blatant, and entirely at odds with the exper...
