Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1666 - 1690 of 2213
By Sean Savage JNS.org With old alliances being frayed and new threats emerging, making sense of the rapidly changing Middle East is increasingly difficult for even seasoned observers and analysts. Disgruntled by President Barack Obama's foreign policy in the region, some long-time American allies such as Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have begun openly criticizing the U.S. approach to issues like the Gaza conflict, with some even pivoting towards Russia. At the same time, the civil wars in... Full story
Following the taking of attendance and the reading of the opening chapter of the Koran, some homeroom classes across the West Bank are devoting time to educate students on the importance of supporting local products. A second lesson comes after lunch and recess, when the students line up to return to classrooms. The goal is to get kids to support products made in the West Bank, which include Palestinian-made stationary and school supplies, medicines, and even school uniforms. The Ministry of Education sent out letters to teachers detailing the... Full story
U.S. calls on Israel to reverse land appropriation JERUSALEM (JTA)—The United States called on Israel to cancel the government appropriation of West Bank land in the Etzion bloc, while Israeli ministers praised and panned the decision. “This announcement, like every other settlement announcement Israel makes, is counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians,” an unnamed U.S. government official told Reuters on Monday. “We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision.” The Israel... Full story
Recently, in reaction to the Gaza conflict, George Galloway, a Respect party representative to U.K.'s Parliament announced that the West Yorkshire city of Bradford would be an "Israel-free zone." "We don't want any Israeli goods, we don't want any Israeli services, we don't want any Israeli academics coming to the university or the college, we don't even want any Israeli tourists to come to Bradford, even if any of them had thought of doing so," Galloway stated. Speaking on behalf of the... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-The United Nations probe into the Gaza conflict hasn't even begun, but Israel already is convinced that it won't end well. In a resolution adopted by a vote of 29-1 with 17 abstentions, the U.N. Human Rights Council moved last month to establish a commission of inquiry "to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." The United States cast the sole vote against. Last week, Israeli Prime... Full story
CHICAGO – Chicago kosher restaurant, MILT’s BBQ for the Perplexed, has donated three ambucycles to the Israeli emergency response organization United Hatzalah in memory of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, who were murdered earlier this summer. The donated ambucycles were inducted into the United Hatzalah fleet on Tuesday morning, when United Hatzalah volunteers drove the bikes along a symbolic route from the bus stop at which they were abducted in Gush Etzion to the point where the boys’ bodies were uncovered. The donor spoke... Full story
Iran says it shot down Israeli drone near Natanz nuclear facility JERUSALEM (JTA)—Iran claimed that it shot down an Israeli drone near its Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The drone was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it entered the Natanz site, Iran’s state news agency ISNA reported Sunday. Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site with more than 10,000 centrifuges, is located southeast of Tehran. “This act demonstrates a new adventurism by the Zionist regime,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement on its official we... Full story
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A New York Post editorial published Sunday slammed the Obama administration for its recent Israel policy. Headed “Obama deserts an ally in wartime,” the editorial said, “What kind of ally refuses to send you desperately needed weapons when you’re smack in the middle of a war? Apparently, that’s what the Obama folks did with Israel, which is caught up fighting with Hamas. It’s unforgivable.” The editorial was referring to the Obama administration’s recent decision to hold a shipment of Hellfire missil... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-After the missiles have stopped, after the troops have come home, even after most of the wounded are out of the hospital, Israelis will still be feeling the burden of Operation Protective Edge-this time in their pockets. With the recent expiration of a temporary cease-fire, the operation may not be over. (Another temporary cease-fire was put in place starting at midnight Monday.) But through last week, including both direct military expenses and indirect hits to the Israeli... Full story
(JTA)-It is now open season for those who would like a chunk of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's change and think they have a big idea up their sleeves. On Tuesday, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced the launch of the Genesis Generation Challenge, a competition offering 10 awards of $100,000 each to teams that can successfully present innovative projects "guided by Jewish values to address the world's pressing issues," according to a foundation statement. Teams must have approximately 10 people... Full story
By Josh Hasten With the withdrawal of ground troops from Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it completed its mission of dismantling a network of terrorist tunnels. But how did Hamas get its hands on materials to build the tunnels in the first place? Lt. Col (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi, an expert on the Middle East and radical Islam at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA), explained that some of the materials, including cement and iron, were smuggled into Gaza by Hamas through... Full story
(JTA)—Israeli human rights group B’Tselem is no longer eligible for Israeli national service volunteer placements because it has acted “against the state and its soldiers.” In a letter to B’Tselem, the head of the national service program, which coordinates placements for young Israelis doing national civilian service as an alternative to military service, said he objected to the group’s actions during this summer’s Gaza war, Haaretz reported. B’Tselem’s full name is B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Ter... Full story
(JTA)-Each time he dispatches a car into Lugansk, Rabbi Shalom Gopin readies himself for hours of anxious anticipation. The scene of brutal urban warfare between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian separatists, this eastern Ukrainian city now has no regular power supply, running water or cell phone reception. Mortar rounds can fall without warning. Much of the population, once 450,000, has fled. But despite the risks, Gopin, the city's exiled chief rabbi, has dispatched over a dozen cars to... Full story
Israeli negotiators in Cairo talks told to insist on nation’s security needs JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s delegation to the Cairo cease-fire talks has “clear instructions” to “insist on the security needs of the State of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. “Only if there is a clear response to our security needs will we agree to reach understandings,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the start of the regular weekly Cabinet meeting. “If Hamas thinks that it can cover up its military loss with a diplomatic achievement, it is mistaken. If Hamas t... Full story
Jews around the world were inspired last month when Arab-Israeli teenager Mohammad Zoabi cloaked himself in an Israeli flag and spoke into a bedroom video camera, "I am an Israeli and will remain an Israeli. Israel will remain a Jewish and a democratic country." What few realized is that within days after the video went viral, Israeli police arrested three men in his own family for plotting to cause him harm in retaliation for the piece. His cousin, Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi, called her... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-A few hours before he departed Amsterdam for Australia on July 17, Ithamar Avnon was praying for peace with his parents at their home in the Netherlands. That evening, pro-Russian separatists shot down Avnon's flight, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew. Avnon, 26, was the sole Israeli national on board. The son of a Dutchwoman and an Israeli who became a Christian evangelist, Avnon loved peace because of how well he and his... Full story
Washington Jewish Week A new Pew Research Center poll showing Republicans as more sympathetic to Israel than Democrats has left Jewish Democratic leaders searching for an explanation of the partisan gap. Conducted from July 8-14, the week Israel began its air operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip but before its ground invasion, the poll asked 1,805 respondents, “In the dispute between Israel and the Palestinians, which side do you sympathize with more—Israel or the Palestinians?” Possible answers were: Israel, Palestinians, both, neith... Full story
RAMLE, Israel (JTA)-In her living room in the Israeli town of Ramle, Sarah says she wants a peaceful life. At 79, she deserves one. A Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, Sarah was sent to a Nazi concentration camp in Serbia as a child, arriving in Israel at age 17. Her entire family perished in the Holocaust. Now she watches from her armchair as her family is threatened once again. Sarah-not her real name-is now a Muslim, and her daughter lives in Gaza City. "The whole city is in ruins," Sarah... Full story
WASHINGTON, DC-With the conflict in Israel in their hearts and on their minds, thousands of evangelical Christians converged on Washington, DC, from July 21-22 to flex their collective muscles for the Jewish state as part of the annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit. "Our joy is consistently interrupted by news from Israel. But it is good to be together with loved ones at a sad time. I see the energy more than ever, that we have to speak out and be a voice for Israel," David Brog,... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The dramatic developments in the war between Hamas and Israel have been accompanied by sharp ups and downs in U.S.-Israel relations. On Monday, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer, made nice with the U.S. national security adviser, Susan Rice, before an audience of anxious U.S. Jewish leaders. But right before, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu bluntly vowed to continue Israel’s military campaign against Hamas, notwithstanding President Obama’s unequivocal demand for a cease-fire. And within a day o... Full story
Shelling of U.N. Gaza school kills at least 10 Palestinians JERUSALEM (JTA)—At least 10 Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded in the shelling of a United Nations school in southern Gaza. Palestinian and United Nations officials blamed the Israel Defense Forces for Sunday morning’s shelling in Rafah. The school is serving as a shelter for some 3,000 displaced Palestinians. The IDF said it was investigating reports on the attack. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a statement called the shelling a “gross violation of international human... Full story
(JTA)-Until this latest war, if you asked most Israelis about the threat from Gaza, they would probably start talking about Hamas rockets. But that has changed over the last few days of fighting, for two reasons. One, the much-heralded success of the Iron Dome missile defense system has all but neutralized Hamas' rocket threat. Two, and far more troubling for Israelis, they have woken up to the true extent of the subterranean threat from Gaza: the tunnels that snake underneath the densely... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)-Sean Carmeli, a sergeant in the Israeli army, was stationed in Israel's South awaiting possible orders to enter Gaza. He was exchanging Facebook messages with his friend Ian Benisti, a U.S. Marine reservist who was visiting Israel from California. The two had planned to get together, maybe go to the beach. But Israel was in the midst of an escalating conflict with Hamas. "Bro', hope this'll be over soon, so we can meet up," the Texas-born Carmeli wrote to Benisti in their last... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-The soldiers walk past us, two single-file lines between the gravestones, their blank, sunken faces barely visible in the darkness. The coffin appears, hoisted on their arms and wrapped in an Israeli flag. We follow in its wake. Within minutes, some 20,000 people have massed around the final resting place of Sean Carmeli, Texas native, IDF soldier, soon to be declared a Hero of Israel. We stand silent as the rabbi chants verses of psalms begging for mercy. We shrug off official... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-When the siren sounded, the Rolling Stones' tortured 1969 track "Gimme Shelter" popped into my head, oddly enough. That haunting song offered a stunning reminder of the endless horrors of war, reawakening a sleepy world with a vivid musical picture of human pain in times of combat. Merry Clayton's evocative vocalization of disturbing lyrics over a harsh musical background focused global attention on the awful realities of the Vietnam War. Nowadays, though, one hardly requires a so... Full story
