Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 831 - 855 of 2213
Mother, 3 children killed in Hanukkah house fire flown to Israel for burial NEW YORK (JTA)—The bodies of a woman and her three children killed in a house fire were flown to Israel after a crowd of mourners proved too large and distraught for a memorial ceremony to be held in Brooklyn. The New York Post reported Tuesday that hundreds of bereaved members of the Orthodox community gathered outside Congregation Sheves Achim in East Flatbush on Monday evening to mourn Aliza Azan, 39, and her children. “Unable to enter the synagogue,” the Post repor... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-Henny Goudeketting, a 95-year-old Holocaust survivor, is ailing and preparing to leave the world. Goudeketting, who was sterilized in Nazi medical experiments at Auschwitz, has neither children nor other relatives to care for her. Now, after multiple infections and recurrent falls, she's readying to say goodbye. "It's kind of strange," Goudeketting told JTA. "I know I have no future and I'm ready to die, but I'm still afraid of actually dying." The Amsterdam native returned to... Full story
Israel's leadership and Jews from around the world celebrated President Donald Trump's statement that the US officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and that plans to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem are in motion. The US "finally acknowledge[s] the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. This is nothing more, or less, than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It's something that has to be done," Trump stated at the White House on... Full story
(JTA)-President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and his announcement that he will move the embassy there from Tel Aviv will have a number of consequences for Israelis, Palestinians and the wider region. For Israel, it has finally received from an American president what it has long craved, which is righting the historic wrong of it being the only state whose self-declared capital is not recognized by the rest of the world. Israel's government institutions are... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Hours after ordering preparations for a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, President Donald Trump delayed moving the diplomatic mission to the city by another six months. Trump signed a proclamation at the White House Wednesday saying the United States sees Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and directing the State Department to start planning an embassy in the city. Soon thereafter, he signed another presidential waiver of a 1995 law requiring the embassy to be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Under U.S. President Bill Clinton, Con... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—President Donald Trump’s official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital may have sent shock waves across the Middle East. But here, in the epicenter of a city where fewer than a million people work, eat, pray and shop, the first day’s reaction was muted. The municipality projected images of the Israeli and American flags side by side on the Old City walls. But in Mahane Yehuda, the bustling produce and everything-else market a few miles into the city’s western side, it was another working day. Jews generally welcomed... Full story
The Hamas terror organization said President Donald Trump's historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "opens the gates of hell" and has called for another violent uprising against the Jewish state. "Trump's decision on Jerusalem will not succeed in changing the fact that Jerusalem is Arab Muslim land," a Hamas spokesman said Wednesday following Trump's announcement at the White House. Hamas called for Palestinians to take to the streets in a "Day of Rage" on Friday and "respond with... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel said it expects other countries to follow America’s example and recognize Jerusalem as its capital, even as much of the world decried the U.S. decision to move toward relocating its embassy to the city. Speaking at a diplomatic conference Thursday, a day after the historic shift in U.S. policy, which he welcomed, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was in contact with countries interested in such actions. “We are holding contacts with other countries who will also recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. I have no d... Full story
(JNS.org) The Israeli Air Force allegedly conducted an airstrike Monday night on a “military scientific research center” in the Jamraya area on the outskirts of Damascus, media affiliated with the Syrian regime reported. “Our air defenses are confronting an Israeli missile attack on one of our sites in the Damascus suburbs and three of the targets were downed,” reported the Syrian state news agency SANA. The Hezbollah-affiliated media outlet Al Mayadeen stated that the Israeli military launched six missiles at the site, and that three of the... Full story
(JNS.org) A war along Israel's northern border could be just "weeks" away, according to Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer. Dermer made the comments in a wide-ranging interview published by Politico on Monday, stating that the probability of direct conflict with the Iranian terror proxy Hezbollah is "higher than people think because of Iran's continued push through the region." "If Iran is not rolled back in Syria, then the chances of military confrontation are growing. I don't want to... Full story
Israel’s Foreign Ministry recently carried out a comprehensive survey of the citizens of 54 countries about their country’s relations with Israel. The main finding is that in a vast majority of those countries, 47 of 54 of them, most of the people surveyed believe that their country would benefit from links with Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to these finding on Sunday as a “gigantic change.” “What is also interesting is that half of the public in the countries in the Middle East that were reviewed, the assets and strength... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians will be comprehensive and pave the way for stability in the region. That's about all we know concerning Jared Kushner's plan, and he's happy to keep it that way, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior policy adviser said this weekend at a gathering of scholars and policy mavens who deal with the U.S.-Israel relationship. "The best thing about the team is that there's a lot of trust within the team," Kushner said at the... Full story
BUDAPEST (JTA)-At a conference about anti-Semitism in Europe, senior Hungarian officials said the absence of violence against Jews in their country owed to its refusal to admit Muslim immigrants. The assertion, which at least one Jewish expert on anti-Semitism disputed, came amid criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government by other European leaders of his immigration policy, and a dispute between the Hungarian leader and some Jewish community leaders who accuse Orban of... Full story
Roy Moore’s wife on anti-Semitism charge: ‘One of our attorneys is a Jew’ WASHINGTON (JTA)—Roy Moore’s wife said she and her husband, the controversial Senate candidate in Alabama, could not be anti-Semitic because they employ a Jewish lawyer. “Fake news will tell you that we don’t care for Jews,” Kayla Moore, her husband, Roy, standing behind her, said Monday night at Moore’s final campaign rally in Midland City, Alabama. “I tell you all this because I’ve seen it all, so I just want to set the record straight while they’re here,” she sa... Full story
(JTA)-When Israeli security guards roughed up the head rabbi of the Reform movement at the Western Wall, ripping his suit jacket and shoving a can of mace in his face, Rabbi Jen Lader had a dilemma: How could she talk about the violence without being boring? Lader, a spiritual leader at Temple Israel in suburban Detroit, had already preached about the Israeli government's apparent disdain for Reform Jews. She had spoken about how Reform Jews cannot marry or perform conversions as they choose in... Full story
With files from the Israel Mission to the UN Israel's Mission to the United Nations, in partnership with the World Jewish Congress, celebrated 70 years since the historic November 29, 1947 United Nations vote on Resolution 181 that called for the establishment of a Jewish State in the Land of Israel. The event, initiated by Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, took place in the Queens Museum, which served as UN headquarters in 1947 when the vote took place. US Vice President Mike Pence... Full story
Democratic US senators have called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to stop the planned demolition of twoillegally built Palestinian villages, claiming that the move could endanger Israel's future. The Times of Israel reported that 10 members of the Democratic Party signed the letter, including Senators Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Diane Feinstein, Al Franken and Brian Schatz. The letter urged Netanyahu to scrap an order to demolish the Palestinian villages of Sussiya and... Full story
As the Heritage Florida Jewish News went to press, the world was anticipating the announcement from President Donald Trump to declare Jerusalem as Israel's capital and beginning the process of moving the U.S. Embassy to the holy city, a step that threatens to spark unrest across the Middle East and undermine American efforts to forge a new peace plan. The State Department, meanwhile, warned U.S. embassies around the world to prepare for possible protests and violence and banned travel by... Full story
The United Nations General Assembly in New York passed six resolutions on Thursday, Nov. 30, affirming Palestinian rights and condemning Israeli violations of international law, Middle East Monitor reported. According to one resolution ('Jerusalem'), "the Assembly reiterated that any actions by Israel, the occupying Power, to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration on the Holy City of Jerusalem were illegal and therefore null and void." This resolution was adopted by 151 votes in favor... Full story
(JNS.org)-A German public broadcaster on Saturday cancelled a scheduled concert by former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters following a campaign highlighting the rocker's anti-Semitism. The show, "Us and Them," was scheduled to take place June 11, 2018, at Cologne's Lanxess Arena. The concert was nixed after Cologne resident Malca Goldstein-Wolf launched a petition to prevent the Westdeutscher Rundfunk television network from using public funds to sponsor the event. The petition referenced the... Full story
Geraldo Rivera apologizes to Bette Midler for alleged sexual assault (JTA)—Television host Geraldo Rivera apologized to Bette Midler for an incident in which she says he groped her. “Although I recall the time @BetteMidler has alluded to much differently than she, that does not change the fact that she has a right to speak out & demand an apology from me, for in the very least, publically [sic] embarrassing her all those years ago. Bette, I apologize,” Rivera tweeted on Friday. Rivera also tweeted: “27 years ago I wrote a tawdry book depicting... Full story
Within two years, a deep underground wall, equipped with advanced sensors, will cut through Hamas’s ability to tunnel into Israel. That will lead southern Israeli villages and towns to breathe a collective sigh of relief. But the Gazan terrorist factions that are currently arming themselves are likely already thinking about new ways to target Israelis. The IDF and Israeli Defense Ministry are working around the clock to complete the new underground wall. It will stretch 65 kilometers (40 miles) from north to south, across Israel’s entire bor... Full story
In the wake of an attack by a teenage Palestinian terrorist that left two Israelis wounded last Friday, Jewish organizations and community leaders are calling for the withdrawal of a congressional measure targeting Israel's treatment of Palestinian minors. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and nine other Democrats in the House of Representatives last week introduced H.R. 4391, which would restrict U.S. aid to Israel if the Israelis undertake the "military detention, interrogation, abuse, or... Full story
The Palestinians’ move to freeze all ties with the US comes “in response to some unacceptable US measures,” a spokesman for Palestinian Authority stated. Nabil Abu Rudeineh was referring to the Palestinian decision to cut all communications with the US following its decision to close the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington, the Palestinian official WAFA news agency reported. Abu Rudeineh stressed that “the Palestinian decision is going to face challenges but the coming period is critical and an opportunity to correct Palesti... Full story
The Knesset—Despite laws in Europe against anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial, as well as police activity and obligatory school trips to concentration camps, the number of anti-Semitic incidents is only increasing. During Monday’s meeting of the Committee for Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, Jewish and Israeli students described incidents of harassment on college campuses in the United States. Committee Chairman MK Avraham Neguise (Likud) said, “Classic hatred of Jews is disguised today as criticism of Israel, and leading universi... Full story
