Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA)—The recently elected Oslo City Council is getting right to work: The Norwegian lawmakers are banning the purchase of goods and services from Israeli Jewish settlements by municipal departments and other local authorities. It is the sixth Norwegian municipality to ban settlement goods and services, as well as one county council, according to the statement. The Oslo an is part of the platform for 2019-23 adopted recently by the City Council, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement targeting Israel announced in a statement on its w... Full story
(JTA)—Jared Kushner, the point man on the Trump administration’s Middle East peace plan, appeared to endorse a unity government between Israel’s two largest parties. In a rare interview Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s senior adviser and son-in-law also shot back at Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden for saying Kushner was ill equipped to be negotiating Mideast peace. Regarding the unity government, Kushner was asked if he had called on the party leaders—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Gen. Benny Gantz—to find a way... Full story
US marks 25 years of peace treaty between Jordan and Israel By Marcy Oster (JTA)—The United States marked the 25th anniversary of the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan. “Today marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Peace between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the State of Israel, an agreement that began a tradition of peaceful and respectful cooperation that continues today,” read the statement signed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and dated Saturday. “We take this opportunity to praise the endurin... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders earned cheers at J Street’s annual conference when he said some of the money Israel receives from the United States for defense assistance should go to humanitarian relief in the Gaza Strip. The liberal Jewish Middle East policy group as one of its conference themes this year wants to press the Democratic candidates on whether they would demand from Israel an end to settlement expansion as a condition of receiving U.S. aid. Among the five candidates to speak in person at the con... Full story
(JTA)-As the old saying goes, two Jews, three opinions. Add one headache for the Taliban. Meet Zabulon Simentov, 66, who is believed to be the last remaining Jew in Afghanistan. Emran Feroz recently profiled Simentov for Foreign Policy and uncovered some incredible stories about the feisty Afghan-including that the Taliban once imprisoned him for arguing with a fellow Jew, then kicked him out because the constant bickering became too annoying. There is a good amount of information available alre... Full story
MEXICO CITY (JTA)-More than 10 years ago, Ilan Stavans scandalized language purists of the Spanish-speaking world by translating a chapter of "Don Quixote"-into Spanglish. Since then, the so-called czar of Latino culture has become one of the most important interlocutors for Hispanics in the United States. In his latest book, "The Seventh Heaven," published earlier this month, the Mexico-born Stavans shares a travelogue of a trip through Jewish Latin America, a topic on which he has emerged as a... Full story
(JTA)—A teenage boy in Victoria, Australia that allegedly sent threatening messages to a Jewish boy who had been forced to kiss the shoe of a Muslim student and to his mother has been charged for the threats. The boy, 16, was arrested by Victoria police and charged with stalking, harassing and threatening to kill the Jewish boy and his mother, The Age reported. The teen, who reportedly was arrested earlier this month will appear next month in Children’s Court, the newspaper said. The threats were sent after photos of the incident in which a 1... Full story
Israeli soldier injured by rock during clashes with residents of Yitzhar settlement By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)—An Israeli soldier was hit and injured with a rock during clashes with residents of the northern West Bank settlement of Yitzhar. The settlers also punctured the tires of several military vehicles, the IDF said. The IDF said it used riot dispersal methods, including shooting in the air, to stop the clashes. “It is inconceivable that IDF soldiers, who spend their days in defense of the settlers, would be attacked by those pro... Full story
(JNS)—Israel has been closely monitoring Turkey’s brutal offensive against the Kurds in northeast Syria in recent days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Turkish invasion on Oct. 10, stating that Israel “warns against the ethnic cleansing of the Kurds by Turkey and its proxies,” and that “Israel is prepared to extend humanitarian assistance to the gallant Kurdish people.” However, Israel’s concerns with regard to the Turkish operation extend beyond Ankara’s conflict with the Kurds. Israel Defense Forces Brig. Gen. (res... Full story
(JTA)—More than 10,000 people marched in Berlin against anti-Semitism and in a show of support for the victims of anti-Semitic violence in the city of Halle. The march on Sunday left from Bebelplatz, significant as a site of Nazi book-burning, to the New Synagogue in central Berlin. Several thousand others marched on Saturday in the streets of other German cities including Hamburg and Marburg. The march comes days after a German man with anti-Semitic and white supremacist motives in a livestreamed attack tried and failed to enter the s... Full story
(JTA)-A Muslim man from Albania who saved Jews during the Holocaust will attend an event in Poland honoring rescuers from across Europe. Xhemal Veseli, 93, who is among a handful of Muslim rescuers alive today, will travel to Warsaw with Albania's foreign minister, Edmond Panariti, whose family also saved Jews from the Holocaust. They will attend in Warsaw an event titled "An Evening for the Righteous" on Nov. 14. "In the remarkably fragmented and aggressive world we live in today, religion... Full story
TEL AVIV—About 2.1 million women worldwide developed breast cancer in 2018, according to the World Health Organization. Last year also saw some 627,000 fatalities due to breast cancer—nearly all because their cancer had spread to distant organs. Israeli researcher Neta Erez is trying to find out how the cancer spreads in a bid to stop it. “Most studies are still done on the primary tumor, but that’s not what kills the patient,” Erez said. “If we can intervene at an early stage, we may be able to prevent metastasis.” If successful, t... Full story
Fliers with anti-Jewish and anti-Israel messages left on cars in New Jersey township By Marcy Oster (JTA)—Fliers with what police described as anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages were left on cars parked near a restaurant and movie theater in Evesham Township, New Jersey. One of the fliers tied Jewish Hollywood producers to pedophilia and child rape, the CBS affiliate in Philadelphia reported. The township is considered a suburb of Philadelphia. Police told the news outlet that a second flier made racist statements about Israel and a third i... Full story
(JNS)-The decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to pull back troops from northern Syria in the face of a likely Turkish offensive against Kurdish forces is a blow to American deterrent power in the Middle East. It is also a move that looks set to hasten the creation of a power vacuum, which a variety of Islamists will look forward to filling. While it's too soon to know the full impact the move will have, it raises several potential scenarios, some of which would be deeply destructive for... Full story
(JTA)—At least two gunmen opened fire on a synagogue during Yom Kippur services and a kebab shop in Halle, a town in eastern Germany. The shooters reportedly were from the far right. The masked gunmen reportedly were repelled by the synagogue’s doors, secured shut during the services Wednesday on the most solemn day of the Jewish year. There were 70 to 80 people in the synagogue at the time of the attack. One of the gunmen shot a woman dead at a nearby Jewish cemetery and a gunman threw a grenade at the kebab shop, and then fired at it, kil... Full story
(JTA)-The identity of the German synagogue attacker may have sounded familiar to American Jews, who have endured multiple attacks by far-right extremists over the past year. But the suspect's identity was more surprising for Jews in Western Europe. The murder of two people in Halle on Yom Kippur was the first lethal anti-Semitic assault in decades in that region by a far-right extremist. Most of the terrorist attacks against Jews there over the past 30 years have been carried out by radical... Full story
(JNS)—Jewish and pro-Israel groups reacted unfavorably to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Sunday evening to withdraw U.S. forces from northeast Syria, ahead of an expected invasion by Turkey against Kurdish forces. The White House announced the withdrawal on Sunday, following a call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, eliciting alarm from the Syrian Kurds, whom Erdogan considers to be terrorists. Trump’s decision was also met with bipartisan condemnation, including from U.S. House Speak... Full story
(JNS)—A major Swedish political party has voted to change its official stance in favor of banning circumcision. The Swedish Centre Party tally at its annual meeting was 314-166, overturning the 18-member party board’s unanimous rejection of the proposal. The vote was criticized by party chief Annie Loof. The party has 31 of the 349 seats in the parliament. It currently backs the left-wing bloc, though it’s not officially part of the coalition. Both the Jewish and Muslim communities expressed outrage over the vote. “The Swedish Centre Party’s de... Full story
Hundreds of etrogs held up at airport in England over new import regulations By Marcy Oster (JTA)—Hundreds of etrogs, the citron fruit used for the holiday of Sukkot, were seized at an airport in England. The Animal and Plant Health Agency held up the shipment at the Manchester Airport under new and stricter regulations on the import of citrus fruit. Etrog importers were unaware of the new rules, the London-based Jewish Chronicle reported. The Board of Deputies of British Jews worked with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affai... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has launched a Hebrew-language website and syndication service aimed at the Israeli public. The service features original Hebrew articles and videos with Hebrew translations of items published in English by JTA and adapted for Israeli audiences. JTA’s new Hebrew news site is www.jtahebrew.com. The goal is to inform the Israeli public about Diaspora Jews and Jewish issues, and to use news items, feature stories and videos to increase Israelis’ understanding of Diaspora Jewry. Jewish communal leade... Full story
(JNS)-When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Sochi in Russia last month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the event turned into a political football back in Israel. Seizing on the fact that Netanyahu was made to wait for almost three hours to see Putin (allegedly because the Russian leader was late returning from an event in Dagestan), Netanyahu's political rival, Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman, stated on Sept. 13 that "in Russia, nothing happens by chance... Full story
Broward County, Florida commission passes anti-Israel boycott resolution By Marcy Oster (JTA)—A county commission in southeastern Florida unanimously passed a resolution opposing the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel. The Broward County Commission passed the resolution at a meeting on Sept. 24. The commission said in the four-page resolution that it “opposes the BDS movement targeting Israel, including all efforts to delegitimize the state of Israel and efforts to target United States companies that are engaged in legal... Full story
(JTA)—Two reports of anti-Semitic bullying at schools in Australia are receiving widespread media coverage. A photo that allegedly shows a 12-year-old Jewish student being forced to kneel to kiss the shoes of a Muslim classmate was circulated on social media. The incident occurred at the Cheltenham Secondary College in the town of Cheltenham, a Melbourne suburb, according to The Age, a Melbourne-based newspaper. The report did not make it clear if the Muslim boy’s religion had anything to do with the incident. A second incident took place at... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Explosions earlier this week at two Hamas police checkpoints in Gaza City left three policemen dead. But it wasn’t Israel that planted the explosives, as many might have suspected. Hamas says it was Islamic State suicide bombers. A day after the deadly attacks, Hamas began mass arrests of supporters of Islamic State and other Salafist organizations in the Gaza Strip. It’s not the first time that Hamas and members of the Islamic State, or ISIS, have clashed in recent years. Israel and the United States consider both Hamas and I... Full story
‘Seinfeld’ will move to Netflix in 2021 By Ben Sales (JTA)—Starting in 2021, Netflix will officially be the master of the “Seinfeld” domain. The iconic “show about nothing,” whose episodes are currently available to stream on Hulu, will move to Netflix the year after next. It will stay on Netflix for five years. The move comes after Netflix lost the rights to two other mega-hits that aired on NBC, “The Office” and “Friends.” But Netflix negotiated with Sony, which owns “Seinfeld,” and—yada, yada, yada—the deal was struck. Netflix also streams... Full story
