Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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JERUSALEM (JTA)-The heavy stone that fell out of the Western Wall and came crashing down on a platform set aside for egalitarian prayer has been removed for examination and restoration, but the conversation about the reason for its sudden sky dive, including hints of divine intervention, keeps on going. The stone fell on Monday morning, hours after the area had been full of worshippers visiting the wall for Tisha b'Av, 25 hours of intense mourning for the destruction of the two Holy Temples in...
On Thursday, Syrian state media reported that government forces had entered the town of Quneitra on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights, reaching Israel's doorstep. According to the government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad's troops raised the nation's flag on Thursday afternoon. SCMM posted photographs from inside the town, where homes had been left badly damaged since Syria waged war. Several Syrians interviewed Thursday say they don't trust the Syri...
(JTA)—Berlin issued a withering critique of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s recent announcement that he would not remove Holocaust denial posts from the widely used social platform, stating that such a policy was contrary to German law. “There must be no place for anti-Semitism. This includes verbal and physical attacks on Jews as well as the denial of the Holocaust,” Justice Minister Katarina Barley said. “The latter is also punishable by us and will be strictly prosecuted.” In a statement to Politico Europe, a Justice Ministry spokeswoman...
(MEMRI via JNS)—Speaking on Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV, Islamic cleric Salah Nour cited the anti-Semitic hadith according to which the Muslims would fight the Jews on Judgment Day, and the trees and stones would give up the Jews hiding behind them. He praised the “virtue” of jihad, and said: “Islam will prevail, Allah willing, and the Muslims will rule the entire Earth.” His address aired on June 24....
Hundreds of family members, friends and acquaintances attended the funeral of Yotam Ovadia, 31, murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in a stabbing attack on Thursday night. Yotam was buried at Har Hamenuchot cemetery in Jerusalem, leaving two young children, Harel and Itai, and his wife Tal. “I don’t know what will happen to me and the children now,” Tal said Saturday, as quoted by Ynet. “I don’t know how to continue to be strong for the children. We were everything to him. The house was his kingdom.” “Yotam was a decent, modest and humble ma...
(JNS)-Quite literally among the booms and billows of black smoke across the nearby Gaza border, deep in Israel's southern Negev Desert, the new community of Shlomit laid a cornerstone and broke ground for their future community center. The new structure will serve not only Shlomit, but the entire Eshkol region in southern Israel. A mere 700 meters from Israel's border with Egypt and just a few kilometers from Gaza, Shlomit and the other budding communities of Halutza are defying the odds and...
(JTA)-When Samuel Green talks about Israel's West Bank security barrier with the Birthright groups he guides, he first explains the Israeli view that the barrier was built to prevent Palestinian terrorists from breaching Israeli territory and that Israelis generally feel it has saved lives. But then he'll talk about what the barrier-which is part wall, part fence-means for Palestinians: How it cuts into West Bank territory, how it has separated people from their farmland, how they see it as an...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she plans to spend 5 more years on Supreme Court (JTA)—Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she hopes to remain on the court for another five years. “I’m now 85,” Ginsburg said, according to CNN. “My senior colleague, Justice John Paul Stevens, he stepped down when he was 90, so think I have about at least five more years.” Ginsburg made the statement on Sunday night in New York during a discussion following a production of “The Originalist,” a play about the late Justice Antonin Scalia. When asked in Octobe...
(JTA)-Mark Zuckerberg says he wants to give everyone in the world a voice. But what happens when some of those wishing a voice are Holocaust deniers? That question was posed to the Facebook founder in an interview Wednesday with Recode, a tech news site, about the social network giant's role in fighting false news and ensuring the safety of users. Zuckerberg's answer placed two values in tension: On the one hand, he said, Facebook prioritizes allowing people to express themselves-even if, he...
By Ariel Kahana (Israel Hayom via JNS)—Members of the U.S. Congress are demanding the State Department make public a key report that includes precise figures on the number of people who became refugees in the 1948 War of Independence. The existence of the State Department assessment, compiled and classified under the Obama administration, was first disclosed by the Washington Free Beacon six months ago. Lawmakers say the report could impact how the United States views the refugee issue when the actual number of refugees is made public and is s...
(JNS)—In a rather rare judgment, a Jerusalem District Court just issued a lien on two large ships that are part of a Gaza-bound flotilla set to arrive in Israeli waters later this month, with the intent that the sea vessels can be sold, with proceeds going to families of Israeli victims of Hamas-sponsored terror attacks. The strategy to seek a lien on the ships in order to benefit the victims was introduced to the court by the Shurat HaDin-Israel Law Center’ NGO on behalf of two Israeli families (Weinstein and Gavish) who for years have bee...
(JNS)—A law banning groups grounded in the criticism of Israel Defense Forces’ soldiers and the operations of the IDF passed on Tuesday in the Knesset. Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Shuli Mualem-Refaeli, the Jewish Home Party co-authors of the bill, said the law would also apply to institutions that attempt to delegitimize Israel abroad. The bill passed its second and third reading by a vote of 43-24. It was specifically aimed at Breaking the Silence, an organization that questions the actions and morality of the IDF, particularly in...
NEW YORK (JTA)—A prominent Jewish philanthropist says he was aggressively questioned by Israeli airport security after going on a Jewish tour of Palestinian areas of the West Bank. Meyer Koplow, chair of Brandeis University’s board of trustees and a longtime donor to pro-Israel causes, was delayed for 30 minutes by a security agent at Ben Gurion International Airport Sunday before being allowed to board his flight. Koplow’s visit to Israel included a trip to the West Bank with Encounter Programs, a nonpartisan organization that brings Jews...
(JNS)-In its desperate effort to break out of isolation and prevent the Gazan economy from collapsing, Hamas is marching Gaza to the very brink of war with Israel. All of Hamas's recent actions are designed to use blackmail, terrorism and the threat of war to force a change, as well as get major funds flowing into the Gaza Strip. These efforts began several months ago with mass marches on Fridays and border-infiltration attempts. That ended with a high number of casualties on May 14, but failed...
(JNS)-The first four female tank commanders in the Israel Defense Forces have successfully completed their grueling training course and will now begin their operational duties. Several additional female soldiers will serve in other duties in tanks. The new female commanders and tank crew members will conduct critical border-defense missions, though they will not belong to brigades that would maneuver deep into enemy territory in case of war. Sgt. Charlotte Feld-Davidovici of Tel Aviv, who moved...
(JNS)—U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin just concluded a bilateral summit in Helsinki, Finland, that proved to be one of the most widely anticipated meetings in years—or, at least, since the meeting with North Korea. While the discussions centered on relations with Europe and the United States, a topic that also took high priority was the ongoing civil war in Syria. Over the last month, the Syrian regime—backed by Russian, Iran, Hezbollah and Shi’a militias—has launched a massive operation in its south to defeat...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel is debating legislation that supporters say states the obvious. Critics, meanwhile, say the measure will divide Israeli society and damage its relationships with the rest of the democratic world, especially Jews in the United States. The premise of the so-called Nationality Law is simple: It enshrines in Israel's quasi-constitutional Basic Law that Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people. But after that it gets more complicated. Much of the bill, sponsored by...
Israeli Border Police operating in the city of Hebron on Sunday night saved the life of a nine-month-old Palestinian baby. The troops, stationed at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, heard shouts coming from a house situated near the holy site. They rushed to the scene to find an unconscious baby boy whose face had turned blue and whose family was extremely distraught. The troops began to administrate CPR as an Israeli medical team arrived at the scene, and the baby's breathing was finally restored....
Druze leaders challenge Israel’s nation-state law JERUSALEM (JTA)—Druze leaders in Israel filed a challenge with the Supreme Court over legislation passed by the Knesset making Israel the “nation-state of the Jewish people.” The Druze leaders, including three Knesset members, called it “extreme” and said it discriminated against Israel’s minorities, the Times of Israel reported. Arabs make up nearly 20 percent of Israel’s population. Members of the Druze minority serve in the Israel Defense Forces. The lawmakers were from both the ruling coal...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The media, Congress, the international community—just about everybody is reeling after the joint news conference on Monday in Helsinki bringing together President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Among other remarkable declarations, Trump seemed to agree with Putin by doubting the U.S. intelligence community’s assessment that Moscow mounted an effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The American president said he favored Putin’s offer to allow U.S. investigators to interview Russians in the inv...
(JNS)-Why sit behind a desk all day when you can explore Israel and meet experts in your field at the same time? That's where REALITY Experience, an initiative by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, comes in. The program, which offers 12 distinct journeys, each with its own unique focus, "brings inspiring influencers from around the globe on a transformative journey through Israel to reignite their passion and potential for repairing the world." JNS was invited to meet with some...
(JNS)—Israeli security forces arrested 19 terror suspects and rock-throwers in raids across Judea and Samaria overnight on Sunday, confiscating multiple illegal guns in Hebron and confiscating thousands of shekels marked to fund terror acts. Riots broke out as IDF troops arrested terror suspects in eastern Jerusalem and just outside the city in Kafr Bidu, with Arab residents throwing objects and rocks at soldiers, who responded with riot dispersal equipment. No injuries were reported on either side. During raids in Hebron, the IDF c...
Nestled in the Western Negev, along the desert's edge and the border with the Gaza Strip, 32 small agricultural kibbutzim and villages have created an oasis in an otherwise overlooked part of Israel. For many residents of what is often referred to as "The Gaza Envelope," their lives represent a stark contrast to the bustling metropolis of Israel's center, and provide a healthy and peaceful environment focused on family and community. For years, these hearty pioneers have made their mark on...
According to various news sources, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed to work together to ensure Israel's security with regards to the advancement of the Syrian regime against rebels near the Golan Heights. This discussion came about after Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited with Putin last week to demand that Iranian forces leave Syria. Netanyahu said he spoke to Trump on Saturday concerning "security and diplomatic issues in light of...
(JTA)-Ronald Reagan is reported to have said, "The person who agrees with you 80 percent of the time is a friend and an ally-not a 20 percent traitor." There is much wisdom in this sentiment, but the realities of alliance building in the current political environment raise complicated questions for many people: What happens when the balance shifts and the percentage representing agreement goes south of 80 percent? And what happens when one of the issues that constitute the 20 percent of...
