Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA)-The world is about to revolve around PyeongChang, a mountainous county in the northern half of South Korea, for the upcoming Winter Olympics. Jewish fans won't have quite as many standout athletes to cheer for this year as they did in 2016, when multiple American members of the tribe won medals at the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. But there are several compelling Jewish stories to catch up on before the action starts. Israel is sending its largest team ever. Before this year, the largest... Full story
(JNS)-Vice President Mike Pence concluded his trip to Israel on Tuesday with a private visit to the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism. Pence arrived at the holy site with a black yarmulke on his head flanked by the Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz and Director of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation Mordechai "Soli" Eliav. U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman and the Trump administration's international negotiations representative, Jason Greenblatt,... Full story
Vice President Mike Pence on Monday addressed the Knesset, Israel's parliament, affirming the US' support for the Jewish state, for Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and for Israel's security. The following are excerpts from his speech: ...I am here to convey a simple message from the heart of the American people: America stands with Israel. We stand with Israel because your cause is our cause, your values are our values, and your fight is our fight. We stand with Israel because we believe in... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-When Mike Pence moved to Washington earlier this year, he and his wife took with them a framed phrase they had for years hung over their fireplace in their Indiana home, and then over the fireplace in the governor's mansion in that state. Now it hangs over the mantle at the vice president's residence at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. The words, from the Book of Jeremiah, read: "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to... Full story
Israel’s leadership took Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to task on Monday over his hate-filled speech in which he denied Israel’s right to exist and wished President Donald Trump that his “house should be destroyed.” Abbas on Sunday rejected Israel as a Western “colonial project that has nothing to do with Judaism.” “Colonialism created Israel to perform a certain function. It is a colonial project that has nothing to do with Judaism, but rather used the Jews as a tool under the slogan of the Promised Land,” said Abbas. Providing a war... Full story
VIENNA (JTA)-If Stephan Templ's trial and imprisonment in Austria were meant to silence his criticism of the country's Holocaust restitution system, then his prosecution was clearly a failure. Templ is an Austrian-Jewish historian of the Holocaust who has written critically about his country since 1995. In 2015, he was sent to jail for nearly a year on controversial fraud charges tied to his family's own claim for compensation-and spent his time in prison diving even deeper into his area of... Full story
Western Wall rabbi apologizes to female reporter for discriminatory treatment during Pence visit JERUSALEM (JTA)—The rabbi of the Western Wall sent a letter of apology to the editor of the Israeli business daily Globes for the discriminatory treatment of one of its reporters during Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the site last week. Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovich, writing to Globes editor-in-chief Naama Sikuler, said “I want to express my regret for the anguish suffered by your newspaper’s diplomatic correspondent,” Tal Schneider. He also said... Full story
Leaders of several major American Jewish organizations have told JNS that they are supporting the Israeli government's decision to prevent the entry of foreign citizens who promote boycotts of Israel. Israel's Ministry of Strategic Affairs on Jan. 7 released a preliminary list of 20 foreign organizations whose "central figures" will not be permitted to enter Israel because they have undertaken "significant, ongoing and consistent harm to Israel through advocating boycotts." There are six... Full story
The Palestinians have announced an escalation of their diplomatic actions against Israel through the annulment of the Oslo peace accords and withdrawal of their recognition of Israel. The Palestinian Central Council on Monday declared that the transitional period stipulated in the peace agreements signed in 1993 in Oslo, Cairo and Washington, and its obligations "no longer stand." The PCC held a two-day conference this week to discuss the ramifications of the US recognition of Jerusalem as... Full story
In a letter, the State Department notified the U.N. Relief and Works Agency that the U.S. is withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million funding installment to the body. The letter also makes clear that additional U.S. donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA, which has been heavily criticized by Israel. “We would like to see some reforms be made,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, adding that changes are needed both to the way the agency operates and is funded. “This is not aimed at punishing anyon... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Donald Trump denied a claim by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. Embassy would move to Jerusalem within a year. “By the end of the year?” Trump said Wednesday in an interview with Reuters after being told of Netanyahu’s claim. “We’re talking about different scenarios—I mean obviously that would be on a temporary basis. We’re not really looking at that. That’s no.” Trump’s reference to moving the embassy on a “temporary basis” and then saying “we’re not really looking at that” suggested th... Full story
(JNS)-A bomb was found, and then detonated in a controlled blast by IDF forces on Monday night at the Jewish holy site of Joseph's tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus, known biblically as Shechem. The explosive device was spotted during a security check prior to the arrival of 1,000 Jewish worshippers to the site overnight. As the tomb is located within Palestinian-controlled territory, visits by Jewish worshippers are sporadic, take place exclusively during night-time hours, and must be fully... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s Knesset by a one-vote margin approved a bill that will keep supermarkets and other businesses closed on the Sabbath. The so-called mini-markets bill passed Tuesday morning in a 58-57 vote on its second and third readings following a 15-hour filibuster by the opposition parties. Under the controversial measure, the interior minister can strike down new municipal bylaws that would allow some businesses to remain open on Shabbat. The current interior minister is Aryeh Deri, head of the Sephardic Orthodox Shas party. Cri... Full story
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India is occurring against the backdrop of a massive and still growing river of defense sales and technology transfers from Jerusalem to New Delhi. Israel's defense industries have been supplying ever-increasing numbers of cutting-edge weapons and platforms to India's military. Last April, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced a $2 billion sale of medium-range, surface-to-air missile defense systems to the Indian Army. IAI's Barak 8 air... Full story
(JTA)-Moshe Holtzberg, who lost both his parents in a 2008 terror attack at the Chabad House in Mumbai, visited his old room accompanied by the Indian nanny who saved his life and by Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Moshe, 11, known even now in the Indian media as "Baby Moshe," found the marks on his wall where his mother had measured his height as a toddler. Netanyahu marked his present height on the same wall during their visit on Thursday. It is the first time that Moshe, who... Full story
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says he will not step down amid blackmail allegations WASHINGTON (JTA)—Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens said he will not resign over allegations that he threatened to blackmail a one-time lover despite calls by state lawmakers of both parties. “I’m staying,” Greitens said this weekend in an interview with The Associated Press, his first since the allegations emerged earlier this month. “The mistake that I made was that I was engaged in a consensual relationship with a woman who was not my wife. That is a mistake f... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—A new study has some troubling news for Israel and its supporters, who have come to rely on the political and financial support of the 25 percent of Americans who identify as evangelical Christians. “Older American evangelicals love Israel—but many younger evangelicals simply don’t care,” reads the summary of the study released last month by the Nashville-based evangelical research firm LifeWay Research. And while the summary may overstate the case, the survey, underwritten by Chosen People Ministries (which seeks Jewish co... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Donald Trump waived nuclear sanctions against Iran for what the White House said was the final time under the current deal. By the time the next waiver signing rolls around in 120 days, Trump wants a new deal in place that removes “sunset clauses” allowing Iran to resume enhanced enrichment of fissile material within a decade, three senior administration officials said Friday. Trump wants the bans to be permanent. “He wants to deny Iran access to nuclear weapons forever and not just for 10years,” one of the officials... Full story
Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs has published a list of 20 anti-Israel organizations that actively support the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement and whose activists will be denied entry into the Jewish state. “These organizations operate consistently against the State of Israel, while putting pressure on other organizations, institutions and countries to boycott Israel,” the ministry stated. “The organizations’ activities are carried out through a false propaganda campaign aimed at undermining Israel’s legitimacy in the w... Full story
In a victory for the Israeli right, over 1,000 members of the Likud party’s Central Committee called unanimously Sunday evening for its representatives in government to formally annex parts of Judea and Samaria and allow unlimited construction in the Jewish communities. The resolution reads: “Fifty years after the liberation of Judea and Samaria, and with them Jerusalem, our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on Likud’s elected leaders to work to allow unhindered construction and to extend Israeli law and sovereignty in all t... Full story
In 2017 alone, the Palestinian Authority (PA) compensated terrorists and their next of kin to the tune of more than $347 million, reported Israel's Defense Ministry to the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Tuesday, according to a report by the Jerusalem Post. The figures came from the PA's own records, which also revealed a schedule of payments that increase significantly in proportion to the crime committed. Specifically, terrorists sentenced to three to five years in prison receive from... Full story
Shortly after 8 p.m., the Magen David Adom (MDA) radio received reports of a shooting attack, apparently from the victim, who had served as an MDA volunteer. Paramedics from the town of Kedumim, a short drive from the scene of the attack, arrived on the scene and evacuated the victim to Meir Medical Centre in Kfar Saba, where his death was confirmed. “I left Kedumim in an MDA ambulance, arriving quickly at the scene. I saw on the side of the road, by the safety railing, a private vehicle with shooting markings on it,” said MDA paramedic Ely... Full story
The Palestinians' head negotiator, Saeb Erekat, announced on Tuesday that any peace talks sponsored by the United States would be rejected until the Americans revoke their Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Erekat made these remarks to the Voice of Palestine radio station, reported the Palestinian Authority's (PA) official Wafa news site, referring to any future US-proposed solutions or calls to restart the peace process as "unacceptable to the Palestinian leadership" until US... Full story
MIEDZYRZEC PODLASKI, Poland (JTA)-In a snowy woods near the border with Belarus, Jonny Daniels pulls muddy fishing waders over the pants of his tailored business suit and grabs a shovel from the trunk of his car. A London-born Israeli activist for Holocaust commemoration, Daniels, 31, had worn the suit for a meeting last year with Polish government officials in the country's east. And he put on the waders shortly after learning at that meeting of a village road made of Jewish headstones-which... Full story
Alan Sagner, NJ developer who backed liberal and Jewish causes, is dead at 97 WHIPPANY, New Jersey (New Jersey Jewish News via JTA)—Alan Sagner, a former chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a major benefactor of Jewish and liberal causes and the Democratic Party, died Jan. 3 at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He was 97 years old. A real estate developer and builder by profession, Sagner served as chairman of the Port Authority beginning in 1977, in an era when the regional transportation agency expanded rail s... Full story
