Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1159 - 1183 of 2213
WASHINGTON (JTA)-President Barack Obama's near parting gift to Israel, a guarantee of $38 billion in defense assistance over a decade, distills into a single document what he's been saying throughout eight fraught years: I have your back, but on my terms. The agreement signed Wednesday in the State Department's Treaty Room here increases assistance for Israel over the prior Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2007 under the George W. Bush administration and guaranteeing Israel $31 billion... Full story
Clinton and Trump, meeting with Netanyahu, share commitment to US-Israel alliance (JTA)—Hillary Clinton said she opposed any U.N. Security Council bid to impose a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just hours after a summit between the Israeli leader and Donald Trump. Netanyahu’s meetings with the Democratic nominee and earlier Sunday with her Republican rival were a study in similarities—principally in pledging close defense cooperation with Israel—and differences, especia... Full story
(JTA)-Like their constituents, the mainstream representatives of French Jewry are not known for passing up opportunities to express their opinion on subjects of national debate. And Jewish institutions in France, like those in the United States, regularly comment on a host of issues, including divisive ones that lie beyond their immediate purviews. The burkini ban was a notable exception. In May, CRIF, the umbrella group of French Jewish communities, came out in support of police officers who... Full story
(JNS.org) U.S. Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) spoke to an Israeli delegation this week about congressional support of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, Israel National News reported. “I want to say to all the people of Samaria that they are beloved by the American people, and we believe that Judea and Samaria are not the ‘West Bank’ but part of the state of Israel,” Franks told the Samarian Regional Council delegation on Capitol Hill. The council’s chief Yossi Dagan visited Washington, D.C., to meet with more than a dozen Republica... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Most Israeli Jews would prefer Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump as the next president of the United States, even though more of them think Trump would be better for the "Israeli government's policy." According to a poll released Sept. 6, 43 percent of Israeli Jews prefer Clinton as president, compared to 34 percent who want Trump. But 38 percent say Trump would be better for Israel, compared to 33 percent who say Clinton would be. On both questions, a large number of people... Full story
An Israeli legal rights NGO and an attorney, who together won the largest judgment ever against the Palestinian Authority (PA) in America, say a U.S. Appeals Court decision to dismiss the judgment sets a bad precedent for future legal attempts to hold the PA responsible for terrorism against Americans in U.S. courts. The Shurat HaDin—Israel Law Center had joined forces with attorney Kent Yalowitz, of the law firm Arnold & Porter LLP, to sue the PA on behalf of 10 American families of victims of the Second Intifada. They won a $655.5 million com... Full story
Speaking at UN High Level Forum on Anti-Semitism, at United Nations headquarters in New York, Mark Weitzman, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Chief Representative to the UN (NY) exhorted the world body “to immediately appoint a special representative on anti-Semitism with the authority to investigate and act on appearances of anti-Semitism in all circles of the UN.” Weitzman also urged the United Nations “to immediately adopt the ‘Working Definition of Anti-Semitism,’ which included examples related to attacks on the Jewish state, that was ad... Full story
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry implied that the world would be better served if the media did not report about terrorism as often. “Perhaps the media would do us all a service if they didn’t cover it quite as much. People wouldn’t know what’s going on,” Kerry said to the press during a meeting in Bangladesh. “No country is immune from terrorism. It’s easy to terrorize. Government and law enforcement have to be correct 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. But if you decide one day you’re going to be a terrorist and y... Full story
Trump adviser endorses Netanyahu claim of ‘ethnic cleansing’ by Palestinians WASHINGTON (JTA)—An adviser to Donald Trump and his presidential campaign backed up Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that the Palestinian demand for a removal of settlements amounts to “ethnic cleansing.” “The prime minister of Israel correctly observes that the Palestinian demand to remove all Jews from their ancestral homeland in Judea and Samaria is nothing short of an attempt at ethnic cleansing,” David Friedman, a longtime lawyer to the Republic... Full story
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Trump and Clinton campaigns issued tough-on-Iran statements in the wake of a report alleging that negotiators allowed Iran secret loopholes in the nuclear agreement. The Institute for Science and International Affairs, a think tank founded by a former United Nations nuclear weapons inspector, David Albright, said in a report released this week that Iran complied with most of the sanctions relief for the nuclear rollback deal when it was implemented in January. However, the report also said there were a n... Full story
(JTA)-A rocket that was scheduled to launch an Israeli communications satellite into space exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The unmanned SpaceX rocket reportedly was in the midst of routine fueling test for Saturday's scheduled launch when it exploded on Thursday morning. The explosion was felt throughout the NASA facility and for several miles around, The Associated Press reported. Dark smoke could be seen hanging in the sky over the blast site. SpaceX is a private... Full story
In the wake of expanding East African-Israeli relations, African nations often reach out to Israel for know-how on a range of topics: water conservation, energy, agricultural productivity, counter-terrorism; and now business negotiation. Although it may seem like the beginning of a tasteless joke about Jews and negotiation tactics, this work is anything but a joke. DLA Piper is one of the largest law firms in the world, a title that comes with big responsibilities. They take pro-bono work particularly seriously and have worked on dozens of... Full story
The refugee crisis, escalating terrorism and dissatisfaction with the political elite are blamed for the current rise of Europe's far-right political parties. Such a revival has not been seen since World War II. What's uniting the parties is an "imagined Muslim enemy in Europe," and a desire to support and connect with Israel, according to Farid Hafez, a sociology and political science professor at Austria's Salzburg University. The ideology of Europe's far-right parties is rooted in several... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel and Turkey ought to be friends, geopolitically speaking. As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan put it in January: "Israel needs a country like Turkey in this region. We, too, should admit that we need a country like Israel." But the regional powers often can't seem to make it work. In 2010, Turkey cut ties with Israel over its deadly military raid of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara flotilla. And this week, days after the Turkish parliament ratified a reconciliation agreeme... Full story
(JTA)-When Vladimir Putin grabbed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, the Russian president claimed it was to protect minorities from anti-Semitic fascists whom Putin maintained were behind the revolution that year that ousted his ally in Kiev, former President Viktor Yanukovych. But a physicist named Josef Zissels, who heads one of the groups representing Ukraine's fractured Jewish community of 350,000, wasn't buying it. In hundreds of media briefings and interviews, Zissels called the revolution "an... Full story
2 dead, 5 missing in collapse of Tel Aviv construction site JERUSALEM (JTA)—At least two construction workers are dead and five reportedly are missing following the collapse of a tiered parking structure under construction in Tel Aviv on Monday morning. Two workers who had been trapped under the rubble for hours were pulled out early Monday evening. The search-and-rescue effort for the missing workers, who are believed to be trapped, was expected to last through the night, The Times of Israel reported. At least 24 workers, Israelis and P... Full story
Russia's unprecedented move last week of dispatching warplanes to bomb targets in Syria through an Iranian airbase may have Israeli officials worried. The move shows growing cooperation between Russia and Iran, Israel's biggest foe in the Middle East in recent years, and a regime that, like Russia, has been working to maintain the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. On Aug. 22, Russian and Iranian officials announced that Russia's use of the Iranian base has ended. Iran's Foreign Ministry... Full story
PARIS (JTA)-Twenty-five years after he graduated from a public high school in the French capital, Stephane Tayar recalls favorably his time in one of the world's most thorough education systems. As for many other French Jews his age, the state-subsidized upbringing has worked out well for Tayar, a 43-year-old communications and computers specialist. Eloquent but down to earth, he seems as comfortable discussing the complexities of French society as he is adept at fighting-curses, threats and... Full story
By Andrew Tobin JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israeli security forces shut down six illegal weapons manufacturing factories in the West Bank in what the army said was the biggest such operation of an ongoing crackdown. The raids conducted jointly by the Israel Defense Forces, Shin Bet security service and Israel Police took place last Monday night in Bethlehem and Hebron. “Last night, after research and analysis, we decided to clamp down on several warehouses and factories that manufacture guns and arms,” a senior army officer told JTA and other journ... Full story
For the first time, the U.S. State Department has explicitly accused the Palestinian Authority (PA) of promoting anti-Semitism, a signal Jewish groups are hoping will lead to change in U.S. policy. According to a newly released State Department annual report on international religious freedom, official PA media "carried religiously intolerant material," citing Palestinian television programs that called Jews "evil" or "denied a historical Jewish presence in Jerusalem." Previously, U.S.... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-In this case, the sins of the son are the sins of the father. Israel's Supreme Rabbinical Court this month sentenced a haredi Orthodox man to 30 days in jail for pressuring his son to withhold a divorce from his wife for more than a decade. By upholding a lower rabbinical court decision, the high court gave its blessing to an unprecedented approach to freeing women from unwanted marriages. The Orthodox rabbis who adjudicate divorce in Israel-all of whom are men-have come under... Full story
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA)-Pro-Israel activists in the Miami area plan to protest a Florida state senator active in the Black Lives Matter movement who visited the West Bank as the guest of a group that backs the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Organizers of the protest against Dwight Bullard said they object to the groups and people he met while visiting the region in May under the aegis of a Miami-based civil rights group, Dream Defenders. His delegation met with a founder of... Full story
Report: Sheldon Adelson meets with Donald Trump, suggests he demonstrate humility (JTA)—Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson told Donald Trump in a private meeting that the Republican presidential candidate must demonstrate a measure of humility, The New York Times reported. Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate, also told Trump in the meeting last week in Adelson’s suite at the St. Regis Hotel in New York that he was committed to his presidential campaign. The newspaper cited five unnamed Republicans briefed on the meeting who were not aut... Full story
TEL AVIV-A group of 233 Olim (new immigrants) landed in Tel Aviv on an El Al Boeing 777 chartered by Nefesh B'Nefesh to begin their new lives in Israel, including 75 Lone Soldiers who will become Israeli citizens and volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Two of the Lone Soldiers are locals-Roni Weil, daughter of Aaron and Sharon Weil of Maitland, and Ben Brent, son of Rene Brent of Lake Mary and David Brent of Israel. The flight was facilitated in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of... Full story
Israeli water experts believe by 2050, almost half of the world's population will live in countries with a chronic water shortage. What's causing the shortfall is population growth, which leads to a greater demand for food, increased pollution and climate instability, according to Prof. Noam Weisbrod, director of the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research (ZIWR) in the Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. In Israel's Negev Desert, which has long... Full story
