Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Following Israel's Operation Protective Edge this summer, Hamas continues to control the Gaza Strip and openly considers any truce with Israel as a time to re-arm for the next conflict. Across Israel's northern border, Hezbollah has been fighting to preserve the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but still poses a danger to the Jewish state. Meanwhile, the Islamic State has exploded across Iraq and Syria in a spectacle of unprecedented brutality that could one day also knock on...
It was bashert – meant to be – that fateful day when Lori and Moshe Erlich happened upon Rabbi Michael Boyden and his wife as they were taking a walk in their hometown, Hod Hasharon, Israel. Earlier that day, Lori read an article about a synagogue in Raanana the rabbi had raised money to build in memory of his son only to have it snatched from his grasp at the last moment. At that time, Lori promised him if they reached their dream of having a permanent home for a Reform/Conservative con...
TORONTO (JTA)-On the fourth floor of the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, visitors will find a gallery called "Examining the Holocaust," which is devoted entirely to the story and lessons of the Shoah. On the same floor, in a smaller, adjacent space, a gallery called "Breaking the Silence" examines a cluster of five genocides officially recognized by the Canadian government: the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia; the Armenian and Rwandan genocides; the Holodomor, or the starvation of millions...
NEW YORK (JTA)-The circus is coming to town. No, there won't be marching elephants, lion tamers or motorcycles jumping through rings of fire. But there may be wolves in sheep's clothing, tightrope walking and motorcades blocking traffic. We're talking, of course, about the United Nations General Assembly, held every September at U.N. headquarters in midtown Manhattan. It's an opportunity for presidents and prime ministers to fly into the Big Apple, get their 15 minutes in front of a global...
Posters telling women where to walk removed from haredi London neighborhood (JTA)—Posters in English and Yiddish telling women which side of the road they can walk on were removed from a haredi Orthodox neighborhood in London. “Women should please walk along this side of the road only,” read the signs posted in the Stamford Hill area of north London, the Jewish Chronicle reported. The Hackney Council, the local government body, ordered the signs taken down following complaints from residents. They reportedly were removed last Friday. The Shomr...
B’nai B’rith is troubled that a gathering in Washington, D.C., to support Christians persecuted by radical Islamists has been overshadowed by a display of animosity toward Israel. During the “In Defense of Christians” (IDC) summit, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was shouted down when he spoke positively about Israel. During a speech at an evening gala, Cruz noted that some urge differentiating between “ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas”—and rejected this approach, asserting, “Hate is hate, and murder is murder.” He continued: “Christians have...
NEW YORK – Taglit-Birthright Israel, the organization responsible for sending over 400,000 young Jewish adults on a free 10-day trip to Israel to learn about their heritage, will launch its improved application portal for its 2014/2015 Winter season. Registration opened Tues., Sept. 9. The new registration process will provide an improved user-friendly experience, allowing applicants to select the exact date of their national, niche, campus or community trip and plan according to their schedules. “We are thrilled to kick off the winter sea...
In one of Steven Sotloff's final reports for The Media Line, dated July 30, 2014, he wrote: "As the international media is fixated on the struggle between the military and the Muslim Brotherhood, few reporters are focusing on Syria. But a spate of kidnappings of foreign journalists in Syria has made the country a mini-Iraq that few want to venture into. 'It's dangerous and getting worse by the day,' says a correspondent for a major Western publication. If no one is asking for articles, why...
NEW YORK-From the north to the south, the people of Israel are praising Jewish National Fund (JNF) donors for the emergency aid delivered to them during the recent crisis. When Operation Protective Edge went into effect in early July, JNF immediately went to work internally and with numerous partners in Israel to deliver programs, provisions and services for thousands of men, women and children in facilities, shelters and fire stations, and provided trips and field programs to the north for...
The following letter was written by the mother of Daniel Tregerman, the 4-year-old killed by mortar shell fired from Gaza, to U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. She gave permission for the letter to be publicized so that others would know the complete story of what happened and what the past was like between Gazan civilians and Israelis who live in nearby kibbutzim. Dear Sir, My name is Gila, I am an Israeli citizen, and I am a resident of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, near the border with Gaza. A week...
(JTA) – All is not well in the U.S.-Israel relationship. Somehow, the 50 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas frayed ties between Washington and Jerusalem. How did this happen? In part, the contretemps stems from the divergent ways that the Israeli and U.S. administrations view the Gaza war. Here's where each side is coming from: In the eyes of the U.S. administration... While Israel's security concerns vis-a-vis Gaza are legitimate, the ferocity of Israel's response against Hamas in G...
BEERSHEBA, Israel (JTA)-Handcuffed to a wooden chair in the middle of the night, Rafat Awaysha still wasn't sure what crime he had committed. He had announced a demonstration against the war in Gaza in a July 11 Facebook post. Soon afterward, he received a call from the police, who came to his dormitory and took him in for questioning. Released after an hour, Awaysha, the head of the Arab-Israeli Balad party student group at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba, thought the ordeal was over. But...
The Zionist Organization of America expresses “appall” at the Gaza resolution under UN Security Council consideration—and especially at the US for apparently agreeing to it. The proposed ceasefire resolution does not specifically condemn Hamas by name, but rather equates Hamas terrorism and the Israeli response to it. The resolution wording condemns “all violence and hostilities directed against civilians, as well as indiscriminate attacks resulting in civilian casualties, and all acts of terrorism.” No differentiation is made between t...
OR YEHUDA, Israel (JTA) -- Something that looks like a can of soda could be Israel's high-tech answer to the network of tunnels that Hamas has created under the Gaza border. A sensor known as a geophone can detect underground movement based on the sound generated by the movement, the Israeli defense firm manufacturing the device says. The firm, Elpam Electronics, says the geophone is capable of finding the location of a person crawling as far down as 32 feet. Israel has grappled with the danger...
(JTA)—Most of the artists participating in a major Brazilian art event protested funding for the show from the Israeli government. Sixty-one of nearly 70 artists in the 31st Sao Paulo Biennial have signed an open letter calling on the event’s board to return the funds from Israel due to its recent Gaza operation. Three Israeli artists are participating in the biennial, which led to funding from the Israeli consulate. The logo of the Israeli consulate in Sao Paulo is featured on the event’s publicity materials alongside other supporters, inclu...
By Sean Savage JNS.org With old alliances being frayed and new threats emerging, making sense of the rapidly changing Middle East is increasingly difficult for even seasoned observers and analysts. Disgruntled by President Barack Obama's foreign policy in the region, some long-time American allies such as Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have begun openly criticizing the U.S. approach to issues like the Gaza conflict, with some even pivoting towards Russia. At the same time, the civil wars in...
Following the taking of attendance and the reading of the opening chapter of the Koran, some homeroom classes across the West Bank are devoting time to educate students on the importance of supporting local products. A second lesson comes after lunch and recess, when the students line up to return to classrooms. The goal is to get kids to support products made in the West Bank, which include Palestinian-made stationary and school supplies, medicines, and even school uniforms. The Ministry of Education sent out letters to teachers detailing the...
U.S. calls on Israel to reverse land appropriation JERUSALEM (JTA)—The United States called on Israel to cancel the government appropriation of West Bank land in the Etzion bloc, while Israeli ministers praised and panned the decision. “This announcement, like every other settlement announcement Israel makes, is counterproductive to Israel’s stated goal of a negotiated two-state solution with the Palestinians,” an unnamed U.S. government official told Reuters on Monday. “We urge the government of Israel to reverse this decision.” The Israel...
Recently, in reaction to the Gaza conflict, George Galloway, a Respect party representative to U.K.'s Parliament announced that the West Yorkshire city of Bradford would be an "Israel-free zone." "We don't want any Israeli goods, we don't want any Israeli services, we don't want any Israeli academics coming to the university or the college, we don't even want any Israeli tourists to come to Bradford, even if any of them had thought of doing so," Galloway stated. Speaking on behalf of the...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-The United Nations probe into the Gaza conflict hasn't even begun, but Israel already is convinced that it won't end well. In a resolution adopted by a vote of 29-1 with 17 abstentions, the U.N. Human Rights Council moved last month to establish a commission of inquiry "to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory." The United States cast the sole vote against. Last week, Israeli Prime...
CHICAGO – Chicago kosher restaurant, MILT’s BBQ for the Perplexed, has donated three ambucycles to the Israeli emergency response organization United Hatzalah in memory of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah, who were murdered earlier this summer. The donated ambucycles were inducted into the United Hatzalah fleet on Tuesday morning, when United Hatzalah volunteers drove the bikes along a symbolic route from the bus stop at which they were abducted in Gush Etzion to the point where the boys’ bodies were uncovered. The donor spoke...
Iran says it shot down Israeli drone near Natanz nuclear facility JERUSALEM (JTA)—Iran claimed that it shot down an Israeli drone near its Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The drone was targeted by a ground-to-air missile before it entered the Natanz site, Iran’s state news agency ISNA reported Sunday. Natanz, Iran’s main uranium enrichment site with more than 10,000 centrifuges, is located southeast of Tehran. “This act demonstrates a new adventurism by the Zionist regime,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement on its official we...
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org) A New York Post editorial published Sunday slammed the Obama administration for its recent Israel policy. Headed “Obama deserts an ally in wartime,” the editorial said, “What kind of ally refuses to send you desperately needed weapons when you’re smack in the middle of a war? Apparently, that’s what the Obama folks did with Israel, which is caught up fighting with Hamas. It’s unforgivable.” The editorial was referring to the Obama administration’s recent decision to hold a shipment of Hellfire missil...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-After the missiles have stopped, after the troops have come home, even after most of the wounded are out of the hospital, Israelis will still be feeling the burden of Operation Protective Edge-this time in their pockets. With the recent expiration of a temporary cease-fire, the operation may not be over. (Another temporary cease-fire was put in place starting at midnight Monday.) But through last week, including both direct military expenses and indirect hits to the Israeli...
(JTA)-It is now open season for those who would like a chunk of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's change and think they have a big idea up their sleeves. On Tuesday, the Genesis Prize Foundation announced the launch of the Genesis Generation Challenge, a competition offering 10 awards of $100,000 each to teams that can successfully present innovative projects "guided by Jewish values to address the world's pressing issues," according to a foundation statement. Teams must have approximately 10 people...
