Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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JNS)—As the world’s attention has been focused on combating the spread of the coronavirus for the past two months, presidential primary campaign politics in the United States has been put on the backburner. Former Vice President Joe Biden has all but sealed the 2020 Democratic nomination, and has gained the endorsements of several Democratic and left-wing Jewish groups, such as J Street and the Democratic Majority for Israel. Initial polling indicates a close race this November. Nevertheless, given the uncertainty over the coronavirus pan...
By Ariel Ben Solomon (JNS)-Growing calls for an investigation into China's handling and possible cover-up of the coronavirus outbreak have observers debating the potential implications for both Israeli and U.S. policy on China. In Israel, there was concern over Chinese penetration of key areas of the economy even before the pandemic. China is Israel's second-largest trading partner after the United States, with $11.5 billion in annual trade, according to data gathered by Bloomberg. However, in t...
Dutch king acknowledges Jews felt ‘abandoned’ by his great-grandmother Wilhelmina By Cnaan Liphshiz AMSTERDAM (JTA)—King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in a memorial day speech acknowledged his great-grandmother’s perceived indifference to the fate of Dutch Jews during the Holocaust. The unprecedented public acknowledgment came Monday during the annual speech at the national memorial ceremony in Amsterdam for Dutch victims of armed conflicts during and after World War II. The king spoke there for the first time. It concerned Queen Wilhelmi...
(JNS)—The Trump administration will not be sending U.S. coronavirus assistance to the Gaza Strip due to concerns that funds could fall into the hands of the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas. “The Trump administration is not supporting assistance to Gaza,” a senior administration official with knowledge of the decision told The New York Post. “There is a Hamas government in Gaza. They have indicated no interest in engaging with us, no interest in peace with Israel, and in fact, they continue—despite having coronavirus cases in Gaza—to f... Full story
Arthur Stark, Chair, William Daroff, CEO, and Malcolm Hoenlein, vice chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, issued the following statement: “We commend the German Interior Ministry for taking action against the terrorist organization Hezbollah by instituting a ban on all of its activities within Germany’s borders. An Iranian proxy with the blood of countless innocents on its hands, Hezbollah conducts criminal operations in the Middle East, Europe, Latin America, and elsewhere to finance its terror act... Full story
Belgian police charge 3 for commemorating Holocaust in violation of coronavirus rules By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA)—Three men who placed a wreath at a Holocaust monument in Belgium were charged with violating the country’s emergency measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The men, including a City Council member from the town of Boortmeerbeek, were notified of a police investigation against them last week after laying a wreath on April 19 at a local monument commemorating the 1943 hijacking by resistance fighters of a train transporting Jew... Full story
Danish Bible Society’s translation omits dozens of references to Israel By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA)—The Danish Bible Society has omitted dozens of references to Israel from translations of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Defending the deletions, the society said they prevent confusion with the modern-day country. The omissions occurred in a project titled “Bible 2020” that was published earlier this year under the society’s supervision, the 24NYT news site reported Sunday. It’s the first translation into Danish in more than 20 years. Jan... Full story
(JNS)-March of the Living launched a global Holocaust remembrance project for individuals to pay tribute to Holocaust survivors, victims and the fight against anti-Semitism ahead of Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day, which began on the eve on April 20. The March of the Living Virtual Plaque Project, initiated under the slogan "NeverMeansNever," enables people from around the world to compose a personal message and place it on a virtual plaque to be set against the backdrop of the infamous... Full story
Senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Chris Coons, D-Delaware, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, are launching a bipartisan effort to ween the U.S off of medical reliance on China and replace it, at least partially, with Israel. They are also seeking a $12 million appropriation in the Phase 4/CARES 2 bill in order to “enhance partnerships between companies in the United States and Israel to develop innovative medical projects aimed at detecting, treating, and curing COVID-19.” “I’ve long said that China poses the most signifi... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Jewish community’s expression of solidarity with Chinese Americans during the coronavirus pandemic has yielded an unexpected return: scads of personal protective equipment for Jewish organizations. David Bernstein, the president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Jewish public policy umbrella that initiated the solidarity letter toward the end of February, said Tuesday that Chinese-American groups have sent thousands of much-needed items to Jewish social service agencies in the Washington, D.C., Boston and New Yo... Full story
Recovered from coronavirus in prison, Harvey Weinstein now faces new charges By Marcy Oster (JTA)—Harvey Weinstein has been charged with a new felony sexual assault count by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. The charge, filed Friday, accuses the former Hollywood producer of assaulting a woman at a Beverly Hills hotel in May 2010, in an incident that falls just within California’s 10-year statute of limitations. Weinstein, 68, is currently serving a sentence of up to 23 years in New York after being convicted in February of rape and s... Full story
(JTA)-Poland's ruling party took a stand on Wednesday against a far-right push to stop the restitution of property owned by Jews and others before the Holocaust. Far-right activists had gathered enough signatures to present a draft resolution to the Sejm, the lower house of Polish parliament, that would prohibit the redistribution of "heirless property"- property that belonged to private individuals, many of them Jews, who were killed in the Holocaust and whose heirs, if they exist, never filed... Full story
(JTA)—A British lawmaker who has said that he supports Zionism will replace Jeremy Corbyn as the head of Britain’s Labour Party. Keir Starmer, who managed the party’s Brexit approach under Corbyn, won 52 percent of the vote in the Labour leadership election, whose results were announced Saturday. His share of the votes was almost double that of the runner-up, Rebecca Long-Bailey, a close ally of Corbyn. In his victory speech Saturday, Starmer apologized for how the party has handled anti-Semitism within its ranks and committed to making chang... Full story
(JNS)-The four men acquitted in the 2002 kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan have been rearrested and will remain in custody pending prosecutors appealing the ruling in the country's Supreme Court, announced Pakistan's interior ministry on Friday. Three were handed life sentences, and a fourth, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, was awaiting execution. The Karachi court last week reduced Sheikh's sentence to seven years for kidnapping following the hearing of an... Full story
Pop star Pink, having recovered from coronavirus, is donating $1M to fight the disease By Marcy Oster (JTA)—Jewish pop star Pink and her 3-year-old son have recovered from the coronavirus, she announced on Twitter. She and her son Jameson were sheltering at home in Los Angeles when they began experiencing symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks ago, she wrote in a series of tweets Saturday. A retest in recent days came back negative, she said. She added that she was donating $1 million to fight the coronavirus: $500,000 each to t... Full story
(MEMRI via JNS)—Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar threatened last week that if Gazans start dying of COVID-19 due to a lack of ventilators, the terrorist group would make “6 million settlers unable to breathe.” Speaking with Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV and Shehab News Agency on April 2, Sinwar addressed Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who he said had a “Merchant of Venice mentality along with the rest of Israel. Bennett should read the prophecies contained in Chapter 17 of Ezekiel, which are “about to come true for the Zionist entity,” said the Hama... Full story
Israelis could face random coronavirus tests at supermarkets By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s Health Ministry and the Weizmann Institute of Science will conduct random sample coronavirus tests in supermarkets to determine where the virus is spreading. The tests had been scheduled to start Monday in branches of three major supermarket chains, but were delayed after the locations of the tests leaked to the public. That raised fears of people with COVID-10 symptoms rushing to the supermarkets in order to get a test, potentially inf... Full story
(JTA)—There are about 250,000 Jews in the United Kingdom. They account for only 0.3 percent of its population. But the coronavirus has killed 44 known Jewish victims so far—about 2.5 percent of the total U.K. tally. That means British Jews are overrepresented by a factor of eight in their country’s death toll from COVID-19. The statistics are compiled, released and updated periodically by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, an umbrella group representing British Jewry. The stats are unique because they are the first centralized attem... Full story
(ISRAEL21c)—The coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed our daily lives. The virus has ushered in economic uncertainty, fear of losing loved ones, and the general anxiety of not knowing how long this crisis could last. Each country facing this threat has adopted different strategies on curtailing the spread of this disease. The global community is still trying to figure how best to “flatten the curve” and save lives. In today’s connected world, other countries can learn from each other’s best practices. It is worth noting and learning... Full story
London rabbinical court allowing some products not certified kosher for Passover due to coronavirus By Marcy Oster (JTA)—Why will this Passover be different from all others? This year, the London Beth Din, or religious court, has created a list of permissible products not made under special supervision for Passover due to difficulties caused by the coronavirus crisis. The Kashrut Division of the court developed the list, titled “Product guidelines in extremis,” from an array of basic goods to help quarantined families and those who are strug... Full story
(JNS)—Iranian officials have stolen more than $1 billion in European assistance to combat the coronavirus pandemic, instead pocketing the funds for themselves, alleges U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Iran has the sixth-most confirmed coronavirus cases with 23,049, and the highest number of cases in the Middle East. At least 1,812 people have died from the virus. On Monday, Pompeo released a new list of five allegations of how the regime has handled the outbreak. “In February, Iran’s chief terror airline, Mahan Air, ran at least 55 flights... Full story
(WASHINGTON, DC & WORLDWIDE)—BBYO has introduced a brand-new, first-of-its-kind virtual experience for Jewish youth, akin to an interactive “Jewish Netflix” for teens to access unique online experiences and programs. As “social distancing” becomes the norm for young people around the world, BBYO is offering its global audience an opportunity to connect, learn, have fun, and be inspired in a new digital space. The recently launched BBYO On Demand will serve as a teen curated global engagement platform featuring activities, speakers, and hangouts... Full story
By Simone Somekh NEW YORK (JTA)—The Italian people’s first reaction to the coronavirus was to have a good laugh. Not because they didn’t believe the virus was a real issue, but because that’s just how we like to process big changes in my home country. By Feb. 23, there were 152 confirmed cases in Italy. Yet many people were still skeptical, assuming the virus was probably no different than the regular flu. Thousands of original, hilarious jokes, cartoons and self-deprecating memes regarding the virus started circulating online. We all took part... Full story
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA)—Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu have much in common when it comes to policy and style. They stand together in recommending tough action to contain Iran, and are comfortable dealing with autocracies (Saudi Arabia) and increasingly nationalist democracies (Hungary, India). Netanyahu has fervently embraced idioms identified with Trump, like “fake news” and “deep state.” But when it comes to how they are both handling the coronavirus, it’s night and day. Netanyahu’s public statements have been clear and pac... Full story
Work to secure Western Wall stones in egalitarian area completed By Marcy Oster JERUSALEM (JTA)—Work to secure stones in the egalitarian section of the Western Wall has been completed. The work came after a 400-pound stone dislodged from Robinson’s Arch in July 2018 and crashed down on one of the platforms designated for mixed prayer. A lone worshipper was praying at the site, at the southern end of the wall, when the stone fell. Daniella Goldberg, 79, was shaken up but not injured. Israeli archaeologist Zachi Dvira said at the time that the... Full story
