Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The deal to bring the hostages home from Gaza carries an immense, largely unspoken price — one that has received far too little attention, if any at all. While some may support it and others oppose it, there exists a third path: acknowledging that this is a poor deal, albeit perhaps unavoidable, while simultaneously shattering the walls of media silence surrounding its dire consequences. These walls bear an unsettling resemblance to the conspiracy of silence that prevailed before the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal (in whi...
As International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaches on Jan. 27, marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz and the beginning of the end of the Holocaust and WWII, there are stories of inspiration that call to us to be remembered, beyond the horrible facts that most know: six million Jews murdered in the event that defined the word genocide. At Auschwitz alone, 1.1 million people were killed, including 1 million Jews. Throughout Nazi occupied Europe, entire Jewish communities were simply erased. Where there were survivors, like in the...
(JNS) — Over the course of this past year, university campuses across the country were fraught with turmoil for Jewish students, and those who have a stake in supporting Jewish life on campus are asking themselves important questions. With the start of Chanukah, donors and philanthropists are tasked with where they should make their year-end contributions. Most choose organizations based on several factors, including a personal connection to the organization, alignment of values with its mission or even geographic proximity. However, after t...
By Aaron Weil Several friends from around the world have been reaching out about how we in Israel are experiencing the freedom of the hostages alongside the releasing of terrorists, (dozens and dozens of whom will be convicted murderers) back into the land? People ask, “How can your nation handle releasing 2,000 terrorists in order to repatriate 33 hostages of whom perhaps a third may already be dead?!?!” The answer... “We can’t! No one can.” The horrors, the ongoing unending pain that we all know when our thoughts turn to those still suf...
(JNS) —I am an optimistic guy, or at least I am in the public sphere. I definitely have my moments, but I try not to bring others down with me. Usually, I snap out of it quickly. It is 5:38 a.m. as I write these words after I was woken up by the pit in my stomach. I can’t shake the feeling. Now, I know I’ve shared multiple posts expressing the nuance in this deal and specifically the joy we will all feel seeing live hostages hug their loved ones again. Usually, with most events, that positive thought will outweigh the negative. This time is di...
(JNS) — The New York Times Dec. 26 article, “Israel Loosened Its Rules to Bomb Hamas Fighters, Killing Many More Civilians,” which claimed Israel loosened its rules to kill Hamas fighters, resulting in the loss of many civilian lives, is disturbing precisely because of the assumption of objectivity, reliability and accuracy in its reporting. Yet, it is fair to question if this reputation is deserved, especially by those of us who closely follow developments in the Middle East and who know the Times has misreported when it comes to Israe...
(JNS) — For more than a year, Jews inside and outside the State of Israel have been besieged by false claims of the “genocide” of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The rhetoric of the pro-Hamas mob — “We don’t want no Zionists here,” “Go back to Poland” and so on — has been ugly enough to make Nazi Germany proud. The real-world impact — arson and gun attacks on synagogues and other Jewish institutions from Canada to Australia, a pogrom in Amsterdam, physical and sexual assaults on those wearing identifiably Jewish symbols, creeping discriminati...
(JNS) — For months, President Joe Biden’s detractors predicted that he would deliver a last-minute betrayal of Israel, akin to President Barack Obama’s infamous abstention on a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlements in 2016. When the “surprise” came, it was not the one critics anticipated. Rather than silence them, however, their outrage was fueled by the unexpected admissions of his secretary of state. First, we were told Biden would pull an Obama immediately after the election in November. Instead, he defied ex...
(JNS) — The last 15 months have been a tragedy for the individual and a triumph for the collective. History is rife with examples of this dichotomy. The tragedy of Oct. 7, 2023, and the ensuing aftermath across the world has created an earthquake that has realigned world Jewry in the most profound of ways. Israeli Jews and those in the Diaspora have gone through a type of catharsis and have regained a sense of purpose that was dangerously close to being lost. Many American Jews had convinced themselves that they could blend into society and t...
(JNS) — Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz, a member of the Chief Rabbinate Council of Israel, has penned a letter to Pope Francis following the pontiff’s ongoing criticism of the Jewish state during the Swords of Iron war. The text of his letter follows. “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch.” — Isaiah 62:1 Dear Pope Francis, Your words and actions regarding the State of Israel are not merely disappointing...
(JNS) — America has long been known as the land of opportunity, welcoming people of all nationalities, backgrounds and religions to its shores and giving them a chance to build prosperous lives. This has been especially true for Jews, who, despite bouts of antisemitism, have thrived in the United States. Recent studies, however, suggest that this period of acceptance and tolerance is eclipsing as Americans face religious discrimination in the workplace. Last month, the Anti-Defamation League released a study titled, “Jewish and Israeli Ame...
(JNS) — Inauguration day is around the corner, and unlike in January 2017, when Donald Trump took the oath of office for the first time, now seems calmer and, in some corners, more celebratory. When Trump won the presidential election in 2016, the knives were out and being sharpened, so to speak. Not so this time around as Trump’s landslide victory has his enemies and detractors retreating somewhat. New York Times columnist Bret Stephens gave up his “Never Trump” status. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos is hanging out with Jared Kushner...
(JNS) — As we make our way through Chanukah, it’s impossible not to reflect on the holiday we experienced last year. My husband was in the Israel Defense Forces reserves, and I lit the first candle alone with our four children. There was a sense of uncertainty and disruption of the stability we once knew. This year, like then, many mothers will stand before the burning candles without their partners—some due to reserve duty, and others, sadly, because their husbands fell or were murdered in the past year. Our hearts break for the new famil...
(JNS) — Throughout its millennia-long history, the Jewish people have endured relentless persecution, a reality that has forged a tradition of resilience and leadership. From biblical figures such as Moses—the liberator of the Israelites and a lawgiver whose influence shaped modern civilization—to more modern heroes like Judah Maccabee, Tuvia Bielski, Mordecai Anielewicz and Hannah Senesh, Jewish history is marked by individuals who have led their people through adversity. To this list, contemporary history now adds Benjamin Netanyahu, whose...
(JNS) — I remember growing up as a kid in Brooklyn, N.Y., singing the chant “Am Yisrael Chai” with great excitement and pride. Much later, as a young adult who was growing into my career as a professional Jew working for various nonprofits, I remember always ending my talks and social-media posts, leading the audience by saying “Am Yisrael” and having them respond, “Chai.” Friends and colleagues thought it was cute—reminiscent of a time when they, too, may have sung the song as kids, and they’d chuckle. That’s what I was known for. I was th...
Ok, Jimmy Carter died. Many will fill volumes writing now that he was a good guy, honest, smart, did some good things as president and in his post presidency. Despite many of these things being true, to me Carter was an unrepentant antisemite who made excuses for Arab aggression and terror against Israel. For that alone and using the pulpit of his presidency in exile to spread these messages, I say good riddance. As a failed one-term president despite some achievements including helping to broker the Camp David peace agreement with Israel and...
(JNS) — The burning of a Christmas tree by gunmen in the Syrian city of Hama is a sinister portent of what minorities might expect under the evolving situation in the country. The dominant group in charge, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has sent out messages reassuring religious and ethnic groups that they will be protected. It blamed “foreign fighters” for the tree burning, but can HTS be trusted? Its leader, Abu Mohammad al-Julani, has jettisoned his nom de guerre and his Kalashnikov rifle, preferring to be known by his real name of Ahmed al-Sh...
Dear Editor: Thanks to Jeff Gaeser for publishing the Heritage since 1982 in a manner that was in the best tradition of news coverage in this free country. All the news of Jewish interest was reported without prejudice providing opposite views on the same subject on the same page. I wish the enthusiastic new publishers success in their new ventures, building on what we have become accustomed to in looking forward to in weekly Jewish news. I need to comment on one item in a recent issue of the Heritage which is of much concern at a time when we...
(JNS) — Lebanon stands at a pivotal crossroads. For decades, Hezbollah, fueled by Iranian patronage and bolstered by Syrian support, has held the nation’s destiny in its iron grasp. Yet with the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria and the recent elimination of Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s once-charismatic leader, that seemingly unbreakable hold is weakening. Stripped of vital supply lines, cut off from Tehran’s backing and now led by an unremarkable successor, Hezbollah’s dominance is at its most tenuous point in living memory. The question...
(JNS) — If there was one terrorist whose life epitomized the Arab war against Israel and shattered the illusions fostered by the Oslo Accords, it was Fuad Shubaki, who died this week at the age of 83. Shubaki was born in Gaza in 1940. Note that the Jews didn’t rule Gaza in those days (the British did), so Gazans didn’t demand a Palestinian state and didn’t organize any movement for independence. The next occupier was Egypt. The Egyptians illegally occupied Gaza in 1948 and ruled it for the next 19 years—yet still, there was no uprising...
(JNS) — If it’s Tuesday, then it must be time for more cries of a fake famine in Gaza. Gaza, as you know, has been starving to death now since Oct. 2023. A year later, Gaza is notable for having some of the fattest starvation victims around. The Biden administration, its congressional allies and the media have continued to lambast Israel for “blocking food” from entering Gaza despite undeniable evidence of a constant flow of food into Gaza. But that only matters so much when the United Nations refuses to deliver it. Again. Staggering images...
(JNS) — Every year, as Hollywood shuts down for the winter holidays, an unassuming list makes its way into executive inboxes. “The Black List,” as it has been known for the last two decades, ranks the most popular unproduced screenplays of the year, according to the executives and producers who read them. Getting a screenplay on this list can be a career-defining moment for a screenwriter. Ranking near the top of the list can fast-track a project to production. Many “Black List” screenplays have been produced, and a notable percentag...
(JNS) — The International Federation of Journalists was disturbed last month when the Israeli Cabinet voted to cut all financial ties with Haaretz, the country’s self-described “paper of record” with a proud, far-left bent. “We are extremely concerned over Israel’s authoritarian drift that undermines media pluralism and the public’s right to know,” Anthony Bellanger, the IFJ general secretary. responded to the move. “The IFJ urges the government to review its decision and stop damaging press freedom in the country by boycotting a news...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is currently on trial for allegations of bribery and/or requests for better press coverage, which could be interpreted as normal official actions of a democratically elected leader. He is certainly not the first leader to be accused of bribery or corruption while in office. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a similar case back in 2016 when it found, in a unanimous 8-0 decision, in favor of former Virginia Gov. Robert (“Bob”) McDonnell. The U.S. Justice Department had charged McDonnell with corrupt...
(JNS) — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, finds himself at the center of a prosecution that borders on absurdity. Amid a war for more than a year now that has placed Israel under fire from multiple fronts, he is being targeted for alleged corruption involving champagne and cigars. The very notion of prosecuting Israel’s most formidable and successful wartime leader over such trivial matters not only undermines his leadership but also raises serious questions about the priorities of the Israeli legal and polit...
