July 15, 2024

ZAKA revisits New Orleans to discuss aftereffects of Oct. 7, including mental toll

Beth Israel Rabbi Phil Kaplan, ZAKA volunteer Micha Lader and Gates of Prayer Rabbi David Gerber. Photo by James Henry Brook Since Oct. 7, ZAKA has played a key role in dealing with the aftermath of the Hamas massacre in Israel, and is preparing for […]
July 12, 2024

Another Beryl comes to Houston synagogue as hurricane also hits

A Coast Guard aircrew conducts flyovers in Texas to assess the damage left behind by Hurricane Beryl in Matagorda, Texas City, Galveston and Houston, July 8, 2024. Credit: Petty Officer 2nd Class Jessica Fontenette/U.S. Coast Guard Photo. By Carin Smilk (JNS) — Those who come […]
July 12, 2024

Florida hands down major suspensions to students arrested at anti-Israel protest

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at the University of Florida. Credit: Pablo Corredor via Wikimedia Commons. Chris Summerlin, dean of students at the University of Florida in Gainesville, chose not to offer slap-on-the-wrist penalties to pro-Hamas protesters arrested on campus on April 29. Instead, Summerlin applied […]
July 11, 2024

Florida-Israel Space Tech partnership awards $2 million for research projects

Space Florida, the state’s aerospace finance and development authority, and the Israel Innovation Authority announced on July 9 eight companies awarded funding to work jointly in the Space Florida-Israel Innovation Partnership Program. The joint funding program was established 11 years ago in cooperation and ongoing […]
July 8, 2024

Tennessee congressman makes solidarity visit to Israel

Rep. David Kustoff (left), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, July 3, 2024. Photo by Haim Zach/GPO. By Etgar Lefkovits (JNS) — He is one of two Jewish Republicans in all of Congress and hails […]
July 8, 2024

Ala. AG supporting Fla. synagogue’s Supreme Court suit over religious freedom

From Young Israel of Tampa’s 2020 Chanukah on Ice event The rejection by a state agency of a Florida synagogue’s advertisement for a “Chanukah on Ice” event has resulted in a Supreme Court case supported by more than half of America’s states on the grounds […]
July 3, 2024

Alabama teacher receives national award for excellence in Holocaust education

Logan Greene with Stanlee Stahl An eighth-grade teacher in Hoover, just south of Birmingham, received a prominent national award for excellence in teaching about the Holocaust. Berry Middle School’s Logan Greene received the Robert I. Goldman Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education at an advanced […]
June 24, 2024

Louisiana-made part of Gaza pier washes up on Tel Aviv beach

Construction of the floating pier in the Mediterranean. Credit: U.S. Central Command. (JNS) — Parts of the Biden administration’s $230 million floating Gaza “humanitarian pier” washed up at Tel Aviv’s Frishman Beach on June 22. Israel’s Channel 12 News shared a picture of an engraved panel […]
June 20, 2024

Florida Jewish legislator ponders the future of Jews in the U.S.

Florida State Representative Randy Fine at the site of the Supernova music festival massacre near Kibbutz Re’im, June 10, 2024. Credit: Courtesy. By Etgar Lefkovits (JNS) — The lone Republican Jewish lawmaker in the Florida State legislature said on June 18 that he could never […]