Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The third annual Men's Night Out, to be held Nov. 7 at Congregation Ohev Shalom, features not only great steak and a top-shelf cocktail hour, the comedic entertainment is top notch. The Orlando synagogue Men's Clubs, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, and key sponsors Alan Ginsburg and Aaron Gorovitz are bringing the men of the community one of the premier comedians in the country, Johnny Lampert. This event is a wonderful opportunity to unite Jewish men from all area...
StandWithUs, an international, nonprofit Israel education organization founded in 2001, recently selected Samantha Gabbai, a senior at Winter Park High School, for the StandWithUs High School Internship program 2019-2020. Danielle Garsten was selected as SWU’s Emerson Fellow at UCF. The StandWithUs High School Internship Program is a high school leadership program that prepares students for the challenges they may face regarding Israel in college and in their communities. Students in both the HS Internship and Emerson Fellows attend two confere...
According to a newsletter sent to all COS members via email, Congregation Ohev Shalom experienced a ransomware attack on its main server on Monday, Aug. 5. Ohev administration contacted the Maitland Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Taking the lead in the investigation, the FBI does not believe the synagogue was targeted by an anti-Semitic group. “Nothing was ‘taken’ or ‘captured,’” clarified Steven Hornik, Ohev president. Certain data and files on the main server were encrypted and aren’t accessible. T...
Many people in the Jewish community know Bethanne Weiss as an accomplished physical fitness guru and author of the book "Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank," which garnered her the nickname the Asset Queen. Now she is moving her assets from the bank to take on the role of executive producer of the short film "Resemblance," which is in production in Oviedo and directed by writer, producer Kevin O'Neill. Last March, Heritage wrote about the upcoming movie, which is about Dachua...
Do you remember the “most interesting man in the world” beer commercials? The creators of that ad got it all wrong because the most interesting man, at least in Central Florida, is Dick Weiner, the recipient of this year’s Heritage Human Service Award. A stately man, Weiner is unhurried, with a dignified appearance. In his humble opinion, he doesn’t think he deserves this award. “I’ve done so little over the last few years,” he told Heritage, then he rattled off names of others he thought were...
On July 23, the House passed H. Res. 246-a bill that condemns the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel specifically. The vote was 398-17. This is such good news, and a slight reprieve from all the craziness going on in the world. Critics of the bill said that the resolution labels BDS supporters (against Israel) as anti-Semites. If the shoe fits... Anti-Israel BDS is anti-Semitic economic warfare to destroy the Jewish state and people-and is exactly what Nazi Germany did to the Jews...
In the middle of June, Heritage received an email from a French man named Jean-Frederic Voltz. The email stated that the writer had found a helmet that belonged to Private First Class George Braunstein. He explained that the soldier had been wounded on Nov. 26, 1944, in "Lalaye 15 Km near St Die in France." He even knew Braunstein's laundry number, which was in the helmet, and said Braunstein was a member of the 103rd US-409 Regiment-Compagnie [sic]. "Have you more information of this soldat...
Driving to the Orlando International Airport the morning of July 9, the Star of David on the tail of an EL AL plane was visible above the building. It was thrilling to see, because this morning at 11:30 history was made as EL AL's inaugural flight from MCO to Tel Aviv took "to the skies," (EL AL literally means that). Prior to the flight, a media event, complete with ribbon and cake cutting ceremonies, was held to announce the new flights. Guest speakers included Gov. Ron DeSantis; Lior Haiat,...
It only took Brigitte Gabriel 14 minutes to make her point as she gave a keynote speech addressing the rise of global anti-Semitism before the United Nations in September 2014. She received a standing ovation as she spoke out strongly for Israel. Spring forward almost five years, and Gabriel, through her organization ACT for America, is still speaking out strongly for Israel, democracy and Judeo-Christian values. She was recently in Orlando to promote her new book, "Rise: In Defense of...
A recent Orlando Sentinel guest commentary by Zaina Alsous, a Palestinian-American organizer with the Dream Defenders in Miami and Donna Nevel, a community psychologist and educator and a Jewish social justice activist living in South Florida, pushed an anti-Israel agenda under the guise of criticizing Gov. Ron DeSantis’ decision to hold a Florida Cabinet meeting in Israel. The May 29 opinion piece was titled “DeSantis’ Israel meeting slap in the face to voters.” The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando quickly responded to the opinion piece....
The University of Central Florida's Shlichut Institute members participated in Israel's entry in this year's Eurovision Song Contest accessible to the deaf and hearing-impaired population by producing a music video for singer Kobi Marimi's "Home" in American Sign Language. In the weeks leading up to Eurovision, which took place from May 14-18 in Tel Aviv, The Jewish Agency's Shlichim (emissaries) from around the world embarked on the "See the Sounds" initiative in order to help people with...
Last July, then-governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in seven South Florida counties because of the algae bloom all across Florida's west coast. The pea-green, thick film covering the freshwater lakes, salt-water canals and waterways not only looked bad, but smelled awful. "It is like moldy bread," said one Lake Okeechobee resident. Not only did it look and smell bad, it could be toxic if consumed, and fatal for dogs that swim in or drink the scum, according to Richard P. Stumpf, an...
Those who are planning to go to Israel this year, consider scheduling flights between July 2 and Aug. 27. This is when EL AL will have once-a-week flights out of Orlando International Airport. This is a trial run to see if there is enough interest in the Orlando community to generate more flights out of OIA in the future. "It's a great beginning!" said Vicki Jaramillo, senior director, marketing & air service development at OIA. Jaramillo, who is based in Orlando, has over 25 years experience...
Being in his late 80s was not a deterrent for Longwood resident Bob Herpe to becoming an author of a fiction mystery novel. He'd worn many "hats" in his careers and enjoyed many experiences-good and bad-to equal a "full" life. A creative man, writing almost came second nature. He already had experience with writing commercials for Broadcast Radio (he has owned several radio stations across the U.S.), and he wrote kiddie television shows when he worked for CBS in Chicago. However, he never seriou...
Last month a Jewish student who attends a charter school was given a reading assignment to prepare ninth graders for the Florida Reading FSA on inference of cultural experiences. Upon reading the excerpts, the student became extremely uncomfortable and fearful. He shared his experience with his parents, Eric and Wendy Nissan of Winter Park. When Wendy read the excerpts, she, too, was shaken by what her son was reading in the classroom. What concerned her was the content in the excerpts that...
Because her positions on BDS, Israel, and the Jewish people have made Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib a controversial figure among the freshman congressmen and women in the U.S. government, Heritage wanted to take the opportunity to hear and possibly interview her at a recent Emgage Gala, held at the Crown Plaza in Orlando. Emgage is an organization that seeks to “engage, educate and empower Muslim, South Asian and Arab American communities through educational events, voter initiatives, and leadership development for the purpose of creating a c...
The Israeli SpaceIL spacecraft Beresheet-Hebrew for Genesis-is on the moon, but not in the way that was hoped. Beresheet snapped its first "selfie," with the help of NASA, as it was landing, 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) from the surface. Then it was over. Apparently it crashed on the moon's surface after traveling 47 days and 6.5 million kilometers (4,038,912.75 miles) through space. In the last few moments before it was to land, communication was lost, then recovered. Then the main engine failed...
The Israeli SpaceIL spacecraft Beresheet - Hebrew for Genesis - is on the moon, but not in the way that was hoped. Beresheet snapped its first "selfie," with the help of NASA, as it was landing, 22 kilometers (13.67 miles) from the surface. Then it was over. Apparently it crashed on the moon's surface after traveling 47 days and 6.5 million kilometers (4,038,912.75 miles) through space. In the last few moments before it was to land, communication was lost, then recovered. Then the main engine...
Talented writer, director and producer Kevin O'Neill has written a short-film script about Dachua survivors of the Holocaust. The film, titled "Resemblance," has a different story line than most Holocaust movies. It takes place in a facility for patients with Alzheimer's Disease, most of whom are Jewish, where Dirk Kramer (played by Jordan Woods-Robinson) plays piano. A professional actor, Kramer sees a way that he can use his acting talents at the facility. Most of O'Neill's films are often...
If Jews had “magical powers to control people” as Ilhan Omar says, then she would be gone from Congress, not just the Foreign Affairs Committee because the “magical powers of the Jewish people” would have kicked her keister to the curb. Too bad the Jewish people don’t control others with money and “magical powers”—they wouldn’t have suffered as they have throughout history. Alas, I can’t kick her to the curb, but what has the Democratic Party done? Absolutely nothing. Pelosi has said that Omar’s anti-Semitic remarks were “not intentionally an...
The Jewish community here in Central Florida should make its voice heard concerning the anti-Semitic slurs being spewn about in Congress as well as the appointment of Ilhan Omar to the Foreign Affairs Committee. One community member, Dr. Daniel Layish, has made his voice heard by one congressman. (He said he even got a human being to answer the phone with no waiting.) “Call Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY) to encourage him to stay strong in his condemnation of Ilhan Omar,” Layish said. Rep. Engel is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Com...
Imagine Lawrence Dressler's surprise when fellow inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, N.Y., told him that he was mentioned on the Bill Maher show the night before. "At the time the show aired I was eating gefilte fish and lokshen kugel with fellow Sabbath observant felons," Dressler posted on his blog (larrynoodles.com), which is about the lives of wealthy, powerful men he lived in close quarters with at Otisville. "I was honored to be mentioned on a show that is hosted...
Tuesday evening, Feb. 26, ACT for America, a national security grassroots organization, hosted a panel discussion about political Islam and Western culture. Although ACT is also recognized as the largest anti-Muslim group in the U.S. and takes a hardline stance on Islam and immigration, this meeting’s panelists—Dr. Jonathan Matusitz, an associate professor at the Nicholson School of Communication at UCF who teaches a class on terrorism; Rev. Bruce Lieske, former chairman of the Florida-Georgia District Muslim Evangelism Task Force and a ret...
At exactly 8:45 p.m. EST a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off the Florida coast at Cape Canaveral carrying the SpaceIL Lunar Lander, named "Beresheet." The night launch was easily seen from Altamonte Springs as it rose into the atmosphere. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu watched the lift off with his wife, Sarah, South African philanthropist Morris Kahn and a host of others at the Yehud Command Center. At 9:25 p.m. EST, Beresheet separated from the Falcon 9 rocket, deployed its...
Actor Hal Linden (of "Barny Miller" fame) has never been to Orlando, but he has been all up and down the east coast of Florida as the national spokesman for the Jewish National Fund, a position he has held since 1997. He came into the world with a father who was a Zionist before World War I. He remembers always putting nickels and dimes into the JNF Blue Box as a kid, but didn't really grasp his father's passion at that time. He also stars in the film "The Samuel Project," which opens today in...
