Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 339
Is our civilization worth keeping alive? This sounds like a ridiculous question. Of course it is worth saving we would say. In fact, most of us don’t even see the need to protect our civilization. We are nestled in the belief that it will last forever. America is strong, powerful. It is the land of the “free.” In reality, no civilization lasts forever. Where is the Greek or Roman civilization? Actually, the only people who have survived, though they were dispersed from their land for about 2,000 years, are the Jewish people. Once again they... Full story
In the June 2018 issue of Orlando Magazine, 23 women are named as the magazine's 2018 Women of the Year. The magazine asked for nominees of women who are making a positive impact on the community, and readers responded with a plethora of recommendations. Former Jewish Pavilion Marketing Director Julie Dorsey Capps and Pavilion CFO Penny D'Agostino immediately sent in their nomination of Nancy Ludin, executive director of The Jewish Pavilion. Both women told Ludin about the nomination, so she... Full story
Since 2014, Orlando has been excluded from the list of cities that receive federal funding for security protection against terrorism-even after the Pulse Night Club terror attack and the numerous Jewish day school and JCC bomb threats. That has now changed with the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Area Security Initiative grant for the fiscal year 2018. Orlando nonprofits can now apply for security grants through the $50 million program, in addition to $1.5 million in guaranteed funds... Full story
Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, and Andre Dobson, PE coach at Faith Christian Academy in east Orlando, have a lot in common. They both are passionate about football and love Israel. To be able to combine the two is the icing on the cake for both men. And they have their icing: Kraft sponsors the Israel Football League and built the only football stadium in Jerusalem, Israel, and Dobson is going to be training one of the League's coaches this summer. This is where Dobson needs... Full story
Evan Dvorchik, son of Keith and Alison Dvorchik, has committed to the University of Central Florida's Knights football team as a long snapper center. In January 2017, Heritage ran an article about Dvorchik being named a top performer at the Rubio Long Snapping Camp in Georgia. Dvorchik was a junior in high school. His trainer, Chris Rubio, stated at that time that Evan was "snapping with a ton of confidence as his ball hits under .77 consistently." A long snapper is not a large alligator. The te... Full story
Local resident and Congregation of Reform Judaism member Cindy Halpern's family memoir is unlike any other book I have ever read. Not only does Halpern tell her story of being the only "normal child" in her immediate family, her mother's memoir is told "through" Halpern. Both memoirs are brilliantly written in first person. "The Normal Child" begins with Halpern's memoir. She was the third child in a family of four children. The oldest, her sister Anita, had mild retardation and was cruel to... Full story
When Gov. Rick Scott arrived at the Orlando Torah Academy last week, he leaned down and asked every child their name. Scott wasn't there just to meet the children, he came with a two-fold purpose. The school was the backdrop for a legislation signing ceremony of HB 545, the "scrutinized-companies" bill, which prevents companies that boycott Israel from bidding on local or state government contracts. "This bill shows the world that Florida will not do business with those that boycott Israel,"... Full story
On March 15, Joel Berger, CEO of the Rosen JCC, unveiled its newly named lobby in honor of David and Jacqueline Siegel's daughter, Victoria, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 18 on June 6, 2015. The Early Childhood Learning Center's two-year-olds opened the program miming a song that said "Give a little hug and make the world a better place." Later, thanking the JCC for this honor, Jacqueline Siegel shared that Victoria had been two years old when she first brought her to the JCC.... Full story
As our government continues to debate the gun law issues and what to do concerning protecting our schools, Israel has the problem very much under control. Since 1974 there have only been about one-half dozen terrorist attacks on Israeli schools. What is their secret? CBS News foreign correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti asked, “Does everyone have a gun in Israel?” No, said gun instructor Sharon Gat. “Gun laws in America are much more loose than gun laws in Israel.” What are the requirements to have a gun? • It takes up to three months to get a gun... Full story
What's a nice Irish-Catholic girl doing in a Jewish preschool? Making it the best Jewish preschool in Central Florida, that's what! Carol McNally, director of the Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center, has been at the preschool for 29 years, and she is retiring on May 31. But before she leaves, The Roth Family JCC will be honoring her with the Harriet Weiss JCC Legacy Award at the annual JBall on March 14. "Carol has inspired countless children as the director of our Richard S. Adler... Full story
RAISE (Recognizing Abilities & Inclusion of Special Employees), the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s work and social skills training program for adults with special needs, has a new job creation division called RAISE Awareness to Hire. “RAISE Awareness to Hire works with local businesses to provide a simple and seamless transition for adults with disabilities from the nurturing environment of RAISE into the more competitive marketplace,” said Loren London, RAISE founder and director. Rachel Slavkin, RAISE director of Employment and Educa... Full story
There are four Democratic contenders for governor of Florida and one of them is Jewish. His name is Philip Levine, and he optimistically sees a lot of opportunity for Florida. He is the former mayor of Miami Beach, a wealthy businessman, and a member of Temple Beth Sholom, a Reform congregation in Miami Beach, but he said his personal faith does not play a part in his campaign. And although he is proud to have been a prominent surrogate for Hilary Clinton's presidential campaign, he sees... Full story
In 1992, when Soviet Jewish parents were looking for ways to immigrate to Israel, a school was started by the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government that provided a way for Soviet youth to study in Israel. That school is Naale Elite Academy. Since the program started 25 years ago, there have been 16,000 students and graduates from nearly 30 countries, including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, South Africa, Australia and the former Soviet Union, among others. At the end of August, 503 arrived... Full story
For three years the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center Board of Directors had been looking for a building that could house the ever-growing museum. Built in 1986, the museum was expanded to twice its size in 1994. Now, with the many programs and exhibits held at the Center, it is bursting at the seams. Anyone who has ever gone to one of HMREC's programs knows how quickly the museum's auditorium/exhibit room fills to capacity. Plus, the area schools that bring up to 150 students to... Full story
It only takes one person to strive to make a difference. Sami Kuperberg is such a person. She had endured anti-Semitism since her freshman year at Oviedo High School. Students would tease her because she is Jewish. One student wouldn't let her raise her hand in class to answer questions and grabbed her arm and drew a swastika on it. She was even punched and kicked just because she is Jewish. Kuperberg heard of a program called Jewish Student Union, and reached out to Rabbi Gabi Gittleson of... Full story
Congregation Beth Chaim is back, but actually, it never really left. The small Reform congregation, which was located on 434 in Winter Springs, was struggling a few months ago. Funds were tight and its location was in a remote area. Rumors abounded that the congregation had closed its doors for good. It had closed its doors-that is, the doors of the building in Winter Springs. Right after the High Holidays the group of faithful congregants opened a new door in Oviedo, thanks to its cantorial sol... Full story
The article that ran in the Nov. 17 issue titled “The history of the $1 bill and who was Haym Solomon?” was a great story, but it wasn’t entirely true, unfortunately. I had a very enlightening conversation about the piece with Murray Toborowsky, a former high school American history teacher, who agreed that it is a great story. For Jewish people, it’s encouraging to read that a Jewish man saved our fledgling new country at the ninth hour. But alas, Toborowsky told me George Washington never said “Send for Haym Solomon,” when funds were desperat... Full story
On Nov. 19, Central Florida Christians and Jews shared a unique evening together at the Rosen Plaza. The focal point of this year’s event was to bless the nation of Israel, and to raise funds for three organizations that help Jews still trapped in areas like Crimea and Ukraine make aliyah to Israel. The event, A Night to Bless Israel, was a successful interfaith event to show support for Israel, and raised $151,000 for Ezra International, Return Ministries and Cyrus. “Raising funds to bring 20 persecuted and impoverished Jewish families to Isr... Full story
Students and faculty of Lake Brantley High School are learning about how to stand up to hate in these troubling times. Through the dedication of Brantley's Club L'Chaim co-presidents Alana Halperin and Jordan Greenberg and student members, another informative meeting was held at the school to bring awareness to the reality of hate in the world, and how to combat it. These meetings are part of an on-going series. The first meeting of this kind was held a year ago. Although the students expected... Full story
The theme for this year's JP Connections should be smiles, because the lyrics "Who can turn the world on with her smile?" (theme song for the "Mary Tyler Moore" TV show) can be applied to JP honoree Shirley Schoenberger; and honoree Dolores Indek's daily goal is to put a smile on people's faces. The annual Jewish Pavilion luncheon recognizes two volunteers who have gone above the call of duty in volunteer work. However, it isn't a "duty" to either of these women but truly their heart's desire... Full story
When India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel last July and waded in the ocean with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that historic meeting not only paved the way for a stronger relationship between the countries, it spurred local doctors, Jewish and Indian, to have an informative, networking event together. Drs. Amish Parikh and Daniel Layish, friends who are members of the Central Florida Association of Physicians from the Indian Subcontinent and the Jewish Federation of Greater... Full story
More than 160 men from around Central Florida came together on Nov. 2 for an evening of camaraderie with all that "men stuff," you know-steak, drinks, and a great comedian. The event, co-sponsored by the Men's Clubs and Brotherhoods of Congregation Ohev Shalom, Temple Israel, Congregation Beth Am, Congregation of Reform Judaism and Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, was profitable, netting about $12,000 for local Jewish youth... Full story
What an eventful day Sunday, Nov. 12, was! It was the opening of the Kehillah: A History of Jewish Life in Greater Orlando exhibit, and it is an amazing history. As a volunteer for the project, I attended the opening “thank you” luncheon for volunteers and sponsors. During the program, Marcia Jo Zerivitz, LHD, exhibition curator, said in the word “history” is the word “story,” and this is the living story of this Jewish community. Walking through the exhibit is enlightening, but to walk through with descendants of the first Jews to arrive in C... Full story
It all goes back to April 2014 when Jason Mendelsohn, now 48, received the heart-stopping news that he had squamous cell carcinoma on his right tonsil. He was shocked. He didn't smoke, it was just a small bump on his neck. Later, his doctor confirmed that is was stage 4 HPV-related tonsil cancer. He probably contracted the HPV virus while he was in college, 25 years earlier. Before the shock had time to wear off, he had a radical tonsillectomy, neck dissection (42 lymph nodes removed from his... Full story
For the past 26 years, India and Israel have been developing a strong relationship. While once India was an adherent to the Arab League boycott of Israel, in 1992, India announced it would establish full diplomatic relations with Israel. A few months later, the two nations signed an agreement to increase cooperation between Indian and Israeli industries. Today, trade is booming. India is Israel's ninth leading trade partner. Exports have risen from $200 million in 1992 to $4.2 billion in 2016.... Full story
