Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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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. Harris Rosen was on hand to witness the unveiling and...
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...
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 Early Childhood Learning Center for the last 29 ye...
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...
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 himself as someone running for governor who can reach...
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 to start 10th grade in Israel-74 of them from...
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 the Center, makes it crowded for anyone else who...
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 JOIN Orlando to start the club at her school. JSU is...
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 soloist and spiritual leader Jillian Marini. "I did a...
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...
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...
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 about 50 people to turn up to that event, the...
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 to help people. The gift of making people happy is...
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 Orlando Maimonides Medical Society respectively,...
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 educational programs. The Men's Night Out committee...
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...
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 neck), seven weeks of grueling chemo, radiation and...
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. In the past decade alone, Israel's exports to...
Last Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott paid a visit to The Roth Family JCC to announce his proposal of $1million to provide extra security to Jewish day schools throughout Florida. The monies would be ear-marked for security upgrades and other counter-terrorism measures, such as video cameras, fences, bullet-proof glass, alarm systems and other safety equipment. He then stressed that the proposal still has to go through the state congress and encouraged everyone to contact their congressmen and state senators to get on board for this funding. Asked if...
The Roth Family JCC's Jewish Film committee finished the grueling (tongue-in-cheek) task of choosing five films (and one short) out of 104 to present at the Central Florida Jewish Film Festival. Partnering with Maitland's Enzian Theater for the last 19 years, The Roth Family JCC is once again, bringing the community films with Jewish and Israeli themes that will make you laugh, cry, and think. As in the past, each film offers something totally different and totally wonderful. So it is worth it to see all five films. And without further ado, her...
Amy Schwartz Kimlat certainly does and it helped her to make a tough decision-to resign as marketing director of The Roth Family JCC. Her final day will be Nov. 10. There is no doubt about it that on May 15, 2006, Kimlat brought a "magic" to the Maitland JCC and injected tons of motivation and inspiration into this community center. "Marvin Friedman was the executive director who hired me," Kimlat recalled. "He joked with me at the time that he'd meet my request for a Mac computer to do my job if I agreed to stay for at least a decade. You can'...
It started with a two-year contract back in August 1990, and now, 27 years later, Rabbi Aaron Daniel Rubinger is laying down the mantel of senior rabbi at Congregation Ohev Shalom and assuming the title of rabbi emeritus. "The last two years I've considered working just part-time," he told Heritage, "so, when the synagogue leadership offered me this opportunity, I was thrilled!" The change will go into effective Oct. 15. Rubinger will still perform some lifecycle events, conduct some services and teach classes. "I'm looking forward to this new...
It took less than 90 seconds for Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, to make the Palestinian delegation to the UN Human Rights Council squirm in their seats. Just after members from the PLO, Syria, Qatar, North Korea, Pakistan, Venezuela and Iran spoke their vile reasons to disassociate with Israel at United Nations Watch, Yousef spoke in English with clarity and confidence as he called out the PA's human rights abuses of their own people. "Where does your legitimacy come from? The Palestinian people did not...
Sept. 14 was an evening of laughter, music, dance, prayer and unity among women at The Roth Family JCC and the Rosen JCC as each dug their hands into bread dough, braiding magnificent round Challah at Chabad's fourth annual Mega Challah Bake. It was also the largest women's event yet in the community, hosting more than 360 women at The Roth Family JCC and more than 200 at the Rosen JCC, for a combined total of more than 560 participants. Ages ranged from 9 years old to 106 (that's Myrtle Skop Rutberg, who celebrated her Hebrew birthday that...
There is a hauntingly solemn-yes not to be missed-art exhibit opening at the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center on Sept. 10. The works were created by St. Petersburg artist Judith Dazzio. What makes this exhibit so unique is that Dazzio painted these pieces as a result of hearing a Holocaust Survivor's personal story in her sixth-grade class. Her story stayed with Dazzio throughout her life. An adult now, she recalls, "I can still see the numbers on her arms. I can see her holding up those faded pictures of her children that had b...
