Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 357
The turn out for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Annual Meeting wasn't as large as in past years. Perhaps the weather, casting a gloomy, gray, cloud-covered sky that threatened rain, put a damper on many families' plans to come because this year's annual meeting was also billed as Family Fun Day that included a picnic. Another change in the meeting was the agenda. It was much shorter -less than an hour to go through all the protocol: the approval of last year's minutes, the announcement of the Federation's strategic vision,... Full story
Tuesday evening, Aug. 22, the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center hosted a panel discussion on free speech vs. hate speech. The timely dialogue was arranged as a result of the Charlottesville protest/counterprotest. Michael Friedman, president of HMREC, welcomed the more than 500 people in attendance, and stated that we should all treat people with respect even if we disagree. "The way we respond to Charlottesville defines us as a country," he stated. Moderator Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel columnist, opened with a few comments... Full story
What is JSU? The Jewish Student Union is an after-school club that provides any high school student-regardless of Jewish affiliation-a Jewish experience through programs that strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. Run by the teenagers, a club can be established in a school simply by being requested (JSU does not barge in and establish itself). Last year, a student at Oviedo High School experienced anti-Semitism at the school. She'd heard about the Jewish Student Union and reached out to the organization, asking what she... Full story
Her demeanor is reserved. She speaks softly with dignity and grace. Yet beneath that quiet exterior lays a strength to spearhead many projects that enhanced the Orlando Jewish community. Sara Stern reveals her deep love of Judaism and the Jewish people through her accomplishments within organizations such as Congregation Ohev Shalom, Hadassah, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and the Women's League of Conservative Judaism. Her motivation comes, she stated, from "a deep-seated belief that all human beings are created in the image of... Full story
Lester Mandell, a leader and pacesetter in the Jewish community, died on Thursday, July 27, 2017. He was 96 years old. Mr. Mandell, with contemporaries Hy Lake, Lester Zimmerman and John Lowndes, is a household name in both the construction industry and the Jewish community. In fact, Mandell has worked in the construction business for more than 80 years-starting out in Miami building houses for 37 cents an hour. He and his wife, the former Sonia Margolis, met each other in Miami at a "No Names" group meeting in 1947. Within six months, they mar... Full story
Former Heritage editor, Mike Etzkin, is a proud uncle. His nephew, Brian Etzkin, is the "winningest" head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams in history at Cleveland State University. Etzkin's work was cut out for him when he came to Cleveland as head coach in 2002. Both the men's and women's teams were, in his words, two "of the worst teams in the country." During his first year he brought the men's team to nine wins-six more than the previous two years combined. And since that beginning, Etzkin has built the men's tennis program to on... Full story
Kudos go out to Chef Zachary Engel for winning the James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef of the Year. Engel is the chef de cuisine at Shaya restaurant in New Orleans, and was one of 11 New Orleans chefs to be a James Beard Award finalist this year. And if his name sounds familiar, he is also the son of Rabbi Steven and Beverly Engel of the Congregation of Reform Judaism. This is a prestigious honor, as the James Beard Awards are considered among the highest honors in the American culinary arts. Engel received his award at a black-tie gala in... Full story
There is another local water polo player who will be playing on the Maccabi Water Polo team this summer. Ory Tasman, four-time All-American and Winter Park resident, was selected to the 2017 Maccabi Water Polo team. Tasman, a graduate of Winter Park High School in 2012, holds numerous records at Winter Park High and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, including most goals scored in a season (105) and a career (317). He graduate from MIT in 2016 with a degree in computer science and electrical engineering, and currently works at AMD... Full story
After the recession slowed most businesses down considerably, Renee Friedman's team of 14 at FastSigns Orlando Central, under her leadership, hunkered down to make 2016 the company's best year since she bought the retail chain franchise in 2001. "The recession almost shut us down as we lost so many customers in the real estate and construction industries. Year after year sales declined despite all our efforts," she said. "We kept pushing forward and finally, about four years ago, we started to grow again until last year, we had our best year... Full story
RAISE, a work and social skills training program for adults with special needs at the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, is celebrating its third successful year. Just this month, two of its current participants have moved on to new jobs. And, as always happens with RAISE, more than one person was involved in the process of making this happen. Take Caitlin for example. She spent six-months in RAISE and was recently hired to work at FASTSIGNS Orlando Central by owner Renee Friedman, who saw the positive impact inclusive hiring can have. Her... Full story
There are times when a very bad situation actually turns out to provide a "golden opportunity" to bring about change. Such is the case with Peter Gold, who started a nonprofit foundation called Strong City, a 501(c)(3) that supports organizations that empower underserved youth. It was only 16 months ago that Gold-who's parents live in Longwood -was fighting for his life after being shot by a man who was abducting a woman. Just recently, that horrific shooting was brought to the American peoples' attention again as Gold sat with Matt Lauer on th... Full story
After reading the article about Zev Halikman, the young 22-year-old who made the USA Maccabi water polo team (see the April 7 issue of Heritage), Rochelle Willner of Temple Shalom Aleichem in Kissimmee was on the phone to Heritage. "I thought you'd like to know that there are two other people from here going to the World Maccabiah Games this summer," she said. Those two people are Marilyn Glaser, president of Temple Shalom Aleichem, and Kissimmee resident, Lazar Lowinger, a member of the USA Maccabi tennis team. Unlike Halikman, this isn't... Full story
There's a war going on in the United States. It isn't a battle with weapons that harm the physical body. It's a war of ideology versus truth and logic. And the battlefields are on college campuses. Americans for Peace and Tolerance, founded by Charles Jacobs and Avi Goldwasser, produced a shocking documentary titled "Hate Spaces: The Politics of Intolerance on Campus" that takes the viewer into the heart of the aggressive methods of "combat" used to viciously attack Jewish and pro-Israel students on American college campuses. The film was... Full story
A few weeks ago The Heritage ran a story about Central Florida residents Jules and Elyse Baclar, who are marathon runners. Now in their late 60s and early 70s, they are still running strong. Asher Ravede is on his way to following in their running shoes. On April 1, he was inducted into the Daytona Running Series Hall of Fame (HOF) at the Rayz Awareness 5K event. What makes this an extremely special event is that Ravede, son of James and Lisa Ravede of Ormond Beach and grandson of Joan Ravede of Orange City, is only 12 years old, making him... Full story
Maitland residents King William and Pearl Halikman are beaming with joy. Their grandson, Zev Halikman, made the USA Maccabi Water Polo Team and will compete in the 20th World Maccabi Games in Israel this coming July. "In life some of us will be lucky enough to find a passion that consumes us with infinite pleasure. I was lucky enough to find that six years ago when I began playing water polo," said 22-year-old Zev, who is a graduate of Lake Howell High School and is now a sophmore at Florida Atlantic where he is captain of the water polo team.... Full story
If everyone's lifestyle was like Jules and Elyse Baclar's, doctors and hospitals would soon be out of business. This vibrant young Oviedo couple -Elyse is 69 and Jules is 71-love to spend their time and money exercising. They cross-country ski every winter in the Adirondacks; snow-shoe, ("It's like walking with tennis rackets on your feet," said Elyse); and bicycling on all the trails in Florida. But their passion is running. "We both have been involved in running our whole lives and we believe in it," said Jules. At first they ran for the fun... Full story
The Bakery Bar in downtown Orlando is a must if you enjoy desserts and cocktails. The difference with this bar is that the dessert is the cocktail. From the Crème Brulee Cake Martini (my favorite) to the Apple Pie Old Fashioned (this drink has that wonderful cinnamon flavor and an apple slice garnishes the glass rather than a cherry), it is the perfect place to go to after dinner at a local restaurant or to satisfy a sweet tooth after a show at the Dr. Phillips Center or the Amway-both within walking distance. The Bakery Bar opened last... Full story
Rabbi Mendy Bronstein with his wife, Mussie, and three children (Yaakov, Batya and Bina ka"h) hit the ground running, so to speak, when they arrived in Altamonte Springs last September. They came from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where Rabbi Mendy was the youth director and associate rabbi at The Shul. From photos and posts on his Facebook page, the Milwaukee Jewish community loved him dearly. And why not? From his genuine smile, twinkling eyes and clear understanding and explanation of Judaism, just sitting and talking with him is inspiring and... Full story
Standing up non-violently to anti-Israel activists on the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) campus in South Africa had a positive effect during “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW), and BDS demonstrators folded up their flags and didn’t even show up for the last day of the event. “We are taking a stand and saying, ‘Enough,’” Gilad Kabilo told The Algemeiner reporter Lea Speyer. Kabilo, leader of a group sponsored by StandWithUs, said that the no-show on the last day was because of the strong response of Jewish and pro-Israel students who... Full story
Due to the added costs resulting from the recent bomb threats that JCCs have received since Jan. 4, The Roth Family Jewish Community Center took a risk. In order to raise the needed monies to cover the operating expenses of the JCC impacted by the threats, a 24-hour online fundraiser for a total goal of $200,000 was set up. If the goal was not met in that timeframe, all the donations would be returned. To reach this goal, three anonymous friends of the JCC had set up matching gifts of 3:1 (a $25 gift would become $100, and so on). The online we... Full story
Dr. Les Kramer of Longwood was a man "behind" his times-that is to say he is a man who finds technical solutions to meet national needs during changing times. He was a flexible person, and adjusted his career goals during his 46-year science and engineering career. This flexibility eventually led him to become the vice president of engineering at TaiLor Made Prosthetics, where he is a designer and developer of a prosthetic foot more flexible than any other prosthetic on the market. Kramer grew up on the south side of Chicago in South Shore, a... Full story
Michael Dewitz, 34, walked around on the University of Florida campus dressed in black and wearing a swastika armband. On Jan. 26, he stopped by the potato statue on Turlington Plaza and stood there for about three hours. He immediately received attention from angry and offended students, and by noon a crowd of about 100 people had gathered around him. Emotions and opinions were mixed-while some students shouted expletives at Dewitz or held posters of protest, other defended his right to free speech and yet others, in an effort to diffuse the... Full story
There is a “new” anti-Semitism in the world, Dr. Ken Hanson stated at a meeting sponsored by the Zionistas on Jan. 17. One could say that anti-Semitism has been in the world since Isaac and Ishmael. It grew in strength throughout Christian Europe with the rise of the Third Reich. It was crushed temporarily after the truth of what was happening in the death camps came to light at the end of World War II. For a short time, it seemed that anti-Semitism was buried. But now, “it’s back,” Hanson said, as he took the audience of about 100 through t... Full story
If you do a search for The Coffee Shop in Casselberry, Fla., you will read that it is "romantic, cozy, casual." Casual for sure, but a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant that is described as romantic? Cozy? Never heard of that! But it is true. The Coffee Shop that opened last October in a little strip shopping center on 17/92 in Casselberry does have these qualities, plus great food! Owner and chef Chaleur Bastos has been in the restaurant business for 28 years. He owned Rueben's Deli in Apopka and then Schiffman's Deli (named after his wife, Judy... Full story
In just one week, four bomb threats were called in to two Jewish centers here in Central Florida, three were called into the Tampa JCC pre-school and Federation, and one was called into Jewish Community Alliance in Jacksonville. Additionally, threats were called in to the Galbut Family Jewish Community Center in Miami Beach and the Dave and Mary Alper Jewish Community Center in Kendall. According to The Roth Family JCC's security director, Andy Brennan, about 15 JCCs across nine states received similar threatening calls. The Anti-Defamation... Full story
