Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 226 - 250 of 339
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Perhaps one day, Winter Park High School long snapper Evan Dvorchik's name will be listed with wide receiver Julian Edelman of the Patriots or quarterback Jay Fiedler or offensive tackle/guard Kyle Kosier-all three of whom are on the list of 10 greatest Jewish football players according to the American Jewish Historical Society. Dvorchik was named one of the top performers at the Rubio Long Snapping Camp in Kennesaw, Georgia, on Sunday, Dec. 18. If his name sounds familiar it is because he is...
Love cats? Then the Orlando Cat Café is the place to visit and possibly adopt a cat (or just play with them). It is the first of its kind to open in Florida, and owner Sandra Cagan is thrilled with its success. Since opening last September, more than 4,000 guests have visited the café and there have been 38 adoptions as of the end of the year. "If you are not familiar with the Cat Café concept, it is something that started in Japan where it remains very popular," Cagan explained. "Since ho...
Wednesday morning, Jan. 4, the Jewish Academy of Orlando received a phone call stating that there was a bomb in the building. The specific message from a distorted voice said "There is a bomb in the Jewish Academy." This kind of threat is taken very seriously. The Maitland police were called and they acted quickly to contact the FBI and other local law agencies. According to the campus's emergency response procedures, the entire campus, including The Roth Family JCC and Holocaust Memorial...
The Jewish Pavilion will honor two exemplary volunteers, Geanne Share and Ruth Darvin, at its Gems and Jeans Gala-an evening of gourmet dining, live music, silent auction and inspiring motivational speaker Bethanne Weiss-on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 5 p.m. at Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland. Of course, the proceeds from this fun evening benefit the seniors served in more than 70 assisted-living and skilled-nursing facilities throughout Central Florida. "I feel very honored, very excited," said Ruth...
JFS Orlando, also known as the George Wolly Center, has had some major renovations, thanks to the generous grants the agency has received over the past several months, and E2 Homes, the general contractor for the renovation project. The look is fresh, open and inviting for everyone who comes to the facility, beginning with the ADA-compliant handicap ramp that leads from the parking lot to the easily accessed Pearlman Pantry. Visitors now enter the reception room through a new automatic sliding...
The first person cast for the Orlando premiere of "Out of the Apple Orchard"-which opens Dec. 19 at the Orlando Repertory Theatre-was Jeremy Kleckner in the lead role of Adam Bieman, the 12-year-old boy who is hungry and steals apples from an orchard. To author Yvonne David, who was inspired by Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" when she wrote the book, and through various happenings along the book's journey to becoming a play, it seems the ghosts of Christmas' past have continually popped...
First it was a book, written by local award-winning author Yvonne David in 2005. It won an honorable mention in the Independent Publisher Book Awards a year after publication, and was then adapted for the stage in the form of a concert reading by award-winning playwright Ellen W. Kaplan and performed in New York City at the Mesaper Theatre. Last March, David brought her concert reading to Orlando, and now David has reached her goal of producing “Out of the Apple Orchard” as a play. “While the commendable Director Kerry Giese and Assis...
The Jewish Pavilion exists because of its vast amount of volunteers. For this reason, every year the Pavilion recognizes all its volunteers and honors two specifically at the annual JP Connections. This year Jane Edelstein and Lois Silverberg are the honorees. Talk about jumping in with both feet-Jane Edelstein wears two hats at the Jewish Pavilion. Three years ago, when she first got involved as a volunteer with the Jewish Pavilion's Friends Board, she became the chairwoman of the fall Sunday...
Bereishit - Genesis 12:1-3-And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth from your land and from your birthplace and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will aggrandize your name, and [you shall] be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse, and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you." This was the inspiration for the Bless Israel Summit held at the...
As I pulled into Myrtle Rutberg's driveway at the house she has lived in for 30-some years, her son, Gerald, greeted me at my car. "My mother likes visitors to come in through the front door," he said as he led me to the front porch. Myrtle's dear friend Karnine greeted me at the door. Karnine stays with Myrtle and their relationship is like a mother and daughter. Myrtle was standing on her back patio, gazing out into her backyard. She wore a royal blue dress. Her straight white hair was combed...
With the recent passage by the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) of the controversial resolutions that deny Jewish and Christian ties to the Temple Mount, and the city of Jerusalem (calling it a Muslim city), it is extremely important that Central Floridian Jews and Christians show their unity for Israel. Pastors Blake and Beverly Lorenz of Encounter Global Church, with several other organizations, have organized The Bless Israel Summit for this purpose....
The Roth Family JCC's annual Jewish Film Festival, presented in partnership with the Enzian Theater, is showing five films and one short Nov. 12 through Nov. 14. The first film, "Fanny's Journey," will be shown at the Orlando Science Center, 777 E. Princeton St., on Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. The rest of the films will be shown at the Enzian, located at 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland. This year, The Roth Family JCC is offering "Saturday Night Out" at a discounted price for parents who will...
Recently, Israeli lawmaker Merav Ben-Ami disclosed that she is pregnant. Although this is not unusual news, Ben-Ami, a Knesset member for the centrist Kulanu party, is 40, single, and having a baby via in vitro fertiliation (IVF). Ben-Ami is only one of 5 million women who have gone the IVF birth route since Louise Brown gave birth to the first IVF baby in 1978. One would think conceiving a child is the easiest, most natural thing to happen to a woman, however, according to the Centers for...
Now in its third year, many people might still think of RAISE (Recognizing Abilities & Inclusion of Special Employees) as a Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando program to train individuals with special needs to be able to hold a job. Though it does help employee participants acquire skills for the work place, RAISE is much more than that. Participants also learn social skills through RAISE's community program partner Social Bridges at weekly Lunch & Learn sessions that all employees...
If you have ever watched any of the television shows on the Food Network-shows like "Chopped," or "Cutthroat Kitchen"-you have a glimmer of an idea as to what JFS Orlando's Pantry to Plate Chef's Challenge is all about (except no one is "chopped" and it isn't cutthroat). Three area chefs from well-known restaurants each select food from the Pearlman Pantry and prepared an outstanding dish for three judges and all the guests (about 160 of them) to decide which dish was the best based on...
Theater at the J is presenting the rock-and-roll hit musical "Bye, Bye Birdie" on Thursday Sept. 29. As a lead up to the opening, producing director Kerry Giese wanted to do something different-and gutsy-to promote the play. He is going to show the movie version of "Bye, Bye Birdie" for free on Saturday, Sept. 17, complete with popcorn and soft drinks, in The Roth Family JCC's Harriett & Hymen Lake Auditorium. "This doesn't mean don't come see the play!" Giese quickly added. In fact, the play...
Recently someone asked me “What ever happened to that group that advocated cooperation and civility?” That group is the ACCoRD Project (Advocate for Civility, Cooperation, Respect & Dignity). I told her that I was attending a meeting that very evening (Thursday, Sept. 1) and I would let her know what the group is up to now. What began last January as a small group of women who wanted to make a difference in the way people conduct themselves in the political, journalistic and general public arenas, has grown to 70 members (and growing), wit...
Most people know Lou Pearlman as the creator of the best-selling boy band of all time, Backstreet Boys, and *NSYNC, whose recordings sold over 55 million records globally. They also know him as the perpetrator of one of the biggest Ponzi schemes that defrauded investors out of more than $300 million. For this, Pearlman was serving a 25-year sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution in Miami. His sentence was cut short when he died Aug. 19, 2016, from an infection following surgery to get a heart valve replaced, according to the...
