Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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It started with a bar mitzvah. A Temple Shir Shalom (TSS) family using Temple Israel's facilities for their son's bar mitzvah commented to fellow members of their congregation how spacious the synagogue was, according the Josh Greenberg, co-president of TSS. The comment was tucked away to be recalled later. The congregation had its beginnings meeting in houses 14 years ago, Greenberg said. Over the years, the synagogue has migrated from place to place. The last abode was The EpiCenter at...
Dr. Moshe Pelli, whose name is almost synonymous with the Interdisciplinary Judaic Studies Program at the University of Central Florida, has stepped down as director of the program. However, he is quick to state that he is not retiring. That is one word never to be in his vocabulary-in English or Hebrew. He will remain the Tess and Abe Wise Endowed Professor of Judaic Studies. After taking some time off to study and do research for a book he was finishing this past spring, he returns this fall...
Altamonte Springs resident Barbra Resnick accomplished something she always wanted to do: Be a contestant on the TV game show Jeopardy! Not only was she on the show-she became a two-time champion, with earnings that totaled $20,000. Resnick, with her husband, Steve Arthurs; mom, Phyllis Resnick; and brother, Matt, flew to California to be on the show almost a year after she first tried out for the game show (Dad, Curt, stayed home). One does not just apply to be a contestant on Jeopardy! It's a...
"With her ever-present beaming smile and cheerful enthusiasm, Susan Bierman has been a pivotal force in the dynamic growth of Orlando's Jewish community," wrote Bierman's nominator for the Heritage Human Service Award. That opening sentence in the nomination entry said it all. Bierman is packaged dynamite in a tiny frame. As Mark Cooper, Federation president from 1984-1986, said, "It was incredible to see someone so small in stature be so enormous in achievements!" Her "can do" attitude, mixed...
"There comes a time when you have to make a decision, either to walk away and hope things fix themselves or take an active role in trying to make a positive difference." This is Abby Sanchez' belief and the reason why she is running for a position on the Seminole County School Board District 3-she wants to make a positive difference. Sanchez, who grew up in a Jewish household in Davie, Fla., has been on the "frontline" of the public school system as an elementary school teacher for 26 years....
Anyone who runs for a county judge position isn't doing it for the money, especially if they are successful as attorneys. This is certainly the case for Eric Dubois, who is an attorney running for Orange County judge. Dubois is a 2015 and 2016 Super Lawyer and holds an AV Preeminent Rating, the highest with Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings, which reflects his respect among his peers and the over 200 endorsements from fellow attorneys and community organizations. In addition to practicing...
Speaking with passion and commitment, nationally known speaker/media expert Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder and president of Proclaiming Justice To the Nations (PJTN), once again encouraged her audience in Altamonte Springs to take a stand against the BDS movement. The event was hosted by the Greater Orlando Citizen Action Network. "My message... is if you stand by and you do nothing in your lifetime when you see what is happening to Israel and you see the rise of anti-Semitism, will you share...
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton both harshly condemned the recent bloody terror attack in Tel Aviv. Clinton stated in a statement, “I condemn the heinous terrorist attack in Tel Aviv today. I send my deepest condolences to the families of those killed and I will continue to pray for the wounded.” “I stand in solidarity with the Israeli people in the face of these ongoing threats, and in unwavering support of the country’s right to defend itself,” she stated, adding, ...
On the heels of his return from his trip to Poland to participate in the March of the Living, then on to Israel where he spent two weeks traveling all over the Land, Sam Friedman learned on May 23 that he was promoted to the position of assistant director of Central Florida Hillel. "I am pleased to announce that Sam Friedman is officially our new assistant director!" a please Aaron Weil, CEO of Central Florida Hillel stated. "It feels like just yesterday I was moving to Orlando to start the next...
Grace means beauty or charm of form, movement, expression; a sense of what is right and proper, decency; thoughtfulness toward others; and it is the perfect description of Grace Nelson, wife of U.S. Senator Bill Nelson. Recently, The ACCoRD Project invited her to speak at an afternoon tea hosted by Burt and Barbara Chasnov. "Thank you, for heaven's sake, for what you are trying to do," Nelson said to the ACCoRD members, who hope to bring Americans back to civility, respect and dignity. Truly a S...
Through the generous grants and donations from its many supporters, Jewish Family Services Orlando has recently expanded its Counseling, Growth and Development Program and is building on its foundation of licensed professional counselors. The team of five therapists, overseen by JFS Orlando's Clinical Therapist Supervisor Teresa Brown, MSW, LCSW, provide couples, family, children/teen and group mental health counseling. JFS Orlando also has increased the number of insurance panels it can...
Sometimes, all a person needs is a hand to grab onto to pull herself up to level ground. One very successful program at JFS Orlando, with a 78 percent success rate since it started 14 years ago, is the Family Stabilization Program (FSP). It is a preventative, six-month case-management program (with follow ups at one year and 18 months) designed for families to obtain self-sufficiency by teaching them critical skills and tools to resolve crises and avoid future hardships while achieving long-term stability. The program’s primary objectives a...
Last summer, RAISE program coordinator Loren London received a phone call from Heidi Solomon director of Jewish Family Services Association of Cleveland's Horvitz YouthAbility. "Can our group perform for RAISE or another venue when we come to Orlando next year?" asked Solomon. London explained to Solomon that RAISE is a work program for people with special needs, but she would look into finding a place for YouthAbility to perform. After seeing a video online of YouthAbility's performance, two...
The Jewish Pavilion program directors often go over and beyond the "call of duty" in the course of any given day. Take Gloria Green, who is the program director for assisted living facilities in Southwest Orlando. In addition to organizing and coordinating Purim festivities and now Passover seders for a dozen or so elder communities, she really gets to know "her" Jewish residents. For example, Phillip Schwartz is the only Jewish resident at Arbor Cove, but that's of no matter to Green, she...
From 1947 to September 1950, 48,818 Yemenite Jews-almost the entire Jewish population in Yemen-flew to freedom in Israel through Operation On Wings of Eagles, better known as Operation Magic Carpet airlift. (See the full story of the airlift in the Feb. 12 issue of the Heritage.) Approximately 14,000 Yemenite Jews remained behind, and then were trapped in Yemen in 1962 after civil war broke out, making it almost impossible to reach the small population. However, over the years, The Jewish...
The opening comment on the ACCoRD Project’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/theaccordproject) asks the following questions for thought: “What has happened to disagreeing with each other in a civil manner? When has name calling become a standard response to something we do not like to hear? Discussion and disagreement are part of our democracy, however name calling and personal attacks are not. Just turn on the news and, on a daily basis, one can witness the lack of cooperation, respect and personal dignity in our current political env...
Sitting on the stage of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts-facing the pit, orchestra, mezzanine seating areas and the balcony that seemed to rise into the rafters-was a once-in-a-lifetime-event for the 400 attendees (about 100 of whom were college students) of the Jewish National Fund's Gala and Backstage Tour. They had gathered to honor Jim Pugh and Chuck Steinmetz with JNF's Lifetime Achievement awards for their years of support of JNF and the Jewish community. Not only are both...
Local award-winning author, Yvonne David, wrote her first book, "Out of the Apple Orchard," in 2005. It is a story, set in the Catskills in 1910, of a 12-year-old Jewish boy named Adam, whose family moves from the Lower East Side, N.Y., to Mountaindale, N.Y., for the fresh country air. Because of his father's illness, the family subsists on a little bit of bread, milk and a few other basics. Hunger hurts, and Adam steals some juicy, red apples from a neighbor's orchard for his family. However, h...
Recently, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, visited with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and members of Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando to discuss religious pluralism in Israel. It was one of only two stops in the United States, the other meeting was in Memphis, Tenn. His plans originally had been to also go to New York and San Francisco, however, he had to cut his trip short to finalize the resolution to expand...
Attendees at the recent Zionistas meeting on Feb. 9 got an earful of history-Christian history as well as the history of the Jewish people-all within a two-hour period. Zionista co-founder Diana Scimone, a journalist and a Christian, highlighted four eras of Christian history in which anti-Semitism was taught in the Church. How quickly the early Church, which stuck to its Jewish traditions, with Gentiles converting to Messianic Judaism, changed its tune. Over a period of time, the Church grew...
The University of South Florida (USF) Student Government (SG) Senate voted on Jan. 19 to approve a joint resolution, titled "In Support of Student Voices," calling for the university to divest from companies it deems "complicit in human rights violations." Authors of the resolution, senators Muhammad Imam and Rema Hamoui, specify the companies to divest from support tobacco products, fossil fuel use and the Israeli army in anti-Palestinian issues. The vote passed 32-12 with four abstentions. "I...
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, The Jewish Academy of Orlando, and two other Florida schools—the Meyer Academy in Palm Beach Gardens (as well as the Mandel Jewish Community Center there) and the Chabad of Tampa Bay school—received bomb threats. There were no bombs found at all the locations. However, the schools were closed for the rest of the day and the children and parents were shaken that this could happen here. One parent, Rona Weiss, took action, turning what could have developed into a deeper fear into positive action. “I saw a lot of passion and e...
The Jewish Academy of Orlando and the JCC were evacuated Tuesday, Jan. 26, at 10 a.m. because of a bomb threat. According to the police, a threatening call was made to the JAO by a man who said he wanted to "hurt as many children as possible." The person at the school who reported the threat told police the man's voice sounded robotic, like he was using a device to disguise his voice. As a result, the entire campus-the school, Early Childhood Learning Center, JCC, gym, and Federation-was...
After 41 years of taking care of Central Florida children as a pediatrician, Dr. Edward Zissman retired from his private practice, Altamonte Pediatric Associates, on Dec. 31, 2015. It is the end of a fruitful career that began in Philadelphia, his hometown, where he graduated from Temple University and Hahnemann Medical College, and then completed his pediatric internship at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore and pediatric residency at the U.S. Naval Hospital and New England Medical Center in Boston....
In response to anti-Semitic vandalism at UCF, 34 Jewish and civil rights groups—including student groups and the Zionist Organization of America, CAMERA and Simon Wiesenthal Center—wrote to UCF President John Hitt stating that what had been done to date “is simply not enough.” The groups stated their dismay that in the weeks since the stickers and flyers appeared, the UCF administration had not publicly condemned the postings as anti-Semitic, and the Jewish students felt threatened and unsafe. The letter went on to make some recommendations to...
