Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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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, ... Full story
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 phase of my Jewish communal career as the directo... Full story
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 Southern steel magnolia (she hails from Jacksonvill... Full story
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 accept, and partners diligently with agencies in the... Full story
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... Full story
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 area venues came to mind: Lakewood Center in Fern... Full story
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 visits him regularly. Recently, he mentioned to her... Full story
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 Agency for Israel, the Israel Foreign Ministry, and the... Full story
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... Full story
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 men staunch supporters of Israel through JNF, they... Full story
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, his conscience begins to bother him more than hunge... Full story
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 the Western Wall's egalitarian section and place it... Full story
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 away from its Jewish roots and anti-Semitism took... Full story
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 would have never thought that I would feel as... Full story
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... Full story
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 evacuated. Parents were called and informed there was an... Full story
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. What are his immediate plans? His first response... Full story
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... Full story
After 15 years, Ben's Bake Shop closed at 5 p.m. on Dec. 24, 2015. No more challah-at least for now. On Wednesday, Dec. 23, Michael Fischer went to the bakery at 7 a.m. to be sure to get some of Ben's famous challah. When he got there, a line had already formed and by 8 a.m., when the bakery opened, that line was all the way down the block. It took only one and a half hours to sell all 100 loaves. Later that afternoon, the glass shelves in the display case were almost empty. Only two yule logs, a stollen, a dozen or so éclairs and butter cookie... Full story
There is a great resource through Jewish Family Services Orlando (JFS Orlando) for older adults and/or people with disabilities who may need transportation to and from various medical appointments and essential shopping trips. This service is called RIDE-Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly-and it has been erroneously assumed to be only for those with low incomes. But not so fast! It is available to ANY older adult and/or people with disabilities who need transportation! Widely used in Orange County, the program isn't very well-known... Full story
Want to change the Jewish community or even the world? Inspire a Jewish mother. No offense meant toward men. However, if a woman who has young children is inspired, she inspires her family. If enough families are inspired, a community can be inspired; and if enough communities become inspired, it can change the world. This is the belief of eight Jewish women who started the Jewish Women's Renaissance Program (JWRP) in 2008. How are Jewish women inspired? One proven way is to take them on a journey through Israel. Let them breath the air, feel... Full story
Back in the 60s, American band Sly and the Family Stone got everyone on their feet with their hit song "Stand!" ("You've been sitting much too long"). Today Bethanne Weiss, aka the Asset Queen, is singing that same tune in her new book, "Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank!," encouraging her "peops" to stand more and sit (on their assets) less. She says in the book, that it hit her like a "one-pound brick of butta," that those who move more than they sit have less kvetches, ailments and jiggles than sedentary people. This... Full story
The rumors, sad to say, are true. Ben's Bake Shop is closing on Dec. 24. "As it stands, that's the plan," Ben Brenslauer, owner of the bakery told the Heritage in a phone interview. However, "the challahs will still be alive," he reassured, just not at the current location. It was B&K Bakery for years. Times change, people move on and it became Ben's Bake Shop. Brenslauer worked with the former owners. In fact, George and his wife came in to help from time to time. The bakery, tucked in the back of the small strip mall at the corner of State... Full story
Who would have thought that an article about four ladies being cut off from playing their beloved mahjong in their condo community clubhouse would become international news? The Heritage’s website has received more than 22,000 views (as of Nov. 30) of this one article. Jeff Gaeser, publisher, said he doesn’t remember in the paper’s history of any article getting this much attention. Zelda King, Bernice Diamond, Helen Greenspun (apologies for spelling Helen’s last name incorrectly in the Nov. 20 article), and Lee Delnick (apologies for stating... Full story
Last April, a mezzuzah on a door was destroyed and swastikas were discovered carved into the walls of an off-campus apartment complex where UCF students were living. On Nov. 15, anti-Semitic stickers were found on a newsstand by Tower Four on campus. The stickers with the Nazi emblem were also found in Lake Claire, Tower Two, across from the CFE Arena, the Recreation and Wellness Center and Nike. In addition to the stickers, there was a note calling for the boycott of all Israelis products, and fliers were found that stated: “Florida, l... Full story
