Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 301 - 325 of 345
Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of the Christian Zionist NPO Proclaiming Justice to the Nations (PJTN), is a force to be reckoned with. She is straight-forward and stands upon biblical principles to bring about change in her own state of Tennessee and the rest of the United States. Her latest endeavor has been campaigning to defend the Jewish state from the scourge of BDS that pushes to boycott and economically attack Israel. Last Wednesday evening, Cardoza-Moore was invited by the Zionistas to... Full story
He isn't a professional entertainment agent or a motivational speaker; and he isn't an activities director or fundraiser, but he is very good at all these jobs. He is Berny Raff, and he is this year's recipient of the Heritage Human Service Award because all these "jobs" aren't really jobs to him, they are what he does, and has always done to better this community. Berny was nominated by Susan Sparrow, Jewish Pavilion office manager. She has known Berny for 10 years and wishes she could clone a... Full story
Each year approximately 60,000 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. This degenerative brain disorder is second only to Alzheimer's in prevalence. The actor Michael J. Fox brought national attention to this chronic disease in 1998 after being diagnosed with it in 1991. He has since become an advocate for research toward finding a cure and created the Michael J. Fox Foundation in 2010. There is no cure yet for Parkinson's and it is not know how people contract it, however... Full story
For the past three years Rabbi Noach Majesky, brother of Rabbi Yanky Majesky, has been the cantor at Chabad of North Orlando during the High Holidays. This year and for many years hereafter, Rabbi Noach will lead the High Holiday as well as all the services in Accra, Ghana. He and his wife, Alti and three children will be moving this summer from Crown Heights, N.Y., to establish a new Chabad Center to serve the needs of the local Jewish community and tourists. The establishment of Chabad in... Full story
Sonya Baumstein's three-years-in-the-making goal to row across the Pacific Ocean, began and ended within one week. She arrived in Choshi, Japan, in April, her boat arrived in May, and she had been waiting for the weather conditions to be optimal. On Sunday, June 7, Baumstein made sure her supplies were intact, called her parents, Darrel and Debbie Baumstein of Orlando, and rowed out of the Choshi marina in glassy smooth waters. She hoped to arrive in San Francisco by September. She made it into... Full story
It was one year ago in April that RAISE (Recognizing Abilities and Inclusion of Special Employees) was launched with five employees who worked part-time, two days a week for three hours at The Roth Family JCC and JFS Orlando. A third day was spent participating in a group social skills class called "Lunch and Learn," that included the employees (and once a month their families as well). Under the umbrella of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, this program has truly been a group endeavor w... Full story
Why is a Jewish newspaper running an article about a horse winning a race? Because this winning 3-year-old bay colt's owner, Ahmed Zayat, is an Orthodox Jew who studied at and graduated from Yeshiva University. After graduation, Zayat worked for the haredi Orthodox real estate developer Zev Wolfson. His Hebrew name is Ephraim. He and his family live in the Orthodox neighborhood of West Englewood in Teaneck, N.J., attend Congregation Bnai Yeshurun. And give generously to several Jewish causes.... Full story
A presentation by Pastor Blake Lorenz about “Survival and Promise,” sponsored by the Zionistas on Sunday, May 17, became an informal group discussion about the “Unthinkable.” After introductions were made and Lorenz spoke briefly that the “Unthinkable” is here now, he opened discussion about what can we do to stop it? Before we can stop it, what is the unthinkable? Jew hatred, the open proclamation to destroy Israel, the killing of anyone who does not believe a certain type of Islam. Is the unthinkable the Muslim people? No. It is the movemen... Full story
It's been one year, almost to the day, since the Heritage interviewed Sonya Baumstein, the young adventurer (she is now 30) set to be the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to San Francisco. She originally planned to take on this challenge earlier in the year, but she had several set backs. She posted an apology to her supporters and investors on her blog about two months ago, "I want to start with an apology to all of those who have some investment in me, the project,... Full story
There will not be an eighth-grade class next year at the Jewish Academy of Orlando. However, it is not a permanent situation, and the eighth-grade class will be back the following year. What happened to cause the school to make this decision? According to Alan Rusonik, head of school, there were four students enrolled for eighth grade for the coming year. “While disappointing, we have in the past had grades with just four students and we have navigated through successfully,” he stated. Through no fault of the school, they learned that two of... Full story
It was April 23, Marcy Rosenbaum's birthday, and the day Heritage was interviewing her about the 31 years she has worked at the JCC Preschool, as it was called when she first started working there part time back in 1984. Streamers were hanging from Rosenbaum's office ceiling, and just as the interview began, about a dozen three-year-old smiling cherubs squeezed themselves into her small office to wish her happy birthday. The first ones in the door carried a poster with the children's signatures... Full story
It's so nice to have live performances at the JCC again. Theater at the J has brought a talented cast together to bring its audiences a familiar rendition of "Fiddler on the Roof" and it was a pleasurable experience (not to mention the very comfortable seats). Tom Limbacher captured Tevye's optimistic spirit and his blues eyes reflected surprise, fear, happiness and sadness as he struggled with letting go of long-held traditions to see his daughters' happy in unarranged marriages. Corina... Full story
A combined JCC and Federation? It isn’t a new idea. Tampa’s Jewish Community Center and Federation merged 20 years ago. It’s also happened in Austin, Texas and up in Connecticutt and in more than 25 other communities across the United States. Now it is a topic that is being tossed around in the Orlando Jewish community. Nothing is concrete, it is only talk at this time. But with the changing economy and similar mission statements, it makes a lot of sense. Wondering how the merge between Tampa’s JCC and Federation has worked, I spoke with Emilie... Full story
The University of Florida chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was closed last Tuesday, April 28, after a misconduct investigation by the university was started in light of reports that ZBT members attending a spring formal yelled at, spat on, and hurled beer bottles at a group of military veterans who were also staying at the same Panama City Beach resort. The veterans were attending the Warrior Beach Retreat at the Laketown Wharf to relax and heal. After receiving the information of the fraternity members’ behavior, the university charged t... Full story
This year the Seminole County School Board presented two school calendars to the community. One was with the school year beginning Aug. 24. The second, which was adopted later, has the school year beginning Aug. 17. What is interesting is that the calendar that was first posted (start date Aug. 24), included Rosh Hashanah (Monday, Sept. 14) and Yom Kippur (Wednesday, Sept. 23) as days off. The new and revised calendar (start date Aug. 17) only allows Rosh Hashanah as a day off. The second calendar came about after Gov. Scott signed the bill... Full story
There is a new synagogue on the block, although it isn’t really a new one. Perhaps the term should be “changed” synagogue. Congregation Shomer Ysrael, located at 5382 Hoffner Ave., Orlando, was for several years a Messianic congregation with about 200 members. It is now, and has been for about two years, a very committed Jewish congregation with about 30 members. In fact, they celebrated their first Rosh Hashanah as Jews in September 2013, and for the congregation it was truly a new beginning. Congregation Shomer Ysrael became the first Hispa... Full story
At this year's Choices event, held on April 14, American writer, TV producer and former journalist Jennifer Weiner will charm the Choices audience with her wit as she discusses her books, personal experiences and women's search for a sense of self. She has authored nine best-selling books, including eight novels and a collection of short stories, with a reported 11 million copies in print in 36 countries. She also was voted No. 14 on Time magazine's list of 140 Best Twitter Feeds. Her latest nov... Full story
The theme of this year's 2015 Choices event is "It Takes A Woman," and this year's recipient of the Harriet Ginsburg Woman of Choice award, Ina Porth, has proven throughout the years that she is a woman who can get things done. Who is a Woman of Choice? The Mishna teaches that it is imperative not to be separate from the community. A Woman of Choice is connected to the Jewish community and is committed to Jewish life. She exhibits leadership qualities and is a committed volunteer with the... Full story
It was 25 years ago that Linda Amon and Harriet Corey,z"l, of Congregation of Liberal Judaism (now Congregation of Reform Judaism) stood waiting at the Orlando International Airport with a sign that read "Welcome Levitasovs." It seemed to take forever before the anticipated Russian family finally walked through the gate. There were four of them-grandfather Anatoly Mantelman, 71, his daughter Marina Levitasov, her husband Mikhail (Misha and Americanized as Michael) and their daughter Yana. For... Full story
Recently, the Heritage received a phone call from the mother of a young woman attending the University of South Florida. She was alarmed at what her daughter was telling her about the bullying tactics of the campus chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The mother is a member of the Congregation of Reform Judaism and gave the Heritage her daughter’s email address to learn what exactly was happening on campus. The daughter, who did not want her name to be mentioned, (and therefore the Heritage also did not want to give the m... Full story
Recently, the Orlando Sentinel chose Harriett Lake as the recipient of the 2014 Central Floridian of the Year for her generous financial support of many organizations within Central Florida. Since 2003, Lake has given about $1.5 million annually to many causes, from Kinneret, JFS Orlando and the Holocaust Center to MD Anderson Cancer Center and Florida Hospital's boutiques for breast cancer survivors to the multiple performing arts groups, including the Southern Ballet Theatre, Madcow Theatre,... Full story
Recently, a comment was posted on the Heritage’s website concerning an April 18, 2014, op-ed piece titled “Islamic enclaves in America,” by Ed Ziegler in his column “Remember, Never Again.” The comment read: “This is a complete fabrication... so bad that even Fox News retracted the story... My Jewish friends, there are many out there attempting to manipulate society through lies... we have seen this before. Please be vigilant and never forget.” The writer, who called himself Edison, also referenced www.snopes.com to validate his position. Edi... Full story
Ever since her first stage performance, when she was seven, in the JCC Players' production of "Oliver!," Andra London has loved the stage. From that humble beginning, London went on to perform for six years with the Orlando Opera Company Youth Ensemble before forming the singing trio Visions during her teen years with two other local Jewish young ladies. The group made four albums and performed 150 concerts in 80 cities nationwide. "One beautiful byproduct of Visions was the opportunity to trave... Full story
With television shows like “Who Do You Think You Are?” and “Finding Your Roots,” it is no wonder that genealogy is the second most popular hobby in the U.S. (gardening is No. 1). It is also the second most visited category on the Internet (next only to pornography). In light of this growing interest in family histories, on Jan. 12, 2015, Congregation Ohev Shalom and the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) will present a special program featuring David Laskin, author of “The Family,” which is the story of his own ancestors w... Full story
On March 13, 1978, Jewish Family Services Orlando opened its door to help low-income families who found themselves in a crunch, and 36 years later, it is still helping people down on their luck. It is the Jewish Community's organized outreach into the community-for Jews and non-Jews alike. The agency isn't on the Jewish Community Campus. There's a reason for that. Located at 2100 Lee Road in Winter Park, it is on the bus routes, the means of transportation for many of the people who use the... Full story
