Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles written by Marcus M. Gilban


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  • Hackers threaten online shiva for Brazilian Jewish educator

    Marcus M. Gilban|Sep 3, 2021

    RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – Hackers posting death threats, including “I’ll enter synagogues and kill everyone,” broke into the online mourning ceremony for a former Jewish school principal in Rio de Janeiro. “Death to Jews,” “I’ll explode,” “Sieg Heil” and “dirty Jews” were also part of the attack during the shiva session Sunday on Google Meet in honor of Dora Fraifeld, a beloved figure at the pluralistic Eliezer Max School for nearly 40 years. Fraifeld died last week. The hackers also used scenes of Adolf Hitler along with Nazi symbols and slo...

  • Rio de Janeiro designated sister city of Raanana, Israel's Brazilian capital

    Marcus M. Gilban|Mar 12, 2021

    RAANANA, Israel (JTA) — Rio de Janeiro and Raanana are now sister cities, a longtime aspiration of Brazilian immigrants who have turned the upscale Tel Aviv suburb into their new home. “It’s the result of the great relationship between Israel and Brazil and the fact that Raanana is home to the largest population of Brazilian immigrants in our country,” the mayor of Raanana, Chaim Broyde, wrote on social media on Monday. “I intend to exploit the connections, promote economic, commercial and cultural issues between our cities.” The sister citi...

  • COVID-19 hasn't stopped one of Israel's national passions: folk dance

    Marcus M. Gilban|May 22, 2020

    RAANANA, Israel (JTA)-Like all other mass gatherings now, Israel's Karmiel dance festival, one of the largest of its kind in the world, was postponed. The annual fest, which takes place at the end of June, draws thousands who take part in one of the country's oldest passions: Israeli folk dance. Those in the know say some 200,000 Israelis across the nation attend regular Israeli folk dance, including public and private sessions called harkadot, on beachfronts, sports facilities and more. To...

  • Brazilian Jews slam magazine that likened Jewish politician to Hitler's propaganda mastermind

    Marcus M. Gilban|Nov 22, 2019

    RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA)—Several Brazilian Jewish groups are condemning a magazine news article that likened a local Jewish senior politician to Nazi Germany’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Istoe magazine published on Friday an article titled “Goebbels of the Planalto”—a reference to Brazil’s presidential palace—that highlights the fact that Brazil’s Secretary of Communications Fabio Wajngarten is Jewish and suggests a Jewish conspiracy to back recent advertising budget cuts to media outlets that are not allied with the government. Est... Full story

  • Israelis aiding search at Brazilian mine disaster are met with praise and criticism

    Marcus M. Gilban|Feb 8, 2019

    By Marcus M. Gilban RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA)-Less than one month after Benjamin Netanyahu gained pop star status across Brazil for blending in with the locals during the very first visit of a sitting Israeli prime minister, Israel is making headlines in the land of samba once again. A 130-strong Israeli military and search-and-rescue team landed here on Sunday and has been working against the clock to find survivors of a dam collapse last Friday around a mining operation in a rural area of the Minas... Full story

  • Brazil applauds Netanyahu-Bolsonaro bromance, new ties with Jewish state

    Marcus M. Gilban|Jan 11, 2019

    RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gained pop star status among Brazilians during a five-day visit to the country to attend the inauguration of the country's new president, Jair Bolsonaro. Brazil's most influential prime time newscasts Jornal Nacional and Fantastico dedicated several minutes to coverage of the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit Brazil. The warm feelings between Israel's right-wing prime minister and Brazil's most right-wing president in... Full story