Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - Apparently in Israel, the fifth time is the charm. After repeated attempts by the opposition, by defectors from his own right-wing bloc, by the prosecution and the Supreme Court to prevent embattled former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from ruling, the electorate finally ended Israel's protracted political deadlock by voting overwhelmingly in favor of Netanyahu and his natural-and loyal-right-wing allies. With 87.6 percent of the paper ballots counted, Netanyahu's bloc is likely to...
In keeping with its long history of cantorial excellence, Congregation Ohev Shalom is excited to announce that Cantor Jeffrey Weber has joined the synagogue as the new cantor. Cantor Weber joins Rabbi Geoffrey Spector in guiding the congregants in prayer and moving the congregation forward. Cantor Weber takes the reins from Cantor Allan Robuck who has retired and is now Cantor Emeritus. With his extensive cantorial, musical and performance background, Cantor Weber is uniquely positioned to...
(JTA) — Dan Snyder, the Jewish owner of the Washington Commanders who is ensnared in a scandal involving sexual harassment in the team’s workplace, announced today that he and his wife and co-owner Tanya Snyder are exploring a possible sale of the NFL franchise. The Commanders released a statement Wednesday saying that the Snyders have hired Bank of America Securities to “consider potential transactions.” The release did not specifically mention selling the team. “The Snyders remain committed to the team, all of its employees and its countless...
Isaac Posner, son of Erick Posner and Sara Collins, stepson of Travis Johnson, and great-nephew of Gil and Risa Dombrosky of Fern Park, Fl., was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Oct. 29, 2022 at Temple B'nai Shalom, Fairfax Station, Va. What made this bar mitzvah unique was that Isaac's parents are both deaf, so there were two sign-language interpreters on hand - one signed in English, the other signed in Hebrew. Another special part of the ceremony was that the Torah Isaac read from was...
After submitting his letter to the editor about the beginning of the Holocaust Center, Paul Jeser wanted to add something to his letter. The addition was too late for the Nov. 4 issue. Here is, as Paul Harvey used to say, the “rest of the story”: Hy Lake, Tess and Abe Wise were against the Federation spending local campaign funds settling Russian Jews in Orlando. They believed that Federation funds should only support their settlement in Israel. When the Federation Board voted to fund local settlement, she and Abe, and Hy, decided to give the...
You’ve seen that word in Rabbi Konikov’s emails thousands of times. And you may have thought, “Why the hyphen?” Also, why does he refer to G-d with the masculine “He”? Then there’s the obsession with idolatry. Why did Abraham smash stone idols, and why G-d opens His first public address to the Jews with a warning to not have “other gods” before Him? Why so jealous? “In your heart of hearts, you have likely doubted G-d. I know I have, and have wondered, “Is this kosher?,” said Rabbi Konikov. These are just four of some 25 Divine puzzles we wi...
Opening on Tuesday, Nov. 1, Chabad of South Orlando is hosting a club for boys and girls who are approaching their bar or bat mitzvah. They will learn Jewish values, give back to the community, make friends with other Jewish children of similar ages, experience mitzvoth, hands on activities, trips and more. The Club meets on Tuesdays, twice a month from 5:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. at Chabad of South Orlando. For more information, contact Shaina Zibell at 562-673-1908 or go sign up at JewishOrlando.com/BMitzvah....
Israelis flocked to the polls Tuesday for the country’s fifth general election since April 2019, voting to determine the makeup of the 25th Knesset. Turnout levels were high throughout the morning and early afternoon, surpassing those in every election over the past two decades. Most of Israel’s 12,495 polling stations opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday, with some locations opening only at 8 a.m. By 10 in the morning, 15.9 percent of Israel’s 6,788,804 eligible voters had cast their ballots, with 1,076,076 votes reported, the highest voter turnout rate...
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called his rival, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to concede this week’s election as most of the votes were counted by the end of Thursday. “The State of Israel is above any political consideration. I wish Netanyahu luck for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel,” Lapid wrote in a statement. Netanyahu, meantime, has launched the negotiating process to form the next government with the far-right Religious Zionist party and haredi Orthodox parties. With a total of 64 seats,...
(JNS) — Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu will attempt to form a governing coalition in just two weeks, by Nov. 15, the date of the swearing-in of the new Knesset, Israeli media reported on Wednesday. Netanyahu’s move reflects his confidence that he will easily form a government, as he would normally be given 28 days to build a coalition with the possibility of a 14-day extension. He will assign loyalists to key positions, Channel 11 reported. Names that have been floated are Ron Dermer, Israel’s former ambassador to the U.S., as the new h...
The Holocaust Center now and forever condemns all forms of antisemitism. We will continue to speak out against hate speech — such as this past weekend’s public display of antisemitic hate in Jacksonville — because it has no place in Florida or anywhere. During such times, we must stand united against hatred and call upon organizations, elected and community leaders, and community members to speak out against these damaging acts. Over the past week, Jacksonville became an epicenter of hate, first with signs surfacing on an I-10 overpass in we...
(Jewish Journal via JNS) — Very little media attention has been given to the fact that President Joe Biden has brought the U.S. back into the U.N. Human Rights Council, arguably the most antisemitic institution on the planet. Its latest outrage is a Commission of Inquiry that is so blatantly racist it can best be described as something akin to the Spanish Inquisition. For most of the U.N.’s existence, one could be excused for forgetting that it emerged in 1945 out of the ashes of the Holocaust. Indeed, over the decades, collusion between the...
(JNS) — The Change.org petition calling on Adidas to cancel its partnership with Kanye West (aka “Ye”) flooded my inbox and social media feeds a few days ago. Many of my Jewish friends, outraged by Ye’s recent anti-Semitic comments, were rightly upset and wanted to do something. But they shouldn’t have done this. Summoning corporate America to punish those with disfavored views is a dangerous idea, especially for Jews. It leads to bans on ice cream sales on the “bad” side of Israel’s “Green Line” and the cancellation of Zionist and conserv...
(JNS) — A picture may be worth a thousand words, but what happens when that picture contradicts the very article it accompanies? That’s what the editors at The New York Times should be asking themselves in regard to their Oct. 26 article concerning Israel’s recent counterterrorist operations. Times correspondent Isabel Kershner reported that the IDF has targeted “the Nablus-based militia known as the Lions’ Den, which emerged this year.” Well-organized, heavily armed terrorist groups do not suddenly “emerge.” Moreover, the Palestinian Aut...
(JNS) — Kanye West’s descent into antisemitic hysteria has been a clarifying moment for American Jews. We have found out who our friends are from their reaction or non-reaction to Kanye’s appalling statements. Unfortunately, not enough conservative and Republican leaders have spoken out. The Daily Wire’s Candace Owens’s incoherent defense of Kanye, who is a friend of hers, was disappointing. Hopefully she will reconsider and put some distance between herself and Kanye. Much worse, however, is the case of Jason Whitlock. A black Christian...
(JNS) — It was a bad joke that flyers used to announce an anti-Israel conference entitled “Jerusalem Is Ours”—featuring Italian Senator Tino Magni—included photos of various Palestinian activists, some of whom are tied to the terrorist group Hamas. Other left-wing Italian politicos were featured, as well as Mohammad Hannoun, a staunch friend of Hamas, who not only organized the conference, but has been hosted in the Italian Chamber of Deputies by some of those same leftist politicians. All involved in the conference, of course, are convinced...
(JNS) — Countless people across the world have publicly condemned Kanye West’s anti-Semitic tirades in recent weeks, including his threat to go “Death Con 3 on Jewish People’’ and his statements blaming the “Jewish media” for various personal grievances. If the latter smear sounds familiar, that’s because it was recently used by Miloon Kothari, a member of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry (CoI) targeting Israel, who claimed over the summer that “the Jewish lobby” controls social media. In its recently released report on Israel’s...
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person minyans. Chabad of South Orlando — Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael — Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona — Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy...
(JNS) — Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevgen Korniychuk meets with his American counterpart Tom Nides every week in a bid to convince Washington to pressure Jerusalem into providing weapons to Kyiv for use in its war against Russia. In an interview with The Hill on Sunday, Korniychuk referred to Nides as his “secret weapon” in this diplomatic offensive. “The Americans are the only country that Israel is listening to … [and] this is why we discuss the … need to change this major trend that makes Israel’s position different from the rest of t...
(JNS) — Following an extended period of wrangling, the investment firm Morningstar reached an agreement on Monday with pro-Israel organizations to alter its methodology in rating the risk it assigns to companies doing business in and with Israel. Morningstar and its subsidiary Sustainalytics have been accused by critics of utilizing anti-Israel sources and weighing them disproportionately in assigning Environmental, Social and Governance risk ratings to companies as guidance for socially-minded investors. The ratings, which assigned a higher ri...
Jewish tradition is opposed to magic, divination, and sorcery. Exodus 22:18 reads: "You shall not allow a witch to live." And Deuteronomy 18:10-11 is more elaborate: "Let no one be found among you who consigns his son or daughter to the fire [i.e. who offers their child as a sacrifice, as some neighboring religions did], or who is an augur, a soothsayer, a diviner, a sorcerer, one who casts spells, or one who consults ghosts or familiar spirits, or one who inquires of the dead." Magic of this...
Thanks to enthusiastic and generous community support, JFS Orlando’s annual Hope Challenge again topped the previous year by raising a grand total of $88,000 that will go directly to help those in need. To put this into perspective, that means helping JFS provide 880 rides, 1600 counseling sessions, stabilization support for 294 families, or a week of groceries for 1760 families. Led each year by the Pearlman, Minkow, and Bolton families, every dollar donated was generously matched up to $20,000 by the David and Audrey Pearlman Philanthropic F...
Sometimes forgiveness doesn't go as planned. You reflected, you decided, and then when you finally got the clarity and strength to ask someone for forgiveness, they end up blaming you without taking any responsibility or maybe refuse your apology altogether. Remember, apologizing is not for the other person, but for you. If they are not in a place to accept your apology, it is not up to you to change them. What's important is that you work on you. Use this situation to motivate you to focus on...
(JNS) - Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots football team, and his family are set to receive a national leadership award on Tuesday for their support of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. The award will be presented during the museum's "What you do matters" 2022 Northeast Tribute Dinner. The honor comes just days after a TV ad urging Americans to stand up against Jew-hatred aired during Sunday's NFL game between the Patriots and the New York Jets. The ad was sponsored by the...
(JTA) — Brooklyn Nets guard Kyrie Irving is defending his decision to promote a movie that argues that Jews were responsible for the transatlantic slave trade, despite criticism from his team’s owner. “I’m disappointed that Kyrie appears to support a film based on a book full of anti-semitic disinformation,” Nets owner Joe Tsai tweeted on Friday, shortly after Irving tweeted a link to the Amazon listing for a 2018 film called “Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America!” The film is based on an earlier book by the same name advancing the oft-rep...
