Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS)-A shipment of medical supplies from Magen David Adom in Israel were delivered on Monday morning to Chabad in China to help prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus. At the request of Chabad, Magen David Adom sent in 2,000 face masks and 200 full-body protection kits. The latter includes special suits and masks, along with covers for shoes, hats and glasses in the event of contact with a person who may be sick. "Magen David Adom, as Israel's national EMS organization and the country's l...
In the past 100 years, there has been an ongoing conflict between Jews and Arabs who claim the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, each as their national homeland. With the creation of the State of Israel this deepened into decades of violent conflict and often all-out war. For the Jewish people Israel was the fulfillment of their need for a sovereign Jewish State and the end of 2000 years of exile and they prepared themselves by all means to fight to preserve this home....
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-Kirk Douglas, the legendary actor who portrayed legions of tough guys and embraced his Jewish heritage later in life, died at his home in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. He was 103. Over a career that spanned 87 films-including 73 big screen features and 14 on television-the blond, blue-eyed Douglas, dimpled chin thrust forward, was often cast as the toughest guy around, vanquishing hordes of Romans, Vikings and assorted bad guys. Thrice nominated for an Academy Award and a...
(JTA)-In 2012, the first year that Ben Zauzmer made Oscar predictions based on mathematical modeling, he received an email from a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that chooses the winners. Zauzmer was wrong to predict that the silent French film "The Artist" would win best picture, the member said-he and some of his friends in the Academy had heard that "Hugo," Martin Scorsese's steampunk adventure flick, had a better chance. Zauzmer "politely thanked him for...
Its road trip time for Penny Goldstein's friends. They are on their way to the Jewish Pavilion Fashion Show that is honoring their friend. When one friend called to make her reservation, Goldstein told her it was too much to travel from Tampa. She just laughed and invited more friends. They are pleased to be part of honoring their friend. Marci Gaeser, Fashion Show chair, loves this occasion because it brings women of all ages together for a happy and fun event that showcases the latest...
Jewish Academy of Orlando hosted its annual gala with much fanfare. This year's theme, Wonderland Gala, paid homage to the school's upcoming musical and highlighted the wonders of JAO: the students, faculty, families and greater community. Attendees dressed in "Mad Hatter Chic" attire and enjoyed the magical night at the Citrus Club. The event honored two generations of one of Orlando's cherished families: Ellen and Simon Snyder and Jodi and David Krinker. These individuals are pillars of the...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Sen. Elizabeth Warren indicated she would skip the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC's conference next month and did not push back against questionable assertions about the lobby from a questioner at a campaign event in New Hampshire. In a sign of how the lobby has become a political lightning rod for Democrats, Warren answered "yeah" when asked if she was planning to skip the conference in Washington in March. "I'm an American Jew and I'm terrified by the unholy alliance that AIPAC is...
(JNS)-The student government at the University of California, Berkeley, erupted into chaos on Monday, delaying a vote on a measure to censure a display by a pro-Palestinian student group. The Associated Students of the University of California Senate's University and External Affairs Committee met to debate student Milton Zerman's resolution titled "Condemning Bears for Palestine for Their Display in Eshleman Hall Glorifying Violent Terrorists." In December, the student group Bears for Palestine...
With the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win on Sunday, its Jewish lineman Mitchell Schwartz is shining as bright as the giant menorah he lights each Chanukah at Kansas City's Chabad House. "He's very comfortable in his Judaism," Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, co-director with his wife, Devory, of Chabad of Leawood, just outside of Kansas City, told Chabad.org. "The first year he came to our menorah-lighting, I offered him a sheet with the blessings. He replied, 'I don't need that,' and proceeded to say...
By Sarah N. Stern (JNS)—Sitting in the East Room of the White House last week, I experienced an emotion as close to euphoria as I have ever experienced perhaps in my lifetime. I was finally beginning to witness that moment in history when some rather fatal delusions that the international community has held dear for decades were finally beginning to erode, at least within certain quarters of the United States. I have been more than a passive player in the history of trying to expose the truth about the real intentions of the Palestinian A...
A few years back when my son was working toward his MBA at Tel Aviv University, he and I decided to do a father/son trip around Israel over a break in his studies. It was about this time of the year when the temperature was mild and Israel was relatively past its major winter storms. Having survived the flight, I was met by my son carrying a hand made cardboard sign with my English name emblazoned in Hebrew letters. I speak, read and write a little Hebrew, but for me the hardest Hebrew words to read are those that phonetically spell out English...
TEL AVIV (JTA)—President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will probably not achieve its stated goal of bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but it might just bring about peace between Israel and more of its Arab neighbors. Here’s why. Over the past several years, Israel has become an appealing partner to Arab states for two main reasons. Ever since the revolutions known as the Arab Spring toppled several regimes and undermined and threatened the stability of others, Israel’s stability in the region has become ever more ap...
I do believe we woke up the children. You think the Flower Children of the 1960s were revolutionary? Just wait! Full confession. Outside of wearing bell-bottom pants and trying marijuana once, I was not a flower child. My first vote for a president was in 1968, and I voted for Nixon. When fellow friends and professors marched against the Vietnam War after Kent State, I joined in. But during that entire day, I was more scared than passionate. Looking back, I wish I had done more. Been more. But it was not who I was at the time. I wasn’t much o...
(JNS)—Leave aside, for the moment, the deepening rows about U.S. President Donald Trump’s “vision” for ending the Middle East conflict. Leave aside the question whether the plan’s lead author, Jared Kushner, and the U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, backtracked on an “immediate” Israeli declaration of sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and the “Triangle” of disputed territory (they didn’t; the need to first map out and agree on the details was stated from the start). Leave aside the uproar among Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria,...
KFAR TAPUACH, West Bank (JTA)—Put simply, President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” is bad news for Israel. In a historic event last week, Trump revealed his vision for solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he says has been one of the most difficult and complex problems to solve. He claims that his plan offers “the most detailed proposal ever put forward by far,” and that it’s a “‘win-win’ opportunity for both sides.” As a Jewish Israeli who has lived in the heart of the Shomron area of the West Bank for the past 30 years, as...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) 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 of Orlando—Monday—Friday, 7:45 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Temple I...
By Wendy Ring Levine & Penny Goldstein D’Agostino Tax season is here and new laws are confusing. Penny Goldstein D’Agostino, Jewish Pavilion CFO and owner of a financial planning and tax service, is available to share some advice. D’Agostino says this year April 15, 2020, is tax day for filing your 2019 tax return. If you file an extension, it is an extension to file your paperwork only. You still must have made your anticipated payment in order to avoid interest and penalties after April 15th. There is no set age to stop paying taxes. Taxes ar...
(JNS)-The quick succession of Palestinian attacks on Israeli security forces in the past 24 hours appears to be a chain reaction of unorganized incidents, each one forming the "inspiration" for the next attacker and each attack forming a link in the terrorist chain. The goal of Israel's security forces now is to cut that chain and freeze the momentum of incidents before they snowball into a wider wave of violence that will be far more difficult to control. In a joint operation launched by the...
(JNS)-Some 30 campus Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries concluded an eight-day training program at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, learning cutting-edge, relevant and effective tools that will allow them to teach about the Holocaust and the growing problem of Holocaust denial. Equally important was guidance on how to grapple with and counter increasing instances of anti-Semitism on college campuses. The emissaries hailed from campuses in North America, Australia and Austria, including Dartmouth College in...
Stories from the Orlando Help Desk Man plans, G-d laughs. No matter how much planning is done, life is unpredictable. Accidents, illnesses and unforeseen circumstances can change life in an instant. Years of planning for a special vacation, moving to Florida for retirement, a wedding, a bar/bat mitzvah, it could be anything, Then one thing happens and changes your world. Often we feel alone. We feel that we have to handle everything. What do you do? How do you handle overwhelming situations? Take a deep breath and take a step back. Let the bad...
Never, ever forget... "Atrocious" isn't a harsh enough word to describe the Holocaust! I read the following recently and pass it along to you: "In his remarks at the opening back in October, PROKOPIOS PAVLOPOULOS, president of the Hellenic Republic, noted that at a time when admirers of Nazism and fascism are emerging again in Europe, the need to remember that the Holocaust was the most atrocious crime against humanity is critical. President Pavlopoulos highlighted the need to remember, for the...
(JNS)-Film director Quentin Tarantino spoke to Yediot Achronot in a full-length interview published last week about his new "wonderful" life in Israel with his wife, Israeli singer and model Daniella Pick, who is pregnant with their first child. The "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" director told the publication, "Really, my life here [in Israel] is so wonderful." He said he has some "short trips" back to the United States planned for the Oscars awards ceremony, but his family will be in...
The 2010s saw chickpeas rise to fame in the manner that God always intended. The king of chickpea dishes, hummus, turned from a hippy health food to a fridge staple. This was great in terms of accessibility, but not so great for preserving the authenticity of the dish. I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times: Hummus is not a catch-all term for dip. It means "chickpea" in Arabic, so if a product contains little-to-no chickpeas and too many other funky ingredients (edamame, pumpkin, and...
If I'm hosting brunch, it's a pretty sure bet that I'll make shakshuka. Saucy, spicy and runny with egg, it's a universally beloved dish that, to its credit (and my eternal disappointment), never yields leftovers when I make it, a sure testament to its popularity. I make my regular shakshuka with fresh tomatoes and peppers, which leaves me in somewhat of a bind come wintertime, when neither are in season. Rather than use canned vegetables (they have their place; shakshuka is not it) I've...
Americans don't have nearly the appreciation that Israelis do for quiche. In the States, it's an unimaginative brunch addition that never really shines. But in Israel, it's the star of many lunch tables and an incredible dairy dinner. Not to mention Shavuot, which could literally be called the "quiche holiday." So what makes this Israeli-style quiche, known as a pashtida, so different than what you find elsewhere? First, the filling is far more creamy rather than eggy. A combination of three...
