Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Boy Scouts from Troop 641 in Maitland volunteered their time April 12 to support the cyclists in the MS150 Bike Ride. Scouts and their leaders cheered on the hundreds of riders as they came across the finish line at the Caribe Royal Hotel. Team 641 had four cyclists participating in the fundraiser for multiple sclerosis: Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster Alex Couchman, Assistant Scoutmasters Dick Couchman, Ed Calish and Mike Pastor. Team 641 has participated in the MS150 for several years... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-May 1 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry (SSSJ) demonstration on behalf of Soviet Jews. The man who inspired the demonstration and became the father of the movement, Jacob (Yaakov) Birnbaum, died April 9 at the age of 87. Birnbaum founded the SSSJ and, together with others including Glenn Richter, developed the first national grassroots Soviet Jewry organization. But Birnbaum's legacy was much greater than any organizational affiliation.... Full story
MAITLAND-After completing an extensive seven-month search, the Jewish Academy of Orlando has named Alan G. Rusonik as its new head of school, the JAO Board of Directors has announced. Rusonik had been serving as Judaic Studies director at the San Diego Jewish Academy and is a former head of school for Congregation Beth Yeshurun in Houston, Texas. He will begin his new role July 1, 2014. Rusonik replaces Lynne Shefsky who retired as head of school more than a year ago. Acting in an interim... Full story
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2014 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented in August at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. “For more than 25 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award,” said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last year’s recipient was Nina Oppenheim. Former recipients have... Full story
(JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to the families of the three people killed by a gunman at two Jewish facilities in suburban Kansas City, Kan. "We condemn the murder that by all the signs was done out of hatred of Jews," Netanyahu said in a statement issued Monday morning, the day after the shootings. "The state of Israel, as one with all civilized people, is obligated to struggle against this blight." The victims were killed in shootings at the JCC of Greater... Full story
(The Algemeiner)-A 40-year-old Israeli man was killed and his pregnant wife was wounded on Monday in a shooting attack near Hebron, Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot reported. The couple were driving near the Kafr Idhna junction on Route 35 with three young children when a Palestinian Arab terrorist opened fire on vehicles on the road. The father was critically wounded and attempts were made to resuscitate him before he succumbed to his injuries. A child travelling in a different car was lightly... Full story
(JNS.org)—The Israeli government is expected to approve an additional annual budget of $289 million in aid for the 200,000 Holocaust survivors living in Israel. The finance and social services ministries are expected to present within a month the alterations to the law needed to increase the budget so that the National Plan for Aid to Holocaust Survivors can be implemented as soon as possible, Israel Hayom reported. The plan will make the aid available to concentration camp and ghetto survivors who immigrated to Israel after October 1953 e... Full story
Machaneh Ohev 2014 invites all Jewish children entering Pre-K through 8th grade in the fall to come to "The Happiest Jewish Place on Earth-Machaneh Ohev Land," June 9-13. The popular, one week, Jewish specialty camp takes place at Congregation Ohev Shalom 613 Concourse Pkwy S., Maitland. The 8th year of camp will take Chanichim (campers) and Madrichim (counselors) into "the wonderful world of Machaneh Ohev where mitzvot come true." Each day participants will have fun exploring different Jewish... Full story
Temple Israel of Daytona Beach will hold a community-wide Yom HaShoah candlelight service on April 27 at 7 p.m. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, this will be a day of remembrance of those who perished in the Holocaust. Guest speaker Dr. Bernd Woolschlaeger will share his personal story of life as the son of a decorated Nazi officer who received the Iron Cross from Adolf Hitler. Upon learning of his past, Woolschlaeger disowned his parents and converted to Judaism. Unanswered questions led Woolschlaeger to... Full story
Temple Israel of Brevard is proud to announce that Rabbi Patricia Ernest Hickman will receive her honorary doctorate of Sacred Music from the HUC-JIR on Thursday, May 8 in New York City. Rabbi Hickman is one of the distinguished communal and civic leaders and alumni that will be awarded with honorary degrees and prizes in recognition of their service to Reform congregations and North American Jewry, and in honor of their humanitarian work. The HUC-JIR is the nation's first institution of higher... Full story
There are many reasons why it is utterly ridiculous for any slightly reasonable person to consider Israel an apartheid state. If, for no other reason, Webster’s Dictionary defines apartheid as “segregation by race.” Israel does not segregate anyone in any way. Israel’s enemies point to the defending border wall Israel built as a reason to label Israel an apartheid state. If that is a valid reason then the United States is also an apartheid state because of their wall on the Mexican border. Everyone must agree it is the duty of a government, in... Full story
In 1977 we had been living in Orlando for less than two years. We had moved from Cleveland and seen a great city begin its slow slide out of greatness. We were active Zionists, frequent visitors to Israel and personal friends of one of the founders of the State, Menachem Begin, who at the time was head of the Herut political party. What the Brits would call a “back bencher,” Begin was in the minority party. However, we awoke one morning in 1977 to the news that Begin had been elected prime minister of Israel and was forming a coalition, whi... Full story
Guess what? There is another proposal for solving Israel’s problem with the Palestinians. Michael Oren, recently Israeli ambassador to the US, has proposed that Israel recognize the impossibility of reaching a deal with the Palestinians, define its borders, withdraw from the rest of the West Bank, and hope for the best. Oren was trashed by the hosts of a popular discussion program for not being at all sure that the international community would accept something the Palestinians would be likely to reject. All this suggests that the end of O... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—According to press reports, the crowd at a recent Republican Jewish Coalition conference “noticeably gasped” when New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie referred to the West Bank as “occupied territories.” Christie promptly apologized to the event’s host, mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, clarifying that his remarks “were not meant to be a statement of policy,” according to a source. This incident illustrates the many semantic land mines involved in talking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The terms employed to talk about the separ... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—When New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie apologized to Republican donor Sheldon Adelson for using the term “occupied territories” to refer to the West Bank, critics pounced. Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show” ridiculed the apology, insisting that the phrase is “widely accepted” and accurate. While the term is indeed widely used to describe Israel’s relationship to the West Bank areas of Judea and Samaria, that doesn’t make it accurate. Indeed, the use of the term “occupied territories” in this context is flawed legally, historically... Full story
It is illuminating to examine the record of the League of Arab States since the founding of the League in 1945, which is hardly a model for peaceful settlement of disputes in the spirit of the United Nations. Prior to the establishment of the Jewish state, the League took the following steps: In December 1945, the Arab League launched a boycott of ‘Zionist goods’ that continues to this day. In June 1946, it established the Higher Arab Committee to “coordinate efforts with regard to Palestine,” a radical body that led and coordinated attempt... Full story
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 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 Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, APRIL 25 Ahavas... Full story
Irving S. Kolin, M.D., of Winter Park, died on April 15, 2014, at the age of 74 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a doctor whose greatest joy was to give people the ability and skills to help themselves. When patients would thank him for saving their lives, he would tell them that he only helped them to heal themselves. Karen Kolin, daughter-in-law and chief clinical research coordinator of the Kolin Research Group, called Dr. Kolin "father, friend and mentor." He once told her... Full story
Melvin Siskind, beloved husband of Zelda Kolodner Siskind, passed away on April 15, 2014. Melvin, the son of Al and Mollie Siskind, was born April 2, 1925 in Lawrence, Mass. He graduated from Valdosta (Georgia) High School and attended the University of Georgia after serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Melvin and Zelda married Nov. 14, 1948, and moved to Sanford where they were the proprietors for 42 years of the Army-Navy Surplus Store on Sanford Avenue. Known as “Mr. Army-Navy,” Siskind was a common sight bicycling to and from wor... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-A key component that unifies a people or nation is a common language. The Jewish people are no exception; the Hebrew language is an essential element of what constitutes the Jewish nation. Hebrew often is the only common language in the room – the lingua franca – when Jews from different parts of the globe get together (native English-speaking Jews aside, for the most part). Conversely, the lack of a unifying language creates a great gulf between people. It leads to mis... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Sitting through an eighth-grade assembly as a police officer spoke of the dangers of bullying, Jacob Gardenswartz thought there had to be a better way to teach these important lessons. "I got the idea to really make it incredible so kids would stay engaged and wouldn't tune out," said Gardenswartz, now a senior at the Francis Parker School in San Diego. He set out to recruit other young actors, mostly from his friends, and formed Theater of Peace: The Beyond Bullying... Full story
Alexandra Jade Grossman, daughter of Karin and Gary Grossman of Winter Park, Fla., will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, May 3, 2014, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland, Fla. Alex is in the seventh grade at Trinity Preparatory School, where she plays middle school volleyball. Her interests and hobbies include, art, music, creative writing, reading and volleyball. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Alex's big brother, Jonah; grandmother, Althea Miller of Lakeland,... Full story
With matzah, charoset, Haggadot and parsley in tow, the students and teachers arrived with enthusiasm and Chag Pesach Sameach on their minds. It is no surprise they were bringing three inter-generational Passover seders to seniors living in assisted living facilities from Lake Mary to Longwood to Maitland. Dozens of seniors joined with students in grades 5-7 from Congregation Ohev Shalom religious school to welcome Pesach and enjoy a Model Seder. The Jewish Pavilion thanks all the many... Full story
Anti-Semitism is alive and well... Sad to acknowledge, but we must keep our eyes open to such hate and we must always remember the slogan, "Never Again." FRAZIER GLENN CROSS (also known as Glenn Miller), doesn't want us to remember it, believe me. He's the hater that shot and killed three innocent people, thinking they were Jewish, on the eve of Passover. While doing the dirty deed, he shouted anti-Semitic slogans, including "Heil Hitler!" The three unfortunate souls he murdered happened not to... Full story
More than 150 members and the community members enjoyed an inspiring and fun time at Cong Sinai Friday night services when spiritual leaders, Joe and Lynn Goldovitz accompanied by two others played their musical instruments and sang Hebrew prayers to contemporary faamiliar tunes. Red and white sweetheart decorations adorned the table as congregants gathered for a traditional pre-service Shabbat meal consisting of chicken soup, salad, roasted chicken and kugel (noodle pudding) prepared by the ladies of the Cong. Sinai. Congregation Sinai in... Full story
