Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA)-Only one religious group in the U.S. has a federally proclaimed month celebrating their history: the Jews. In 2006, President George W. Bush officially declared May as Jewish American Heritage Month. Yet Jewish American Heritage Month, or JAHM, hardly seems a priority-not in the government, not in the media, not even within the Jewish community. There is not a single paid employee working to organize the commemoration, and neither the federal government nor any Jewish organizations or foun...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-David Rubinger's iconic photograph of three paratroopers at the Western Wall is the defining image of the 1967 Six-Day War. The men in the photo-Dr. Yitzhak Yifat, Tzion Karasenti and Chaim Oshri-have proudly served as symbols of the historic Israeli victory for the past five decades. But in an interview with JTA, they said the war for them was just as much about loss. "To liberate the Kotel was something amazing," Yifat told JTA, referring to the Western Wall. "But we never...
ORLANDO-Medical marketing specialist and author Andrea T. Eliscu, BS, RN, just released "It's Personal: The Art of Building Your Practice," her latest book on how to successfully market medical practices and healthcare organizations. Published by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA), the book explores how in an increasingly digital world, developing and nurturing personal relationships with patients, referring physicians, staff, and the community can help medical practices and...
Teach Florida, a project of the Orthodox Union, secured a historic victory for Jewish schools in the 2017-18 Florida state budget, which allocates $645,000 to enhance security in Jewish day schools. This is the first time that the state of Florida has allocated security funds to Jewish schools, which face urgent security concerns in the face of rising anti-Semitism across the country. Teach Florida helped draft the legislation and advocated strongly for its passage. Teach Florida also advocated for expanding tax credit scholarships for...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-"You make us better," James Comey told the Anti-Defamation League in his final public speech as FBI director. Judging from the applause in the conference room at the venerable Mayflower Hotel here, the feeling was mutual. Mired in investigations of the scandals of 2016 (Hillary Clinton's relationship with her email server) and 2017 (Donald Trump's relationship with Russia), not a lot of love ended up being lost between the FBI director and either party. Democrats called for...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Ten days before Donald Trump was inaugurated, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked visited the Jewish settlement in Hebron. A community of several hundred ensconced in a city of 150,000 Palestinians, Hebron's Jewish residents are considered to be among the most extremist and controversial Israeli settlers. Shaked, 41, wearing black jeans and a loose fleece, had come to support them. "No more excuses-in 10 days we need to keep building in Hebron!" she wrote on Facebook,...
An Israeli veterans organization has released a hard-hitting new video attacking Breaking the Silence—an Israeli NGO that publishes what it says are the anonymous testimonies of Israeli soldiers who participated in abuses against Palestinians—for “lying” about an incident in which a Palestinian prisoner was allegedly beaten unconscious. The group, Reservists on Duty, said that the original Hebrew version of the video had garnered one million views, triggering their decision to release it in English as well. “Organizations promoting BDS such as...
Former Heritage editor, Mike Etzkin, is a proud uncle. His nephew, Brian Etzkin, is the "winningest" head coach of the men's and women's tennis teams in history at Cleveland State University. Etzkin's work was cut out for him when he came to Cleveland as head coach in 2002. Both the men's and women's teams were, in his words, two "of the worst teams in the country." During his first year he brought the men's team to nine wins-six more than the previous two years combined. And since that beginnin...
Do you have unanswered questions about family lost during the Holocaust? Attend the free upcoming JGSGO Workshop “Holocaust Research,” presented by Marlis Humphrey, president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, Thursday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at the Rosen JCC, located at 11184 S Apopka Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL. Mavens will be available to help you get started. Pre-register for the Workshop at www.jgsgo.org/MyJewishRoots. Roots-athon: Whether you are just beginning your family history research or have hit a brick wall,...
It is that time of year once again when Heritage Florida Jewish News is putting out feelers for one outstanding person in the Jewish community who has given his or her time or talent or monetary gifts to better the Orlando Jewish community. Nominations for the 2017 Heritage Human Service Award are now being accepted and the award will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, which will be held Aug. 27. “For more than 27 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, t...
Featuring narrative poetry about real people from the Holocaust, author Holly Mandelkern will launch her first book, "Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Poetry," at The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center on Sunday, May 21. The program will begin with refreshments starting at 2 p.m. and includes a performance by the Lake Nona High School Chorus, readings, introduction of honorees, and a book signing. Mandelkern is a poet, lecturer, librarian, and educator with a special inte...
On March 8, 2016, American Taylor Force was murdered along the Tel Aviv beach. Bashar Masalha stabbed Force and wounded 12 others, including a pregnant woman. Sadly, Force was not the first, and will likely not be the last, American victim of Palestinian Arab terror. More sadly, and shocking, your U.S. tax dollars indirectly motivate, and fund, such acts of terror against Americans, Israelis and others. In light of Palestinian Authority President Abbas meeting with President Trump recently, and...
The Washington Post’s chief correspondent in Israel has discarded all pretense of objectivity and is now openly lobbying for a political cause—and it’s one of the most distasteful causes imaginable: justifying the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) policy of paying imprisoned terrorists and their families. William Booth, the Post’s longtime Jerusalem bureau chief, has never been very careful about keeping his personal opinions out of his news articles. But his May 3 report on PA payments to terrorists crossed the line from journalism to outright advo...
www.carolineglick.com By all accounts, U.S. President Donald Trump is a friend of the Jewish state. It is due to Trump’s heartfelt support for Israel and the U.S.-Israel alliance that his meeting with PLO chief Mahmoud Abbas at the White House is most discouraging. By meeting with Abbas, and committing himself to working toward achieving a peace deal between Abbas and his PLO and Israel, Trump undermines Israel. He also undermines himself and his nation. Israel is the most immediate casualty of Trump’s decision to embrace Abbas and the PLO...
San Francisco State University has been a hotbed of anti-Semitism for decades. During this time, Jewish community leaders either ignored the hostile campus environment or worked quietly behind the scenes, failing to alleviate the problem. But a year after protesters from the General Union of Palestinian Students prevented Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat from speaking, shouting him down with amplified obscenities while the police stood by, the anger in the Jewish community has recently surfaced in a long series of published articles. SFSU President...
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 Israe...
Over the course of three days, beginning June 5, more than 182 Israeli soldiers fell along the Jerusalem front fighting against Jordanian forces in what is ingrained in Israel's collective memory as one of the Six-Day War's fiercest and bloodiest battles. Ammunition Hill, a critical part of the struggle for Jerusalem, is today a Jewish National Fund-sponsored national memorial site that honors and tells the story of the heroic soldiers who died in the fight to reunite the capital city in 1967....
About two years ago, I flew to Israel for the annual conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, held that year in Jerusalem. While in Jerusalem, I toured Yad Vashem, Israel's memorial to Holocaust victims. One of the very powerful exhibits honors "The Righteous Among the Nations"-that small minority who at great risk managed to rescue Jewish people during the Holocaust. YadVashem.org identifies the four major kinds of help that were provided by those few:...
I never knew of this true hero... Tuvia Bielski (May 8, 1906-June 12, 1987) was the leader of the Bielski group, Jewish partisans who set up a camp for Jews fleeing the Holocaust during World War II. Their camp was situated in the Naliboki forest, which was part of Poland between World War I and World War II, and which is now in western Belarus. Tuvia was the son of David and Beila Bielski, who had 12 children: 10 boys and two girls. Tuvia was the third eldest. His brothers Asael, Alexander ("Zu...
Andy Brennan, security director of the Maitland Jewish Community Campus, was among more than 40 security directors from across the nation who convened in early May for a security summit in Washington, D.C. The summit was organized by Secure Community Network (SCN), an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of North America. Much discussion at the summit centered on the rash of bomb threats made against Jewish community centers across the nation, including the Maitland campus, earlier this year....
"When I was so young, I didn't recognize the significance of Israel's becoming a state." So said one of the mature adults at Village On The Green senior community in Longwood, speaking of her memories of Israel's birth as a nation in 1948. "Getting news, especially from other countries, was very different back then," noted another senior, pointing out that she was barely 20 years old at the time. "I kind of vaguely remember hearing about Israel's new statehood once, but really don't remember...
The students of the Jewish Academy of Orlando took a step back in time as all grades visited the fifth grade Living History Museum. This interactive program is the culminating project of their colonial studies unit. The fifth grade students had the opportunity in March to travel to colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, for three days to see first-hand how the colonists lived. Historical figures who lived there in the 1700s were then chosen and researched. Presentations included period costumes and...
We are mourning the passing on April 4, 2017, of a beloved wife, mother and gramma. Born Arlene Silverman on Nov. 7, 1928, she was tall and slender, elegant and stylish. Arlene leaves her husband of 66 years, Bernie, whom she met when he took a ballroom dancing class that she taught. Watching them dance was stunning sight to behold. While raising her children, Arlene was one of the few working mothers in her circle, but she would only take morning jobs so that she was waiting when her daughters, Mara and Andrea, arrived home from school. She pa...
Dora Ackerman, age 97, of Altamonte Springs, passed away on Saturday, May 6, 2017, at Brookdale Island Lake in Longwood. Mrs. Ackerman was born in Romania on Oct. 14, 1919, to the late Usher and Esther Seltzer Siries. She was the widow of the acclaimed Cantor Shabtai Ackerman, who passed away in 2007 and was Cantor Emeritus of Congregation Beth Ahm in West Bloomfield, Mich., and Temple Israel in Deerfield Beach. A homemaker, she relocated to the Orlando area from South Florida in 2014 to be closer to her daughter and family. Mrs. Ackerman is...
Fred Becker, age 81, of Poinciana, passed away at his residence on Saturday, May 6, 2017. Born in Chicago, Ill., on April 8, 1936, he was a son of the late Arthur and Sally Telson Becker. Fred graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He was a manager in the insurance industry for many years. On April 2, 1996, in Las Vegas, he married the former Julie Justinger, his wife of 21 years who survives him. He is further survived by his sons, Ronald (Christina) Becker of...
