Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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This story was originally published on My Jewish Learning. (JTA) - My son's hair is more unruly than usual, though that's typical for this time of year. In our family, we follow the custom of not cutting our hair during the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. The Omer is treated as a time of mourning - first marking the deaths of many thousands of Jews in the Bar Kochba revolt and subsequent plague in 132 CE, and later taking on significance as the time of year when Ashkenazi Jews...
(JNS) - Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, known as the "Butcher of Tehran," was killed in a helicopter crash in the country's northwestern East Azerbaijan province on Sunday, Iranian state media confirmed on Monday morning. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Mohammad Ali Ale-Hashem, the regime's representative in East Azerbaijan and Malek Rahmati, the province's governor, were also killed, along with the pilot and co-pilot. They were returning from an inauguration ceremony for a...
By Kim Fischer On Friday, May 17 former presidents of the Jewish Academy of Orlando and members of the community came together to hear from founder Dr. Edward Zissman. He announced to the people present that due to a very generous multi-year gift from Samra and Bernard Gotlib the school will be named “Gotlib Jewish Academy a Community Day School of excellence. This endowment will serve the future needs of the school. According to Samra Gotlib, “the base of your education is elementary school. We are thrilled to share some incredibly exc...
A Proclamation expressing support for the State of Israel and condemning the Hamas terror attack was presented to the Seminole County Republican Executive Committee by Sandi Solomon on May 16. SCREC Chairman Bruce Cherry and the general body voted enthusiastically in favor of the proclamation supporting the State of Israel, recognizing the right of Israel to defend itself and to exist as a sovereign nation. The Proclamation states: WHEREAS, beginning on Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacked the State of Israel, raping, torturing, and murdering over...
On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, nearly 100 female philanthropists attended Jewish National Fund-USA's Women for Israel reception at University Club in Winter Park to learn how they can make a tangible difference in the lives of Israelis who were impacted by the Oct. 7 massacres. The evening's featured speaker was Debbie Zimelman, an award-winning photographer and author who specializes in documenting the lives of women in Israel. Zimelman's photography book, "Women on the Front Lines," highlights...
Originally hailing from south central Pennsylvania, Rabbi Matisyahu Devlin was raised as a devout Catholic. The son of a Catholic father and Jewish mother. He attended Catholic school and mass on Sundays with his 10 brothers and sisters. Judaism at home was scant, so their identity rested firmly on their Catholic heritage and upbringing. Devlin himself was very active in his parish as an altar boy, choir member, and lector. At the tender age of 18, after getting into trouble at school and with t...
The Eleventh Annual Commemoration of the largest mass arrest of Rabbis in US History will take place outdoors at the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront, 32 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, at noon, Tuesday, June 18. This 30-minute event sponsored by the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, is free and all are welcome. On June 18, 1964, at the request of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 16 rabbis and a Reform Jewish administrator in St. Augustine were arrested and held in the St....
The Jewish Pavilion has a new name - Jewish Pavilion Senior Services -and a new logo. The official launch date is June 1. "The reason our board decided to expand our name is that the word Pavilion was unclear and people assumed we have a building," said Nancy Ludin, CEO of the Jewish Pavilion. When the name was conceived 23 years ago, the word Pavilion, which is an open air facility, was selected because the organization is not contained in a specific location but its outreach services affect...
(JNS) — Washington has no “real disagreements” with Israel over its targeted raid in eastern Rafah and war aim of destroying the remaining Hamas battalions in Gaza’s southernmost city, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew claimed in an interview with Channel 12 on Sunday. The interview came just days after U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin confirmed that the Biden administration decided to withhold approval of a sale to Israel of two types of precision-guided bombs. Biden also told CNN last week that he would stop providing weapons to the...
(JNS) — The Hamas terrorist organization has profited at least $500 million off humanitarian aid coming into the Gaza Strip since the start of the war on Oct. 7, according to a report that aired on Israel’s Channel 12 last week. Veteran analyst Ehud Yaari, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told the broadcaster on Thursday that, according to a calculation he made with “a friend—I don’t know if I’m allowed to mention his name,” Hamas earned “no less” than half a billion dollars from the aid. “We provide [this] for...
(JNS) — The ratio of terrorists to Palestinian noncombatants killed during Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is approximately one to one, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed this week. “What Israel has done is take the effort to minimize civilian casualties as no other army has done,” the Israeli leader said in an interview with U.S. author and political adviser Dan Senor on Monday. “We use leaflets, we use millions of text messages, phone calls. We actually call the people, give up the benefit of surprise,...
(JNS) — Egypt has rejected an Israeli proposal to work together with Israel to reopen the Rafah Crossing into the Gaza Strip and manage its operation jointly, two security sources in Cairo told Reuters on Thursday. The Egyptian government demands the crossing be managed only by Palestinians, the sources said, adding that Jerusalem had offered a mechanism for how to manage the crossing after its forces withdraw. Officials from the Israel Security Agency presented the plan during a visit to Cairo on Wednesday, amid rising tension between the t...
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs via JNS) — Only in the world of the absurd can a despicable purveyor of terror, Hamas, carry out a brutal massacre, killing over a thousand innocent people, torturing, murdering and carrying out sadistic mass rape, over a space of just a few hours, and then run home to Gaza taking with them hundreds of hostages. Only in the world of the absurd can the Palestinian representative organization that encourages, finances, supports and represents such murderers be feted and upgraded by the majority of member s...
(JNS) — As Israel marks its 76th anniversary, it celebrates its achievements while reflecting on the ongoing challenges it faces. Despite significant progress, Israel must still defend its right to exist and work to secure its future against persistent threats. This duality of celebration and vigilance highlights the ongoing narrative of a nation striving for stability and peace. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been embroiled in conflicts that have shaped its national security policies and deeply influenced its international r...
(Jewish Journal via JNS) — In today’s cultural void, created by all-consuming political ideology and profound shallowness (cartoonishly filtered selfies, vapid “influencers,” incessant Instaporn), a soul of beauty has emerged to show the world that women still do have brains; creativity still exists; and Israel is still a light guiding us back to sanity. Israel’s Eurovision entrant Eden Golan seemed to emerge on the international stage fully formed, exuding not just immense talent but dignity, poise and almost ethereal grace. She made it to the...
(JNS) — For some time, right-wing Jewish activists have called for a “Jexit” from the Democratic Party. They believe that the Democrats are now an anti-Israel and increasingly antisemitic party. Thus, for Jews to continue their monolithic support for the Democrats is suicidal. American Jews have resisted the call, but post-Oct. 7 things may have changed. While President Joe Biden and much of his party strongly supported Israel after the massacre, many Democrats did precisely the opposite. The Red-Green Alliance between the progressive left and...
(JNS) — With polls indicating that U.S. President Joe Biden’s re-election chances are getting slimmer, his campaign advisers have been pushing him to the left and seeking to mollify progressives by more bellicosely criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and punishing Israel by suspending arms deliveries. The more voluble demonizers of the Jewish state are drowning out the pro-Israel majority within his base. If he doesn’t listen to them, perhaps he will heed the advice of veteran Democratic pollster Mark Penn, who expla...
(JNS) — Growing up, I was not one of the cool kids and was bullied a fair amount of the time. In middle school, one such bully used to incessantly pick on me. He was the weakest of the tough kids, so he had to make an example out of someone, so he chose the 60-pound sack of skin and bones that I happened to be in those days. “You better stop it, Jeff,” I warned him one day, as he kicked me. “Oh yeah, what are you going to do about it, wimp?” Something inside me snapped. I hauled off and punched him in the face. I remember the line of blood dri...
MORNING 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 of Orlando — Monday – Friday, 7:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Temple Israel — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3...
(JTA) — An Iranian Jew who has been sentenced to death has reportedly received a one-month stay of execution after a global pressure campaign that included calls for prayer in Persian Jewish communities around the world. The stay came as Iran was plunged into political turmoil when a helicopter carrying its president and foreign minister crashed under unclear circumstances. President Ebrahim Raisi is known by the nickname “Butcher of Tehran” for his role in overseeing executions in the country, whose top official is the supreme leader Ayato...
(JNS) - Pro-Israel candidates fared well in primary races across the nation on Tuesday, although their opponents largely shared their views about the Jewish state. Sarah Elfreth, a Maryland state senator, won the Democratic primary for the state's 3rd Congressional District with $4 million in spending from AIPAC's United Democracy Project super PAC. She defeated Harry Dunn, a former Capitol Police officer who rose to national prominence for his actions defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Before sending the letter she knew would ricochet around the world, Lily Greenberg Call gave her parents a heads-up and said goodbye to her colleagues. Then she went home and prepared for the storm that she correctly predicted would be unleashed Wednesday night, May 16, when she was revealed to be the first Jewish staffer to resign from the Biden administration to protest President Joe Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. Speaking to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency after watching her story unfold in public, Green...
(JTA) — The prosecutor for the International Criminal Court is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant as well as the leadership of Hamas for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges Karim Khan announced Monday against Netanyahu and Gallant — the first ever to charge Israeli leaders by name — echo accusations Israel’s critics have made for months surrounding the war in Gaza: They include starvation as a means of war, willful killing and intentionally targeting civilia...
Adult day-care services can be invaluable for caregivers and their loved ones at any stage, and enrolling seniors in day programs early in their elder journey can benefit everyone involved. Fortunately, finding the right program for you or the seniors in your life is easier than ever as more and more adult day-care providers emerge. Initially, caregivers may face pressure from well-meaning acquaintances to consider day care. It's essential to consider these suggestions but assert boundaries....
