Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(New York Jewish Week) - At the Brooklyn Amity School, a majority-Muslim private school in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, high school students are taking part in a new Holocaust education initiative with an unlikely ambassador: NBA center and free agent Enes Kanter Freedom. Kanter Freedom, who is Muslim, grew up in Turkey and played for five different NBA teams between 2011 and 2022. Over the last couple of years, he has become outspoken about human rights violations in Turkey and other parts of the...
(JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid have agreed to disband the current Knesset and head to new elections. A preliminary bill will tentatively be brought during the upcoming parliamentary session on June 27. If the motion to disband passes, it will be brought into the parliamentary committee and get sent back to the Knesset, where it will need to pass three formal readings. If the Knesset officially votes to disband, Lapid, who currently serves as foreign minister, will become a transitional p...
On June 6, Tess Wise, founder of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, celebrated her 99th birthday. Tess always challenged everyone to examine the past in order to learn from it; to build a more just society free of all forms of prejudice. The Center encourages everyone to help celebrate her legacy with a donation in Tess's honor. Thanks to a special anonymous donor, all gifts honoring Tess's birthday will be matched 100 percent up to $10,000. Please help the Center to continue...
(New York Jewish Week) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke about the success of the Jewish community in the Sunshine State and the need to fight "wokeness" in an address to a conservative Jewish group in New York City. "They can't cancel me," the Republican governor began his speech, delivered before an audience of approximately 700 at the Tikvah Fund's Jewish Leadership Conference, held at Chelsea Piers. "I'm gonna speak my mind. When the left is having a spasm, that just tells you that in...
Agree, never argue. Divert, never reason. Distract, never shame. Reassure, never lecture. Reminisce, never say "remember..." Repeat, never say "I told you..." Do what they can do, never say "You can't..." Ask, never demand. Encourage, never condescend. Reinforce, never force. Patience and encouragement are essential when caring for loved ones. While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose...
Megan Steinmetz, Congregatio of Reform Judaism president announces that Bari Sigal has been selected as CRJ’s new director of Programing and Member Engagement. Sigal will take the lead on creating and distributing marketing and promotional material to the congregation and surrounding community, oversee the temple calendar, and work closely with the B’nai Mitzvah families in preparation for their celebrations. Segal graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Jewish Studies and min...
In May and June of 2022, Judy Kahan led a weekly grief support group for Jewish people who had experienced a loss. The sessions were held at Cascade Heights in Longwood. Another grief support group will resume in the fall. It is best practice to wait about six months after a death to participate in a group because the group may be too raw. Myrna Ossin commented on the experience. "Judy Kahan did a great job in leading the sessions. She gave everyone a chance to talk and provide some worthwhile...
(JNS) — Heads of major Jewish organizations, led by the Jewish Agency for Israel, delivered a letter to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett calling on the Israeli government to designate those killed in anti-Semitic incidents outside of Israel as official victims of terror. The letter urges the prime minister to commemorate these victims in state ceremonies, as they are an “integral part of national memory.” The request follows an initial appeal by Yaakov Hagoel, the Jewish Agency’s acting chairman of the executive and chairman of the Wor...
(JNS) — Yeshiva University in New York is the latest academic institution to acquire the unabridged version of the Shoah Foundation Visual History Archive, a collection of audiovisual interviews comprising 54,000 eyewitness testimonies of witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as genocides in Nanjing, Rwanda, Armenia, Guatemala and Cambodia. The archive was established by film director Steven Spielberg in 1994 to videotape and preserve interviews with survivors and other witnesses of the Holocaust. It allows users to learn about the...
SARASOTA, Fla. (JTA) — A synagogue in Florida filed a lawsuit this week to challenge the state over a new law prohibiting abortion after 15 weeks. Under current law, Florida allows abortions up to 24 weeks. Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor of Boynton Beach claims the new law, which has been signed by Republican Governor Ron De Santis and is set to take effect on July 1, violates the religious freedom rights of Jews. The lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Leon County Circuit Court, claims that the act “prohibits Jewish women from practicing their...
(JTA) – David Brog has overseen pro-Israel organizations with significant Republican backing for more than two decades, but his own attempt to make inroads for himself as a GOP candidate fell short Tuesday in Nevada. Brog lost his Republican Congressional primary race in the state’s 1st district to former Army colonel Mark Robertson, in a spirited eight-way race to represent the GOP in what’s likely to be a competitive general election for the recently redrawn Las Vegas-area district. Brog finished with just over 17 percent of the vote, a dis...
(JNS) — On the face of it, the “Mapping Project” undertaken by Boston BDS was a disaster for the antisemitic movement. In recent years, many on the political left had begun drifting from the sort of harsh critiques of Israel championed by groups like J Street towards the openly anti-Zionist stance of Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow. But the colorful map published by the group that targeted the entire Jewish community was enough to shock even many of those on the left-wing of the Democratic Party into condemning the project. Indeed, the M...
It’s summer. Time for vacation. Maybe the beach. Maybe that foreign trip postponed the past couple of years? One thing for sure, books will be part of the agenda. Summer = books. It is a time when we naturally just chill. Why do book sales escalate in the summertime? Why are new releases always scheduled for this time of year? It is traditional that be it the beach, the mountains or a local hangout, books get packed to tag along. For some reason we allow ourselves the liberty wherever we vacation to read. That’s why book publishing booms in...
(Jewish Journal via JNS) — It was January 2020, in a small cafe in Givatayim, that I last met with the celebrated Israeli author A. B. Yehoshua, who passed away on June 14 at the age of 85. That was January 2020 B.C. — Before COVID — so there were no discussions of pandemics, viruses or vaccines (those were the days). The only health issue we talked about was the difficult battle with cancer that Yehoshua was facing. This wasn’t the first time we had met, but due to his health issues, this meeting felt different. When we sat down for that cu...
(CAMERA via JNS) — If further proof were needed that the BDS campaign against Israel is deeply antisemitic, a venomous “mapping” campaign defaming and targeting Boston-area Jews provides stunning evidence of it. A Boston BDS group recently publicized an online map that lists the addresses of Jewish institutions across Massachusetts. The group called on followers to use the addresses to “dismantle” and “disrupt” the institutions in question. Although the project was slammed as antisemitic and dangerous by members of Congress, the city’s leadin...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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. Congr...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — After returning to full operations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport is having difficulty coping with heavy passenger traffic as the summer travel season gets underway. Even though the airport has reopened Terminal 1 and airport director Shmuel Zakai is on the floor himself helping conduct security checks, the lines remain long. Zakai has said that the airport is having difficulty recruiting new staff and is facing a shortage of some 1,000 workers. Zakai said he expects it...
The pleasant, heart-warming re-incarnation of ABC's "The Wonder Years" has offered a bar mitzvah episode, as did the original series in 1989. The setting is Montgomery, Alabama, during the late1960s, when Blacks were fighting for civil rights and Jews still wanted simply to be accepted. Written by Yael Gatena, the episode begins with some boys throwing pennies at Brad Hitman (Julian Lerner) in front of his friends, goading the Jewish lad to pick them up in order to be true to stereotype. His...
Pashtida (a crustless quiche) is beloved and common in Israel, where it is enjoyed at everything from potlucks, school events, shivas, and everything in between. It's also commonly prepared for Shavuot and Sukkot. The versatile dish transports well, and there is no right or wrong way to make one. Israelis make pashtida all year long, but it's a dish especially perfect for warmer climates and seasons, when it's just too hot to spend hours in an overheated kitchen. Plus, during warmer months, ther...
(JTA) - Days after defending their decision to play in Tel Aviv, the hometown of their bass player, the indie folk rock band Big Thief canceled two scheduled Israel shows, writing that they "oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people." Last week, the Grammy-nominated band had announced two shows at Tel Aviv's Barby venue in July, and said that they would donate the gig profits to NGOs that aid Palestinian children. They also noted that they wanted to...
The Jewish Pavilion held its most recent cocktail party at Land Rover Orlando. A wonderful time was had with great food, great drinks, a little bit of dancing and being able to socialize with friends old and new. Carina Borkon and Jason Mendelsohn organized the event. Their tireless effort to help raise money for the Jewish Pavilion was inspiring. Overall approximately 150 people came to the event and enjoyed the evening. The Pavilion raised around $3,000, and donations are still being...
The Jewish Pavilion takes pride in the many volunteers who offer compassion, skill and understanding to hundreds of seniors living in Central Florida. Along with helping to enrich these lives, a volunteer is able to benefit in a variety of ways. Volunteering increases self-confidence. A sense of accomplishment occurs when doing good for others. Volunteering combats depression. Having regular contact with others, volunteers can develop a support system, which in turn can protect against stress when going through challenging times. Volunteering b...
The music I love … If you’re like me, you too will consider that “Rap is Crap”! I love and perform the good stuff, the music of the 30s and the 40s…not rock and roll & (heaven forbid) rap! Maybe the music I love will live on… or maybe, with today’s teens, it will go by the wayside. But why should I care? I am considered a senior citizen. (NOT MENTALLY!) We lost one of the best … I’m referring to Stephen Sondheim, of course. He was one of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater. Stephen was born in New York City (of cou...
(JNS) — Researchers at Tel Aviv University have published encouraging test results of a procedure that could lead to a one-time treatment for patients with HIV. The study was led by Adi Barzel, Ph.D., and Ph.D. student Alessio Nehmad of the school of neurobiology, biochemistry and biophysics at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and the Dotan Center for Advanced Therapies, in collaboration with Tel Aviv’s Sourasky Medical Center, and additional researchers in Israel and the United States. The treatment involves the use of the CRI...
(JNS) - It's not quite New Kids on the Block getting back together, but it's still meaningful. When Blue Fringe released "My Awakening" in 2003, frontman Dov Rosenblatt had no idea that it would sell more than 15,000 copies and that his Jewish rock group that formed two years earlier would take the Jewish music world by storm, performing at Irving Plaza, Makor Center and B.B King Blues Club in Times Square, as well as venues around the world. The singer, guitarist and founder of "Blue Fringe"...
