Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - As the United States woke up to news of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida, it quickly became clear that the disaster is an American Jewish tragedy. The 12-story building in the heavily Orthodox enclave near Miami Beach collapsed just before 2 a.m. Thursday, as families slept in its 55 apartments just blocks from the beach. As of Thursday evening, almost 100 people are believed missing, and even as rescue efforts continue, officials fear that many of them are dead. At least one...
An apartment building in Surfside, Fla., partially collapsed early this morning, killing at least one resident and injuring others. The incident also sent first responders from Hatzalah of South Florida racing to the scene, some of whom received training from Magen David Adom specifically about responding to multi-casualty incidents like this morning’s disaster. Michael Strongin, an MDA paramedic currently volunteering for Hatzalah of South Florida until he returns to Israel next year, described a scene of utter devastation. “Half the bui...
Heritage columnist, Mel Pearlman, won an Honorable Mention Award for Journalistic Excellence in Covering Zionism, Aliyah and Israel from the American Jewish Press Association. Only 110 awards were presented to writers, editors, photographers and graphic designers from Jewish newspapers across the country at the 40th annual Simon Rockower Awards in Jewish Journalism program. Pearlman's winning article was "Two Nights in Aqaba, Parts 1, 2, 3," and ran in the Heritage Feb. 14, 28, and March 13,...
From June 29th to July 3rd, America’s largest labor union, the National Education Association will vote on two motions attacking Israel: New Business Item 29 and New Business Item 51. NBIs 29 and 51 are part of a larger pattern. In recent weeks, teacher’s union leaders in San Francisco and Seattle passed resolutions endorsing the destructive Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. BDS systematically promotes national origin discrimination against Israelis, as well as antisemitism more broadly. The purpose of the mov...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week marked the rekindling of the magic of a summer experience in Israel, with the first group of BBYO teens arriving in Ben Gurion Airport on June 14 to embark on Israel Journey, BBYO’s flagship travel experience in the Jewish Homeland. Like the rest of the world, BBYO’s travel programs were put on hold in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this summer, nearly 700 teens will travel to Israel with on a BBYO summer experience, a 52 percent increase over 2019. For teens who were eager to journey to Israel this...
(JNS) - Deborah S. Isaac was elected president of the American Zionist Movement (AZM), the United States federation of 39 Zionist organizations, at the AZM Biennial National Assembly held virtually on Tuesday with more than 400 participants from 30 states. She becomes the first woman to serve as president of AZM, succeeding Richard D. Heideman of Washington, D.C. Six new organizational members were introduced at the assembly: A Wider Bridge; Coordinating Council for the Jewish Homeland; Dorshei...
Mahjong for Beginners Interested in learning how to play Mahjong? Then this class is for you. This 6-week series introduces the fundamental principles of the game — perfect if you are a new player or want to brush up on your skills. The class will meet on Tuesday mornings, from July 7 - August 10, 10 a.m.-noon. Taught by Dale Perrault at The Roth Family JCC The cost is $36 for JCC members; nonmembers, $50. To register visit campj.org. Author Series On July 12, Daniel Silva will discuss his book “The Cellist,” from 8 p.m.- 9 p.m. at The Roth...
Many of the seniors visited by staff and volunteers at the Jewish Pavilion transition from one community to another. The Jewish Pavilion follows them wherever they land. Three dear friends met at Brookdale Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs and today the friendship continues at Cascade Heights in Longwood. The trio are not only buddies at Shabbat services but they also dine together and visit one another in their apartments. The group is very impressive. Elizabeth Taylor (real name) (center in...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A letter from 73 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including a number in leadership positions, urges President Joe Biden to make a number of moves to reverse what they call the Trump administration’s “abandonment of longstanding, bipartisan United States policy” on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Among other things, the letter sent Wednesday calls for Biden to firmly consider Israeli settlements illegal and the West Bank occupied, two things the Trump administration stated that it would no longer do. “Make c...
(JTA) — Three days after igniting a social media firestorm by removing an Israeli food truck from a festival, a Philadelphia group has apologized — and vowed to “make up for our mistakes with help from our community.” Eat Up The Borders, which showcases immigrant chefs and international cuisine, said it rejected the charges of antisemitism from around the globe after removing Moshava because of local criticism of the Israeli government. “We want to be very clear that we do not support antisemitism or allow antisemitism in our spaces,...
(JTA) — The Palestinian Authority canceled a deal that would have seen Israel give it 1 million COVID vaccine doses in exchange for a later shipment. The P.A. made the move because many of the doses were set to expire in the coming weeks, according to Haaretz. By time Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced the cancellation, 100,000 of the doses had already been delivered. The decision, made Thursday by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and approved by Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, constituted a change of Israeli policy followin...
As the AIPAC consensus — the norm for American Jewish political life for decades — recedes, the “American Jewish Left” is becoming increasingly visible and heterodox opinions on the left are proliferating. However, with that profusion comes the need for distinction and nuance about the spectrum and character of that new left, not least in terms of how its constituent camps relate to Israel’s statehood and the Israeli occupation. Etan Nechin’s recent piece (The American Jewish Left’s Untimely Abandonment of Israel’s Leftists), with which I la...
(JNS) — When discussing the history of the establishment of Israel, a commonly parroted trope within anti-Israel and anti-Semitic circles is that the nation was founded by Jewish people who “colonized” the land and displaced more than 1 million Palestinians in 1948. This is an absurd and historically inaccurate narrative. National Students for Justice in Palestine and its chapters across the country are infamous for spreading this libelous claim. For instance, the website for its New York chapter states, “We are unapologetically anti-Zi...
(JNS) — It was perhaps the most important meeting in Jewish history, but it was also simply a discussion between two old friends. Harry S. Truman was the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world. Across from him in the Oval Office sat Eddie Jacobson, his former business partner and army buddy. Chaim Weizmann, a Zionist leader, was in Washington and Truman refused to meet him; Jacobson had come to the White House to ask him to reconsider. The discussion did not begin well. Truman had not been in the best of moods, and J...
(FLAME on JNS) — With antisemitism at record highs in the United States and around the world, many prefer to focus purely on right-wing and neo-Nazi Jew-hatred, rather than on the larger problem: Hatred of Jews and the Jewish state in the Arab and Muslim world, home to a population of hundreds of millions. Unfortunately for the truth, the intersectionalist left is quick to oppose factual evidence of widespread Muslim antisemitism, using accusations of Islamophobia. Indeed, many on the left dismiss racism on the part of “oppressed people of col...
Yes, “all men are created equal”, but that doesn’t mean we are all identical. Champions of woke ideology have found a new enemy: special educational programs for the gifted. Last week another special ed curriculum for the gifted in mathematics in New York City has been canceled. It joins a movement spreading around the country to eliminate any special programming which supports the needs of academically advanced and diversely talented students. After first scrapping gifted entrance exams, the conclusion in woke thinking is to abolish gifte...
(JNS) — As a Jew residing in a suburban Jewish bubble, my congressman, Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), has been largely unseen where the mounting anti-Semitism from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party is concerned—with one exception. He seems not to grasp fully the stark reality that the nation’s hallowed halls are bleeding pure, unadulterated racism. He and his 25 Jewish colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives remain compliantly huddled under the shadow of party boss, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Pelosi, calculating the neces...
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. Congregatio...
(JTA) — The Orthodox Union is setting up meetings between members of Congress and Orthodox Jewish constituents who are alarmed by antisemitic incidents since last month’s Israel-Gaza conflict, and by what they see as Congress’ failure to have Israel’s back. “Many in Congress failed to stand up for Israel’s right as a sovereign nation to act in self-defense,” says a page on the umbrella group’s website that facilitates meetings between constituents and their lawmakers. “Further, while the battle between Israel and Hamas raged, we witnessed a sh...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling on Egyptian and international mediators to pressure Israel to "lift the blockade on Gaza, finalize the rehabilitation matter, and stop the provocations in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan." The terrorist groups also called on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and within the Green Line to "prepare for a security escalation." "The resistance won't stand idly by in the...
(JTA) - Standing poolside in Barcelona, Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky beamed with pride and satisfaction as they struggled to catch their breath. The two athletes from Israel on Sunday had just clinched the fourth slot in the Women Duet category of the Artistic Swimming Qualification Tournament in that city in Spain, assuring their participation in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. But the commentator who narrated the tournament for TV3, the state broadcaster of Catalonia, the separatist Spanish...
Challah baker Katharina Arrigoni lives in a town in northern Switzerland with 3,000 residents, none of whom - including Arrigoni – are Jewish. Entirely self-taught, Arrigoni has never tasted a challah other than her own creations. Yet thanks to the power of the internet and Instagram, Arrigoni has become an international challah-shaping sensation. Arrigoni is the founder of Besondersgut (German for "especially good"), a bakery and baking school located about 15 miles from Zurich. She started b...
I don't sleep well at night ... I used to wonder why, but now I know. What kind of a world is this coming too? I am worried, not so much for myself but for my children and grandchildren. I probably watch too much news each day and night but I can't help it, especially with these fabulous journalists ... WOLF BLITZER, an American journalist, is one of my favorites. He was born in Augsburg, Germany, and hosts his show on CNN television. CHUCK TODD, born in Miami, Florida, is moderator of "Meet...
(JTA) — After being blasted by critics for staying in the Israeli prime minister’s residence well over a week past his ousting from the role, Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to leave — in another three weeks. He and his successor, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, released a joint statement Saturday that says Netanyahu will depart by July 10 and until then, no official state meetings will be held there. Netanyahu had stayed in power through a series of close elections over two years and multiple corruption cases that made him the first prime minis...
After discovering a suspicious lump in her breast one day while in the shower, Abby Match was diagnosed in August with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She subsequently underwent a bilateral mastectomy, a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. It was only after she discovered she was sick that Match, 35, learned she was a carrier of a mutation in her BRCA1 gene - associated with a significantly elevated risk for developing breast cancer at a young age, and also for ovarian and other...
