Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Do you remember the “most interesting man in the world” beer commercials? The creators of that ad got it all wrong because the most interesting man, at least in Central Florida, is Dick Weiner, the recipient of this year’s Heritage Human Service Award. A stately man, Weiner is unhurried, with a dignified appearance. In his humble opinion, he doesn’t think he deserves this award. “I’ve done so little over the last few years,” he told Heritage, then he rattled off names of others he thought were...
Monday evening, July 22, the Maitland City Council, in a 3-1 vote, approved the zoning change needed before the Jewish Federation could move forward with the sale of the vacant JCC building. The way is now cleared to retire the remaining debt on the campus and will be the first time since the 1980s that the Jewish Community Campus has been debt free. Federation Executive Director Keith Dvorchik announced that the closing on the sale of the building should be complete within the next 60 days. Three years ago, the Federation set a goal to retire...
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando is pleased to welcome its new executive director, Philip Flynn. He brings to JFS more than 35 years of experience working with nonprofit organizations. His career has engaged international medical programs, higher education, religious organizations and animal sanctuaries—nonprofits small and large. He has presented internationally as a motivational speaker for non-profit professionals, lectured extensively on revenue enhancement program development and is sought after for macro organizational reviews t...
For the past two years, Orlando synagogue Men's Clubs, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, generous premier sponsors Alan Ginsburg and Aaron Gorovitz, and several other sponsors, have brought three generations of Jewish men together for an evening of camaraderie, top-shelf cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, prime rib dinner (catered by Arthur's) and entertainment by a recognized comedian. This year will be no different-except for a few surprises-one of which is a raffle for the...
Dr. Lee Adler recently arranged a photo shoot at Cascade Heights for the Jewish Pavilion. Bernice Davids was one of the models. She had been a very active volunteer for the Jewish Pavilion for many years. A few years ago, she and her husband, Joe, received the Volunteers of the Year Award. Bernice was briefly interviewed about her life prior to the photographing, and this is what the Jewish Pavilion learned. Bernice Davids was born in Cleveland on June 3, 1930. She lived most of her life in Phil...
Many people have wondered what would happen to the Kehillah exhibit once it was removed from the Orange County Regional History Center. After much consideration of what was actually possible, the organizers realized the exhibit could be made available online to anyone interested in the Jewish history of greater Orlando. "It has taken us longer than we hoped to make this happen, but the results are spectacular, and seeing it all online is very exciting," commented Roz Fuchs, who chaired the task force for the exhibit. "We owe a big thank you to...
Last week, middle school campers from the JCC Camp J visited with residents of Brookdale Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs. They spent several hours playing games and spending quality time getting to know the residents. It was a wonderful partnership between the two groups. - Julie Levitt...
(JNS) Boris Johnson overwhelmingly was elected by his Conservative Party on Tuesday to become the next party leader and prime minister of the United Kingdom. In his victory speech, Johnson, who defeated Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the party race, promised that he would "deliver Brexit, unite the country and defeat Jeremy Corbyn." Johnson, 55, who succeeded Theresa May, comes to power amid several crises wracking his country. He has to deal with a do-or-die Oct. 31 deadline to leave the...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly condemned the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel. The House vote Tuesday, July 23, on the non-binding resolution was 398-17. Opposing were 16 Democrats, including two who back BDS, Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and one Republican, Thomas Massie of Kentucky. The resolution, backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, also enshrines the two-state outcome to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at a time that the Trump a...
(JNS)-The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, died at the age of 72, announced the agency on Monday, July 22. Amano led the nuclear watchdog since 2009 and oversaw the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that simultaneously consisted of secret side deals between the IAEA and the Islamic Republic. Earlier this month, Amano said that Iran had surpassed the uranium-enrichment limit set as part of the nuclear accord. "While I am convinced that the IAEA as an institution will be...
I almost walked out of my first college Shabbat. Not only did I miss the close Jewish community from high school, but I also remained convinced that my new peers would view me as a “fake” Jew. Why? Because my mother isn’t Jewish. Only my father is. I feared saying that openly would evoke chuckles from my peers as well as staff and automatically place me into a category of “second-class Jew,” something I’d encountered in the past. So I avoided the topic of my parents altogether. It’s because of my non-Jewish matriarch that I realized how...
(JNS/Israel Hayom)—The turmoil gripping Israel’s political system ahead of the repeat election in September has not skipped over the Arab parties, among which a war is now raging that makes the struggles among the Zionist parties on both the right and the left pale in comparison. The conduct of the Arab parties and those at their heads could shake things up on the Arab Israeli street to such an extent that the Arab Israeli public, along with the relations between the State of Israel and its Arab citizens, could be put on a new path. The rif...
(JNS)—If further proof were needed to illustrate the futility of diplomatic overtures to the Palestinian Authority, Monday’s attack on a pro-Israel Saudi in Jerusalem is a good example. As part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s regional strategy to forge ties with formerly hostile Muslim-Arab states, the Israeli Foreign Ministry invited a delegation of six media personalities from Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to see the Jewish state for themselves. Up close and personal. As a precautionary measure...
On July 23, the House passed H. Res. 246-a bill that condemns the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel specifically. The vote was 398-17. This is such good news, and a slight reprieve from all the craziness going on in the world. Critics of the bill said that the resolution labels BDS supporters (against Israel) as anti-Semites. If the shoe fits... Anti-Israel BDS is anti-Semitic economic warfare to destroy the Jewish state and people-and is exactly what Nazi Germany did to the Jews...
MITZPEH YERICHO, West Bank (JTA)—On July 8 in Psagot, I addressed the first group of participants on J Street U’s “Let My People Know” Israel trip, their new alternative to Birthright aimed to give American Jewish college students meaningful engagement with key questions related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I was there ostensibly to share my perspective as one of three “settlers,” but also, it seemed, to give the participants a chance to vent at us for perceived injustices we were perpetrating. We explained to the group that Judea...
NEW YORK (JTA)—A recently released Pew Research Center report about global restrictions on religion focuses mostly on discrimination against, and the persecution of, various religious groups in different countries. Jews are prominent targets as always, “harassed in 87 countries... the third-highest figure for any religion.” But the report also turns a spotlight on Israel, yielding headlines like the Jewish Telegraphic Agency’s “Israel has almost as many religious restrictions as Iran.” The headline and the report beneath it were picked up b...
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. Tem...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Palestinians may aspire to a capital in Jerusalem, but do not have a right to one, President Donald Trump’s top Middle East peace envoy said. Jason Greenblatt on Tuesday was previewing the political segment of a long-awaited peace plan. “It is true that the PLO and the Palestinian Authority continue to assert that East Jerusalem must be a capital for the Palestinians,” Greenblatt said at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Middle East peace. “But let’s remember, an aspiration is not a right.” Greenblatt cautioned the diplomats...
(JNS)-Among the some two-dozen 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has sought to position himself as a consensus moderate backing long-held positions within the party. But even with a long track record of executive experience, campaigning this way in such a crowded field that seems to be shifting leftward makes it increasingly difficult to stand out. His candidacy also comes at a time when the Democratic Party is facing questions over its bipartisan...
The Congregation Beth Sholom Sisterhood will have their monthly meeting on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 2 p.m. The meetings are held at the Beth Sholom Synagogue located at 315 North 13th Street in Leesburg with the entrance on Center Street. The meeting and presentation are open to the public. Following the business meeting, there will be wonderful presentation by Marsha Stemerman, our Gabbai, who will share insightful and entertaining stories and information. This is a great opportunity to meet the warm and friendly women of Congregation Beth Sholom...
(JNS)-U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a veteran Democratic lawmaker and icon of the civil-rights movement, is currently co-sponsoring a resolution for and against the anti-Israel BDS movement, leading to questions as to whether or not he supports boycotting the Jewish state. Last week, Rep. Ilhan Omar's (D-Minn.) introduced a bill affirming the right to boycott countries. It was widely seen as a bid by Omar, who openly supports the BDS movement, to push back against U.S. laws banning the boycott...
(JTA)—No matter their political affiliation, all sides can agree that Boris Johnson, who has secured his Conservative Party’s vote to become the United Kingdom’s next prime minister, is a colorful character. As the mayor of London, a position he held for eight years until 2016, Johnson was lampooned by the media for his buffoonery. In one incident, he was wearing a helmet and waving British flags when he got stuck on a zip line that was supposed to be his dramatic entrance into the Olympic Park that year. Also in ’16, his first year as foreign...
A True American Hero... A wonderful talented man who served his country honorably, has passed away. Elliott Golub served as concertmaster of Chicago's Music of the Baroque since its inception in 1972 through 2006. He was formerly concertmaster of the Robert Shaw Chorale and Seventh Army Orchestra and with the Contemporary Chamber Players at the University of Chicago, with whom he participated in many premieres and recordings. He has performed in the nation's capital at the National Gallery,...
On Friday, July 19, the residents of Cascade Heights participated in a wonderful tradition that has been ongoing for several years now, baking with the Jewish Pavilion. This year Ben Breslauer, a local pastry chef who used to own Ben’s Bakery in Seminole County, was kind enough to help out and show us how to make his famous Almond Horns. A couple residents of Cascade Heights along with several local volunteers and some members of the Jewish Pavilion came together to create Breslauer’s special treat. Breslauer brought along most of the ing...
Cheese lovers who haven't tried halloumi, meet your new obsession. Halloumi is a semi-hard cheese originating in Cyprus. Made from sheep's milk, the briny yet mild cheese is popular in Greece and the Middle East, and increasingly in America, too. In Israel, you can find halloumi on practically every cafe menu. Its real magic lies in its high melting point: Halloumi can be grilled or fried without falling apart or melting into a pile of hot (delicious) cheese. Instead, it takes on beautiful grill...
