Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles from the September 25, 2015 edition


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  • Scene Around

    Gloria Yousha, Scene Around|Sep 25, 2015

    A FAIR United Nations? (We can only hope.)... I read this in the latest World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. (But I sort of new it already.) I pass it along to you: "Some 1,000 participants from a dozen countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands and Switzerland, gathered in Geneva on June 29th (before the massive immigrant migration from Syria) to express their support for the State of Israel as the UN Human Rights Council held another debate on... Full story

  • Sharing Rosh Hashanah with our senior citizens

    Sep 25, 2015

    \The Jewish Pavilion is in the process of providing Rosh Hashanah services to over 50 Senior Nursing Homes/Assisted Living/Rehabilitation Centers/Independent Living in the Central Florida area. These services bring the Jewish New Year's traditions into senior facilities where residents dip apples into honey, eat honey cake and raisin challah-all to celebrate and wish for a Sweet New Year. The sound of the Shofar typically concludes these services, which are open to all faiths. Shown here are Lak... Full story

  • The Jewish writer and actor who is 'the voice of black America'

    Curt Schleier, JTA|Sep 25, 2015

    (JTA)-Danny Strong is probably most recognizable as being "that Jewish guy" on TV-he played eager adman wannabe Danny Siegel on "Mad Men" and the nerdy, perennial victim Jonathan Levinson on "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer." But, among those in the know, Strong may be best known as the "voice of black America," as one showrunner sarcastically quipped. He's the co-creator of the hip-hop-themed TV hit "Empire" and he also wrote the screenplay for Lee Daniels' "The Butler." "Empire" is centered on the... Full story

  • Jerusalem tense after days of clashes in Jerusalem's Old City

    Linda Gradstein, The Media Line|Sep 25, 2015

    For the past three years Shai, an ultra-Orthodox man wearing a black suit and black hat despite the oppressive heat, has lived in the Old City of Jerusalem, where his children study. Last month, he was walking on Shalshelet Street in the Muslim quarter, when he says his path was blocked by a group of teenagers, one of whom spat at him. “I just lost control and shoved him hard, and a fist fight started,” Shai, who asked not to give his last name told The Media Line. “The border police showed up, and they grabbed the teenager and really beat... Full story

  • On Greek isle of Rhodes, Jews return to celebrate ancient community all but wiped out

    Gavin Rabinowitz|Sep 25, 2015

    RHODES, Greece (JTA)-Each summer, tens of thousands of tourists descend on Rhodes, Greece's easternmost island. They are drawn by the sandy beaches, the turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea, the casino resorts and the prospect of exploring the medieval walled old city that was built by Crusader knights. On a clear day, you can see Turkey in the distance. But for a few, it's an annual pilgrimage, a homecoming that commemorates the Jews of this Mediterranean island who lived here for 2,000 years-up... Full story

  • Schilling compares Muslims to Nazis and gets suspended

    Gabe Friedman, JTA|Sep 25, 2015

    (JTA)-As a top pitcher in Major League Baseball for nearly 20 years, Curt Schilling didn't make many errors. On Aug. 25, however, he acknowledged that he made a costly one. On that morning, the three-time World Series champion tweeted an image of Hitler against a dark blood-red background that compared modern Muslims to the German population under Hitler. Schilling deleted the tweet shortly after posting it. "It's said that only 5-10 percent of Muslims are extremists," the graphic read. "In... Full story

  • Elvis lives-at Israeli restaurant and gas station

    Deborah Fineblum Schabb, JNS.org|Sep 25, 2015

    To appreciate how much Israelis love Elvis Presley, you just have to hear three generations of the Mizrachi family of Rehovot crooning, "Wise men say only fools rush in...but I can't help falling in love with you." The Mizrachis-mom Aliza, sons Asaf and Yehoram, and granddaughter Kahila-had just downed some American-style burgers at the Elvis Inn, a restaurant, convenience store, and gas station that proudly claims to be the only Israeli institution devoted to The King. And they were busy... Full story

  • As Europe grapples with migrant crisis, Israel considers its own

    Ben Sales, JTA|Sep 25, 2015

    TEL AVIV (JTA)—With hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring across the borders of the European Union, German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a landmark change in policy last month: Germany would begin to accept Syrian refugees, no matter how they got there. Four days later, Israeli Interior Minister Silvan Shalom made a statement on the same topic, but with a different tone: Israel would do everything possible, he said, to remove migrants from its borders. “I continue to fight, with all my effort, against the phenomenon of illegal inf... Full story

  • Weekly roundup of world briefs from JTA

    Sep 25, 2015

    Pope’s White House visit to coincide with Yom Kippur (JTA)—Pope Francis’ visit to the White House will coincide with Yom Kippur, meaning that no rabbis likely will be in attendance at the arrival ceremony. More than 10,000 guests are expected at the ceremony, the Washington Post reported, adding that D.C.-area Jews on their way to synagogue will face traffic jams. “The Holy Father has a very complicated schedule for this trip, so we worked with that schedule as best we could,” Melissa Rogers, executive director of the White House Office of... Full story

  • Nefesh B'Nefesh brings 232 new Olim to Israel

    Sep 25, 2015

    An El Al Boeing 777 chartered by Nefesh B'Nefesh departed New York's JFK International Airport today carrying 232 Olim (new immigrants) from the U.S. and Canada who will begin new lives in the Jewish State. The flight was facilitated in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Le'Israel, JNF-USA, and Tzofim-Garin Tzabar. Fifty-nine of the inspiring young men and women on board will volunteer for the Israel Defense Forces... Full story

  • Worth a trek: Searching Moroccan mountains for etrogs

    Ben Sales, JTA|Sep 25, 2015

    ASSADS, Morocco (JTA)-We had to cross the gorge, and the only way was to walk single file on a narrow concrete gutter, maybe a foot wide, that bridged the two cliffs. Below us was a long, perilous drop onto the rocky depths. I was traveling deep into the rural communities of Morocco's Atlas Mountains, and so I'd expected to get a little dusty. But no one readied me for this afternoon trek in the desert sun. I was wearing a button-down shirt, slacks and dress shoes, and I was carrying my iPad,... Full story

  • ISIS looting and destroying antiquities in Syria

    Robert Swift, The Media Line|Sep 25, 2015

    The systematic destruction of archaeological sites in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State (ISIS) has appalled and infuriated but failed to motivate the international community to act to prevent the further eradication of the region’s heritage. With the demolition of parts of the ancient ruins of Palmyra in August, the group demonstrated once again its desire to eliminate any symbols, which do not conform to its fundamentalist interpretation of Sunni Islam. But according to experts, there is far more than ideology behind the defacement of a... Full story