Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Zohran Mamdani has been elected mayor of New York City, delivering a decisive win in a three-way race that divided and in many cases distressed the city's Jews. Mamdani received a significant enough majority of votes that major news agencies declared the election less than 40 minutes after polls closed in the city, following the highest turnout in more than half a century. The results mean that Mamdani, a 34-year-old democratic socialist who ran on a platform of affordability, will now have a...
(JNS) — The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany on Wednesday settled with Germany’s Finance Ministry a $1.08 billion increase in home-care funding for Holocaust survivors for 2026, the largest budget for survivor home care in the organization’s history. The supplemental payments will go to more than 127,000 Holocaust survivors around the world, according to the Claims Conference. With the average age of survivors increasing from 86 in 2018 to 88.5 in 2024, the health needs of the survivors have become greater, with increased co...
This Sunday, Nov. 9, The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center will honor the memory of victims and survivors of the Holocaust, while also encouraging reflection on how to prevent such atrocities in the future. All are invited to come to the Holocaust Center to observe Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November Pogrom. This event will be held from 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Holocaust Center. Register at hmrec.org/events....
(JNS) — On the first day of the Jewish National Fund-USA’s annual Global Conference, held in the heart of South Florida’s extensive Jewish community from Oct. 23-26, CEO Russell Robinson met with representatives from cities not particularly known as bastions of American Judaism. It’s part of a basic business strategy, Robinson told those in attendance. “If you’re not forecasting where your customer acquisition is going to be, if you’re not looking at your customer base and examining those pieces, you won’t be in business long,” he said....
The Jewish Pavilion Senior Services celebrated another successful year of community generosity with its Annual Online Charity Auction, held from October 19–24. The weeklong virtual event drew more than 500 participants and raised an impressive $37,000 to benefit seniors living in long-term care facilities throughout Central Florida. This annual auction is one of the Jewish Pavilion’s most anticipated fundraisers, supporting programs that bring companionship, cultural connections, and joy to eld...
Imagine your parent is in a senior living community. Whenever you visit or call, they tell you about another resident who has the most wonderful daughter. This amazing daughter is patient, compassionate, and attentive. She visits her mother every day. You wonder if your parent is trying to tell you something. How do you respond? If you struggle to get along with your parents, you’re not alone. Relationships are tricky, and families are no exception. Comments like the one above may feel like a personal jab, but it is important to consider the...
MAITLAND, Fla. -Speaking to a packed audience at a Jewish National Fund event in Maitland on Oct. 29, 2025, Glenn Cohen, former Mossad chief psychologist, drew from decades of elite service to teach lessons on survival, resilience, and emotional strength. The message he shared was as harrowing as it was uplifting: the human spirit can endure the unimaginable. Cohen, who joined the Israel Defense Forces in 1982 and graduated from the Israel Air Force Academy as a rescue pilot, went on to spend...
Renee Friedman, FASTSIGNS of Orlando Central franchisee, wins the honor of 2025 Women in Wide Format (ORLANDO, FL) - Big Picture Magazine, one of the leading publications in the wide-picture format printing industry, has awarded Renee Friedman the 2025 Women in Wide Format Award. For a decade, this award has highlighted significant women in the industry for their innovation, leadership, mastery of the craft and social responsibility. In order to receive the award, recipients must be nominated...
(JNS) — Speaking at “The Future of Judea and Samaria” conference at the Inbal Hotel in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Rawan Osman, who has described herself as an Arab Zionist, said that despite breaking away from her antisemitic upbringing, there was one question she “avoided like the plague.” And that was what she thought about “West Bank” settlements. “I used to say: ‘I am not a journalist, not a politician, not Israeli—don’t ask me,’” Osman said. “Until I was invited for a tour in Judea and Samaria. I sat down near a water spring and a pomegran...
(JNS) — According to Michael Fertik, a pioneer in digital reputation management, the Israeli tech scene has matured into one of the world’s most dynamic and, despite regional challenges, now is the right time to invest in the Jewish state. “The internet is a wonderful tool, but it also has a long memory,” Fertik told JNS during his recent visit to Israel, his eighth since Oct. 7, 2023, in a studio interview on Oct 30. “People deserve second chances—and so do countries. Israel’s reputation as a tech powerhouse remains strong, but I believe its n...
Hurricane Melissa has dealt significant damage to the Chabad House in Montego Bay, Jamaica, though Rabbi Yaakov and Mushkee Raskin, who created the Chabad of Jamaica in 2014, and their children are reportedly safe and sheltered in a windowless room. In a post on Instagram on Tuesday, the couple said that they had secured their Torah scroll and were holed up in the room with the mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, which is “fully sealed.” He added that water was coming into the synagogue and asked followers to pray for the family. The hurricane touch...
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Wednesday night that he has directed the U.S. Department of War, his rebrand of the U.S. Department of Defense, to begin testing nuclear weapons “immediately,” after Russia and China have conducted recent tests. “The United States has more nuclear weapons than any other country. This was accomplished, including a complete update and renovation of existing weapons, during my first term in office,” Trump stated. “Because of the tremendous destructive power, I hated to do it but had no choice.” Tr...
A municipal ballot proposal to divest from Israel went before a popular vote for the first time on Tuesday — and pulled off a decisive victory. Question 3 won more than 55 percent of the vote in unofficial election results in the Boston suburb of Somerville, Massachusetts, as the Israel-divestment movement saw the elevation of its most well-known proponent in politics — Zohran Mamdani — to mayor of New York City. Local pro-Palestinian activists claimed victory, with Somerville for Palestine — the group that gathered the signatures required to p...
(JNS) — The Jerusalem Post recently reported that Congregation Shaare Zion, a large Orthodox synagogue serving the Syrian-Jewish community in Brooklyn, had taken an unprecedented step in the run-up to New York City’s mayoral election: Members and their spouses must show proof of voter registration before they can secure seats for the High Holidays. “In approximately two months, New York City will be electing its next mayor,” the synagogue’s executive committee wrote, “The outcome of this election could result in very serious problems th...
(JNS) — The old clichés no longer apply to the U.S.-Israel relationship. It’s time to stop talking about the United States “acting in Israel’s interests” or claiming that “Netanyahu takes orders from Trump.” The relationship has moved beyond those outdated formulas. What we are witnessing now is a genuine alignment of interests—a partnership built not on dependence, but on shared purpose. Its name is peace. This evolving strategy is complex and long-term, requiring patience and a broader view of the regional transformation underway. Report...
(JNS) — The tuition crisis has been on the Jewish community’s agenda for many years. No silver bullet has delivered day school affordability to our families. Teach Coalition has worked together with community leaders, politicians and schools to bring relief in the form of additional government funding. We’ve achieved remarkable progress, but no silver bullet has appeared; until now. With the creation of the Federal Scholarship Program, we are on the cusp of a revolution in Jewish education, making it vastly more affordable and acces...
(JNS) — Former U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann is the only one brave enough to say what too many so-called “friends of Israel” in President Donald Trump’s camp won’t admit: the Gaza plan spearheaded by Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff isn’t just flawed; it’s dangerously disconnected from reality. It risks halting Israel before it can finish the job and effectively rewards barbarism. There’s no question that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are working on something historic—a transformative vision for the Middle East. A new econo...
(JNS) — Since Israel’s founding, one assumption guided its leaders: that America would always stand as the ultimate guarantor of its security. From Truman’s recognition in 1948 to Kennedy’s arms deals and Reagan’s intelligence coordination, this belief became almost sacred. Even moments of tension—such as Eisenhower’s rebuke after Suez or Obama’s Iran deal—were seen as temporary storms in a permanent alliance. By 2025, that illusion was fractured. The world has changed: Washington’s focus drifts between Asia and domestic politics, while Isr...
To the Jewish community of Central Florida: Where were you during the last two years of terror of the Israeli community? There were no rallies showing support for Israel, there were no fundraisers to financially support Israel, there were no parlor meetings (that I was aware of). Basically, nothing done as a community as in the past. As an Orlando resident for 83 years, I cannot ever remember when there was such a lack of open support for Israel by the Greater Orlando Jewish Community — no rallies, no fundraisers, no community action, nada. M...
(JNS) — Hundreds of thousands gathered in Jerusalem for what some called “Prayer for Shalom HaMedina” (Prayer for the Peace/Welfare of the State of Israel), representing a broad, unified front of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi), traditional and Religious Zionist communities. The massive demonstration, characterized by prayer only with no speeches, is a powerful expression of concern over recent arrests of Torah students and, more broadly, a perceived assault by progressive, left-wing forces on the nation’s traditional values and the role of the...
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...
(JNS) — The Anti-Defamation League and the law firm Gibson Dunn announced a partnership earlier this week to launch a nationwide legal network providing free legal services to victims of antisemitism. The new Legal Action Network, which the ADL said comes in response to “a sustained surge of violence and hate toward Jews and Jewish institutions across the United States,” brings together 39,000 lawyers across 35 states, with 40 law firms agreeing to take client referrals or serve as co-counsel. “For decades, victims of antisemitism have come to...
(JNS) — The Israeli military said that the National Institute of Forensic Medicine had identified the remains of Amiram Cooper and Sahar Baruch and notified relatives that the bodies were returned for burial. Cooper, whom Hamas terrorists kidnapped alive from Kibbutz Nir Oz, where he lived, on Oct. 7, was killed in captivity at age 84. He leaves behind a wife, four children and 11 grandchildren, the Israel Defense Forces said. Baruch was abducted alive from his Kibbutz Be’eri home on Oct. 7, and Hamas terrorists killed him in captivity on Dec...
I am not a fan of the supernatural. Except for "Ghost" (I love the chemistry between Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze!) and "Sixth Sense" (What a great ending!), I shy away from any movie that smacks of the occult. And while I respect Stephen King as a writer, I rarely read his best-selling horror novels. But there is one area in which I am a believer: signs from the other side. Several times in my life, I have felt that I have had "visits" from those I had loved and lost. Six weeks after my...
