Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 40
The weekend of Jan. 11-12, a brand new 9,000 square foot Hillel was opened at Florida State University. FSU serves nearly 3,000 Jewish undergrads and this marks the second brand new Hillel facility to be inaugurated in the State of Florida in the past six months. Although it hasn't had an official "grand opening" yet, in August 2013 Central Florida Hillel opened a new 20,000-square-foot facility located at UCF to serve the 6,000 Jewish undergrads. Shown here (l-r): Melanie Annis, executive... Full story
Congregation Ohev Shalom invites the community to attend its gala, ‘Sunday Night Live!,’ a new improv designed by professionals that will entertain everyone. The gala, to be held Feb. 9, beginning at 5 p.m., will be an evening of gourmet hors d‘oeuvres, dinner and desserts by Arthurs, as well as live and silent auctions. Items to be auctioned will include a new 2014 Hyundai Elantra GS, a Vespa scooter, and a trip for two to Russia. In addition to the dinner and auctions there will be live entertainment ranging from mime to opera, and a “super f... Full story
When the Jewish Community Center's Jack & Lee Rosen Southwest Orlando campus celebrated its grand opening in fall 2009, leaders of the project envisioned a day when its sparkling new halls would be bustling with activity. After five years of building community, strengthening family life, and promoting Jewish values, JCC leaders are celebrating its early success. "When I first started, the JCC's Rosen campus was literally an open field and dirt, plus preschool portables we had been using since... Full story
The Jewish community's singers, dancers and performers are getting ready for Choices on Feb. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Rosen Plaza. The Women's Division event will showcase a Broadway-style revue showcasing Jewish life in Central Florida and will highlight the work of this community's agencies. The show is being produced by Tim Evanicki, owner of Starving Artist Studios. His extensive resume as a performer, show writer, music director and director spans the globe. He has written shows that have... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and MyJewishLearning (MJL) announced their intention to merge the two organizations. The combination will bring together two strong, growing and respected nonprofit media organizations dedicated to providing readers with news, information, content and interaction on Judaism and Jewish topics, without political bias or denominational bent. The planned merger will allow the two organizations to increase revenues and grow readership through the formation of unified and expanded audience d... Full story
Americans with Israeli bank accounts may be in for a financial nightmare in just several months if they haven't filed their taxes properly. According to Charles M. Ruchelman, a member of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Caplin & Drysdale, some Israeli banks are already notifying U.S. account holders that they may be disclosing the relationship between the Israeli banks and their U.S. owners to the U.S. Department of Justice, which could result in fines-or even prosecution-for Israeli account... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate Special Committee on Aging today heard Holocaust survivors, their family members and Jewish community professionals call for social services to help low-income survivors live in comfort and dignity in their homes and communities. The Jewish Federations of North America praised the committee’s Chairman, Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), and Ranking Member, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), for convening the panel on this pressing issue. JFNA is submitting testimony for the record by William Daroff, Senior Vice President for... Full story
Many Jews and non-Jews are unaware that nearly one million Jews were driven out of their homes in Muslim countries. For more than 2,500 years, these Jews resided in substantial numbers in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf region-fully 1,000 years before the advent of Islam. Following the Muslim conquest of the regions, under Islamic rule, Jews were considered second-class citizens but were, for a period of time, permitted limited religious, educational, professional and business opportunities. However, upon the declaration of the... Full story
Kabbalah comes from the Hebrew root meaning “to receive.” While popularly associated with Jewish mysticism, in its general sense kabbalah refers to something passed down from generation to generation. The idea of someone creating their own original kabbalah is just one of many misconceptions and misrepresentations surrounding Jewish esoteric teachings. In the last 20 years, a number of high-profile celebrities have become involved in a popular form of these ancient teachings, further clouding already murky waters. With all this in mind, Rab... Full story
LAKE MARY-OMG! A Battle Between Faith and Logic will launch in select cities across the world this winter for Jewish teenagers, and is being offered at Chabad in Lake Mary. This course is specially engineered for the thinking youth who grapples with the seeming discrepancies between religion, philosophy, and science. OMG! is scheduled to launch on Feb. 5, 2014 at 7 p.m. Are religion and belief in G-d outdated and irrelevant? OMG! will jump right into the heart of the debate between atheism and... Full story
One of the highlights of the Jewish Federation's Choices event is their spectacular raffle. This year the raffle will feature a $1,000 shopping and beauty spree from Neiman Marcus, fine designer jewelry courtesy of Be on Park, a monthly flower arrangement delivered to your home courtesy of Lee James Floral designs, just to name a few. The beauty of the Choices raffle is that raffle tickety buyers can choose what they want to win and don't have to be at the event to be a raffle winner. Raffle... Full story
The intensifying Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have caused opponents of a Palestinian state to revive former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir’s 1969 canard that “there is no such thing as a Palestinian people.” However, “Palestine Denial” is less a debating point than a conversation-stopper: if there are no Palestinians, then there is no Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and thus no need even to discuss West Bank policies. One problem: Palestinians do, in fact, exist. Last month, Israeli diplomat Danny Ayalon posted a YouTube video ent... Full story
There ain’t much that is new under the sun. Israelis, Diaspora Jews and others who are concerned with us should have ceased hoping years ago for the kind of peace that prevails between the US and Canada, or among the countries of Western Europe. Something like the U.S. border with Mexico might be attainable. That is, a fenced or patrolled border; lines on the outside of people wanting to pass inspection in order to enter; conditions on the other side significantly less than desirable; and the economy on the good side profiting from joint v... Full story
In the 1920s, the Jerusalem Waqf, the local Muslim religious authority, published and distributed a pamphlet for visitors to the Haram al-Sharif, the Temple Mount. It explained that the location is named Al-Aqsa, in accordance with the Quran reference to the place the prophet Mohammed visited on his night journey to Heaven. It indicated that the prophet visited this site precisely because it was holy since time immemorial, and was where King Solomon built the Jewish Temple for divine service. The Temple connection is also reflected in another... Full story
There was a time when American Jewish families sat shiva when a child married out of the faith. Even two or three decades ago the prevailing attitude was one of disappointment, embarrassment and regret, coupled with a parental commitment to make the best of it and hope the grandchildren would be raised as Jews. Times have changed. With the increase in intermarriage has come greater communal acceptance, to the degree that for some Jewish religious leaders it is no longer standard to publicly endorse endogamy, or Jewish in-marriage. For them... Full story
Several incidents, seemingly centered on Israel, sparked nationwide reactions from academic institutions and Hillels in recent days. I would argue, though, that they have much less to do with Israel than we might think. First, dozens of university presidents and provosts around the country rejected the boycott of Israeli academic institutions recently adopted by the American Studies Association. In response, they pointed to the importance of free speech and free academic exchange. Second, at the University of Michigan, an anti-Israel student... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—When I first heard about Ariel Sharon’s stroke—the first one, a minor brain attack about four weeks before he suffered the massive hemorrhage that would leave him comatose for the final eight years of his life—I was having dinner at a Jerusalem restaurant with a colleague from The Jerusalem Post. We both sat transfixed as we watched the TV over the bar. It was December 2005, just five months after Sharon had completed Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and there was a sense that Sharon was in the midst of engineeri... Full story
Dear Editor: A person’s perception of any other individual is always influenced by what is “public” and what is “personal.” There is the public Arik Sharon—which has been and will be written about, especially now with his death. Then there is what I would call the “personal”—the individual I got to know on a somewhat personal level. Two experiences... 1) OK, you may not consider this first experience so “personal” as it happened with about 200 other people—but, to me it was. During my tenure as the executive director of the Greater Orlando Jew... Full story
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 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., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, JANUARY 24 Ligh... Full story
Temple Israel of Brevard County presents Cantor Lisa Levine, Artist in Residence, on Friday Feb. 14 -15. On Friday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m., Cantor Levine will lead a Soulful Shabbat Ruach, an original Shabbat evening service written by Cantor Lisa Levine. It was created to appeal to young and old alike, people of different faith backgrounds and inclusiveness. Prayers are said in both Hebrew and English. This event is open to the public. On Saturday, Feb. 15 at 10 a.m., Cantor Levine will lead congregants in Yoga Shalom, a unique worship experience... Full story
Community-wide Shabbat service in Ormond Beach The Jewish Federation of Volusia and Flagler Counties, Inc. in cooperation with area temples, invites the public to the 31st annual community-wide Sabbath service on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Beth-El, 579 North Nova Road, Ormond Beach, Fla. 32174. Participating in the service are Rabbi Barry Altman (who will be retiring in May) of Temple Beth-El, Rabbi Steven David Kane of Congregation B’Nai Torah, Rabbi Garry G. Perras of Temple Israel of Daytona Beach, Rabbi Reuven Silverman of T... Full story
A monument to gays persecuted by the Nazis was dedicated in Tel Aviv. The monument, the first of its kind in Israel, was constructed in Meir Park, near the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association Center in the central part of the city. The monument is made up of a concrete pink triangle along with a bench and a plaque providing information on the persecution of gays and lesbians during the Holocaust. Gays and lesbians were forced to wear an identifying pink triangle on their clothing in the same... Full story
Diane W. Abramson of Maitland, passed away on Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014, at her residence. She was 79 years old. Born in Albany, N.Y., on Jan. 2, 1935, she was the daughter of the late Lou and Helen Dasheff Weiss. She was married to her late husband, Arnold Abramson, for 54 years, when he passed away in 2009. Diane and Arnold owned and operated an advertising company in Albany for many years before they retired to the Orlando area in 1971. She was a long-time active member of B’nai B’rith Women. Mrs. Abramson is survived by her sons Mark (La... Full story
Richard A. Blum, Ph.D., of Orlando, passed away on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2014, at his residence. He was 70 years old. A native of New York City, he was born on July 28, 1943, to Albert and Eve Griboff Blum. Dr. Blum was awarded a place in the prestigious High School of Performing Arts in New York and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Fairleigh Dickenson University. Dr. Blum earned his master’s degree in broadcasting from Boston University and his doctorate in communication and drama from the University of Southern California. He was a noted aut... Full story
Josephine Easley of Apopka, passed away on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, at her residence. She was 66 years old. A native of Paeroa, New Zealand, she was born on Oct. 1, 1947, to the late Alfred and Mignon Nicholls Bailey. Jo, as she was known, traveled extensively and lived in Israel, New Zealand, Australia and the United States. She relocated to the Orlando area from New Jersey in 1985 and owned an auto garage. Mrs. Easley is survived by her son, Mathew (Ana) of Apopka; her brothers, Michael and Christopher of New Zealand; and sisters, Pamela Staff... Full story
