Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS)-The United Nations rejected a resolution on Thursday that required a two-thirds majority to pass condemning the terrorist group Hamas for launching rockets from Gaza into Israel in addition to its infrastructure such as building tunnels to infiltrate and attack the Jewish state. The final vote was 87 in favor, 57 against, 33 abstentions. Although the vote was expected to pass through a simple majority, Kuwait proposed a motion to require a two-thirds majority to pass the resolution,... Full story
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)-Sheldon Adelson, the casino magnate, his Israeli-born wife, Miriam, and Haim Saban, the Israeli-American entertainment mogul, entered the deck of the pool complex at the Diplomat Hotel here on Saturday night and chose a table to sit around and well, schmooze. Never mind the frantic security detail that scrambled to find ropes and stanchions to create a cordon and to signal to other pool-goers that this bit of territory was occupied, thank you very much. Saban and Miriam... Full story
(JNS)-U.S. President Donald Trump nominated State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Friday as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, replacing Nikki Haley, who is stepping down at the end of the year. Bloomberg News first reported this development on Thursday night. Nauert, a former Fox News personality, was considered the frontrunner after former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Dina Powell withdrew from consideration. Also touted were U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey... Full story
(JNS)—Ohio State University’s student government overwhelmingly rejected a resolution on Wednesday night, calling on the school to separate itself from firms that do business with Israel. The BDS measure, defeated in a vote of 30-7 with three abstentions, called for OSU to “divest from, and boycott G4S, Caterpillar Inc., Sabra Dipping Company and Hewlett-Packard, all of which benefit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine,” in addition to severing academic ties with the Jewish state. The Undergraduate Student Government’s president and vice... Full story
Jewish Academy of Orlando has launched a new academic program to serve the community. The school welcomes students to its new Transitional Kindergarten launching at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. Transitional Kindergarten is a school grade that serves as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, providing students time to develop fundamental skills needed for success in school in an age and developmentally-appropriate, nurturing setting. "The gift of time is truly one of the... Full story
During the festive Chanukah season, most Jews host or go to at least one party. For the Jewish Pavilion, the season is extra festive (and very busy), with five program directors hosting at least 30 parties at senior living facilities from Poinciana to Sanford. The parties were each a little different, tailored to the residents in each setting, but they shared some essential elements: menorahs were lit or turned on, blessings were made over wine and food, dreidels were spun, chocolate gelt and... Full story
By Brian Blum (Israel21c via JNS)-Some 14 percent of American adults suffer from migraines or severe headaches. Among women aged 18 to 44, the number soars to 23 percent. Currently, no cure for migraines exists, and over-the-counter pain relief medicines do not always work. One of the most promising treatments is occipital nerve stimulation, where a small pulse generator is implanted at the base of the skull to send pain-relieving electrical impulses to the brain. What if the same effect could... Full story
(JNS)-Donna Shalala, 77, is no stranger to politics or the relationship between the United States and Israel. She served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, where she traveled to Israel and helped researchers there obtain grants from the National Institutes of Health, in addition to assisting with other initiatives inside the Jewish state. She then went into the private sector: serving as University of Miami president for 14 years and president of the Clinton... Full story
(JNS)—Donna Shalala, 77, is no stranger to politics or the relationship between the United States and Israel. She served as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton, where she traveled to Israel and helped researchers there obtain grants from the National Institutes of Health, in addition to assisting with other initiatives inside the Jewish state. She then went into the private sector: serving as University of Miami president for 14 years and president of the Clinton Foundation for two years. Shalala, endorsed by t... Full story
(JNS)—Mixing food, especially ice-cream, with politics can be problematic. But Ben & Jerry’s—the iconic Vermont creamery founded by two Jewish guys from Long Island, N.Y.—became a huge success doing just that by convincing customers that their company’s support for progressive causes justified eating a fattening, if not tasty, dessert. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield hit the jackpot by building a business that billed itself as having a social conscience, identifying itself with the effort to save the rainforest and naming flavors after pop-cultu... Full story
A Saudi journalist went into his government’s consulate in Turkey, and may have exited some time later in a number of parcels. The disappearance has riled the media with the persistence of the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation. The folks are holding Saudi Arabia to a much higher standard of justice than should be expected. And it’s Turkey that is among those leading the fray. It is competing with Saudi Arabia and Egypt for leadership of Sunni Muslims. Turkey’s leader may be dreaming of the extent achieved by the Ottoman Empire. And he has his own re... Full story
(CAMERA via JNS)—The Washington Post is finally covering the systematic violations of human rights by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. In an Oct. 23 dispatch, Post reporters Ruth Eglash and Sufian Taha noted “the extreme lengths to which the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip go to curb dissenting voices.” The newspaper highlighted a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that was released on Oct. 23 about “Palestinian leadership’s persecution of journalists and activists.” The Post’s decision to note the repressiv... Full story
(JNS)—My first personal interactions with George Herbert Walker Bush were in 1987, when he was running for president, and I was working for Congressman Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), who was also seeking the Republican nomination. In the folksy one-on-one campaigning that occurred in early caucus and primary states, like Iowa and New Hampshire, the candidates and their staffs would bump into each other in hotels, airports, green rooms, county fairs, candidate forums and debates, such that a familiarity and respect often developed among us all. Despite b... Full story
Dear Editor: I continue to look forward to reading the Heritage to keep up with both the local happenings and global Jewish news. In the Nov. 30 issue, you ran a story titled, “Meet Carlos Lopez-Cantera: Florida’s first Jewish governor (for five days).” We now know that this is not going to transpire, but if it had, he would not have been the first Jewish governor of Florida. We had a full term, elected Jewish governor in 1933. David Sholtz (1891–1953) was elected as Florida’s 26th governor with the largest vote ever given to a gubernatorial ca... Full story
Dear Editor: In response to the letter written by Larry Gutter and Debbie Meitin in the Nov. 30 issue. These writers imply that the Heritage “once again” has committed some kind of serious journalistic flaw by presenting a view they label as “right” and where the authors are not tagged by any “identification of their affiliation, organization, etc. It helps immensely to know the background and perspective of the writer when we read an article.” Apparently the authors commit the same mistake by failing to identify themselves according to the sam... Full story
Dear Editor: I appreciate the pain that Deborah Meitin experienced when she read, without prior warning about the author’s background, the brilliant, informed, political analysis of Caroline Glick in the Heritage. Ms. Glick is not a follower of the Democrat’s ill-conceived narratives. I would point out, however, that the Heritage always presents articles on both sides of the major issues, often on the same page. Some of the news diligently reported in the Heritage is difficult to digest. There were the descriptions of all the Jewish Dem... Full story
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... Full story
(JNS)-As the Israel Defense Forces ploughs ahead with an operation to expose and destroy a network of Hezbollah tunnels snaking their way into northern Israel from Lebanon, the military must also be prepared for the risk of a sudden escalation with the powerful Shi'ite terrorist organization, a former senior defense official told JNS. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror, who has served in the past as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's National Security Adviser, said that the operation underway to... Full story
(JTA)-"The Kominsky Method" is the wisest and saddest new comedy on television. That might be its biggest problem. The protagonist of the eight-episode Netflix series that debuts Friday is Sandy Kominsky (played by Michael Douglas), a Jewish Tony Award-winning actor who landed with a thud in Hollywood. He no longer acts for a living but teaches the craft to students using the titular "method." Norman Newlander (Alan Arkin), whose wife, Eileen (Susan Sullivan), is dying from cancer, is Kominsky's... Full story
Jonathan Aaron Gebaide, son of Rachel and Rob Gebaide of Maitland, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. Jonathan is in the seventh grade at Maitland Middle School. His hobbies and interests include playing basketball, baseball, volleyball, guitar, and chess; rooting for the University of Florida Gators, Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots and Orlando Magic; and playing NBA2K and Fortnight. Sharing in the family's simcha... Full story
By E.J. Kessler When Eva Gelernt was a child, she suffered from mysterious medical ailments: severe bone pain in her legs and knees. Unexplained bruising. Low blood platelet counts. Eva, now 24, visited doctor after doctor near her home in the Philadelphia suburb of Moorestown, New Jersey, but her problems were dismissed repeatedly as growing pains. By the time she reached high school, Eva was being tested by oncologists. "They thought I had cancer," she said. The tests, however, never showed... Full story
The month of December is always busy with the celebration of Chanukah and preparations for the coming secular new year. The residents of Brookdale Island Lake and friends inaugurated the holiday season by viewing “Hava Nagillah, The Movie,” on Sunday afternoon right before the lighting of the first candle of Chanukah. “The Movie” takes the viewer on a journey from the Ukraine to the United States in search of the origins of the internationally famous time. The movie was well received and man... Full story
I know Chanukah is over for 2018 but I just have to share this song (to the tune of "The First Night of Christmas") with you... "On the first night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the second night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, two matzoh balls and a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the third night of Chanukah, someone sent to me, three golden latkes, two matzoh balls, and a warm bagel topped with cream cheese. On the fourth night of Chanukah,... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Apple CEO Tim Cook reiterated the company’s commitment to fighting hate and used a Hebrew phrase to do so. Cook invoked a phrase from Leviticus 19:16 in its original language on Monday at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now summit on anti-Semitism and hate. “’Lo ta’amod al dam re’eikha.’ Do not be indifferent to the bloodshed of your fellow man,” Cook said after receiving the ADL’s Courage Against Hate Award. Cook, who is not Jewish, said in his address that the biblical mandate moves Apple to speak out on behalf of the ri... Full story
Chabad of South Orlando held their Grand Community Festival on the first night of Chanukah, Dec. 2. The event featured kids Chanukah crafts and activities, a bevy of traditional Chanukah food, entertainment by "The Skyriders," rock music and the Grand Menorah Lighting. Chabad of Altamonte Springs lit the third candle on the Menorah at Crane's Roost on Dec. 4 with a program honoring the local firefighters. Chabad of Orlando celebrated the last night of Chanukah, Dec. 9, at Central Park in Winter... Full story
