Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On May 6, the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando hosted Israel Independence Day Festival 66. Unlike in past years, this year's event was held in the JCC's backyard on the actual date of the holiday, bringing the community together "at home" for a special celebration. Also unlike in past years, all children's activities, games, and inflatables were provided at no-cost to the community. The JCC event celebrating Israel’s 66th anniversary of independence, included performances by t...
There is a community in Israel that is connected to the Jewish Orlando community through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. It is our sister city Kiryat Motzkin. This beautiful city has been our sister since 2006. It is about 15 miles north of Haifa-a distance much like driving from Altamonte Springs to Sea World. Founded in 1934, its population has grown to 45,000, and was named after Leo Motzkin who was one of the organizers of the First Zionist Congress in 1897. "The story goes that...
BRUSSELS (JTA)-Hunched over a small island of memorial candles for the victims of the attack on the Jewish Museum of Belgium, Paul Ambach is lost in thought. "Once again, Jewish blood in Belgium, which is no longer Belgium," said Ambach, a well-known Jewish musician from Antwerp, as he stared at the candles Sunday from a vigil for the four people killed by the unidentified gunman who opened fire at the museum the previous day. Ambach said he was also thinking about past attacks on Belgian Jews,...
An Israeli news station has reported on a poll conducted by Professor Sammy Smooha of Haifa University showing that the acceptance of Israel by Israeli Arabs increased markedly between 2012 and 2013. Channel 10/Nana reported that the poll’s surprising results bucked conventional wisdom: The research shows that between 2012 and 2013 there was an increase in the percentage of Israeli Arabs recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, and Israel’s right to maintain a Jewish majority. Similarly, the percentage of Arabs...
NEW YORK (JTA)-The last time New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie spoke at a venue attended by Sheldon Adelson, he alienated the Republican Party mega-donor and other hawkish pro-Israel Jews by referring to Judea and Samaria as "the occupied territories." Sunday night at a gala awards program in Manhattan honoring Adelson and hosted by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, Christie avoided the topic of Israel altogether. But Sean Penn didn't. Held in the cathedral-like Cipriani restaurant, the dinner for Boteach's...
After reading on the Internet the article about Dearborn, Michigan, being the first city in the United States to implement Sharia Law, I questioned how this could be possible here, as it is directly against the U.S. Constitution. After a little research, Snopes, “the definitive Internet reference source for urban legends, folklore, myths, rumors, and misinformation” as it defines itself, gave me the answer. Claim: Dearborn, Michigan, has become the first U.S. city to implement Sharia law. Question: Is there any validity to this story? Sno...
(JNS.org) A group of Israeli runners taking part in a "peace run" was forced to drop out after Palestinian objections. The six Israelis were asked to drop out of Australian ultra-marathon runner Pat Farmer's 900-mile "peace run" from Lebanon to Jerusalem during a stretch through Judea and Samaria due to objections by the Palestinian Olympic Committee. Farmer said he was "not happy" about the move because it went against the spirit of the run. The Israeli runners, whose participation was...
As we approach the summer months, care-giving families must consider their loved ones with Alzheimer's Disease and how to appropriately celebrate family reunions and holidays with them. Perhaps individual visits work better than the large gatherings of years ago. Or would mom or dad enjoy a visit with the family at a restaurant rather than remaining in the memory care community. There are no set rules in how to approach these decisions, sharing such concerns with professionals may be helpful....
On May 20, Orlando pastor Dr. Joel Hunter hosted a panel discussion on “Climate Change: Should Christian’s Care?” Describing himself as a, “long time advocate for creation care,” Pastor Hunter is a spiritual adviser to President Barak Obama and incorporates his views on climate change issues into his teachings. Hunter is launching an initiative that empowers multi-faith leaders to lead and engage others on climate solutions. The initiative, called Blessed Tomorrow, brings together more than 20 evangelical, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim an...
Reading the Hebrew language is one the most important elements of advancing one’s Jewish involvement. Whether it’s the desire to pray in the original language, read the Torah as it was dictated by G-d, or to read the many Jewish works that have not been translated, many people are looking to expand their horizons with the ability to read the holy tongue. It is in response to this popular demand, Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando is offering a 10-part course on Hebrew reading this summer. The course begins on Wednesday, June 25 from 7:3...
I had a dream that I was attending a political convention with my wife. I wore one of my favorite wool jackets from my college days, and glasses (this was pre-Lasik), and I had hair on top of my head. As speaker after speaker traipsed to the podium, I grew more and more impatient. I felt my anger heat up, the bile in my throat rise. Finally, I couldn’t stand it. I stood in the center of the group and started lecturing them, as if they were children. “This is all wrong!” I told them. “All...
By Rafael Medoff JNS.org U.S. officials say it would be “too risky” to send commandos to rescue the 300 schoolgirls being held hostage by Islamist terrorists in Nigeria. If that’s the problem, they should look to the late George McGovern for the solution. Back in 1944, the future U.S. senator and Democratic presidential nominee was the 22-year-old pilot of a B-24 Liberator bomber in World War II. Among his targets: German synthetic oil factories in occupied Poland—some of them less than five miles from the gas chambers of Auschwitz. And that’s...
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—UCLA has some proud moments in the history of civil liberties. After World War II, UCLA and the University of California, Berkeley, were the hotbeds of opposition to an anti-communist loyalty oath that California tried to impose on academics. Ultimately the professors won in court in 1954. Sixty years later, a different pressure group purportedly speaking for the “progressive” grassroots wants to impose on UCLA students a loyalty oath of sorts—a pledge foreswearing going on trips to Israel sponsored by certain Jewish organiz...
Recently we remembered and reflected upon Yom ha Shoah. We must also look back at what could have been done to prevent this tragedy. We are all aware of what happened. We are all aware of how it happened. We are all aware of when it happened. But are we aware of why it was able to happen? If we look back to the period of the early to mid 1920s in Germany, we see a country in difficult economic straights. High unemployment after the staggering defeat of World War I. The humiliation, the disgrace, the asking of why? During those terrible days, a...
After rejecting the United Nations Partition Plan in 1947, which would have given approximately half of geographical Palestine to the Arabs, Palestinian Arabs officially became belligerents in the conflict that persists today. Rather than accept a Jewish state after five-and-a-half months of warfare, Palestinian Arabs called upon their brethren from seven surrounding countries to invade and crush the nascent Jewish state. This decision to invade the new Jewish state on May 14, 1948, made by the Arab League on April 10, 1948, marked a watershed...
Dear Editor: The recent “mohel article” (“The quest to find America’s top mohels,” May 9 issue) brought back some memories. Fifty + years ago in Flushing, N.Y., my oldest son was born. The bris was to be performed by Rabbi Zimmerman. Little did my late wife and I realize he was a “frustrated Catskill comedian.” With a roomful of elderly aunts in attendance, he proclaimed that he “only performed for the first show.” After that he would “give the parents a diagram and instructions to cut along indicated lines.” I can still hear the screaming of...
Dear Editor: The JFGO May 16th article, “What’s next for Jewish teen education?” does not provide a thorough analysis of the main issues facing supplementary Hebrew high school education and offers no solutions. The Federation indicates that in 2005-2006 over 230 students were enrolled in our Beit Hamidrash and now a maximum of 35 students come. Then it indicates that three key reasons for the decline in numbers in 8 years: 1) greater high school student competition for colleges and extracurricular involvement, 2) high school student incre...
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, MAY 30 Light Shabba...
Edward "Eddie" Baumgarten would do anything for a laugh. One of his dearest friends, the late Anne Shader, was having an all-women luncheon to celebrate her 65th birthday. Baumgarten didn't want to miss out on her celebration. So, with the help of his friends, the Orlando resident dressed up as a woman and showed up unannounced at the luncheon as cousin "Edwina." "He wasn't afraid to put himself out there," said his son, Barry Baumgarten, 59, of Houston. Eddie Baumgarten died Saturday of...
Sallie Schwartz Freedman of Altamonte Springs, passed away at her residence on Monday, May 19, 2014. She was 82 years old. She was born in New York City on May 7, 1932, to the late Daniel and Pearl Levine Schwartz. In June 1957, in Miami, she married Howard Freedman, her husband of nearly 57 years who survives her. They relocated to the Orlando area in 1972. A watercolorist, her home was filled with examples of her work. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her son, Kevin (Melissa) of Altamonte Springs; and daughter, Shari, of...
Albert Garelick of Houston, Texas, passed away at Regent Care Center in League City, Texas, on Monday, May 12, 2014. He was 88 years old. A native of Rochester, New York, Mr. Garelick was born on May 13, 1925, to the late Saul and Ruth Metter Garelick and served in the U.S. Army in Japan at the conclusion of World War II. He was married for 29 years to the late Norma Hilda (Sakson) Garelick when she passed away in 1978. Mr. Garelick was a calibration engineer in the aerospace industry and relocated to the Houston area in the early 1980s. Mr....
Rona L. Rowe of Orlando passed away at her residence on Monday, May 19, 2014. She was 66 years old. Mrs. Rowe was born in Brooklyn, on May 21, 1947. She was a surgical coordinator in the health care industry. Mrs. Rowe is survived by her husband, Frank Rowe of Orlando; her son, Mikhael Ser of Orlando; and her daughter, Alisha Ser of Windermere; and three grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother, Stephen Zellner of Ft. Myers. A graveside service was held at Temple Israel Cemetery with Rabbi Maurice Kaprow officiating. The family...
Morris Sorin of Longwood, passed away on Wednesday, May 14, 2014, at his residence. He was 85 years old. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 9, 1928, to the late Rev. Joseph and Sarah Skalarsky Sorin, he spent his entire working career as an educator and child advocate. According to Karen Sorin, his wife who survives him, “I worked with him for 40 years and was married to him for 35, and I think I heard him raise his voice twice.” He served in the U.S. Army and later attended Case Western Reserve University. He relocated to the Orlando area from T...
There is a Jewish joke that says "Every Jewish holiday is the same... they tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat!" But how many of us can truly appreciate the reality behind the joke and the depth of our history? And how many of us understand what we achieved by meeting those challenges and surviving? Well, the children of the Meitin Religious School at Temple Israel now have a new perspective on Jewish history thanks to the innovative Lag B'Omer games that they participated in on the last...
Chabad at UCF is widely known for their extensive programs and activities dedicated to creating meaningful Jewish life for college students. Perhaps less known are their equally notable efforts towards building students' knowledge, skills and connections in areas of leadership and networking. To this end, Chabad at UCF hosted three unique lectures on leadership and mentoring over the course of the Spring Semester 2014. Executive Director of Chabad at UCF, Rabbi Chaim Lipskier explained, "At Chab...
