Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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An email appeared in my Inbox on Thursday, July 8, from The Jewish Agency for Israel. The message informed me that a rally was planned for that coming Sunday, July 11, on the grounds facing the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Titled "No Fear," the event was promoted as a statement of solidarity among a broad array of Jewish organizations, representing different views along the political spectrum, all seeking to present a strong, unified protest against antisemitism. I stared at the message on...
(JNS) - The countdown started weeks ago, and it's finally time for many to return to sleep-away camp after a year of lockdowns, Zoom school, and separation from friends and family amid a worldwide pandemic. "I'm so happy! It'll be so nice to see everyone," said 14-year-old Eliana Menasha, who calls herself a "full-on camper" and noted that "last year was kind of hard." While camps in parts of the South and the Midwest have been operating for several weeks now, most Jewish camps in the Northeast...
This letter, written by George Washington in 1790, is a response to Moses Seixas, warden of the Touro Synagogue in Newport. In it, Washington addresses the tolerance and freedom of religion in the newly established nation: Gentlemen. While I receive, with much satisfaction, your Address replete with expressions of affection and esteem, I rejoice in the opportunity of assuring you, that I shall always retain a grateful remembrance of the cordial welcome I experienced in my visit to Newport, from all classes of Citizens. The reflection on the...
(JNS) —To the honorable President of Israel, Truth be told, I’m a little envious of you. In a short while, you will find out exactly how magnificent the privilege of the presidency is. Over the next seven years, you will meet Israelis from all walks of life, and let me tell you right now—you’ll want to embrace all of them. You’ll want to share their laughter and their tears; and all the excitement they experience. I’m sure you feel that you already know this, having such extensive experience as a public servant, but believe me, you have yet to...
I must mention and salute ... I'm talking about DAN NEWLIN, (probably not Jewish). I want to take this opportunity (on the 4th of July!) to thank him for his care and generosity to our military. Mine is a military family. My departed spouse fought in Korea; my sons have served. Actually, my eldest is still serving. He was in the Army for more than 12 years and then switched to the Navy in 2003 where he is today a Navy commander! (I never served but I prayed a lot!) Anyway, Dan was presented a...
Given my life experiences, which I share in this article, I have conveyed my wild dream of peace in my thoroughly researched, new thriller, "The Sword of David." The novel's goal has been to educate the reader, but more important, with its unexpected ending, to make you think, which is why I wrote the novel. An action-packed fiction thriller, "The Sword of David" tells the story of an Israeli commando traveling across the globe, following clues in search of a major biblical treasure that could c...
As Israel made headlines across the world in recent weeks, we at ISRAEL21c noticed people’s growing interest in understanding how things got to where they are, the ins and outs of the country’s history and the matters that influence public opinion. We therefore put together a list of recommended books that tackle multiple facets of Israel’s fascinating history, ranging from the Holocaust and wars and battles to the most famous city on the planet and breakthrough innovation. Enjoy. No Room for Small Dreams: Courage, Imagination, and the Makin...
(JTA) - For Rabbi Michael Perice, the hardest thing about counseling congregants who have family members dealing with addiction had been holding back his own experience with substance abuse. "I really wanted to let people know in these conversations that I understand. And I couldn't do that," Perice said. Perice, the spiritual leader at Temple Sinai of Cinnaminson, New Jersey, decided to change that by telling his congregation the story of his four-year struggle with opioid addiction. He...
Brilliant and Jewish ... Jonas Salk was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. He was born in New York City and attended the City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine. Of course, Jewish! Sigmund Freud, born Sigismund Schlomo Freud on May 6, 1856 and died Sept. 23, 1939. He was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between...
At the turn of the 20th century, the city of Monastir, present-day Bitola in North Macedonia, was home to the country's largest Jewish community, 11,000 people. That's about half of the current Jewish population of Turkey, most of whom share the Ladino language and its music with Balkan Jewish communities like Monastir. But in March 1943, Monastir's Jews suffered genocide when the Nazis deported 98% of their people to Treblinka. None returned. In 2017, Sephardic singer Sarah Aroeste received une...
Jewish History in Film is a new series exploring how our culture and history is represented in films from all over the globe. Israeli cinema is such an overlooked contribution to the film world, birthing such great movie makers as Ephraim Kishon, Ari Folman, Amos Gitai, Dror Shaul, and many more. This series will focus on Israeli cinema and introduce our readers to films they may not have heard of in the past. "Sallah Shabati," released in 1964 and directed by Ephraim Kishon, was not only the fi...
Many home cooks this past year, in an Instagram-inspired spirit, upped their challah-baking game with new braiding patterns, interesting flavors and vibrant colors. Yet it was a more standard ingredient that unwittingly connected many to their roots. If you used Fleischmann's yeast for your challah, you leavened your dough with the essence of American Jewry. The Fleischmann family's story echoes the experience of many other immigrant Jews. They built on their experience from Europe, using it to...
Challah baker Katharina Arrigoni lives in a town in northern Switzerland with 3,000 residents, none of whom - including Arrigoni – are Jewish. Entirely self-taught, Arrigoni has never tasted a challah other than her own creations. Yet thanks to the power of the internet and Instagram, Arrigoni has become an international challah-shaping sensation. Arrigoni is the founder of Besondersgut (German for "especially good"), a bakery and baking school located about 15 miles from Zurich. She started b...
I don't sleep well at night ... I used to wonder why, but now I know. What kind of a world is this coming too? I am worried, not so much for myself but for my children and grandchildren. I probably watch too much news each day and night but I can't help it, especially with these fabulous journalists ... WOLF BLITZER, an American journalist, is one of my favorites. He was born in Augsburg, Germany, and hosts his show on CNN television. CHUCK TODD, born in Miami, Florida, is moderator of "Meet...
(JTA) - Perhaps no American Jewish actor has been so closely associated with crime films as Harvey Keitel. During a career now in its sixth decade, the 82-year-old Keitel has appeared in "Mean Streets," "Taxi Driver," "Wise Guys," "Bugsy," "The Two Jakes," "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Irishman," among numerous other films. Now he's adding to the list with "Lansky," portraying perhaps the most famous Jewish gangster of all time, Meyer Lansky. Lansky, born in Russia in 1902, arrived in New York in...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - The highly acclaimed miniseries "Unorthodox," starring Israeli actress Shira Haas, won the prestigious Peabody Award on Tuesday in recognition of the most "compelling and empowering stories released across broadcast and streaming media in 2020." "Unorthodox" is an American-German production that first aired on Netflix in March 2020. The story revolves around a young Jewish woman, Esty Shapiro (Haas), living in an ultra-Orthodox community in Brooklyn, who flees her arrang...
(Washington Jewish Week via JTA) - Brood X, the once-every-17-years emergence of cicada swarms across much of the Midwest and Eastern U.S., has again left its mark, with trillions of the insects clogging many major metropolitan areas (and serving as unlikely parenting models). As of late June, according to reports, the (smelly) dead have begun to outnumber the living, leaving some to ask: What's to be done with all these insect corpses? Foodies have suggested popping cicadas in your mouth. "Why...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — The last time we saw Tevye the Milkman on Broadway in “Fiddler on the Roof” was in 2016, escaping Anatevka as a pogrom swept the shtetl. Now, almost five years later, he is resurfacing in a one-man play titled “Tevye in New York,” opening in its world premiere — in Beverly Hills, of all places. It’s the latest radical reimagining of the beloved Sholem Aleichem character, who also saw his “Fiddler” story performed onstage in Yiddish for the first time in Joel Grey’s recen...
So maybe that's why I'm funny? ... (I DIDN'T SAY FUNNY LOOKING!) Pointing out more Jewish funnymen of my day, I must include Groucho, Harpo and Chico Marx. (Born in New York City, of course.) I also feel I must mention this super-talent, (although he's not Jewish), DICK VAN DYKE. I was watching the 43rd Kennedy Center honors on television (naturally. What else is there to do?) and he was one of those given the honor. I must mention him because he always gave me joy ... in his acting, his joking...
(JTA) - "The Shrink Next Door," a 2019 reported podcast about a Jewish psychiatrist on the Upper West Side of Manhattan who takes control of the life of one of his Jewish patients, is being made into a limited TV series. And it's starring two comedy stars who last collaborated on "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues." The 8-episode adaptation will star Paul Rudd as Dr. Isaac "Ike" Herschkopf, the psychiatrist, and Will Ferrell as Marty Markowitz, the patient whose life he takes over. It will...
An egg cream was my father's kitchen claim to fame. He assembled them with great flourish - Fox's U-Bet chocolate syrup, cold milk from a glass bottle, and a long, hard shpritz of seltzer followed by a vigorous stir. Even today, when I drink or think of it, it takes me back to my family's Brooklyn roots and him. To my surprise, I have discovered that I am not alone in my nostalgic connection to this fancy-named but pedestrian drink. According to Pete Freeman, co-owner, co-founder and chief soda...
From June 29th to July 3rd, America's largest labor union, the National Education Association (NEA) will vote on two motions attacking Israel -New Business Item 29 (NBI 29) and New Business Item 51 (NBI 51). Urge your state and national NEA leaders to oppose this hate, and support mutual understanding and peace. NBIs 29 and 51 are part of a larger pattern. In recent weeks, teacher's union leaders in San Francisco and Seattle passed resolutions endorsing the destructive Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. BDS...
(JTA) - Shira Haas, the Israeli actress who vaulted into superstardom with her roles in the TV series "Shtisel" and "Unorthodox," has a track record of playing multifaceted characters. Nonetheless, she faced unprecedented challenges when making the new film "Asia," which dominated last year's Ophir Awards (the Israeli equivalent to the Oscars), was in the Central Florida Jewish Film Festival last November, and is seeing a U.S. release this week. In the starkly photographed, minimalist film, Haas...
I need laughter. (We all do!) ... I recently saw on television (naturally) a television special. ROBERT KLEIN (and his harmonica and jokes) was the star. I also saw Don Rickles (super funny!) And one of my very favorites, JERRY SEINFELD. I tried to never miss a show of his (and still don't!) And, speaking of funny, I miss Joan Rivers. I knew her and have been told I sometimes sound like her (when I don't clear my throat) probably because we were both born in Brooklyn. TikTok, SAID MY CLOCK ......
Russian tea biscuits are so much a part of Cleveland's landscape that locals are surprised to learn that these rugelach-like pastries are from their hometown. As a Clevelander, I didn't discover the truth until I moved to several cities and Russian tea biscuits were nowhere to be found, prompting me to do a little digging online. I discovered that the pastry's origin story - a story that feels more like a legend - is connected to the Cleveland Jewish community. Even though Salon published a...
