Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1701 - 1725 of 4383
A Thank You to German Chancellor... "World Jewish Congress president Ambassadåor RONALD S. LAUDER met recently with German Chancellor ANGELA MERKEL at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp and thanked her for announcing that Germany is committing $66 million to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation to support preservation of the memorial site. (Millions of dollars for each murdered Jew? NOT ENOUGH! NOT EVEN BILLIONS WOULD BE ENOUGH! Am I bitter? I suppose... Full story
Bringing new life to hamantaschen was a challenge. People are dead set on their favorite flavors like classic poppy seed and apricot. Of course, newer directions such as Nutella and rainbow funfetti are a big hit with the kids, but reinventing the grown-up hamantaschen into a decadent cookie you actually crave was very important to me. Then it hit me: alfajores! Alfajores are an incredibly decadent sandwich cookie filled with dulce de leche, a caramel-like spread made from condensed milk. The... Full story
By Marilyn Shapiro Purim is around the corner, and not far behind are costumes and dancing and Purim shpiels and groggers and hamantashen. And, for some, alcohol. According to the Talmud, it is one's duty, to "make oneself fragrant [with wine] on Purim until one cannot tell the difference between Haman and Mordecai." (Babylonian Talmud, Megillah 7b). On this one holiday, alcohol is not the most important element, but many imbibe. As explained by writer Tvi Freeman, Purim is not about drinking.... Full story
With costumes, spiels and lots of drinking, Purim, which starts at sundown on Monday, March 9, is one of Judaism's most raucous holidays. You might know about beautiful Esther thwarting evil Haman's plans, the custom of getting drunk and what hamantaschen are. But we're guessing there's a few things about this holiday that might surprise you. 1. Esther was a vegetarian (or at least a flexitarian). According to midrash, while Queen Esther lived in the court of King Ahasuerus, she followed a... Full story
The Heritage staff-left to right, Jeff Gaeser, Christine DeSouza, Kim Fischer, Paulette Alfonso (in red mask), David Lehman and (kneeling in front) Gil Dombrosky (not in the picture are Ruth Sandweiss and Joyce Gore)-wishes everyone a safe and happy Purim holiday, celebrated on the 14th and 15th of Adar (March 10-11). (The celebration is real, the picture is not. But if any Heritage readers know who this photo is really of, we'd love to know!)... Full story
When Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis was sworn in to Washington's Supreme Court earlier this month, she became the second Native American person to serve on a state Supreme Court. "This was never something I really planned on or expected to happen," Montoya-Lewis tells Kveller via phone from her offices in Olympia. Upon hearing of her appointment by Gov. Jay Inslee, her reaction was "disbelief," she says. You see, Montoya-Lewis never intended to be a lawyer or a judge. "My intention when I went to... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Fans of mainstream Jewish music may find Nissim Black's latest single "Mothaland Bounce" jarring and alien, but they're just not listening with an ear to the rhythm of Jewish history. Set against the aural backdrop of an African basso profundo beat, and framed by scenes of gritty urban blight, the popular African-American-Israeli Hasidic artist boldly intones his rap-staccato credo in a manner that's hard to square with his woolen tzitzit, long Polish bekishe and towering shtreime... Full story
(JNS)-The University of California San Diego has announced a gift of more than $1.3 million from the Koret Foundation to support joint research on marine archaeology between UC San Diego's Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology and the University of Haifa's Leon Recanati Institute for Maritime Studies in Israel. The three-year award will facilitate scientific exploration of coastal environments in Israel, which offer the most sensitive deep-time records for how humans have adapted to climate and... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-"Where's the Chagall?" asked a visitor to this city's Gordon Gallery on a January morning in 1996, hoping to glimpse one of the prize lots being auctioned days later by the gallery. The painting, titled "Jacob's Ladder," was prominently on display, but still a gallery employee walked the prospective buyer over. When they arrived at the work's designated spot on the wall, all that remained was a bent nail. The Chagall was gone. For nearly two decades, the painting remained... Full story
(JNS)-"Happy are those who dwell in Your house."-Psalm 84 It's official. Israel has been named the 13th happiest country in the world. So says the 2019 United Nations World Happiness Report, which ranks no less than 156 countries using such factors as income, social-support networks and life expectancy. Topping the list was Finland, with the United States lagging behind Israel as the 19th happiest, and South Sudan bringing up the rear at No. 156 (arguably, the most miserable). In search of some... Full story
"I have written all my life," said Joni Okun, Maitland resident and author of the historical fiction "To Hold the Throne." I've written several children's books that are currently off the market, but I've considered publishing them." Okun has always had a vivid imagination. "I remember when I was in third-grade I had to do a report on America's western pioneers and I also remember that I was fascinated with the covered wagons. I was enamored, imagining what was it like to live in a covered... Full story
(JNS)-Israel's Ministry of Tourism and Land Authority recently announced the winners of two tenders for the construction of four new Dead Sea hotels, part of a new complex that will be constructed alongside a shopping center and 430,000-square-foot conference center. Africa Israel, Fattal Hotels, Elad Hotels and Barclays Israel won the tender to build their hotels, amounting to 1,000 rooms, in the new tourism area between Ein Bokek and Hamei Zohar in the southern Dead Sea. In the same area,... Full story
Enough already!... I don't know how much time I have left on this earth... but what about my children and their children and their children? (Upsetting thought!) I read this recently and share it with you: "Anti-Semitic graffiti was found on more than one hundred gravestones in the Jewish cemetery of Westhoffen in eastern France. The case came to light after similar desecration was reported that same day in the nearby commune of Schaffhausen-sur-Zorn. The region of Alsace has suffered from a rec... Full story
When the bar mitzvah announcements of Andrew and Eric Lopez, twin sons of Ed and Linda Lopez of Winter Park, were published in the March 31, 2006, issue of the Heritage, Linda kept the paper with plans to frame the announcements. The newspaper sat on top of her dresser bureau for years, turning yellow with age. Time went on. Their son Andrew attended UCF, majoring in music and education. In January 2014, he attended a Florida Music Education Association development conference in Tampa and met... Full story
(JTA) — It’s not just “yiddo.” The Oxford English Dictionary has just added a slew of Jewish-themed and Yiddish terms, some of which are sure to offend. The venerable institution’s list of new entries for January 2020 contains dozens of items with Jewish content, from “bialy” to “Jewfro” to “yeshiva bochur.” Responding to debate this week about the inclusion of yiddo, a term for fans of the British Tottenham Hotspurs soccer club that borrows from a derogatory term for Jewish people, the dictionary’s compilers said they judge proposed addition... Full story
(JTA)—When Adam Sandler was shut out of this year’s Academy Award nominations for “Uncut Gems,” the Oscars lost out on the chance to have an acceptance speech as hilarious as the one Sandler delivered Saturday at the Independent Film Spirit Awards. But this year’s Oscars had some pretty wonderful Jewish moments nonetheless. Here’s a roundup. Maori Jewish director, writer and actor Taika Waititi had a big moment Waititi, 44, took home the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for “Jojo Rabbit,” his first Oscar win and the first ever by an Indigenou... Full story
(JNS)—Restoration of the National Library of Israel’s renowned Moskowitz Mahzor has been completed with the manuscript online for the first time. It was created on parchment in the 15th century by Joel ben Simeon, considered by many to be the most important Jewish artist of the Middle Ages. Ben Simeon was a scribe and illuminator active in Germany and Northern Italy. The manuscript is considered exceptional due to the illustrations and illuminations found throughout, including images of rab... Full story
We need protection!... I heard from the ADL and pass it along: "The end of year explosion of anti-Semitic violence in New York and New Jersey is cause for deep concern. A couple of months ago (mid-December), a chilling attack at a Kosher supermarket in Jersey City resulted in the deaths of three civilians and a police officer. Then, ADL documented 10 more incidents targeting Jews in the area, all occurring during the eight days of Chanukah, including the vicious stabbings at a Chanukah... Full story
In the past 100 years, there has been an ongoing conflict between Jews and Arabs who claim the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, each as their national homeland. With the creation of the State of Israel this deepened into decades of violent conflict and often all-out war. For the Jewish people Israel was the fulfillment of their need for a sovereign Jewish State and the end of 2000 years of exile and they prepared themselves by all means to fight to preserve this home.... Full story
(JTA)-In 2012, the first year that Ben Zauzmer made Oscar predictions based on mathematical modeling, he received an email from a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the body that chooses the winners. Zauzmer was wrong to predict that the silent French film "The Artist" would win best picture, the member said-he and some of his friends in the Academy had heard that "Hugo," Martin Scorsese's steampunk adventure flick, had a better chance. Zauzmer "politely thanked him for... Full story
With the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl win on Sunday, its Jewish lineman Mitchell Schwartz is shining as bright as the giant menorah he lights each Chanukah at Kansas City's Chabad House. "He's very comfortable in his Judaism," Rabbi Mendy Wineberg, co-director with his wife, Devory, of Chabad of Leawood, just outside of Kansas City, told Chabad.org. "The first year he came to our menorah-lighting, I offered him a sheet with the blessings. He replied, 'I don't need that,' and proceeded to say... Full story
Never, ever forget... "Atrocious" isn't a harsh enough word to describe the Holocaust! I read the following recently and pass it along to you: "In his remarks at the opening back in October, PROKOPIOS PAVLOPOULOS, president of the Hellenic Republic, noted that at a time when admirers of Nazism and fascism are emerging again in Europe, the need to remember that the Holocaust was the most atrocious crime against humanity is critical. President Pavlopoulos highlighted the need to remember, for the... Full story
(JNS)-Film director Quentin Tarantino spoke to Yediot Achronot in a full-length interview published last week about his new "wonderful" life in Israel with his wife, Israeli singer and model Daniella Pick, who is pregnant with their first child. The "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood" director told the publication, "Really, my life here [in Israel] is so wonderful." He said he has some "short trips" back to the United States planned for the Oscars awards ceremony, but his family will be in... Full story
The 2010s saw chickpeas rise to fame in the manner that God always intended. The king of chickpea dishes, hummus, turned from a hippy health food to a fridge staple. This was great in terms of accessibility, but not so great for preserving the authenticity of the dish. I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times: Hummus is not a catch-all term for dip. It means "chickpea" in Arabic, so if a product contains little-to-no chickpeas and too many other funky ingredients (edamame, pumpkin, and... Full story
If I'm hosting brunch, it's a pretty sure bet that I'll make shakshuka. Saucy, spicy and runny with egg, it's a universally beloved dish that, to its credit (and my eternal disappointment), never yields leftovers when I make it, a sure testament to its popularity. I make my regular shakshuka with fresh tomatoes and peppers, which leaves me in somewhat of a bind come wintertime, when neither are in season. Rather than use canned vegetables (they have their place; shakshuka is not it) I've... Full story
