Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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NEW YORK-Tuna poke nachos marinated Hawaiian style. Lightly smoked duck breasts with quinoa and turnips. Hormone- and antibiotic-free USDA prime angus steaks. The kosher restaurant scene today has come a long way from the pastrami sandwiches and matzah ball soups of old (though you can still get those, too). Now more than ever, kosher fine-dining options abound for observant Jewish consumers looking for a great restaurant experience. In New York, the cutting edge of the kosher world, a few... Full story
In Memoriam... Ruth Gruber, a photojournalist and author who documented Stalin's gulags, life in Nazi Germany and the plight of Jewish refugees intercepted by the British on the infamous passage of the Exodus to Palestine in 1947, died a few months ago at her home in Manhattan. She was 105. Her son, DAVID MICHAELS, confirmed her death. Ms. Gruber called herself a witness, and in an era of barbarities and war that left countless Jews displaced and stateless, she often crossed the line from... Full story
"Collecting family stories not only benefits the senior-storyteller, but can add to the richness of their relationship with their family members and caregivers," said Emily Newman of the Orlando Senior Help Desk. I am living proof of the previous statement, as it took me almost 50 years to uncover an Olympic-sized story that brought my late maternal grandfather to life. As my Grandfather Irving passed before I was born, I never developed concrete images of who he was during his lifetime. I knew... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—For many Jews, Tisha b’Av is centered around mourning the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. But that interpretation misses out on an important lesson that is made more relevant by recent events, Rabbi David Seidenberg argues. With the release of a new translation of the Book of Lamentations, the main text read on the annual fast day, the Massachusetts-based rabbi argues that Tisha b’Av, which began this year on the evening of July 31, provides a powerful way to connect to the refugee experience. Here’s his... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Since it came out in 2013, the "Pew study"-a landmark survey of American Jewish demographics, beliefs and practices-has been at the center of American Jewish scrutiny and handwringing. Now it's American Muslims' turn. On Wednesday, the Pew Research Center released a survey of American Muslims focusing not only on numbers and their way of life, but also on how the community has responded to the election of President Donald Trump. Comparing the two studies shows a Muslim sector in A... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-In history books, the summer of 2007 will go down as the official start of one of the worst financial crises in American history. It started in July, when Bear Stearns announced that two of its hedge funds had lost all their value-and from there, as we know, panic, chaos and lots of mortgage defaults ensued. But to my 15-year-old self-and to thousands of other teenage boys of my generation-the summer of 2007 will be remembered for an entirely different reason: It was a season... Full story
(JTA)-"Drop your pants" The order came curt and clipped, and it caught me by surprise. What?! "Drop your pants," he repeated sternly. I had been subject to the indignities of Israeli security before, but never this. I was in a holding area of the Israeli Embassy in Amman, Jordan, on my way to a meeting with a senior Israeli official in the building. I had been thoroughly vetted: They knew I was a journalist, I had an appointment with a senior embassy official to talk about Israeli-Jordanian... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Yaakov Seltzer remembers a different world, when he would sell his customers prayer books, then hand them an invitation to his daughter's wedding. When they would come in to Seltzer's store to order a kippah for their new grandson, then ask him to attend the bris. Or they would stop in on a Friday afternoon with nothing to buy, just to wish him a good Shabbat. But though the Upper West Side of Manhattan is still heavily Jewish, the world Seltzer longs for has disappeared. And... Full story
By Shannon Sarna (The Nosher via JTA)-There's a reason chicken is a bit of a Friday night staple: Before Jews came to America, red meat simply wasn't abundantly available and therefore saved for special occasions. But also, chicken is a relatively easy dinner to prepare, especially when you roast a whole chicken. This honey harissa and lemon chicken is as easy as any other roast chicken recipe, with a slightly sweet, slightly spicy twist. You may be asking, what the heck is harissa? Harissa is... Full story
Some 7,000 Jewish athletes from 80 countries prepared to head back to their home countries this week following the 20th Maccabiah Games, a two-week event that is being praised for helping create "positive connections" to Israel. The Jewish athletes from overseas had arrived in Israel in early July, joining 2,500 Israeli contestants in the world's third-largest sporting event, which convenes every four years and is often dubbed the "Jewish Olympics." This year's games, hosted in Jerusalem, had... Full story
Assistant Director of Hillel Sam Friedman, Danielle McKinstry and Andrew Max took to the sea and took this banner for Hillel with them, displaying it on the bottom of the ocean. Hillel CEO Aaron Weil commented, "We love Hillel at UCF from the bottoms of our hearts and now apparently... the ocean floor!"... Full story
Rachel Serena Levine of Orlando graduated at the top of a class of more than 5,000 bachelor's degree candidates during the 134th Commencement at the University of Southern California held in May. A member of Temple Shir Shalom, Oviedo, and a graduate of the Center for International Studies at Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Levine, and 16 other straight-A students, was honored on May 11, 2017, as part of a Wall of Scholars recognition ceremony held in the Leavey Library on the Los Angeles,... Full story
(JTA)-Renting a house in the Italian countryside and eating loads of pasta is about as blissful a vacation as they come. For the three Anati brothers, however, such a trip is a reminder of the horrors of the Holocaust. Yet the brothers-Bubi, 77; Andrea, 85; and Emmanuel, 88-did just that in 2013, precisely with the aim of reconnecting with their past. The Anatis were raised in an upper-class family in Florence. In 1942, just before the deportations of Florentine Jews to Auschwitz began, the fami... Full story
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (JTA)-When Michael Steinhardt strolls around his 55-acre backyard for 90 minutes every morning, one of his favorite animals to see is the scimitar-horned oryx, whose antlers sweep back from its head like the swords for which they are named. But Steinhardt didn't much like finding out that a (literally) horny oryx had stabbed a zebra to death during a testosterone-fueled mating season three years ago. The zebra incident is, thankfully, an outlier on his sprawling estate about... Full story
The surge... I recently heard from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about the surge in anti-Semitism. The subject was addressed in an article written by DANIEL ELBAUM and MARC D. STERN. I pass it along (in part) to you: "Almost daily accounts of vandalized cemeteries, spray-painted swastikas and bomb threats to JCCs and other Jewish agencies have naturally evoked considerable alarm. Clearly, we must never reconcile ourselves to an America where this is considered normal. Yet we must not succumb to... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Avocado toast has been "trendy" for several years throughout the U.S. In fact, avocados have been so trendy, an entire avocado restaurant opened earlier this year in Brooklyn. And people are putting avocados in everything lately: brownies, salad dressing, even ice cream. After all, avocados are healthy, full of good fat, delicious and satisfying. I also love avocados, but I am a purist about eating them-sliced or smashed simply with just a few seasonings with some chips, or... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-The arrival of U.S. fighter jets in Israel, part of a month-long arms drop, was critical to turning the tide of the Yom Kippur War in favor of the Jewish state. But for the American pilots who volunteered to deliver the aircraft, it was just another mission. Alan Chesterman, part of a U.S. Navy squadron that flew a handful of the jets, said he had little knowledge of Israel or its security situation when he landed here in October 1973. "We knew we were flying into a combat zone,... Full story
TEL AVIV-Capt. Libby Weiss spent most of the summer of 2014 in a Hamas tunnel, and she wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else. Israel's military captured the tunnel, which extended from Gaza into Israel near Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, during Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza. As a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Weiss was tasked with showing the tunnel to journalists, and she was the first to bring foreign reporters into the claustrophobic space. Her inaugural tour went... Full story
Ian Tasman traveled to Israel with his brother, Ory Tasman, to watch the 20th Maccabiah Games. The following article is exclusive for the Heritage.The Games were over July 18. Ory Tasman played for the USA water polo team. As of this writing, the 20th Maccabiah Games were well underway throughout Israel, with competitions taking place from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem to Tiberias. This year's games were host to more than a record of 10,000 athletes from 80 countries, with a first ever appearance from... Full story
In the July 14 issue of The Heritage, the article about Sgt. Richard R. Hall, Jr., (Holocaust Center welcomes Tuskegee airman on July 23, page 2A) stated that he received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007. The medal was awarded to the Tuskegee Airmen collectively, not individually. According to Ron Brewington, a Tuskegee Airmen historian, “...all of the estimated 16-19,000 participants [both living and deceased] of the “Tuskegee Experience,” including Hall, Jr., who are known as Tuskegee Airmen, were collectively, not individually, award... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Alan Gross contacted me a couple of months ago over Facebook Messenger. There was something he thought I should know. I was pleasantly surprised. I’d only exchanged pleasantries with Gross in the several times I’d seen him since his release from a Cuban prison in December 2014, ending five years of imprisonment for his work connecting Cuba’s Jewish community to the Internet. Gross, 68, wanted to tell me his news: He and his wife, Judy, had made aliyah, immigrating to Israel under the Law of Return. “It came through on May 3,... Full story
(JTA)-Not much could have prepared Molly Yeh for moving from New York City to Grand Forks, North Dakota-a city of a little over 50,000 residents near the state's eastern border with Minnesota. At the time of her move in 2013, Yeh (pronounced "yay," as her website explains with several exclamation points) was a Juilliard graduate and classically trained percussionist playing professional gigs around New York City. She often hosted concerts in her Brooklyn apartment and enjoyed biking around the c... Full story
"Whoever saves a single life is as if one saves the entire world"... This magnificent saying comes from the Talmud. I received the following from the Southwest Outreach, a newsletter of the Southwest Indian Relief Council: You would be surprised by how many Americans don't realize the need or the challenging conditions that exist on American Indian reservations. Many don't know that unemployment averages 50 percent; The National Congress of American Indians says real per-capita income of... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—On June 28, 1998, my mother sat down to be interviewed for the Shoah Foundation. It was her 68th birthday. The interview took two days. She and the interviewer sat comfortably in my mother’s living room, her pride and joy. This was where she showcased her best furniture, the furniture she had bought as a new homeowner in Skokie, Illinois, in 1960 and which had moved to Arizona with us in 1973. The room was filled with her most precious items: china and glassware, marble tables and ornate damask couches. These items declared my... Full story
On America's Independence Day, let's not forget another important anniversary-On July 4th, 1976, Operation Entebbe, a hostage-rescue mission, was carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. This is a different story of independence and freedom for Jews and Israelis throughout the world. Operation Entebbe a hostage-rescue mission, was carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. The operation, which took a... Full story
