Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - When South African peace activist Klaas Mokgomole first arrived at Israel's main international airport outside Tel Aviv, he asked where the "Blacks-only" bathroom was. The former anti-Israel activist, who had been taught that Israel was an "apartheid state," thought the Ben-Gurion International Airport official, who looked at him quizzically, simply didn't understand his English. "What do you mean, Blacks-only bathroom?" the dumbfounded Israeli airport official replied. Mokgomole, who wa...
(JNS) - ANU-Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv has organized a weeklong celebration of the cuisines of "hidden" Jewish communities now living in Israel. The food of each group-including the Bnei Menashe from India, the Kaifeng Jews from China and the Subbotnikim from Russia-will be showcased at restaurants around the country, accompanied by the stories behind each dish. "Recently we've been starting to explore the issue of community, and we realized we have a lot of communities abroad that...
Submitted by Jewish Pavilion Senior Services When people think about fracture prevention, bone density usually comes to mind first. While bone strength is important, research shows that balance plays an equally critical role in preventing serious injuries. In fact, more than 90 percent of fractures occur as the result of a fall. Improving balance can help prevent a simple stumble from becoming a life-changing event. A simple balance check you can try at home One easy way to assess balance is the single-leg balance test: How long can you stand...
This week, two notable things happened that have stayed with me. First, my daughter completed her basic training in the IDF. Watching her stand proudly among hundreds of new soldiers was a special moment. Second, I received photos from the final day of therapy for the children down south who have been treated at our Mobile Animal Therapy Center. At first glance, these two events seem unrelated. One celebrated the start of a young soldier's service to the people of Israel. The other marked the...
Israeli scientists have announced a discovery that may someday change the lives of millions of people living with hearing loss. At Tel Aviv University, Prof. Karen Avraham and her research team have identified a biological mechanism that could eventually allow damaged sensory hair cells in the inner ear to regenerate — something long believed impossible in humans. For Avraham, this breakthrough represents the latest chapter in a lifetime devoted to hearing. For decades she has been one of the world’s leading researchers into hereditary hea...
(JNS) — GIVATAYIM, Israel—Nearing 102 years old, curiosity has not left Dan Hadani. The centenarian’s life story, which begins in prewar Poland and continues in the nascent State of Israel, weaves an extraordinary narrative of renewal and resilience that, in many ways, mirrors the history of modern Israel. He survived a selection at Auschwitz conducted by the sadistic torturer Dr. Josef Mengele, also known as “the Angel of Death.” With no family left after the Holocaust, he immigrated alone to Israel in 1948 to begin a new life. Hadani wa...
A story just in time for Tu B’Av, the Jewish Valentine’s Day on July 29th. When Orlando resident Nili Arad Ivan and Isaac Makovsky first met, it wasn’t over coffee or sightseeing — it was waving to each other from six feet away. The students, only 15 and 16 years old at the time, had just arrived at Alexander Muss High School in Israel in the fall of 2020. It was during COVID, and they were waiting out their state-mandated quarantine period in makeshift pods separated by plastic sheets. Just as...
The current Three Weeks period of semi-mourning for the destruction of the Holy Temples in the ancient Promised Land seem to commemorate ancient history. But their message is as contemporary as today’s headlines. First, some background: According to the Talmud (Tractate Gittin 55-56), at the time of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a wealthy man who was hosting a party sent his servant to deliver an invitation to a friend named Kamtza. By mistake, the servant invited a man named bar Kamtza, who the wealthy man despised. Bar Kamtza accepted t...
Joel Dinerstein’s new memoir blends family drama, cultural history, and social critique in a vivid portrait of working-class Jewish life before the Holocaust became the defining center of American Jewish identity Joel Dinerstein has spent much of his career exploring the origins of American cool, its popular music, and the nation’s racism – through his books, a Smithsonian exhibit, a class on the History of Cool, and as a jazz DJ in New Orleans. In “The Last of the Ellis Island Jews: A Brookly...
(JNS) - The hundreds of people who visit the Jerusalem Theater each day for plays, concerts or a coffee now have the chance to view an exhibition of colorful, distinctive paintings created collaboratively by young adults with autism from the Kfar Shimon residential facility near Beit Shemesh. The exhibition, titled "Feelings in Between," offers visitors a glimpse into the inner worlds of the artists, some of whom are nonverbal. "They have a lot going on in their minds that they can't always...
Submitted by Jewish Pavilion Senior Services Maintaining good health doesn’t always require major lifestyle changes. In fact, some of the most effective wellness strategies are simple, consistent habits that can easily be incorporated into your daily routine. At the Orlando Senior Help Desk, we encourage seniors and caregivers to focus on small, manageable steps that promote overall well-being. Here are a few practical tips that can have a meaningful impact on your health: Take a 10-minute walk after meals A short walk after eating can do wonde...
Layered Tuna Salad The perfect lunch for your book, Mahjong or bridge group or to take to work. You can use up all your leftovers for a single portion or prepare many jars ahead of time for a large crowd. You can omit or substitute ingredients according to your taste. A quart jar with a screw on cover or one for each person Serves 6 1/2 bottled oil and vinegar dressing 3 medium cooked potatoes, peeled and sliced 1 red pepper, quarter and sliced (I used roasted peppers from a jar.) 3/4 cup...
Israeli security officials recently warned that Iran may attempt to influence Israel’s upcoming elections through coordinated disinformation campaigns on social media and other digital platforms. Their warning took me back more than 50 years to a remarkable woman who spent her life studying exactly these tactics — long before the internet, artificial intelligence, bots, or trolls existed. Most Americans have never heard of Natalie Grant Wraga, who preferred to be called Natalie Grant. Yet the...
(JNS) - As the 2026 school year ends and summer vacation begins, Israel's high school students are completing an educational journey that has been anything but ordinary. After beginning their teenage years during the COVID-19 pandemic and finishing them against the backdrop of war, bereavement and national upheaval, 11th- and 12th-grade students in the Ohr Torah Stone Ann Belsky Moranis Arts Program are using art to make sense of a world that often feels chaotic. The exhibition, titled...
It has been said that hearing is the last sense to fade when we are dying. Our brains reportedly can process auditory information hours after other bodily systems have shut down. All of this was shared by a hospice nurse who — of all people — blurted out an outrageous comment in front of a dying patient. My mother, days before her passing, whispered to me that she wanted some spaghetti and meatballs. I relayed the request to the hospice nurse, who replied, “No, her organs are failing!” What an...
(JNS) - As World War I neared its end, Indian cavalrymen surged up the slopes of Mount Carmel and carved their place in history. Charging Ottoman and German positions with lances lowered and horses at full gallop, they liberated Haifa in a single afternoon. It was one of the last great cavalry charges ever fought and one of the most successful. Where armored cars and British units had failed, Indian horsemen succeeded with speed, audacity and courage. Their victory was so decisive that it...
For thousands of years, the Jewish people have been known by a remarkable title: “The People of the Book.” It is an extraordinary designation. Not because Jews simply possess books, but because our identity has always been intertwined with learning. Long before literacy became commonplace, Jewish children were taught to read. Long before universities existed, our batei midrash were filled with spirited debate, thoughtful questions, and a relentless pursuit of wisdom. Education has never mer...
Submitted by the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services For many older adults, giving up driving can feel like a loss of independence. Fortunately, throughout Central Florida, there are transportation services designed specifically to help seniors remain active, connected, and able to access important appointments, shopping, and social activities. The Orlando Senior Help Desk, a program of Jewish Pavilion Senior Services, often assists families searching for reliable transportation resources for older adults in Orange, Seminole, and Brevard counties....
(JNS) - KRAKOW, POLAND-Thousands of people converged on the historic Jewish quarter of the southern Polish city of Krakow last week to attend the annual Krakow Jewish Festival, in the largest such event on the continent. The festival, which was initially launched three-and-a-half decades ago for a non-Jewish audience in a country where Jews were decimated during the Holocaust, was held amid a wave of global antisemitism across the globe, spurred by the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on southern Israe...
Russian Kebab hamburgers (Uzbek Shashlik) 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. ground lamb or turkey 1 T. olive oil 1 medium onion finely chopped 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 2 tsp. smoked paprika 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/ 2 tea salt 1/16 tsp.cayenne pepper 1 large egg In a large fry pan, mix spices and sauté in 1 T. olive oil with onions. Put onion/spice mixture in a medium bowl and add meats breaking up the pieces and mix...
I did a "telehealth visit" last month as a follow-up to routine blood tests. My doctor said all the numbers looked great and I should live to 100. Then he added, "don't lose any more weight." I shared that information with my wife who then mentioned it to her mah jong partners. In reply, they invoked the words of beloved original columnist of Scene around, Gloria Yousha - "oh, shut up!" With that humorous encouragement and support, I set out on a special mission: revisit Philadelphia and regain...
(JNS) — When AFEKA Racing lines up on the starting grid in Belgium this September, the team’s solar-powered car will carry more than batteries and photovoltaic panels. A Magen David will be emblazoned on the vehicle, alongside the racing number 18, symbolizing chai (“life”). For the engineering students behind the project, the markings are a deliberate statement that they are proud to compete openly as Israelis. “We see ourselves as an Israeli team representing Israel,” Dan Herman, head of Tel...
Across cultures and religions, the doorway is more than wood, hinges, and locks. It marks the boundary between the outside world and the values carried within. That is exactly where the Torah places one of Judaism's most familiar commandments. The Hebrew word mezuzah means "doorpost," referring to the actual frame of the entryway, not to the decorative case. The words inside the mezuzah come from two passages in Deuteronomy: 6:4–9 and 11:13–21. The first begins with the Shema, the central dec...
The men and women who come to my clinic arrive carrying a particular species of fear, and rightly so. A diagnosis of oropharyngeal cancer, a malignancy of the tonsils and the base of the tongue, threatens the very region that renders us most human. It is here that we form words, taste, swallow, and smile. When a patient learns that a tumor has taken root in this small and sacred territory, the questions beneath their questions are rarely statistical, but these: Will I still sound like myself? Will I share a meal with my children? Will I recite...
(JNS) — At first glance, “Unconditional” looks like another international crime thriller. By the end of the second episode, it’s clear the series is aiming for something much more ambitious. The new Israeli drama, now streaming on Apple TV, follows Orna Levi, an ordinary Israeli mother whose vacation with her 23-year-old daughter, Gali, turns into every parent’s nightmare when Gali is arrested in Moscow on drug-smuggling charges. As Orna struggles to prove her daughter’s innocence, she discove...
