Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3126 - 3150 of 4432
By Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA)-After a missile strike during the 1973 Yom Kippur War left Omer Zur's father paralyzed from the chest down, his dad vowed to continue life as normal. But there was one Israeli pastime he couldn't enjoy: hiking. "He'd say, 'I'll go in the car and meet you on the other side,'" said Zur, a certified Israeli tour guide. "I said, 'Why can't he do this with us?'" In 2008, Zur decided that he and his wheelchair-user father would complete a 300-mile trek in southern Turkey.... Full story
HULA VALLEY, Israel (JTA)-Thousands of cranes sit in pairs in a field here, their outlines approaching the horizon. Then, all at once, they take flight, a cloud of black-and-white feathers filling the sky. Shai Agmon isn't interested in most of these. All he cares about is one pair near the front, slightly shorter than the rest. Most of the birds are common cranes, but these two are demoiselle cranes-a rare find in these parts. "They can't sleep in the desert and can't stop in southern Israel,"... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-Two months before they were deported from the Netherlands to Auschwitz, Louis Barzelay and Flora Snatager invited a few guests to their wedding in Amsterdam. Instead of the yellow star he was legally required to wear, Louis wore a white flower on his lapel as he posed with Flora in a doorway for their wedding photo. Flora is smiling faintly and looking slightly to the side while Louis stares straight at the camera, his lips pursed. It was May 31, 1942. For more than 70 years,... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-With the sudden passing last weekend of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court is now split 4-4 between liberals and conservatives, throwing into doubt how the court will rule on a raft of cases-including several watched by Jewish organizations. Scalia, who was 79, is being mourned by Orthodox Jewish groups, which embraced his robust originalist doctrine, as well as Jewish church-state separation advocates, who railed at some of his decisions but admired his sharp wit and ded... Full story
After years of writing this column... How amazing! About 37 years of writing this column and I am only 45 years old! (Oh shut up!) So sorry I missed last week but recently becoming a widow and then hurting my back on top of that, proved to be too much for me to handle. But the column has returned! Here's to another 37 years! (Oy vay.) I like this Pope... I read in the current World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest the following, found it enlightening and pass it along to you: "Pope Francis welcomed... Full story
Local sign and visual-graphics provider FASTSIGNS® of Orlando-Central, owned by Renee Friedman, was named one of the top centers out of more than 600 locations worldwide at the 2016 FASTSIGNS International Convention, recently held in Orlando. The locally owned and operated, business received the Pinnacle Club Award, which is given to the centers ranked 26 to 125 in the U.S. and Canada for sales volume between Oct. 1, 2014 and Sept. 30, 2015. Friedman, who also happens to be the only... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—What makes for good sex? It’s an unusual question for the wife of an Orthodox rabbi to talk about publicly, but Doreen Seidler-Feller has made a career of it. A clinical sex therapist and professor at UCLA, Seidler-Feller has been married to Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller, the campus rabbi at the UCLA Hillel, for more than 40 years, and she’s been talking about sex for about that long. In fact, the two often host public talks about sex and Jewish tradition, as they did at the Limmud FSU West Coast conference in Pasadena, Calif... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-The hoodie-clad millennials tap furiously at their laptops. They're perched on colorful couches, or sitting at long, communal tables, munching on Fruit Loops from the built-in dispenser in the open, subway-tiled kitchen. In other words, AlleyNYC is your typical co-working space. There are plenty of international workers here, yet the space is quintessentially New York with its upscale, industrial look and "work hard, play hard" philosophy, complete with biweekly happy hours. Its... Full story
Forty-one teens from BBYO's North Florida Region (spanning Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, Sarasota and Naples) joined more than 4,000 teen leaders, educators, professionals and philanthropists from 48 states and 27 countries for BBYO's International Convention (IC) in Baltimore from Feb. 11 to Feb. 15. The teens heard from distinguished guest speakers and broke a Guiness World Record for the largest Shabbat dinner ever. IC served as a dynamic meeting place and real-world classroom providing... Full story
Recently, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, visited with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and members of Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando to discuss religious pluralism in Israel. It was one of only two stops in the United States, the other meeting was in Memphis, Tenn. His plans originally had been to also go to New York and San Francisco, however, he had to cut his trip short to finalize the resolution to expand... Full story
Attendees at the recent Zionistas meeting on Feb. 9 got an earful of history-Christian history as well as the history of the Jewish people-all within a two-hour period. Zionista co-founder Diana Scimone, a journalist and a Christian, highlighted four eras of Christian history in which anti-Semitism was taught in the Church. How quickly the early Church, which stuck to its Jewish traditions, with Gentiles converting to Messianic Judaism, changed its tune. Over a period of time, the Church grew... Full story
More than 400 women-and more than a few men-from the Greater Orlando Jewish community gathered at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland on the evening of Feb. 9 to "Celebrate the Spirit of the Woman" at Choices 2016. Choices, which is put on each year by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando Women's Philanthropy division, is simultaneously a party, a fund-raiser and an opportunity to pay tribute to an outstanding woman in the Jewish community. This year's honoree was Barbara Chasnov, who now... Full story
For the first time in The Heritage’s history, Gloria Yousha is taking a one-week, much needed break from her column, “Scene Around.” She will be back for the Feb. 26 issue.... Full story
KFAR CHABAD, Israel (JTA)-In an otherwise deserted field at the center of this rural Israeli village, a Brooklyn brownstone presents an incongruous sight. If it looks like it would fit perfectly in Crown Heights, that's because it already does. The three-story apartment house topped by three gables is a brick-for-brick reconstruction of 770 Eastern Parkway, the storied headquarters of the late Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and his Chabad-Lubavitch movement. The address is... Full story
By Leora Eisenberg (Kveller via JTA)—I looked at myself in the mirror and I liked the way I looked—no easy feat for a 17-year-old girl. My long skirt dangled around my ankles, and my turtleneck sweater coiled itself around my arms and neck. The provocation and sexual charge that are so often present in teenage clothing were gone. And I was glad. I thought back to the time my friends told me that I dress “too modestly.” I wondered: What would they have said had I responded, “You dress too sexually”? Tears stung my eyes and anger choked my w... Full story
Jonathan Nizar Elkhoury wants minority populations in Israel to speak up about what life is really like in the Jewish state. He wants the world to know that Israel is a safe haven for persecuted Middle East minorities. For Elkhoury, this isn't just loose talk. He is gay, Christian, and a Lebanese refugee. Elkhoury was 9 years old when his family fled war-torn Lebanon for Israel. His father was a soldier in the South Lebanon Army (SLA), which was established in 1982 and was supported by Israel in... Full story
(Jewniverse via JTA)-There's been a surge of interest in entomophagy, the human consumption of insects. Eighty percent of the world's population already does it. Even in Israel, a recent locust swarm got foodies salivating, even though it's unclear whether-or more precisely, which-locusts are kosher. Americans have been eating insects for decades, and one of its chief proponents was a German-Jewish textile manufacturer. Max Ries set up a cheese import business from the back of his station wagon... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Cake pops are such a fun, bite-sized way to serve dessert-particularly for special occasions. And I love this unique twist on the decadent combination of chocolate and halva. For those that might be a little wary of a halva, fear not: You can add as little (or as much) halva as you like. One of the best parts of this recipe is that you can make it with boxed cake mix! That's right-a trained pastry chef is encouraging you to cheat on this one. I have made this recipe with... Full story
The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. (JTA)-As a librarian, Oren Kaplan researches obscure facts and utilizes databases to track down information. So when the Haifa resident read a recent "Seeking Kin" column about someone in his city, Menahem Orenstein, who hoped to locate a long-lost childhood buddy, Kaplan decided to put his experience to work. Within a week, Kaplan had located Orenstein's old friend, David Bak, living in Stockton, California, about... Full story
Central Florida Hillel students posed with Mosab Hassan Yousef (fifth from left), author of 'Son of Hamas' and a former Shin Bet informant, at AIPAC's annual Orlando event, attended by 300 Jews and Christians. Shown here are UCF students (l-r), Adam Ifargan, Tamara Zishuk, Desia Bacon, Jessica Garmizo, (Yousef), Nichole Kostiuk, Rebekah Schachner, Talia Mor and Ben Suster.... Full story
The annual conference of Chabad representatives ended Monday with a resounding affirmation of the preeminent place of the woman in Jewish life and community. Some 3,000 women from 87 countries attended the International Conference of Shluchos (female emissaries) at Chabad-Lubavitch Headquarters in Brooklyn. Among the thousands of women, five Orlando women participated in the five-day conference; Devorah Leah Dubov, co-director of Chabad of Greater Orlando; Chani Konikov, co-director of Chabad... Full story
With the average volunteer model aged 40 years plus, the Jewish Pavilion's "Spring into Fashion" held at Bloomingdales' in Orlando on Feb. 5 showcased beauty and fashions for all ages. More than 100 women gathered at the eighth annual Jewish Pavilion Fashion Show for a morning of friendship, food, fashion and fun. A handful of Pavilion volunteers, ranging from college students to retirees, graciously served as runway models as event commentator, Rachel Jensen, shared the latest seasonal fashion... Full story
Oy vay, here we go again?... I am really getting concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism. It is upsetting to say the least, but not talking about it, keeping quiet about it, is definitely the WRONG thing to do. So I am passing on to you the following article in part from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest: "The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a unanimous resolution regarding 'the safety and security of Jewish communities in Europe.' This follows... Full story
BERLIN (JTA) - Set amid a 1944 prisoner uprising at Auschwitz, "Son of Saul" stood out as a long shot when its producers first applied for funding from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany. The film's director, Laszlo Nemes, had no experience with feature films; its lead actor hadn't been on a film set in 15 years; and its script included long, silent and out-of-focus shots. But the Claims Conference, which negotiates restitution for Nazi victims, ultimately decided to help... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)-My first transgression was a cheesesteak. I was 6 years old, maybe younger, staring down the gateway to deviance. If my dinner plate were the back page of Highlights for Children, I had the answer in the bag. What was wrong with the picture? A gross violation of church and state. The flagrant commingling, no-outright canoodling-of two items that had no business being together: milk and meat. At home, we observed the laws of kashrut: two sets of silverware, two sets of... Full story
