Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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For the last 20 years, Scouts from Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop 641 have participated in the Annual Memorial Day Service at Woodlawn Cemetery in Gotha. This year the Scouts marched behind the Orange County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard in the opening ceremony. As the service began, Scouts handed out cold water to the Veterans, families and guests attending the event. During a special part of the service, the Boy and Girl Scouts handed out carnations to the widows of military veterans. For... Full story
(JTA)-Given the long and storied history of the Holocaust film genre, it's unusual for a new movie on the subject to be lauded as innovative. But the new film "Son of Saul," the first by Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes, is being called just that. It also was one of the most widely talked about films at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where it landed the Grand Prix award for second best film. (The French film "Dheepan" won the top prize, the Palme d'Or.) "Son of Saul" stars... Full story
"We have given the best years of our lives to remember-to remember the tragedy of what happened... Now we are starting to see some light from all of our efforts." Such is the sentiment of Ilana Romano, widow of Israeli weightlifter Yossef Romano, who was murdered by Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli Olympic team during the summer of 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany. That fateful event became known as the "Munich Massacre." Since then,... Full story
For the 2014-2015 school year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando introduced a new model of Jewish teen education in Central Florida: the Jewish Teen Education Network (JTEN). With the launch of this innovative program, the Federation successfully expanded the landscape of Jewish teen education, providing students with opportunities to learn about history, current events, culture and values from a Jewish perspective. JTEN began its inaugural year with three goals: give grants to area synagogues and agencies for specialized teen education... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-The hamburger, and definitely the cheeseburger, is arguably the most iconic American food. You would be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't love a good burger. But can the cheeseless kosher burger compare? In New York recently, gourmet kosher burgers have been all the rage. Three upscale kosher burger joints-Amsterdam Burger, Gotham Burger and, most recently Boeuf & Bun -- have opened in the past few years alone to much enthusiasm, and even some decent reviews. Still,... Full story
A potentially ugly row is brewing in the United Kingdom over an academic conference, due to be held at the University of Southampton in April, which carries the title, “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism.” Given that a sentence construction like that one will leave most people with their eyes glazed over, let’s just cut to the chase here. The real title of this conference is, “Does the State of Israel Have a Legal Right to Exist? No, Of Course it Doesn’t.” Hence the growing volley of c... Full story
Holocaust memory... This is a new life-affirming perspective on Holocaust memory that I read recently in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. I pass it along to you omitting the many contributors to the book, because they were just too numerous to mention here: "Seventy years after the liberation of the Nazi death and concentration camps and the end of World War II, as the numbers of Holocaust survivors are steadily dwindling, their children and grandchildren have increasingly assumed... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Summer is almost here; I can feel it. Every time we get a warmer day, the women of New York City are giddy with sandal wearing and summertime accessories. The flowers are blooming, the farmer's markets have returned and the season of grilling is almost upon us. Growing up, barbecue sauce-slathered chicken was a staple, probably only because covering chicken in a sticky, sweet sauce was a surefire way to get the kids to eat it. But at some point I fell out of love with "BBQ... Full story
By Brian Blum (ISRAEL21c)-Did your cursor just vanish? That's not a glitch but a feature for Israeli fraud-busting startup BioCatch. Have you ever noticed that when you are visiting your bank's website or checking out at an ecommerce site, the cursor inexplicably vanishes and you have to move your mouse to get it back? This "trick" is part of how an award-winning Israeli fraud-busting startup is keeping users safe online. BioCatch calls the missing cursor maneuver and similar techniques it... Full story
(Jewniverse via JTA)-Do you wish pop star Lorde would lay down a track in Yiddish already? Well, the next best thing just happened. The Technicalities, an Israeli husband-and-wife Yiddish music duo in their early 30s, recently recorded this cover of Lorde's hit song "Team." Shira Z. Carmel-who also sings in the popular Israeli doo-wop band The Hazelnuts-croons in the mamaloshen with her husband Alon Diament on accordion. The Yiddish cover is a part of an ambitious multilingual Holy Land tribute... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—In May 1948, I was walking down Market Street in San Francisco when I passed a small movie theater with a marquee that announced “The Jews Fight for Their State.” For the first time, it fully hit me that the Jews—by the gentile consensus of the time, mainly cowards and draft dodgers—were actually taking on five vastly superior armies. I took the train back to Berkeley but had a hard time focusing on my studies at the University of California. With the school year nearing its end, I decided to go join the fight. I was among som... Full story
The Seeking Kin column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)-The name one Jerusalemite bears is fraught with meaning. Shimon Balas, a new immigrant from Yemen, was killed by a Syrian sniper on April 4, 1951. His father, Shalom Balas, was so desperate for a male heir that in the next five years he produced two daughters before a son was born in 1956-when Shalom was about 70 years old. He named him Shimon, too. "My father would always expect me to be like my... Full story
Mai Azem, a 16-year-old Israeli Arab, had never met an American teenager. Until she joined the “Q School” in Tira, a predominantly Arab city in central Israel, she wouldn’t have been able to have a conversation with one, either. But thanks to Q Schools, an after-school English language-enrichment program for Arab youths, and an interfaith evening arranged by the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) on Mother’s Day earlier this month, she managed to converse with American Jewish students, get to know them, and exchange personal informa... Full story
On Thursday, May 28, the Jewish Academy of Orlando graduated 14 eighth-grade students at their annual end of the celebration. Five of the 14 graduates have been students at the Jewish Academy of Orlando since kindergarten. Throughout their years at the Jewish Academy, this group has been known for their strength of character, leadership and strong academics. Commenting on this milestone in the students' lives, Head of School Alan Rusonik said "This has been an exceptional group of students and... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-In 2003, two years after the website was founded, the editors of Wikipedia faced a dilemma: How should they refer to the part-fence, part-wall Israel was building along the West Bank border? The article's first iteration-published amid the bloody second intifada, or Palestinian uprising-called it a "security fence" and focused on Israeli support. Within a half-hour, another editor added a sentence about a United Nations condemnation. Later that day, the phrase "apartheid wall"... Full story
(JTA)-Hollywood Reporter's new cover story interview with actress Natalie Portman may be one of the most heavily Jewish-themed articles the magazine has ever published. In it, the Israel-born Portman, who's preparing for the May 18 debut of her film adaptation of Israeli author Amos Oz's "A Tale of Love and Darkness," which was shot in Jerusalem, talks about everything from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (she's not a fan) to anti-Semitism in Paris, where she now lives, to reading... Full story
(Jewniverse via JTA)-What do Judas Iscariot and hot-and-sour soup have in common? A rubbery mushroom known as "Auricularia auricula-judae," or "Jew's ear." The term "Jew's ear" might make you feel funny, but it was not intended to be anti-Semitic. It's more about the fact that these tasty mushrooms look a lot like wrinkly ears and are most often found on the wood of elder trees. Lest you forget your Christian gospel, Judas Iscariot hanged himself on an elder tree after he betrayed Jesus Christ.... Full story
I received a phone call... A very lovely sounding lady named LILLY phoned me recently to talk about anti-Semitism. She felt that Jewish organizations and communities should let all the good things Jewish people do be known via media ("positive commercials" she said) so Jews would be much more valued in society and less likely to be picked on. I am trying to do just that, especially when I write about all the scientific breakthroughs coming out of Israeli universities. But then, mostly Jewish... Full story
By Gabrielle Birkner NEW YORK (JTA)-"This was a woman," the narrator explained, as the camera pans over a figure so emaciated and burnt that it's barely recognizable as human. It's one of the more arresting scenes in "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey," a highly unusual Holocaust documentary shot and scripted 70 years ago, and crafted with the help of the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. But it almost didn't see the light of day. The recently completed film has begun making the... Full story
NEW YORK-The World Jewish Congress (WJC) and The Weinstein Company announced today that Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren will receive the WJC Recognition Award for her role in the acclaimed film 'Woman in Gold' and for helping to educate the public about the issues of Nazi-looted art. WJC President Ronald S. Lauder will present Mirren with the inaugural award at a special event in New York later this year at a date to be determined. Mirren will be honored for her portrayal of Maria... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)-From the wrong angle, it looks like a bunch of unevenly stacked tuna cans, as if someone in the grocery store did a bad job. Look at it from the other direction, and its shape becomes clear: The cans are, in fact, a sculpture of a giant open hand holding a bag of clementines. That's the idea behind "Come and See What Cans Can Be," an exhibit of seven installation artworks constructed almost entirely from canned food. On display at the atrium of Ra'anana Park, in a Tel Aviv suburb,... Full story
(JTA)-Plenty of mobile apps help consumers order meals for delivery or offer recipes. But a new app developed by Israeli entrepreneurs will actually prepare the food for you on your kitchen counter. While not quite as fantastical as it sounds-to use the app you also need a coffeemaker-sized appliance called The Genie-the invention promises to prepare mess-free, all-natural, healthy food in just seconds. Described by one writer as "like a Keurig [coffeemaker] for food," the device, which looks... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Barack Obama has a message for American Jews: I don’t shy away from disagreeing with Israel publicly, because I care about Israel and our shared values. The president marked Jewish American Heritage Month with a speech last Friday at Washington’s oldest Jewish congregation, Adas Israel. His remarks glided from the triumphs of American Jewish accomplishment to Jewish involvement in the civil rights movement. When it came to Israel, Obama was, as usual, unstinting in his pledge to protect the interests of the Jewis... Full story
The Seeking Kin column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. (JTA) – Menahem Orenstein remembers back to the late 1960s when a customer at the Haifa repair shop where he was working would bring in an Austin Mini-Moke for servicing. Orenstein and another shop employee—his best friend, David Beck—enjoyed the novelty of the tiny green car they thought resembled a toy. The vehicle had no doors and was so low, climbing in was a breeze. Their workday done, the two teenagers would sit in the Mini-Moke, fiddling with the steering wheel... Full story
CHARLESTON, S.C. (JTA)-Renowned for its gracious architecture and signature Southern charm, Charleston is increasingly celebrated as a foodie heaven. The trouble is, in a city whose culinary specialties embrace (and glorify) oysters, she-crab soup, and shrimp and grits, the burgeoning restaurant scene is nearly off limits to those who keep kosher. But things are set to improve for the kosher-observant later this year, when the College of Charleston opens a $1 million kosher vegetarian dining... Full story
