Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 3633 - 3657 of 4518
NEW YORK (JTA)-Hamantaschen talk is always about the filling: prune, poppy, apricot and strawberry, just to name a few favorites. I love being creative with the fillings, but this year I wanted to change up things with a flavored dough rather than just a fun filling. And what better ingredient to include than chocolate. Once you have made your chocolate dough, you can still be creative with the fillings, although I recommend two combinations below: triple chocolate, which is filled with nutella... Full story
He didn't have to be helpful. He didn't know me or anything about me, only that I had an idea for a novel about the last living survivor of the Holocaust, and wanted to speak to him. He was intrigued, so he agreed to sit down with me after his lecture at the University of Western Ontario in London. Make that London, Ontario, a Canadian city of 350,000 people 120 miles west of Toronto. Sir Martin Gilbert, who just passed away at the age of 78, was one of the world's eminent historians and quite... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Israeli and U.S. dignitaries gathered at the Israeli Embassy on Thursday, Feb. 5, as Bridges for Peace, a Christian outreach of unconditional friendship to Israel and the Jewish community, presented its second ambulance to Heart to Heart and the people of Israel on behalf of Christians across America. On hand for ceremonies were Reuven Azar, Israeli Embassy deputy head of Mission; Rev. Rebecca Brimmer, Bridges for Peace International president and CEO; and Dr. Jim Solberg, Bri... Full story
Never in the 23 years of Natan Glassman's volunteering at an Israel Defense Forces army base has he seen anything like the outpouring of love and respect garnered by American veteran Brian Mast. "Brian was a celebrity here, and everyone wanted to be with him, from the old ladies who volunteer at the base to the generals," says Glassman. "He's a hero but as we saw, a very humble one." The "hero" Glassman describes is a 34-year-old Christian, a full-time Harvard University student, and a father... Full story
Global Warming? Are you kidding? It's still snowing!... I've had people actually say things like this to me when I mention the threat of global warming. I received a letter from the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, KEN KIMMELI. I decided to pass it along (in part) to you with an aside in parenthesis at the end by me: "Audacious... irresponsible... flat-out dangerous... However you describe it, there's no avoiding the relentless flood of misinformation polluting our public... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-I have always had a love of affair with the city of New Orleans. I have traveled there nearly 10 times since my early 20s for work a few times, but more often to visit our growing number of dear friends who live there. I love the warmth of the city, the vibrant culture and history, the music, and of course, the food. While I enjoyed many delicious eats over my travels to the city, the first time I tasted a King Cake was three years ago, just a few months before our daughter... Full story
(JTA)-"You know, it's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them?" That was President Richard Nixon speaking to his top aide, H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, during a recorded White House meeting back in 1971. Fast forward some four decades, a new nonprofit group based in Portland, Ore., is hoping to prove Nixon right. Le'Or, founded about a year ago with seed funding from Dr.... Full story
(JTA)-Israel's biggest literary prize, the Sapir Prize, has the drama and mystery of a lottery. The identity of the judges remains secret until shortly before the ceremony, when they meet for an early dinner to decide the fate of the five nominees short-listed for best novel. Meanwhile in a separate room the short-listed novelists and their families, dressed in their finest and sipping wine, wait for the ceremony, broadcast a few hours later on Israel's Channel 2, to begin. The Sapir also has... Full story
By Shannon Sarna NEW YORK (JTA)-Just over a year ago, Israeli friends Josh Sharon, Solomon Taraboulsi and Gabriel Israel moved to New York to pursue professional dreams: Sharon and Taraboulsi to prove themselves in real estate, and Gabriel to attend the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. Instead, the twenty-somethings may have found something even better: serving up shakshuka, a Middle Eastern egg-and-tomatoes dish, on the streets of Manhattan. The three childhood friends from... Full story
PARK CITY, Utah (JTA)-The Sarah Silverman that the world knows and loves is a loudmouthed, foulmouthed, ribald comedian who tramples on the boundaries of social decency with sharp purpose and uproarious glee. The Sarah Silverman who stars in the domestic drama "I Smile Back," which premiered at Sundance, is stripped of both bravado and joy. In the movie, which marks Silverman's first starring dramatic role, she plays Laney, a deeply depressed housewife who veers into self-destructive behavior.... Full story
Kindergarteners through third graders of Congregation Ohev Shalom have a blast celebrating Tu B’Shevat dipping fruit into chocolate at Machaneh Ohev Lite on Feb. 1.... Full story
In this shemitah year, when the land in Israel is to lie fallow (no planting, watering, harvesting), Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Israel came up with a creative idea for planting trees, which is the tradition for Tu B'Shevat. The hospital is decorated with balloon trees.... Full story
Kudos to Switzerland... I recently read an article in the World Jewish Congress Digest that, frankly, made me happy. My spouse and I visited Switzerland a few years ago. We loved the people, the scenery, the food, etc., but that's not what I refer to as making me happy... although I loved the trip. Rather, I'm referring to this article about a Swiss Museum's refusal to accept art that was looted by Nazis. I pass it on to you: "Calling art stolen from Jewish collectors or taken from German state... Full story
Congregation Ohev Shalom eighth-grade Shabbaton features "USY University," Jan. 23-25, where the theme was making the transition from middle school to high school with a Jewish lens. Discussions included healthy ways to cope with stress, "ask the experts" question and answers with the USY board about high school, anti-Semitism. On Shabbat afternoon participants learned about the different positions in USY through fun and interactive games and activities. The COS USY board and COS youth staff... Full story
Recently, the Orlando Sentinel chose Harriett Lake as the recipient of the 2014 Central Floridian of the Year for her generous financial support of many organizations within Central Florida. Since 2003, Lake has given about $1.5 million annually to many causes, from Kinneret, JFS Orlando and the Holocaust Center to MD Anderson Cancer Center and Florida Hospital's boutiques for breast cancer survivors to the multiple performing arts groups, including the Southern Ballet Theatre, Madcow Theatre,... Full story
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando announced that applications for the 2015 Coleman Israel Travel Scholarship are now available. The Ronald Coleman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Coleman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to participate in educational experiences in Israel. It is open to all Jewish teens who are permanent residents of Central Florida, and are in ninth through 12th grade. Gap year programs are... Full story
(Jewniverse via JTA)-It might seem that the only Jews left in Pakistan are underground-in Karachi's lone Jewish cemetery. But that's not quite so. Faisal (Fishel) Benkhald, the son of a Muslim father and Iranian Jewish mother, dares to call himself a Jew in a country where the Jewish minority began dwindling in the 1940s with the British partition of India and today has all but vanished. Benkhald also leads a one-man campaign to save the Karachi cemetery from being sold to provide more burial... Full story
The Seeking Kin column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)-Miriam Grab has almost nothing to go on in her search for relatives, not even names. While the retired teacher in Haifa has five children, 29 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren, she lacks an extended family. Her father's relatives from her native Czechoslovakia were wiped out in the Holocaust. Grab figures, though, that someone on that side of the family must have survived. She concedes that the... Full story
As I write this column... (Well in advance of publication, of course), it is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of the horrible Nazi death camps where our people suffered and many died. Attention (I'm especially addressing possible Holocaust deniers)... Here is an article directly from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest, written a few weeks before the anniversary day: "More than 100 survivors of the Auschwitz death camp from across the globe will travel to Poland to... Full story
(JTA)-From Givatayim's renowned Sabich Shel Oved-a simple eggplant-sandwich shop with lines snaking around the corner-to lesser-known places like Chachaporia Georgian cuisine in Jerusalem, the new e-book "Israel's Top 100 Ethnic Restaurants" provides the English-speaking tourist a window into the delectable, folksy Israeli foods that locals have raved about for years. Israel has been on the culinary ascent of late, with dozens of food blogs, new high-end restaurants, cooking shows and celebrity...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The opening of an exhibit at the Austrian Embassy in Washington of more than 50 photographs by an 84-year-old Jewish Nobel laureate was something of an amateur hour-twice over. Both Austria's ambassador and Martin Karplus, the photographer, referred to the pictures-postcard-style views of Europe in the 1950s and a more recent series on China and India-as hobby rather than high art. Then at a reception, many of the approximately 250 guests handed their phones to strangers to... Full story
DENVER-A groundbreaking effort is underway to help synagogues and JCC early childhood education (ECE) centers increase enrollment, better engage Jewish families and build stronger connections to the Jewish community. Led by Rose Community Foundation, the initiative-known as BUILDing Jewish ECE (www.buildingjewishece.org)-involves a comprehensive partnership between the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) and the JCC Association, and is open to all nine Denver and Boulder synagogues and JCCs that... Full story
By Uriel Heilman NEW SQUARE, N.Y. (JTA)-Get Rabbi Shulim Greenberg talking about the health benefits of pomegranate juice and he sounds like a homeopathic nutritionist-with a Yiddish accent. Every January, the Hasidic charity run by Greenberg obtains some 40,000 pounds of California pomegranates, squeezes them into juice and ships the product in eight-ounce plastic bottles to ailing Jews. The recipients-mostly residents of the haredi Orthodox strongholds of Brooklyn, Lakewood, N.J., and New... Full story
I've never been to Cuba... Let's see... in South America I've been to Puerto Rico, Mexico, The Bahamas, Brazil (a few times as I record and perform there and my agent is Brazilian), and other Latino places... but never, ever to Havana. I would love to go, mind you, but because of restrictions I couldn't... that is... until now! Listening to the "State of the Union" speech last night, I feel optimistic. I even heard a news flash on NBC television a while ago, stating that a high United States... Full story
Earlier this month, Shalom Families met to fly kites in Winter Park. After a week of rain and storm clouds, the weather brightened up for a beautiful day of sunshine and would you believe it? Wind! Young families gathered with their princess and superhero kites for a fun afternoon in the sun. Shalom Families is part of the Our Jewish Orlando initiative reaching out to our community's next generation. For more information visit www.JFGO.org.... Full story
