Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 4177 - 4201 of 4548
Italians rip Gordon-Levitt NEW YORK (JTA)—Apparently lots and lots of sex isn’t the most potentially offensive thing about Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s latest film, “Don Jon.” The Italian American One Voice Coalition has accused the Jewish actor-director of promoting “racist stereotypes” in the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Here we go again with the same shop-worn, racist stereotypes of Italian Americans in movies,” said organization founder Emanuele “Manny” Alfano. “It never end... Full story
The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)—Teenagers Mark Matsuki and Leon Feldman came to study in the Boston area this summer as strangers and left as friends, unintentionally regrafting family-like branches of a tree that first took root four generations ago. In Leningrad in 1932, Dora Belinsky, Julia Kritchevski and Natasha Gershovich met as first-graders and established what would become lifelong bonds. The parents of the girls becam... Full story
Chandler, Ariz.—Modern Jewish families that shy away from participating in the annual Passover Seder due to its typical two- to five-hour ceremony, will cheer Cass and Nellie Foster’s “Sixty-Minute Seder: Preserving the Essence of the Passover Haggadah.” “Cass and Nellie Foster have done an amazing job of sifting the essence of the Passover ritual from the embellishments of time. Each section is explained clearly, with the appropriate blessings in Hebrew and transliteration. The outstanding glossary of terms make it possible for a newcomer to u... Full story
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA)—Some were psyched for the nostalgia of “The Goldbergs,” a new ABC sitcom about a boisterous, outspoken American family set in the 1980s. But Wednesday’s premiere was a little too loaded with references to that neon-colored, big-haired decade—think REO Speedwagon, Sam Goody, hair crimping and rabbit-tail key chains. Such period gags aside, early on it looks in many ways to be just another formulaic sitcom. There’s Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey), the clan’s overbearing m... Full story
(JTA)—At his office in London’s newly opened, $80 million Jewish community center, Raymond Simonson fumbles with a state-of-the-art telephone switchboard. “Sorry, I’m embarrassed, but we’ve only just moved into our offices,” says Simonson, the 40-year-old boss of London’s first American-style JCC, which opened Sunday. “Now the article will say ‘New CEO can’t even answer his own phone.’ “ With his credentials, Simonson can afford to be self-deprecating. The former director of the Jewish... Full story
A complete surprise... At least to me. I read the following in the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) recently: “This October, Israel once again plans to offer some 100 sacrificial animals to needy citizens in Dakar.” (What is meant by “sacrificial” animals? Is it what I think it is? For shame!) To continue: “Eli Ben-Tura, the Israeli ambassador posted in the capital, said ‘It registers very strongly with locals that Israelis give them sheep for a Muslim holiday while most Arab embassies d... Full story
Sarah Silverman’s cross NEW YORK (6NoBacon)—Sarah Silverman revealed in a recent appearance on W. Kamau Bell’s show “Totally Biased” that she was hurt by the jokes made about her age at the Comedy Central roast of James Franco. It was somewhat surprising—not because the jokes weren’t offensive, but because it isn’t like Silverman hasn’t dished it out herself over the course of her career. But far more shocking than her thin skin was the thing viewers noticed on her skin during the interview: th... Full story
When Jews feel connected to their community, money will flow—to Jewish causes and elsewhere. That, in short, is the main finding of a broad new nationwide study of American Jewish philanthropy. Led by Jumpstart, a Los Angeles-based think tank and incubator for innovative Jewish nonprofits, the study, titled “Connected to Give,” asked nearly 3,000 Jews across the United States about their giving habits. This central finding, published in a report released Sept. 3, may seem self-evident, but that doesn’t make it any less significant, according to... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)—Dean Meminger sat in owner Irv Bader’s office at Camp Seneca Lake and talked of his girlfriend, her battle with lupus and their plans to marry. Meminger, known as “The Dream” as a star guard at Marquette University and a key reserve for the New York Knicks’ 1973 championship team, had just finished a four-day stint at a basketball camp at the Pocono Mountains’ Jewish facility. He had taught the players with enthusiasm and his demeanor bespoke an apparent contentment with life. Be... Full story
CHICAGO (JTA)—When I was 28 years old, I had just gotten out of a serious relationship, and to avoid the onslaught of “When are you getting married?” I left Chicago with two bags, my bike and my laptop and headed for Israel. Within a few months I found a job and met a guy, whom I later married. A few years later, trouble hit when I started trying to have children. With all the right drugs, my body could get pregnant, but I had three miscarriages —two at my job. It was devastating. During... Full story
The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA)—The photograph shows a lighthearted moment at the end of a war that four decades later still prompts analysis and evokes somber reflections. Snapped just after Israel and Egypt had signed an agreement ending the Yom Kippur War in February 1974, the photo shows two Israeli soldiers swimming in the Suez Canal. It was among several war-era photos from the Israel Defense Forces’ archives published recently by Yedioth Ahronoth as the 40th anniver... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA) – Needing a gift for retiring New York Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera, the Baltimore Orioles pitched their idea for a sculpture to the Israel-born artist Omri Amrany. No surprise there, even though Amrany knows nothing about baseball. The 59-year-old Amrany, now living in the Chicago area, has become the go-to guy for sculptures of athletic giants. A week after the Orioles put in their request, they had their gift for Rivera, who retired Sunday after a record-breaking career w... Full story
One of the bitter ironies of history is that Hitler and the Nazis loved music but it did nothing to soothe the savage breast of Nazi Germany. A second irony is that the high culture of Western Europe, including its heritage of classical music, featured the compositions and performances of a great many Jewish musicians. The irony suffuses the romantic tale that Carol Jean Delmar tells in “Serenade: A Memoir of Music and Love From Vienna and Prague to Los Angeles” (Willow Lane Press, $27.99). Her parents, Franz and Franziska, met and fell in lov... Full story
Tampa Bay Bucs offensive lineman Gabe Carimi usually fasts on Yom Kippur, but this year, the day before the team’s Sept. 15 home opener against the New Orleans Saints, he decided not to. In past seasons he has observed 25 hours of fasting for the holiday of Yom Kippur; even if it came during the day before a game, as it did this year — sundown tonight to sundown Saturday. But this year he decided to postpone it because he has been battling a cold. “I’ve fasted on the day before a game, but it wa... Full story
Thanks to the Jewish Pavilion, residents in 54 independent, assisted and skilled nursing facilities were thrilled to begin their New Year with apples and honey, challah and honey cake. They cried tears of joy when they heard the blowing of the shofar and the singing of Kol Nidre. More than a dozen facilities provided a traditional Jewish meal beginning with matzah ball soup and ending with Jewish apple cake. Service booklets, menus and recipes were supplied by program directors at the Jewish... Full story
Boy Scout Troop 641 is sponsored by the Children of Abraham Foundation and is the only troop in Central Florida sponsored by a Jewish organization. This photo was taken of the Troop at Camp Raven Knob in Mt. Airy, N.C. this past summer. For more information about Troop 641, contact Scoutmaster Mark Kluger, holmark@cfl.rr.com.... Full story
Marian Bromberg is an active volunteer for the Pavilion. She has been visiting Health Center Windermere for the past four years. She rarely misses a Friday. Marian has greeted the residents that have passed through this facility with love, kindness and a Jewish connection. She comforts the aging, bringing Challah rolls, sharing her life and listening. Important holidays are always celebrated and made special. Marian grew up in Brooklyn, has been married to Edward for 48 years and moved to Florida in 2005. She is a member of SOJC, an active... Full story
What a tragedy... As the mother of a naval lieutenant commander whose whereabouts are never completely known to me, I admit I panicked when I heard the first newsbreak over television about the attack at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. I immediately sent my son a text and after assurance that he was safe, I calmed down but still was horribly saddened at the event that could have and should have been avoided. Of course, with the demise of 12 innocent precious people, now (and only now) a... Full story
Dr. Ruth scores at 9/11 benefit A-listers such as Billy Crystal, Jamie Foxx, Julianne Moore and Jon Hamm attended this year’s Cantor Fitzgerald and BCG Partners 9/11 Charity Day. But it was Dr. Ruth Westheimer who got the biggest laughs. Her arm in a stylish sling due to a broken wrist and shoulder, the Jewish sex maven cracked a sex joke or two at the benefit, according to Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip page. “I tripped,”she said. “I didn’t engage in sex, but I was thinking about it an... Full story
(JTA)—Susan Esther Barnes had had a rough two years. Her father’s death in April 2011 came as a shock; she hadn’t even known he had been hospitalized. And his widow leaving town for a week complicated plans for his funeral and burial. As executor of his will, Barnes discovered that the money in bank accounts that were to go to her and her sister had been transferred to someone else. All in all, it was an extraordinarily difficult ordeal, says Barnes, who wrote about the experience on her Relig... Full story
By Linda Gradstein The Media Line On a broiling Jerusalem afternoon, dozens of children are whooping and darting in and out of spouting water geysers at the newly opened “Teddy Park” named after Jerusalem’s long-time mayor Teddy Kollek. The park is just outside the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, and the fountains are surrounded by patches of grass. Most of those enjoying the water are ultra-Orthodox children whose parents would never have voted for Teddy Kollek when he was alive, but nobody seems to care. “This is the Jerusalem ocean,” Y... Full story
When someone asks me Judaism’s position on a particular subject, I usually answer, “Which Jewish tradition do you want to hear?” I’m not just talking about the differences between contemporary religious movements, but the fact that Judaism—from biblical times to the present day—offers contradictory ideas about a variety of topics. For example, as Rabbi Elaine Rose Glickman notes in “The Messiah and the Jews: Three Thousand Years of Tradition, Belief and Hope” (Jewish Lights Publishing), there is no one idea concerning the Jewish messiah.... Full story
On a recent afternoon at Lenny’s Deli in Westwood, Calif., Jon Voight reached into a black satchel and pulled out a well-worn copy of Paul Johnson’s “A History of the Jews,” then began reading aloud from the text, his fingers carefully tracing the words. Looking professorial, he glanced up from time to time to emphasize a point, his steely blue eyes peering from behind spectacles as he read with a quiet but fierce intensity of Johnson’s admiration for Judaism. Voight, 74, remains tall and trim,... Full story
Kinneret board members Geanne Share, Mollie Savage and Jacob Hara shared New Year’s wishes with Kinneret residents on Wednesday, Sept. 11, in Kinneret Apartment’s Jessie Render Social Hall. More than 30 residents from Kinneret I and Kinneret II apartments gathered in the social hall and learned about the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holiday while enjoying a snack of apples and honey. If you would or your organization would like to be a part of our Jewish programming efforts, contact Leslie Col... Full story
(JTA)—Many Jews feel a connection with their ancestors, but how many have regular conversations with them? Rebecca Rosen, a 36-year-old mother of two, is one who does. Rosen lists her profession as “psychic medium,” and her specialty is communing with the dead, acting as “the bridge between the spiritual and the physical world.” Rosen is a far cry from most psychics, with their storefront tables, tarot cards and crystal balls. She has appeared on “Dr. Phil” and “The Rachael Ray Show” and write... Full story
