Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Princesses’ gig a teacher’s nightmare NEW YORK (6NoBacon.com)—When Stefan Serie appeared as an extra on Bravo’s “Princesses: Long Island,” he did what the female stars on the show do practically every episode—prance around a party wearing minimal clothing. The difference between Serie and the ladies (one of the differences, anyway) is he actually had something to lose: a job. The 30-year-old health teacher in Merrick showed up shirtless on the series premiere at Erica’s bash in the Hamptons, h... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)—The show was supposed to be a celebration of glamour and glitz, but in the second episode it dropped a bombshell: One of the protagonists’ husbands died of cardiac arrest. The five stars of “Meusharot,” Israel’s version of the “Real Housewives” reality series, handled the news in their own ways. One grappled with her feelings about death. Another baked a cake to bring to the shiva. Jennifer Snukal tried a different approach, arranging a sexy photo shoot that aimed to produce an... Full story
Right around the corner... When you read this column, hopefully I will have returned safely from Las Vegas... but actually, I don’t fly out there for another day. I hope my airport experience is more pleasant than on my last flight, which was round trip to Chicago from Orlando. It was an especially long wait for me on the TSA lines because the guy in front of me had to remove his ear pierce, his nose pierce, his tongue pierce, his belly-button pierce... (And I’m grateful not to have to remove my... Full story
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA)—Hours after assailants shot Rabbi Artur Ovadia Isakov on a street in the Russian republic of Dagestan two weeks ago, mainstream Russian media were still scrambling to ascertain his identity. But Isakov’s name and condition already were known to the readers of Jewishnet.ru, a growing social network with 80,000 daily users that has relied on user participation to cover Jewish news and help connect fast-assimilating Jews across the Russian-speaking world. The first report abo... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)—For Howie Perlman, a kibbutznik in Israel, hearing about the New York reunion of his Yeshiva of Central Queens Class of 1973 spurred him to post a few period photographs on Facebook. Then he had an idea: Let’s hold a reunion in Israel of the 15 or so YCQ graduates living there. Perlman was looking for a way to honor his parents, Martin and Zelda, who had died one month apart last fall. What better way to remember them, he figured, than recalling his time at a school for whi... Full story
Seeing the green scaly skin and long snouts on the characters, you might not guess at first that Ed Shankman’s latest book is about a child’s visit to his grandmother in the Sunshine State—inspired, in fact, by his own two Jewish bubbes, one assimilated and sophisticated, the other the embodiment of Yiddishkeit to her core. “Both these women were amazingly influential in my life, taught me all kinds of stuff, and showered me with unconditional love and appreciation,” he told N.J. Jewish Ne... Full story
By Abigail Klein Leichman Israeli rescue equipment helped workers save the lives of at least eight trapped miners in South Africa on July 28, after a nightmarish three-day ordeal underground that left three dead, allegedly at the hands of an armed rival illegal mining crew. The Agilite Instant Harness was used by Riga Rescue volunteer Graham Holmquist to lower a South African police interpreter down into the shaft to communicate with the injured miners regarding the procedures to follow. The product is designed for scenarios where military,... Full story
Inviting the museum visitor down hallways and through rooms of rendered memories and memorials, the Gary Baseman show at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles uses a design based on the artist’s Jewish childhood home to offer up a retrospective of his extended family of characters, related artworks, and family memorabilia. The show’s title, “The Door is Always Open,” is taken from a remark Baseman’s Yiddish speaking father made while explaining his attitude about hospitality: “Gary, th... Full story
Almost 70 years after the Holocaust and 50 years after Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations, a textbook commission is shedding light on how the two countries are promoting their sustained cultural and historical connection. Dirk Sawdowski, chairman of the German-Israeli Textbook Commission, describes that there is a fundamental difference between the German education system and the Israeli education system that “finds expression in each country’s secondary and high school textbooks.” “Although both systems try to impart western... Full story
Jewish names speak to our very essence. As the world celebrates with William and Kate over the birth of their baby boy, speculation over what they will name their son is over. They chose George Alexander Louis. But you can call him His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge for short. A name is one of the first gifts new parents bestow on their children. Names convey powerful symbolism about our hopes and dreams for our kids. Modern researchers have even found that names can correspond to our life choices and circumstances, indicating how... Full story
Tel Aviv—The ionosphere, one of the regions of the upper atmosphere, plays an important role in global communications. Ionized by solar radiation, this electricity-rich region is used for the transmission of long wave communications, such as radio waves. Now Professor Colin Price of Tel Aviv University’s Department of Geophysical, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, working alongside Ph.D. candidate Israel Silber, has discovered that the radio waves reflecting back to Earth from the ionosphere offer valuable news on climate change as well. The... Full story
Penny D’Agostino’s musical performance, on behalf of the Jewish Pavilion, at Horizon Bay brought smiles and joy to more than 40 seniors of all faiths, who love to sing old tunes from the 1920s and ’30s. The ice cream sundaes, prepared by Emily Glickstein and Lee Goldberg and served by Pat Rubenstein’s granddaughters, added to the festivities.... Full story
Egypt still in the headlines… As we go to press, Egypt is still making news so I thought I would write about the new head of Egyptian Jews. I wrote about the passing of Carmen Weinstein, head of the Egyptian Jewish people in last week’s column. This information comes directly from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest about her replacement: “With the passing of Carmen Weinstein, MAGDA HAROUN, 60, has been unanimously elected to preside over Egypt’s thinning Jewish communities. The daughte... Full story
Portman’s film in Jerusalem NEW YORK (6NoBacon.com)—Natalie Portman is working on a special homecoming. The Jerusalem-born actress will be heading back to her hometown to shoot an adaptation of “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” the autobiographical novel by Israeli author Amos Oz. Portman is expected to star in the film, as well as direct and write the screenplay. She first expressed interest in adapting the novel six years ago and discussed filming the movie in Hebrew. It’s unconfirmed if that’s... Full story
First person by Alice Feiring NEW YORK (JTA)—When I received the Evite to my yeshiva high school’s 40th reunion, I reverted from an East Village-based traveling wine writer to the awkward, alienated high school student I once was. Back then, the others wanted to go to Israel, but I longed for New York City. They wanted religion, but I longed to drop acid. They wanted to have babies, but I longed for books. I was lonely, rebellious and filled with nearly unbearable needs. Shabbos felt cla... Full story
(JTA)—Standing beneath the chuppah during his wedding in May, Doug Friedlander said he felt a “magical moment,” and it wasn’t just because of his blushing bride. Theirs was the first Jewish wedding in Helena, Ark., in more than 20 years. An ailing Mississippi River town of 12,000, Helena once was home to a Jewish community of 150 families. Today, fewer than a dozen Jews remain, most of them 85 or older. By 2006, the community could no longer support a synagogue, and Temple Beth El was turned... Full story
PHILADELPHIA—Michael Lucas had a coming-out party on July 14. That afternoon saw the Philadelphia premiere of the gay porn icon’s first foray into mainstream film, “Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land,” which was screened as part of QFest, Philadelphia’s LGBT-themed film festival. The documentary, despite its suggestive title, is a straightforward affair (no one undresses), as Lucas takes viewers from Tel Aviv nightlife to openly gay members of the Israel Defense Forces to same-sex w... Full story
TEL AVIV—Heart tissue sustains irreparable damage in the wake of a heart attack. Because cells in the heart cannot multiply and the cardiac muscle contains few stem cells, the tissue is unable to repair itself—it becomes fibrotic and cannot contract properly. In their search for innovative methods to restore heart function, scientists have been exploring cardiac “patches” that could be transplanted into the body to replace damaged heart tissue. Now, in his Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Dr. Tal Dvir and his Ph.D. stude... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The two Israeli television cameramen awaiting the Canadian basketball team’s arrival at the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah Games didn’t hint at the chaos about to envelop Amar’e Stoudemire. The 6-foot-11 forward for the New York Knicks stepped from the chartered bus and the cameramen departed, duly satisfied they had captured their shots. But the party was just beginning. Seemingly every one of the 9,000 athletes waiting to parade through Teddy Stadium here for the opening cer... Full story
RAANANA, Israel (JTA)—When U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch lost his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2004, forcing him out of Congress for the first time in 12 years, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. So he did something not entirely uncommon among American Jews who haven’t quite figured out their next step: He went to Israel. More than eight years later, Deutsch is still here, living with his family in Raanana, a Tel Aviv suburb. His 22-year-old son recently completed a stint as a combat sol... Full story
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, together with This World: The Jewish Values Network, will host Dr. Mehmet Oz, with wife, Lisa, on their first visit to Israel from July 28 through Aug. 4, where Oz is slated to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trip was initiated by Shmuley, who presented a Champions of Jewish Values award to Oz and his wife, together with Elie Wiesel and Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson, at the annual This World gala dinner held recently in New York. Through the g... Full story
The summer heat can become so enervating that it’s too hot to move; fortunately, though, it’s never too hot to read. In fact, reading is a great way to escape the heat. “Jo Joe” When 13-year-old Judith Ormond moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to live with her white, Christian grandparents, she faces true prejudice for the first time. The problem? Not only is she Jewish, but biracial. After finishing high school, Judith promises never to return. However, she breaks that vow 17 years later when an anonymous message arrives saying her grandmo... Full story
Madonna’s bar mitzvah boy NEW YORK (6NoBacon.com)—Madonna reunited with her ex-husband and director Guy Ritchie to celebrate their son Rocco’s bar mitzvah on Saturday. The coming-of-age celebration took place at The Kabbalah Centre in New York and included a small gathering the previous night. Madonna has been known for her involvement in Kabbalah studies since the 1990s. The singer posted a photo on her Instagram of Rocco completing the writing of a Torah scroll with the caption, “ ‘We finish the last letter of the Torah for Rocco’s B... Full story
It’s almost time… I recently found an old…very old column of mine dated Feb. 8, 2002. (You read right, 2002!) In it, I made some comments about my marriage to Irv, and since our 53rd wedding anniversary is almost upon us (Aug. 3, 1960), I decided to repeat the comments: “I’ve mentioned often that I am married a long time to the same man. We exchanged vows with the words ‘Till death do us part.’ “Back in ancient times that wasn’t such a binding commitment. People knew they weren’t going to... Full story
A new study published in the American Journal of Ophthalmology shows that rates of preventable blindness in Israel have been cut by more than half over the last decade, from 33.8 cases of blindness per 100,000 residents in 1999 to 14.8 in 2010. Israel’s success in preventing and treating all four main causes of avoidable blindness—age-related deterioration, glaucoma, diabetes and cataract—is unmatched anywhere else in the world, says the study’s lead author, Dr. Michael Belkin of the Goldsch... Full story
