Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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First of a three-part series. My big mistake, upon arriving at Jeffrey Katzenberg’s office, is that I didn’t bring my ballet slippers. But no one really told me about the choreography of a visit here, in which Katzenberg’s vassals at DreamWorks Animation, the company he co-founded and oversees, welcomed me in, warmed me up and made me wait. It’s a very pretty dance, though, past the koi ponds and cobblestone drive, the sports cars and sprawling courtyards, and into the sleek reception area wh... Full story
Seventy years ago this month, on July 28, an eyewitness to the Nazi atrocities against Europe’s Jews brought the horrifying news directly to the most powerful man on earth. It was the moment that President Franklin D. Roosevelt came face to face with the Holocaust. By the time he was 26, Polish underground member Jan Karski had been imprisoned by the Soviets, tortured by the Gestapo, and nearly drowned while escaping from a hospital in German-occupied Slovakia. After all he suffered, it would h... Full story
JERUSALEM—Several dozen Israelis – families, singles, religious, secular—sit on small rattan stools on Prophet’s Street in Jerusalem scooping up gado-gado with chopsticks. Gado-gado, for the uninitiated, is a vegetable-noodle dish with a curry-and-coconut milk sauce. So what does an Indonesian dish have to do with summer nights and culture in the capital? The delicacy is being offered by Foodtrip, served out of a food truck as part of the Jerusalem Season of Culture – a month-long festival of art, music and food in the city. The answer ca... Full story
BEERSHEVA, Israel (JTA)—In four years, it’s slated to be bigger than New York’s Central Park and consist of open fields, a sports complex, and a lake and a river filled with recycled water. Now, though, Beersheva River Park looks like much of the area surrounding the desert city of Beersheva: a panorama of sand and dirt, with a bit of trash and, on a good day, some dirty water trickling through a gorge. In one patch of empty space, workers in hard hats walk up and down rows of stadium seats... Full story
There are some people who just can’t say no to a challenge. Nina Oppenheim, the Heritage Human Service Award winner for 2013, is one of them. The Heritage Human Service Award, says Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage Florida Jewish News, is awarded to those in Central Florida’s Jewish community who perform acts of tikun olam—making the world a better place—selflessly and without thought of reward or recognition. Gaeser will present her with the award at 7 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Jew... Full story
By Abigail Klein ISRAEL21c The New York Times recently went shopping with the Israeli-American architect Michael Arad, revealing how this designer of the National September 11 Memorial scours Manhattan toy stores for unusual building-block sets to construct miniature villages with his three young children. The devoted dad last fall completed a “green roof” on his oldest child’s school building. In May, he was back in Israel to speak about his main area of expertise—urban archite... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—No praying. No kneeling. No bowing. No prostrating. No dancing. No singing. No ripping clothes. These are the rules that Jews must abide by when visiting the Temple Mount, the site where the First and Second Holy Temples once stood, located above and behind the Western Wall in the heart of Jerusalem’s Old City. Although the area is under Israeli sovereignty, the mount—known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif—is controlled by the Islamic Wakf, a joint Palestinian-Jordanian religio... Full story
(JTA)—As his mother read to him, Levi Davishoff puckered and moved his lips in the universal sign indicating that something is sour. He then pointed to the lemon pictured in the library book. His mother, Marla, was thrilled. It was the first time that Levi, then 18 months old, had communicated with the baby sign language he had been learning. He had been in therapy for developmental and cognitive delays since was 2 months old. Davishoff rushed out to buy the book, “Joseph Had a Little Overcoat,... Full story
Leonard Nimoy says there is a “strong strain of Judaism” in everything he does—including his famous on-screen hand gestures. Best known for his character Mr. Spock in the “Star Trek” television show and movies, most recently in his cameo as Spock Prime in this year’s blockbuster “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Nimoy’s Vulcan hand gesture comes from an experience he had at synagogue when he was 8 years old. Nimoy’s father told him not to look as worshippers averted their eyes during blessings recited... Full story
Recent outbreaks of salmonella and other instances of food contamination and poisoning have left people questioning the safety of our food supply. Critics of the food industry are also concerned about misleading labels, particularly the use of such words as “natural” or “healthy” to describe processed food. Could these problems be solved by stricter governmental regulation? Can private certification prevent fraud or increase food safety? In order to answer these questions, Timothy D. Lytton, the Albert and Angela Farone Distinguished Profess... Full story
When fans picture Rick Moranis, the first things that probably come to mind are comedy and scenes from science fiction movies such as “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” “Ghostbusters,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” or “Spaceballs.” But Moranis’s latest project conjures up an image much closer to home. Moranis recalls that the smell of his Jewish mother’s home “would get you from five blocks away.” “The whole place smelled like Friday at 6 p.m., and that was 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days of... Full story
In Memoriam… This tribute comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest: “The World lost a lovely lady… and a wonderful leader of the Jewish Community Council of Cairo, Egypt.” (With Egypt in the news every night, I thought it would be appropriate to write about her.) “Carmen Weinstein, 82, president of the Jewish Community Council of Cairo, passed away this past April. “In the face of a dwindling population of Jews…from over 80,000 60 years ago to a few dozen senior citizens toda... Full story
‘Princesses’ rile 9/11 families NEW YORK—So remember that thing in our most recent “Princesses: Long Island” recap about Amanda Bertoncini’s ridiculous Drink Hanky photo shoot? You know, the one in which a model, toting a beer bottle clad in one of Amanda’s high-fashion signature Drink Hankies, poses with a statue of a firefighter? Well, it turns out we missed something. This wasn’t just any statue of a firefighter but a memorial statue of a fallen 9/11 firefighter from Great Neck named Jonathon... Full story
BALTIMORE (JTA)—In May, Tel Aviv resident Baruch Axelrod sent a letter to his first cousin, who lives in New Jersey. The letter returned unopened to Axelrod’s home because the cousin, Gary Hyman, had moved, his new address unknown. The branches of their families had not been in contact for more than 20 years, when Axelrod’s sister Chana Pavlowitz visited the United States. Axelrod had never even met Hyman, but he well remembered Hyman’s parents, Aaron and Bela. Aaron was the sister of Axelrod... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—Movie mavens may have to come up with a new genre to classify “Hannah Arendt,” the biopic of the German-Jewish philosopher. New York Times critic A.O. Scott suggests it is an action film—albeit one in which the weapons are ideas and theories are volleyed on a battlefield where a questionable hypothesis can turn lifelong friends into bitter enemies. Director Margarethe von Trotta, who has dealt previously with complex Jewish women (“Rosa Luxemburg”) and the Nazi era (“Rosenstra... Full story
Snapping pictures of people practicing centuries-old faith traditions in her native Jerusalem makes award-winning Israeli photojournalist Gali Tibbon feel like a time traveler. “Every stone you step on has so much history, and if you have imagination your brain can fly,” Tibbon tells ISRAEL21c after returning from London with the title of Sony World Photography Awards Travel Photographer of the Year. Her winning series, “Journey to Jerusalem of Africa—Lalibela, Ethiopia,” resulted from conv... Full story
Most of us have moments when we could really use a hug—when we’re sad, lonely, scared or stressed. The therapeutic value of a good squeeze for emotional wellbeing is well documented. For people affected by autism, post-traumatic stress and anxiety or attention disorders, research has shown that hugging is an especially effective soother. That is the scientific fact behind the development of the BioHug Vest by Haifa-based BioHug Technologies. Already in use and soon to roll out to a wider mar... Full story
This is the first installment of Teen Heroes, JTA’s biweekly column profiling teens involved in interesting and important social action. See below for information about our sponsor and how to nominate someone for coverage. (JTA)—When Ben Hirschfeld first heard that students in developing African countries lacked electricity and must endure noxious fumes from smoky kerosene lamps while reading and doing their schoolwork, the teenager from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., knew he had to find a way to hel... Full story
What’s the best way to find the right person for a job opening: placing a want ad, contacting a headhunter, posting within the company, or asking current employees to recommend a friend? In the social networking era, the last option increasingly makes sense, says Tal Moran, CEO of Tomigo, an Israeli startup offering a customized recruitment platform to leverage the social-media connections of employees. Moran points out that leading companies realize every staff member has access to a database of personal connections, and many offer rewards f... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Of all the compelling stories of athletic achievement and challenges overcome that could be told by the 9,000 participants gathering in Israel for the 19th Maccabiah Games, it might be hard to find one to top Jacques Demers. He’s a coaching legend, having led the iconic Montreal Canadiens to the National Hockey League championship in 1993. He’s also a member of the Canadian Parliament. And until about a decade ago, he would have been unable to read the words in this artic... Full story
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (JTA)—Anita Batt’s weekly grocery shopping goes something like this: First, she checks several online coupon blogs, which offer guidance about the best sales and coupon combinations in stores such as CVS, Kroger and Target. Next, Batt prints the several dozen coupons she will use and places them in her organizer sorted by store. Then she visits about six stores, sometimes performing multiple transactions at the same location to maximize savings. Her purchases are stored in her... Full story
This year marks the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando’s 40th year of building community, strengthening family life and promoting Jewish values. To help celebrate the occasion, the JCC embarked upon a social media retrospective of “Three O’Clock Throwbacks.” Everyday for two months this spring, the JCC posted a “throwback” photo from sometime in the last 40 years at 3 p.m. on its Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando Facebook page. “Our goal with posting the Three O’Clock Throwbacks... Full story
When Jewish Holocaust survivor Helen Garfinkel Greenspun first returned to her hometown of Chmielnik, Poland, in 1992, the synagogue was riddled with swastikas and other graffiti. The gray and crumbling building had been boarded up since World War II, so she could not enter. The townspeople were guarded and unfriendly, and a few individuals even chastised her driver for bringing Greenspun to Chmielnik. The reception was the opposite in 2008 and 2009 when Greenspun visited again. Chmielnik’s m... Full story
On a Friday afternoon in late June, 25 seniors walk, amble and/or glide into the familiar surroundings of the common room at Chambrel Assisted Living Facility in Longwood. For the next 45 minutes this gathering place will serve as “Congregation Chambrel,” where a weekly Shabbat service hosted by the Jewish Pavilion provides Jewish seniors with a sense of community, as well as a place for prayer. Although the average Pavilion “congregant” is well over 85 years old, Chambrel seniors are active... Full story
Dr. Moshe Pelli, Abe and Tess Wise Endowed Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Interdisciplinary Program of Judaic Studies at UCF, published a new book on the journals of the Hebrew Haskalah (Enlightenment) in the first half of the 19th century. Titled “The Journals of the Haskalah from 1820 to 1845” and published by the Magnes Press of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the book includes monographs and annotated indices to eight Hebrew periodicals published in Holland, Galicia, Germany and Lithuania in the 19th century. The mon... Full story
