Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 926 - 950 of 4432
(JNS) - When it comes to novelist A.B. Yehoshua, who died on June 14 at the age of 85, it's difficult to separate his romances from his political activism. Despite his extreme views on Jewish identity, the Holocaust and the Palestinian conflict, he was pragmatic in his opinions, taking in the reality on the ground. Born on Dec. 19, 1936, to Yaakov Yehoshua - a multi-generation Jerusalemite - and Malka, who immigrated to Israel from Morocco four years before his birth, he was named Avraham...
BUDAPEST (JTA) — Antisemitic sentiment is especially prevalent in Italy and Hungary, according to multiple surveys. But a first-of-its-kind index combining different measures of Jewish experience found that they are also the best countries in Europe for Jews to live in. The index, unveiled Monday, is based on a study that combines polling data and policy information to create a single quality-of-life metric for Jews in the 12 European Union countries with sizable Jewish communities, according to Daniel Staetsky, a statistician with the L...
I never cease to be amazed … I refer to Jewish people — so talented! How about John Garfield. (Those of you who are as old as me will remember him and what a fine actor he was!) He always played brooding, rebellious characters. He was active from 1932 until his untimely death from a heart attack in his late 30s. His real name was Jacob Julius Garfinkel. He was born in March 1913 and died in May 1952, much too young! John was the father of three children. (I remember him well and, I repeat, what a fine actor he was!) And speaking of fine … How a...
(JTA) - Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? ShvomBob Kvadrat-hoyzn, of course. And now the Jewish world knows how to say "SpongeBob SquarePants" in Yiddish, thanks to a translation of the animated kid show's theme song by Eddy Portnoy, the academic advisor and director of exhibitions at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in Manhattan. Last week, Portnoy's college-aged daughter put "SpongeBob" on TV, and Portnoy was inspired. He typed up the lyrics on his Notes app and posted the...
(JTA) - "Ella Fitzgerald, wherever you are, I apologize in advance." Billy Crystal gave this year's Tonys a jolt of Jewish shtick when he coaxed the audience into a call-and-response "Yiddish scat" routine, as part of a live performance to promote his Broadway musical, "Mr. Saturday Night." In a good-faith mockery of Fitzgerald's own famous "scat" routine, Crystal, in character as his show's fading comedian star Buddy Young Jr., let loose on the Sunday night telecast with a series of...
(JTA) - Last month, Adam Sandler threw his daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah party. Now it looks like his production company is making a bat mitzvah-themed film. The casting site Backstage has posted a casting call for an in-the-works adaptation of "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," a 2005 young adult novel by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether Sandler will have a role in the middle school-set story has not yet been revealed, but his Happy Madison Productions company is behind the film. Sammi...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) - For Jewish sports fans around the world, Sandy Koufax has for decades occupied an unmatched legendary status. Now, 57 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax has officially been immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium - next to his former teammate, Jackie Robinson. The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the Koufax statue with a pregame ceremony on Saturday, three years after the statue was initially announced. The...
On June 6, Tess Wise, founder of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, celebrated her 99th birthday. Tess always challenged everyone to examine the past in order to learn from it; to build a more just society free of all forms of prejudice. The Center encourages everyone to help celebrate her legacy with a donation in Tess's honor. Thanks to a special anonymous donor, all gifts honoring Tess's birthday will be matched 100 percent up to $10,000. Please help the Center to continue...
Agree, never argue. Divert, never reason. Distract, never shame. Reassure, never lecture. Reminisce, never say "remember..." Repeat, never say "I told you..." Do what they can do, never say "You can't..." Ask, never demand. Encourage, never condescend. Reinforce, never force. Patience and encouragement are essential when caring for loved ones. While most seniors face major adjustments when transitioning to an elder-care community, Jewish seniors face additional challenges. Not only do they lose...
The pleasant, heart-warming re-incarnation of ABC's "The Wonder Years" has offered a bar mitzvah episode, as did the original series in 1989. The setting is Montgomery, Alabama, during the late1960s, when Blacks were fighting for civil rights and Jews still wanted simply to be accepted. Written by Yael Gatena, the episode begins with some boys throwing pennies at Brad Hitman (Julian Lerner) in front of his friends, goading the Jewish lad to pick them up in order to be true to stereotype. His...
Pashtida (a crustless quiche) is beloved and common in Israel, where it is enjoyed at everything from potlucks, school events, shivas, and everything in between. It's also commonly prepared for Shavuot and Sukkot. The versatile dish transports well, and there is no right or wrong way to make one. Israelis make pashtida all year long, but it's a dish especially perfect for warmer climates and seasons, when it's just too hot to spend hours in an overheated kitchen. Plus, during warmer months, ther...
(JTA) - Days after defending their decision to play in Tel Aviv, the hometown of their bass player, the indie folk rock band Big Thief canceled two scheduled Israel shows, writing that they "oppose the illegal occupation and the systematic oppression of the Palestinian people." Last week, the Grammy-nominated band had announced two shows at Tel Aviv's Barby venue in July, and said that they would donate the gig profits to NGOs that aid Palestinian children. They also noted that they wanted to...
The Jewish Pavilion takes pride in the many volunteers who offer compassion, skill and understanding to hundreds of seniors living in Central Florida. Along with helping to enrich these lives, a volunteer is able to benefit in a variety of ways. Volunteering increases self-confidence. A sense of accomplishment occurs when doing good for others. Volunteering combats depression. Having regular contact with others, volunteers can develop a support system, which in turn can protect against stress when going through challenging times. Volunteering b...
The music I love … If you’re like me, you too will consider that “Rap is Crap”! I love and perform the good stuff, the music of the 30s and the 40s…not rock and roll & (heaven forbid) rap! Maybe the music I love will live on… or maybe, with today’s teens, it will go by the wayside. But why should I care? I am considered a senior citizen. (NOT MENTALLY!) We lost one of the best … I’m referring to Stephen Sondheim, of course. He was one of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater. Stephen was born in New York City (of cou...
(JNS) - It's not quite New Kids on the Block getting back together, but it's still meaningful. When Blue Fringe released "My Awakening" in 2003, frontman Dov Rosenblatt had no idea that it would sell more than 15,000 copies and that his Jewish rock group that formed two years earlier would take the Jewish music world by storm, performing at Irving Plaza, Makor Center and B.B King Blues Club in Times Square, as well as venues around the world. The singer, guitarist and founder of "Blue Fringe"...
The Jewish world has a longstanding aversion to tattoos. Even among largely secular Jews, the taboo against body ink remains powerful - a disinclination attributed both to the tattooing of concentration camp inmates during the Holocaust and the myth that tattooed Jews can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery. As tattooing has grown increasingly mainstream in recent years, some Jews have even embraced it as a way to honor ancestors tattooed by the Nazis. While some liberal Jews have taken a fresh...
(JTA) - Five years ago, Rabbi Guy Austrian made a small but powerful change at the synagogue he leads: He wrote down the language his community used to call non-binary members to the Torah. That language had been developed informally over time through a process that Austrian recalled as being "a little awkward" because it involved tweaking language on the fly for congregants whose gender did not fit into the male-female binary that's baked into Hebrew. Codifying the language meant changing only...
(JNS) - Being a Mossad operative in Iran isn't a job for the faint of heart. Viewers get a sense of such intensity watching "Tehran" on Apple TV+, a show that will keep them on the edge of their seats. In Season 1, Israeli actress Niv Sultan proved as Tamar Rabinyan, a young Jewish woman born in Iran but raised in Israel, that she was able to hack almost any computer system, shoot anyone and happily risk her life for Israel. In the first episode of Season 2, she has to save the life of an...
No one likes a dirty house, where stuff is chaotically piled on top of each other just like in a flea market. The situation isn’t helped by the fact that retirees can turn into ‘hoarders’, filling every free space of their home with old junk because ‘it might come in handy one day’. Many older folk tend to hold on to useless items that may become room obstacles, which increase their chance of tripping and falling. Dirt and dust buildup and other unsanitary living conditions may also have serious health consequences. Hoarding tends to get worse...
We can thank members of the tribe for many wacky, wonderful, important, life-changing inventions of the past 120 years. 1. The Teddy Bear Did you know that the teddy bear owes its existence to a Jewish couple? Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn candy shop owner, and his wife, Rose, created a stuffed toy bear in honor of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. It all began when Roosevelt went on a hunting trip in 1902 but failed to locate a single bear. His assistants reportedly cornered and tied a black bear to a tree for the American president to shoot. A big...
(The Nosher) — While cheesecake may seem as American as, well, apple pie — and as Jewish as the New York deli — the truth is that cheesecake has been around for nearly 3,000 years and has traveled the world in many different forms, from savory to sweet, pie and pancake to pastry, tart to mousse. Cheesecake’s roots are in the ancient world, where it was fed to athletes at the first Olympic games in 776 BCE to boost their energy for the competition. That might also explain why it became a wedding...
Blintz souffle is synonymous with easy, classic Ashkenazi-Jewish-American comfort food. The ingredient list isn't long, the steps are very simple but the result is pure, creamy indulgence. Plus, this dish calls for frozen blintzes for extra ease. Many American Jewish families serve this for Yom Kippur break fast, but I think its also a great dish for a meal train, brunch or even Passover, as there are several brands that sell kosher-for-Passover frozen blintzes. Ingredients 6 eggs 2 tsp vanilla...
What did you say? Oops, speak louder! ... Deaf since she was 18 months old, MARLEE MATLIN made her acting debut in the romantic drama, “Children of a Lesser God.” She won an Academy Award for best actress for her performance. She is the first deaf performer to win an Oscar! She also had many successful television roles and she also won the Screen Actors Guild Award for her outstanding work. Marlee was born in Illinois. She and her siblings were brought up in a reform Jewish household. Her family roots are the same as mine … Russia and Polan...
(New York Jewish Week) - After she finished her compulsory military service as a singer in an IDF performing arts troupe, Israeli folk singer Bat Ella wasn't sure how she would incorporate music into the rest of her life. That is, until she met Debbie Friedman, the American singer-songwriter who revolutionized Jewish prayer services by translating popular prayers and setting them to unforgettable melodies. "She wrote melodies that are simple, catchy and touch your heart right away," Bat Ella,...
(JTA) — The way author Michael Benson tells it, one day in 1938, New York judge and Jewish communal leader Nathan Perlman sat at a bar and thought, “How come these Nazis get to march down 86th Street, goose-stepping and ‘sieg heiling’ like it’s the Macy’s Parade? Why are they so brazen?” It was because they were not worried about the consequences. Too few people in then-isolationist America really cared about what was being said about the Jews or what was happening to them in Europe, Benso...
