Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) — The Jewish Federations of North America released a short video on April 9 proclaiming its opposition to a federal judge’s ruling two days prior to overturning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the “abortion pill” mifepristone. JFNA stated it was “deeply troubled” by the court ruling and said the FDA has deemed the drug to be “extremely safe and effective for over two decades.” The judge’s ruling “is counter to our policy priority that reproductive health should be protected and that everyone should be able to fol...
(JNS) — U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel later this month and become the second-ever House speaker to address the full Knesset, his Israeli counterpart Amir Ohana announced on Tuesday. Ohana described McCarthy as a “steadfast supporter and longstanding friend of Israel,” and noted that it would be the top Republican official’s first trip outside the U.S. since assuming his post in January. “This is a clear expression of the strong and unbreakable bond between Israel and its closest a...
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The first time Gidon Lev encountered Holocaust denial was after becoming an unwitting TikTok star at the age of 86. “I was totally shocked. How could this be?” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about receiving dozens of comments accusing him of lying about the years in a Nazi concentration camp as a child. “If only I was a liar,” he said. “Then I would have a father, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. I would have had a childhood.” With half a million followers on the popular social media platform and 8.3 million l...
It may be hard to imagine but the staff at Jewish Pavilion pulled off a five-minute Seder at the Maitland Chamber Breakfast on April 13, the last day of the holiday. They used “My Very Own Haggadah” and breezed through it, skipping all Hebrew and songs. Participant of all faiths gathered for a delicious and comprehensive meal along with an explanation of the Seder plate. Special thanks to all of the wonderful cooks who provided a most delicious meal — Alex Lehrer, Nancy Ludin, Dale Danuf...
(JNS) — Ibtihaj Muhammad made history as the first hijab-clad athlete on the U.S. Olympic team. But in court papers filed late Tuesday, a New Jersey elementary school teacher says Muhammad is also a liar. In a series of October 2021 social media posts, Muhammad accused veteran schoolteacher Tamar Herman of abusing a seven-year-old Muslim student by “forcibly” pulling off her hijab while “the young student resisted.” Herman insists this didn’t happen and contacted Muhammad to offer her side of the story. But when Herman texted Muhammad to...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — No matter how you look at it, the current escalation is here to stay. Even if the flare-up with Hamas in Gaza and in the north is over for now, the chances of a multi-theater conflagration fomented by Iran have risen significantly, and it is doubtful whether the genie can be put back in the bottle. The escalation on all fronts has also had Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah meet this week in Lebanon with Hamas leaders, with a photo released showing all three men sitting in a room under Iran’s Supreme Lea...
(JTA) - Zachary Ottenstein didn't expect to bond with his dad over chess and classic rock during his trip home from Florida at the end of Passover. But when Ottenstein switched his phone on after the holiday ended last night, it blew up: Fort Lauderdale was flooded and flights out of the airport - including their flight to New York - were canceled. The city was underwater after the rainiest day in its history. He consulted with his dad, Matthew: They had enjoyed their Passover week at a hotel,...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Despite the external and domestic challenges Israel has faced in the past several weeks due to ongoing terrorism and the protest over judicial reform, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has been maintaining an upbeat demeanor, making it clear that he is optimistic and content with how things are unfolding in the government. The following interview was carried out just before Passover: "In the end, the public needs to know that we have a good and stable right-wing...
(JTA) — When Benjamin Netanyahu put his controversial calls for judicial reform on pause three weeks ago, many thought the protesters in Israel and abroad might declare victory and take a break. And yet a week ago Saturday some 200,000 people demonstrated in Tel Aviv, and pro-democracy protests continued among Diaspora Jews and Israeli expats, including those who gather each Sunday in New York’s Washington Square Park. On its face, the weeks of protest have been about proposed legislation that critics said would sap power from the Israeli Sup...
Omar no longer a speaker at US Commission on Religious Freedom event (JNS) — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who has compared boycotts of Israel and of Nazi Germany, was slated to deliver opening remarks at a U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom event on Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Terror Victims, according to a listing shared on Twitter. But the event is now slated for May 1, without the congresswoman on the docket. Rabbi David Saperstein, director emeritus of the Religious Action Center of Reform Jud...
(JNS) — Antisemitism is on the rise throughout the Western world, particularly targeting haredi Jews and particularly in certain Diaspora urban centers, according to The Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry at Tel Aviv University. The finding is detailed in the center’s 22nd annual Antisemitism Worldwide Report, which was published in collaboration with the American Defamation League. This writer has strong personal recollections of walking to the synagogue in Brooklyn, New York, long before antisemitic incidents were rep...
(JNS) - This year's March of the Living, the annual tribute to the 6 million held at the site of the former German death camp Auschwitz in Poland, was conducted under the theme of "Honoring Jewish heroism in the Holocaust." The event took place April 19, on Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was the first time since the global pandemic that the March was held in its full format, with delegations from well over 25 countries and 10,000 participating. It falls one day before the historical...
RAISE Inclusion Director Rachel Slavkin and RAISE Strategy and Development Director Loren London met with Rosen Hotels & Resorts Human Resources department to share their mission of offering a work and social skills training program for neurodiverse adults along with guidance for transition to community employment. This partnership will provide RAISE participants with an opportunity to train and work in Rosen Hotels & Resorts. Rosen Hotels & Resorts is now the 14th training site that has...
Did you know that three out of four adults have HPV by the age of 30, and 62 percent of freshman in college? HPV-related tonsil cancer has become an epidemic among men between the ages of 40 – 60. April is Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Month. To celebrate survivors and give hope to patients and caregivers, as well as honor those who died, Jason Mendelsohn is making a difference by raising funds and awareness with a Whiskey and Wine Fundraiser and Awareness Event at Mercedes-Benz of Orlando on S...
This Pesach started out like so many others ... beautiful sunny weather, lots of tourists, families gearing up for Seder and Chol haMoed vacations together in all the fun places in Israel with water. Life events in Israel are strong and fast. Weddings are tremendous events, with hundreds of guests. When I attended my first wedding in Israel I was astonished at the number of guests ... something like 600 ... ("who is paying for this?" I thought to myself) also the attire, so many in jeans and...
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2023 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando this summer. “For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award,” said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last year’s recipient was Dr. Edward Zissman. Former recip...
(JNS) — Victims and relatives have yet to claim millions of belongings that Nazi authorities stole from Jews and others during the Holocaust, a British official said on March 28 during an international conference of Holocaust representatives in London. Eric Pickles, the United Kingdom government’s special envoy for post-Holocaust issues, complained that international auctioneers are profiting from stolen artwork and other valuable artifacts as survivors who can identify their previous possessions dwindle. “We need to get a grip on this in the n...
(JTA) — When Israel and Poland agreed to resume Israeli youth trips to Polish Holocaust sites last month, their agreement stipulated that new sites be added to the students’ itineraries, including some that document Nazi crimes against non-Jewish Poles. Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust memorial and history authority, is now calling those additions “inappropriate” and “problematic.” In statements to Haaretz published on Monday, leading historians condemned the development, arguing that the new trip rules advance what they call Poland’s trac...
(JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu withdrew his firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, citing a sharp rise in violence in recent days, and suggested that proposed changes to the country’s judicial system that have sparked widespread protest were no longer imminent. In another concession to the hundreds of thousands of Israelis who have flooded the streets to protest the planned changes, Netanyahu added on Monday that a yet-to-be established national guard corps would not answer directly to his far-right national security minister, Itam...
(JTA) — Berlin police are investigating a pro-Palestinian rally where demonstrators allegedly chanted “Death to the Jews” and “Death to Israel,” phrases that if verified could be criminal offenses under Germany’s strict post-World War II hate speech laws. Hundreds of people showed up in the Kreuzberg and Neukölln neighborhoods on Saturday at a rally organized in response to the police clashes with Muslim worshipers at the Temple Mount and Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem last week. In video captured by a watchdog called Democ, many were also sh...
Palestinian terror cell arrested in Jenin (JNS) — Israeli forces on Tuesday arrested a terrorist cell in Jenin, in northern Samaria, that intended to carry out an attack “in an immediate time frame.” Five terrorists were detained during the operation carried out by the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Border Police, according to a statement from the IDF. The IDF’s Duvdevan undercover counterterror unit, a paratrooper patrol and a Shin Bet-directed military unit conducted the morning arrests, seizing ammunit...
(JNS) — Nearly half a century ago, the U.S. Congress proclaimed 1978 as a year of education, and over the next four and half decades the president has annually proclaimed Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson’s Hebrew birthday, the 11th of Nissan, as education day in his honor. Now, following the bipartisan tradition, U.S. President Joe Biden has announced that day, which this year fell on April 2, as a national “Day of Education and Sharing” to commemorate the life of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe. “On Education and Sharing Day, we honor the memor...
The Roth Family JCC’s Seniors on the Go (formerly the 39ers) recently had a visit from a therapy dog named Honey. Meeting Honey was not only therapeutic but fun for the seniors. Seniors on the Go is open to all seniors in the area 65+ who are members of the Roth JCC. People who have Medicaid can obtain a free membership here under the “Silver Sneakers” program. The next event will be on Monday, April 17. The group is having a lunch-out day at Antonios in Maitland. Anyone who has questions or wo...
Spring is always a busy time of year. It can be easy to forget to take time for yourself. But Saturday Night Out at the Rosen JCC is the perfect solution. Parents get a chance to plan a night for them. They can get together with friends or go to dinner, a show, shopping or just quiet time. Kids go to the Rosen JCC for a night packed with activities. There are games and art projects. They can use the playground. Finally, there is a movie and pizza to wind down the night. Space is limited and it does sell out so don’t miss your chance. This w...
