Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - A 4.4 magnitude earthquake centered off the coast of Lebanon in the Eastern Mediterranean was felt in Israel early Wednesday morning. There were no reports of injuries or damages in the Jewish state. The quake struck 73 kilometers northwest of Sidon, Lebanon at a depth of 10.0 kilometers, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. On Monday, several people were killed and more than 200 injured in Turkey by a 6.4-magnitude earthquake centered in the country's Hatay province that was also...
TEL AVIV (JTA) — “Everyone who answers, ‘Thank God’ when asked, ‘How are you,’ raise your hand,” Brit Yakobi asked the crowd of 700 people gathered in an Orthodox synagogue in Jerusalem. The overwhelming majority of hands shot up. “Everyone who is mortified with our current government, raise your hand,” continued Yakobi, the director of religious freedom and gender at Shatil, an Israeli social justice organization founded by the New Israel Fund. Once again, almost every hand went up. The display took place at a Jan. 25 conference billing itself...
Catholic school soccer team that brawled with Miami Jewish school forfeits state semifinal By Andrew Lapin (JTA) – A Catholic high school in Miami forfeited its semifinal game in a state soccer tournament over the weekend, days after players fought in an on-field brawl with a Jewish school’s team. The Catholic school, however, did not offer additional comment on eyewitness accounts claiming that the fight was fueled by antisemitism. Archbishop Coleman Carroll High School was set to play in the semifinals on Saturday after beating Scheck Hil...
(JTA) - In the months after Russian tanks rolled into her country last February, the music largely stopped for Elizaveta Sherstuk. The founder of a Jewish choral ensemble called Aviv in her hometown of Sumy, in the northeastern flank of Ukraine, Sherstuk had to put singing aside in favor of her day job and personal mission: delivering aid to Jews in Sumy. "There was no time to sleep," Sherstuk recalled to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently. "All my team members worked the same, 24/7." A...
(JNS) - The Abraham Accords have made a major impact on international relations in the Middle East. They are also proving an ace for Israeli tennis. Last month, young players and coaches from the Israel Tennis & Education Centers flew to Bahrain-the nonprofit's second trip to the island kingdom, with which Israel normalized relations in Sept. 2020. The Abraham Accords impacted the centers both domestically and abroad. First, ITEC decided after the accords debuted that its vision ought to...
(JTA) - Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who became a pro-Israel favorite during her two years as the Trump administration's ambassador to the United Nations, announced her bid for the presidency, becoming the first Republican to challenge the former president ahead of 2024. In a video released Tuesday, Haley did not name Donald Trump, but alluded to him as a polarizing figure, emphasizing her efforts as governor at tamping down racial tensions and also suggesting that the Republi...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Jewish Democrat from California who has been in office for more than three decades, will not run in 2024. "I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends," she said Tuesday in a statement. Feinstein, 89, has been in the Senate since 1992 and has been closely watched in recent years because of concerns about her health and declining...
Jewish Beginnings Preschool, a boutique Reggio-inspired program in Altamonte Springs, hosted a Mommy & Me with a Jewish Twist: Purim Edition! Young mothers and their babies, ages 0-3, gathered to enjoy Purim-themed sensory play activities, a sing-along circle time and delicious snacks. From playdough hamantashen to decorating clowns using colored spaghetti, each activity was designed to foster the child's creative spirit and sense of curiosity. A second session will be held next Sunday, March...
Orlando Hadassah will host its annual Bunny Rosen Women’s Heart Health Luncheon and Fashion Show on Sunday, March 19, at 11:30 a.m. at the Alfond Inn Winter Park, located at 300 E New England Ave, Winter Park. Online registration at https://events.hadassah.org/BunnyRoseFS23. The luncheon will benefit Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. The cost is $60, which includes valet parking. The Fashion Show will feature clothing by Alembika, Tel Aviv, Israel; and accessories by Through the Looking Glass, Winter Park. Spo...
There will be a Purim celebration with the Jewish Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, March 7, at 8 a.m. at TooJays Deli Restaurant, 2624 E. Colonial Drive Orlando. Hamantashen will be provided courtesy of the Jewish Pavilion. Networking is a great way to expand your business and meet new friends. To this end, the Jewish Chamber was created by Bree and Joel Goldstein for business and social purposes. In addition to purchasing a great breakfast, participants will have the opportunity to speak about...
Jewish Academy of Orlando’s Greatest Moment to Learn Gala: Celebrating 46 years of Jewish Education in Central Florida takes place on Sunday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m., at the Winter Park Event Center, 1052 W. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32789. The Academy will be honoring two amazing showmen: the past president of JAO, Rob Gebaide, and JAO music director, “Mr. Eric” Levine. There will be an ambiance of whimsical “Big Top” flare and fun to be had by all. Celebrating 46 years of academic excellence and Jewish pride, JAO’s gala will spotlight t...
Chabad of Altamonte Springs started a new program. It's called the Family Mitzvah Club. The first program, "Impactful Packing," was held Sunday, Feb. 19. Spearheaded by Jennifer Estar Mesika and Sarah Jean-Baptiste in memory of their mother, Beth Mesika, the group put together packages and delivered them to a local homeless shelter, and learned about the work that they do. And they all had a great time packing and delivering the items. "What a special morning filled with generosity and...
(JTA) — The Israeli minister responsible for relations with Jews in the Diaspora has a message for the government of the country where most of them live: “Mind your own business.” Amichai Chikli made the comment Sunday in a radio interview in Israel, where he was asked to address recent comments by U.S. ambassador Tom Nides, who said he was urging Israeli leaders to “pump the brakes” on their controversial effort to change the country’s judiciary. Nides was echoing sentiments expressed by U.S. President Joe Biden about the judicial reform prop...
(JNS) — American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said he is working with his Israeli friends to prevent the government in Jerusalem from changing the Law of Return. Under the current law, an individual with a single Jewish grandparent is eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship. “We want the Israeli government and our friends to understand that we will act to prevent anything from happening to cause rifts within Diaspora Jewry,” Deutch said. “We don’t want anything to happen that could stop people from seeing Israel as their place of refuge...
(JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday appealed to politicians and the general public to tone down the rhetoric amid threats that the government’s judicial reform proposal will ignite a “civil war.” “The values of the [1948] Declaration of Independence are the compass of our country—I will not let anyone harm them. This is a sensitive and explosive time in the public sphere. I am aware of the voices from both sides, of all the pain, worries and anxieties. I do not ignore this and it is on my mind constantly,” Herzog wrote in a le...
(JTA) — A recent study of the Dutch population conducted by the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany showed an alarming lack of education around the Holocaust in the Netherlands. For one, a majority of Dutch respondents, across all age groups, did not cite their own country as a place where the Holocaust took place, despite the fact that the Netherlands was the setting of the world’s most widely-read Holocaust memoir — Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl,” which has been translated into over 70 languages. About 75 percent...
Summer will be here before you know it. Now is the best time to make plans for your kids. The Rosen JCC offers Camp J from May 30 through Aug. 4. There is something here for every child. It offers General Camp, which gives kids the chance to experience a mix of fun activities. If your kids want to focus on sports then try the Sports or Basketball Camp. These let them learn the game or improve their skills. Your budding artist can let their creativity flow while creating amazing works of art in our Art Camp. Our Dance Camp gives your child the c...
If it feels like there’s an overload of news out of Israel — a sea of flags at a Jerusalem protest, police sirens outside of a synagogue — that’s because there is. Israel has been consumed by two escalating crises that both appear to be crescendoing at the same time. And even though they feel separate, they’re intertwined in at least one big way. Allow us to explain: Israel is simultaneously contending with two things: a wave of Palestinian terror attacks and Israeli military raids in the West Bank, and massive protests of a government plan to...
(JTA) — Florida Republican Anna Paulina Luna beat a Jewish Democrat to represent her district in Congress last fall, but she had Jewish ancestry, too — or so she claimed at the time. The freshman representative told Jewish Insider during her campaign that she was “a small fraction Ashkenazi,” in addition to having been “raised as a Messianic Jew by my father.” While mainstream Judaism does not consider Messianic Jews, who believe in the divinity of Jesus, to be Jewish, Luna’s additional claim of...
(JNS) - The Knesset approved on Wednesday in first reading a bill to abolish the Disengagement Law by a vote of 62-36. The Disengagement Law led to the destruction and evacuation of four Jewish communities in northern Samaria-Sa-Nur, Homesh, Ganim and Kadim-and 21 in the Gaza Strip. The law would restore freedom of movement to Israelis in the four Samaria communities. Knesset member Yuli Edelstein and National Missions Minister Orit Strook sponsored the measure at the request of Samaria...
Australians make ‘YEmulkes’ of unwanted Kanye West merch (JNS) — The Talmud recommends taking the evil inclination into the Jewish study hall. Two Australians have found a different way to sanctify the destructive. Antoinette Barbouttis, of Sydney, wanted nothing more to do with her collection of clothing featuring one of the most prominent antisemites, Kanye West. So, she and her friend John Safran, a Jewish-Australian filmmaker and writer, brainstormed how to make kosher lemonade out of hateful lemons. Safran’s unique idea? Turn the several...
(JNS) - One interpretation of a mishnah in Chapters of the Fathers is that Jews must prepare answers with which to respond to those who hate Torah scholars. Hating those who cherish the Torah is one sense many readers may get from recent reporting in The New York Times on Orthodox schools. A new, 6-and-a-half-minute Fox News documentary - which Kassy Dillon, a former JNS news editor, reported - turns the camera on Orthodox leaders and scholars. "We resent that the Times are engaged in what...
(JTA) — One of the Israeli teams dispatched to Turkey to assist after the devastating earthquakes there has headed home after being informed about a “concrete and immediate threat” against them. United Hatzalah told its team of roughly two dozen personnel in Turkey to end their rescue mission and leave the country, the emergency services organization announced early Sunday. Because of a shortage of available planes to evacuate them, the philanthropist Miriam Adelson donated her private jet to facilitate the evacuation, the group said. “We k...
In a recently released survey, the Anti-Defamation League confirmed empirically what many have observed anecdotally: antisemitism is on the rise in the United States. The survey found that belief in antisemitic tropes and conspiracy theories has doubled since 2019, and now stands at the highest level in decades. Anti-Israel sentiments were also found to be far more prevalent, going far beyond mere criticism of policy to a level that, as ADL CEO Johnathan Greenblatt described, is simply “antisemitism in another form.” We have seen examples of...
The University of Central Florida has been relatively antisemitism-free for many years. Under the leadership of Aaron Weil, Central Florida Hillel had kept any antisemitic groups from making much of a roar on campus. Under the current leadership at Hillel, much is the same – even when on Monday, Feb. 6, members of the #YeIsRight movement set up a table on Memory Mall as part of an antsemitic provocation tour. This group, which mouths the hate talk of Kanye West, has made several previous stops at other Florida universities, including Florida S...
