Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Many people describe Bethanne (Wellness) Weiss as someone with boundless energy and incredible wisdom. The Jewish Pavilion is pleased to honor Weiss at its upcoming fashion show on Thursday, Feb.16 at Dillard's Altamonte Mall. "Bethanne is someone who rarely says 'no' and she has the uncanny ability to do it all," says Nancy Ludin CEO of Jewish Pavilion. "She is not only chairing the fashion show, but she is modeling and serving as the honoree. For Bethanne, wearing three hats at the same time...
(JTA) — A prize established to honor a single inspiring Jew with a lifetime of achievements has been awarded this year to a nameless group whose work is ongoing: Jewish activists in war-ravaged Ukraine. The Genesis Prize Foundation said the war in Ukraine required a change in the approach it has taken since creating the prize, known by some as the “Jewish Nobel,” a decade ago. “Recognizing the extraordinary nature of events dominating the past 11 months, The Genesis Prize Selection Committee has decided to depart from the usual custom of awar...
(JNS) — Speaking at the annual Combat Antisemitism Movement Advisory Board meeting Wednesday night, chairman Natan Sharansky underscored the importance of countering the global rise of antisemitism. “For the last 20 years, we could say antisemitism is on the rise, so what makes this year different?” said Sharansky, addressing the online meeting. “In the past, we’ve talked about antisemitism on the left, and antisemitism on the right. This year it became mainstream.” The Combat Antisemitism Movement facilitates a non-partisan movement to...
(JNS) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Tuesday repeated his promise to block vocal critic of Israel Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) from the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In an interview with Punchbowl News, McCarthy said that he would also prevent Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) from assuming their assignments in the House Intelligence Committee. “Swalwell can’t get a security clearance in the private sector. I’m not going to give him a government clearance,” McCarthy said. “Schiff has lied too many times...
(JNS) — The White House announced on Thursday that Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff will travel to Europe this month to participate in Holocaust remembrance events. Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, is set to visit Krakow, Poland, from Jan. 26 -29. On Jan. 27, Emhoff, joined by U.S. Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism Deborah Lipstadt, is slated to visit the Memorial and Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau. He will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony and attend the annual commemoration of International H...
(JTA) — The zoo in Cologne, Germany, has gotten its first check from the $26 million gift promised by the widow of a Holocaust survivor who credited the city’s residents for saving him during the war. Elizabeth Reichert willed the funds to the Cologne Zoological Garden in 2017 in honor of her husband Arnulf, who died in 1998. Both Reicherts were born in Cologne and met during World War II, when Elizabeth was part of the local anti-Nazi resistance network and Arnulf, a German Jew, was in hiding with the network’s help. “They only survive...
(JTA) – As Israel’s new right-wing government continued to signal that it would push through measures to cripple the judiciary and clamp down on public dissent and news operations, thousands of citizens took to the streets in protest and one prominent opposition figure warned of imminent “civil war.” A reported 10,000 demonstrators gathered Saturday night in Tel Aviv to protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new right-wing government, which contains several ministers who are openly hostile to Arabs and Palestinians, LGBTQ peo...
(JTA) - Pinchas Goldshmidt, the former chief rabbi of Moscow who fled the country earlier this year, said other Russian Jews should leave before it's too late in an interview with the Guardian. "When we look back over Russian history, whenever the political system was in danger you saw the government trying to redirect the anger and discontent of the masses towards the Jewish community," Goldschmidt told the Guardian. "We saw this in tsarist times and at the end of the Stalinist regime." He...
(JNS) - The Deborah Project, a public interest law firm dedicated since 2016 to protecting Jewish civil rights in the American educational system, recently announced that it will hire more litigation attorneys thanks to a generous donation. "As the result of a generous grant from a private foundation, TDP is extending its reach, and hiring additional lawyers to enable it to bring this fight to more courtrooms," Legal Director Lori Lowenthal Marcus told JNS. "We have brought a legal challenge in...
(JNS) - Sometimes going home is hard. Enter La'aretz, a new non-profit organization with the mission to help Israelis and Jews overcome bureaucratic and financial obstacles to immigrating, returning, visiting and traveling to Israel. "There are a good amount of people that just give up on the idea of moving or returning to Israel, just because they basically have no one to ask or be assisted by," said Shelly Harel, the organization's founder and CEO. Harel is a former employee at the Israeli con...
(JNS) — The Eretz HaKodesh and Coalition for Jewish Values organizations criticized a letter — written by The Jewish Federations of North America, The Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Hayesod and the World Zionist Organization — which expressed concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government. Netanyahu’s cabinet was sworn in last Thursday. “It is our duty to share with you our deep concern regarding voices in the government on issues that could undermine the long-standing status quo on religious affairs that could affect the...
(JNS) — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations said he was “overjoyed” when he heard that the U.N. Security Council was holding an emergency meeting Thursday over the “quiet, orderly, uneventful” visit of an Israeli government minister to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. “I figured that if this important body is meeting to discuss such a trivial matter, then we clearly achieved world peace overnight,” Gilad Erdan said, mocking the council’s decision to submit to the Palestinians’ demand for a discussion on the matter. Unsurprisingly, much...
(JNS) — On Jan. 7 after midnight, the 118th Congress was finally sworn in with the election of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to the House speakership. Democrats had managed to gain one Senate seat in November’s midterms, breaking the 50:50 tie in the upper chamber that required Vice President Kamala Harris to break tied votes. For some anti-Israel Democratic lawmakers, the future is uncertain. A House minority leader During the midterm elections, Republicans recaptured the House by a narrow margin. Democrats nominated Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N...
(JTA) — In 1923 in New York, a Yiddish play that featured the first lesbian scene on a Broadway stage was censored for being indecent. In 2023 in Florida, a play about the first play has been canceled for the same reason. For many involved in the new play, including its Pulitzer Prize-winning Jewish playwright and the Florida high schooler cast in a lead role, the déjà vu is alarming. “The 100-year anniversary of Sholem Asch’s ‘God of Vengeance’ being shut down on Broadway is the same week that our production of ‘Indecent’ would have open...
US and Israel must ‘stand together’ on Iran, Netanyahu tells AIPAC (JNS) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the AIPAC Political Leadership Forum through a video call from his office in the Knesset on Monday, speaking about the importance of U.S.-Israel cooperation on Iran in the pro-Israel lobbying group’s first major conference since the COVID-19 pandemic. “The time has come for Israel and the United States, along with other countries, to stand together, and I look forward to discussing this with President Biden and his team...
(JNS) — A former Massachusetts state legislator is being condemned by Jewish and Zionist organizations for accusing Israel of “being on a mission to kill Palestinians.” During her final week in office, Democratic Rep. Jamie Zahlaway Belsito, who represents the fourth Essex district in the northeastern part of the state, took to Twitter on Dec. 29 to attack Israel and its new government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The US must acknowledge that the @Israel administration is an apartheid run thuggery terrorist regime on a mission...
(JNS) - The Israel education organization StandWithUs has filed a complaint against George Washington University with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, alleging a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complaint alleges "a pervasive, hostile, and discriminatory environment for Jewish and Israeli students within the Professional Psychology Program" at the university in the U.S. capital, the NGO announced on Thursday. The complaint says Prof. Lara Shee...
(JTA) - The genealogy website MyHeritage posted 1.7 million Israeli immigration records online this week, making accessible a trove of ship and plane passenger lists stored in bound tomes at the Israel State Archives. The records cover arrivals to the country for about 60 years starting in 1919. They include details such as the name of immigrants, country of origin, birth year, date of arrival, destination city and the name of the vessel they arrived on. MyHeritage is billing the records as the...
Writer’s Block Bookstore is partnering with The Roth Family JCC to host author Brad Meltzer at the Maitland Jewish Community Center auditorium for an in-person Q&A and signing on his latest book, “The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchil,” which he co-authored with Josh Mensch. This event will be held Sunday, Jan. 15, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Meltzer will be signing all backlist titles as well. General admission tickets are $30 and include a copy of the book...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center will host the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. Renowned author and educator, Matthew Rozell, will be the guest speaker. He will share the story behind his book "A Train Near Magdeburg." Rozell will be joined by children of liberators. His book will be available for purchase and signing opportunities will be available. "A Train Near Magdeburg" tells the story about how two tank commanders of the 743rd...
(JTA) - Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth - commonly referred to as the United Kingdom's chief rabbi - can now add a "Sir" to his title. Mirvis will be named a "knight commander of the order of the British Empire," according to King Charles' New Year Honours list. Since 1890, the U.K. has announced new knighthoods and other chivalric honors only twice a year, on New Year's Day and on the birthday of the ruling monarch, which in the...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will mark its tenth anniversary with a luncheon, at noon, Jan. 30, at Taco Libre#3, 2600 North Ponce de Leon Boulevard/Route U.S. 1, St. Augustine 32084. The program will include a brief review of the highlights of the t 10-year history of SAJHS. All are welcome to attend this event. Please RSVP on the Society’s website at www.sajhs.com or by email to sajhs1565@gmail.com. Call 904-679-4230 for best directions. For further information see www.sajhs.com or email at sajhs1565@gmail.com or call 8...
It’s time to get ready for some winter fun at the Rosen JCC. Winterfest is scheduled for Jan. 28th 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Last year the biggest hit of the event was the Snow Slide. Many children had never seen snow or had a chance to go sledding. The Snow Slide will be back again! There is plenty to keep everyone in your family busy. Come try the Rock Wall, Face Painting, Pony Rides, Games and Petting Zoo. Make time to visit the delicious food trucks and listen to the music. Before Jan. 15, tickets are $20, individual ticket; $40, family bundle (up...
Jewish residents at Harbor Chase Dr. Phillips started the New Year with Shabbat services led by the Jewish Pavilion. They enjoyed fresh fruit, challah, cookies and chocolates in addition to conversation and a beautiful service . Pictured on the left are Abe and Jeff, and on the right are Lester and Bobbi....
(JTA) — Lithuania’s parliament passed a law this week to set aside over 37 million euros ($38 million) as restitution for Holocaust survivors and their heirs. Ingrida Šimonytė, Lithuania’s prime minister, introduced the bill in the Seimas, Lithuania’s national legislature in Vilnius, on Nov. 15, proposing to nearly double the money the government had already set aside for restitution claims in a country where 90% of its Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Today only 5,000 Jews remain in the country. The World Jewish Restitution Organizat...
