Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2906 - 2930 of 10941
(JTA) — So many campers were sick with COVID-19 last week at Ramah New England that its director, Rabbi Ed Gelb, put out a call to families: Would any nurses be willing to come to camp for a few days to help? “We have a large and capable nursing staff, but more help would be great,” he wrote. Gelb’s request came in an extended email about the state of the pandemic at the Palmer, Massachusetts, Jewish camp, in which he said some buildings had been transformed temporarily into infirmaries. But unlike some other camps, he said, Ramah New England...
(JTA) — Pinchas Goldschmidt, who left Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, is no longer the chief rabbi of Moscow after 30 years with the title. The board of the Moscow Jewish Religious Society voted last month to support a contract extension for Goldschmidt, even though he had been in Israel for some time. But the RBC, a Russian news organization, reported Wednesday that the group, which represents Goldschmidt’s congregation and office, said he no longer had a role there. “The contract has ended. … There is no question of success...
Idaho to gets first ‘mikvah’ as part of $3.5 million Chabad construction project (JNS) — A new $3.5 million construction project at Chabad Lubavitch of Idaho in Boise will include the state’s first Jewish ritual bath, also known as a mikvah, reported the local KTVB 7 news. “This is a tremendous milestone that we are here today to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Chabad Jewish Center,” said Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz at a ceremony on Wednesday. The center opened in 2004. The Jewish population in Idaho is about 0.1 percent of the state’s tot...
(JNS) — Educational materials produced by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) contain content that encourages jihad, violence and martyrdom, in addition to promoting anti-Semitism, according to an analysis by IMPACT-se. The Israeli NGO—which monitors curricula to assess whether young people are being indoctrinated with hate—focused on materials labeled for use in the Palestinian territories in 2022 that did not appear on UNRWA’s new education portal as is required. Among the example...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - It has become a kind of mantra in Washington and Jerusalem: Integrate much of the Middle East, including Israel, into a single security system to keep Iran in its place. The issue came up as soon as President Joe Biden landed Wednesday at Ben Gurion airport in Israel for his first visit as president and his 10th since 1973. "We will discuss building a new security and economy architecture with the nations of the Middle East, following the Abraham Accords and the achievements...
Kevin and Irina McCarthy were at an Independence Day parade in the heavily Jewish neighborhood of Highland Park with their two-year-old son Aiden when a gunman opened fire on the crowd. Kevin died as he shielded Aiden with his body. Both parents, in their 30s, were among the seven killed. Some 50 others were injured either by gunshots or while fleeing. As of July 6, nine people were still hospitalized. Police arrested 21-year-old Robert Crimo III, who faces seven charges of first degree murder....
(JNS) - Broadcasting the Summer Olympic Games is a massive operation, with more than 7,000 personnel covering 28 sports utilizing 1,000-plus cameras, taking the games global. For the first time, the so-called Jewish Olympics will be broadcast around the world from July 12-26 with slightly more humble resources, though still requiring a herculean effort. The legendary former TV broadcaster for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, Marc Zumoff, is taking 14 hand-selected college and high school...
(JTA) – For many Britons, Boris Johnson's tenure as prime minister will have been defined by scandals like the one that forced him to resign on Thursday. For Jewish Britons, the memories might well include a broken menorah. Elected in 2019, the Conservative Party leader announced Thursday that he would step down after his cabinet collapsed amid his latest scandal - the way Johnson handled the case of a senior official who had been accused of sexual abuse. Johnson has also come under criticism f...
(JTA) — Ben & Jerry’s is not letting go of its West Bank pullout goal without a fight — with its parent company. The iconic ice cream brand has filed a lawsuit against Unilever over its decision last week to sell the Israeli arm of the business to Israel-based franchise, American Quality Products, Ltd., which will continue to sell Ben & Jerry’s in the West Bank. Ben & Jerry’s says that Unilever’s decision was made without the brand’s board’s consent, and wrote in a statement on Tuesday that stopping the sale is necessary to protect “the social...
You never know when an emergency will happen … but you can count on JFS Orlando to be there for support. Back in April, staff members from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and the Roth Family Jewish Community Center were attending a conference at the Michael Ann Russell JCC in South Florida, when suddenly they had to go into lockdown due to a shooting at the pool on campus (Please see article “JFGO members witness to shooting at Miami-Dade JCC,” April 15 Heritage issue). Thankfully all JFGO and JCC staff were unharmed, however, the s...
Walgreens will be holding a vaccination clinic at the Rosen JCC. The clinic will be on July 18th from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. and will provide Covid vaccines and booster shots for adults. Covid vaccines for children ages 3-11 will also be provided. In addition, there will be shots for TDAP (whooping cough) and pneumonia for 65+ and Shingles for 55+. The complete list offered: Covid Pfizer vaccine Adult Covid Pfizer vaccine Pediatric (5-11) Covid Pfizer vaccine Toddler (3-4) TDAP (whooping cough) Pneumonia (65+) Shingles (55+) There is no appointment...
On July 6th over 75 people gathered for drinks, appetizers and desserts at Watercrest Senior Living. The happy hour was co-arranged by committee members of the Jewish and Pride Chambers. Pictured is Tee Rogers from the Pride chamber meeting Scott Goldberg from the Jewish Chamber. To get on the Jewish Chamber e-mail list, contact the Board chair Bree Goldstein at bree@breegoldstein.com The Jewish Chamber of Commerce offers monthly get togethers that are ideal for networking and making friends....
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) has made demonizing Israel a central component of her platform since emerging on the scene in 2012, when she tweeted that the Jewish state “hypnotized the world” with its “evil doings.” Understandably, the Jewish community has opposed Omar, who has promoted a variety of antisemitic tropes, accusing the U.S.’ leading pro-Israel advocacy group of paying elected officials to support the Jewish state, promoting the anti-Israel BDS movement, and spreading the dual loyalty canard about American Jews. While the...
Says Jewish students are ‘targets’ and ‘dismissed’ when they see ‘the writing on the wall.’ (JNS) — Two months after The Harvard Crimson’s editorial staff endorsed the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, a Jewish Harvard student hit back in the same paper. The Crimson Editorial Board published an editorial on April 29 titled, “In Support of Boycott, Divest, Sanctions and a Free Palestine” wherein they declared that they were “proud” to endorse “Palestinian liberation and BDS.” The Crimson’s associate editor Gemma J. Schneider res...
(JTA) — Yair Lapid might only be Israel’s interim prime minister, but he appears to be determined to maximize the position in the four months he is guaranteed to occupy it. In a speech delivered Saturday night, Lapid laid out a set of beliefs that he said bind Israelis of all ideologies, as well as his diagnosis for why widespread agreement on fundamental ideas hasn’t translated into political harmony. “The answer is politics,” he said in the speech, published in English by the Times of Israel and in adapted form in Hebrew by Lapid on Twitte...
(JTA) — More than four months into its devastating war against Russia, Ukraine is sending a new message to the world’s Jews: Don’t come here for Rosh Hashanah. Tens of thousands of Jews flood into Uman, a central city that is home to the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, a 18th-century Jewish luminary, annually for the Jewish new year. Even in the first year of the pandemic, when global travel ground to a halt and the gathering was officially banned, Jewish pilgrims sought to make their way to Uman. This year, their security cannot be guara...
(New York Jewish Week) - A family Torah belonging to a New York City jeweler was reported stolen at the Venetian Resort hotel in Las Vegas last month. Jack Abraham, who has run a jewelry business under his name since 1962 in Manhattan's Diamond District, told the New York Jewish Week that the Torah was taken on Sunday, June 12, during the Luxury JCK trade show at the Venetian Hotel. "I've been going to the expo since its inception for 25 years," Abraham said. "I organize Shabbat services there....
WASHINGTON (JTA) - An array of Jewish groups across the country are kickstarting into action to protest and potentially challenge the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that had enshrined the right to an abortion in the United States. The 6-3 decision released Friday has many Jewish activists buzzing about how to respond to the bombshell ruling that they find a major setback to women's rights and in some cases an infringement on religious Jewish law. The...
The Orlando Torah Academy had a wonderful turn out at the 12th anniversary Annual Dinner, held on June 13. Shown here are (from left to right) Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Spector, Rabbi Avraham Wachsman and Rabbi Yehuda Schepansky, guests of honor Dr. Alan and Shari Wladis and Richard and Lauren Ward (Shari’s mom and stepfather). In addition to the guests of honor, Rabbi Michoel and Elisheva Rennert received the Amud Hachesed Award, who are shown here holding the award with Rabbi Yehuda Schepansky (left) and Rabbi Avraham Wachsman....
(JTA) - After nearly a year of legal and financial battles, Ben & Jerry's will continue to be made and sold in Israel and the West Bank, as its parent company Unilever announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement with its current Israeli licensee to assume ownership of the brand in the region. Under the terms of the new agreement, Unilever is selling its Israel business interest in the ice cream maker to Israel-based American Quality Products, Ltd., which has owned Ben & Jerry's Israel factorie...
(JTA) — Ben & Jerry’s has come out against its own parent company’s decision to sell the ice cream maker’s brand in Israel to an Israeli company that pledges to continue selling the products in both Israel and the West Bank. “While our parent company has taken this decision, we do not agree with it,” the Vermont-based frozen treat makers said on social media, hours after Unilever announced it would sell its Israel business interests in Ben & Jerry’s to the Israeli company American Quality Products Ltd. The Ben & Jerry’s statement also...
(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett won’t run in his country’s upcoming elections this fall, his office announced Wednesday, after he served as head of a fragile, now collapsing Knesset coalition for a little over a year. The announcement caught many in Israel by surprise given that Bennett had led the country for just a year and, as the leader of the right-wing Yamina party might well have won a role in any future government coalition. He indicated in his final speech to the Knesset that he would continue to support Yair Lapid...
(JTA) — Ahead of his first presidential visit to Israel, Joe Biden congratulated Yair Lapid on becoming prime minister on Thursday, following the resignation of his predecessor Naftali Bennett. “Congratulations to @YairLapid, Israel’s new Prime Minister, and thank you to Alternate Prime Minister @NaftaliBennett for your friendship over the past year. I look forward to seeing you both in July to celebrate the unbreakable U.S.-Israel partnership,” Biden wrote on Twitter shortly after Lapid assumed the premiership. Biden is scheduled to visit I...
(JNS) — An anti-Israel activist who shared a number of social media posts with anti-Semitic content has campaigned with multiple Democrats over the past year. Mahel Abdel Qader has come under fire for repeatedly promoting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. In 2017, he shared a graphic that included the names of dozens of Jewish members of Congress, implying that they have a dual loyalty to Israel and the United States. The Daily Caller reported that, in 2018, Qader shared an anti-Semitic video that claimed Jews are “satanic” and control the m...
(JTA) - Vladimir Zelenko, the doctor from an Orthodox enclave near New York City who rose to fame early in the COVID-19 pandemic for promoting a drug cocktail, has died of cancer at 48. The foundation that Zelenko launched to advance his theories after he left his family medical practice amid controversy in May 2020 announced his death on Thursday, saying that it would accept donations to continue his work, which included opposition to COVID-19 vaccines. Zelenko, who went by Zev, was born in...
