Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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WASHINGTON (JTA) — An Amnesty International official said that the organization is opposed to Israel continuing to exist as a Jewish state. “We are opposed to the idea — and this, I think, is an existential part of the debate — that Israel should be preserved as a state for the Jewish people,” Paul O’Brien, the human rights monitor’s U.S. director, said in a luncheon this week with the Women’s National Democratic Club in Washington D.C. Jewish Insider first reported the remarks. O’Brien said late Friday on Twitter that his remarks had been...
(JTA) — Barbara Goldberg Goldman, a lay leader in Democratic Party, resigned as deputy treasurer of the Maryland Democratic Party after questioning the viability of Black candidates for governor. Goldberg Goldman apologized for an email she sent in December, revealed over the weekend by Axios. “Consider this: Three African-American males have run statewide for governor and have lost,” she wrote to other party leaders in the email. “This is a fact we must not ignore.” Goldberg Goldman was strategizing over how best to defeat Kelly Schulz, t...
(JNS) - Famed Jewish dissident, human-rights activist and former Knesset member Natan Sharansky provided his opinion on the situation in Ukraine on Tuesday, analyzing what could be Russian President Vladimir Putin's motivations for the invasion into Ukraine, as well as the moral obligation Israel and the West have to support Ukraine. In a Zoom session hosted by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America and moderated by JINSA president and CEO Mike Makovsky, Sharansky said that he...
(JNS) - Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), visiting Israel for the first time last month, said the experience was not only "eye-opening," but helped solidify his support for the Jewish state and understand the danger faced by the Israeli people from the threats of terrorist organizations and states on their borders. The freshman congressman, who is seeking re-election to New York's 2nd Congressional District, was one of dozens of members of Congress from both parties to travel to Israel in late...
(New York Jewish Week) - The 87-year-old Broadway vocal coach who died Tuesday after being pushed to the ground by an unknown assailant over the weekend in Manhattan was mourned by cantorial students she had taught at various Jewish seminaries. Barbara Maier Gustern worked in musical theater for decades, most recently for the 2019 Broadway revival of the musical "Oklahoma!" She also coached Debbie Harry of Blondie, MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Taylor Mac, and many more singers. But Gustern...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) – The New York State Education Department released long-awaited guidelines Thursday on teaching secular subjects in parochial schools. They were met with immediate pushback from Orthodox Jewish leaders. The new proposals offer several options for schools to prove their instruction is “substantially equivalent” to public schools, and will take into account different religious and cultural methods for teaching. The proposal offers schools options if they do not want to be reviewed by their local public school author...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Jewish parents at P.S. 145, the only public school in Manhattan with a Russian dual-language program, are speaking out against the war in Ukraine. PTA co-president Sasha Stashwick said that it was important the school makes it clear that its families do not stand for this war. “We all stand together as a Russian-speaking community,” Stashwick told The New York Jewish Week. “What’s happening in Ukraine, it’s not acceptable.” She added that while Ukrainian people are the victims, it’s important to recognize that R...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — All 25 Jewish Democrats in the House, a fractious caucus that rarely unanimously agrees on issues of Jewish interest, signed onto a statement slamming recent comments by Amnesty International’s U.S. director, who said he believes polls showing overwhelming U.S. Jewish support for Israel are inaccurate. “As Jewish Members of the House of Representatives, we represent diverse views on a number of issues relating to Israel. However, we are in full agreement that Mr. [Paul] O’Brien’s patronizing attempt to speak on behalf of...
Russia bans access to two Israeli Russian-speaking websites for its citizens (JNS) — Russia blocked off access for its citizens to 30 websites worldwide, including two Russian-language Israeli websites, Maariv reported on Wednesday. The two Israeli websites are Channel 9, a Russian-speaking Israeli television station, and Vesti, a Russian-language news website that belongs to the Yediot Achronot group. The decision was taken on the day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 but only implemented on Wednesday, according to the report. Rus...
(JNS) - As part of a two-and-a-half-day trip to Israel, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence visited Hebron's Jewish community on Wednesday, becoming the most senior international leader to visit the city since it was retaken by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Hebron, where 1,000 Jews live surrounded by 200,000 Arabs, is most notable for the Machpelah,the Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, revered by Jews as the place Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place for his...
Six teens traveled to New York for the 14th annual CTeen Shabbaton, an international gathering of close to 3,000 Jewish teens. Led by Rabbi Yanky Majesky of Chabad North Orlando and Mrs. Fraidy Dubov of Chabad of Greater Orlando, teens were treated to a thrilling, non-stop program with tours of Manhattan, inspiring Shabbat meals, talks by renowned speakers, and a highly-anticipated closing ceremony titled "Wherever Whenever". Last year, the pandemic forced CTeeners online for a virtual...
(Israel21C via JNS) - IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer is not a novice when it comes to mass disasters. The Israel-based humanitarian aid organization has responded to emergencies in 56 countries since 2001. So you can believe Polizer when he says that the Ukraine refugee crisis is the worst he has ever seen. "I've been in this field for 14 years, including some of the biggest humanitarian crises of the last 20 years - the tsunami in Japan, the Ebola outbreak, the Syrian refugee crisis - but what...
New York, NY - UJA-Federation of New York today announced a new round of emergency funding to address urgent humanitarian needs of people remaining in Ukraine as well as refugees who have been forced to flee to neighboring countries. Since Feb. 24, UJA has made $5 million in grants to help Ukrainians. "Last week I was in Poland near the border, and I will not soon forget the despair I saw on the faces of the refugees who are being helped by our partners. One man who had just fled Kyiv said to...
(JTA) — For many American Jews, there is an annual celebration near the beginning of spring that serves as a respite from the long winter months, and a symbol of hope and renewal: Opening Day. Not this year. Major League Baseball and its players association remain deadlocked in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, leading to the disappointing news this week that the league officially canceled the first two series of the 2022 regular season, including Opening Day. American Jews have a long and rich love affair with b...
The Holocaust Center will present, via Zoom, the next "In My Own Words" program with speaker Joel Poremba, son of Holocaust survivor Nathan Poremba and author of "My Name is Staszek Surdel." He will tell the story of his father's improbable survival during the Holocaust. The event takes place virtually on Wednesday, March 23, at 3 p.m. Poremba was stunned after hearing his father's story for the first time while sharing his testimony with USC Shoah Foundation for their Visual History Archive in...
The Jewish Genealogical Society will host guest speaker Scott Genzer at its next Zoom meeting, March 22, at 7 p.m. -9 p.m. The topic of discussion will be "Using Facial Recognition to Identify Unnamed Ancestors." Photographs have always been a genealogical challenge because, unlike more conventional sources such as vital records, they do not impart clear data. Most often we simply attach the picture to our trees and then leave it there. However in early 2019, Genzer developed a new technique...
The Roth Family JCC is hosting a Food Truck Family Shabbat on Friday, March 25 from 5:30 to 7:30. The family Shabbat includes free Challah, Kelly’s ice cream and live entertainment. Purchase dinner from onsite visiting food trucks that include Italian and American fare. The cost is $18 per family. Register at operations.daxko.com or visit orlandojcc.org....
WASHINGTON (JTA) — After months of maneuvering over $1 billion to replace Iron Dome batteries Israel lost in last year’s Gaza conflict, the money is to be included in a bipartisan spending bill Congress will consider this week as it looks to avoid a government shutdown. Also included in the $1.5 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Agreement announced early Wednesday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is substantially increased funding for nonprofit security, a key request by major Jewish groups over the last yea...
(JTA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Israel for its support for his country Sunday, the day after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Moscow for a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I am grateful to Israel for their support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said, according to a translation by Sky News published by The Times of Israel. “We need the support of all countries and we were talking about the support we need now and how we are going to cooperate in the future after the war.” Zelensky did not m...
(Israel21C via JNS) — Regardless of which side of the conflict they’re on, young adults in three Taglit-Birthright Israel groups from Russia and Ukraine cannot return home after their free 10-day trip because of the war. So Birthright Israel has offered them the option to stay in Israel or reunite with their families when possible. The three groups include 26 participants from Ukraine. Sixteen of them were supposed to fly home on Thursday morning, but while they were sitting on planes, bombing began in Kyiv and flights were immediately canceled...
(JTA) — Around 300 Ukrainian Jewish refugees landed in Israel Sunday, among them some 90 orphans between the ages of two and 12, in the first round of what Israeli government officials are expecting to be a wave of thousands in the coming months. They were flown on three planes from Moldova, Romania and Poland. But whether Israel will accept Ukrainian refugees who are not Jewish, and therefore ineligible for Israeli citizenship under the country’s Law of Return, is unclear. The Law of Return allows any Jew who wishes to live in Israel to obt...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A four-year-old boy from Jerusalem has contracted the first known case of polio in Israel since 1989, the Health Ministry reported on Sunday. A ministry official told Israel Hayom that the child was in a state of weakness and in a condition that could deteriorate to paralysis. According to the ministry, neither the child nor his family had been vaccinated against polio. The Health Ministry thinks that the child from Jerusalem is just one of hundreds or thousands of children who might have been exposed to a mutant s...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In an emotional call with American Jewish leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the Russian invasion of his country as “pure Nazism.” Zelensky also invoked his Jewishness in an appeal for assistance while speaking Monday via Zoom with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. On the call, Zelensky angrily rejected claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia launched the war to “denazify” Ukraine, saying that it was the Russians who were acting like Nazis. “This is...
(JNS) - The Sovereignty Movement recently organized a tour of Judea and Samaria for public figures, journalists, social media influencers and others to explore the complexities and dichotomies of life in the region. The Feb. 23 gathering - under the leadership of Yehudit Katzover and Nadia Matar - focused on explaining the situation on the ground in many areas, including diplomacy, infrastructure, education, environmental issues, employment and quality of life for both Jewish and Arab residents...
Getting a good night's sleep is critical to your well-being. Put away all electronics at least an hour before bed. Digital devices and screens emit a blue light that can interfere with your ability to get a proper good night's sleep. It's not just about getting your physical beauty sleep! There is scientific proof of a close link between sleep and mental health, including poor sleep contributing to initiation or worsening of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other conditions. Whether...
