Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - As the United States woke up to news of the building collapse in Surfside, Florida, it quickly became clear that the disaster is an American Jewish tragedy. The 12-story building in the heavily Orthodox enclave near Miami Beach collapsed just before 2 a.m. Thursday, as families slept in its 55 apartments just blocks from the beach. As of Thursday evening, almost 100 people are believed missing, and even as rescue efforts continue, officials fear that many of them are dead. At least one...
An apartment building in Surfside, Fla., partially collapsed early this morning, killing at least one resident and injuring others. The incident also sent first responders from Hatzalah of South Florida racing to the scene, some of whom received training from Magen David Adom specifically about responding to multi-casualty incidents like this morning’s disaster. Michael Strongin, an MDA paramedic currently volunteering for Hatzalah of South Florida until he returns to Israel next year, described a scene of utter devastation. “Half the bui...
Heritage columnist, Mel Pearlman, won an Honorable Mention Award for Journalistic Excellence in Covering Zionism, Aliyah and Israel from the American Jewish Press Association. Only 110 awards were presented to writers, editors, photographers and graphic designers from Jewish newspapers across the country at the 40th annual Simon Rockower Awards in Jewish Journalism program. Pearlman's winning article was "Two Nights in Aqaba, Parts 1, 2, 3," and ran in the Heritage Feb. 14, 28, and March 13,...
From June 29th to July 3rd, America’s largest labor union, the National Education Association will vote on two motions attacking Israel: New Business Item 29 and New Business Item 51. NBIs 29 and 51 are part of a larger pattern. In recent weeks, teacher’s union leaders in San Francisco and Seattle passed resolutions endorsing the destructive Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. BDS systematically promotes national origin discrimination against Israelis, as well as antisemitism more broadly. The purpose of the mov...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week marked the rekindling of the magic of a summer experience in Israel, with the first group of BBYO teens arriving in Ben Gurion Airport on June 14 to embark on Israel Journey, BBYO’s flagship travel experience in the Jewish Homeland. Like the rest of the world, BBYO’s travel programs were put on hold in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but this summer, nearly 700 teens will travel to Israel with on a BBYO summer experience, a 52 percent increase over 2019. For teens who were eager to journey to Israel this...
(JNS) - Deborah S. Isaac was elected president of the American Zionist Movement (AZM), the United States federation of 39 Zionist organizations, at the AZM Biennial National Assembly held virtually on Tuesday with more than 400 participants from 30 states. She becomes the first woman to serve as president of AZM, succeeding Richard D. Heideman of Washington, D.C. Six new organizational members were introduced at the assembly: A Wider Bridge; Coordinating Council for the Jewish Homeland; Dorshei...
Mahjong for Beginners Interested in learning how to play Mahjong? Then this class is for you. This 6-week series introduces the fundamental principles of the game — perfect if you are a new player or want to brush up on your skills. The class will meet on Tuesday mornings, from July 7 - August 10, 10 a.m.-noon. Taught by Dale Perrault at The Roth Family JCC The cost is $36 for JCC members; nonmembers, $50. To register visit campj.org. Author Series On July 12, Daniel Silva will discuss his book “The Cellist,” from 8 p.m.- 9 p.m. at The Roth...
Many of the seniors visited by staff and volunteers at the Jewish Pavilion transition from one community to another. The Jewish Pavilion follows them wherever they land. Three dear friends met at Brookdale Lake Orienta in Altamonte Springs and today the friendship continues at Cascade Heights in Longwood. The trio are not only buddies at Shabbat services but they also dine together and visit one another in their apartments. The group is very impressive. Elizabeth Taylor (real name) (center in...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A letter from 73 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, including a number in leadership positions, urges President Joe Biden to make a number of moves to reverse what they call the Trump administration’s “abandonment of longstanding, bipartisan United States policy” on Israeli-Palestinian relations. Among other things, the letter sent Wednesday calls for Biden to firmly consider Israeli settlements illegal and the West Bank occupied, two things the Trump administration stated that it would no longer do. “Make c...
(JTA) — Three days after igniting a social media firestorm by removing an Israeli food truck from a festival, a Philadelphia group has apologized — and vowed to “make up for our mistakes with help from our community.” Eat Up The Borders, which showcases immigrant chefs and international cuisine, said it rejected the charges of antisemitism from around the globe after removing Moshava because of local criticism of the Israeli government. “We want to be very clear that we do not support antisemitism or allow antisemitism in our spaces,...
(JTA) — The Palestinian Authority canceled a deal that would have seen Israel give it 1 million COVID vaccine doses in exchange for a later shipment. The P.A. made the move because many of the doses were set to expire in the coming weeks, according to Haaretz. By time Palestinian Health Minister Mai al-Kaila announced the cancellation, 100,000 of the doses had already been delivered. The decision, made Thursday by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz and approved by Naftali Bennett, the prime minister, constituted a change of Israeli policy followin...
(JTA) — The Orthodox Union is setting up meetings between members of Congress and Orthodox Jewish constituents who are alarmed by antisemitic incidents since last month’s Israel-Gaza conflict, and by what they see as Congress’ failure to have Israel’s back. “Many in Congress failed to stand up for Israel’s right as a sovereign nation to act in self-defense,” says a page on the umbrella group’s website that facilitates meetings between constituents and their lawmakers. “Further, while the battle between Israel and Hamas raged, we witnessed a sh...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - Palestinian terrorist organizations in Gaza issued a joint statement on Tuesday calling on Egyptian and international mediators to pressure Israel to "lift the blockade on Gaza, finalize the rehabilitation matter, and stop the provocations in Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan." The terrorist groups also called on Palestinians in Judea and Samaria, Jerusalem and within the Green Line to "prepare for a security escalation." "The resistance won't stand idly by in the...
(JTA) - Standing poolside in Barcelona, Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky beamed with pride and satisfaction as they struggled to catch their breath. The two athletes from Israel on Sunday had just clinched the fourth slot in the Women Duet category of the Artistic Swimming Qualification Tournament in that city in Spain, assuring their participation in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. But the commentator who narrated the tournament for TV3, the state broadcaster of Catalonia, the separatist Spanish...
(JTA) — After being blasted by critics for staying in the Israeli prime minister’s residence well over a week past his ousting from the role, Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to leave — in another three weeks. He and his successor, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, released a joint statement Saturday that says Netanyahu will depart by July 10 and until then, no official state meetings will be held there. Netanyahu had stayed in power through a series of close elections over two years and multiple corruption cases that made him the first prime minis...
After discovering a suspicious lump in her breast one day while in the shower, Abby Match was diagnosed in August with an aggressive form of breast cancer. She subsequently underwent a bilateral mastectomy, a hysterectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. It was only after she discovered she was sick that Match, 35, learned she was a carrier of a mutation in her BRCA1 gene - associated with a significantly elevated risk for developing breast cancer at a young age, and also for ovarian and other...
(JNS) — Over the past few decades, evangelical Christians have emerged as one of Israel’s core bases of support both in the United States and many other countries as well. However, growing trends of secularization and liberal ideology, as well as the erosion of a pro-Israel theology, are threatening to undermine this support, particularly among young evangelicals. A recent poll, commissioned by University of North Carolina at Pembroke Professors Mordechai Inbari and Kirill Bumin, shows a sharp drop in support for Israel among the younger set ha...
German publishing boss tells workers to find new jobs if they oppose Israeli flag By Cnaan Liphshiz (JTA) — Here’s the advice from a top publishing executive in Germany to employees who complained about his decision to fly the Israeli flag on the business’ headquarters: Find another place to work. “I think, and I’m being very frank with you, a person who has an issue with an Israeli flag being raised for one week here, after antisemitic demonstrations, should look for a new job,” Mathias Doepfner, the chairman of Axel Springer, said in a c...
(JTA) - Among Rabbi Mayer Berger's first thoughts on seeing the 12 stories of the Champlain Tower South pancaked upon themselves: This is like Sept. 11. Then as now, destruction of unimaginable proportions claimed many lives without warning in a manner that rendered traditional practices for burying the Jewish dead impossible to perform. Those practices call for bodies to be buried as soon as possible following death after undergoing a purification ritual called tahara. But with both Jewish and...
(ISRAEL21c) - Danielle Wolfson's oxygen tank was almost empty as she neared the peak of Mount Everest on May 23. At such a high altitude and low temperature, she knew she could just sit down and await a quick death. She'd stepped over bodies of previous climbers who'd done exactly that. Two things saved this 43-year-old Israeli attorney: Covid and chutzpah. "We Israelis are a little aggressive and very creative," Wolfson told ISRAEL21c after becoming the first female Israeli to reach the top of...
(JNS) - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited a synagogue in South Florida on Monday to sign legislation that had the support of many in the Jewish community there. At the Shul of Bal Harbour in Surfside, Fla., a Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue north of Miami, DeSantis ensured that faith-based, volunteer first-responder services, like the Orthodox-run Hatzalah ambulance corp., can operate more fully, including using lights and sirens in an emergency if they meet specific criteria and have been operating...
On June 14, at 7 p.m., an in-person and zoom meeting was hosted by Keith Dvorchik, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Orlando, and Aaron Weill, CEO of Central Florida Hillel, for a community discussion on "Israel and Antisemitism." In front of a live audience of 10 people and over the Internet, via Zoom and a Facebook link, with 84 viewers, they held a discussion driven by the concern in the tremendous growth of antisemitism over the past two years. "Anti-Semitism world-wide has been increasing...
Congregation Beth Am has engaged Rabbi David Barnett to be their interim rabbi. He started on June 15, 2021. The Rabbinic Search Committee chaired by Steven Gordon, after having interviewed many qualified candidates, recommended Rabbi Barnett to the congregation. Rabbi Barnett will serve for one year. A primary focus of an interim rabbi is to work with the congregation's leadership and membership to establish a strategic plan for the congregation's future and to use his experience and expertise...
(JNS) - Israel's Foreign Ministry is investigating a report that an Israeli woman had her birthplace changed from "Jerusalem" to "Occupied Palestinian Territories" upon renewing her U.K. passport. Ayelet Balaban, a dual Israeli-British citizen who has held a U.K. passport all her life, said she was shocked upon receiving the new document, according to Israel's Kan. According to Balaban, she sent her old passport to England about two weeks ago and received the new one on Monday. Upon discovering...
(JNS) - Groups of Jews and other community members in Arizona and Ohio gathered on Sunday to express their concern over the recent rise in anti-Semitism across the country and around the world. In Cincinnati, hundreds attended the "Under the Tent, Standing Against Antisemitism" event to stand in solidarity against Jew-hatred in Ohio and elsewhere. "We join together as Jews and allies to send a strong message that we will not tolerate hate and anti-Semitism in any form," said Gary Greenberg,...
