Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Are the Jews in Israel white European colonialists? Are Israel’s settlements in the West Bank illegal? Isn’t a Jewish state, by definition, racist and undemocratic? These are just a few of the questions StandWithUs addresses to educate middle and high school students about Israel in an effort to dash all the mistruths about Israel and perhaps tear down some walls of anti-Israel sentiment. Tuesday evening, Jan. 22, Dr. Daniel and Staci Layish opened their home to introduce the community to StandWithUs, an international, nonprofit Israel edu... Full story
The Jewish Federation Jewish Community Relations Council members were among more than 100 people who participated in a march through downtown Orlando that culminated with an interfaith ceremony at the United Methodist Church of Orlando on Sunday, Jan. 13. The ceremony, themed "Discord into Symphony," brought together faith leaders of all kinds. Mayor Buddy Dyer welcomed all who participated. The program continued with the audience listening to recordings of some of Martin Luther King Jr.'s most... Full story
Dr. Reuben L. Romirowsky, an accomplished executive with three decades of leadership roles at Jewish community organizations in New York and New Jersey, has been named chief executive officer of The Jack and Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center. Previously, Joel Berger was the executive director and Eric Lightman was the assistant director. Both are no longer at the Rosen JCC and no reason was given for them leaving. Dr. Romirowsky joins the Rosen JCC from New York's Metropolitan Council on Jewish... Full story
The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando and Writer's Block Bookstore of Winter Park present the Central Florida Jewish Book Festival on Feb. 10 and 12. These events are part of a national network of programming sponsored by the Jewish Book Council. This highly popular community-wide event brings together prominent and emerging Jewish writers and non-Jewish writers with Jewish interest subject matter in literature, the arts, philosophy, theology, history and current events to... Full story
Workers busy with new road construction in Beit Shemesh, Israel, have uncovered remains of a city from the time of the first Temple. The Sister City program of Cocoa, Florida and Beit Shemesh invites the community to learn more about these exciting new finds at its annual membership gala, on Monday, Jan. 28 from 5:30-8 p.m. at the Central Life Church (behind Temple Beth Sholom), 5995 N. Wickham Road. After a light supper of Israeli food and live Israeli music, guest speaker Meir Malka from Beit... Full story
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando presents, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Family Tree Maker, But Were Afraid to Ask: A Discussion with Mark Olsen.” Olsen is Family Tree Maker’s representative, and he will speak to the JGSGO and answer questions about the software, and demonstrate how it helps you save and share your family history. The meeting is Wednesday, Jan. 30, at 7 p.m., at the Roth Jewish Community Center, 851 North Maitland Ave., in Maitland. The meeting is free to JGSGO members. There is a $5 fee for nonme... Full story
The Jack and Lee Rosen JCC is hosting a Decades "I love the '90s" Party on Feb. 2 from 7:30 p.m.- 11 p.m. There will be live music by Anti-Idol, a silent auction, food and drinks and free babysitting. There will even be a '90s costume contest. What did we wear that was outlandish during that decade? The '60s had the hip-hugger bell-bottom pants, Sonny and Cher, and hippies; the '70s had flower-power, mini and maxi skirts; the '80s had large hairdos, disco and shoulder pads, but what is... Full story
(JTA)-A Jewish judge in Miami was named to the Florida Supreme Court at the Jewish day school where he attended kindergarten, finishing the ceremony by reciting a Jewish prayer. The appointment of Robert Luck, 39, was announced Monday at the Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach. Luck's children attend the school. Florida's new governor, Ron DeSantis, was on hand for the announcement, which featured a large Israeli flag displayed behind the lectern, The Associated Press reported.... Full story
For its 25th installment, Choices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's signature women's philanthropy event, returned to the simple elegance that marked its beginning, with a festive cocktail hour followed by a seated dinner at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. The 250 women and men in attendance were welcomed to Choices 2019 by Loren London, the woman who brought Choices to Orlando 25 years ago. London is also the first Harriet Ginsburg Woman of Choice Award winner. London, the... Full story
In an effort to reduce student and teacher absences, Jewish Academy of Orlando completed installation of the Violet Defense patented germ-killing technology. The UV-operated products are designed to prevent the spread of illness-causing germs. The technology is designed to help combat up to 99.9 percent of bacteria and viruses, including E. Coli, Salmonella, Norovirus, and superbugs like MRSA. The technology will help protect the students, staff, and faculty of JAO from these illness-causing... Full story
Temple Israel recently signed a 9.5-year contract extension with Rabbi Joshua Neely. This is the synagogue's third contract with Rabbi Neely, who has been the spiritual leader of this progressive Conservative congregation since 2010. Temple Israel President Adrian Share explained "the length of the contract is the strongest testament to our commitment to each other and the long-term stability this provides to our congregation and prospective members." Congregants enjoy engaging with Rabbi Neely,... Full story
The New York-based Touro College and University System is pleased to announce winter and spring lectures it is bringing to Orlando in partnership with The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando. The Winter Lecture, "Our Precious Legacy: Have We Given It Over to Our Children As It Was Given To Us?" will be delivered by Rabbi Alan G. Ciner, vice president of Community Engagement at TCUS, on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando, located at 851 N. Maitland Ave. in Maitland,... Full story
This February, Chabad Centers throughout Orlando will offer “Crime and Consequence,” a new six-session course by the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) exploring 3000 years of Jewish perspective on conviction, sentencing, and criminal rehabilitation. Beginning the first week of February, participants in the course will challenge their thinking, ponder the implications of ancient Talmudic wisdom for complex modern cases, and get to the heart of the most pressing injustices facing our cri... Full story
Jewish Academy of Orlando will break ground for its new Kindness Garden on Monday Jan. 21, Martin Luther King Day. The garden will be a segment of the campus playground. The project is part of a grant to incorporate fine arts in to the school's Judaic Studies program. A segment of the grant requirement was to solve a problem in the school through the creative process. Led by the 5th grade class, the problem that students chose to solve was how to ensure all members of the JAO community act with... Full story
Super Bowl Sunday is Feb. 3rd this year, just weeks away. That means the annual World Wide Wrap sponsored by the Men’s Club of Congregation Ohev Shalom is just around the corner. Each year, Men’s Clubs from Conservative and Masorti synagogues throughout the United States and beyond present this Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs program to encourage greater participation in the ancient and deeply meaningful ritual of wrapping t’filin. This year’s event is being sponsored in partnership with Women’s League for Conservative Judaism. Congregatio... Full story
Now in its third exciting year, the Meitin Alliance for Growth And Learning was created by Temple Shir Shalom (Reform) and Temple Israel (Conservative) to bring together Jewish students from a broad spectrum of backgrounds in order to have their diversity enrich their learning. Both congregations have always been committed to a robust and solid curriculum of Jewish knowledge, but working together brings the benefit of greater diversity of ideas. MAGAL, which means circle in Hebrew, believes... Full story
The educators of the Jewish Teen Education Network invite teens in 8th to 12th grades and their parents for an evening with international award-winning speaker Scott Fried from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. “Finding Our Place in the World” is JTEN’s first community-wide program for both teens and parents. The JTEN educators said Fried is the perfect person to deliver this message, having touched more than a million people through his lectures, humanitarian... Full story
Learning does not have to be regulated to just a classroom. This is evident at Orlando Torah Academy, the learning spills out into the hallways and beyond. During the first half of the school year the hallways, multipurpose room, and the kitchen were transformed into learning spaces. Using a hallway floor as a backdrop, the first and second graders employed a Design Thinking cycle to arrange miscellaneous items into a page for an "I Spy" book. Another time, one may have seen these same students... Full story
The Congregation Sinai Sisterhood will host their 10th annual fashion show on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2019, at Gabby’s Banquet & Events Facility in Clermont, Florida. More than 230 women from the Orlando and Central Florida community are expected to attend this major fundraiser event. Doors will open at 10 a.m. for the fashion show and luncheon that will begin at 11 a.m. The Magic of Music Fashion Show will be presented by Janet Carr of Accessories & More. An array of chic and unusual new women’s fashions will be modeled on the runway, while all of... Full story
For those grieving the loss of a loved one and would like to find hope and healing, JFS Orlando and the Jewish Pavilion, in cooperation with The Hospice of the Comforter and VITAS Healthcare, will host a grief support group beginning Thursday, Jan. 24 and running through Feb. 28. The group will meet from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Loundes Law Firm, located at 215 North Eola Drive in Orlando. A $5 per session contribution is suggested. To RSVP, please contact Ashlyn Douglass-Barnes, JFS clinical therapist supervisor, at 407-644-7593, Ext. 247... Full story
The Congregation Sinai Sisterhood will host their annual Tu B’shvat holiday celebration service starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, Jan. 18. Congregation Sinai will host a special Rebbe’s Table service welcoming Shabbat with a special focus on Tu B’shvat. This open participatory service will be filled with music, special foods and a celebration. Everyone is welcome. Tu B’shvat is a Jewish holiday occurring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat each year; Tu B’shvat is also called “Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot,” literally meaning “New Ye... Full story
This year’s Men’s Night Out, the second event of its kind, was again, a successful venture. While last year’s get together could be defined as a reunion among men who hadn’t seen each other in a while, this year’s event was a coming together of generations. Several UCF and Stetson Hillel members turned out for the good eats and networking with active members of the Jewish community. “We are incredibly grateful to the leadership of Federation for extending tickets to Stetson Hillel students,... Full story
Choices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s largest annual women’s philanthropy event, is less than a week away, but tickets are still available for Thursday’s event at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. The Presenting Sponsor for Choices 2019—the 25th year for the event—is Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. Since 1994, Choices has been a showcase for women’s philanthropy in the Central Florida Jewish community. It’s a gala event where women gather to celebrate, socialize and inspire, all in support of the Fede... Full story
Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando to hear a highly-experienced Jewish genealogist explain ethical wills and their role in your family history. Laurence Morrell, a native Floridian with decades of service to Central Florida’s Jewish organizations, speaks at The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the Senior Lounge. Morrell began doing genealogy research around 2001. His early research led him and his family to take a heritage tour to the lands of their a... Full story
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has begun accepting applications for 2019 Ronald Colman Israel Travel Scholarships. The Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Colman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to participate in educational experiences in Israel. The program is open to all Jewish teens in 9th-12th grades who are permanent residents of Central Florida. Gap-year programs are not eligible. The scholarships are administered through the... Full story
