Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Our Jewish Orlando's Shalom Families hosted their first event on Thursday, Nov. 14th in Baldwin Park. With the help of their parents, children made Chanukah-themed maracas and sang along with music teacher Melissa Kohn. The morning ended with the youngest participants under the parachute. A very special December event is already in the works. Just a few days later, OJO gathered at TAPS in Winter Park on Nov. 19th for their monthly Torah on Tap event. This month's guest was a high-ranking...
In early November, John Halligan, a speaker against bullying, returned to the Central Florida area to inform teens about bullying and teen depression. A former IBM engineer, Halligan lobbied for laws to be passed in Vermont to improve how schools address bullying and suicide prevention after the death of his son, Ryan, as a result of bullying and depression. Sharing Ryan's story, he has given speeches at schools in other states, as well as interviews on PBS Frontline, Oprah and other televised...
Members of the Jewish Pavilion are invited to attend "JP Connections: Honoring our Volunteers," a luncheon for volunteers and women who support the nonprofit, on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 11 a.m. at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs. Participants will enjoy a gourmet meal, a Chico's Fashion Show and a mini-holiday bazaar. Vendors will be selling jewelry, purses, scarves, Judaica and other gifts for the holidays. Participants who purchase raffle tickets will have the opportunity to win gifts from...
The Kinneret Council on Aging has announced the honorees for their 2014 “8 over 80” event to be held on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. “We were thrilled with the support we have had from the community and were truly inspired by the number of outstanding individuals over the age of 80, who continue to contribute to our community,” said Faye Novick, 8 over 80 chairwoman. The honorees for the 2014 event are: Barbara Weinreich, Robert Petree, Bill Kahn, Don Kaplan, Helen Tishman, Rose Savage, Ruth Goldhar, and Gordon Kotzin. “It is truly a privilege...
Join Rabbi Karen Allen on Friday, Nov. 22, at Congregation Beth Sholom for the Rabbi’s Torah Roundtable, a lively discussion of contemporary issues in the context of Jewish tradition. The program will begin at 4 p.m. with conversation and light refreshments. This informal and interactive forum is a unique opportunity to talk with the rabbi and explore together the meaning of the Torah portion that will be read during Shabbat service on the following morning. On Saturday, Nov. 23. at 10 a.m., Rabbi Allen will lead Shabbat morning service. A K...
On Dec. 9, all eighth- to 12-grade Jewish teens and their parents in the Orlando area are invited to come hear Angela King, a former racist skinhead and now founder of Life after Hate, at the Jewish Academy of Orlando at 7 p.m. as part of the Beit Hamidrash program. As a teen in South Florida, King became confused about the conflicting messages she was receiving about race, sexuality and religion. Ultimately, she felt embraced by a group of racist skinheads, and became deeply involved with them. After spending a decade of her life with the...
Chanukah on the park has become the Chanukah tradition for the entire Orlando community. This year, Chabad will be hosting “Chanukah on the Park” with the Grand Menorah Lighting on Saturday night, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. The Menorah lighting will celebrate the fourth night of Chanukah and will be followed by “Maos Tzur” and other Chanukah favorites including the Chassidic dancers. The feature presentation will be entertainer Dr. Laz, described as the Rockin, Rappin, Reggae, Rabbi. “The Jewish rock concert is one of a kind,” said Ed Leibowitz,...
The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, in cooperation with 6th-degree Black Belt Sei Shihan Gil Alstein and his Seido Karate Organization, will host its annual Karate Tournament on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m. The tournament will be held in the Roth JCC’s Ginsburg Family Gymnasium, featuring boys and girls, ages four and up, from the JCC and other local karate establishments. A portion of the proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the fight against Breast Cancer. “This is a great opportunity for children to showcase their...
These will be the sounds you'll be hearing at the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando's 10th annual "Maj Madness" mah jongg tournament to be held Sunday, Dec. 8. The festivities will begin at 9:15 a.m. with registration and coffee, and games will begin at 10 a.m. The tournament format will include four rounds following the National Mah Jongg League Official Rules of Play. Open to people of all playing levels, Maj Madness is $35 per person ($25 for JCC members) and includes lunch,...
In December, Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Maimonides Medical, Cardozo Legal, Financial, and Real Estate societies will be hosting a dinner in support of the 2014 Shaping the Future: Annual Campaign. The event will be on Thursday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland, 32751. The dinner will feature special guest speaker, Talia Levanon, who is the director of the Israel Trauma Coalition (ITC). The ITC is a collaborative network committed...
Join Rosen Plaza and Chabad of South Orlando for their first Grand Menorah lighting and Chanukah family celebration on Sunday, Dec. 1 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, 9700 International Drive, Orlando. Enjoy a community event featuring a variety of family-themed activities including food stations, dreidel spinning contests, Chanukah arts and crafts, traditional entertainment, and raffles and prizes, all in an interactive streetmosphere. Food stations include kosher cotton candy, delicious sufganiyot (donuts), and a Latke...
Hadassah of Williamsburg is having a general membership meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m. The children of the Orlando Torah Academy will perform Chanukah songs. Members, associates and quests are cordially invited to attend this holiday celebration. Delecious refreshments will be served. For more information, please call Eleanore at 407-351-9189 or Helene at 407-352-0535....
“Blacks have known slavery and so have Jews,” Julian Bond reminded some 150 delegates at the annual meeting of the Southern Jewish Historical Society. “But we cannot build a common future on our common graves,” the co-founder of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee told the crowd. Bond, who became the first president of the Southern Poverty Law Center and served 20 years in the Georgia State legislature, was the keynote speaker at the Historical Society’s annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. The meeting location was chosen to h...
More than 400 Jewish National Fund (JNF) supporters attended the 2013 JNF Tree of Life™ Award dinner at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on Nov. 6 to honor Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer with the Tree of Life™ Award, presented by JNF Orlando Board of Directors member Jim Pugh, in honor of his outstanding community involvement, dedication to the cause of American-Israeli friendship, and devotion to peace and security of human life. Receiving the Guardian of Israel Awards were Sy and Debra Israel, Mark and Car...
Just as it is important to always remember the Holocaust by retelling those events through living survivors, books, films and various programs, it is equally important to teach the history of modern-day Israel accurately, and make sure it remains factual so that its history does not become distorted to fit a particular political agenda. On Nov. 4, approximately 35-40 people attended a program on Israel in World Relations, held at the University of Central Florida. Sponsored by the Knights For...
Knights for Israel is a new pro-Israel group at the University of Central Florida. It has been established to be a beacon for pro-Israel advocacy on campus. Along with advocacy, its mission is to provide students with education on various issues in Israel as well as pioneering interrelations between the UCF campus and Israel. “With the help of our current president, Kelly Truitt, we aim to establish an active group of students who support Israel by organizing political, cultural, and social events on campus. Our chief goal is to promote p...
The second meeting of the Holocaust Center's Religion 201 series, held Oct. 22, presented another unique opportunity to talk about how different faith communities view the world and its meaning. The Rev. Kathy Schmitz, moderater of the course, introduced the topic for the evening, "How Can a World of Love and a World of Suffering Coexist?" Each of the presenters gave a brief explanation of how his faith addresses that difficult question. Nav Khalsa, speaking for Sikhism, explained the teaching...
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the "night of broken glass" that scholars identify as the beginning of Hitler's Final Solution. Arts and cultural groups throughout Central Florida have worked collaboratively throughout the year to provide an impressive array of programs that explore the impact of that night. These programs included exhibits, films, concerts, and lectures, each planned to remind us of the devastating cost of prejudice and intolerance. Hundreds of people,...
Beginning in January, children between the ages of 18-36 months with speech and language challenges will benefit from a traditional, yet enhanced, preschool experience at the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando's award-winning Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center in the heart of Maitland. Open to all faiths, the Roth JCC seeks to target communication-focused goals at a crucial stage in children's speech and language development. In addition to traditional preschool...
BALTIMORE (JTA)-Almost from the moment they met him, several officials and players with Israel's national baseball team said they saw manager Brad Ausmus headed for the major leagues. They cited his communication skills, command of the game and preparation-not to mention his 18-year playing career as a catcher that included winning three Gold Gloves and reaching the 2005 World Series with the Houston Astros. "We knew that even though he'd never had any managerial experience, he'd go and be a...
One in four Jews is a carrier of one or more of the 19 known preventable Jewish genetic diseases, according to the Center for Jewish Genetics. Although Sephardic Jews and non-Jews can carry these diseases, they appear twice as often for Ashkenazi Jews as they do for the rest of the population. When both spouses are carriers for a particular genetic disease, the couple has a 25 percent chance of passing the disease on to their children. Launched in September through the Emory University School...
Three years ago my 15-year-old daughter, Jennifer (Jenny), was granted a wish by New Hope for Kids Wishes for Kids Program in Maitland. Jenny chose to visit a medical center in the Los Angeles area. Although she had grown hospital weary following a protracted illness, which included travel to Johns Hopkins, The Mayo Clinic and Northwestern University Hospital, there was one premier medical center that was still on Jenny's wish list. She wished to visit Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (formerly...
While Jews across the globe celebrate Chanukah for eight nights, the part-time program directors at the Jewish Pavilion celebrate for more than a month. Visit the Pavilion's new website www.jewishpavilion.org and click on the calendar to see 50 Chanukah celebrations all over town. Everyone in the community is welcome to participate in any of the parties. Unlike Jewish communities that have a Home for the Jewish Aged, every facility the Jewish Pavilion staff and volunteers visit has a different...
Jewish National Fund (JNF)’s Women for Israel (WFI) will host “A Night at the Museum” at Cornell Fine Arts Museum at Rollins College, located at 1000 Holt Avenue, 2765 in Winter Park, on Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Ena Heller, director of the gallery, will be the docent for the evening as WFI supporters are invited to view exhibit Auktion 392: Reclaiming the Galerie Stern, Düsseldorf. Max Stern’s Düsseldorf gallery exhibition addresses the issues of Nazi looted art and the on-going restitution efforts by the courts in America and Europe for works for...
As part of Central Florida's Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, Orlando's Adventist University of Health Sciences' presented its University Colloquium series with an inspiring and educational program about two different but related aspects of the Holocaust. The theme was "Moral Courage." The two speakers were Eva Fogelman, PhD, a licensed psychologist and author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book "Conscience and Courage: Rescuers of Jews During the Holocaust," who spoke...
