Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1932 - 1956 of 1960
WASHINGTON (JTA)—He had them until abortion. U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) was addressing the Reform movement’s Consultation on Conscience conference about his passion, human rights and success in creating mechanisms to combat human trafficking and shine a light on global anti-Semitism. The crowd that gathered in a large Capitol Hill conference room on the afternoon of April 23 was transfixed, laughing along with Smith’s practiced self-deprecation and applauding his commitment. Until Joann... Full story
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA)—Marching in formation, six young men in dark jackets approach an anti-government rally in Cherkasy, a city some 125 miles southeast of Kiev. At the appointed moment, they remove their windbreakers to reveal white T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Beat the kikes.” Their jackets carry the name of Svoboda, the ultranationalist Ukrainian political party. A small riot quickly ensues. Angry protestors rip at the T-shirts, but the Svoboda-labeled men give as good as they get.... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—In the battle to end the across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration, it’s all hands on deck. Increasingly for the Obama administration, which is deadlocked over the budget with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, that means reaching out to Jews. In conference calls and in appearances at Jewish events, administration officials are soliciting Jewish support in their bid to end the congressionally mandated budget cuts that kicked in March 1 and which cri... Full story
In a fiery speech in Edison, N.J., attended by about 70 supporters, controversial anti-jihadist blogger and author Pamela Geller warned Americans and Jews about a war being waged against Western ideals by Islamist radicals. Geller had accepted an invitation three days earlier from Rabbi Bernhard Rosenberg to speak April 14 at Congregation Beth-El, after a Long Island synagogue cited security concerns in canceling her appearance there. Geller, who runs the blog “Atlas Shrugged,” has angered Mus... Full story
Many of the injured in the Boston Marathon bombings last week were rushed to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Several days later, on Friday, the two suspected bombers, Tamerlan and Dzohkhar Tsarnaev, were admitted, separately, to the hospital’s emergency room after sustaining wounds from their shootout with the police. The older brother, Tamerlan, later succumbed to his wounds. Jewish immigrants founded the Beth Israel Hospital in Boston in 1916. Eighty years later, it merged with t... Full story
In less than three weeks, the gutting will begin. After 58 years of use, the building that houses Congregation Beth Shalom in Napa will be getting a major face-lift. The synagogue will be gutted, renovated, expanded and modernized. The size of the sanctuary will be increased by 1,500 square feet, a second level will be added to one building and a new conference room will be built. In all, more than 5,700 square feet will be added. Beth Shalom held its final Shabbat service in its old building on April 12, and now will spend the next 12 months ... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Until [two weeks ago], Michael Broyde was considered one of the most respected Orthodox rabbis in America. A professor of law at Emory University, the author of dozens of books and articles, and a leading authority on the intersection of religious and secular law, Broyde was sought after regularly to render opinions on matters of ritual practice and Jewish ethics. He was among the handful of members of the Beth Din of America, the centrist Orthodox community’s religious court. He reportedly was shortlisted as a candidate to rep... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—With the summer travel season fast approaching, providers of Israel programs for teenagers are bracing themselves for what several say could be a season of historically low travel in a year unaffected by major security concerns. Over the past decade, Israel travel among those aged 13 to 18 has seen a dramatic falloff. Though exact figures are difficult to come by, leaders of several leading North American teen programs say they have seen drops of 30 percent to 50 percent in participation in their Israel trips since 2000. Two r... Full story
(Jewish Exponent)—“It was a beautiful day. I was so excited to run and having such a good run. The crowd was unbelievable. The whole experience was amazing. It was almost magical.” That’s how the Boston Marathon began for Rabbi Benjamin David, head rabbi at Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel, N.J. It’s not how it ended. David, 36, had completed the marathon and was back at his hotel when the twin explosions went off Monday afternoon near the finish line. The apparent terrorist attack killed at... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A legislative effort led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to enable Israelis to enter the United States without visas may be stymied by the government—Israel’s government. The hitch is Israel’s inability or unwillingness to fully reciprocate, something required for visa-free travel to the United States. Israel, citing security concerns, insists on the right to refuse entry to some U.S. citizens. AIPAC is pushing for an exemption for Israel from this rule. But con... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—If you have nuclear weapons, all sorts of bad behavior will be tolerated. That’s the lesson some are worried Iran may be learning from North Korea’s increasingly confrontational stance against South Korea and the United States. Pyongyang has stepped up its belligerent rhetoric in recent days, threatening to strike targets in South Korea and America, shuttering the joint North-South industrial park at Kaesong and warning foreigners to leave South Korea to avoid possible nucle... Full story
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Americans for Peace and Tolerance (APT) are at odds over the presence of anti-Israel materials in the public school system of Newton, Mass. APT—a Boston-based nonprofit “dedicated to promoting peaceful coexistence in an ethnically diverse America by educating the American public about the need for a moderate political leadership that supports tolerance and core American values in communities across the nation”—is calling for reforms in Newton schools to prevent the reappearance of those materials, most no... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—A semi-automatic weapon sits propped beside the front door of the ranch-style home that Eric Agaki shares with his wife, a couple of goats, some chickens and a horse. Only it’s not the real thing. “That’s an air gun for raccoons,” Agaki says. “For intruders I’ve got other things.” Agaki, 41, is particularly concerned with home security, and with good reason. A private investigator for the past 10 years, Agaki has put murderers in jail and staked out hundreds of spouses suspecte... Full story
Kevin Goodman’s second Boston Marathon will be one he will never forget. That’s because just about 60 minutes after he concluded the race, two explosions rocked the finish line. “It’s a gruesome day,” Goodman, who lives in Cleveland, told the Cleveland Jewish News from the Fairmont Copley Hotel, where he was staying in Boston. “I was in the hotel when the explosions went off. The explosions happened about an hour after I finished. I was in the hotel recovering (from the race). I went outside to see the sights. It was gruesome. A lot of bloo... Full story
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (JTA)—Cantor Ricky Kampf descends from the bimah, adjusts his prayer shawl and strides up the aisle, cutting through the cavernous sanctuary to greet the familiar out-of-towner. “Y’all here for the shindig?” Kampf says at the Baron Hirsch Synagogue here as he grasps the hand of Paul Goldenberg, the burly former cop who runs the Secure Community Network, the security arm of the national Jewish community. The shindig in question is a Ku Klux Klan rally planned for later that da... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Less than a day before the start of Passover, the phone rang at the Brooklyn home of Rabbi Yisroel Belsky. On the line were concerned members of the Rabbinical Council of California, a rabbinical association in Los Angeles that provides kosher certification, among other services. The RRC had just discovered that Mike Engelman, the owner of Doheny Glatt Kosher Meats, had smuggled uncertified meat into his store, and the West Coast rabbis needed the guidance of their East Coast colleague. “It was obvious to all of us that we nee... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Israeli Independence Day celebrations in Boston were muted and security was increased in the wake of bombings that left three dead and dozens injured at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. Mike Rosenberg, director of community relations at Maimonides, a Jewish day school in suburban Brookline, said an event Tuesday commemorating Israel's 65th anniversary had been toned down out of respect for the attack victims and their families. “Messages have gone out to parents and student... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The day after the Boston Marathon bombing, President Obama called it an “act of terrorism.” What kind of terrorism, no one was ready to say—a caution that derives from years of wrongful speculation that on occasion has ruined innocent lives. Hours after the attack Monday that killed three and injured scores, Obama in a television address refrained from using the word “terrorism.” He did use it Tuesday, but wrapped it deep in caveats. “Given what we now know about what took pla... Full story
Growing up in Montclair, N.J., Jason Klein found a role model in Rabbi Perry Rank of Congregation Shomrei Emunah. “He really had a way that was very charismatic and warm and connected with children and adults,” said Klein. “I always looked forward to events at the synagogue.” Now a rabbi himself, Klein is thinking a lot about role models these days. Earlier this month, he was elected president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, making him the public face of the youngest of Judaism... Full story
The foreign policy positions of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), which have already generated some concern in the Jewish community, might remain a topic of debate among Jews for another several years after poll results indicating that he will be a significant factor in the 2016 presidential race. Rand Paul—the son of 2012 presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)—in mid-March won a presidential straw poll of 3,000 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) participants, edging U.S. Sen. M... Full story
New York—Thirty national Jewish organizations that are members of the Conference of Presidents joined in a pre-Passover appeal to President Obama led by Conference leaders Richard Stone, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman, requesting that President Obama release Pollard prior to his reaching his 10,000th day of imprisonment, which will fall on April 8, 2013. After wishing the president a successful trip to the Middle East, the leaders respectfully and urgently requested that the president “act on the commutation of his sen... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Trying to interest teenagers in activities is difficult, parents and teachers know well, especially given what technology has done to the attention spans of young people. So how to get them to partake in doing Jewish over other pursuits? The Jim Joseph Foundation commissioned two consulting firms to carry out a two-year study to figure it out. BTW Informing Change and Rosov Advisors mined data from 21 organizations geared toward Jewish and non-Jewish teens. Their conclusions: H... Full story
In the entrance hallway of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Ben Rubin’s new video installation projects light onto Broadway and into the lobby and adjacent courtyard. Suspended from the high ceiling, the screen carries a series of 5,378 colored images, each inspired by a page of the Talmud. Rubin can’t read the text, but has long been drawn to the geometric designs, with blocks of text of different sizes in mostly concentric patterns, and narrow margins providing white space. His installation is part of a new exhibition at JTS, “Reading the V... Full story
It contains pure cane sugar, is chametz-free, may taste better than the year-round beverage—and is effectively off-limits in the state of California. While the story of kosher for Passover Coca-Cola may not be as riveting as God unleashing swarms of locust on the Egyptians or splitting the Red Sea, it’s one that, particularly for Jews in California, could rival at least some of the slower portions of the Passover Haggadah. Why on these eight days does the soda taste different than on all other days? Cane sugar. In its year-round formula, Coc... Full story
(JTA)—Four weeks before he murdered seven people in Toulouse, France, a cheerful Mohammed Merah was filmed laughing and showing off his skiing skills to friends at a popular Alpine resort. The footage, televised on March 6, formed the opening sequence in a controversial documentary about the 23-year-old, French-born jihadist who murdered three soldiers and four Jews last year in a rampage that shocked the country. Aired by public broadcaster France 3 ahead of the anniversary of the killings, the 105-minute film, titled “The Merah Aff... Full story
