Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Allegro Senior Living in Winter Park was filled with warmth, joy, and the sweet spirit of the Jewish New Year as the Jewish Pavilion hosted a special Rosh Hashanah-themed breakfast. This meaningful event was held in honor of the sponsors of Jewish Pavilion Senior Services as well as the organization's dedicated board members. In the spirit of the holiday, Allegro served the traditional Rosh Hashanah treat of apples and honey, symbolizing hopes for a sweet and prosperous...
The Rosen JCC had the privilege of welcoming State House Representative Rita Harris, State Senator Kristen Arrington, and Frank Santos, CEO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts and president of The Harris Rosen Foundation, to the Rosen JCC for a tour and formal presentation of the State appropriation award they so passionately sponsored and championed on the JCC’s behalf. Thanks to a dollar-for-dollar match from The Harris Rosen Foundation, the total investment now exceeds $1 million. This t...
MAITLAND — With hurricane season nearing its September peak, Central Florida residents gathered at Shalom Orlando on Tuesday for a Lunch & Learn hosted by the Jewish Chamber of Commerce. The featured speaker, WESH 2 News Chief Meteorologist Eric Burris, delivered insight into what drives our storm season, along with projections for the weeks ahead. “Climate always modifies, grows, and adjusts. We just have to figure out how quick and how come,” Burris told the audience, setting the stage for a...
(JNS) — After last year’s public service was canceled over fear of altercations, gender-separated Yom Kippur prayers will be held in a Tel Aviv public space in October. The Tel Aviv Municipality on Thursday issued the Rosh Yehudi NGO a permit to hold prayers in Meir Park, located in the center of the metropolis, Ynet reported on Thursday. Rosh Yehudi (“Jewish Head” in Hebrew) tries to spread Orthodox Judaism in Tel Aviv, an attempt that has been met in the past with antagonism in the predominantly secular city. Prayers in Meir Park will be...
(JNS) — An Israeli security source told Hebrew media on Wednesday that up to 80,000 Palestinians have already left Gaza City in anticipation of the Israel Defense Forces operation to capture the Hamas stronghold. The mass evacuation southwards comes despite the fact that the IDF has yet to announce the start of the operation, the source told Ynet, Israel National News, Haaretz and other outlets. Most evacuated over the past 72 hours, according to the reports. Hamas is using “various measures” to limit movement, the source said, adding that...
(JNS) — The Trump administration has issued broad additional restrictions on visa applications by holders of Palestinian Authority travel documents, The New York Times reported on Sunday, citing four American officials. The measures, said to have been announced in an Aug. 18 cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, would prevent Palestinians from Samaria and Judea from entering America, including for medical treatment, university studies, visits to friends or relatives and business travel. The new policy reportedly goes beyond the s...
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, Interim CEO Eric Robbins, ECLC director Dr. James Larsen and Board chair Stan Rubins will discuss the ‘State of Shalom Orlando.’ Each will share the Shalom Orlando plans for the future as the Central Florida Jewish community continues to grow and thrive. Accompanying the talks will be champagne and desserts. The event will be held in the Roth Family JCC auditorium from 6:30 – 8 p.m. To RSVP, email Carol Feuerman at Carol.Feuerman@shalomorlando.org....
(JNS) - The Palestinian Authority on Monday condemned attempts by Jewish activist groups to sound the shofar on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, calling the ram's horn a "dangerous tool" used by Israel to assert sovereignty. The P.A.'s Jerusalem Governorate warned in a statement that the Jewish tradition of sounding the shofar throughout the Hebrew month of Elul is "no longer a passing religious ritual but has become one of the most dangerous tools of the occupation to impose its alleged sovereignty."...
(JNS)- Six Israelis were murdered and a dozen more wounded in a mass-shooting attack by Palestinian terrorists in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot on Monday morning. The slain victims were identified as Yosef David, 43, from Jerusalem; Sarah Mendelson, 60, from Jerusalem; Israel Mentzer, 28, from Jerusalem; Levi Yitzhak Pash, 57, from Tel Zion; Yaakov Pinto, 25, from Jerusalem; and Mordechai Steintzeg, 79, from Jerusalem. The Magen David Adom emergency medical response group...
At this very moment, young Jews from around the world are making aliyah for a year of service and enlistment in the IDF: On Sept. 9, 2025, a dedication ceremony was held for the new home for lone soldiers at the Hannaton Educational Center in the Galilee. Present were the approximately 30 young men and women from North America, who have made the bold decision to move to Israel via the Garin Tzabar program of the Israeli Scouts Movement and become the first cohort to move into the home. Here lone soldiers will share a campus with their Israeli p...
On the evening of Sept. 2, over 200 joined together in the Nova Festival site to honor the memory of the sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, of the Oct. 7th victims, and bless their memory. It was the latest stage in a national initiative led in cooperation between Hatzalah Yehuda and Shomron and Children of Light - the Organization of Families of the Murdered in the Nova Festival. We did this in a very practical way - by giving an emergency medical kit with their name and photo to a volun...
By (JNS) — Israel is fighting a “fierce war against terrorism on several fronts,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday during a visit to the site of a terrorist attack in Jerusalem that claimed the lives of six people earlier in the day. “I want to extend condolences to the families of the victims and to the wounded,” said Netanyahu. Six people were murdered and a dozen more wounded in a shooting in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramot on Monday morning. Two terrorists were killed at the scene by an Israel Defense Forces so...
The following synagogues provided information about their High Holiday services to the Heritage by press time. For information about services at other local synagogues or for tickets or information, contact the individual synagogue. Chabad of Altamonte (Orthodox) Rabbi Mendy Bronstein Chabad of Altamonte 195 S Westmonte Drive #1126 Altamonte Springs, Fl 32701 www.jewishaltamonte.com Mon., Sept. 22, Erev Rosh Hashanah, 6:30 p.m.; candle lighting, 7:04 p.m. Tues., Sept. 23, Rosh Hashanah, morning, Traditional pre-service 9 a.m.; Morning service,...
October 2024 Opera Orlando presented $100,000 to the Holocaust Center. It had been 11 months since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, brutally murdering over 1200 Israelis and taking 250 hostages. Local neurosurgeon, Dr. John Jenkins, pledged a $50,000 matching grant for donations to moshav Ein Habesor in southern Israel, near the Gaza border. November 2024 More than 600 people attended the IAC memorial event, which the Israeli Consul General in New York co-organized with the Israeli-American Council. The Israeli Defense Ministry and the...
This high holiday season, Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation will open its doors to the public for two family-focused services — one on Rosh Hashanah, and the other on Yom Kippur. Rabbi Shai Specht-Sandler and Cantorial Soloist Ginny Kolin are preparing a magical, musical experience for all who attend. “We’re not just going to sit quietly and read,” said Rabbi Shai. “There will be music on the keyboard, songs everyone can sing, and a spirit that invites kids and adults alike to take part. It’s about joy, depth, and connection, not just fo...
(JNS) — As the IDF masses troops on the outskirts of Gaza City, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir declared on Tuesday that the military will not stop until it achieves a “decisive victory.” Meanwhile, a fierce debate is raging within Israel over the necessity of a final, large-scale ground assault on Hamas’s last major stronghold. The IDF has been conducting preliminary operations on the ground and calling up reservists. On Tuesday, Zamir visited newly mobilized reservists from the IDF Technological and Logistics Directorate, telling them, ...
(JNS)- It wasn't lost on Ofir Sofer, the Israeli aliyah and integration minister, how unusual it was for someone of his prominence to fly to another country solely to board a charter return flight full of new immigrants. "Flights like this-a big group of olim that come in one day to Israel is a strong message that is conveyed to our people that is not just happening today. It's happened since Oct. 7," Sofer told JNS aboard the first Nefesh B'Nefesh charter flight since the terrorist attacks in...
When Vanessa Lozada, membership/program director at the Florida Press Association, came by the office to drop off the awards we received from the FPA Newspaper contest, there were four wins - not three - as we originally thought. So there are three First-Place trophies along with the Second-Place win by Stan Roberts. "What?" I thought out loud. I knew about the two first places - Ed Borowsky and Marilyn Shapiro. But there was a second trophy for Marilyn Shapiro in the Sports Feature division. "W...
The Library of Congress has awarded Geraldine Brooks, a Jewish author whose best-selling novels are often inspired by Jewish history, its prestigious 2025 Prize for American Fiction. Brooks, a former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel "March," which reimagines "Little Women" from the father's perspective, in 2006. Her bestselling novels also often focus on aspects of Jewish history, including "People of the Book," which chronicles...
(JNS) - The largest dam in ancient Israel, uncovered just outside the walled Old City of Jerusalem, has been dated back to the time of the biblical kings, some 2,800 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Monday. The monumental dam, which runs about 12 meters high, more than 8 meters wide and 21 meters long, was excavated over the last two years in the history-rich ancient City of David. A new study carried out jointly with the Weizmann Institute of Science concludes that the...
On Aug. 24, the Temple Israel Sisterhood gathered for a wonderful "Welcome Back Brunch." It was a beautiful way to kick off a new season of friendship and fun. Held in a welcoming setting, the event featured delicious food from Sage Catering, joyful reunions, and an inspiring guest speaker from Safehouse of Seminole, a local shelter supporting women and children escaping domestic violence. The speaker shared powerful stories about the impact of Safehouse's work, reminding us all why our support...
Jewish Pavilion Senior Services is thrilled to invite Maitland Chamber of Commerce members and friends to a festive pre-Rosh Hashanah Breakfast on Thursday, Sept. 11, 8:30 a.m., at New Hope for Kids, 544 Mayo Ave., Maitland. Whether you’re familiar with the Jewish New Year or this is your first time learning about it, this event is designed to be welcoming, engaging, and deliciously memorable. While Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on September 22, we’re starting the celebration early with a breakfast experience you won’t want to miss. What...
pots of Light: To be a Woman in the Holocaust is a special exhibit at the Center that is running from Sept. 3 through Dec. 19. Produced by Yad Vashem, Spots of Light shares the unique voices of Jewish women in the Holocaust, highlighting their choices, resilience and struggles amid brutality and hardship. Through poignant personal stories, the exhibition illuminates nine aspects of Jewish women’s daily lives during the Holocaust....
(JNS) — Jerusalem’s mass recognition of new Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria “is not the end — it’s the beginning,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised local leaders on Tuesday evening. “I promised 25 years ago that we would deepen our roots, and we did, together,” said Netanyahu, who was speaking at an event organized by the Binyamin Regional Council in Samaria’s south. “I said that we would prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and we are doing it, together. I said that we would build and hold on to parts of...
