Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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One hundred years ago, Southern Jew Leo Frank sat in jail, a year after his conviction of murdering a 13-year-old girl and a year before his lynching. To American Jews familiar with the case over the last century, Frank’s slaying has exemplified America’s anti-Semitism. But the Frank affair has received so much attention precisely because of its rarity. Jews have been quite fortunate in America, facing less prejudice than other minorities, and certainly less than they suffered elsewhere. In 1913, the 29-year-old Frank ran a pencil factory in an...
If one would ask a member of any ethnic group who he or she is, the answer would be “I am Italian,” “I am French,” and so on. That person would be surprised if the follow-up question was, “What makes you Italian or French?” When a Jewish person is asked the same question, the answer is, “I am Jewish.” Strangely enough, the follow-up question, “What makes you Jewish?” is considered legitimate, and always concerns two subjects: religion and ethnicity. The following arguments are an attempt to show that being Jewish is first and foremost an eth...
(JTA)—It started as barely a blip on the radar. At its annual conference last April, the Association for Asian American Studies, or AAAS, unanimously approved a resolution calling for an academic boycott of Israeli universities to protest the country’s treatment of Palestinians. While the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) movement had been active for some time on campuses across the country, it was the first time an American academic organization had signed on. But since the AAAS is a tiny group of barely 800 members, and fewer than 100...
On a virtual stroll through the website of the “U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel”—a deeply unpleasant experience, I should add—I came across an article that drew an analogy I hadn’t encountered before. Intellectually ludicrous and morally ugly, the writer compared the situation of Aida, a Palestinian refugee camp near Bethlehem, with the bombing by the German Luftwaffe of the Basque city of Guernica in 1937, during the Spanish Civil War. The Aida camp is not the most luxurious place on earth, yet it is far from...
We are now more busy than usual. Perhaps various groups of activists had been sidelined by the storm, which is still evident in piles of tree trash that block sidewalks. Whatever the cause for the pause, there were Saturday night demonstrations in behalf of legalized marijuana, or at least easier access to the refined weed sold by drug stores with prescriptions for the relief of pain. Gays and lesbians had their demonstration, perhaps leaving some loyal to both gays and marijuana wondering whether to parade for one or the other. The best-known...
In 1924 the first chapter of the Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) was formed in Omaha, Neb. In 1925, B’nai B’rith International adopted AZA as its official youth program. Later on, in 1944, B’nai B’rith Girls was officially established the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization (BBYO) was born. Now BBYO is independent from B’nai B’rith International and BBYO, Inc. was established as its new name. Also BBYO has spread to Israel, U.K. and Ireland, France, Thailand, Bulgaria, Curacao, South Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and recently Turkey, Serbia,...
A few months ago, as I was beginning my tenure at JFGO, a former senior volunteer leader of the United Jewish Communities whom I greatly admire for his wisdom and insight wrote in his blog: “Many of us have watched the JFGO for years, viewing it as a place of unrealized and incredible potential. In the past years, it has struggled with dormant campaigns and huge debts. But, there is clearly a revitalized leadership in Orlando and... there is real hope. But this community represents an incredible challenge.” Today, I can say that he was rig...
NEW YORK (JTA)—In the coming days, many eulogies will attempt to capture the magnitude of the loss suffered this week by the Jewish community. Really, though, all you need are eight words: Edgar Bronfman was a prince of his people. There are other machers who devote much of their time and money to Jewish causes. But none of them boast the same combination of lineage, intrigue, eccentricity, wonder, grandness and love for Judaism and the Jews. By birth, he was the son of Samuel Bronfman, chairman of Seagram Ltd. and president of the Canadian J...
Dear Editor: I’m reading, Heritage, (Dec. 20, 2013 issue) for the first time; copies were made available at our shul. I’ve paused to comment on, “Israeli father saves daughter kidnapped by Palestinians.” The writers or their editors offer a glimpse at evidence that explains a little of Israel’s difficulties with its neighbors. “‘A Palestinian man saw her yelling, pulled over and gave her his cellphone so that she could [call] me and the police.’” No observation, comment of appreciation or acknowledgment that this Palestinian act might have been...
Two stories were told to me recently by community members, both distinctly different on the one hand, and similar on the other. In both cases the stories are told from the perspective of an elementary school child who was one of the only—if not the only—Jew in his/her class. A mother was trying to explain to her young son why he would be staying home during the High Holy Days. “It’s because we’re Jews and these are very important holidays,” she told him. “We’ll go to synagogue for services an...
By Ira Sharkansky What we can call the Jewish itch is the aspiration for better and more. It is not present in all Jews. We also have those who accept the status quo in the public condition or their personal situation, without question or ambition. The aspiration for better and more is also not exclusive to the Jews. It can be found in all racial, ethnic, religious, and cultural groups. Yet it appears to occur with a higher incidence among Jews. It was apparent in the creation of the Hebrew Bible, the literary beauty apparent in some of its...
There are words, expressions and entire languages that rise, spread and then seem to just disappear. Today it would seem even the email is going out of style, replaced by texting which replaces words with single letters (You = U). This is not a judgment, just a statement of fact. Remember when you sent a “letter” in an actual envelope? When you addressed that letter to a certain someone and wrote on the flap of the envelope “SWAK”? (For those too young to remember, it stood for Sealed with a Kiss). Yiddish was the prime language of Eastern Euro...
I was shocked when I heard AJC’s David Harris radio piece painting Mandela as a saint. I responded by writing: I don’t understand. How can David Harris fawn over Mandela—painting him as a saint—when the AJC canceled an event honoring him in 2000 after Mandela said that 13 Jews tried for “espionage” in Iran were receiving a “fair trial.” How can David Harris fawn over Mandela—painting him as a saint—when Mandela supported Arafat and the PLO. How can David Harris fawn over Mandela—painting him as a saint—when Mandela was a member of the Elders. S...
(The Algemeiner)—Last week I responded to former Pink Floyd front man Roger Waters’ abhorrent statements comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. My dispute with Waters was picked up by several media outlets, especially my accusation that any man who can compare victims to their murderers is bereft of decency, heart, and soul. Waters responded to me, via an interview with The Guardian: “If Rabbi Boteach can make a case for the Israel government’s policies, I look forward to hearing it.” As soon as I read that I challenged Waters to a public debate. A...
Dear Editor: Inundated with stories in the news and social media, I hear about medical challenges and decisions of celebrities and those thrust into the limelight by virtue of circumstance. The human-interest stories also generate vocalizations of fundamentalist religious groups, most frequently in opposition to private, heart-wrenching personal decisions. What is lacking is the Jewish perspective of these medical decisions. But, what exactly is the Jewish perspective? Rabbi Yanky Majesky of Chabad Lubavitch of North Orlando recently offered a...
Dear Editor: On Nov. 15, I had the honor and privilege to listen to one of the best speakers on Israel! Recently a most knowledgeable individual stated that some day Sgt. Benjamin Anthony would be prime minister of Israel. That is how outstanding he is. I want to state how fortunate we in Orlando are to have Alan Kornman in our community who can convey to those not present the words of Sgt. Anthony. Alan brings to your readers the character, knowledge and strength of this young hero of the Jewish People. We are also so very fortunate to have...
As Jews across the world celebrated Chanukah, they also remembered the victory of the Maccabees against the brutal rule of Antiochus IV, designated “Harasha” (“the wicked”) by rabbinical tradition. Antiochus’s main aim was to Hellenize the Jews in the ancient land of Israel by forcing them to adopt Greek customs in place of Jewish ones. Among the Jewish customs that Antiochus banned was circumcision. Because it was the symbol of the covenant between God and the Jewish patriarch Abraham, Antiochus understood that if Judaism were to be comprehen...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Nelson Mandela will always be remembered as a symbol of courageous resistance to the racist policies of apartheid South Africa. He was a true hero of conscience. But he also will always have a special place in the memory of the Jewish community. I first met Mandela in Geneva in 1990 as part of a delegation of American Jewish leaders. My colleagues and I spent 2 1/2 memorable hours with the then newly free African National Congress leader. It was a warm session with good personal feelings on all sides. Mandela, who died last week...
One cannot help but be impressed with the focus of the Obama administration with the Middle East, despite expectations that the region would be left to its own miserable self. Both Kerry and Obama have spent time with the Saban Forum, trying again to convince Jewish doubters about Iran and Palestine. Kerry has come eight times as secretary of state. Talks with the Palestinians ought to be described as the Kerry talks, given his role in getting them started, his tireless prodding of the principals, and his persistent claims of progress. Each...
As the campaign chairwoman for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Shaping the Future: 2014 Annual Campaign, I know the daunting task I've accepted. Our community is splintered and many don't see the relevance of the Jewish Federation. But I know that the Federation is needed now more than ever. When asked to chair the campaign, my first thought was, 'How can I say NO at a critical time like now?' We have many problems in the Jewish world...the growth of anti-Semitism in Europe; the...
EFRAT, West Bank (JTA)—The reputable car dealer’s advertisement in the local paper screams “Brand New Mercedes—Only $500!” You get excited but think it sounds too good to be true. Upon closer inspection, it is: The car dealer is offering only the hubcaps of the Mercedes for $500. If you want the whole car, it will cost the standard price. Suddenly the car dealer doesn’t sound so reputable. You would never find such an ad because no car dealer in his right mind would make such an offer. Yet hubcaps masquerading as the car is exactly what Steven...
CHICAGO (JTA)—In response to the recent pledge by Jewish Federations of North America Chairman Michael Siegal to raise $1 billion to support tuition-free Jewish preschool, some have dismissed the idea as just another pie-in-the-sky fix to the continuity problem. I disagree. First, attending preschools (as well as day camps and overnight camps) are all normative experiences for American children, no matter their religion. Sending their children to preschool is what American parents do; that’s why nearly 100 percent of Jewish children attend pres...
My brother died in Seattle early in the evening on Sept. 19, 2006, just before Rosh Hashana. I was sitting in the parking lot of his hospital, taking a moment to listen to an obscure song by an unknown alternative band when I got a call that he had passed away. The song was titled “Brother” by The Annuals. I missed him by minutes. Coincidence that I was listening to that song while his spirit left the earth? Probably. But then the following night, after I had flown back to Orlando with Ray...
It is very simple. Are you willing to give up your constitutional right to freedom of speech? That is exactly what will very likely happen if the world continues to implement anti-blasphemy laws to avoid offending fanatic Muslims in hopes they will not react violently. In Islam, if someone is even perceived as having insulted Islam, the individual may be tried and or attacked by a mob, or even sentenced to death. You might ask if Islam commands that those who insult the religion should be put to death? Under Sharia law, those who insult...
Is this just another bit of U.N. blather, one of 21 resolutions passed so far against Israel this year, while only four resolutions condemned activities in all the other countries of the world? Or does it portend 12 months of festivities on campuses, in union halls, liberal churches and other places susceptible to the nonsense that Palestine deserves more help than anything else? It would be easier to ignore if Barack Obama and John Kerry were not part of the chorus. The U.S. was one of four western states along with Israel, Canada, and...
