Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Even though the RAISE employees were furloughed along with everyone else during the COVID-19 lockdown, Loren London, RAISE director, and Rachel Slavkin, director of Employment and Education, decided to continue its weekly Lunch and Learn sessions via ZOOM, allowing RAISE employees to develop social and work skills they need to be independent and productive members of the community. The ZOOM sessions have also allowed the employees to get to know each other on a more personal level. Attending...
On the recommendation of a friend, I rented the freshly released film "Resistance" on Amazon Prime. Starring Jesse Eisenberg, the film is a small peek into the true story of the rescue of tens of thousands of orphaned Jewish children in France by the Oeuvre de Secours aux Enfants. I already knew about the many children who were swallowed up into the safety of the Swiss alps, what I didn't know was the true story of Marcel Mangel-later known worldwide as the mime artist Marcel Marceau-and how he...
"What JFS Orlando does is the essence of being Jewish," said Dick Weiner of the agency he strongly supports and firmly believes is one of the most important agencies in the community. "The essence of being Jewish is helping anyone in need-Jew or non-Jew." Through this pandemic, the JFS Orlando staff has been working long hours to meet the needs of this community-no matter who is in need. What was on average 18 to 20 families in need of food has become 68 to 70 families daily coming to JFS...
(aka Lois Lane*) Last year, Jason Mendelsohn (aka SupermanHPV) spoke on Capitol Hill at a Congressional Briefing titled "Let's End HPV-related Cancers." During his talk, in which he shared his human-papillomavirus-related (HPV) cancer-survivor story, he showed a 2-minute video of pictures of his family life, hospital stays for treatment, and ringing the bell in celebration of his recovery. The song accompanying the photos was "If You're Going Through Hell" by Rodney Atkins. Mendelsohn's mom,...
“This is the biggest victory of my life,” Netanyahu said, according to Israeli news website N12, after winning 60 Knesset seats, one short of a majority. Last September, Likud won 56 seats—not a majority, which led to the third elections. “Together we did the impossible,” the prime minister added, saying, “Together, we turned Israel into a superpower,” citing growing relations with Arab and Muslim countries and promising to sign peace treaties with them. Netanyahu also promised to secure future generations by annexing parts of the West Bank...
When the bar mitzvah announcements of Andrew and Eric Lopez, twin sons of Ed and Linda Lopez of Winter Park, were published in the March 31, 2006, issue of the Heritage, Linda kept the paper with plans to frame the announcements. The newspaper sat on top of her dresser bureau for years, turning yellow with age. Time went on. Their son Andrew attended UCF, majoring in music and education. In January 2014, he attended a Florida Music Education Association development conference in Tampa and met...
In the past 100 years, there has been an ongoing conflict between Jews and Arabs who claim the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, each as their national homeland. With the creation of the State of Israel this deepened into decades of violent conflict and often all-out war. For the Jewish people Israel was the fulfillment of their need for a sovereign Jewish State and the end of 2000 years of exile and they prepared themselves by all means to fight to preserve this home....
During 2019, Keith Dvorchik, CEO of The Roth Family JCC and executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, and Aaron Weil, executive director and CEO of Central Florida Hillel, stepped out of their comfort zones and participated in an Encounter trip to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria). This was Weil's second trip, first as a participant in 2017 and this time as a facilitator. As Encounter explains on its website, this program is an intensive experience in which Jewish leaders...
Driving into a small gated community in Casselberry, scenes of lit-up snowmen, reindeers, Santas, and Christmas creches adorn many front yards-typical scenery for this time of year. Then, suddenly, what's this? In front of one house is a display of Chanukah décor alight in blues and whites! The lighted yard is the inspiration of Mary Siegel, wife of Rabbi Arnold Siegel and mother of Elisheva Siegel. She came up with the idea when the family lived in Bartlett, Tennessee, more than 20 years ago...
On Oct. 24, the Rosen JCC celebrated 10 years in Southwest Orlando with its "10th Anniversary: Building the Future" event. Harris Rosen was honored with the JCC's inaugural Community Builder award for all he has done and continues to do for the Southwest Orlando community. Following the presentation, Dr. Reuben Romirowsky, Rosen JCC CEO, shared the J's vision for the future, unveiling an architectural rendering of their plans. Instead of a nameplate on his desk, there is a slogan that says...
"My name is Harold Kushner. I'm here to tell you what is about to happen. It will begin as soon as I finish getting dressed and walk out my front door..." Thus begins "The Great Mongolian Bowling League of the United States of America," the first published Jewish-themed book by local author Ed Borowsky. This isn't the first book Borowsky has written. He has six other complete works-five fiction novels and a 2-act play. These fiction works are just "sitting in a closet in the dark." But "The...
"I am not what happened to me, I am what I chose to be." This is Holocaust survivor Sami Steigmann's own words by which he lives. With an everlasting smile on his face, Steigmann shares his message of hope and positivity with everyone he meets. Steigmann was visiting friends Staci and Dan Layish in Orlando and had the opportunity to speak with the Knights of Israel at UCF and the fourth and fifth graders at the Jewish Academy of Orlando. Along the way, this reporter was fortunate to have lunch w...
For 21 years The Roth Family JCC's Jewish Film Festival in partnership with Maitland's Enzian Theater has been entertaining the community with exceptional films. This year's crop of films continues this reputation as well as adding one more film. From intrigue to love-in-later-life to a documentary, the films cover the gamut of topics. The series kicks off on Nov. 9, at the Orlando Science Center (777 E. Princeton St.), 7:30 p.m., with the 15-minute film "How To Swim," which isn't really about...
Rabbi Jeremy Gimpel is a young man who has accomplished quite a bit in his lifetime. A Sgt. Major in the IDF reserves, he is one of Israel's premier media personalities. He and Rabbi Ari Abramowitz are internationally acclaimed media personalities who have been fighting side-by-side to share the truth about Israel with the world for over a decade. On Sunday, Nov. 10, Gimpel will share his message of living in and transforming the hills of Judea with the Orlando Jewish and Christian communities...
Two days shy of his 28-day time limit to establish a government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Monday that he cannot form a coalition and that he is returning the mandate to do so to President Reuven Rivlin, paving the way for Benny Gantz, leader of Kahol Lavan (Blue and White party) to try to create a government. Gantz will have 28 days to try to form a coalition. What happens if the Gantz-led coalition talks also fail? Then any lawmaker backed by a majority of at least 61 Knes...
IAC Orlando regional manager Idit Lotringer has a full calendar of events through next May for the Israeli-American Council in Orlando and she has a new program manager to assist her. Ziva Kurlansik came to Orlando five years ago with her husband, Aaron, and two children. She was born and raised in Northern Israel and completed her IDF service as a signals intelligent officer. She has been instrumental in creating the Tzofim (Israeli Scouts) Orlando chapter. "I'm excited to join the IAC team...
RAISE, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's work and social skills training program for adults with special needs has unveiled two new logos. Both can be seen on RAISE's Facebook page. One logo will be used for the local ongoing program and the other, designated "RAISE on the Road," will be used as RAISE begins to market this unique and successful concept to other Jewish communities across the country. The new logo for the RAISE program was designed by the senior graphic designer of ASD...
After the success of last year's tour of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, Fellowship Church will once again, present a replica of the Tabernacle that was built while the children of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years. This year, members of Fellowship built a nearly full-size model of the tent, the furnishings inside, the altar in the outer court, and the fabric 'wall' surrounding the Tabernacle. Beginning the first day of Sukkot, Monday, Oct. 14, and running through Saturday, Oct. 19,...
The third annual Men's Night Out, to be held Nov. 7 at Congregation Ohev Shalom, features not only great steak and a top-shelf cocktail hour, the comedic entertainment is top notch. The Orlando synagogue Men's Clubs, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, and key sponsors Alan Ginsburg and Aaron Gorovitz are bringing the men of the community one of the premier comedians in the country, Johnny Lampert. This event is a wonderful opportunity to unite Jewish men from all area...
StandWithUs, an international, nonprofit Israel education organization founded in 2001, recently selected Samantha Gabbai, a senior at Winter Park High School, for the StandWithUs High School Internship program 2019-2020. Danielle Garsten was selected as SWU’s Emerson Fellow at UCF. The StandWithUs High School Internship Program is a high school leadership program that prepares students for the challenges they may face regarding Israel in college and in their communities. Students in both the HS Internship and Emerson Fellows attend two confere...
According to a newsletter sent to all COS members via email, Congregation Ohev Shalom experienced a ransomware attack on its main server on Monday, Aug. 5. Ohev administration contacted the Maitland Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Taking the lead in the investigation, the FBI does not believe the synagogue was targeted by an anti-Semitic group. “Nothing was ‘taken’ or ‘captured,’” clarified Steven Hornik, Ohev president. Certain data and files on the main server were encrypted and aren’t accessible. T...
Many people in the Jewish community know Bethanne Weiss as an accomplished physical fitness guru and author of the book "Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank," which garnered her the nickname the Asset Queen. Now she is moving her assets from the bank to take on the role of executive producer of the short film "Resemblance," which is in production in Oviedo and directed by writer, producer Kevin O'Neill. Last March, Heritage wrote about the upcoming movie, which is about Dachua...
Do you remember the “most interesting man in the world” beer commercials? The creators of that ad got it all wrong because the most interesting man, at least in Central Florida, is Dick Weiner, the recipient of this year’s Heritage Human Service Award. A stately man, Weiner is unhurried, with a dignified appearance. In his humble opinion, he doesn’t think he deserves this award. “I’ve done so little over the last few years,” he told Heritage, then he rattled off names of others he thought were...
On July 23, the House passed H. Res. 246-a bill that condemns the movement to boycott, divest and sanction Israel specifically. The vote was 398-17. This is such good news, and a slight reprieve from all the craziness going on in the world. Critics of the bill said that the resolution labels BDS supporters (against Israel) as anti-Semites. If the shoe fits... Anti-Israel BDS is anti-Semitic economic warfare to destroy the Jewish state and people-and is exactly what Nazi Germany did to the Jews...
In the middle of June, Heritage received an email from a French man named Jean-Frederic Voltz. The email stated that the writer had found a helmet that belonged to Private First Class George Braunstein. He explained that the soldier had been wounded on Nov. 26, 1944, in "Lalaye 15 Km near St Die in France." He even knew Braunstein's laundry number, which was in the helmet, and said Braunstein was a member of the 103rd US-409 Regiment-Compagnie [sic]. "Have you more information of this soldat...
