Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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In the Feb. 4, 2022, issue of Heritage, the upcoming meeting with Anti-Defamation League Southern Division Senior Associate Director Eric Ross was announced. I, as the editor, saw it as an opportunity to bring attention to many changes in the organization and that the community would have this opportunity to ask questions. Unfortunately, my attempt to bring awareness was interpreted by some as causing provocation, which was never my intent. The use of opinion, however, in an informational article was inappropriate and I apologize for it. Becaus...
At an in-person briefing, State Senator Randolph Bracy announced that the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando will receive $150,000 in state funds to secure a new security system for the campus. The in-person meeting came a week after two groups of neo-Nazis rallied in Orlando. One of the groups, the Goyim Defense League, protested outside the JCC campus about a year ago. This time the group was near the UCF campus and stood on a bridge on I-4. "Those kinds of demonstrations are despicable and...
Kevin and Melitza Lugo have a deep love for Israel. So deep that they put “their money where their heart is” and started Kemel Inc. Equipment Sales & Imports in 2019 to become distributors for Olea Essence From the Sea of Galilee, an Israeli company that makes olive oil products and gourmet products to women’s and men’s skincare products. One of Olea Essence’s best selling products is its olive oils that come in various flavors. All of the products are plant based and 100 percent natural. “We ca...
Back in 2018, public adjuster Francine Fox noticed that during a conversation with one of her clients, Marvin Erickson, was frustrated and upset. A Vietnam veteran with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Erickson opened up to her that before Christmas, his family had visited and one of his grandkids was sick. Because he has an immunodeficiency disorder, he could have gotten very sick. "I wish there was a way to remind people that I have a compromised immune system." Fox told him she knew of many others wit...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando held meetings Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 (at the Roth Family JCC and Rosen JCC, respectively) to discuss the results of the community study, conducted by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University with the assistance of UNH Survey Center. The last study was done in 1993 – 28 years ago, and a lot has changed! There are 51,400 Jewish people (41,700 adults and 9,700 children) living in 25,500 Jewish households in Central Florida. In a...
A Town Square is defined as an open public space found in the heart of a traditional town, used for community gatherings. In its new direction, the Rosen JCC is adopting a form of the town square concept. In many of the recent articles about upcoming events, The Rosen JCC has referred to itself as "Your Town Square." Is this a new marketing tool? Not really, but it is a different way of envisioning the traditional Jewish Community Center. The Southwest Orlando JCC originated back in 1994 as a sa...
The 23rd Central Florida Jewish Film Festival is back to "in person" showings. Keeping tradition, the opening night and final night films will be shown at the Orlando Science Center's Digital Adventure Theatre, 777 E. Princeton St., Orlando. All other showings will be at the Enzian, 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland. Only general admission tickets ($12) and Mensch tickets will be available. Unfortunately, there will not be Series passes this year. To purchase tickets, please visit enzian.org. The...
Award-winning TV and radio host Larry King, with Rabbi Irwin Katsof, wrote “Powerful Prayers: Conversations on Faith, Hope, and the Human Spirit with Today’s Most Provocative People” in November 1999. King’s book examined the lives that were suddenly and permanently altered through prayer, and lives that are sustained by its everyday practice. I never read his book as I have always believed in the power of prayer, but I was happy to see that such an influential person took the time to draw attention to how powerful prayer is in a person...
Forty-five years ago on Aug. 27, 1976 the lead story in the first issue of the Heritage Central Florida Jewish News was about the land optioned for Kinneret II that the Central Florida Jewish Community Council had secured. The Council accepted a loan for $2,225,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also covered on the front page was that Janet and Ezra Almog, two of the Entebbe hostages, would speak at Congregation Ohev Shalom about their experience being held hostage in the Uganda airport. The paper was 12 pages long,...
The selection of Bruce Gould as this year's recipient of the Heritage Human Service Award was a long time coming. One might ask why he had not been selected earlier. Well, he'd never been nominated. Perhaps everyone thought someone else would nominate him because his family's generous donations and endowments surpassed many other generous givers. One of those "other generous givers," Alan Ginsburg, who has had "the pleasure of knowing Bruce for 20+ years both socially and community-wise," said...
Unilever, Ltd., is a British multinational consumer goods company. They own over 400 brands. The conglomerate bought Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream in 2001. Owners Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield relinquished managerial control of the company, but maintained autonomy over social issues. When Ben & Jerry’s, the company, said that it is “inconsistent with our values” for their ice cream to be sold in Judea and Samaria, Unilever, the parent company was not — and is not — in agreement. In a press release from Arutz Sheva 7, Avi Zinger, CEO of Ben & Jerry...
Reports about the Arabs who live in Judea and Samaria is always covered in the mainstream media - their living conditions, their suffering, their plight, etc. There is not much coverage about Jews who live in Judea and Samaria and are successfully creating community and building businesses through many struggles while living in the midst of constant danger or fears of being evacuated because they live in certain areas. Some call these settled lands Israeli-annexed land, others claim it is...
Who thought the topic of the Dead Sea Scrolls could be so entertaining? Natural story-teller Kenneth Hanson, Ph.D., as done just that. In addition to being an associate professor of Judaic Studies at the University of Central Florida, he is a brilliant actor who brings to life academic topics such as archeology finds in Israel and the Dead Sea Scrolls through his characters known as Jerusalem Jones and Menachem the Essene, also known as the 2,001-year-old man. He shares insights, mixed with a lo...
Federation CEO and Executive Director Keith Dvorchik reached out to the Heritage about the Trader Joe’s incident saying that “a lot more happened that wasn’t included [in the article Heritage ran].” After learning of the anti-Israel discourtesy paid the shopper, Dvorchik reached out to Trader Joe’s CEO Dan Bane. Bane assigned the grievance to the regional manager, who failed to address the problem properly. It was then reassigned to their in-house council, who is the head of all Trader Joe’s legal issues and a top executive. Dvorchik contacted...
Everyone knows the game where people sit in a circle and one person whispers something in the ear of the next person. The message is then passed on around the group. Nine times out of 10, the message ends up completely changed, portions deleted or information exaggerated. Such is what happened at Trader Joe's about a month ago. This is what happened. A woman, who will remain anonymous, but I will call "Carol," was checking out of the Trader Joe's in Dr. Phillips. She was engaged in pleasant smal...
How bad is substance use in the Jewish community? Well, it is worse than many people think. And that’s probably because substance use — whether recreational or prescribed pain medication — is so commonplace. Not to mention, getting drunk or getting high on pot or other depressants or stimulants is considered (by many) as fun. What many do not realize is that some of these people are genetically programmed to take the “high” further. Prescription pain pills can go from “needed for the pain” to “needed.” B’ri’ut held an excellent meeting, sp...
I don't usually do book reviews, I really don't have time. But this book, "Plunder: A Memoir of Family Property and Nazi Treasure," by Menachem Kaiser, was "not-put-downable." As Kaiser wrote in his book (the last sentence actually) "Oh my god ..." is my thought of this book! By that I mean, this book is remarkable. I love the way it was written. At first I was a little overwhelmed by his detailed writing - how he describes his feelings with every adjective possible it seems. But as I kept...
It was a rally of solidarity and unity between Christians and Jews who gathered at Lake Eola Park on Sunday afternoon to show support for Israel. Organizers of the Stand with Israel Rally, Idit Lotringer, director of the Israeli-American Council Orlando and Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, were thrilled with such short notice about the turnout of more than 200 people who peacefully and enthusiastically showed their support for Israel after a crushing 11...
In April 2014, Recognizing Abilities and Inclusion of Special Employees, better known as RAISE, was launched as a work and social skills training program for adults with special needs. Since then, the program of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has continued to grow and expand, impacting employees, their families, volunteer job coaches, staff and our community. The program provides paid employment at local Jewish agencies along with one-on-one job coaching and transition to employment....
Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, is asking Florida citizens who want Holocaust education in public schools to support the importance of teaching about the Holocaust and the ramifications of antisemitism. The Florida Department of Education invited PJTN to draft K-12 Holocaust Standards for consideration for adoption. Cardoza-Moore’s team of Holocaust experts worked diligently for four months to draft Holocaust Standards that address the rising threat of antisemitism. (See Heritage article “Laurie Car...
Within a year, in the Orlando area several of our beloved Jewish young adults died due to an accidental drug overdose. Statistically, it is likely that someone close to you will suffer from a substance use disorder in the coming years. How will you recognize the signs? Are there signs? And if you sense something is wrong, what do you do? If you are sure someone you love is dealing with substance use disorder, whom do you turn to for help? An upcoming panel discussion on Thursday, May 27,...
On Thursday, May 6, an antisemitic group called the Goyim Defense League stood across the street from The Roth Family JCC with signs and megaphones, ranting their propaganda to protest against the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida. They also attempted to hand out flyers to cars as they stopped at traffic lights at Maitland Avenue and Maitland Blvd. Their van, decorated with Holocaust denial and hate-filled messages, tried to come onto the JCC property. However, the JCC...
On Thursday, May 6, an anti-Semitic group called the Goyim Defense League stood across the street from The Roth Family JCC with signs to protest against the Holocaust Center, according The Jewish Federation CEO, Keith Dvorchik. This group is a loose network of individuals organized by six people and founded in California, spews their contempt for Jewish people in California, Colorado, Florida and New York. They share their anti-Semitism by way of the Internet, propaganda distributions and...
May is National Mental Health Awareness month, and at the end of April, members of the Jewish community participated with about 400 others in a NAMI walk at Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs. The group, "Team Andy," was one of 63 teams who came out to show support and help bring awareness to mental illness. NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness and is the nation's largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans...
The Congregation Ohev Shalom Rabbinic Search Committee offered the position of interim rabbi to Rabbi Murray Ezring, who accepted the position. He will begin officially on Aug. 1 and serve for one or two years. During their search, the committee learned that there is a difference between an interim rabbi and a permanent one, and hiring an interim rabbi was the best solution for the congregation at this time. As an interim rabbi, Ezring says he is charged with getting the congregation in the...
