Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 351 - 375 of 458
Acknowledging wonderful people... This comes from the World Jewish Congress digest this month. I pass it along to you in its entirety: "Lord GEORGE WEIDENFELD, the 95 year old statesman, scholar and publisher, recently accepted the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Theodor Herzl Award at a gala dinner at London's Victoria and Albert Museum. The award recognizes outstanding individuals who carry forward Herzl's ideals for a safer, more tolerant world for the Jewish people. WJC President Ambassador...
A disturbing email... I recently heard from a representative of the Simon Wiesenthal Center with some upsetting news. I truly was taken by surprise. I pass it along to you: "The Simon Wiesenthal Center today condemned the UCC vote by the General Synod (national decision-making body) of the United Church of Christ to boycott Israeli companies and to divest from companies doing business with Israel." (What is the UCC, you ask?) Read on: The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a distinct and diverse...
You know your getting old when... My spouse and I had the pleasure of seeing the stage play "I Love Lucy" in the Walt Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts recently thanks to our own wonderful DONNA FIEGEL, Public Relations director at True Marketing. It was brought to Orlando courtesy of Fairwinds Broadway Across America. I'm not saying how old I am, you understand (?) but the show was based on the televising of the Lucy show at the Desilu Studios in Hollywood during...
They have our back? Jolly good!... I read this in this month's World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest. I found it very interesting... hopefully true... and I pass it along to you: The WJC praised British Prime Minister, DAVID CAMERON, for proposing an additional $4.4 million a year to better protect Jewish institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) against potential terrorist attacks. This is in addition to $10.3 million provided in the budget to fund guards for all Jewish private schools and...
Too close to home... I am really nervous about all the information I am sent relating to the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. But now, after receiving this month's issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest, I am really upset. Anti-Semitism is getting much too close to home. Read on: The Jewish Telegraph Agency recently reported on two separate anti-Semitic incidents... one in which swastikas were spray painted on a Jewish fraternity house at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee,...
Such sad news... Our vice president has endured many tragedies in his life and yet he goes on. I'm referring to the loss of his first wife and daughter in an accident and now the crushing loss of his eldest son, Beau, to cancer. Years ago, I had the pleasure of singing with the legendary Jimmy Dorsey orchestra at the University of Delaware at Lewes. Beau may have been a student at that time... not sure... but what I am sure of is that he was a wonderful guy, a war hero, devoted son, husband and...
Holocaust memory... This is a new life-affirming perspective on Holocaust memory that I read recently in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. I pass it along to you omitting the many contributors to the book, because they were just too numerous to mention here: "Seventy years after the liberation of the Nazi death and concentration camps and the end of World War II, as the numbers of Holocaust survivors are steadily dwindling, their children and grandchildren have increasingly assumed...
I received a phone call... A very lovely sounding lady named LILLY phoned me recently to talk about anti-Semitism. She felt that Jewish organizations and communities should let all the good things Jewish people do be known via media ("positive commercials" she said) so Jews would be much more valued in society and less likely to be picked on. I am trying to do just that, especially when I write about all the scientific breakthroughs coming out of Israeli universities. But then, mostly Jewish...
Suspicious no? YES... I read this in the April issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and I pass it along to you: "William Schabas, who was appointed last August by the United Nations Human Rights Council to lead a three-member inquiry into Israel's alleged war crimes during its war with Hamas in Gaza, has resigned following allegations of bias. Schabas was a paid consultant for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2012. Although the commission had largely gathered all its...
Once again, the light stuff first... It hurts to think my grandchildren don't even know how famous Frank Sinatra was... sure he has restaurants named after him in Las Vegas, here in Orlando, and probably in many places, but do they know he was "ole blue eyes?" No! Why is he in a Jewish newspaper, you ask? That's a "no-brainer." Sinatra was a staunch supporter of Israel and loved the Jewish people. And they (and most of us) loved him right back. In a recent television special titled "All Or Nothi...
Mother's Day is coming... So I will refrain from the stories of anti-Semitism for awhile and write about upbeat things. For one, though a little early, my spouse presented me with my favorite parfum and a beautiful Mother's Day card. (And I'm not even his mother!) And I presented myself with a great gift as well... viewing a movie on television that salutes Metro Goldwyn Mayer's musicals, this one titled "That's Entertainment." (I understand it is the first of three films saluting the MGM...
All of a sudden... At the ripe old age of 68 (oh shut up!) I find myself nervous about being Jewish. I went through this as a very young child of five, taking beatings every day until I began lying and saying I was Catholic. (I even learned my "Hail Mary's") but pushed it out of my mind when, a few years later, I learned of the Holocaust and the torture my people endured. I was very ashamed of myself for denying my heritage... although at that tender age, I sort of understood why. This all...
"Depressed" isn't a strong enough word... With the increase in anti-Semitism in Europe and yes, even here in the United States, I am feeling extremely down and frankly scared. I keep remembering the words of Holocaust survivor ROMAN KENT at the recent Auschwitz tribute. He said "We do not want our past to be our children's future." Even if my time on earth isn't much longer, what about my children and their children and their children's children? I repeat, "depressed isn't a strong enough...
Okay, you talked me into it... I'm running for president! Is it any more ridiculous than Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Donald Trump? (Never mind. I'm not going to write about politics.) What I will write about is the concern I have with growing anti-Semitism, not only in the Middle East and certain European countries like Belgium or Austria. Read about our "allies." These facts come from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. I pass them along: "According to a recent poll commissioned by...
Holocaust remembrance... Acknowledging that officially, Thursday, April 16th is Holocaust Remembrance Day, this story in the current World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest caught my eye. I pass it on to you and add my personal comment in parenthesis at the end: "WJC President Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER, speaking on Jan. 27 next to the gate and railroad tracks that marked the last journey for more than a million people murdered at Auschwitz-Birkenau, sounded a warning that the rise in anti-Semitism...
Am I "green" with envy? No way! But, if you are a "senior citizen" you should read this story sent to me by a reader: "Checking out at the store, the young cashier suggested to the much older lady, that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags are not good for the environment. The woman apologized to the young girl and explained, "We didn't have this 'green thing' back in my earlier days." The young clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not care...
Former secretary of state... No! I'm not referring to HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON and her private (and not so private) emails, although that's all we seem to be hearing about in the news these days (at least as I write this column in advance), Rather, I'm referring to HENRY KISSINGER, who served as secretary of state to Presidents Nixon and Ford. I recently received this bit of news from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest and pass it along to you: "Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry A....
"Seventy years? That's all it took?"... I received a letter from Rabbi MARVIN HIER, head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center. It stated (with comments in parenthesis by me) that "Adolf Hitler himself predicted it might take centuries, but in a much, much shorter time we are seeing the return of vicious hatred directed at Europe's Jews." In his last will and testament, Hitler wrote 'Centuries may pass, but out of the ruins of our cities and monuments of art there will arise anew the hatred for the...
Unity in Paris, France... I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with my spouse in Paris a few years ago, although a single glass of diet coke at a Paris sidewalk café cost us $9 American. (Oy vay.) It might be higher today. I recently received this story from the World Jewish Congress digest (WJC) and I pass it along to you: “World Jewish Congress CEO ROBERT SINGER and other WJC leaders joined with heads of state from some 40 nations, leaders of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), European Jewish Congress and marc...
Israel and world affairs... Once again, Israel is "right there" when needed, helping with crisis after crisis, as well as medical breakthroughs. This article comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) and I pass it along to you: "Just as it did after crises in Haiti, Ghana and the Philippines, Israel is stepping up to fight the spread of the African Ebola epidemic that has infected more than 7,000 people. In addition to sending more than a million shekels worth of medical...
Global Warming? Are you kidding? It's still snowing!... I've had people actually say things like this to me when I mention the threat of global warming. I received a letter from the president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, KEN KIMMELI. I decided to pass it along (in part) to you with an aside in parenthesis at the end by me: "Audacious... irresponsible... flat-out dangerous... However you describe it, there's no avoiding the relentless flood of misinformation polluting our public...
Kudos to Switzerland... I recently read an article in the World Jewish Congress Digest that, frankly, made me happy. My spouse and I visited Switzerland a few years ago. We loved the people, the scenery, the food, etc., but that's not what I refer to as making me happy... although I loved the trip. Rather, I'm referring to this article about a Swiss Museum's refusal to accept art that was looted by Nazis. I pass it on to you: "Calling art stolen from Jewish collectors or taken from German state...
As I write this column... (Well in advance of publication, of course), it is the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, one of the horrible Nazi death camps where our people suffered and many died. Attention (I'm especially addressing possible Holocaust deniers)... Here is an article directly from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest, written a few weeks before the anniversary day: "More than 100 survivors of the Auschwitz death camp from across the globe will travel to Poland to...
I've never been to Cuba... Let's see... in South America I've been to Puerto Rico, Mexico, The Bahamas, Brazil (a few times as I record and perform there and my agent is Brazilian), and other Latino places... but never, ever to Havana. I would love to go, mind you, but because of restrictions I couldn't... that is... until now! Listening to the "State of the Union" speech last night, I feel optimistic. I even heard a news flash on NBC television a while ago, stating that a high United States...
"Where did I park the car?..." This is a question I asked my spouse once, as I was coming out of a shopping center. "Where did I park the car? I don't remember. I think I may have Alzheimer's disease," was the complete question I asked him. He responded, "It's not forgetting where you parked the car that indicates Alzheimer's... it's when you forget what to do with the car!" (He was right!) On the subject of Alzheimer's disease, the following comes directly from the "Health & Science page of...
