Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 376 - 400 of 458
The law of the land?... This article appeared in a recent Issue of the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) and I pass it along to you (with asides by me): "A new law was recently approved by the Greek Parliament that sets prison sentences of up to three years and fines of up to $34,000 for individuals and $130,000 for groups convicted of 'inciting acts of discrimination, hatred or violence' over race, religion or disability. It also calls for similar punishment for those who deny or praise the...
There are good people in this world... The Jewish Foundation For the Righteous knows this for sure. I recently received the following letter from them: The Jewish Foundation For the Righteous (JFR) was established to repay a debt of gratitude to Christian rescuers who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The JFR sends monthly financial support to more than 550 aged and needy rescuers in 20 countries to help them pay for food, housing, and medical expenses. Since its founding, th...
"Sand in my shoes... " "Sand from Havana... " Remember that song? (I used to perform it.) Mazel tov to ALAN GROSS on his recent release (after 5 years) from Cuba. Surely it was a Chanukah miracle! "Father of the Nuclear Navy"... HYMAN GEORGE RICKOVER was a United States Navy admiral who directed the original development of naval nuclear propulsion and controlled its operations for three decades as director of Naval Reactors. In addition, he oversaw the development of the Shippingport Atomic...
What's in a name?... "Mort Aux Juifs" is the name of a small French village. What does it mean? Are you ready for this answer? Okay, here goes: "Death to Jews." Are you shocked? (I was.) This comes directly from the World Jewish Congress (WJC) Digest: "Despite efforts by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the deputy mayor of the village of Courtemaux, Marie-Elizabeth Secretand, has defended her decision opposing a name change. 'It's absurd,' she said. 'This name has existed for ages. Of course no one...
This is upbeat... Why are you wasting time reading this column? It's "Black Friday"! The day after Thanksgiving! Bargains await! Go! Spend money! Be happy! This is definitely NOT upbeat... Five people were murdered and seven people wounded in Israel recently, after two Arab terrorists entered the Kehillat Bnai Torah Yeshiva Synagogue on Agassi Street during Shacharit (morning) prayers in Jerusalem's religious Har Nof neighborhood bearing guns, axes, and knives. The terrorists, shouting "Allahu...
If I told you once... I told you a million times... I write this column well in advance of the publication date, so although Veterans Day is past when you read this, it has not yet occurred when I wrote this. I am NOT a veteran. I am the wife of a Korean War Army veteran; the mother of three sons, one a Lt. Commander in the Navy; also I am the mother of a psychologist who helped Navy recruits at Great Lakes Naval Base, Illinois; and the mother of my third son, a former sailor who served on a...
An unexpected meeting... I recently spoke and performed at a JCC 39er's meeting in Maitland with my talented accompanists, bassist, MOE LOWE and pianist, MICHAEL KRAMER. (I've had the pleasure of performing cabaret with Michael and his equally talented son, bassist, BEN KRAMER, in New York City a while back). After the presentation, a gentleman approached me with a bit of information about a book he had just written. His name is ABRAHAM GOLD, and he is a Holocaust survivor. (Right away I was...
This is indeed a small world... The following is a poem titled “I’m Free.” The author is unknown to us: “Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free, I’m following the path God laid for me, I took his hand when I heard his call, I turned my back and left it all, I could not stay another day, to laugh, to love, to work or play, Tasks left undone must stay that way, I found the peace I sought today, If my parting has left a void, then fill it with remembered joys, A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss, Oh yes, these things I too will miss, Be not burden...
My visit to the White House... I know. I know. This is old news already but, as I've said many times before, I am writing my column far in advance... so the White House intruder story only happened within the last few days of this writing. Back to my White House experience: My spouse and I visited "the people's house" (as it is called) in Washington D.C., recently. There were four levels of security on the lawn alone, before ever getting close. By the time we finally got inside, we thought that...
Oy... here I go, down again!... I fall very often these days... not that I'm elderly, mind you (shut up!) but sometimes a little unsteady on my feet. Like the other day, I fell face forward when I tripped over a tree trunk at the dog park. (I didn't get hurt though. I fell directly on my breasts which cushioned the fall and kept me from getting any broken bones.) And on this very subject, I recently read in a copy of a World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest, the following article under the heading,...
Greece, Hungary... oy vay!... Oy vay! is right. The more information I get about happenings in these countries, the more upset I become. (Of course, ISIS has me worried as well... More wrinkles on my brow.) I received this note from the World Jewish Congress Organization (WJC): "A devastating, anti-Semitic alliance was forged when more than one in five Hungarian voters recently cast their ballot for the far-right anti-Jewish and anti-Roma Jobbik party... giving them 23 seats of the 199 seat...
My old fears resurface... I've written about my experiences with anti-Semitism as a young child in Brooklyn, New York, a few times in this column. I would hope that subject is over and done with... but, apparently not... at least not in Europe. According to the American Jewish Congress (AJC): "At a time when 'Death to the Jews' chants can be heard at public gatherings in European capitals, allegedly in protests against Israel, the bold, timely and unambiguous words of the three foreign...
"Can we talk?"... My heart is breaking (and many of you feel as I do) at the news that Joan Rivers passed away recently. I loved her and have followed her career for more that half-century, stealing many of her jokes along the way. I considered her a friend. Here is a tribute (part of a poem from DAV) and "borrowed" by me: "Thank you my friend for all you do, For giving so much, saying no to few So when I ask for one more thing, Think of all the light That your jokes can bring." I particularly...
Tired of Holocaust deniers... I read this recently in the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) and I found it to be very upsetting. (As I age, I seem to find everything upsetting... especially when I look in the mirror!) As the Jewish New Year is almost upon us, I feel this takes on even more meaning. I pass it along to you: "During a major national address for Persian New Year, Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, took another opportunity to deny that the Holocaust ever took place and...
I often disagree with Mr. Miller... I'm referring to comedian, DENNIS MILLER, who has a show called Dennis Miller Live on HBO. Although he is not Jewish, he recently had the following (on this we agree) to say (in part) about the Middle East situation: "A brief overview of the situation is always valuable, so as a service to all Americans who still don't get it, I now offer you the story of the Middle East in just a few paragraphs, which is all you really need. The Palestinians want their own...
ELIEZER "ELIE" WIESEL, is a Romanian born Jewish American professor and political activist. He is the author of 57 books, including "Night," a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and Buchenwald concentration camps. A Nobel Peace Laureate, Wiesel has accused the militant Palestinian movement Hamas of child sacrifice for its practice of launching rockets against Israel from within heavily populated parts of Gaza during the recent conflict. In a full page, paid...
"Israel is Jewish"... Is that what's behind the anti-Israel world view? The following comes from DENNIS PRAGER. (I have NOT checked out all he said yet, but present it word for word as he said it.) Quoting Dennis Prager: "Let's drop the names 'Hamas' and 'Israel' and make a list of the characteristics of two imaginary warring entities. We'll call them Entity A and Entity B. Entity A: Declares that its raison d'etre is to annihilate Entity B. Sends missiles to explode in the most populated parts...
From passionate lovers... Okay, I'll finish the sentence! We went from passionate lovers to angry roommates! Of course I refer to my spouse and myself as we get ready to celebrate our 54th wedding anniversary on Sunday, Aug. 3. Irv says "That date will go down in infamy." (Only kidding, of course. The spark is still there... only now it seems more like heartburn than a smoldering fire!) We actually started celebrating this fabulous event several days ago with a visit to Disney. We "hung out"...
Now that we know... This comes directly from ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with an aside by me: "Even after 100 years of remarkable progress against anti-Semitism, dangerous attitudes about Jews still persist throughout the world. Overall, 26 percent of the world's population, a little more than 1 billion people, harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. The index of anti-Semitic attitudes ranges from less than 1 percent in Laos, 3 percent in the Philippines, and...
Before I even begin this column... Whatever happened to "Give us your tired, your poor" at the base of the Statue of Liberty? This country once sent back an entire shipload of Jews fleeing the Nazis because our State Department (at that time at least) seemed to be anti-Semitic. What will happen to these little children now at our borders? (I'm just saying.) Israel in turmoil... I have mentioned many times before, that I write this column far in advance of publication, so I really don't know what...
I'm very bitter... And well I should be! Surely among the six million Jews slaughtered in the Holocaust by Hitler's Nazis (while much of the world looked away and did nothing) were many very gifted people. I feel certain there would have been all kinds of inventions to better our lives; we could have had cures for many of today's ills as well. For instance, all kinds of cancers; kidney and liver diseases; diabetes; blood diseases, etc. I also feel certain that global warming issues could have be...
Happy Fourth of July!... How lucky we are to live in this glorious country, the United States of America. As a second generation American (I was born in Brooklyn, N.Y.; My mom was born in Montreal, Canada, but came here as a child; My dad was born in Brooklyn, New York) I realize what my ancestors suffered, coming from Ukraine, Russia and Poland. Because they fled when they did, I and my offspring enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) a life of freedom and happiness! Unfortunately, not everyone can feel this way. Friendly neighbors?... Here are some...
"Ole', Ole', Ole', Ole'"... As an entertainer, I've been to Brazil (Brasilians spell it with an S) a few times to record and perform. I love the country, the people... everything! My agent, ROBERTO DRATCU, is a Brasilairo, born and raised in Sao Paulo, but has visited here in Central Florida to work with me and others. He is also Jewish. As you probably know, soccer is major in Brazil. Every time a Brazilian team wins a match somewhere in the world, the entire cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Jane...
Absolutely no surprise... The following comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest (WJC) and is very worth repeating (but no surprise). The headline read “Israel Ranked 3rd Largest Sci-tech Partner to U.S.” Here is the story that followed: “The U.S.-Israel Science & Technology Foundation (USISTF) says that Israel last year placed third out of 16 nations deemed the world’s heavyweight partners in science and technology with the United States. The foundation’s ‘innovation index’ for...
Take heart, anything can be overcome... To prove it, this blurb is from NBC news: FRANKFURT, Germany-"At first glance, the afternoon gathering of nearly 30 elderly people in the cozy wood-paneled room of an apartment complex could be perceived as an ordinary 'coffee klatch.' But, the women and men that gather here in Frankfurt over coffee and cake once a week all share one common experience: the horrors of the Holocaust. For many of the estimated 40,000 Jewish survivors still living in Germany,...
