Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 4 of 4
(Washington Jewish Week via JTA)—Maybe it’s the centuries of living under Christian and Muslim rule. Maybe it’s the history of forced conversion. Maybe it’s that there’s no religion requirement for the Jewish afterlife. Whatever the reasons, Jews have traditionally been uncomfortable proselytizing. But a Maryland foundation is flouting the taboo by funding outreach programs to non-Jews in an effort to bring them into the fold. “Our primary purpose is to support programs that publicize Judaism to non-Jews,” Ellen Gerecht, executive dir... Full story
(Washington Jewish Week via JTA)-Since being imprisoned in Cuba six years ago, Alan Gross says his life has been "surreal." He feels disassociated from the causes of his five-year incarceration and from the resulting fame. He was locked up largely because of U.S.-Cuba relations, he says, and he is a public figure thanks to the people who followed his story in the news or advocated on his behalf. "It never was about me," Gross said in an interview in his Washington, D.C., condominium. "My life... Full story
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week via JTA) - When prominent Washington rabbi Barry Freundel was arrested last year for secretly videotaping dozens of women using the mikvah adjacent to his Orthodox synagogue, the sense of sacredness of the ritual of mikvah immersion was shattered for some local Jewish women. Local artist Rena Fruchter recently spearheaded a community project to put the pieces back together: A mural created by female members of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue to place... Full story
Jacob Ostreicher, a haredi Orthodox father of five who remains under house arrest in Bolivia, does not believe he will ever be free and often unplugs his home phone because he is too depressed to speak with his family, according to his wife, Miriam Ungar. He just can’t see himself ever coming back to his home in Brooklyn, she said. “We all feel that. I really know they will never let him go,” she said, adding that Bolivian officials “make up reasons” to detain Ostreicher indefinitely. “This cou... Full story
