Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA)-The 2010s were nothing if not turbulent. The decade brought us unprecedented political polarization, war and increasing conflict in Israel, dozens of horrific mass shootings, and a new age of election hacking and private data collection enabled by the proliferation of social media. It was capped by arguably the most shocking presidential election in American history. These are the Jewish figures who steered us through it all, and who had the largest impact on life and culture in the last 1... Full story
The Kinneret Council on Aging, a nonprofit agency that provides ongoing programs and services to residents of Kinneret Apartments, has rescued a holiday meal program that was formerly run by Jewish Family Services. Approximately, 83 percent of the recipients of this program live in Kinneret Apartments. The holiday meal program was instituted to provide a hot, delicious kosher meal for Jewish residents during three of the Jewish holidays throughout the year including Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah and Passover. “JFS’s decision to sunset the pro... Full story
ATLANTA—Hillel International, the largest Jewish campus organization in the world, presented awards this week to recognize campus Hillels that are creating innovative experiences and meaningful connections to help students develop stronger ties to their Jewish identities. Central Florida Hillel was one of only five Hillel’s in North America to be recognized for its achievement in being among the TOP 5 with the “Greatest Growth in Depth.” This category measures the amount of times that Jewish students on campus are connecting to Jewish life on... Full story
(JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won his party's leadership primary with 72.5 percent of the vote. Challenger Gideon Saar got 27.5 percent, according to Haaretz. Turnout for the primary was 57,677, or 49 percent of the total number of registered members. Saar, a popular Likud stalwart and former interior minister, had aimed to dethrone Netanyahu after the prime minister was twice unable to form a government following consecutive rounds of elections this year. Netanyahu's... Full story
Israeli-Palestinian Peace Prospects: A View from the Palestinian street On Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, from 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Keith Dvorchik, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and CEO of The Roth Family JCC, and Central Florida Hillel CEO Aaron Weil will discuss their recent meetings in the West Bank with senior Palestinian leaders and residents of the West Bank. Hear about the challenges, frustrations and hope that they experienced and the varying Palestinian narratives they encountered. A Q&A session will follow.... Full story
Beginning Jan. 6, 2020, Monday evenings, 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m. (Weeks 1-7) and 7 p.m.—9:15 p.m. (Weeks 8-9) The course is taught by Yael Weinstein Part 1: This 9-week course explores the history of the conflict from the inception of the Jewish Aliyah in the 1800s through the Six-Day War. Course material is designed to encourage discussion and debate, and to challenge students to appreciate the basis of the conflicting historical claims made by all sides in the conflict. The complexity of the conflict forces students to grapple with issues of r... Full story
Open to the entire community, this year's Jewish Pavilion Fashion Show takes place on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 11 a.m., at Dillard's Department Store in the Altamonte Mall. "Dillard's Department store is delighted to host the Jewish Pavilion's annual fashion show," said Nancy Nguyen, store manager. The store has gone all out and arranged for a backdrop and stage and hired a DJ for this special event that will honor Penny Goldstein for her years of service to the Jewish community. Models will be... Full story
(JNS)—The Trump administration is reportedly opposing a bill that would sanction Turkey for purchasing Russian missiles, claiming that it would push both countries towards further cooperation. The administration also opposes a part of the measure that would assist Syrian Kurdish refugees to resettle in the United States. The Daily Beast first reported the developments on Monday, citing a seven-page memo sent by the U.S. State Department to senators. The bill, the “Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act... Full story
(JNS)—Part of the $1.37 trillion spending bill that U.S. President Donald Trump signed on Friday included $150 million split evenly between assistance for security services, and humanitarian and civilian purposes for the Palestinians. The legislation included a bipartisan agreement on the Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act that will allow the U.S. Agency for International Development to resume its operations in the West Bank and Gaza. USAID ceased projects in those areas earlier this year in accordance with ATCA, which provides protections for A... Full story
(JNS)—An estimated 34,000 immigrants moved to Israel in 2019—the largest number per year in the past decade, according to numbers published by the Jewish Agency. The data includes those who immigrated during the period of January-November 2019 and the number of immigrants expected for December 2019. Through the end of November 2019, more than 32,600 immigrants arrived in Israel from around the world, an increase of 18 percent from the same period last year. The Jewish Agency data showed that more than 255,000 new immigrants moved to Israel in... Full story
(JNS)—Chanukah’s popularity with American Jews was largely the result of a futile though determined effort to compete with Christmas. While enjoying freedom, prosperity and influence that was unprecedented in the history of the Diaspora, American Jews needed a holiday that would allow them to play a part in the annual December festivities without abandoning their identity altogether. That is why Chanukah has become far more important to American Jews that it was to their ancestors in Europe and elsewhere, who regarded it as a minor winter fes... Full story
(JNS)—The problem of anti-Semitic intimidation on American college campuses is serious, and hopefully, U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent executive order will help combat it. But an equally significant problem is the deeply entrenched anti-Israel bias in the lectures, discussions and even the student trips abroad that our sons and daughters are participating in at many universities today. Case in point: an upcoming trip to “Israel and Palestine” for students who attend American University in our nation’s capital. The official descripti... Full story
The head of the French Jewish community expressed fear that last week’s decision by prosecutors in Paris to excuse the murderer of a Jewish woman from a criminal trial symbolized a deeper reluctance to confront anti-Semitism among Muslims in France through legal means. In a forthright letter to Paris Attorney General Catherine Champrenault, Francis Kalifat—the president of CRIF, the representative organization of French Jews—intimated that the decision not to try Kobili Traore for the Apr. 4, 2017 torture and murder of Sarah Halimi, a 65-ye... Full story
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019, in a premeditated attack, two shooters opened fire inside a kosher deli in Jersey City, New Jersey, and murdered four people. The killers included a former member of a notoriously anti-Semitic group and, reportedly, a follower of Louis Farrakhan. It’s becoming obvious to most Jews that we are living in a state of siege. Practically every Jewish institution in America now needs significant security. College campuses have become hostile territory for Jewish students. Jews are murdered in Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Jerse... Full story
For millennia, the Jewish people have overcome darkness. We have prevailed against those who sought to destroy us in each generation, by carrying our beliefs, traditions, culture, and most importantly our strong sense of peoplehood forward. Chanukah, the festival of lights, is a reminder that each one of us can carry the torch and lead our communities out of darkness. And this flame can continue to glow when we are connected and dare to share the beauty of our people with the world around us. Early on in life, I had the unique opportunity to li... Full story
(JNS)—Left, right and sideways, Jews in America are facing a major dilemma: Whose side should we take? Do we take the conservative point of view and accept our duly elected Republican president as the Jews’ knight in shining armor? After all, President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized the Golan Heights, pulled out of the Iran deal, pulled out of UNRWA, signed the Taylor Force Act, signed the executive order on anti-Semitism, and even has a Jewish daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren! During his State of the Uni... Full story
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. and 10 minutes before sunset; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:15 a.m., 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday - Friday, 7:30 a.m.; Saturday, 9:30 a.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-644-2500. Congregation Chabad Lubavitch of Greater Daytona—Monday, 8 a.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m., 904-672-9300. Congregation Ohev Shalom—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orlando—Monday—Friday, 7:45 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Temple I... Full story
(JNS)—I found myself locked in a room listening to Israel Defense Forces’ veterans tell their stories while people outside chanted for my blood. For several hours, the protesters chanted, pounded on the walls and doors of the lecture hall, and intimidated participants trying to enter. While the event pressed on despite this brazen assault, at least two Jewish students broke down and had to be escorted out. The relentless pounding, chanting and noise continued unabated for several hours without letup. Calls of “viva intifada,” fauda (meanin... Full story
(JNS)-On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, Manger Square in Bethlehem was filled with people, but local Christians were few and far between. The majority of those milling around in the sunshine appeared to be local Muslims, along with a smattering of tourists. In previous years, visitors waiting to step into the tiny opening of the Church of the Nativity could expect to stand in line for up to an hour. This year, despite the completion of a four-year, $18 million restoration project at the... Full story
The murder of eleven Jews while they were observing Shabbat occurred in the heart of Mister Rogers's Neighborhood. The Reverend Fred Rogers and his wife Joanne owned a home and raised their two sons in Squirrel Hill, just two blocks from Tree of Life, the scene of the Oct. 27, 2018, massacre. Who was Fred Rogers? Why did his former neighbors in this predominantly Jewish section of Pittsburgh turn to him for comfort after the tragedy? And why, 17 years after his death has he become everyone's fav... Full story
Wishing all my readers a very "HAPPY NEW YEAR"! The Holocaust????... I read this recently. It was very disturbing. I pass it along to you: "The New Zealand Jewish Council, an affiliate of the World Jewish Congress responded with concern to the results of a recent poll undertaken by the Holocaust Memorial Trust of Auckland, which revealed a shocking level of ignorance and uncertainty about the Holocaust in New Zealand. The poll was carried out in collaboration with Curia Market Research. More... Full story
(JNS)-Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development Bonnie Glick made headlines last week after Bloomberg reported that she placed a hold on U.S. economic assistance to Lebanon-a story that she denies. Her agency administers U.S. civilian and development assistance to countries overseas. "There was no hold on assistance to Lebanon," she told JNS. "We have a large assistance program in Lebanon that is robust and ongoing." She added, "I am absolutely concerned that there... Full story
(JNS)—Eight Republican members of Congress on Thursday called on U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to ensure that taxpayer funds do not go toward Middle East Studies’ centers at colleges and universities that support boycotting Israel. In a letter to DeVos, the congressional members express alarm over Middle East Studies National Resource Centers allegedly misusing funds under Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to support the anti-Israel BDS movement, consisting of, but not limited to, prohibiting conferences and other events inv... Full story
(JTA)—Rosalee Glass, a Holocaust survivor recognized by President Donald Trump during the White House Chanukah party, has died following injuries sustained during travel to Washington, D.C. Glass died in Los Angeles on Dec. 14 of a blood clot to her heart. She was three weeks shy of her 103rd birthday. She was accidentally dropped while being transported in a wheelchair to a plane in Los Angeles on Dec. 8, on her way to Washington, D.C., for the White House event, her daughter Lillian Glass said... Full story
(JTA)—A federal complaint has been filed against Columbia University accusing the school of anti-Semitic discrimination. It is the first case filed since President Donald Trump’s executive order on combating anti-Semitism, which grants Jewish students the same protections as other minority groups. The complaint requests a formal investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights into alleged anti-Semitic discrimination at Columbia. It was filed by the Lawfare Project on behalf of a Jewish Israeli-American under... Full story
