Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS)-Many have pointed to Israel's security barrier in Judea and Samaria as being one of the primary contributors to the reduction in Palestinian terrorism since the years of the Second Intifada, from 2000 to 2005. However, a growing chorus of experts disputes this notion, while pointing to the barrier instead being used as a political tool to divide the land. A new study on Israel's separation fence in Judea and Samaria asserts that while the yet-to-be-completed barrier was constructed under t...
Ask people in the Miami area if they have heard of Stephen Gamson, and the majority will say a resounding "Yes!" He is so well known that Dec. 3, 2018, was proclaimed Stephen Gamson Day by City of Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber and Vice Mayor Michael Gongora. The honor was bestowed upon Gamson during a pre-Art Basel party held on Fisher Island, an exclusive private island off the coast of Miami Beach. Gamson was the featured artist at the party, a forerunner of the art festival held in Basel,...
(JTA)-Amos Oz, one of Israel's most widely read and best-known writers, has died. He was 79. The cause was cancer, the Israeli media reported. Barely older than the country he chronicled in dozens of novels, essays and nonfiction books, Oz represented a generation of writers who traced the country's emotional arc from its adolescence to the present. He also was one of the country's most vocal peace activists, calling on successive governments to resolve the Palestinian issue and embrace what he...
(JNS)—The governing partners of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition voted unanimously on Monday to dissolve the Knesset. New elections are tentatively scheduled for April 9, 2019, four years since the last election, and six months before the previously scheduled election date of Nov. 5, 2019. “In the name of budgetary and national responsibility, party leaders in the coalition agreed unanimously to dissolve the Knesset and go to new elections at the beginning of April, following a full four-year term,” said a government spokesperson on beha...
Choices, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s largest annual women’s philanthropy event, is less than a week away, but tickets are still available for Thursday’s event at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. The Presenting Sponsor for Choices 2019—the 25th year for the event—is Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies. Since 1994, Choices has been a showcase for women’s philanthropy in the Central Florida Jewish community. It’s a gala event where women gather to celebrate, socialize and inspire, all in support of the Fede...
Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando to hear a highly-experienced Jewish genealogist explain ethical wills and their role in your family history. Laurence Morrell, a native Floridian with decades of service to Central Florida’s Jewish organizations, speaks at The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando in Maitland, on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019 at 7 p.m. in the Senior Lounge. Morrell began doing genealogy research around 2001. His early research led him and his family to take a heritage tour to the lands of their a...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has begun accepting applications for 2019 Ronald Colman Israel Travel Scholarships. The Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Colman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to participate in educational experiences in Israel. The program is open to all Jewish teens in 9th-12th grades who are permanent residents of Central Florida. Gap-year programs are not eligible. The scholarships are administered through the...
The Jewish Pavilion sends its heartfelt thanks to everyone at Senior Health and Human Services Network. The group of providers in the health and human services areas for Seminole County (and surrounding areas) meets monthly for educational awareness and to raise money for various nonprofits. Just a few days before Christmas, SHHSN made a $500 donation to the Jewish Pavilion. SHHSN treasurer Bridget Monroe (left), of Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care, stopped by Pavilion offices with the...
By Yaakov Lappin (JNS)—It didn’t take long for the recent Israeli Air Force strikes on Iranian or Hezbollah targets in the Damascus area to receive Russian condemnation. Russia issued a public rebuke to Israel, accusing it of conducting “provocative” attacks. The Russians also claimed to reveal operational details about the airstrikes, saying that six Israeli F-16 jets fired missiles at targets in Syria from Lebanese airspace. According to the spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, the strik...
(JTA)—In a genetic study of 6,589 people from five Latin American countries, about a quarter displayed traces of what may be Sephardic Jewish ancestry. Geneticist Juan-Camilo Chacón-Duque and his colleagues published their findings last week in Nature Communications magazine, in an article titled “Latin Americans show wide-spread Converso ancestry and imprint of local Native ancestry on physical appearance.” Converso is the Spanish-language word for people who converted from Judaism to Christianity during the Inquisition in Spain and Portug...
(JNS)-The last surviving resistance fighter from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 passed away on Dec. 22 in Jerusalem at the age of 94. Simcha Rotem, born Kazik Ratajzer in Warsaw in 1924, joined the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish Combat Organization in 1942, after having been a member of a Zionist youth movement in his teen years and suffering the bombing of his family home by the Germans, which wounded him and his mother and killed his brother and grandparents. Rotem fought under Mark Edelman when the...
By Caroline Glick www.carolineglick.com President Donald Trump’s sudden announcement that he is removing U.S. forces from Syria shocked many. But it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, because the move is consistent with key aspects of Trump’s military and foreign policy. Trump promised to bring the 2,000 U.S. Special Forces home from Syria in April. When his announcement sparked opposition from the Pentagon and from key allies, Trump said that he would give the Pentagon six months to complete its mission to defeat so-called “Islamic State...
LeBron’s apology is the perfect example of how not to say you are sorry. LeBron James has a following on Instagram more populous than 203 countries. When nearly 46 million people sign up to read everything you have to say, you have a responsibility to be extra thoughtful, careful and mindful of what you post. LeBron is well aware of the platform he has, as he mentioned in his statement reacting to the events in Charlottesville, Virginia last year: I know there’s a lot of tragic things happening in Charlottesville. I just want to speak on it rig...
(JNS)—For the second time in two months, the leadership of the Jewish Federation of North America has made it clear that it is fed up with the policies of Israel’s government. According to multiple news reports, JFNA leaders told Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Relations this past week that “relations between Israel and U.S. Jewry are at their lowest point since the state of Israel was established.” Eric Goldstein, chief executive of the UJA-Federation of New York—the only leader willing to come on record—is reported as stating that “people...
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...
(JNS)-Opposition members in the Israeli government cheered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement on Monday that there will be elections next year. "In April, we will win," said Avi Gabbay, leader of the largest opposition party Zionist Union. "In April, we will bring change to Israel." Gabbay said that the elections are "between me and Netanyahu." "I am aware of the weight of responsibility on the prime minister of Israel, and as prime minister I'll lead the State of Israel...
Two years ago, Peter and Margaret Hunter, friends from England, visited us in our home in Kissimmee, Florida. They brought two bottles of Moet Chandon Brut Champagne, which we tucked away for a future occasion. Miracles and Relationships This week, the Hunters were back in Florida, and Peter asked us if we had drunk the wine. When I told him it was still sitting in the box, he admonished me. "That kind of wine doesn't age well," said Peter. "It doesn't last unless refrigerated properly. We'll...
By Gabe Friedman (JTA)-The end of every year brings the grim task of rounding up the prominent Jews who passed away over the previous 12 months. But in doing so, we are able to pay tribute to their incredible lives and accomplishments, and revel once again in the talents and resilience of the Jewish community. This year, we lost Pulitzer Prize winners, TV stars, scholars, Holocaust survivors, spiritual leaders and many more. Here are just some of those who inspired us the most. Philip Roth In...
My Canadian roots... My mom was born in Montreal, Canada, and I'm sure I have some relatives still living there. I've been to western Canada, performing at the Calgary Stampede with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and I've done sight-seeing in surrounding areas, but I've never been to Montreal. It's on my "Bucket List." On the subject of Canada... I read this in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and pass it along to you: Speaking to a forum of the WJC, Canada's Foreign Minister, Chrystia...
A 2,000-year-old ring with a solitaire gemstone was uncovered in archaeological excavations in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The ring was found by Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists in what appears to be an ancient Mikveh (ritual bath) on the Pilgrimage Road which dates back to the time of the second Temple period. The ancient paved road runs up from the Shiloach (Siloam) pool to the Temple Mount and is thought to have been the main thoroughfare taken by pilgrims to the...
(JTA)-This year hasn't been an easy one. From shootings that claimed many innocent lives, including at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, to political turmoil in the United States and abroad, there have been many moments of sorrow. But there were bright spots too. As 2018 comes to a close, JTA looked back at some of the heartwarming stories we reported on this year, from a group of German volunteers who are fixing Holocaust survivors' houses to an Iranian refugee who raised money for Pittsburgh's Tree...
(JNS)-Here Next Year, in partnership with Nefesh B'Nefesh, hosted its fifth annual Israel Fair on Saturday night in the center of Jerusalem. The fair is designed to help young potential new immigrants (olim) who are currently in their gap year learn about their options for service in the Israel Defense Forces, Israel National Service (Sherut Leumi), ulpan and higher education in Israel. "We were so pleased to welcome nearly 500 people who attended this event and to have helped these students...
Ruth Borenstein, age 94, of Apopka, passed away peacefully at her residence on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. A native of New York City, she was born on Oct. 19, 1924, to the late Hyman and Ethel Siegel Schreier. Ruth, a high school graduate and homemaker, moved to the Orlando area in 2003 with her late husband Max, who passed away in 2011. She is survived by her sons, Gary (Barbara) Borenstein of Longwood and Robert (Marjory) Borenstein of Wynnewood, Pa.; and her daughter, Amy (Peter) VanWestering of Longwood. She was the proud grandmother of Marc,...
Roberta G. Davis, age 74, of Clermont, passed away on Sunday, Dec. 23, 2018, at the Mike Conley Hospice House in Clermont. A native of Winthrop, Massachusetts, she was born on April 30, 1944, to the late Perry and Pauline Bean Gerson. Roberta attended college and during her working career, was an administrative assistant in the U.S. Government. She is survived by her husband, Paul Davis of Clermont, and her daughter, Meredythe. A funeral service and burial were held at the Children of Abraham Cemetery in Lawrence, Mass. Arrangements entrusted...
Rigoberto “Rigo” Paz Dumenigao, age 75, of Orlando, passed away on Dec. 10, 2018, at Florida Hospital—East. He was born on June 1, 1943, in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, to the late Manolo Paz and Augustina Dumenigo Paz. Rigo earned his bachelor’s degree in Camaguey, Cuba. He was a man of varied interests and talents, working as a rancher and pilot for many years. In 1980, he left Cuba and made his way to the United States, where, in 1986, he married the former Yolanda Moura Iglesia, his wife of nearly 33 years who survives him. In addition to his wif...
