Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 27
(JTA) — For Jewish sports fans, 2022 was a year of very high highs and particularly low lows. The fall was dominated by an antisemitism scandal involving Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, who shared a link to an antisemitic film on Twitter and initially refused to apologize. Irving was suspended for eight games and brought increased attention to antisemitism, Black-Jewish relations and the Black Hebrew Israelite movement. Off-court controversy aside, Jewish athletes enjoyed an All-Star caliber y...
Writer’s Block Bookstore is partnering with The Roth Family JCC to host author Brad Meltzer at the Maitland Jewish Community Center auditorium for an in-person Q&A and signing on his latest book, “The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchil,” which he co-authored with Josh Mensch. This event will be held Sunday, Jan. 15, from 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Meltzer will be signing all backlist titles as well. General admission tickets are $30 and include a copy of the book...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center will host the annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 3 p.m. Renowned author and educator, Matthew Rozell, will be the guest speaker. He will share the story behind his book "A Train Near Magdeburg." Rozell will be joined by children of liberators. His book will be available for purchase and signing opportunities will be available. "A Train Near Magdeburg" tells the story about how two tank commanders of the 743rd...
(JTA) - Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis, chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Commonwealth - commonly referred to as the United Kingdom's chief rabbi - can now add a "Sir" to his title. Mirvis will be named a "knight commander of the order of the British Empire," according to King Charles' New Year Honours list. Since 1890, the U.K. has announced new knighthoods and other chivalric honors only twice a year, on New Year's Day and on the birthday of the ruling monarch, which in the...
Before you get started on your new year’s resolutions, take a look at what was on your list last year. What worked and what didn’t? Was there an activity or hobby you wish you could have done more of last year? Reflect on what you could do differently this year to make it work. Was it an issue of time management or were you over-scheduled? Now is a good time to reprioritize and make sure those new resolutions put your wellness first and fit well into your routine for the new year! Make your men...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will mark its tenth anniversary with a luncheon, at noon, Jan. 30, at Taco Libre#3, 2600 North Ponce de Leon Boulevard/Route U.S. 1, St. Augustine 32084. The program will include a brief review of the highlights of the t 10-year history of SAJHS. All are welcome to attend this event. Please RSVP on the Society’s website at www.sajhs.com or by email to sajhs1565@gmail.com. Call 904-679-4230 for best directions. For further information see www.sajhs.com or email at sajhs1565@gmail.com or call 8...
It’s time to get ready for some winter fun at the Rosen JCC. Winterfest is scheduled for Jan. 28th 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Last year the biggest hit of the event was the Snow Slide. Many children had never seen snow or had a chance to go sledding. The Snow Slide will be back again! There is plenty to keep everyone in your family busy. Come try the Rock Wall, Face Painting, Pony Rides, Games and Petting Zoo. Make time to visit the delicious food trucks and listen to the music. Before Jan. 15, tickets are $20, individual ticket; $40, family bundle (up...
Jewish residents at Harbor Chase Dr. Phillips started the New Year with Shabbat services led by the Jewish Pavilion. They enjoyed fresh fruit, challah, cookies and chocolates in addition to conversation and a beautiful service . Pictured on the left are Abe and Jeff, and on the right are Lester and Bobbi....
(JTA) — Lithuania’s parliament passed a law this week to set aside over 37 million euros ($38 million) as restitution for Holocaust survivors and their heirs. Ingrida Šimonytė, Lithuania’s prime minister, introduced the bill in the Seimas, Lithuania’s national legislature in Vilnius, on Nov. 15, proposing to nearly double the money the government had already set aside for restitution claims in a country where 90% of its Jews were killed in the Holocaust. Today only 5,000 Jews remain in the country. The World Jewish Restitution Organizat...
(JNS) — Holocaust denier and white supremacist Nick Fuentes announced Monday on his telegram channel that more than 1,000 students have signed up for a group dubbed “Students for Ye” within two weeks. Fuentes asserted that his efforts on behalf of the embattled hip hop mogul Ye (formerly Kanye West) were “all in service to Christ” and begged for others to “PUSH TO 2,000 WITH US.” The antisemitic activist described these initial followers as “the first believers in our grassroots movement to support a potential YE24 campaign.” To grow his movem...
(JTA) — George Santos’ first Chanukah party with the Republican Jewish Coalition was his last. The group said it will not host Santos at any future events after the congressman-elect lied to RJC officials and to the public about being Jewish and the descendant of people who escaped the Holocaust. Santos participated in an event with the group on the first night of Chanukah, Dec. 18, where he was feted as one of two incoming Jewish Republicans in Congress; he had been elected in New York’s 3rd Congressional District. The next day, the New York...
(JNS) — B’nai B’rith International condemned the U.N. General Assembly’s request that the International Court of Justice issue a legal opinion concerning Israeli policies on Palestinian-claimed territories. The referral was endorsed by a UNGA committee in November and has now been rubber stamped by the assembly’s plenary. “The UNGA—in which Palestinians enjoy an automatic majority, including the overwhelming share of nearly 60 Arab and Muslim governments—annually passes more condemnations of the Jewish state than all other 192 U.N. member sta...
This week, much of the world got uptight over the visit of a Jewish man to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Jordanian, Palestinian, and other Arab leaders and entities referred to it as the “storming of Al-Aksa” and “violating its sanctity.” Itamar Ben-Gvir is a newly installed cabinet member of the Israeli government, however its not the first time that he’s visited the site, and it’s not the first time that a minister in Israel’s government has done so. So why all the fuss now? After reuniting Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, Israel restor...
(JTA) — I was first introduced to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI, in the late 1980s when he was visiting Jerusalem. Teddy Kollek, mayor of Jerusalem, was eager for me to meet with the cardinal, telling me that I would discover a very different person from the image portrayed in the general media. He was so correct. That image was in no small part the result of Pope John Paul II having made him the head of the Vatican Office for Doctrine and Faith, to enforce orthodox Catholic teaching. In addition, the fact that Ra...
In the midst of all the New Year’s reveling in the streets of Orlando, high above on an office building on Orange Avenue and Washington Street antisemitic messages “Vax the Jews,” “Honk if you hate Jews,” “Hitler was right” streamed over and over across the building’s top. According to clickorlando, no one below reacted to the sign. But news outlets and politicians across Central Florida and the nation soon began talking out against it. Channel 6 reporter Eric von Ancken was right on top of it. I’m glad to see that our local news is bringing at...
We need to feel empowered, not scared. In 2020, my TV show “Skin Decision: Before and After” premiered on Netflix. In it, I helped people bring out their best selves through performing life-changing plastic surgery procedures. I quickly gained a huge following online. Suddenly, I had over a million people who wanted to hear what I had to say. At first, I kept the conversation light. I talked about my work and showed pictures and videos of surgeries I was doing and the incredible transformations my patients made. But when the 2021 Isr...
Dear Editor: I find the undated photograph of the University of California’s Berkeley School of Law with a yard sign reading “Jews Not Allowed” on the front page of the Dec. 30, 2022, issue to be both disturbing and outrageous. Yet, the more I look at the picture I suspect it is not a photograph at all but a “photo-illustration” which is a euphemism for a doctored photograph. The caption under the picture does not tell us whether it is an accurate photograph or someone’s photo-shop illustration. At a time when technology now allows publication...
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person minyans. 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...
(JTA) – Were Jews the “OG slaves”? Can American slavery be compared to the Holocaust? And who gets the last word on Louis Farrakhan? These questions have spurred very serious debates over time — and now will be getting a raunchier take in the new Netflix comedy “You People” that hits streaming Jan. 27. Starring Jewish funnyman Jonah Hill, who also co-wrote the script with “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, the film stars a visibly tattooed Hill as Ezra, a young Jewish man who falls in love with Amira, a Black woman played by “Without Remors...
Jewish Pavilion Program Director Cantor Nina Fine (center, standing) entertained seniors at Westminster, Lutheran Towers and Kinneret in downtown Orlando, during the Chanukah holidays. Special guest singer Shir Love, age 14, (standing far right) and pianist Dylan Caio, age 15, (standing second from right) brought their amazing talents to the delight of the residents. Volunteers Sandi Trainor, Ethel Helfant and Lora Schoenberg helped everyone get into the holiday spirit with singing, dancing,...
Color therapy can be beneficial for those with memory loss. Dementia specialists recommend using different colors to provide contrast in spaces and to help distinguish different objects. For example, painting a door a color that contrasts with the wall makes the door easier to find. Putting colorful tape on the handles of walkers makes them easier to locate. Some researchers suggest using the color pink will reduce combative behavior. The “pink effect” may reduce feelings of aggression and anger. If wandering is an issue, some therapists rec...
(JNS) - Concerned Israeli parents are complaining that their children aren't learning even the basics of Judaism in the country's public schools. Activists say the issue goes beyond a failure to teach, claiming that there's a concerted effort to replace Jewish content with progressive material, financed largely by foreign actors. Still in its early stages, the movement echoes the fight against "wokeism" in the United States, where parents battle school boards over what they see as left-wing...
(JNS) - Imam Mohammad Tawhidi, an Islamic scholar and thinker, has dedicated his life to fighting Islamic extremism. Physically attacked for his positions and forced to flee his home in Australia when it was vandalized by extremists, it is perhaps no wonder he began the preface to his 2018 book, "The Tragedy of Islam: Admissions of a Muslim Imam," with the words: "It is highly likely that you will one day hear that I have been murdered." Tawhidi, who describes himself as the "Imam of Peace,"...
(JTA) - Every year brings the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of well-known Jewish icons in every field and to mourn those we have lost. Here are 18 Jews who died in 2022 and who leave outsized legacies on politics, the arts, sports and everything in between. Madeleine Albright The "first woman secretary of state in the United States" label will always follow Madeleine Albright, especially because of her success in such a male-dominated field of policy. But regardless of her gender,...
Bank of Israel hikes interest rate to highest level since 2008 (JNS) — The Bank of Israel Monetary Committee has increased the country’s interest rate to 3.75 percent — representing a 0.5 percent rise, the central bank’s largest since 2008. “Inflation in Israel is 5.3 percent over the past 12 months,” the Bank of Israel stated, reported Globes. “Economic activity in Israel remains strong, but the growth rate appears to have slowed relative to the first half of 2022.” Since the Bank of Israel increased the rate from its all-time low of 0.1 perc...
