Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
PITTSBURGH (JTA)-In the middle of the day on Tuesday, above a growing pile of wilting flower bouquets and sympathy cards, five wooden, five-pointed stars hung on a signpost in front of Tree of Life Congregation, where 11 Jews were gunned down three days before. Similar stars hang around the world at sites of other mass shootings known now by the shorthand of the cities where they took place: San Bernardino. Orlando. Newtown. Parkland. Now they hang here, brightly colored and carrying messages... Full story
(JNS)-Despite mixed reactions, U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood on Tuesday afternoon in the aftermath of a gunman killing 11 people and injuring six others at the Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha Synagogue. The visit comes as the community buried the first of the victims on Tuesday. The president was accompanied by his wife, Melania; chief of staff John Kelly; press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders; and White House deputy chief of staff for communications Bi... Full story
(JTA)-The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the largest newspaper serving the Pennsylvania city's metropolitan area, printed a part of the Jewish mourner's prayer in Hebrew as its front-page headline. The first four words of the Mourner's Kaddish were printed on Friday's front page as a tribute to the 11 people killed last weekend in a shooting attack at the city's Tree of Life synagogue, allegedly by a far-right extremist. The words mean "may His great name be exalted and sanctified." The same prayer,... Full story
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (JTA)—On Saturday, the front line in the struggle to save and perpetuate Judaism ran through Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I know a little something about that front line. Born in Pittsburgh, raised in her suburbs, an adult living on the North Side and East End of the city, I am—with apologies to my new hometown in this city—a Pittsburgher until I die. As the editor of The Jewish Chronicle of Pittsburgh for 13 years, ground zero for my coverage was Squirrel Hill, the Pittsburgh neighborhood where Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha synagog... Full story
Last week, the 10 rabbis of the seven metro Orlando Chabad centers joined 5,600 rabbis and communal leaders from all 50 U.S. states and more than 100 countries, hailing from as far away as Laos and Angola, Ghana and Uzbekistan, at the International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries (Kinus Hashluchim) in Brooklyn, N.Y. The annual event, the largest Jewish gathering in North America, came just days after the horrific anti-Semitic shooting in Pittsburgh that left 11 dead and as the... Full story
Sharon Weil spoke with Ilana Ivan at the Chabad vigil last Monday evening. This is what she shared. I have many homes. I'm used to living far from my home, Israel, when a pigua (terror attack) occurs and I walk around in a stupor with my heart aching to be near my loved ones. Many of you here know that ache. Today, one of my homes and my heart, are broken. Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh. We moved to Squirrel Hill from Israel with three young children, leaving our family behind. We knew one person... Full story
The Yiddish language today is widely spoken by Orthodox Jews who want to preserve the sanctity of Hebrew, the holy language, thus reserving it for study of sacred texts, relegating Yiddish to be spoken in day-to-day conversation. Is there a future for Yiddish in other communities when the number of Yiddish speakers has dropped nearly 50 percent from 1980 to 2007? A small group of Orlando residents are answering this question and meeting this challenge by attending a monthly gathering called "A... Full story
Nadav Weil, son of Aaron and Sharon Weil, organized a vigil at Lake Mary Preparatory School to commemorate the lives lost in Pittsburgh at Tree of Life*Or L'Simcha synagogue. "Nadav spoke beautifully and poignantly," said Sharon.... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-The deadly shooting at a Conservative synagogue in Pittsburgh has underlined tensions in Israel over the haredi Orthodox rabbinic establishment's disenfranchisement of the Diaspora's non-Orthodox Jewish streams. Following Saturday's rampage by a gunman that left 11 worshippers dead, an Israeli government minister and the country's opposition leader both called on Israel to recognize the liberal streams of Judaism. Others criticized the haredi Orthodox media in Israel for not call... Full story
On Wednesday, the National Council of Young Israel addressed criticism of President Donald Trump following a synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh that represents the worst attack on Jews in the U.S. in the nation's history. NCYI counts 25,000 families among its members at 135 branch synagogues across the globe, in the United States, Israel, and Canada. "We were horrified to hear the news about the anti-Semitic murderous rampage against Jews praying at Congregation Etz Chaim in Pittsburgh," said NCYI... Full story
(The Tower via JNS)-Oman publicly called for regional recognition of Israel a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a historic visit to the Sultanate on Friday, The Jerusalem Post reported. Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, Oman's Minister for Foreign Affairs, told a security forum in Bahrain that "Israel is a state present in the region, and we all understand this. The world is also aware of this, and maybe it is time for Israel to be treated the same [as other states] and to... Full story
The 78 percent figure frequently referred to by Democrat apologists as if it were The Holy Grail, is based on entry or exit polls whereas many Jews are reluctant to identify themselves as conservatives and risk peer pressure. In many synagogues, there are both rabbis and congregants who have a knee-jerk reaction to political issues denigrating conservatives and Republicans as reactionaries or anti-Semites, yet even if the real figure is “only” 70 percent, it is tragic and signifies the Jewish vote is of little strategic importance in the pocket... Full story
(JNS)—It was a gray and drizzly day in Pittsburgh, in what is usually a beautiful place, green and fresh, when a synagogue was hit at 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, becoming yet another target of that inexhaustible strain that is homicidal anti-Semitism—one of history’s most flourishing plants. As the alleged gunman Robert Bower opened fire on Jews who were participating in Shabbat-morning services on Saturday morning, he screamed, “All Jews must die.” He was, it seems, a “lone wolf,” and they are attributing the gesture by this monster that shot upo... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—Social-justice warriors and progressives went berserk this week when Israel exercised its right, as any sovereign nation, to determine who enters its borders. It barred an anti-Israeli American student from entering the country and ordered her deported over her alleged support for anti-Israel boycott efforts. There are few places on earth whose very mention causes anger hives to break out, rivers of rage to flow and violent marches of madness to occur, like one small country on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. That p... Full story
By Jonathan Feldstein Anti-Semitism thrives and is unleashed, among other things, when hate is fostered and allowed to go unchecked. But anti-Semites rarely need an “excuse” to do so. Following the attack on the Pittsburgh synagogue last week, many blame the current president and his rhetoric for that. Perhaps. However no less significant is when former president Clinton shared the stage with and gives credibility to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, one of the most rabid anti-Semites in the U.S., as if that’s normal and OK. Just by be... Full story
(Mida via JNS)—We may be witnessing the beginning of the end of the Jewish Diaspora. While the anti-Semitic terrorist attack against a synagogue in Pittsburgh is a grave warning for American Jewry, the danger for Jews in Scandinavian countries, France and Britain has been evident for some time. The Jewish Diaspora is the most enduring exile in human history. For 2,000 years, the Jewish people has been scattered across the globe and contributed disproportionately to humanity. Against all odds, Jews have survived persecution from the times of B... Full story
Dear Editor: I want to express condolences for the loss and suffering of our Jewish friends. I, among many, was touched by the rabbi’s consoling words to the nations, despite such heartache: “My cup runs over with love!” The essence of charity that heals the soul and body of believers. Thank you! Dorothy Wilson Casselberry Editor’s note: This letter was written in long hand Oct. 29 and sent to the Heritage via mail.... 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
The community came out in enthusiastic support of the Jewish Pavilion at its 2018 Gems and Jeans Gala at the Hilton Orlando North on Sunday, Oct. 28. More than 215 people turned out in casually glam attire to celebrate the Pavilion's successes and honor two very special volunteers: Paul Stenzler and Jason Mendelsohn. The gala marked a milestone in the Pavilion's history: for the past 18 years, the Jewish Pavilion has worked with volunteers to bring the spark of Jewish life and culture to... Full story
Horror fans who were in or near Santa Monica, California, on Oct. 26, had the wonderful opportunity to attend a Halloween Double Feature at the Aero Theater. "The Abominable Dr. Phibes," a cult classic with fans around the world, was one of two films showcased. And sitting in the audience was the film's creator, an 86-year-old Troy native whose vivid dream inspired it. William Goldstein was born on July 10, 1932, in Troy, N.Y. He and his family attended Temple Berith Sholom. After his bar... Full story
Twins Herbert and Martin Siegel celebrated their 83rd birthday on Oct. 24, followed by a 70th anniversary of their bar mitzvah at Congregation Beth Sholom in Leesburg. The twins were bar mitzvah'd in October 1948. Herbert lives with his wife, Betty, in The Villages. Martin and his wife, Betty (yes, they both married Bettys!), lives in Niceville, Fla.... Full story
Nightmares and memories... I'm referring to my childhood filled with anti-Semitic incidents. Until my family got off welfare and moved from the Red Hook Projects in Brooklyn, N.Y., I was spit at, beaten and threatened every day for being Jewish. Those memories stayed with me all these years, especially watching television this morning and seeing all that is transpiring in a Pittsburgh, Pa., synagogue massacre. I can handle anti-Semitism and I'm sure that my three sons can handle it, especially... Full story
Students and faculty of Jewish Academy of Orlando and Roth Family Jewish Community Center's Early Childhood Learning Center danced, sang, and welcomed Shabbat with Mac the Bee at a campus-wide Shabbat. "It was a treat for our students to interact with Mac the Bee during Shabbat," stated Melissa Youngblood, Early Childhood director of the Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center. "Mac the Bee's appearance brought much ruach (spirit) into the crowd of students and families," mentioned... Full story
BRUSSELS (JTA)-Will security at American Jewish institutions now mirror that of Europe, with its police protection, armed guards, panic rooms and sterile zones at synagogues? It's a possibility that is being debated more seriously than ever before following the Tree of Life Congregation shooting Saturday in Pittsburgh in which a gunman killed 11 people. Rabbi Jack Moline, president of the Interfaith Alliance, told The Washington Post that posting armed guards outside synagogues in some places wo... Full story
Sonia Posner Baime (nee Solochek) passed away in Deerfield, Illinois, on Oct. 25, 2018, at the age of 96. She was a resident of Altamonte Springs and Longwood, Florida, from 1989 to 2015. Loving wife of the late Lester D. Posner and the late Abraham H. Baime. Cherished mother of Alan Posner (Karen Zucker) and the late Armand M. Posner. Proud grandmother of Loren Posner. She will also be missed by Abraham’s daughters, Rosanne (Fred) Wickman and Barbara (Mitch) Goodsitt; and their children—Marlena (John Grotans) Goodsitt, Samuel (Danielle) Goo... Full story
