Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
(JNS)-In the seventh and final Democratic debate before the Iowa Caucus on Feb. 3, hosted on Tuesday by CNN and The Des Moines Register at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, the six candidates on stage slammed U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East policies, especially regarding the Iranian threat. "We're in a situation where our allies in Europe are making a comparison between the United States and Iran, saying both ought to stand down, making a moral equivalence. We have lost our...
On Jan. 27, from 6 p.m.-7 p.m. the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center will observe International Holocaust Remembrance Day and remember the innocent six million Jews and millions of other people who fell victim to Nazi persecution. This date was chosen by the United Nations in recognition of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp. This year marks the 75thanniversary of its liberation. At the same time, the ordinary people who courageously and heroically...
A Republican Muslim candidate is looking to unseat Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar in the upcoming U.S. elections. Dalia al-Aqidi, an award-winning international journalist and Muslim refugee, announced her candidacy on Thursday in order to fix the discord that Omar has sown in the country. "Ilhan Omar and I may seem alike, both women, Muslims, and refugees, but we couldn't be more different," said al-Aqidi in a video on her election website. "Omar has spent her entire time in Washington sowing...
When Penny Goldstein met Nancy Ludin at a Jewish Community Center fundraiser, she was new in Central Florida. Nancy offered her a warm invitation to meet other Jewish women through the Friends of the Jewish Pavilion. Goldstein was amazed at the volunteer opportunities available from event planning to visiting seniors. She quickly found ways she could contribute. Mitzvah Maj with a resident at Tuskawilla Nursing & Rehab keeps Goldstein and other volunteers current on their mahjong skills. Their...
On Feb. 4, from 6:30 p.m.-8 p.m., speaker Justin Bachman will be presenting his program to the students enrolled in the Holocaust Center's UpStanders program. This evening presentation is an opportunity for our community and the parents of students to hear his story of strength and determination as he overcame significant challenges. In elementary school, Bachman was a scared, insecure and lost child. He wasn't good at making friends, and never seemed to fit in. He told himself he was...
Looking to volunteer, partner, or just learn more about Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando? On Thursday, Jan. 30, from 8 a.m.—9 a.m. JFS Orlando will host its first Coffee Connections of 2020. The morning will include a tour of its support center, client success stories, coffee, a light breakfast, and more. RSVP by contacting Sara Martinez, Development & Marketing associate, at 407-644-7593 ext. 227 or Sara.Martinez@JFSorlando.org. Established in 1978 as a non-profit human service agency, JFS Orlando provides social programs and s...
The Princess Ball—Under the Sea The 11th annual Princess Ball for princesses and mermaids, ages 4 and up, with an adult, will be held Saturday, Feb. 1, from 7 p.m.—9 p.m. at the JCC. There will be dancing, activities, and dessert. Dress as your favorite princess—or your favorite little mermaid—and plunge into a mermazing evening. The cost is $36 per couple; $5 each additional guest. RSVP by January 30. RSVP’s after this date are subject to availability and a $10 late fee. For more information, contact Kacie Zemel, 407-621-40...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Philissa Cramer, a co-founder and editor at large of the award-winning education news organization Chalkbeat, has been named editor in chief of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Cramer comes to JTA after 11 years at Chalkbeat, an independent journalism nonprofit covering American education with bureaus in seven locations. She was a co-founder of Chalkbeat's predecessor, GothamSchools, and served as bureau chief of the site's New York bureau; managed editors and reporters across the...
(JTA)—South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed an executive order on Tuesday prohibiting state offices from doing business with companies that boycott Israel. South Dakota is the 28th state to have enacted an anti-Israel boycott executive order or legislation. Its measure requires vendors who want to contract with South Dakota agencies, authorities, commissions, departments or institutions not to work with companies that participate in boycotts of Israel. It applies to companies or contractors with more than five employees and on contracts of $...
Russian veterans and survivors of infamous Nazi concentration camp will attend a historic event at U.N. headquarters in New York (Israel Hayom via JNS)—In recent months, Israel and Russia have been forging a unique partnership at the United Nations. Amid the backdrop of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon and his Russian counterpart, Vasily Nebenzya, decided to join forces and convene a historic event to mark the liberation of the notorious Nazi death camp, to be held next we...
(JNS)—There’s no escaping controversy any time that Israel or the Palestinians are mentioned. That’s a lesson the producers, writers and star of the long-running “Jeopardy!” television game show learned to their detriment when a clue involving the location of the Church of the Nativity was used in an episode that aired on Jan. 10, though it was taped last fall. In a category titled “Where’s That Church?” contestants were asked to identify the location of the house of worship that Christians believe to be the birthplace of Jesus. Katie Ne...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Thirty years ago, Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term intersectionality as a way to help explain the oppression of African-American women. The theory of how different forms of discrimination interact is a useful tool to recognize the way privilege and oppression overlap. It can serve to challenge notions about oppressions and hierarchies, class struggles and racial divides. But the recent spate of anti-Semitism in New York compels us to ask if it also has its demons. Identifying Jews as white in the context of American history is...
(JNS)—The Boycott, Divest and Sanctions zealots targeted yet another academic institution to promote their hate-filled agenda against the Jewish state. It began in August 2019, when a group of professors within the “Foundations of Political Theory” section of the American Political Science Association proposed a resolution for an academic boycott and censoring of Israel. Just a few weeks later, the resolution was struck down at the APSA’s annual conference. In fact, it never made it to a vote and was deemed a “colossal defeat.” Social-medi...
Confronting anti-Semitism requires empowering the next generation with knowledge and Jewish wisdom that engenders Jewish pride and strength. There was an attack on Jews in New York almost every day last week. I hear about children crying that they had bad dreams and crawling into their parents’ beds. I watch Joseph Gluck describe the trauma of a child who lay hidden under a pile of coats while a madman wildly swung his machete of hate. I read the words from the family of Joseph Neumann, who was savagely hacked in the Chanukah massacre. They a...
NEW YORK (JTA)—For centuries, anti-Semites have fetishized Jewish appearance. Using tedious racist tropes—be it smell, hooked noses, curly hair or traditional garb—anti-Semites label Jews as grotesque and have constructed a particular Jewish appearance in an attempt to “otherize” and oppress Jews. An all too personal reminder of this demonization occurred this past summer when we received notification that Maital was among a slew of Jewish professionals, mostly women, pictured on a white nationalist, anti-Semitic website mocking how Jews look...
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...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A decade ago, in a speech in Cairo addressing the Islamic world, President Barack Obama issued a call to understand Israel’s importance in the context of the Holocaust—and it started a political firestorm in the world of Jewish politics. Not so this week. A nonbinding resolution on Holocaust education introduced recently by three Republican lawmakers essentially echoes Obama’s call, but it has barely evinced a peep. Why the differing reactions? First, people tend to pay more attention to the leader of the free world making...
Jewish Academy of Orlando launched Positive Education, a character education program across all grades. This program is introducing students, teachers and the JAO community to the language of character strengths from the field of positive psychology, integrated with Jewish values. In the Jewish tradition of Mussar, there are 48 Jewish virtues or values (in Hebrew middot, the plural form of middah) that serve as the basis for the study of a variety of Jewish texts. Positive psychology has found...
Once a month on a Monday, a group of women get together to plan events, discuss success, improve processes, tell touching volunteer stories and share jokes and tears of laughter. This group is called the Friends of the Jewish Pavilion. This diverse group of women share their ideas and talents to support seniors in elder communities. New members are welcomed and quickly made to feel like part of the group. As they go around the table introducing themselves to new members, each one has a story. Some have been president of the Friends Board over...
Do you know a high school student who wants to share a love of Israel with his or her community and gain valuable leadership experience at the same time? Tell them to apply for a position on the StandWithUs Teen Leadership Council. Visit www.standwithus.com/copy-of-teen-leadership-council for details and the application. Participation on the Council can lead to a lifetime of Israel support. Eligibility to apply for the StandWithUs Teen Leadership Council: • Must be a high school student • Must have already demonstrated your passion and lea...
On Sunday, Feb. 9, Alon Ben-Gurion, grandson of David Ben-Gurion, will be the featured guest speaker at JNF’s Breakfast for Israel. The event will be held at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs, 350 Northlake Blvd., Altamonte Springs. Registration begins at 10 a.m. and the program will be held at 10:30 a.m. Alon Ben-Gurion is an international hospitality consultant and is using his network and hospitality know-how to actively promote development in the Negev, working to make the region bloom. He also serves on the advisory board of Heroes t...
A very sad announcement... Walter "Sky" Goldstein one of the staff of the Jewish Pavilion, beloved by all, has passed away. He touched so many people's hearts. He surely will be missed. Before he past, he made it known that he wanted no tears but he wanted to be remembered for his gift of song. We will keep Sky and his family in our prayers. He will never be forgotten. A deserving honor... I read this just weeks ago in the World Jewry Digest and pass it along in part: WJC President Ambassador...
TEANECK, N.J. (JTA)-Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump's former Middle East negotiator, made his first public speech since leaving the White House on Sunday night. Greenblatt, 52, who worked as a lawyer for Trump for two decades prior to joining the administration, spoke at Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, New Jersey, the Modern Orthodox synagogue where he is a member. The event was raising money for a new Holocaust memorial in the township, which has a significant Jewish population....
NEW YORK (JTA)-A local NAACP official in New Jersey has been suspended from his position for six months after giving a speech castigating Orthodox Jews in Jersey City and the largely Jewish city of Lakewood. James Harris, the chair of the education committee for the Montclair, New Jersey branch of the civil rights organization, has apologized for his remarks. Harris gave a speech at a Dec. 30 community meeting on gentrification in which he called Hasidic Jews unfriendly and blamed Hasidic...
(JTA)—The 2020 Oscar nominations are out, and unsurprisingly, they’re already causing a firestorm on social media. The list, announced early Monday morning, didn’t do much to quell longstanding concerns that the awards have issues with race and gender equality. Only one actor of color was nominated—Cyntha Erivo, for her role in “Harriet”—and the best director category is once again all male, despite the fact that Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “Little Women” was a massive critical and commercial success. The Jewish snub of the year goes to “U...
