Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The Jewish Academy of Orlando (JAO) is making a bold strategic move. The school looks to reduce its current real estate footprint in order to free up resources and further develop its progressive curriculum to best serve the needs of its gifted student population. JAO's Board of Directors recently voted to sublease its building, constructed in 2006, on the Maitland Jewish Community Campus. The school also occupies a portion of the main campus facility, which houses The Roth Family JCC and...
Recently, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, executive director of the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, visited with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and members of Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando to discuss religious pluralism in Israel. It was one of only two stops in the United States, the other meeting was in Memphis, Tenn. His plans originally had been to also go to New York and San Francisco, however, he had to cut his trip short to finalize the resolution to expand...
The Jewish community of Greater Orlando is gearing up for a big milestone celebration. In collaboration with the Orange County Regional History Center and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, the Orlando Jewish community is planning an exhibit celebrating the 100th anniversary of the organized Jewish community. Sara Stern co-chair explained, “The exhibit idea came about when a steering committee at Ohev Shalom was discussing how to celebrate the centennial of COS. We realized this really marked an anniversary for the entire Jewish community. F...
Orlando is so fortunate to have Marcia Jo Zerivitz, founding executive director of the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU, volunteering on a major project in our community once again. Zerivitz is serving as guest curator of our community exhibit Kehillah: A Century of Jewish Life in Greater Orlando. "Her extensive background and knowledge is a tremendous asset. I don't think we could begin to tackle this project without Marcia's help," said Roz Fuchs, co chair of the exhibit project. Born and raised...
(JTA)-Right-wing rocker Ted Nugent came under fire from Jewish groups for a anti-Semitic Facebook post blaming prominent Jews for pushing gun control. The National Rifle Association is also under pressure to distance itself from Nugent, who is a longtime NRA board member. On Monday, Nugent shared a graphic featuring images of 12 Jews-including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Democratic New York Sen. Chuck Schumer-branded with images of Israeli flags...
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has urged all members of the U.S. Senate to cosponsor S. 2474, a bill that would override a recently issued directive from the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Bureau, instructing that Israeli-made products manufactured in Judea/Samaria must be labeled as being from the 'West Bank,' and not from 'Israel.' The January 23 directive, states that it is "not acceptable" to label goods coming from Israeli companies in...
(JNS.org)—Israel is expected to negotiate with the Netherlands over the alleged Dutch decision to cut monthly payments to Holocaust survivors from the European nation who immigrated to Israel, the Israeli Knesset Finance Committee announced Wednesday. Reports surfaced earlier this month claiming that the Netherlands decided to stop paying benefits to Dutch Holocaust survivors living in Israel because they were already receiving payments from the Israeli government. The Dutch Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, saying that “it is in no way...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah presents “Masquerade” the Annual Bunny Rosen Women’s Heart Health Luncheon and Fashion Show on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. The Bunny Rosen Women’s Heart Health Fashion Show Endowment was established to honor the memory of Bunny Rosen for her tireless efforts on behalf of Orlando Hadassah. This annual charity event is a permanent memorial to Rosen and her endeavors in support of Hadassah’s good works for Jews in Israel and worldwide and in particular all women at home and abroad. The Bunny Rosen charitable event wil...
Prayerful Meditation is an experiential workshop to help open up the channels of spirit that connect us to God. Led by Rabbi Joshua Neely, this physical approach to prayer includes meditation, guided imagery, breathing exercises and more. One of our regular attendees has said “Rabbi has a beautiful soothing voice and you can also hear the voices from the Rein Sanctuary’s traditional service blend into the background.” Prayerful Meditation is held in the Savage Family Chapel, usually on the last Shabbat of every month with the next sessi...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida will be partnering with the Interfaith Council of Central Florida and The Atlantic Institute on a special program titled "Is History Repeating Itself? Jewish and Muslim Immigrant Experiences in America." It is scheduled for Thursday Feb. 25, 2016 and will be held at the Holocaust Center at 851 N Maitland Avenue in Maitland. There will be an informal reception at 6 p.m. followed by the program at 6:30. Presenting will be Imam Abdullah...
Don’t miss an unforgettable evening of friends, food, and a fabulous silent auction at the Jewish Pavilion’s Black and White Gala honoring volunteers, Carol Stein and Sammy Goldstein, on Sunday, March 13. The magical evening of dining and dancing at the Sheraton Orlando North in Maitland supports the Pavilion’s mission of providing visitation and programing to Orlando’s Jewish elders. “The reasons to attend the Jewish Pavilion’s Annual Gala are as simple as black and white,” stated Nancy Ludin, Pavilion executive director. “Support our...
9 may well be remembered as the year that Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel finally died its death—in a clinical sense, at least. Across the U.S., state legislatures are passing bills that will outlaw state authorities from investing public funds in, and entering into contracts with, companies and other entities that engage in a boycott of Israel. This doesn’t mean that engaging in a boycott of Israel is illegal, but for anyone who cares about their bottom line, the legislation should provide a powerful inc...
Brit Shalom (Peace Treaty, 1925) is a landmark in the continuing activity of Jews talking among themselves about what kind of accommodation they should, and can reach then with Arab now with Palestinian neighbors. What has become characteristic is the prominence in Brit Shalom of Jews from Europe and America, non-Orthodox or not firmly identified as religious. Since Brit Shalom there have been countless individuals, groups, political movements, and parties seeking to find or claiming to know what it would take to reach an agreement with...
France’s announcement that it will try to convene an international conference to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been strongly criticized by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But before anyone concludes that only “right-wingers” oppose such a conference, it’s worth recalling that one of the most outspoken critics of the conference idea was prominent peace process player Yitzhak Rabin. The year was 1985, and Rabin—later the co-signer of the Oslo Accords with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat—was Israel’s defense minis...
By Alan Kornman The Atlantic Institute will be partnering with the Maitland Holocaust Center and the Interfaith Council of Central Florida on a special program titled, “Is History Repeating Itself? Jewish and Muslim Immigrant Experiences in America,” scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 25 at the Holocaust Center. The Atlantic Institute is partnered with the Alliance for Shared Values, which is openly affiliated with the Gülen Movement’s Hizmet social initiatives in the United States. On their website, the Atlantic Institute praises Fethullah Gülen...
Dear Editor: I am writing in response to David Bornstein’s editorial on Feb. 12. For the second consecutive year, David Bornstein has chosen to write an editorial which seeks to encourage members of the Orlando Jewish community to “sit this one out” when it comes to our community agencies (especially the Jewish Academy of Orlando). Last year, I encouraged him to stop by the JAO and take a tour. I’m not sure whether or not he took me up on that offer but had he visited, he would have noticed several developments. He would have visited the sch...
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 Israe...
Attendees at the recent Zionistas meeting on Feb. 9 got an earful of history-Christian history as well as the history of the Jewish people-all within a two-hour period. Zionista co-founder Diana Scimone, a journalist and a Christian, highlighted four eras of Christian history in which anti-Semitism was taught in the Church. How quickly the early Church, which stuck to its Jewish traditions, with Gentiles converting to Messianic Judaism, changed its tune. Over a period of time, the Church grew...
Michael S. Lieberman, age 73, of Orlando, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016, at Cornerstone Hospice at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Orlando. Mr. Lieberman, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., was born on Nov. 6, 1942, to the late Harry and Rhoda Channin Lieberman. He was a graduate of the University of Maryland and worked in sales in various industries. He moved to Ft. Lauderdale from Maryland in 1977 and relocated to the Orlando area in 2006. Mr. Lieberman is survived by his son, Alan (Debra) Lieberman of Ft. Lauderdale; daughters, Debbie...
More than 400 women-and more than a few men-from the Greater Orlando Jewish community gathered at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland on the evening of Feb. 9 to "Celebrate the Spirit of the Woman" at Choices 2016. Choices, which is put on each year by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando Women's Philanthropy division, is simultaneously a party, a fund-raiser and an opportunity to pay tribute to an outstanding woman in the Jewish community. This year's honoree was Barbara Chasnov, who now...
For the first time in The Heritage’s history, Gloria Yousha is taking a one-week, much needed break from her column, “Scene Around.” She will be back for the Feb. 26 issue....
Middle East affairs expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar spoke at three events across Central Florida during the first two weeks of February 2016. The first event, on the evening of Feb. 4, was at Chabad of North Orlando, while the other two were back to back on Feb. 9, the first hosted by Chabad of UCF and the second hosted by the UCF Student Group Knights for Israel. As Kedar explained at UCF Chabad, the real reason behind the contention over Jerusalem is key to the entire issue that the Palestinians...
The children of Congregation Sinai Religious School celebrated the New Year of the Trees, Tu B' Shevat, with a special seder on Sunday Jan. 24 during their class studies. Tu B' Shevat which always falls on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shevat celebrates the measuring of the aging of the trees for tithing. Fruit from a new tree may not be eaten for the first 3 years. The fourth year will be offered to G-d and it may be eaten completely after that. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this...
The Daytona Beach Symphony Society's 64th Season at the Peabody Auditorium (600 Auditorium Blvd), Daytona Beach, continues on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. The evening's program includes selections from Tchaikovsky, Brahms and Saint-Saëns. Conductor Dmitry Yablonsky will also perform as soloist, on cello. Having made his orchestral debut at age 9, Maestro Yablonsky plays two very rare cellos with great history: the Guarneri 1726, and the Goffriller 1700....
On Wednesday, Feb. 10, the fourth grade students at the Jewish Academy of Orlando spent the day in St. Augustine as a culmination of their Florida History unit. The students met at the school at 6:30 in the morning for the almost two-hour bus ride. When they arrived in St. Augustine, they went on tour of the fortress, lighthouse, and many other famous and historical sites. The students were amazed to see the sites that they had read and studied about in class. The students returned home later...
