Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
(JNS) - The Abraham Accords have made a major impact on international relations in the Middle East. They are also proving an ace for Israeli tennis. Last month, young players and coaches from the Israel Tennis & Education Centers flew to Bahrain-the nonprofit's second trip to the island kingdom, with which Israel normalized relations in Sept. 2020. The Abraham Accords impacted the centers both domestically and abroad. First, ITEC decided after the accords debuted that its vision ought to...
(JTA) - Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who became a pro-Israel favorite during her two years as the Trump administration's ambassador to the United Nations, announced her bid for the presidency, becoming the first Republican to challenge the former president ahead of 2024. In a video released Tuesday, Haley did not name Donald Trump, but alluded to him as a polarizing figure, emphasizing her efforts as governor at tamping down racial tensions and also suggesting that the Republi...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Jewish Democrat from California who has been in office for more than three decades, will not run in 2024. "I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends," she said Tuesday in a statement. Feinstein, 89, has been in the Senate since 1992 and has been closely watched in recent years because of concerns about her health and declining...
(JTA) — Richard Belzer wasn’t just a hard-boiled Jew who rose from a troubled childhood to the top of his field — he played one on TV. Belzer, who died Sunday at 78, was a familiar face because of his longstanding roles on “Homicide: Life on the Streets,” “Law and Order: SVU” and other TV shows. In each of those series, he played a presumptively Jewish detective named John Munch whose biography overlapped significantly with Belzer’s own. Belzer was born in 1944 in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and had what he described as a difficult child...
Jewish Beginnings Preschool, a boutique Reggio-inspired program in Altamonte Springs, hosted a Mommy & Me with a Jewish Twist: Purim Edition! Young mothers and their babies, ages 0-3, gathered to enjoy Purim-themed sensory play activities, a sing-along circle time and delicious snacks. From playdough hamantashen to decorating clowns using colored spaghetti, each activity was designed to foster the child's creative spirit and sense of curiosity. A second session will be held next Sunday, March...
Orlando Hadassah will host its annual Bunny Rosen Women’s Heart Health Luncheon and Fashion Show on Sunday, March 19, at 11:30 a.m. at the Alfond Inn Winter Park, located at 300 E New England Ave, Winter Park. Online registration at https://events.hadassah.org/BunnyRoseFS23. The luncheon will benefit Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc. The cost is $60, which includes valet parking. The Fashion Show will feature clothing by Alembika, Tel Aviv, Israel; and accessories by Through the Looking Glass, Winter Park. Spo...
There will be a Purim celebration with the Jewish Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, March 7, at 8 a.m. at TooJays Deli Restaurant, 2624 E. Colonial Drive Orlando. Hamantashen will be provided courtesy of the Jewish Pavilion. Networking is a great way to expand your business and meet new friends. To this end, the Jewish Chamber was created by Bree and Joel Goldstein for business and social purposes. In addition to purchasing a great breakfast, participants will have the opportunity to speak about...
Jewish Academy of Orlando’s Greatest Moment to Learn Gala: Celebrating 46 years of Jewish Education in Central Florida takes place on Sunday, March 5, at 5:30 p.m., at the Winter Park Event Center, 1052 W. Morse Blvd., Winter Park, FL 32789. The Academy will be honoring two amazing showmen: the past president of JAO, Rob Gebaide, and JAO music director, “Mr. Eric” Levine. There will be an ambiance of whimsical “Big Top” flare and fun to be had by all. Celebrating 46 years of academic excellence and Jewish pride, JAO’s gala will spotlight t...
Chabad of Altamonte Springs started a new program. It's called the Family Mitzvah Club. The first program, "Impactful Packing," was held Sunday, Feb. 19. Spearheaded by Jennifer Estar Mesika and Sarah Jean-Baptiste in memory of their mother, Beth Mesika, the group put together packages and delivered them to a local homeless shelter, and learned about the work that they do. And they all had a great time packing and delivering the items. "What a special morning filled with generosity and...
(JTA) — The Israeli minister responsible for relations with Jews in the Diaspora has a message for the government of the country where most of them live: “Mind your own business.” Amichai Chikli made the comment Sunday in a radio interview in Israel, where he was asked to address recent comments by U.S. ambassador Tom Nides, who said he was urging Israeli leaders to “pump the brakes” on their controversial effort to change the country’s judiciary. Nides was echoing sentiments expressed by U.S. President Joe Biden about the judicial reform prop...
(JNS) — American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said he is working with his Israeli friends to prevent the government in Jerusalem from changing the Law of Return. Under the current law, an individual with a single Jewish grandparent is eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship. “We want the Israeli government and our friends to understand that we will act to prevent anything from happening to cause rifts within Diaspora Jewry,” Deutch said. “We don’t want anything to happen that could stop people from seeing Israel as their place of refuge...
(JNS) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday appealed to politicians and the general public to tone down the rhetoric amid threats that the government’s judicial reform proposal will ignite a “civil war.” “The values of the [1948] Declaration of Independence are the compass of our country—I will not let anyone harm them. This is a sensitive and explosive time in the public sphere. I am aware of the voices from both sides, of all the pain, worries and anxieties. I do not ignore this and it is on my mind constantly,” Herzog wrote in a le...
(JNS) — Wearing tefillin may have life-saving cardiovascular benefits for both men and women, according to University of Cincinnati researchers. Tefillin, or phylacteries, are small leather boxes containing biblical passages on parchment scrolls. There are two in a set, one for the head and one for the arm. Both are secured via leather straps. “Tefillin is used for morning prayers for Jewish men over the age of 13 on an almost daily basis. It is placed on the nondominant arm around the bicep and the forearm in a fairly tight manner,” said...
(JNS) — When the spokespersons for the U.S. State Department and the foreign ministries of America’s Western allies churn out press releases condemning the building of homes for Jews, it’s all a matter of finding a similar document in the archive, and just cutting and pasting the text and slapping a new date on it. Their joint statement denouncing Israel’s announcement of approval for the planning and building of 10,000 new homes in Judea and Samaria, as well as the government authorization of nine “outpost” settlements, was strictly by...
I have mentioned before that I volunteer twice a week at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience here in New Orleans. I love the experience of guiding people through over 430 years of the American Southern Jewish Experience. Did you know that the first Jews in America came from Spain in the 1500s? Did you know that they settled in the Caribbean Islands before coming to the U.S.? And that they came through Galveston, Texas as their port of entry some 300 years before the great Northern European Migration to New York? As I guide these...
(JNS) — Earlier this month, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen paid a diplomatic visit to Khartoum, where he met with the leader of Sudan’s transitional government, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. They finalized the terms of a normalization agreement between the two countries, which will be signed later this year following Sudan’s official transfer of power to civilian authority. On the same day as Cohen’s visit, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood alongside the President of Chad, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, as they inaugurat...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — Many official reports and media accounts speak of heavy Russian casualties in the Ukraine war, both economic and military, especially in terms of the estimated number of Russian army casualties. The New York Times, in a recent report citing U.S. and Western officials, put these losses at nearly 200,000 Russian soldiers. These losses, incurred in only about 11 months, exceed U.S. losses in Afghanistan over two decades by a factor of eight. Other reports have addressed Russia’s economic and strategic losses. An obj...
(JNS) — The tough stuff is what makes the news right now: Israel is in the midst of an exceedingly distressing situation. But we are so much more than this. We are more than angry demonstrations, communication failures and even the occasional shocking call for violence. In order to provide a heartening balance, I share a story: At the beginning of February, I received an urgent phone call from my 15-year-old grandson who attends a yeshiva high school. It is a small and modest yeshiva, built on the heights of a tiny yishuv (settlement) in the w...
Dear Editor: I notice that most of your opinion pieces and world news briefs come from the right-wing Jewish News Service. Perhaps you should balance these articles with an equal amount of material from center and center-left Jewish publications. When writers like Jonathan Tobin and Mitchell Bard (see Heritage Jan. 20, 2023) accuse Jewish Democrats and liberals of being “Jewish antisemites,” one has to wonder, since the majority of Jews are Democrats and liberals, who the “Jewish antisemites” really are. Burt Whiteman Endicott, N.Y....
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) — A recent study of the Dutch population conducted by the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany showed an alarming lack of education around the Holocaust in the Netherlands. For one, a majority of Dutch respondents, across all age groups, did not cite their own country as a place where the Holocaust took place, despite the fact that the Netherlands was the setting of the world’s most widely-read Holocaust memoir — Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl,” which has been translated into over 70 languages. About 75 percent...
(New York Jewish Week) - When disability activist Lily Brasch was asked if she would walk the runway as a model for New York Fashion Week, she didn't know if she would be able to do it. That's not because she has a rare form of muscular dystrophy, which weakens muscles and limits her ability to walk. Rather, it was unfortunate timing: The show was set for Friday evening, when the weekly Jewish holiday of Shabbat begins. But Brasch, who is Orthodox and goes by the stage name Lily B., quickly...
I just returned home to Israel after an extraordinary 10-day trip in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, a massive country in central Africa. I had always wanted to visit Africa but until several months ago, Congo was not on my top 10 list, or even on my radar. I visited in the context of my work as president of the Genesis 123 Foundation, which builds bridges between Jews and Christians and Christians with Israel in ways that are new, unique, and meaningful. Most Israeli Jews like myself wh...
Summer will be here before you know it. Now is the best time to make plans for your kids. The Rosen JCC offers Camp J from May 30 through Aug. 4. There is something here for every child. It offers General Camp, which gives kids the chance to experience a mix of fun activities. If your kids want to focus on sports then try the Sports or Basketball Camp. These let them learn the game or improve their skills. Your budding artist can let their creativity flow while creating amazing works of art in our Art Camp. Our Dance Camp gives your child the c...
If it feels like there’s an overload of news out of Israel — a sea of flags at a Jerusalem protest, police sirens outside of a synagogue — that’s because there is. Israel has been consumed by two escalating crises that both appear to be crescendoing at the same time. And even though they feel separate, they’re intertwined in at least one big way. Allow us to explain: Israel is simultaneously contending with two things: a wave of Palestinian terror attacks and Israeli military raids in the West Bank, and massive protests of a government plan to...
