Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On Wednesday, Feb. 19, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Jewish Community Relations Council hosted a community briefing at the JCC Maitland campus. The program, "Expanding the Base: Bipartisan Pro-Israel Support Among African-Americans" featured two leading activists from Orlando's African-American community, Alisia Adamson and Lucas Boyce. The goal of the program was to educate the Jewish community about the strength of the American pro-...
(Algemeiner )-One of Ukraine's chief rabbis, Moshe Reuven Asman, urged Jews to leave the capital city Kiev following a reported anti-Semitic attack on two Chabad yeshiva students in the city last month, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported. "I told my community to get out of the city and if possible out of the state... there are many warnings about planned attacks against Jewish institutions," Asman said, adding, "We have been told by the Israeli Embassy to not go outside." Many members of Kiev's...
"Valerie Chestnut and Eve Homburger are two extraordinary women who have devoted themselves to our senior community," said Nancy Ludin, executive director of the Jewish Pavilion. "We are thrilled to honor them at our gala on March 9 for giving back, both personally and professionally. Both honorees generously offer their time to the Jewish Pavilion, and share our mission of enhancing the lives of Orlando's Jewish seniors." Dr. Eve Homburger is an active Pavilion volunteer, as well as a...
Join the Central Florida community to celebrate Israel with "You Are Israel" on March 23, from 1 to 5 p.m. at Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland. Co-sponsoring the event are The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando, Congregation Ohev Shalom, Hillel of UCF and Zionistas. On the evening prior, March 22 at 8:30, the Federation will screen the Israeli film "A Bottle in the Gaza Sea" at the Orlando Science Center, 777 E....
Amid the celebrations and hoopla surrounding the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' arrival in America and their appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," the man Paul McCartney called "the fifth Beatle" is not often mentioned. But experts say that without him, the Beatles as we know them would not have existed. That man is Brian Epstein, the band's Jewish manager, who died of an accidental drug overdose in 1967. Epstein's grandfather, Isaac Epstein, was from Lithuania and arrived in England in the...
While methods of insulin administration have improved and modes of measuring how much insulin to give are far superior than they were in the 1920s, when insulin was discovered, there have been no major advancements toward a cure for Type 1 diabetes for almost a century. Until now, Dr. Eli Lewis believes. "Tissue damage actually plays a role in Type 1 diabetes... but it is often overlooked and under-studied," Lewis-a world-renowned expert on autoimmune disease and the director of the Clinical...
Anne Frank’s stepsister, Eva Schloss, is a Holocaust survivor bringing her message of peace to Orlando. This will be her final appearance in Florida and it will be held at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, 9700 International Drive in Orlando, at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, March 10. A question-and-answer session follows her one-hour talk. Schloss plans to share her story about her relationship with Anne Frank, the loss of her father and brother in Auschwitz, and the struggle to make a new life after the war. This message is meant for everyone, not just those o...
ORLANDO-Flying at zero gravity is usually something reserved for astronauts in training, but Conway resident and UCF junior Samuel Benjamin, along with five other UCF students, will get the chance to do so in June, courtesy of NASA. NASA selected UCF's team to run an experiment aboard a parabolic flight as part of its undergraduate student Instrumentation Program. Since getting the green light late last year, the team has been hard at work turning the project from concept to design to working...
Approximately 300 people are registered for the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando's J Ball celebration on Saturday, March 8. The event is the JCC's largest fundraiser of the year, benefiting the organization's programs, services and Marvin Friedman Scholarship Fund. This year, the Vegas-themed night will also feature the 10th Annual Bruce Gould Poker Invitational, in celebration of the honoree for the evening, Bruce Gould. In addition to the poker tournament, the evening will consist...
Congregation Ohev Shalom’s United Synagogue Youth chapter is hosting a huge community sale on Sunday, March 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bagels also will be sold so customers can nosh and shop. Proceeds will go toward USY’s social action and tikkun olam—“repairing the world” activities, which this year is for several children’s causes. COSUSY welcomes the entire community to come get some great deals on gently used and new toys, clothes, books and household items while helping those in need in our community. The sale will be held at Congregatio...
Ever since its founding in 2008, J Street, the liberal Jewish advocacy group, has expended a great deal of time and energy trying to convince American Jews that it is a credible and more ethical alternative to traditional pro-Israel organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). J Street believes, not unreasonably, that there is a constituency for its work among those American Jews who are generally supportive of Israel but queasy over certain of its policies, most obviously creating and sustaining Jewish communities i...
So, what does that mean? If it is the duty of the Jewish People to “Heal the World,” where would you start? Is it up to us to finally wake the world up to the fact that the world—our world—really needs healing? Yes, it is. No one in this winter of snowy discontent will disagree that something is really changing. That the snows, where they are, are deeper and more frequent and where they are not the drought gets worse. That we know. That is a given. That last year was the warmest on record and this year, despite a brutal winter will probably be...
There is a long tradition, no less prominent in Judaism than in other cultures, of voluntary service and donations collected for the benefit of the needy or some other public purpose. There is also a long list of eleemosynary organizations that have gone bad, with leaders using the resources collected for their own enrichment. The schnorer is an established character is Jewish myth and humor. The man or woman who asks for money, some of which may be for him/herself, but is skilled in telling a story that warms the heart and opens the wallet....
Los Angeles—Anne Frank is the most universally known of the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Her diary has been read by millions of people around the world, and her tragic story of living in fear, hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam with her family and others for more than two years, has been told in a Broadway play, Hollywood movie, television dramas and in countless other ways. Is there anything more to be known about this precocious young girl with a gift for writing, a poignant faith in humanity, and maturity fa...
Dear Editor: In regard to the article in the Heritage Feb. 14 issue, about the communities, I would like to know where the funding for Ms. Paiss’ NGO comes from. The communities in Judea and Samaria are part of Israel. The Knesset should annex those areas. Calling all the cities in those areas “settlements” does a disservice to all the thousands of Jews living there. Visit Judea and Samaria when you go to Israel and you will see those cities are permanent for all the Jews who make their homes there. Sandra Solomon Casselberr...
Dear Editor: I was disappointed to read your cover article in the Feb. 7 edition of the Heritage regarding a member of the community’s supposed “master plan” for the Maitland campus. I am referring specifically to Mr. Schwartz’s idea to re-combine the Jewish Academy of Orlando back into the JCC. I would encourage Mr. Schwartz to read Olga Yorish’s email (coincidentally sent on Feb. 7) about the importance of day schools for the future of a Jewish populace that is growing less connected to its Jewish roots. In addition to citing a Pew Research...
Where are fellow Jews?... This interesting and informative report comes directly from the World Jewish Congress Digest. It was checked for accuracy by me: “A new study utilizing data synthesis, rather than polling, estimates that 6.8 million Jews live in the United States. The extrapolated results identify 1.6 million Jewish children, 4.2 million adults (who self-identify as Jews) and 1 million non-religious (who say they have a Jewish background). Six states account for 65 percent of American Jewry; New York (20 percent), California (14 percen...
Alice Herz-Sommer, oldest Holocaust survivor and subject of celebrated documentary, dies at 110 (JTA)—Alice Herz-Sommer, the 110-year-old Holocaust survivor and concert pianist whose life was the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary, has died. Herz-Sommer, who was believed to be the oldest Holocaust survivor and was still playing the piano, died Sunday morning in London. “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” the 38-minute film about her life, is up for best short documentary at the Academy Awards to be handed out next month. The f...
NEW YORK—In the wake of Hadassah Medical Organization’s announcement that it must restructure, the national board of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America (HWZOA) resolves to help the hospitals emerge from their financial crisis and assures supporters that all contributions to the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) will be used solely for intended purposes. HWZOA sent a message to HMO and those it serves expressing solidarity during HMO’s restructuring process. HMO’s board announced on Feb. 7 that it would apply to the court fo...
Lillian (Lil) Burnstine passed away on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, at Florida Hospital, Ormond Beach. She was 90 years old. Mrs. Burnstine, prior to her move to Florida 10 years ago, was a lifelong resident of Richmond, Va. She was one of four children born to the late Gussie and Sam Hoffman. Mrs. Burnstine was a tireless volunteer, for more than 25 years at Jewish Family Services in Richmond. She was loving, charming, and best friends with all who knew her. No one was a stranger to her. She enjoyed life every day, and brought joy to every one....
Lillian Gilbert of Longwood, passed away on Thursday, Feb. 20, at Florida Living Nursing Center in Apopka. She was 87 years old. Born in Baltimore, Md., on May 5, 1926, to the late Jacob and Sylvia Goloskov Blumberg, she was a bookkeeper for a real estate company and was the widow of the late Dave Gilbert, who passed away in 2005. Funeral services and interment were held at the Maryland Veteran’s Cemetery in Owings Mill, Md. Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando 32810....
Goldie Katz of Napa, California, passed away on Wednesday, Febr. 19, 2014, at Napa Valley Care Center. She was 95 years old. Mrs. Katz was born in Hungary on Aug. 1, 1918, to Morris and Freda Daskal Fink. She worked as the manager of a retail stationery store and was the widow of the late Fred Katz, who passed away in 2000. She relocated to California to be closer to her nephew, Jeffrey Davis, who survives her. A private burial was held at Ohev Shalom Cemetery. Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando...
Melvin Manasse of Whitney Point, N.Y., passed away on Thursday, Febr. 20, 2014, at Florida Hospital—Celebration. He was 66 years old. Mr. Manasse was born in Greene, N.Y., on Aug. 8, 1947, to the late Arthur and Rose Schloss Manasse. On Jan. 14, 1977, in Ft. Myers, Fla., he married the former Kathryn Livermore, his wife of 37 years who survives him. Mel, Kathryn and their children were all part of the family auction and real estate businesses in the Whitney Point area of New York, and vacationed in the Celebration area every winter. In a...
Rabbi Marvin Richardson of East Brunswick, N.J., passed away on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2014, at Florida Hospital—Celebration. He was 61 years old. Rabbi Richardson, a native of New York City, was born on Sept. 10, 1952, to Gerald (Shai) and Ruth Nagel Richardson. He was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and was most recently the rabbi of the Jericho Jewish Center in Jericho, N.Y. Prior to that, he was rabbi of E. Brunswick Jewish Center in New Jersey. In addition to his parents, Rabbi Richardson is survived by his wife of nearly 32 years, M...
Evelyn Taylor of Orlando, passed away on Tuesday, Feb. 4, at Dr. P. Philips Hospital. She was 94 years old. Mrs. Taylor was born in Brooklyn, on July 20, 1919, to the late Isador and Minnie Slutski. Mrs. Taylor and was a homemaker. She is survived by her son, Dr. Allen (Flora Jo) Taylor of Orlando; and daughter, Sonny Taylor of Ft Myers; four grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. Funeral services and interment were in the Agudas Israel Synagogue section of the Oak Dale Cemetery in Hendersonville, N.C., with Rabbi Phil Cohen officiating....
