Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles from the March 4, 2022 edition


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  • Scene Around

    Gloria Yousha|Mar 4, 2022

    So much talent! Even I'm surprised! ... Get ready for this one. It's not to be missed! I'm referring to the BILLY JOEL concert that's coming to Camping World Stadium here in town on Saturday evening, 8 p.m. on March 12. Surely tickets are selling out. Hurry or you will miss it! Phone 407-440-5700 and press 1 for more information. William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man" after his first major hit and signat...

  • 'Jackass: Forever' star Rachel Wolfson on being the first Jew and woman on the stunt comedy team

    Stephen Silver|Mar 4, 2022

    (JTA) - Most film debuts don't include licking a taser while dressed as a mime, or having a scorpion crawl on one's face. But when it comes to the "Jackass" TV and movie franchise, that's par for the course. That doesn't mean Rachel Wolfson's Jewish parents weren't a little worried about her joining the stunt comedy group for its latest movie, "Jackass: Forever." "When I first told them, they were like, have you told your therapist?" Wolfson told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Through three seas...

  • Public disaster looms in form of major earthquake in Israel

    Mar 4, 2022

    By Israel Kasnett (JNS) - Screams pierce the air as the dust clears and survivors begin to emerge from the rubble. More than 10,000 people have been killed and 20,000 more are injured. Thousands of buildings across the country have collapsed. In some areas, there is deathly silence; in others, cries for help can be heard from beneath the debris. The streets are impassable; shattered glass, bricks and chunks of concrete are strewn everywhere. Trees, light poles and electrical wires lie across...

  • Israel relocates Kyiv embassy to Lviv

    Ariel Kahana|Mar 4, 2022

    (Israel Hayom via JNS) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has ordered Israeli embassy staff in Kyiv to move to consular offices in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, as war looms between Russia and Ukraine. “The consular office in Lviv has been working to provide travel documents to Israeli citizens since Thursday and will assist citizens interested in leaving the country, primarily through land border crossings to neighboring countries,” the ministry said in a statement. Officials said that the ministry was “prepared for any develop...

  • Beijing Olympics ends without a medal for Israel

    Abigail Klein Leichman|Mar 4, 2022

    (Israel21c via JNS) — The closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Sunday brought to an end another Winter Games without a medal for Israel. Nevertheless, the six athletes representing the Jewish state had some high points to celebrate. Barnabas Szollos, 23, said at the start that his goal was to be in the top 30. He skied in five events and placed twice in the top 30, twice in the top 20 and once in the top 10, finishing in sixth place in men’s alpine skiing and setting a new Israeli record in that sport. He was just 1.0...

  • Wyoming's legislature rejects critical race theory ban

    Ron Kampeas|Mar 4, 2022

    (JTA) — It seemed a slam dunk: The popular conservative cause of banning “critical race theory” in schools, being taken up for a vote in one of the country’s most lopsidedly conservative legislatures. Then a Democrat, one of just seven in the 60-member Wyoming legislature, stood up Thursday and said he could not support the bill because he was Jewish. “In this bill, page 9, line 19 states, ‘The teaching of history must be neutral, without judgment,’” state Rep. Andy Schwartz said during debate. “Now, how can that be possible? If I were a Native...

  • Simon Wiesenthal Center calls for FBI antisemitism task force

    Mike Wagenheim|Mar 4, 2022

    (JNS) — Neo-Nazis in Florida. Synagogue desecration in Chicago. Regular assaults in Brooklyn, N.Y. When it comes to antisemitism in America, it’s time to start connecting the dots. “If we’re going to better understand the nature and scope of the threats, we need the FBI to lead, taking everyone out of their silo, getting all the information that they’re uniquely positioned to get, and then having a desk that’s going to review things and have access to other agencies — domestic and otherwise — in order for us to quantify and qualify what’s...

  • Boston-area college in turmoil after weeks-long string of antisemitic and racist incidents

    Penny Schwartz|Mar 4, 2022

    BOSTON (JTA) — For nearly a month, a small liberal arts college just miles outside of Boston has been roiled by a spate of hate incidents, including antisemitic graffiti and threatening racist language, prompting the school to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved. The incidents at Curry College, located in Milton, a suburb south of Boston, began Jan. 27, when International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed worldwide, with reports of drawings of swastikas and discriminatory and h...

  • Weekly roundup of world briefs

    Mar 4, 2022

    BBYO holds largest Jewish gathering since the pandemic began By Ron Kampeas BALTIMORE (JTA) — More than 3,000 teenagers from 40 countries attended a BBYO convention in what is believed to be the largest Jewish gathering since the beginning of the pandemic. A release from the organizations said the event at the Baltimore Convention Center running Feb. 17-21 focused on Jewish philanthropy and Jewish education. Speakers included Mike Posner, a Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter; Rabbi Angela Buchdahl of New York’s Central Synagogue, who fie...

  • Zelensky is a 'modern Maccabee'

    Philissa Cramer|Mar 4, 2022

    (JTA) — One week ago, Jews outside of Ukraine knew Volodymyr Zelensky as the world leader on the other end of the “perfect phone call” that resulted in the impeachment of President Donald Trump. But now, after days of watching Zelensky balance humor and gravitas while rallying his fellow Ukrainians to rebuff the Russian army invasion, they know him as a contemporary Jewish hero. “Zelensky gives modern Maccabee energy,” Peter Fox, a writer, wrote on Twitter. Fox was referring to the ancient Jews who, though outflanked in every way, fended of...

  • 70 years on, mystery of man behind Knesset menorah solved

    Danielle Roth Avneri|Mar 4, 2022

    (Israel Hayom via JNS) -One of Israel's most curious mysteries was solved on Sunday when the identity of the artist who created the small bronze menorah that stands on the Knesset grounds was finally revealed. The Knesset Menorah is one of the most recognized and revered state symbols in Israel's history. Israel's parliament is home to more than one menorah statue. Most famously, a seven-branched menorah stands just outside the Knesset plaza. It towers 4.30 meters high, 3.5 meters wide (14 feet...

  • A podcaster explores her own Black and Jewish identities in a series about the Crown Heights riots

    Adam Dickter|Mar 4, 2022

    (New York Jewish Week via JTA) - The Crown Heights riots, which roiled the Brooklyn neighborhood over four days in 1991, were some of the most thoroughly documented events in New York City history: Covered in real time by local, national and global media, the violence was recounted by witnesses in numerous civil and criminal trials. The riots were also the subject of countless books, essays, documentaries and a one-person play. Add to that canon now, six months after the 30th anniversary of the...

  • Roblox, popular kids' computer game, removes virtual Nazi gas chambers

    Shira Hanau|Mar 4, 2022

    (JTA) - Roblox, a collaborative computer gaming platform for children as young as 7, has faced serious criticism over the years for failing to properly moderate its content - with antisemitism and racism rife, according to multiple reports. Now the platform says it has removed a virtual Nazi concentration camp featuring gas chambers that users could operate. In a report published Saturday, the Daily Mail revealed the existence of the concentration camp game, which included tall watchtowers, gas...