Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Congregation Ohev Shalom celebrated its annual gala on Feb. 21. Over 300 people gathered to honor Cantor Allan S. Robuck for his 25 years of service to COS and the Orlando Jewish community. Following a fun silent auction, attendees were treated to a concert by Cantor Jacob Mendelson. For his final number, Cantor Mendelson was joined by opera singer Cantor Fredda Mendelson, who is also his wife, and by the honoree himself. After the performance, a delicious New York deli-style dinner was served...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-Nearly half of Jewish-Israelis want to expel Arabs from the country. That's one of several findings from a new survey of Israeli attitudes on religion, politics and Jewish identity conducted by the U.S.-based Pew Research Center. Coming just three years after Pew's much-discussed study of Jewish-Americans, the Israel study depicts a country divided by religion and ethnicity, where Jews of opposing religious outlooks rarely associate and marriages that cross the Jewish-Arab divide...
Chabad of North Orlando has come a long way in the past five years, thanks to the dedication of Co-Directors Chanshy and Rabbi Yanky Majesky and members of their burgeoning community. Rabbi Majesky reflects back upon the shul's earliest days in 2011, when a handful of congregants met monthly in a local hotel, and only on Friday nights. For the last four years the growing synagogue was given space at an office park in Lake Mary known as The Chamu Jewish Center, thanks to congregants Dawn and...
The Jewish Academy of Orlando is launching a special fundraising opportunity to strengthen its school and mission of providing the community with a program of academic excellence while at the same time instilling a sense of Jewish pride in its students. During the Harriett Lake/Weiner Family 2016 Matching Gift Challenge, which will be taking place between February 19 and April 15, all gifts to the Jewish Academy of Orlando's annual campaign will be matched on a 1:2 basis up to $50,000! A huge...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-In a survey that spanned politics, religion and interfaith relations, one statistic stood out: nearly half of Israel's Jews support expelling the country's Arabs. The Pew Research Center's study of Israelis' attitudes, which had its findings released Tuesday, had asked respondents whether they agreed that "Arabs should be expelled or transferred from Israel." Forty-eight percent of Israeli Jews agreed, while 46 percent did not. Among self-described right-wing Jews, 72 percent...
PETACH TIKVAH, Israel (JTA)-Only after Yonatan Azriaev grabbed the terrorist's arms and threw him against a wall of soft drinks did he think he was about to die. Azriaev, a member of the Breslov Hasidic sect, had been handing out religious pamphlets in the open-air market here when he stepped inside a shop at around 4 p.m. Tuesday hoping to give one to the cashier. Then he felt sharp blows to his back and shoulders. Feeling like he was punched, Azriaev said he figured he was being attacked by...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Deeply concerned about the rising incitement against Jews world wide, B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement: B’nai B’rith International is outraged over the anti-Semitic attack in Uruguay on 54-year-old David Fremd, an outstanding leader in the Jewish community. Fremd was stabbed more than 10 times and died in Paysandu, Uruguay. One of Fremd’s sons was also stabbed; his injuries are not life-threatening. The assailant, who has been arrested, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” just prior to the attack....
Hundreds of Orlando college students, faculty, staff and community members will gather together for a celebration of Jewish unity at the fourth annual Mega Shabbat on the UCF campus. The traditional Shabbat Dinner will be held in the Pegasus Ballroom in the Student Union on April 1, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with appetizers. Women will light the Shabbat candles at 7:15 p.m., and the Shabbat dinner will be served at 7:30 p.m. Shabbat 1000 is a project developed by the Chabad on Campus National...
Each year the Holocaust Center provides a community program for Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust Day of Remembrance. This year's commemoration, scheduled for May 1 at 4 p.m., will be held in the gymnasium at The Roth Family Jewish Community Center. There is no charge to attend, and reservations are not required. In addition to traditional music and local survivors lightning candles in remembrance of Hitler's victims, the program will feature a conversation with Peter Homburger, a survivor who now...
OCALA—‘Purim in the Jungle’ will be the theme for Chabad of Ocala & The Villages annual Purim-around-the world celebration happens on Thursday, March 24 at the Chabad Jewish Center, 3509 SW 34th Ave. Circle. The festivities will begin with a Megillah reading at 5:30 p.m., and continue with a Purim Feast for adults and children at 6 p.m. The whole community, regardless of age, affiliation or background is invited to join in the fun. The family Megillah reading will be accompanied by a visual presentation geared for children. Everyone is encourag...
In recent weeks, the administration has warned various government ministers that any construction of housing for Jews in Jerusalem will be viewed with hostility by the administration. The messages from Washington ahead of Vice President Joe Biden’s arrival in Israel this week show President Barack Obama’s hostile policies toward Israel will maintained until he leaves office. In recent weeks, the administration has warned various government ministers that any construction of housing for Jews in Jerusalem will be viewed with hostility by the adm...
By Stephen M. Flatow JNS.org It has taken more than a month, but the international news media are finally waking up to the fact that the largest teacher’s strike in memory is raging in the Middle East. In a major feature story on March 8, the New York Times reported that “public schools across the West Bank have been shuttered” since early February, when more than 20,000 Palestinian public school teachers went on strike. The strike has led to “the largest demonstrations in years,” including “four large demonstrations in [the Palestinian...
By Morton Klein PHILADELPHIA (JTA)—The recent Pew Research Center study finding that about half of Israeli Jews favor transferring Arabs from Israel reveals the fear, frustration and misery that Israeli Jews feel after being subjected to decades of Arab terrorist attacks that have killed and maimed thousands of innocents. Even 54 percent of Masorti (traditional) Israeli Jews and 36 percent of secular Israeli Jews support transfer. An additional concern has been repeated instances of Arab Knesset members expressing sympathy for foreign and home-...
Free-speech idealists argue that the solution to bad speech (misinformation, lies, abusive language, etc.) is not censorship but more speech. But bad speech can, and often does, drown out the good. A classic form of bad speech is hate speech. Jeremy Waldron, a law professor at the New York University School of Law, describes it this way: “Its aim is to compromise the dignity of those at whom it is targeted, both in their own eyes and in the eyes of other members of society. And it sets out to make the establishment and upholding of their d...
Recently, Ben Carson suspended his campaign for president. In a letter to his supporters he wrote the following message that everyone should consider, regardless of party line. “Running for president was never on my bucket list, and when I was drafted by a grassroots movement asking me to do so, it was not a decision that I made lightly. However, I believed that my values, life experience and common sense solutions put me in a position to help get our nation back on track for the sake of our children and grandchildren. This grueling endeavor w...
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...
Edward Frack, age 83, of Lake Mary, passed away on Wednesday, March 9, 2016, at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. Ed was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on Nov.14, 1932, to the late Benjamin and Ida Blumenfield Frack. He received his bachelor’s degree from Boston University and was the owner/operator of a women’s retail clothing store. Ed, an avid golfer, was married to his late wife, Ruth, for over 52 years, when she passed away in January 2016. They relocated to the Orlando area in 1987 and were former members of Congregation Ohe...
Anna Goldberg, age 90, of Clermont, passed away on Thursday, March 10, 2016, at Brookdale Assisted-Living Facility in Clermont. Mrs. Goldberg was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 19, 1925, to the late Hyman and Dora Koota Roland. After attending college for some time, she worked for many years as a teacher’s aide for the New York City Board of Education. She was the widow of Martin Goldberg, who passed away in 2005. Mrs. Goldberg relocated to the Clermont area in 2014 from Boca Raton and is survived by her sister, Diane Lichtman, of S...
Angela J. Jacobson died on March 4, 2016, in Orlando, Fla., surrounded by her family. She was born on Oct. 20, 1940, in Swindon, England in Wiltshire, the county of her beloved downs. Angela attended Goldsmiths College at London University, specializing in foreign languages, history and English literature. While vising Paris, she met the love of her life, Sam, to whom she was married for 42 years. Angela was active in the Orlando community for 40 years, having many jobs, including teaching and writing for the Orlando Sentinel. Angela and Sam...
Leonard (Len) Levine, 72, passed away on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at his home in Orlando. He was born in Trenton, N.J., on March 20, 1943, to proud parents Irving and Clare Levine. They later moved to Oakhurst, N.J., where they welcomed Len’s baby sister, Barbara, or as he called her, “Boo,” and became a close family of four. Len’s positivity, charm and wit quickly made him many lifelong friends at Oakhurst Grammar School and Asbury Park High School. He continued on to Wake Forest University, subsequently transferring to Monmouth University to com...
By Christine DeSouza Anyone who has ever listened to an audio book understands what a concert reading is, although a concert reading isn't like a parent reading to a child. It is sort of a play and sort of not. The readers dress in character, read their parts in character and occasionally actually act out scenes. But for the most part, the readers are sitting and reading their parts. The Orlando community hasn't had too many concert readings that I am aware of, and have we been missing it!...
The opening comment on the ACCoRD Project’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/theaccordproject) asks the following questions for thought: “What has happened to disagreeing with each other in a civil manner? When has name calling become a standard response to something we do not like to hear? Discussion and disagreement are part of our democracy, however name calling and personal attacks are not. Just turn on the news and, on a daily basis, one can witness the lack of cooperation, respect and personal dignity in our current political env...
CHICAGO (JUF News via JTA)-Like so many other Jewish little girls on Purim, both my big sister and I would dress up for our annual Purim carnival as Queen Esther. The morning of the carnival, my mom would array us in regal dresses, bright red lipstick and a homemade crown or sparkly tiara bought for this very occasion-and only this occasion-so as to raise grounded daughters the rest of the year. And in households down the street, the Jewish boys I knew would dress as the male hero of Purim:...
A well-deserved honor... I read this in the current issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and pass it along to you in part: "The World Jewish Congress recently honored former U.S. Secretary of State GEORGE P. SHULTZ with its prestigious Theodor Herzl Award. WJC President Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER and former Secretary of State HENRY A. KISSINGER, himself a past Herzl Award recipient, presented the award to Shultz at a gala event at New York's Waldorf Astoria. Upon accepting the...
In her recently published memoir "My Fat Dad: A Memoir of Food, Love, and Family, with Recipes" (Berkley Books, September 2015), New York Times wellness blogger and nutritionist Dawn Lerman shares her food journey and that of her father, a copywriter from the "Mad Men" era of advertising at the Leo Burnett and McCann Erickson firms. Dawn spent her early childhood in Chicago constantly hungry as her ad man father pursued endless fad diets from Atkins to Pritikin, and insisted that Dawn and her mo...
