Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Six teens traveled to New York for the 14th annual CTeen Shabbaton, an international gathering of close to 3,000 Jewish teens. Led by Rabbi Yanky Majesky of Chabad North Orlando and Mrs. Fraidy Dubov of Chabad of Greater Orlando, teens were treated to a thrilling, non-stop program with tours of Manhattan, inspiring Shabbat meals, talks by renowned speakers, and a highly-anticipated closing ceremony titled "Wherever Whenever". Last year, the pandemic forced CTeeners online for a virtual...
(Israel21C via JNS) - IsraAID CEO Yotam Polizer is not a novice when it comes to mass disasters. The Israel-based humanitarian aid organization has responded to emergencies in 56 countries since 2001. So you can believe Polizer when he says that the Ukraine refugee crisis is the worst he has ever seen. "I've been in this field for 14 years, including some of the biggest humanitarian crises of the last 20 years - the tsunami in Japan, the Ebola outbreak, the Syrian refugee crisis - but what...
New York, NY - UJA-Federation of New York today announced a new round of emergency funding to address urgent humanitarian needs of people remaining in Ukraine as well as refugees who have been forced to flee to neighboring countries. Since Feb. 24, UJA has made $5 million in grants to help Ukrainians. "Last week I was in Poland near the border, and I will not soon forget the despair I saw on the faces of the refugees who are being helped by our partners. One man who had just fled Kyiv said to...
(JTA) — For many American Jews, there is an annual celebration near the beginning of spring that serves as a respite from the long winter months, and a symbol of hope and renewal: Opening Day. Not this year. Major League Baseball and its players association remain deadlocked in negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, leading to the disappointing news this week that the league officially canceled the first two series of the 2022 regular season, including Opening Day. American Jews have a long and rich love affair with b...
Next month will mark the 120th birthday of the Rebbe, the most influential Jewish religious leader in recent history. To mark this special date, several Chabads in Orlando are coming together to bring the community Judaism: The Soundtrack, an evening of immersive musical experience, featuring Jewish Chasidic melodies, fascinating narratives, and motivational messages brought to Orlando by the acclaimed Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. On Sunday, April 10th, the program begins at 5 p.m. with a...
The Holocaust Center will present, via Zoom, the next "In My Own Words" program with speaker Joel Poremba, son of Holocaust survivor Nathan Poremba and author of "My Name is Staszek Surdel." He will tell the story of his father's improbable survival during the Holocaust. The event takes place virtually on Wednesday, March 23, at 3 p.m. Poremba was stunned after hearing his father's story for the first time while sharing his testimony with USC Shoah Foundation for their Visual History Archive in...
The Jewish Genealogical Society will host guest speaker Scott Genzer at its next Zoom meeting, March 22, at 7 p.m. -9 p.m. The topic of discussion will be "Using Facial Recognition to Identify Unnamed Ancestors." Photographs have always been a genealogical challenge because, unlike more conventional sources such as vital records, they do not impart clear data. Most often we simply attach the picture to our trees and then leave it there. However in early 2019, Genzer developed a new technique...
The Roth Family JCC is hosting a Food Truck Family Shabbat on Friday, March 25 from 5:30 to 7:30. The family Shabbat includes free Challah, Kelly’s ice cream and live entertainment. Purchase dinner from onsite visiting food trucks that include Italian and American fare. The cost is $18 per family. Register at operations.daxko.com or visit orlandojcc.org....
WASHINGTON (JTA) — After months of maneuvering over $1 billion to replace Iron Dome batteries Israel lost in last year’s Gaza conflict, the money is to be included in a bipartisan spending bill Congress will consider this week as it looks to avoid a government shutdown. Also included in the $1.5 trillion Omnibus Appropriations Agreement announced early Wednesday by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is substantially increased funding for nonprofit security, a key request by major Jewish groups over the last yea...
(JTA) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Israel for its support for his country Sunday, the day after Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Moscow for a three-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “I am grateful to Israel for their support for Ukraine,” Zelensky said, according to a translation by Sky News published by The Times of Israel. “We need the support of all countries and we were talking about the support we need now and how we are going to cooperate in the future after the war.” Zelensky did not m...
(Israel21C via JNS) — Regardless of which side of the conflict they’re on, young adults in three Taglit-Birthright Israel groups from Russia and Ukraine cannot return home after their free 10-day trip because of the war. So Birthright Israel has offered them the option to stay in Israel or reunite with their families when possible. The three groups include 26 participants from Ukraine. Sixteen of them were supposed to fly home on Thursday morning, but while they were sitting on planes, bombing began in Kyiv and flights were immediately canceled...
(JTA) — Around 300 Ukrainian Jewish refugees landed in Israel Sunday, among them some 90 orphans between the ages of two and 12, in the first round of what Israeli government officials are expecting to be a wave of thousands in the coming months. They were flown on three planes from Moldova, Romania and Poland. But whether Israel will accept Ukrainian refugees who are not Jewish, and therefore ineligible for Israeli citizenship under the country’s Law of Return, is unclear. The Law of Return allows any Jew who wishes to live in Israel to obt...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — A four-year-old boy from Jerusalem has contracted the first known case of polio in Israel since 1989, the Health Ministry reported on Sunday. A ministry official told Israel Hayom that the child was in a state of weakness and in a condition that could deteriorate to paralysis. According to the ministry, neither the child nor his family had been vaccinated against polio. The Health Ministry thinks that the child from Jerusalem is just one of hundreds or thousands of children who might have been exposed to a mutant s...
(JNS) — Speaking after the recent meeting of the Palestinian National Council, its deputy chairman, Ali Faisal, clarified that there is a binding Palestinian decision to “renounce… all agreements with Israel.” He added that from the point of view of the Palestinian leadership, the Palestinians “have entered a path of resistance in all its forms”—a phrase that clearly includes the use of violence and terror. “The decision of the [Palestinian] National Council was a recommendation to the [PLO] Central Council to renounce all the commitments of...
(JTA) — I’ve always believed in living life to the fullest. When you grow up with a disability, you are faced with a choice of whether or not to let it define you as a person. People often find it easy to say no to someone with a disability, “no, we can’t accommodate that, no we aren’t set up for that,” and so on. But I always wanted to hear “yes, don’t worry, we’ll find a way.” I grew up in Montgomery County, Maryland, just north of Washington, D.C. When I was seven years old, a close friend of my parents was running for the Maryland House...
Russian President Vladimir Putin justified his current invasion of Ukraine by asserting the country needed to be denazified. It was a rather odd assertion, to say the least. Ukraine is led by a proud, democratically-elected Jew, Volodymyr Zelensky, chosen by nearly three-quarters of the voters in 2019. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Jews were enjoying a vibrant religious and communal life until the Russian assault, and the government had adopted one of the toughest measures anywhere against antisemitism. Ironically, this was a perfect example of “the p...
(JNS) — When responding to global crises, states must balance the tensions that arise between their moral values and strategic interests. The recent conflict between Russia and the West has seemingly cornered Israel into a thorny dilemma between protecting its immediate interests vis-à-vis Moscow and its moral obligation to align with other democratic states that have united against President Vladimir Putin’s demolition of international norms. From a moral and values perspective, there is no doubt which side Israel must be on. Ukrainian soci...
As Russia has invaded Ukraine my feelings are mixed, contradictory, and contradictory to that of many others. For me, and many Jews, anything regarding Ukraine brings with it thought of our history and persecution there. In modern times we recall Babi Yar where 34,000 Jews were murdered in Kiev over three days in September 1941. The Nazis orchestrated and many Ukrainians were enthusiastic partners. Ukraine was part of the Pale of Settlement, the area in which Jews were permitted to live, meaning that we were prevented from living in the rest...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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. Congregatio...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In an emotional call with American Jewish leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky characterized the Russian invasion of his country as “pure Nazism.” Zelensky also invoked his Jewishness in an appeal for assistance while speaking Monday via Zoom with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. On the call, Zelensky angrily rejected claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia launched the war to “denazify” Ukraine, saying that it was the Russians who were acting like Nazis. “This is...
(JTA) - The most prominent Jewish figure in Ukraine right now is the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky. The runner-up may well be another country's famous Jewish leader. Golda Meir, the fourth prime minister of Israel and a native of Kyiv whose family fled amid antisemitic violence, has loomed large ever since Russia launched its war on Ukraine late last month. Her words have appeared in pro-Ukrainian memes, been quoted by Ukrainian diplomats and even been pulled from the backpack of a...
(JNS) - The Sovereignty Movement recently organized a tour of Judea and Samaria for public figures, journalists, social media influencers and others to explore the complexities and dichotomies of life in the region. The Feb. 23 gathering - under the leadership of Yehudit Katzover and Nadia Matar - focused on explaining the situation on the ground in many areas, including diplomacy, infrastructure, education, environmental issues, employment and quality of life for both Jewish and Arab residents...
Getting a good night's sleep is critical to your well-being. Put away all electronics at least an hour before bed. Digital devices and screens emit a blue light that can interfere with your ability to get a proper good night's sleep. It's not just about getting your physical beauty sleep! There is scientific proof of a close link between sleep and mental health, including poor sleep contributing to initiation or worsening of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and other conditions. Whether...
I'm going pandemic nutty... I'm in my house for many months, (I'm not the type who swears or grunts!) But coronavirus is a trap, My days are filled with food and nap, I'm watching TV night and day, (Please Dr. Phil just go away!) When will this end? I need to know, (I'll put on makeup so I'll glow), And dress in sexy clothes again, I cannot wait-Just tell me when! Okay, I don't wear sexy clothes, (I just wear jeans, and I don't wear hose) Okay, okay! I'm sort of old, I'll admit to 50. Aint I...
Hope Hospice is among a select number of organizations across the country that has earned accreditation from the National Institute for Jewish Hospice. Hope Hospice is one of 52,000 members of NIJH working together to provide enhanced care to address the diverse needs of Jewish families in a caring, dignified manner. “At Hope, we make every effort to serve each person, at every stage in their life’s journey, in a culturally sensitive way,” said Samira K. Beckwith, president and CEO of Hope Healthcare. “We seek programs and accredi...
