Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 26 - 34 of 34
Carol Esner passed away peacefully on Feb. 28, 2025. She was born on Jan. 10, 1942, to Fred “Fritz” and Lillian (Haight) Fuss. She is preceded in death by her brothers, Bill, Fred, Ed, Richard, Don and Roger Fuss; and sisters, Peg Lohret, Shirley Collins and Lois Wildey. Carol was the devoted wife and steadfast companion to her beloved husband, Irving Esner, who predeceased her in 2020. She was the loving mother to three daughters, Desiree Slone (Louis Slone), Joann Barody (d. 2002), and Carol-Ann Dooley (Blaine Dooley), as well as two ste... Full story
Edward Robin Turkow, born Sept. 8, 1946, in Baltimore, Maryland, passed away March 11, 2025, after losing his battle against Lewy Body Dementia complicated by Parkinson's disease. Known to his family and friends as Eddie or Edd, he was a lover of languages. Eddie was a foreign language professor and department chairman of foreign languages for 32 years at Pikesville high school in Pikesville, Maryland. Eddie lived in Madrid, Spain during his junior year while attending the Johns Hopkins... Full story
(JNS) — A new study from the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., highlights the impact of Birthright Israel across the generations, revealing how the effects extend beyond participants to their children as opposed to those who applied to the program but did not go. The study, which tracks long-term outcomes of Birthright participants, found that children of participants are more likely to be raised as Jews, more likely to have had a Jewish circumcision or a baby-naming ceremony, and more likely to b...
(JNS) — Omer Wenkert, 23, described the brutal abuse he endured in the Gaza Strip at the hands of his Hamas captors. “They just hit you like crazy with everything they can find, whether it’s hitting your legs with the barrel of the gun, punching your face, kicking you all over. With each punch you pass out and the next one wakes you up,” said Wenkert in a televised interview with Israel’s Channel 12 News. On his birthday his captor had opened the door and awakened him in a state of “complete madness, insanely aggressively,” he recalled. “That w...
Some Columbia classes reportedly canceled in solidarity with anti-Israel activist By Izzy Salant (JNS) — The Washington Free Beacon reported on Monday that at least three professors at Columbia University canceled in-person classes in solidarity with the anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, whom federal agents arrested on March 8. “Given that the college and Columbia University has neither issued a public statement with any clear explanations as to why or how this arrest was allowed nor offered any serious reassurances for international stu...
(JNS) — A group of Judea and Samaria leaders made history last week by visiting Abu Dhabi on the first-ever organized trip by the Yesha Council to a Muslim country, the umbrella organization announced Thursday. Yesha Council chief Israel Ganz and CEO Omer Rahamim, as well as Hebron Hills Regional Council head Eliram Azulay, returned on Wednesday from their first visit to the United Arab Emirates. They were accompanied by Rabbi Matanya Yedid, who heads the Sifra Institute. During the visit, the three met government officials, business l...
(JNS) — Two Israeli pizzerias made the Top 50 Pizza list in the Asia-Pacific region for 2025, the influential guide recently revealed. The pizza industry guide, which divides its rankings into several categories, such as Europe, America and Asia, held an awards ceremony at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Tokyo on Monday. The “New Entry of the Year 2025—Solania Award” went to NeoPolitan in Haifa, ranked at 25th place. Piedra from Jerusalem made the 37th place in the Asia-Pacific list and was awarded the best kosher pizza in the world....
(JNS) — U.S. President Donald Trump revealed on Friday that he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging him to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Washington or face possible military action. “I said: ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate, because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran,’” Trump said in an interview with the Fox Business Network channel. The missive was sent on Thursday, he added. “I think they want to get that letter,” Trump said. “The other alternative is you have to do something, because Iran cannot h...
(JTA) - Isaac Henrion makes and sells bagels for a living. But when he spent Sunday afternoon at the local Jewish food festival in Durham, North Carolina, he didn't bring any of his own fare. It's not that he hadn't signed up as a vendor. It's that he had abruptly pulled out his store, Isaac's Bagels, after facing criticism over his cooperation with the festival organizer, a Jewish group that supports Israel. Then, that decision set off another round of criticism from Jewish customers and...
