Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On March 15, Joel Berger, CEO of the Rosen JCC, unveiled its newly named lobby in honor of David and Jacqueline Siegel's daughter, Victoria, who died of a drug overdose at the age of 18 on June 6, 2015. The Early Childhood Learning Center's two-year-olds opened the program miming a song that said "Give a little hug and make the world a better place." Later, thanking the JCC for this honor, Jacqueline Siegel shared that Victoria had been two years old when she first brought her to the JCC....
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando recently announced its leadership path for the next two fiscal years (starting Sept. 1, 2018) and confirmed the responsibilities of interim lay and executive leadership that will be in place until that time. The organization has continued reshaping its priorities in serving the Central Florida Jewish community. Effective March 1, Rhonda Forest stepped down as president of the JFGO Board of Directors to allow her to focus on her service as acting...
Raise a toast to a good cause while enjoying spectacular views of downtown Orlando at the Citrus Club's April 16 happy hour honoring the Jewish Pavilion and its important work with senior citizens. A ticket purchase of only $15 to the Club's "United For A Purpose" event provides an evening of hors d'oeuvres and a drink, along with raffle prizes and networking. Proceeds from the event will be donated toward the Pavilion's mission, which serves to connect the elder-care population to the Jewish co...
Central Floridians will have the opportunity to hear a compelling Holocaust survival story from local author Joanie Schirm. On April 3, she will speak on her incredible global research of her father's letters from nearly 80 years ago, which detail his flight from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia, taking refuge in China, and moving to the USA. This special event is sponsored by Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center of Florida, and The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando. The pre...
Rabbi Jeffrey Solomon of the Traditional Congregation of Mount Dora is starting a Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop that will meet once a week at the synagogue (the day of the week has not been decided yet). All boys and girls of all faiths, ages 10 to 17, are welcome to join Cub Scout Pack 18 and Boy Scout Troop 18. (Rabbi Solomon wanted the number to be 613, but it was taken.) Rabbi Solomon explained that there are scouting packs and troops in the area, however most of the activities are held on Saturdays, which presented a challenge to...
Secretary of State Ken Detzner and the Florida Department of State announced the second annual “March of Museums” celebrating the variety and versatility of museums in Florida’s communities. In 2017, the department piloted March of Museums with partner museums in Tallahassee. Building on this successful launch, the 2018 March of Museums has expanded statewide to include the vast and diverse array of museums that populate the Sunshine State. “As Florida’s chief cultural officer, I am proud of the success of last year’s ‘March of Museums’ and...
By Ben Cohen (JNS)—Mention the name “Celine” to most people in the United States—or Europe, for that matter—and they will think you’re talking about the long-serving Canadian pop diva. But among French intellectuals, there is only one “Celine”: Louis-Ferdinand Céline, one of a handful of writers who redefined the mission and style of French literature in the 20th century. This Céline, whose heyday was in the 1930s, detested the Jews. No surprise there, given the unhealthy number of writers and artists outside Germany who sympathized with...
There is a webpage, JewBelong and other web pages on the Internet, whose alleged purpose is to bring Judaism to new heights of “contemporary cool,” and thereby attract young Jews back to Judaism. The result of their methodology is to dilute Judaism. The current effort is to incorporate and to politicize the seder with contemporary issues, to change the symbolism on the seder plate to include symbols for gay rights and other causes, to read selections from Christian and Muslim sources, and to promote a progressive political agenda that has not...
(Israel Hayom / Exclusive to JNS via JNS)—While Israel is mired in domestic scandals and coalition crises, the greatest threat the country has known since the eve of the Yom Kippur War—perhaps since the War for Independence—is steadily taking shape. This menace, posed of course by Iran, essentially consists of a wide range of growing threats closing in on us. The Iranians, who invented the game of chess, are exceedingly adept at playing several boards simultaneously, with the winner’s prize no less than control of the entire Middle East an...
(JNS)vJ Street and the radical wing of the Democratic Party have worked hard in recent years to chip away at the party’s traditional support for Israel. And they’ve made some progress, to judge by recent public opinion polls, in the changes in the Democratic Party platform and the number of Democratic congressmen who have signed J Street’s letters criticizing Israel. But a speech at the AIPAC conference, made by the senior U.S. senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, has struck a powerful blow against those trends in his party. As the Senat...
(JNS)—It turns out that in some cases, the Trump administration can behave just like its predecessors. President Donald Trump has been rightly accused of smashing precedents as the commander-in-chief, and many of his subordinates have behaved, spoken and tweeted in ways unlike anything we’ve seen before. Some of this unorthodox behavior is indeed troubling. But other decisions, including his willingness to buck the foreign-policy establishment on issues like the status of Jerusalem and trying to hold the Palestinian Authority responsible for...
(My Jewish Learning via JTA)—One of the most oft-repeated themes of the Torah is that we must remember that we were slaves and strangers in the Land of Egypt, and that God redeemed us with an outstretched hand. Both the experience of slavery and the experience of redemption are meant to radiate one central and fundamental call to action that the Torah comes back to again and again: Slavery and strangerhood: Love the stranger and care for him, provide for him and show him empathy. Feel his pain and act to alleviate it, deal kindly with him, for...
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...
The application deadline is approaching for 2018-19 Ronald Colman Israel Scholarships, administered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. The Federation will accept online applications through 5 p.m. March 30. Applicants should visit www.jfgo.org/jten for details. A review committee will select the scholarship recipients, who will be notified no later than April 30. The Ronald Colman Israel Scholarship Fund was made possible by a generous endowment established by the Colman family to encourage Jewish teens in the Greater Orlando area to...
Great music. Great memories... Unlike the music of today, (much of it Rap spelled with a silent C)... thanks to my dear friend, TONI McDONNELL, I was able to watch a television show on the UCF Channel featuring the big bands and the music I appreciate. And I appreciated Toni telling me about it! I especially enjoyed seeing the legendary Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra that I eventually became the vocalist with. I repeat... Great Music. Great Memories! Honors well deserved... I received this news from...
(JNS) The Israeli and U.S. militaries are in the midst of a large-scale missile-defense exercise, designed to simulate responses to a Middle East war on multiple fronts. The scenario at the heart of the planned, biannual drill involves the Israeli home front coming under heavy enemy fire from several directions simultaneously. The Juniper Cobra 18 exercise, held since 2001, practices the rapid deployment of American air-defense units and equipment to Israel from Europe in the event of armed conflict, in addition to the integration of U.S....
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Trump administration sided with the Palestine Liberation Organization in a terrorism lawsuit that the Supreme Court may soon consider, drawing an angry rebuke from conservatives, including one of its most steadfast Jewish community defenders, the Zionist Organization of America. In 2015, a federal jury in Manhattan ruled in favor of American victims injured in six terror attacks that occurred in Israel between 2002 and 2004, handing down a $656 million decision against the PLO. An appellate court overturned the decision a...
(JNS)-Why is this year going to be different from all other years? Because this year, you can stump your guests with the meaning behind many of the mysterious rites that comprise the Passover seder. Let's face it, you finally wrap up those frenzied days of cleaning and cooking. And then your guests arrive (Passover is an even bigger family reunion than Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year), and by the time you pass out the Haggadahs and the seder actually begins, you often slog through it on autop...
(Cleveland Jewish News via JNS)-Judge Dan Aaron Polster of the Northern District of Ohio is presiding over a case involving more than 400 federal lawsuits brought by communities around the country against drug companies and pharmacy chains for their role in perpetuating the opioid epidemic. The case and Polster-a member of Congregation Shaarey Tikvah in Beachwood, and Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights and Pepper Pike-were covered in a March 6 front-page story in The New York Times It...
(Kveller via JTA)-When I see the giant gefilte fish and matzah display at Costco in late February, it sends me into a panic. I think, is it time for gefilte fish already? I think that finding the holiday foods, including that gigantic jar of gefilte fish, is not easy and maybe I should stockpile now. I start thinking about how many people I'm having for Passover-a lot or a little? One manageable table or an impossible four? Most of the year I'm a pretty normal American woman. I look normal. I...
Over 60 delegates from Central Florida traveled to Washington, D.C., to attend the annual AIPAC Policy Conference. The delegates included a strong showing of local college students and several high school students as well. After 2 1/2 days of general sessions filled with incredible speakers as well as breakout sessions, the group successfully lobbied our local congressmen, including Stephanie Murphy, Darren Soto and Valerie Demmings. Thanks to the AIPAC trip offered to congressmen, all three...
The Kinneret Council on Aging, a non-profit agency that provides ongoing programs and services to residents of Kinneret Apartments, held their 2018, 8 over 80 Gala on Sunday, Feb. 25, 2018. Over 200 guests attended the festive gala to celebrate the accomplishment of the honorees. Guests were entertained with video's featuring each honoree and their unique accomplishments. A delicious dinner was also provided by George's Gourmet Catering. All in attendance agreed that this delightful event was a...
(My Jewish Learning via JTA)-What is the essence of Passover? On the one hand, it seems obvious: Passover is about gathering together with loved ones to recall, through sumptuous home rituals, the exodus from Egypt. We gather round our seder tables and quickly become engulfed in the warmth of family and friends, the culinary delights of a delicious meal, and the comforting, vaguely familiar words and songs we recite year after year. Passover is, indeed, a beautiful opportunity for rejoicing and...
There are no Jewish characters in the cinematically and thematically beautiful 2018 Academy Awards best picture winner "The Shape of Water." However, out of all nine nominees, this Guillermo del Toro masterwork best speaks to the Jewish experience: empathy for others, defense of what is right-even if not politically expedient-and remaining true to core principles of our religion. There even are some striking Jewish historical parallels in this adult "fairy tale for troubled times" set in 1962,...
Ira Daitzman, age 85, of Orlando, passed away on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, at Florida Hospital Orlando. He was born in Union City, New Jersey, on Aug. 11, 1932, a son of the late Samuel I. and Ruth Shifrin Daitzman. Mr. Daitzman attended Union Hill, N.J., High School, and graduated from NYU Stern School of Finance, where he became a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. He earned his B.A. and served for two years in the US Army. During his tour of duty, on Jan. 2, 1954, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, he married his high school sweetheart,...
