Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 33
A Jewish teenager with dual Israeli and American citizenship living in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon was arrested March 23 in connection with the wave of more than 100 bomb threats against JCCs and other Jewish institutions across North America since the beginning of 2017. The suspect, 19, was arrested by Israel's Lahav 433 police unit in the wake of a months-long investigation by Israeli authorities, who worked alongside the FBI and other international law enforcement agencies....
Jewish National Fund and Media Watch International brought former Miss Israel Titi Aynaw to the U.S. for a speaking tour on college campuses in Florida, New England, and Upstate New York. Aynaw, a top Israeli model, television personality, and advocate for Israel, became the first Israeli-Ethiopian to win the Miss Israel title, opening the door for other models of Ethiopian heritage as well as other ethnic and racial backgrounds. Aynaw spoke to UCF students and community members on Monday, March...
JFS Orlando welcomes Ashlyn Douglas-Barnes, a licensed clinical social worker and qualified clinical supervisor, to the Counseling, Growth and Development Program as a clinical therapist supervisor. Douglas-Barnes has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient community based mental health, inpatient/admission psychiatric hospital, substance abuse/DUI, dialysis/medical, and in home/office outpatient therapy. Douglas-Barnes specializes in adults and couples, with a range of concerns...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando and the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation will host an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Community Briefing on Tuesday, April 4th from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, 11200 S. Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando. In addition to addressing the unprecedented rash of bomb threats to JCCs and other Jewish institutions over the past three months, ADL Associate Regional Director Eric Ross will also be speaking about the increasing rate of...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The U.S. Senate confirmed David Friedman, a confidante of President Donald Trump who outraged some Jewish groups with his broadsides against liberal Jews, as ambassador to Israel. The 52-46 vote on Thursday afternoon hewed mostly to party lines. Only two Democrats-Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Joe Manchin of West Virginia-backed the nomination among the 48 senators who caucus with the party. Friedman, a longtime Trump lawyer who is heavily invested philanthropically in...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Many Jewish groups blamed white supremacists, emboldened by Donald Trump’s campaign, for the bomb threats that have plagued Jewish institutions since the beginning of this year. It appears the groups were wrong. The news that one Jewish teen—an Israeli, no less—was behind most of the approximately 150 bomb threats that have hit Jewish community centers since the start of 2017 is a shocking twist in light of months in which the Anti-Defamation League and other groups pointed their collective finger at the far right. “We’re...
JERUSALEM—More Palestinians in east Jerusalem are applying for Israeli citizenship in hopes of swapping their vulnerable status as mere city residents for the rights and ease of travel that come with an Israeli passport. But after long touting its offer of citizenship to them, Israel is now dragging its feet in granting it, those who track Palestinian applicants say. Lawyers said their Palestinian clients now wait months for an appointment with the Interior Ministry and an average of three years for a decision. Israeli officials denied they w...
Temple Israel's membership committee invites the community to its next scheduled event, Trivia on Tap, at Red Cypress Brewery, 855 E. State Road 434, Winter Springs, on April 6. Whether you're a Temple Israel member or a prospective member or just someone who wants to experience an enjoyable evening with a good beer and friendly company, join Temple Israel for the brewery's regularly-scheduled Thursday program called Trivia on Tap. Test your knowledge of trivia while enjoying local craft beer...
The Jewish Pavilion program directors and volunteers make sure that every Jewish person in elder-care facilities around Central Florida has a place at the seder table during Passover. All are welcome to attend any of the seders, with the exception of Oakmonte and Brookdale Island Lake because of limited space. Each seder is one hour long. 4/5 Brookdale Altamonte, 360 Montgomery Rd., A.S. noon 4/6 Brookdale Dr. Phillips, 801 Pin Oak Dr., Orlando 10:30 a.m. 4/6 Westchester & Regents Park, 558 N. Semoran Blvd, 2 p.m. 4/7 Quality Health Care,12751...
Actor-Playwright Lee Weaver will present his one-man play “The Secret- The Spanish Inquisition in Old St. Augustine” at The Corazon Cinema and Cafe 36 Granada Street, St. Augustine, on Thursday, May 4 at 7 p.m. The performance is, in part, a benefit for the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society. The cost of admission is $20. Tickets will be available at the door prior to the performance. Refreshments will be available for purchase. Seating is limited. All are welcome, no advance arrangements are necessary. For best directions call 904...
Discover the taste of freedom and experience spiritual liberation at Temple Israel on Tuesday evening, April 11, 6:30 p.m., at a second-night community Seder led by Rabbi Joshua Neely. Enjoy matzo ball soup, gefilte fish loaf, choice of brisket, chicken or vegetarian eggplant strata, side dishes, wine and grape juice, assorted beverages and a dessert buffet. The price for Temple Israel members is $36, and the price for nonmembers is $46. Children up to age 12 are free. RSVP today! Make your reservation(s) by April 3, 2017, at 407-647-3055, or...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Literally within seconds of the news of the arrest in Israel of an Israeli-American teenager for the bulk of the JCC bomb threats, Twitter lit up with Jewish anxiety. “[I] fear the inevitable backlash from haters who we whipped [into] a frenzy for our own nefarious political aims” is how someone responded to the JTA story about the arrest. A colleague’s friend wrote, “And now people will have another excuse to not take anti-Semitism seriously.” The shock and anxiety inspired by news of the arrest were understandable. After all,...
Diplomats never pretend to be experts on acting, yet for some reason actors constantly present themselves as experts on international affairs. Hollywood award ceremonies are now dominated by awardees delivering pretentious political diatribes. The latest presumed fount of wisdom is Richard Gere, who visited Israel last week to promote a film in which he plays a character modeled on the American Jewish businessman from whom Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert accepted large bribes. In an interview with Haaretz, Gere rattled off all the shallow...
You would think by this point in the 21st century we would have learned. But we delude ourselves into thinking it doesn’t exist. It does. Anti-Semitism is alive and well and growing—right here in the good old U.S. of A. There was a wave of positive enthusiasm when President Obama was elected—that we were entering a “post racial” era. The truth is the opposite. There is a wonderful song from the show “South Pacific” titled “You’ve Got to be Taught to Hate.” It’s true. We thought that racism in general and anti-Semitism in particular was “generat...
Blame it on President Donald Trump and Fox News. Perhaps it’s the fault of the mainstream liberal media and its leading outlets like The New York Times, CNN and MSNBC. Or maybe the problem is Facebook. But no matter which scapegoat you pick, there’s little doubt that Americans are more deeply divided than they’ve been in living memory as traditional left-right debates have stopped being exchanges of ideas and become screaming matches in which neither side even bothers to pretend they’re listening to each other. Instead, we demonize those w...
(JTA via the Forward)—Last week, Ohio State University Hillel was accused of being anti-LGBT because it was forced to disassociate with a Jewish LGBT campus group, B’nai Keshet, after the group decided to co-sponsor a fundraiser for queer refugees with Jewish Voice for Peace. I was shocked to hear this accusation and wanted to understand where it had come from and why. Being gay and Jewish, I’m fortunate to have a supportive community in my life at Ohio State University, which has allowed me to be active throughout campus as a university ambas...
Which terrorist did the most damage to Israel’s security in the course of the “stabbing intifada” that began in the fall of 2015? About 40 Israelis were murdered during the spate of knife attacks, yet the most successful terrorist did not kill any of them. During this wave of violence, terrorists wielding knives charged at civilians and soldiers, drove vehicles into crowds full of innocent passersby, hurled rocks with the intent of shattering skulls and engaged in many other abominable acts. But the terrorist who inflicted the most damag...
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 Israe...
“My Jewish Roots” Workshops, sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Orlando continue in April with the workshop: “Analyze Your DNA Results.” In February of 2015, my husband Mitch decided to search for his birth mother. Adopted as an infant, he had always been very committed to his loving adoptive parents and saw no need to look for his birth family. But, after the death of his adoptive parents, he came to realize that he would like to know about his birth family after all. Since Mitch had been raised in Philadelphia, we contact...
If everyone's lifestyle was like Jules and Elyse Baclar's, doctors and hospitals would soon be out of business. This vibrant young Oviedo couple -Elyse is 69 and Jules is 71-love to spend their time and money exercising. They cross-country ski every winter in the Adirondacks; snow-shoe, ("It's like walking with tennis rackets on your feet," said Elyse); and bicycling on all the trails in Florida. But their passion is running. "We both have been involved in running our whole lives and we believe...
The Jewish Academy Kindergarten students proved to be successful entrepreneurs last Friday as they ran the Kindergarten "Awesome Snack Store." The store was a culminating activity to two fantastic units: nutrition and money. The children were store employees, offering delicious snacks to the entire student body. The students not only sold the healthy foods, but learned to market the store by creating a commercial for the WJAO news and designing posters. In addition, they prepared items for the...
Words of wisdom... I heard this expressed on the television program "Undercover Boss." It referred to someone who was very poor in early life and yet moved on trying to make things better and succeeded: "You can't let tough stuff get in the way of moving forward." (That really got to me so I thought I would share it.) Poland's president in Israel... I read this in the current issue of the World Jewish Congress digest and pass it along in part: "Speaking recently at a forum in Jerusalem, Polish P...
ATLANTA (JTA)—For decades, the Lippman Kanfer family has focused its philanthropy on local Jewish communities and national initiatives to teach Torah—funding causes from the Anshe Sfard Congregation in Akron, Ohio, to a Jewish day school network. But since Nov. 8, Election Day, the family has been talking about another set of issues—refugees, voting rights and civic engagement. Like so many other things, its giving has been shaken by the Donald Trump administration. “When it’s time to step up, we have to step up,” said Marcella Kanfer Roln...
Saving lives takes more than a 'stroke' of luck... While National Stroke Awareness month takes place in May, for my family it takes place all year-round... My mother's stroke was diagnosed by her manicurist (which was later confirmed by the ER), just about two years ago to this day. We are forever grateful that Olga noticed the changes in my mom, and reached out for emergency help. While I am not suggesting that you leave your neurologist for a consultation (or a mani-pedi) with your nail...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Veteran actor Shane Baker has performed in three productions of "God of Vengeance," Sholem Asch's Yiddish classic about a brothel-owning family and their daughter's lesbian relationship. Currently playing to sold-out audiences at New York's Theatre at St. Clement's Church, the play-which was first staged in 1906-still resonates today as a treatise on morality, religion and sexuality. When Baker brusquely growls, in Yiddish, to his wife, Sarah (played with charm and poise by...
