Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 35
(JNS) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponents have no clear path toward a Knesset majority, Israeli election results show, indicating that the country's political gridlock will continue. The results of Tuesday's election confirm that Netanyahu's Likud Party won the most seats, 30, his bloc of right-wing, and religious supporters only have 52 seats, while the parties opposed to the Israeli leader had 57 between them. While the right-wing Yamina Party (seven seats) and the...
(JNS) - Frimet and Arnold Roth, whose 15-year-old daughter Malki, a U.S. national, was murdered in August 2001 in the Sbarro pizzeria bombing in Jerusalem, published a new video this week calling on the Biden administration to pressure the Kingdom of Jordan to extradite Ahlam Ahmad Tamimi, the Hamas terrorist who orchestrated the bombing, so that she can stand trial in a U.S. federal court. The release of the video came out four years to the date since the United States announced terrorism...
Businesses, caterers and volunteer groups were among the many who geared up for a busy Pesach in Orlando, with as many as 100,000 people who made their way to Central Florida for Passover. With few formal hotel programs operating and an ideal Chol Hamoed for day tripping, this year’s Pesach created the perfect storm, with Orlando at its epicenter. “Every caterer without a job has shown up on the market to offer full catering,” Miami resident Dovid Goldwasser, who has been actively involved in large scale planning for Pesach in Orlando, told Yes...
“Congregation Beth Am has been in existence since 1975 and we are still here!” said Co-President Joanie Mayer. The synagogue has gone through some major changes this year. The most significant one is that they sold their building in Longwood and are in the process of finding a new home. They are also searching for a new rabbi who will bring a fresh vibrancy to the synagogue. If all goes well, they expect to have both by the summer of 2021. Weekly services have been ongoing during the pandemic. Using Zoom, Friday night and Saturday morning servi...
Jewish Academy of Orlando fifth grade students partnered with Muslim peers from Leadership Preparatory School and Christian peers from Geneva School in "Trees for Peace," a multi-faith tree planting service held at Mead Gardens. The tree planting is part of the schools' Multi-faith Education Program that has been in place for almost 20 years. The students typically meet at each school to learn about each other's cultures and religions. Because of COVID-19 safety precautions, the students met...
Temple Israel is proud to host a Zoom talk from scholar and educator Zvi Hirschfield, titled "Where Was G-d During the Holocaust?" on Sunday, April 11 at 10 a.m. Hirschfield teaches Talmud, Halakha, and Jewish thought at Pardes and is a faculty member of the Pardes Center for Jewish Educators. He has been training and mentoring Jewish educators for more than 10 years in Tefilah in educational settings, critical issues in modern Jewish thought, and Israel education. Hirschfield also serves as a...
On Thursday, March 18, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando hosted its 2021 State of the Agency meeting. The first time going virtual, the meeting was led by JFS Orlando's executive director, Philip Flynn. Flynn reviewed the work and accomplishments of the agency last year, including how its programs and services remained open, it began a new rental assistance program, and it helped more people in 2020 than in the last five years. With a look into the ongoing year, he listed some of JFS...
(JTA) — After years of contention and revisions, California’s State Board of Education approved a curriculum meant to guide the state’s schools in teaching ethnic studies, an effort that sparked waves of criticism from Jewish groups. The Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum aims to teach students about the histories, experiences, contributions and struggles of minority groups in the state. Jewish activists had vehemently criticized the first draft of the curriculum, which schools are not required to use, for both excluding and discriminating again...
(JTA) — There was virtual wine spilled and nostalgia for gefilte fish, as well as a serious message to consider the role of women in the bible. Doug Emhoff, Vice President Kamala Harris’s Jewish husband, hosted the White House’s first-ever online Passover seder on Thursday, two nights before the holiday formally begins. “We are gathered today for the first Passover celebration of the Biden Harris administration, and I’m excited to join you as the first-ever second gentleman, married to the first woman to serve as Vice President of the Unite...
With most of the votes counted and no decisive outcome as far as who the next prime minister will be, or if Israel will be headed to an unprecedented fifth national election in less than three years, one thing is clear, the big winners in Israel’s national election this week were Israeli Arabs. One might have said that a year ago, after Israel’s third national election in (what was then) a year. Then, the “Joint Arab List,” a faction made up of four Arab political parties running together, won a striking 15 seats in Israel’s Knesset (parliame...
(JNS) — Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, was a senior foreign-policy adviser in the Trump administration. Now an op-ed by Kushner published in The Wall Street Journal has caused jaws to drop. Kushner was a key mover behind the Abraham Accords between Israel and the Gulf States. This agreement, brokered by Trump, was the most significant move towards peace in the Middle East for the best part of a century. In parallel, Trump’s U.S. withdrawal in May 2018 from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, coupled with the re-imposition of s...
(JNS) — After four failed attempts, it’s safe to say that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political rivals cannot depose him. He’ll be sticking around for as long as he wants the job. The left-wing camp’s struggle to replace him began with the boisterous raising of blue and white flags, and then black flags, and has now ended with the white flag of surrender. When those vying for the crown came from the right, Netanyahu was left the central actor in the arena. Many on the right, myself included, thought that Netanyahu, despite his s...
(JNS) — The Biden administration reportedly intends to demand that Israel return to the nine-miles-wide pre-1967 armistice lines. Should we be surprised? How dangerous would that be? And what should American Jews do about it? According to numerous media reports, an outline of the Biden plan has been prepared by Hady Amr, the deputy assistant secretary for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs. Amr worked on the same issues during the Obama administration. So, it’s hardly surprising that the plan he has drafted reflects the same positions that wer...
(Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs via JNS) — When Palestinian elections were first discussed, the spotlight immediately turned to the struggle between Fatah and Hamas and the fear that under cover of the elections, Hamas would infiltrate the West Bank. But it soon became clear that the story was not Fatah against Hamas, but Fatah against Fatah. What is at the root of the Fatah problem? Actually, there are two competing Fatahs. The first consists of the PLO leadership of the “exile,” with its old roots in today’s Israel, for whom the formati...
By Ben Cohen (JNS) — There is a curious sentence that appears in the definition of anti-Semitism currently being tested by a group of progressive Jewish Americans. It reads as follows: “Even contentious, strident, or harsh criticism of Israel for its policies and actions, including those that led to the creation of Israel, is not per se illegitimate or antisemitic.” The definition of anti-Semitism in which this sentence appears is intended an alternative to the one formally adopted in 2016 by the International Holocaust Remembrance Allia...
(JNS) — The U.S. Senate is facing a decision about whether to approve or reject the nomination of Colin Kahl for undersecretary of defense. Kahl was a leading voice against the move of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He inaccurately believed that it would lead to a violent blowup across the Middle East, when, in fact, it eventually led to the Abraham Accords. He was also a major advocate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, during his service in the administration of former U.S. P...
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...
(JNS) — Argentinian Jewish tennis player Diego Schwartzman won the Argentina Open on Sunday and claimed his first ATP Tour title in his home country. The 28-year-old from Buenos Aire beat fellow countryman Francisco Cerundolo with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in one hour and 21 minutes. The win is the fourth ATP Tour title for Schwartzman, who did not lose a single set last week in his four matches. Schwartzman is the first Argentine champion of the Argentina Open since 2008, when David Nalbandian won in another all-Argentine final against José Acasuso....
In the “International March of the Living to hold virtual 2021 march,” in the March 26 issue, Dan Kosky, who sent the press release, stated that there were a couple of errors brought to his attention: • The Virtual March will premiere Thursday April 8, on Israel media at 3 p.m. IRL (In Real Life), followed by the global broadcast at 10 a.m. EDT / 4 p.m. CDT / 5 p.m. IRL and will be followed immediately by an online memorial ceremony with the first torch of remembrance lit by President Rivlin.” • There will be numerous medical associati...
(JTA) - George Segal, whose career as an actor ranged from shattering Jewish stereotypes in his youth to cheerfully indulging them in his dotage, has died at 87. The fact that early in his career Segal had to field questions about why he didn't change his name or fix his nose was a testament to how unusual it was at the time for a Jewish actor who could play a plausible tough guy and romantic lead to present as Jewish. "I didn't change my name because I don't think George Segal is an unwieldy...
The mission of the Jewish Pavilion is "enriching the lives of residents in elder-care communities." This has been especially challenging during the pandemic when we cannot visit regularly and provide the hugs, companionship and holiday festivities needed. In an effort to connect, the Jewish Pavilion staff, leadership and volunteers have instituted new programs to enhance their lives such as phone calls, cards and gift bags. "The gift bags have brought so much joy to our elders said Nancy Ludin,...
Now that most seniors have received their two doses of the Covid vaccine, a majority of facilities have relaxed their restrictions on gatherings and activities. The Jewish Pavilion has recently started to offer Shabbat and holiday services and programs to the delight of the residents. Happy faces and joyful voices welcome the Pavilion Program directors and volunteers as they once again provide much needed social and spiritual nourishment. - Susan Bernstein...
Cantor Nina Fine, a program director at The Jewish Pavilion and a professional vocalist, performed a Passover concert for the residents. Journeying through the Haggadah with beautiful music sung by Cantor Fine and accompanied on piano by her 13-year-old son, Dylan Caio, the residents got to sing, clap and move as they came closer to their own freedom, much like their ancestors did in Egypt. Volunteers Steven Henry and his mom and dad, Barbara and David Henry, added a wonderful introductory set...
"Hate on the rise"... This is something I usually don't write about, but I am so bothered that I can't help it. It's about Blacks, Hispanics, Latinos, Asians and Jews. I am a white Jew ... I can hide my Judaism. But why should any of us have to? Once again, I will mention my experience as a young child about 4 or 5 years old. I learned to say the "Hail Mary" and "Our Father," and I pretended to be Christian because I didn't want to keep being beaten up by Jew-hating kids. Sure, my skin color is...
Thursday, March 11 was out-of-this world for Jewish Academy of Orlando students as when astronaut John Daniel “Danny” Olivas visited the school. The live visit was conducted remotely using the school’s Google Meet platform so that all students whether in person or at home could participate. Astronaut Olivas shared his story of becoming an astronaut beginning with his inspiration when visiting Johnson Space Center as a child and leading on to his first space mission. He shared his story of continuously improving himself to achieve his goal,...
