Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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As the Jewish world gears up for the annual Matzah crunch and Seder festivities, Orlando's Progressive Jewish Preschool is focusing on the youngest demographic. On Sunday, April 17, at 4 p.m., infants and toddlers from all across the city are invited to attend Chai Preschool's Passover Experience Hour. Children will be treated to a multisensory Passover program geared for ages 0-5, including songs, storytelling, and hands-on matzah baking. "A child is never too young to learn," said Chani...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando (JFGO) has formally launched an ambitious campaign aimed at retiring $4.5 million in debt that saddles the Central Florida Jewish community's core asset, the Maitland Jewish Community Campus. The goal of the campaign, called Campus 2020, is to retire the debt before Jan. 1, 2020. Early elimination of the debt will result in annual savings of more than $381,000 to the Jewish community. The Roth Family Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Academy of...
Local philanthropist and entrepreneur Alan Ginsburg and his family honored his late son and daughter-in-law with the creation of the Jeffrey & Diane Ginsburg Center for Jewish Student Life at Central Florida Hillel. Jeffrey Ginsburg was one of the founding board members of Central Florida Hillel, and his wife Diane served on the board years later. They are survived by their son Joseph, who was on hand for the ribbon cutting on April 3. Attendees to the naming ceremony and ribbon cutting included special guests Sidney Pertnoy, chairman of the...
Temple Shir Shalom, Oviedo, will officially install Cantor Kim Singer as its spiritual leader in a Shabbat celebration on Friday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. Cantor Singer started as the spiritual leader of Temple Shir Shalom in late June. The installation ceremony and Shabbat service are free and open to the public, and will take place in the EPIC Center at University Carillon United Methodist Church. The service will be followed by a celebratory reception. Cantor Singer is a native of Seattle, WA,...
(JTA)-In the wake of last week's terror attack in Brussels, Belgians transformed a central square in the capital into an impromptu memorial for the victims. Thirty-five people died Tuesday in a series of suicide bombings at the city's main airport and a subway station. Starting the next day, people gathered in Place de La Bourse and lit candles amid spontaneous singing and guitar playing of French-language songs about peace, along with some Beatles hits for good measure. Locals and foreigners...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-It might appear churlish to criticize the teaching of Islamic studies in America. After all, "Between Sharia and Democracy: Islamic Education in North America," a just-released study by Impact-SE, finds that the most widely used Islamic textbooks published in the United States are generally free of imagery and ideologies that generate prejudice or contempt for others. They aim to present Islam as harmonious with many aspects of Western society and, in the main, with UNESCO's...
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn), joined by Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) and Sen. Simcha Felder (D-Brooklyn), called for the “immediate suspension” of Students for Justice in Palestine from City University of New York college campuses on Tuesday in light of several incidents that have left many Jews feeling fearful and intimidated by the actions of SJP across college campuses nationwide. In writing a letter to CUNY Chancellor James Milliken that garnered the support of 33 elected officials from both Republicans and Democrats, Ass...
Greater Orlando’s Chapter of the Jewish National Fund’s Young Professionals Group, JNFutures, continues to grow, now having held their second installment of “Hands-on Hebrew,” a highly interactive and social Hebrew language and culture learning experience based out of Chabad of O’Town in Downtown Orlando. The Hebrew classes have attracted up to almost two dozen people as of their most recent one on March 29, and the participants have had a great time sharing food and the experience of learning Hebrew nouns and verbs. At the first class, he...
Martin Luther King once said “In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Jews, Christians and Muslims are being killed all around the world at an alarming rate. Reports of beheadings, rape, mutilation, beatings, stabbings are becoming common place in the news media. Many Christians and Jews in Central Florida are not keeping silent, and in an effort to speak out against these atrocities, two events will be held the weekend of April 16—17. Beginning on Saturday evening, April 16, from 6:30 to 8:...
Following on the heels of the march for persecuted Christians and Jews and the Round Table Discussion held the weekend of April 16, Concerned Citizens of Central Florida will host free speech advocate Rabbi Jonathan Hausman at the Eastmonte Civic Center, 830 Magnolia Drive, Altamonte Springs, on Monday evening, April 18 at 7 p.m. Hausman, who is graciously staying over after attending the march for persecuted Christians and Jews, hosted by Burning Bush Ministries, will speak on the topic of...
Super Sunday, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s annual phone-a-thon in support of the Annual Campaign is April 17. The Federation needs volunteers to help reach out to members of the Jewish community with both calling and non-calling roles. There are three volunteer shifts to choose from: • 9 a.m.—11 a.m. • 11 a.m.—1 p.m. • 1 p.m.—3 p.m. It isn’t necessary to volunteer for a full shift. Even an hour of one’s time is appreciated. Come for awhile or spend the day—it’s your call! To assist, please contact JFGO Campaign Director Mac...
For the past 10 years I have been living in a state of constant denial. “I’m still cool,” I’d tell myself. “I can go to rock concerts and fit right in.” “I haven’t lost a step on the tennis court.” “I’m still as good looking as I ever was.” All of these thoughts, as they raced through my mind, were meant to be affirming, but they were much closer to delusional. And while it can, at times, be healthy to delude oneself, to see someone else staring back at you in the mirror, to imagine your...
The former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic finally received a modicum of justice this week, when a United Nations court in The Hague sentenced him to 40 years in prison for his monstrous war crimes. The 10 charges Karadzic was convicted of included his role in the massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the town of Srebrenica in July 1995. Those who remember that horrific event will recall that, along with the disgraceful buck-passing that stained the European response to that genocide, there was a more generalized disbelief that...
An American friend, who is almost as old as I am, can’t remember a presidential election with worse choices. An internet friend wrote about a bumper sticker, “I hate them both.” Another likes ABC, Anybody but Clinton. The latter recalls a movement in the Knesset when the Members had to select a President in 2000: Anybody but Peres led to Moshe Katsav, currently seeking a parole. Activists are arguing if it should be granted to a man convicted of rape and other crimes, who has yet to admit his guilt and promise reform. Ms Clinton’s long record...
In parts of Europe, Jews have been warned that wearing anything that identifies them as Jewish means putting a target on their back. In Stockholm, Jews were asked to stay away from the Kristallnacht remembrance ceremonies for fear of sparking violence. French Jews are immigrating to Israel in increasing numbers. In Manchester, England, special police accompany Jewish children to school. The main synagogue in Florence, Italy, looks like an American military outpost in Afghanistan. All of this is in response to a growing and flourishing anti-Semi...
There are a few paradoxes as the World Happiness Report was published this month by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), ranking Israel as the 11th happiest country in the world. As summarized in the daily Yisrael Hayom, “Israel is caught in an intractable conflict and situated in a region that is crumbling amidst religious extremist violence. And yet, Israelis are amongst the happiest people on earth.” It’s noteworthy that the top 10 happiest countries this year were Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Finland, Canada, Neth...
We have just finished celebrating the Jewish Holiday of Purim. It is the one day in the Jewish calendar where merrymaking and drinking are sanctioned to the point where you can’t tell the difference between the bad guy (Haman)and the good guy (Mordechai). But even with the ISIS Belgium attacks still reverberating across the globe, we’re left wondering if the spirit of Purim hasn’t infected the White House. How else to explain two parallel headlines emanating from Washington? First, in an unprecedented indictment as the U.S. Justice Depar...
Dear Editor: In reference to the Kafir soldier who fired on a Palistinian knife attacker: The soldier saw the knife attacker on the ground, not moving. The soldier shot the bullet to finish him off. Dear Commanding officer, These two attckers were out to kill Israeli soldiers. The soldier in question did not know if the terrorist had an explosive belt or not. He made the prudent decision to protect himself as well as other nearby soldiers. His family cannot believe that their son, who has an excellent record in the military, is now being...
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...
American journalist Liz Wahl was welcomed by the University of Central Florida pro-Israel student group Knights for Israel on the evening of March 28, where she discussed the seriousness of world media's heavy hand in global action on many issues, including in the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Wahl has experience with this media power, be that power positive or negative, as she gained notoriety for resigning from the often challenged news agency Russia Today in the midst of their...
Marjorie Schiffman Henley, age 67, of Altamonte Springs, passed away on Thursday, March 24, 2016, at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. She was born on March 8, 1949, in New York, to the late Sidney and Beulah Heusler Schiffman. Following high school, Mrs. Henley attended the School of Visual Arts in New York. She relocated to the Orlando area from New York in 1977, and on Jan. 28, 1987, married her husband, John Henley, who survives her. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her daughter, Roberta of Altamonte Springs; and...
Joan M. Somers, age 89, of Longwood, passed away on Tuesday, March 22, 2016, at Hospice of the Comforter in Altamonte Springs. A native of Brighton, England, she was born on April 9, 1926, to the late Percy and Nellie Whalen Seagrave. Mrs. Somers was a homemaker and was the widow of Edward Somers who passed away in 2003. She immigrated to the U.S. from England in 1982, moving to Ocala, and then relocated to the Orlando area in 1988, and was a member of Congregation Beth Am. Mrs. Somers is survived by her son, John (Cindy) of Lake Mary; and...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-It began as an all-too-common story: A Palestinian assailant in the contested West Bank city of Hebron stabs and wounds an Israeli soldier. Israeli forces shoot him dead. But hours after the incident Thursday, a political and moral firestorm engulfed Israel. A video showed a soldier executing the already incapacitated attacker. One day later, after condemnation from the highest reaches of Israel's government, a second video appeared to show that the attacker might have still...
OCALA—Few Jewish holidays evoke the same warm sentiments as Passover. Memories of family and friends gathered as the four cups of wine are poured, the four questions asked and the Matzah served, all contribute to Passover’s popularity in the Jewish community. Bringing the warmth and tradition of this festival to the Ocala & The Villages Community, the Chabad Jewish Center is inviting all residents to participate in community seders to be held on Friday night, April 22, 7:30 p.m. at the Webber Center—College of Central Florida and a Child...
Congregation Beth Sholom invites the community to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover at a second night Seder on Saturday, April 23. The Seder, led by Rabbi Karen Allen, re-tells the story of the Exodus with the reading of the Haggadah and explains why we eat matzah and bitter herbs and why we dip our vegetables and eat while sitting on a cushion or reclining. The evening continues with a catered and kosher traditional festive meal and, of course, songs. There is a choice of 4 entrees, including Vegan, and chicken fingers for children...
