Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Congregation Ohev Shalom honored soon-to-retire Cantor Allan Robuck on March 6, 2022, at a gala event. Over 315 congregants and friends paid tribute in recognition of Cantor Robuck's 30 years of dedicated service. During this time, Cantor Robuck participated in the bar and bat mitzvot of some 800 young people in addition to numerous weddings and life cycle events. The evening featured a cocktail hour, a gourmet meal catered by Arthur's Catering, with option for indoor or outdoor dining,...
(Israel21c via JNS) - Researchers from the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University were surprised to discover remnants of vanilla in 2,600-year-old wine jars unearthed in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. The researchers were investigating two buildings destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE when they unearthed the eight jars. They date back to the reign of the biblical King Zedekiah, who ruled the kingdom of Judah when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and exiled...
UCF's Department of Judaic Studies recently received a $52,000 gift from Temple Shalom of Deltona. A combination of current-use and endowed funds, the donation establishes the Temple Shalom of Deltona Endowed Scholarship in Judaic Studies and will not only benefit students for years to come, but also honor the incredible 50-year legacy of the temple. It is the program's first endowed scholarship. "This generous donation will have a major impact on students in the UCF Judaic Studies program,...
(JTA) - Of all the issues facing Israel - violence within the country, how to handle Russia's war on Ukraine, Iran - the one that appears to have put the country's delicate governing coalition at risk could appear picayune. When Idit Silman, a member of Knesset from the right-wing Yamina party, surprised government leaders and even her party by resigning Wednesday, she said she was doing so over hospital food. Her decision vaults issues of religious freedom and Israel's Jewish character to the...
As part of Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando’s increased community engagement, the JFS van has been making special appearances at local community events, in addition to picking up food donations from grocer partners. On March 16, the Van attended Congregation Ohev Shalom’s Community Purim Carnival. On April 3, the van showed up again at Congregation Reform Judaism’s Family Community Event. Families and individuals of all ages at both events filled the van with generous donations of cr...
Read daily. When we were in school, reading textbooks and assignments might have seemed like a chore, but try reading for fun in your free time. Reading is a great stress reducer and can help increase memory, enhance sleep quality, and is simply an easy way to learn new things. Just 10 minutes before going to bed can make a difference. Making little adjustments to your day can have a big impact on your overall wellness. JFS Orlando can help. From our specialized therapists to our Family...
Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando is pleased to announce that the Kobrin Family Scholarship minimum test score requirements have been lowered for the SAT to 1210 and ACT to 25, effective immediately. The scholarship committee hopes this adjustment will open this wonderful opportunity to many more students. This college scholarship is awarded to a qualified, full-time, graduating high school student in the Jewish communities of Orange, Osceola, or Seminole County who will be attending the University of Central Florida. The scholarship...
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2021 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando this summer. “For more than 30 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and effort to the Central Florida community have been honored with the selection and presentation of this award,” said Jeff Gaeser, editor and publisher of the Heritage. Last year’s recipient was Hank Katzen. Former recipients have inclu...
(JTA) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has joined an international chorus condemning what appears to be mass civilian casualties in areas of Ukraine where Russian troops are pulling out. Lapid’s comments came hours after his ministry downplayed similar condemnation from Israel’s ambassador to Ukraine amid ongoing efforts by Israel to navigate a fine line in responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “It is impossible to remain indifferent in the face of the horrific images from the city of Bucha near Kiev, from after the Russian a...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The director of Amnesty International’s U.S. branch apologized to Jewish lawmakers for claiming to speak on behalf of American Jews. “I regret representing the views of the Jewish people,” Paul O’Brien said in a March 25 letter, first reported by Jewish Insider, to all 25 Jewish Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, who had joined to condemn his remarks at a Washington, D.C., luncheon in which he rejected polling that showed the vast majority of U.S. Jews are pro-Israel. “What I should have said,” he added, “is th...
(JNS) — The International March of the Living will resume in person for the first time in two years but with a reduced capacity, due to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and only eight Holocaust survivors participating. Organizers made the announcement last week in the United Kingdom House of Lords. The procession along the path leading from the Auschwitz to Birkenau concentration camps in Poland will take place starting on April 24, a few days before Israel’s Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah), as a tribute to the 6 million Jewis...
(JTA) — A woman was killed at the Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center in Florida’s Miami-Dade County on Sunday in what police are calling an act of domestic violence. Police said the woman was killed by her husband while she attended her daughter’s swimming lesson. In a statement, the community center said police believed there to be “no known threat to the Jewish community.” That weekend a number of the Greater Orlando Federation and The Roth Family JCC staff members were at the Michael Ann Russell JCC for the Florida JCC Professional...
Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine under Obama in February 2014 and Biden in February 2022. The invasions eight years apart to the month are not a coincidence. Both times Putin was facing a lame duck Democrat who had just flinched away from a military engagement. Each time Putin smelled weakness and he struck. Obama, after declaring a red line in Syria, had panicked and backed away in 2013. He then cheered on Ukrainian protests against a pro-Russian regime in Kyiv, and Moscow responded by calling his bluff and seizing Crimea. Afterward, Obama...
(JNS) — After the recent revelations of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, the world is looking for ways to make life harder for President Vladimir Putin’s regime and to express its outrage. So when America’s ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced that the United States was going to ask the U.N. General Assembly to boot Russia off of the world body’s Human Rights Council, the initiative was widely applauded. Given the atrocities committed by the Russians in their illegal war of aggression, removing Moscow...
(JNS) — The suppression of pro-Israel views on campus has been a troubling development in the ongoing cognitive war against Israel. Now, the silencing of pro-Israel voices even appears in college newspapers. This week, the University of Chicago’s student newspaper, The Chicago Maroon, followed that ignoble path by violating journalistic and free speech ideals in retracting an op-ed written by two students, “We must condemn the SJP’s online antisemitism,” who questioned the tactics and ideology of members of the university’s chapter of Students...
(JNS) — I know many Jews from the older (than me) generation whose response to political issues was: “Is it good for the Jews?” The younger generations viewed this as myopic and anachronistic. Elderly Jews were particularistic; the younger “enlightened” Jews were universalistic. Many conservative Jews of all ages have become increasingly like their grandparents. Throughout the Trump administration, they could set aside his transgressions because he was in their view the most pro-Israel president in history. Dayenu. Now we have the controversy o...
I had not even left the parking lot of Ben Gurion airport Thursday when I learned there had just been another terrorist attack that morning. The fourth in a week. This one took place near my home, on a bus that my kids use often. A Palestinian Arab terrorist boarded, carrying a screwdriver, and stabbed a 28-year-old man before being “neutralized” by another passenger with a gun. It’s understandable that you might not be aware of this specific attack, or what’s being called the recent “wave” of terror attacks in Israel. It’s not Ukraine, and...
Are we perpetually enslaved to our inner doubts, despair and anger? It is hard to sing the song of freedom when we do not feel free. So often it feels as though the sea will never split. Because inside every one of us there is a Pharaoh and he will not let us go. He holds us down and mocks our hopes. He laughs and tells us that we are slaves and we will always be slaves. That there is no other life for us than the one we have. He points to the wasted, ruined efforts of our past and tells us that we must continue to waste our lives building...
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. Congr...
(New York Jewish Week) — This Passover, the New York Jewish Week is partnering with the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan for their first-ever Virtual Passover Film Festival. The online-only event will feature eight Jewish and Israeli films that touch on themes of Passover, including redemption, miracles and keeping traditions. From Thursday, April 14 — the evening before Passover begins — though April 24, the films will be streaming nationally and on-demand. The New York Jewish Week and our partner site, My Jewish Learning, are providing suppl...
Michael - the JCC Welcome Center and Jewish Academy of Orlando At the JCC, Michael's upbeat personality and gregarious nature make him the perfect fit for working in the Welcome Center. Michael greets everyone he sees in the JCC lobby. He helps with data entry, keeping the glass entry doors free of handprints, scanning documents, and other office duties. At the Jewish Academy, Michael works as an assistant in the library. He helps to reshelve returned books, label and stamp new books, gathers...
(World Israel News) - Two of the fatalities from Thursday's terror attack in Tel Aviv were identified as childhood friends Tomer Morad and Eytam Magini. They had arrived early at Ikla Bar on Tel Aviv's Dizengoff St. on Thursday night to celebrate Magimi's engagement to Ayala Arad. Both were buried in Kfar Saba's Pardes Haim Cemetery on Sunday. "In this house, where we are now mourning, there was supposed to be a party this evening," Lia Arad, Ayala's mother, told Walla! News. "They met by...
PACHUCA, Mexico (JTA) - Like other Jews around the world, Alegra Smeke turns to traditional foods during Passover. For her that means Syrian dishes with a side of salsa. Smeke is a chef and former president of a Zionist women's group who lives in Mexico, which has long been a hub of culinary fusion. Immigrants, conquering forces and other cultural influxes have left their mark on the country's diverse cuisine over hundreds of years and in return incorporated local flavors and ingredients into...
In a few short weeks, the excruciating, pandemic-prolonged wait will be over: Season two of "Russian Doll" is finally dropping on Netflix on April 20, 2022. According to some new and exciting teasers, it seems that the wait will have been well worth it for Jewish fans. In a recent profile of Natasha Lyonne for the New Yorker, reporter Rachel Syme explains that some of the new "Russian Doll" will include time travel, writing: "Through seven episodes, parts of which were filmed on location in Buda...
(JTA) - Growing up in Iran, I never truly appreciated the difference between spring cleaning, New Year's and getting ready for Passover. The Jewish holiday takes place almost simultaneously with the Persian New Year, known as Nowruz, when the whole country engages in a frenzy of preparations. Nowruz (A New Day), which marks the beginning of spring, is Iran's most festive and colorful holiday. Persians, Jews, Muslims, Zoroastrians and even Bahais all purchase new clothes, make traditional...
