Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 24 of 24
Ancient Hebrew scrolls were on display at the Jewish Heritage Festival held in Daytona Beach on April 6. These scrolls were created as early as the 16th century and were compiled from countries all over the world including Poland, Iraq, Morocco and Russia. This collection was brought here and shared by the Christian Heritage Foundation from Cleburne, Texas. For more photos of the Jewish Heritage Festival see page 8....
In August 2012, a Christian and a Jew bumped into each other in Brighton, the languid seaside resort on Britain's south coast that has become the hub of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) protests at the local Ecostream store. The Israeli-owned shop has attracted weekly demonstrations from the BDS crowd, angry that products made over the Green Line should be sold in the United Kingdom. Simon Cobbs, a passionate Zionist who had lived in Israel for three years by the time he was 17, was...
"Elaine Gamson is an extraordinary woman who has tirelessly supported the Orlando Jewish community over the past 50 years," said Nancy Ludin, executive director of the Jewish Pavilion. "We are thrilled to honor her at our annual 'Spring into Fashion' show on May 1st for holding the Jewish Pavilion and its mission close to her heart, and generously offering her time to enhance the lives of our seniors." Elaine Gamson (nee Gaeser) is a member of the Pavilion's board of directors, as well as an...
The Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation (SOJC) will honor the lives and memories of victims and survivors of the Holocaust at a Yom Hashoah commemoration open to the public on Sunday, April 27, at 11 a.m. at SOJC, 11200 South Apopka Vineland Road, Orlando, FL 32836. As part of the commemoration, Holocaust survivor Herman Gluck, 88, will be interviewed. Gluck is one of the 40 survivors featured in the Holocaust Memorial at Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation displayed in the synagogue's lobby...
After facing growing pressure from faculty members, students, and an outside Muslim advocacy group, Brandeis University said that it is rescinding its decision to award an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a women's rights activist and critic of Islam, over her "past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values." But in light of the school's past decisions to honor American playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner and South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, who have both...
WASHINGTON (JTA)— The suspect in deadly shootings at two Jewish institutions in suburban Kansas City made no secret of his hateful views, but nobody anticipated the attack that claimed three lives on April 13. The shooter was identified as Frazier Glenn Miller, a 73-year-old white supremacist. The attack illustrates the dilemma of how best to protect Jewish institutions from the threat of deadly violence by extremists acting alone. “Lone wolves are really by far the most dangerous phenomenon. They are vastly more difficult to stop in adv...
(The Algemeiner)—Alumni of Vassar College, an elite, liberal arts school in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., struck back against the rising anti-Israel tide on campus, protesting in a widely-read letter to the campus newspaper against recent moves by a group of faculty and students to vilify the Jewish state and intimidate pro-Israel voices. The open letter, initially signed by 66 alums, was printed by the Miscellany News, the campus newspaper of record since 1866, and quickly attracted dozens of comments from alums worldwide who agreed with the content o...
The best way to decide if a Hebrew school is the right fit is to see it in action. Congregation Ohev Shalom Hebrew school will be holding an open house for any prospective Hebrew school families on Sunday, April 20 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Prospective students may spend the day or part of the day in class with their peers. Parents may sit in on classes and talk to education committee members and staff. Interested families may come for the entire day or part of the day. Congregation Ohev Shalom...
Beginning with the 2014-2015 school year, the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando will begin offering a voluntary pre-K program as a part of its Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center. VPK is a free prekindergarten program for 4-year-olds who reside in Florida and were born on or before Sept. 1 each year. The JCC's Jack & Lee Rosen Southwest Orlando Campus has offered VPK since it opened its new facility several years ago. The daily three-hour program will be offered both...
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2014 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented in August at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. “For more than 25 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 Nina Oppenheim. Former recipients have...
Congregation Ohev Shalom's Men's Club and Boy Scout Troop 641 joined together in hosting a carwash fundraiser for the benefit of the Troop on Sunday, April 6. The donations received will be used to purchase Scout shirts for the boys and leaders attending summer camp in the North Georgia mountains. Troop 641 is the only Jewish Troop in Central Florida and we meet on Sundays at the JCC in Maitland. Boys who are in the sixth through 12th grades (or 11 to 17 years of age) in the Altamonte Springs,...
Giants did exist, at least at one time. Trust me, I know. And I’m not referring to dinosaurs, or childhood fantasies or fairy tales or even NBA players. I’m talking about giants. I grew up with them, and now one of the last great ones has passed away. There are many who consider my father a giant, and in some ways, in this community, he was. A builder of institutions. A leader. A visionary. But he was my father, and as such I saw and understood his failings and foibles and missteps as well as...
John Kerry’s peace process is dying. Or it was born dead, despite having parents who praised its prospects. The fault is not Israel’s, nor Palestine’s, but John Kerry’s. Or maybe Barack Obama’s, due to his appointing a visionary for a job that is supposed to be serious. Kerry’s various ideas join the collection amassed since the 1930s, resembling the jumble of the Jewish graveyard of Prague, with stones leaning one on the other and hardly room to set foot among them. An item in the Washington Post called the process a fool’s errand. Israe...
Many Islamic leaders have repeatedly stated loud and clear that Islam will dominate the world. To achieve this goal, where Muslims migrate, frequently their leaders foster isolation from the native population. In these enclaves, or zones, they look to establish and enforce Sharia instead of the law of the land. Believe it, because it is happening here in the U.S. as well as the entire world. To understand what can and is happening here in the U.S. we are well advised to look at what has happened in countries such as France and England....
As its next ambassador to the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Iran has appointed a man who participated in the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979. The decision has been met with outrage—and rightly so. “Unconscionable,” said U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), who has introduced legislation that would prevent a U.N. ambassador from entering the United States if that ambassador is a known terrorist. “A slap in the face,” said U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). “A disdain for the diplomatic process,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY)....
On March 31, I attended a disturbing lecture at Washington University in St. Louis. It was co-sponsored by St. Louis Hillel at Washington University and J Street U. The speaker, a former Israeli soldier with the group “Breaking the Silence” (BtS), misrepresented and demonized the Israel Defense Forces, Israel, and Israeli policy. BtS is known for bringing in speakers like this, so I could not understand why Hillel and J Street U had sponsored a talk whose only purpose appeared to be to misinform audiences and instill hostility towards Isr...
The controversy over the Harvard University students who recently posed, smiling, at Yasser Arafat’s grave sent a shot of pain through every one of us who has lost a loved one in the terrorist attacks that Arafat and his allies have waged over the years. But it must have been particularly awful for Dr. Alan Bauer, a Harvard-educated scientist, to see students from his own school smiling and enjoying their visit to the tombstone of the man responsible for the vicious attack that left Bauer and his 7-year-old son permanently maimed. Bauer and h...
(JNS.org) A group of 12 current and former Jewish student leaders at Connecticut-based Wesleyan University announced that the Hillel International-affiliated Wesleyan Jewish Community has rejected the Jewish campus umbrella’s Israel guidelines. Hillel’s standards of partnership state that it “will not partner with, house, or host organizations, groups, or speakers that as a matter of policy or practice: Deny the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders; Delegitimize, demonize, or apply a dou...
Hadassah of Williamsburg is having an installation of officers on Wednesday, May 14, at Montpelier Clubhouse, 10500 Mormon Drive, in Williamsburg. Susan Livingstone will be the installing officer. Members, associates and guests are cordially invited to attend to honor the outgoing officers and give good wishes to the newly installed ones. This is the last meeting until fall. Refreshments will be served. Please come to enjoy the afternoon with friends and make new ones. For further information, please call: Sylvia at 407 370-4812 or Helene at...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 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 Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, APRIL 18 Ahavas...
Phil Baum, who joined the American Jewish Congress after college and helped steer the advocacy organization’s growth in membership and influence until he retired as executive director in 2002, died in his sleep on March 27 at his Riverdale home. He was 94. Mr. Baum, who became the organization’s top professional leader in 1994, served the AJCongress during the decades when it ranked among the most effective voices for Jewish interests in the United States. It played a prominent role is such issues as pro-Israel advocacy and Soviet Jewry; it...
Four U.S. Army liberators who were at Buchenwald, Dachau and nearby camps, as well as the Gardelegen massacre of Jews; Christian political prisoners and Christian Allied POWs will speak as part of Temple Shalom by the Villages’ annual Interfaith Holocaust Remembrance event. The event will be held at St. Timothy Catholic Church, 1351 Paige Place, Lady Lake, FL 32159 (The Villages Florida, Spanish Springs) on April 29 at 4 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.). Admission is free. The guest speakers, eyewitnesses to history, are all in their 80s and 9...
Joe and Lynn Goldovitz and company will present a concert in conjunction with Congregation Sinai. “Do you Remember?, A little bit of Jewish Soul A Whole Bunch of Rock and Roll—Music from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s” will be held at the Clermont Community Center, 629 Montrose St., Saturday, April 26, at 7 p.m. Ticket price is $18 per person and can be ordered online at www.congregation-sinai.org and click on Goldovitz concert or purchased in person. For more information, call Gwen at 352-243-4890. To view flyer, and to purchase tickets online.go t...
On a balmy Sunday afternoon, hundreds of folks made their way to the Jewish Heritage Festival, held at the News-Journal Center in Daytona Beach. There were children’s activites, Noah’s Landing petting zoo, Masada rock climbing wall, matzoh making, an IDF obstacle course and camel rides. There was Klezmer, Israeli and swing music, as well as an array of Judaic artwork and exhibits. Two of the most significant items on display were the ancient Torah scroll that was hand written on deerskin by three scribes in the 15th century, and the array of...
