Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles from the April 28, 2023 edition


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  • March of the Living provides a powerful opportunity for Jewish unity

    Alex Traiman|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) - There are no words to describe a trip to the extermination camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The camps are surprisingly well-preserved and are a living testament to the most heinous crime in modern human history: the systematic extermination not just of every Jew, but of the attempt to annihilate every single one to the extent that shockingly detailed records were kept on so many of the 6 million killed. Visitors to the camps witness the cruelest of inhumane living conditions of the...

  • Distorted views of Holocaust on rise

    Etgar Lefkovits|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) - Holocaust distortion and trivialization and banalization are on the rise around the globe, even as outright denial is relegated to the fringes of society, the head of Yad Vashem said. The remarks come at a time when multiple European countries seek to whitewash their roles in World War II by highlighting the heroes among their countrymen while obscuring or outright denying the actions of collaborators who participated in the murder of six million Jews. "The good news is that outright Hol...

  • It's a date!

    Jackie Hajdenberg|Apr 28, 2023

    (JTA) — A matchmaker who says she has successfully paired 200 Jewish couples is the star of “Jewish Matchmaking,” a Netflix series that started streaming May 3. Netflix announced the series, a spinoff of its wildly successful “Indian Matchmaking” show, nearly a year ago. Now, new details that the streaming giant released on Thursday reveal that it will take place in both the United States and Israel and will feature people from a variety of Jewish backgrounds. Their guide will be Aleeza Ben Shalom, an Orthodox Jewish dating coach with a decade...

  • RAISE is expanding and needs more volunteer job coaches

    Christine DeSouza|Apr 28, 2023

    RAISE, a work and social skills training program for adults with disabilities, is excited to announce its recent partnership with the Rosen Hotels & Resorts and Joann Fabrics. Now, with more partnering locations, RAISE is looking to expand its enrollment capacity this fall. Currently, there are 12 RAISE employees and since each employee has two job coaches, there are 24 active volunteer job coaches this year. RAISE hopes to be able to accept up to 20 new employees in the fall cohort. To do so...

  • Nominations open for Heritage Human Service Award

    Apr 28, 2023

    Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2023 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 Dr. Edward Zissman. Former recip...

  • Jewish Pavilion helps commemorate Yom HaShoah

    Apr 28, 2023

    Several modern-day celebrations take place between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The first that occurs is Holocaust Memorial Day or Yom Hashoah. The list of survivors diminishes with each passing year, however, the importance of remembering remains alive within the Orlando community and specifically in the senior living facilities in the area. The Jewish Pavilion provides candles, flowers and a meditation to help those who want to take a moment and reflect on the horrors of this event...

  • Judicial reform talks resume in Jerusalem

    Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — Negotiations over the Israeli government’s judicial reform initiative resumed on Monday as coalition representatives met with counterparts from the Yesh Atid and National Unity parties at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Israeli President Isaac Herzog, who is mediating between the sides, said the talks would be “focused and rigorous” and cover all core issues. “The Office of the President continues to do everything in its power to encourage the sides to adhere to dialogue with the aim of bringing about a broad consensus,...

  • Netanyahu cancels appearance at US Jewish event in Tel Aviv hours before planned protests

    Philissa Cramer|Apr 28, 2023

    (JTA) — In a surprise move, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has backed out of his appearance at a major conference of U.S. Jewish leaders in Tel Aviv, just hours before a speech that was expected to draw mass protests. But in a sign that the conference organizers did not expect Netanyahu’s cancelation to head off the protests, Jewish Federations of North America told attendees that it was not changing the schedule of the buses bringing them from their hotels to the conference center. The group had told attendees to plan extra tim...

  • Jewish Federations 'deeply troubled' by federal judge ruling on mifepristone

    Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — The Jewish Federations of North America released a short video on April 9 proclaiming its opposition to a federal judge’s ruling two days prior to overturning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the “abortion pill” mifepristone. JFNA stated it was “deeply troubled” by the court ruling and said the FDA has deemed the drug to be “extremely safe and effective for over two decades.” The judge’s ruling “is counter to our policy priority that reproductive health should be protected and that everyone should be able to fol...

  • Speaker McCarthy to lead 20 Congress members to Israel

    Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) will lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to Israel later this month and become the second-ever House speaker to address the full Knesset, his Israeli counterpart Amir Ohana announced on Tuesday. Ohana described McCarthy as a “steadfast supporter and longstanding friend of Israel,” and noted that it would be the top Republican official’s first trip outside the U.S. since assuming his post in January. “This is a clear expression of the strong and unbreakable bond between Israel and its closest a...

  • This is how they'll shoot down Israel's planes

    Stephen M. Flatow|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — Amid the latest wave of Palestinian Arab terrorist attacks, international condemnations of Israel and assorted other controversies, a significant recent development has received scant attention—the attempt by Palestinian Arab terrorists to shoot down an Israeli plane. It happened on April 2, when an Israel Air Force cargo plane flew over the city of Jenin. Terrorists on the ground shot at the low-flying Hercules C-130J aircraft. Video posted on social-media networks was adorned with the boastful caption, “Soldiers firing on a Zioni...

  • It started with the burning of books

    Jim Shipley, Shipley Speaks|Apr 28, 2023

    There seems to be a zealous increase in the United States of the banning of certain books from both school and general libraries. From what I’ve read and researched it seems that the overwhelming reason for this is that certain conservative Christian groups have decided that the material in these books are “not acceptable” for certain groups, basically young readers. This may be so but I do not believe many books of any kind are taken out of libraries by 10 year olds. Their parents – yes. And I am sure that some of these books are indeed...

  • The Oslo Accords - still killing people

    Joseph Frager|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — We are fast approaching Sept. 13, 2023, which will mark 30 years since the Oslo Accords were signed on the White House lawn under the auspices of then-President Bill Clinton. It was one of the worst mistakes Israel has made over its 75 years of statehood. The Accords elevated arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat into a statesman, but he never changed his stripes. Israel has suffered immensely since Arafat and his minions were given diplomatic status and legitimized. Since the Oslo Accords were signed, at least 1,661 Israelis have been murdered...

  • Democratic poll numbers: Preview of the apocalypse?

    Mitchell Bard|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) Gallup’s headline was attention-grabbing: “Democrats’ Sympathies in Middle East Shift to Palestinians.” The trend has been clear and seemingly inexorable since support hit its second-highest level of 58 percent in 2014 (the peak was at the time of the 1991 Gulf War when support for Israel hit its high for the first time—64 percent —and Democratic support was 62 percent) and steadily fell to 38 percent in 2023. During that period, sympathy for the Palestinians increased from 23 percent to 49 percent. Meanwhile, Republican support has...

  • Remembering everywhere, forever

    Rabbi Yossy Goldman|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — My wife and I left South Africa for a trip to Israel on Tuesday. As we were going through the security checks at the El Al departure area, we suddenly heard the soft hum of a siren. There and then, in middle of the busy Johannesburg International Airport, a moment of silence was observed for Yom HaShoah by Jewish staff and travelers alike. Heads were bowed in reverence and memory before we got back to the business at hand. I found it a particularly moving moment. We Jews are somewhat obsessed with remembering. Memories are profoundly i...

  • The power of the human spirit

    Dani Dayan|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — The central theme of Holocaust Remembrance Day this year is “Jewish Resistance during the Holocaust: Marking 80 Years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.” Resistance encompasses a wide range of actions and, contrary to popular belief, does not necessarily involve taking up arms. Jewish resistance during the Holocaust could be a Shabbat Kiddush, staging a play in the ghetto, or even applying a little rouge to the cheeks—any action, simple or complex, that preserved the human spirit in the face of the Nazi German extermination plan that sou...

  • What's Happening

    Apr 28, 2023

    MORNING MINYANS 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. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy...

  • On display at Germany's embassy in Israel: Portraits of Holocaust survivors that seek to reclaim their stories

    Deborah Danan|Apr 28, 2023

    TEL AVIV (JTA) — The first time Gidon Lev encountered Holocaust denial was after becoming an unwitting TikTok star at the age of 86. “I was totally shocked. How could this be?” he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency about receiving dozens of comments accusing him of lying about the years in a Nazi concentration camp as a child. “If only I was a liar,” he said. “Then I would have a father, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles. I would have had a childhood.” With half a million followers on the popular social media platform and 8.3 million l...

  • A 'hidden gem on the Eastern Shore' revealed

    Christine DeSouza|Apr 28, 2023

    In the spring of 1959, Lawrence Golub and Roy Ans graduated from high school in Valley Stream on Long Island, N.Y., and chose colleges to attend. Golub and Ans had known each other from grade school. While Golub went to the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, Ans chose to attend Washington College - a very small college with only 500 students, and less than two percent were Jewish. The college, referred to as the "hidden gem on the Eastern Shore," was nestled in a very small town called...

  • Passover Breakfast during Chamber meeting

    Apr 28, 2023

    It may be hard to imagine but the staff at Jewish Pavilion pulled off a five-minute Seder at the Maitland Chamber Breakfast on April 13, the last day of the holiday. They used “My Very Own Haggadah” and breezed through it, skipping all Hebrew and songs. Participant of all faiths gathered for a delicious and comprehensive meal along with an explanation of the Seder plate. Special thanks to all of the wonderful cooks who provided a most delicious meal — Alex Lehrer, Nancy Ludin, Dale Danuf...

  • A Jewish teacher fights back against CAIR's persecution

    Steven Emerson|Apr 28, 2023

    (JNS) — Ibtihaj Muhammad made history as the first hijab-clad athlete on the U.S. Olympic team. But in court papers filed late Tuesday, a New Jersey elementary school teacher says Muhammad is also a liar. In a series of October 2021 social media posts, Muhammad accused veteran schoolteacher Tamar Herman of abusing a seven-year-old Muslim student by “forcibly” pulling off her hijab while “the young student resisted.” Herman insists this didn’t happen and contacted Muhammad to offer her side of the story. But when Herman texted Muhammad to...

  • Officials know heightened tensions are here to stay

    Lilach Shoval|Apr 28, 2023

    (Israel Hayom via JNS) — No matter how you look at it, the current escalation is here to stay. Even if the flare-up with Hamas in Gaza and in the north is over for now, the chances of a multi-theater conflagration fomented by Iran have risen significantly, and it is doubtful whether the genie can be put back in the bottle. The escalation on all fronts has also had Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah meet this week in Lebanon with Hamas leaders, with a photo released showing all three men sitting in a room under Iran’s Supreme Lea...

  • Insights from The Orlando Senior Help Desk: Home health care

    Nancy Ludin, CEO Jewish Pavilion|Apr 28, 2023

    Getting extra support at home can be a terrific source of relief. Agencies offer companion care such as CNA’s (certified nurse’s assistants or HHA’s Home health aides.) Normally, these individuals take a brief course on how to care for someone. Another option are skilled health care providers who have had years of schooling such as nurses, physical therapists etc. Normally, Medicare and Medicaid pays for some home care after a hospital visit. Most home care providers will assist with transportation, cleaning cooking, bathing, toileting, perso...

  • Historic flooding complicates the journey home for Passover vacationers

    Ron Kampeas|Apr 28, 2023

    (JTA) - Zachary Ottenstein didn't expect to bond with his dad over chess and classic rock during his trip home from Florida at the end of Passover. But when Ottenstein switched his phone on after the holiday ended last night, it blew up: Fort Lauderdale was flooded and flights out of the airport - including their flight to New York - were canceled. The city was underwater after the rainiest day in its history. He consulted with his dad, Matthew: They had enjoyed their Passover week at a hotel,...

  • Ari Aster calls his new movie 'Beau Is Afraid' a 'Jewish Lord of the Rings'

    Gabe Friedman|Apr 28, 2023

    (JTA) - "It's like a Jewish 'Lord of the Rings,' but he's just going to his mom's house." That's how director Ari Aster, known for his acclaimed horror movies "Hereditary" and "Midsommar," described his new film, "Beau Is Afraid," in a behind-the-scenes video released on Wednesday. Aster, who works with A24, the same studio behind this year's Oscars darling "Everything Everywhere All at Once," said in a 2018 interview that he is a "proud Jew" who "doesn't practice very actively," and his...

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