Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando was honored with four prestigious awards at the JCCs of North America Biennial held March 28-April 1 in San Diego, Calif. Nearly one thousand people from the U.S., Canada, Israel, and countries in Latin America and Europe attended the meeting of JCC leaders and volunteers. The JCC won five awards: Zahav Award for Three O'Clock Throwbacks campaign Zahav Award for "We Need Funds" music video Kol HaKavod Award for 40th anniversary campaign Kol HaKavod... Full story
For one day in the spring, the humble falafel is all but forgotten as Israelis fire up their grills for some serious meat-eating. In that way, Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), which falls on the fifth day of the Hebrew-calendar month Iyar, is not all that different from its American counterpart, the Fourth of July. On this holiday, marking Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's announcement of Israel's independence at the stroke of midnight on May 14, 1948, you'll find musical and... Full story
Most programs begin with a dream, a wish, a need. The seeds of RAISE-Recognizing Abilities & Inclusion of Special Employees-were planted when Loren London and her husband provided a membership to the Jewish Community Center for her brother where he faithfully worked out in the gym. She noticed that he really enjoyed being there. The people were so kind and friendly to him. He felt at home. Then London thought, "It's such a shame. I'm having a hard time finding employment for my brother.... Full story
This past weekend, several UCF students discovered swastikas carved into a wall of the off-campus private apartment complex where they reside. While the complex houses UCF students, it is not part of the UCF campus. The story was carried by The Jewish Press, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based newspaper. And although it is horrifying to see, the incident is being considered by Orlando police as vandalism and not a hate crime at this point because the actions do not appear to be directed at any specific... Full story
Some 22,000 Israeli soldiers have died since the establishment of the Jewish state, including 40 soldiers between March 2013 and March 2014, according to the Israel Defense Forces. "We in Israel are fighting-and dying-on behalf of every Jew in the world... We are maintaining a safe haven for every Jew to escape to. Jews in the Diaspora live safer lives and hold their heads higher because Israel and its army exists," said Chantal Belzberg, executive vice chairman of OneFamily, an organization... Full story
GAINESVILLE—The Board of Directors of the University of Florida Hillel have appointed Rabbi Adam Grossman as the agency’s next executive director and CEO. Grossman, currently the associate rabbi of Temple Israel in Memphis, will begin the position in the first week of July 2014. The University of Florida Hillel serves one of the largest Jewish student communities in the world. “Rabbi Grossman is a dynamic, passionate, and energetic leader and we are thrilled to have him at the helm as we grow the University of Florida Hillel to be the premi... Full story
A 2014 Pew Study reports Christians are the most persecuted group in the world. In 2013, a Vatican spokesman reported 100,000 Christians are murdered each year. Churches are regularly burned in Nigeria, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Iraq. Christian pastors have been jailed and beheaded. Austrian human rights advocate and counter-jihadist Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff will be coming to Orlando to participate in a march against Christian persecution on May 17 at Lake Eola Park. Noting that radical Muslims typically use the canard, “first t... Full story
Ohev Shalom will be hosting a unique event open to the community. Join fellow art lovers for a little wine and browsing at "Art For Art" on Sunday, May 18, at 4 p.m. This event gives anyone interested the opportunity to donate art they no longer have hanging on the walls of their home or on display that others might want to purchase. Donors will get a receipt for their donations of art, and people coming to the event will have the chance to buy some beautiful things at the silent auction event... Full story
This Sunday, May 4, the Jewish Community Center's Jack & Lee Rosen Southwest Orlando Campus will host the fifth annual "Taste of the J" at the southwest campus from 2-5 p.m. The event will feature food samples from local restaurants, a sampling of the JCC's programs, as well as a camp fair. Some of the participating restaurants include Anthony's Pizza, BRAVO! Cucina - Family Italian Restaurant, Chef Paola's Gourmet Homemade Goodies, Doubletree By Hilton Orlando at Seaworld, Pammie's Sammies,... Full story
Watching a first-rate documentary a few weeks ago on Showtime about David Steinberg, the controversial but loveable Canadian-born comedian, actor, writer and director, brought back a flood of memories for me. Called “Quality Balls,” the 75-minute film traces his career from the mid-1960s, when he left his academic studies at the University of Chicago to join Second City, the legendary improvisational troupe; to his infamous “sermon” about Jonah and the whale on “The Smothers Brothers” show in October 1968 that resulted in CBS banning Dic... Full story
Let’s call it what it is. The U.S. has used its muscle to get Israelis and Palestinians to discussions that neither of them wanted. Both sides speak and deal with one another all the time. It’s part of living side-by-side, with pockets of one inside the other, and no clear boundaries. Arabs with Israeli citizenship ponder their identities and loyalties. Some Israeli Jews with more than one passport question the validity of Arab/Palestinian divided loyalties, without considering their own situation. What defies solution is a general agr... Full story
n 1906, Abraham Cahan was looking to boost the circulation of the Forward, the Yiddish daily that he edited. Warheit, a rival for the affections of Yiddish-speaking immigrants, had begun to publish letters from readers seeking advice. Not to be outdone, Cahan began publishing readers’ letters, but with a twist: He would answer them himself. Cahan was a novelist, a political activist, and an all-around man of letters. You might think that writing advice for the lovelorn or comforting lonely immigrants might have seemed beneath him. But Cahan h... Full story
CHICAGO—It is a familiar mantra following a hate crime: Representatives of both the targeted and other minority groups decry the attack as being not just against the victims, but “against all Americans.” At a moment when a particular community feels vulnerable, that principle affirms our nation’s noblest ideals, rallies solidarity among diverse groups and rebukes the criminal’s hate. This formula was invoked again following the killings in Overland Park, Kan., allegedly by an infamous white supremacist. The venues for the multiple murders—a... Full story
Imam Suhaib Webb was a happy man last Wednesday. The radical Islamist leader of Boston’s Saudi- funded mega mosque boasted that his Muslim community persuaded Brandeis University President Fred Lawrence to withdraw a Brandeis honorary degree from Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the courageous, Somalia-born humanrights activist who fled—and who campaigns against—the horrors radical Islam inflicts on women. Webb blasted out thanks to his tens of thousands of social media followers, to the Brandeis Muslim Student Alliance and to Brandeis Professor of Islam... Full story
Dear Editor: I read with interest your article entitled ‘Take the J-Street Challenge, it is an eye opener’. Every person out there has an opinion on this touchy/controversial subject—and here is mine. First, the biblical covenant made by G-d with Abraham in Gen 15:18 -21 spells out the land allotment and title to Abraham and his seed. In Gen 17:8 it declares that G-d would give the land to His people Israel for an everlasting possession and to be Israel’s G-d forever. There was no land covenants made with the children of Ishmael (Arabs)... Full story
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, MAY 2 Ahavas Yisrael... Full story
(JNS.org) President Barack Obama, whose administration already said it would deny a visa to newly appointed Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Hamid Aboutalebi, signed a law that bars Aboutalebi from entering the U.S. The U.N. headquarters is located in New York City. Aboutalebi was part of an extremist student group that stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, taking 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days. The law signed by Obama bars entry into the U.S. by any proposed U.N. representative who has engaged in espionage or terrorism... Full story
Bernard Berman of Lake Mary, passed away on Friday, April 18, at Florida Hospital—Orlando. He was 86 years old. Mr. Berman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on March 23, 1928, to the late Max and Sophie Levitsky Berman. Following high school he joined the U.S. Army and served in Europe in the Army of Occupation. During his working career, Mr. Berman spent many years working in the oil industry as an oil rigger. He relocated Orlando from New York in 1964. Mr. Berman is survived by his wife, Marjorie, of Lake Mary; and sons, Steve (Marisela) of Indian... Full story
Ivan H. Echelson of Winter Park, passed away on Thursday, April 24, at Winter Park Health and Rehabilitation Center in Winter Park. He was 83 years old. Mr. Echelson was born on Feb. 2, 1931, in New York to the late Morris and Rachel Fenster Echelson. Following high school he enlisted in the United States Air Force, serving for three years. After his separation from the Air Force, he went to college earning a degree in accounting and became a certified public accountant. In 1958, he married the former Ruth Gorfain, his wife of more than 55... Full story
Jean Kaufman of Longwood, passed away on Wednesday, April 9, 2014. at Chambrel at Island Lake. She was 96 years old. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she was born on March 9, 1918, to the late Samuel and Ida Hittman Puckman. Mrs. Kaufman was a homemaker, relocating to the Orlando area from Deerfield Beach in 2004. She was predeceased by her husband, Nathan (Jerry) in 2000 and her brother Al. Mrs. Kaufman is survived by her son, Martin (Elaine) Nuchow of Boynton Beach; and daughters Arlene (Barry) Ornstein of Orlando and Susan Weinstein (Edward... Full story
Leo J. Lichten of Longwood, passed away on Monday, April 7, 2014, at Village on the Green Healthcare Center. He was 94 years old. Mr. Lichten was born on Nov. 1, 1919, to the late Leo F. and Eunice Seiss Lichten in Alexandria, La. He enlisted in the Army Air Force and served in Europe during World War II as a glider pilot. Following the War, he began his career as a stockbroker, relocating to Central Florida from Macon, Ga., in 1960. Upon arriving in Orlando, he immediately became active in the Congregation of Liberal Judaism (now CRJ) serving... Full story
Belle S. Pfeffer of Sanford, North Carolina, passed away on Tuesday, April 22, at her residence. She was 98 years old. Born in Monroe County, New York, on July 31, 1915, to the late Samuel and Kate Rosenberg Schoenberg, she lived for many years in Orlando before relocating to North Carolina. She was a former member of Temple Israel and worked as a real estate salesperson. Mrs. Pfeffer was predeceased by her husband, David, in 1993, and by her daughter, Rosalie Dell, in 2004. She is survived by her daughter Rosalie Swartz of Sanford, N.C.;... Full story
ORLANDO-Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) on May 6, from 7 p.m. to 9.m., for a program featuring BillionGraves' chief technology officer, Brian Moncur, "BillionGraves and Beyond." The aim of BillionGraves is to collect images and the location of all headstones throughout the world before these valuable historical records disappear, and make them freely available to the world. This is a monumental task and not one that we can do alone. This is especially important... Full story
If a loved one was placed in a senior facility 10 years ago, there were sure to be great parties for Christmas, Valentine's Day and Easter, but there would be seen virtually no Jewish presence. No challah on Friday nights, apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah, potato latkes for Chanukah, matzo for Passover etc. Residents were not celebrating Shabbat or any of the Jewish holidays. Since 2001, the Jewish Pavilion staff and volunteers have been bringing Jewish culture to all of the senior living... Full story
ORLANDO—Jewish National Fund (JNF)’s Women for Israel (WFI) will host a fun-filled class of entertaining art instruction at The Scarlet Easel on Thursday, May 8 at 7 p.m. The evening will combine step-by-step painting instructions with music and wine, and participants will go home with the painting that they created. The cost to attend is $36 per person and will be accepted the night of the event. JNF Orlando intern Rebecca Fischer will share her recent experience on JNF’s Alternative Break, a weeklong trip of community service in Israel for J... Full story
