Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Leah Golub, daughter of Craig and Stephanie Golub of Altamonte Springs, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on May 18 at Congregation Beth Am in Longwood. Leah is in the seventh grade at Milwee Middle School where she is part of the Engineering Magnet program. Leah is involved with volunteering at Beth Am’s Sunday School. When not in school or at Beth Am she is with her friends, family or taking a dance class at Starving Artist. Leah shares her bat mizvah with her parents, her sister J...
Oy vay… ”Oy Vay”! That expression really describes how I feel. I’ve written about the terrible increase in anti-Semitism in Europe recently. Now I find that the trend seems to be surfacing in America as well! I’ve described in this column what my childhood was like in the very poor and very tough section of Brooklyn called Red Hook, where, with my family, I lived in the section’s low rent project for folks on welfare. I told how I was beaten daily because I was Jewish. I was only 5 or 6 years...
NEW YORK (JTA)—May is Jewish American Heritage Month, a commemoration first recognized by President George W. Bush in 2006. Since then, hundreds of programs have taken place nationwide annually to honor the rich contributions of Jews to American culture and society. President Obama added to the annual festivities by launching an annual White House bash. But this year’s party was canceled because of the sequester. Not to worry: In anticipation of the big month, we’re suggesting 31 activ...
Iran calls for Arab countries to unite against Israel JERUSALEM (JTA)—Iran called on the countries of the Middle East to unite against Israel in the face of an attack on Syria. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the countries of the region should stand together against the “assault,” the Reuters news agency reported, citing the Iranian Fars news agency. Syrian state media accused Israel of the early Sunday morning attack on what it identified as the Jamraya milit...
As the director of a shelter for victims of domestic abuse, Naomi Taffet sees a lot of women in tears. But once a year, for Mother’s Day, she has a chance to witness what she calls “happy tears.” That takes place when Taffet, executive director of CHANA-Counseling, Helpline & Aid Network for Abused Women in Baltimore, delivers a large bouquet of Mother’s Day flowers, courtesy of Jewish Women International (JWI), to the CHANA safe house. Through its Mother’s Day Flower Project, which for 15 ye...
Amy Winehouse Street NEW YORK (6NoBacon)—Amy Winehouse’s name may live on in the streets of her hometown—literally. Residents near the late singer’s old London neighborhood have been asked to brainstorm names for roads in an area being redeveloped for housing. Winehouse fans are voting for Winehouse Street, reports the Sun. Her family is understandably psyched. “To think that our surname would be indelibly linked with London through the naming of a street after Amy is remarkable,” said Mitch...
NEW YORK (JTA)—With its tradition of dairy meals, Shavuot is one of my favorite holidays. Arriving later in the spring—an ideal time to find delicious fruits, herbs and vegetables—it’s perfect for using fresh and seasonal ingredients. The four dishes I have selected for a Shavuot menu not only are perfect for dinner or lunch, they also reflect my philosophy on eating well: good planning, portion control and nutrition. Each dish can be prepared in advance, is not too difficult to make and doe...
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—On Shavuot, we celebrate being given the Five Books of Moses by opening the gift and reading from the scroll. But first we need to find the place. How do we find our place in the Torah? Newbies to the ways of a Torah scroll will soon realize that unlike the mass-produced technological marvels that bring order and wonder into their lives, this handmade inspiration comes without an operating manual. As I discovered the first time I tried to find my place, the perfect columns o...
ISTANBUL—As visitors heave open the thick, vault-like metal door to the Neve Shalom Synagogue on a discreet side street in the Galata neighborhood of European Istanbul, a skittish guard confronts them. Guests are shuttled through secure, windowless rooms to an X-ray machine and metal detector. Pockets are emptied and passports surrendered. The guard questions the reason for the visit and the guests’ ethnicity. He then determines whether they can be allowed through. It’s hardly a welcoming experience, even as the city’s largest and most symboli...
PORTLAND, Ore. (JTA)—It’s brunch time at Mother’s Bistro & Bar and owner-chef Lisa Schroeder has a small crisis on her hands involving the accidental defenestration of a busboy. Moments earlier, a server had tripped and gone flying through one of the restaurant’s large picture windows. Shattered glass covered the pavement outside, where the hapless staffer was being treated for a nasty gash by an ambulance crew. Meanwhile, dozens of undeterred diners were waiting to be seated. “What’s...
PORTLAND, Ore. (JTA)—Jessica Bettelheim, a business ethics lecturer at Portland State University and a young Jewish mother, has little time to spare on weekends. Like other professionals her age, she’s busy bonding with her husband and 4-year-old daughter, meeting friends at one of Portland’s many fine restaurants or gardening, a favorite pastime in this verdant metropolis known as the City of Roses. So when Bettelheim received an email from the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland last month...
After the United States revealed that it now believes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against rebel forces, the Israel Air Force reportedly struck a Syrian chemical weapons site near Damascus last weekend. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group posted a video of smoke rising from a chemical weapons site that it claims Israeli jets struck last Saturday, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported. FSA said the jets flew over the palace of Assad before the strike, and that a...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A same-sex Israeli couple struggling against U.S. immigration laws are set to become the faces of the fight to extend one of the foundations of immigration policy to gays and lesbians. Adi Lavy and Tzila Levy have been caught in the bureaucratic red tape of the American immigration system since Lavy, who suffers from a kidney ailment, arrived in the United States in 2011 to seek treatment. The couple, whose New York marriage is not recognized by the federal government, have b...
