Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Late in the afternoon, an intimate gathering was hosted by the Jewish Pavilion and an assisted-living facility. There, Women of Faith gathered around the simple and beautifully adorned table to usher in and welcome the Sabbath. Prayers were recited over the candles, wine and challah bread. All shared stories of their faith, their families and expressed their gratitude. Upon conclusion... hands touched hands... all us felt the depth of our connection. The sacred space that we lovingly created was so peaceful, so powerful and so strong. It truly... Full story
Local resident and Congregation of Reform Judaism member Cindy Halpern's family memoir is unlike any other book I have ever read. Not only does Halpern tell her story of being the only "normal child" in her immediate family, her mother's memoir is told "through" Halpern. Both memoirs are brilliantly written in first person. "The Normal Child" begins with Halpern's memoir. She was the third child in a family of four children. The oldest, her sister Anita, had mild retardation and was cruel to... Full story
(JNS)-The coming month of May looks set to contain an unusual number of potential escalation points that could converge to create a highly explosive month. The Israeli defense establishment is dealing with several pending potential flashpoints, including an Iranian threat to revenge a missile attack on an air base in Syria that was housing several senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps officers; a decision by the Trump administration on whether to cancel or amend the nuclear deal with Iran; we... Full story
Compared to the week-long Festivals of Sukkot and Passover, and the grandeur or Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Shavu’ot can easily get overlooked. But, not only is it one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals set down in the Torah (although with Sukkot and Passover), Jewish tradition understands it to be the anniversary of matan Torah, the giving of the gift of the Torah at Mount Sinai. With those impressive credentials, Shavu’ot is the ideal time for Jews to gather as a community, just as the Israelites did at Mount Sinai. In addition to cel... Full story
Congregation Ohev Shalom has installed its new officers and Board of Trustees for the 2018–2019 fiscal year. Steven Hornik will serve a 2-year term as president; he is a professor at University of Central Florida College of Business. Rachel Gebaide will serve as executive vice president; she is an attorney at Lowdes Drosdick Doster Kantor and Reed. Other officers are Nancy Reichel, development VP; Nina Oppenheim, membership VP; Macy Kast, youth, family and education VP; Debby Gendzier, o... Full story
Instrumental in the formation of the Zionist Organization of America local chapter are (from l-r), David Meltzer, Dr. Daniel Layish, Executive Director of the ZOA Florida Chapter Sharona Whisler, and Joe Davis. Davis and Whisler are holding a limited commemorative stamp issued by the State of Israel in honor of ZOA's 120th anniversary in 2017. ZOA gifted the stamp to Layish. Plans are in the works for a showing of the film "The Fight of Our Lives-Defeating the Ideological War Against the West,"... Full story
It is that time of year once again when Heritage Florida Jewish News is putting out feelers for one outstanding person in the Jewish community who has given his or her time or talent or monetary gifts to better the Orlando Jewish community. Nominations for the 2018 Heritage Human Service Award are now being accepted and the award will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando on Aug. 7. “For more than 28 years, individuals who have made major, voluntary contributions of their talent, time, energy and e... Full story
Lisa Levine has joined the Jewish Pavilion as publicity director. A longtime writer who has served as editor of Seminole Magazine and managing editor of Orlando Magazine, Levine looks forward to spotlighting the Jewish Pavilion's important work in the community as well as the caring people and sponsors who contribute to its mission and the many people it serves. Levine has been an active member of Orlando's Jewish community since arriving more than 20 years ago, including as a volunteer for... Full story
The Jewish Pavilion in partnership with Jewish Family Services and VITAS Healthcare will offer year-round grief support. The Jewish Pavilion's next sessions will be on Wednesdays May 9 -June 13 at 10:30 a.m. until noon at Brookdale Island Lake, 160 Islander Court. Subsequent grief support groups will be sponsored by JFS Orlando in the fall and spring; and sponsored by Jewish Pavilion in the winter. While the groups differ, all are six weeks and explore grief through a "Jewish Lens." To sign up... Full story
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday spoke by telephone with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding the sensational revelations obtained by Israel's intelligence agency about Iran's dangerous nuclear development program. Speaking at the Ministry of Defense complex in Tel Aviv Monday evening, the Israeli leader unveiled a trove of more than 100,000 documents obtained by the Mossad, Israel's national intelligence agency, in recent weeks from a secret... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Three Jewish organizations are accusing the Zionist Organization of America of inappropriately criticizing them. And the ZOA is accusing one of them right back. On Wednesday, the various spats will have a formal hearing at a committee meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations, an umbrella association for Jewish groups. The Presidents Conference by-laws, according to the Forward, prohibit its members from attacking each other with "insults, ad... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Michael Twitty won the James Beard Foundation's 2018 Book of the Year award for his book on African-American Southern food. The James Beard Foundation announced last week that Twitty, an African-American Jew-by-choice, won the prestigious award for "The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Culinary History in the Old South." The book explores the history of soul food and its relationship to the larger category of Southern cuisine. In 2012, Twitty embarked on a... Full story
(JTA)-The father of Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 students and teachers killed in the shooting at a Parkland, Florida, high school in February, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the gunman as well as those it alleges failed to stop him, including a deputy who stayed outside the building. Andrew Pollack filed the lawsuit Monday in Broward County Circuit Court. He told the Sun-Sentinel newspaper that he was not interested in any monetary reward he would get from the lawsuit. "I just want... Full story
(JTA)—Last week, Shabbat couldn’t come soon enough for the Anti-Defamation League. On Wednesday, Starbucks announced that the Jewish group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt, seemed to have been demoted from top adviser to a supporting role in the coffee company’s day of diversity training. And on Thursday, the ADL apologized for the way it tweeted about an anonymous group, Canary Mission, that publishes the names and personal information of campus anti-Israel activists. I can’t make you care about the travails of a Jewish institution, but I’ll try:... Full story
(JNS)—A Pennsylvania high school teacher, who says he was deprived as a teenager, is now taking it out on his students—by lying to them about Israel. Sam Schindler, co-founder and history teacher at the Stone Independent School, a private school in Lancaster, Pa., explains in The Forward this week how the “truth” about Israel was hidden from him. His teachers only taught him about the positive side of Israel, he complains. “What was kept from me then were images of the occupation, of pulverized houses, of bloody civilians and of terrified... Full story
This coming week the United States of America will officially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The selected date, May 14, 2018, comes exactly 70 years after the declaration of the establishment of the modern state of Israel with its capital in Jerusalem. On May 14, 1948, the longing of the Jewish people for the return to Zion, memorialized in its prayers and literature for almost two thousand years, had finally become a reality. Within hours of its nascent existence the country was attacked by all the surrounding Arab nations whose... Full story
(JNS)—To Obama administration alumni and other detractors of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there was nothing all that new or noteworthy in his presentation of a treasure trove of Iranian nuclear intelligence obtained by the Mossad. While Netanyahu’s remarks contained dramatic revelations about a secret Iranian nuclear program and proof that Iran had been lying for years up to the implementation of the nuclear deal it concluded with the West, to the prime minister’s critics the speech was just another excuse to bash him for his styl... Full story
Dear Editor: The American Jewish Congress is very concerned by the emerging allegations that Iran historically continued to expand its nuclear weapons program and may continue to do so, despite its claims otherwise. We remain concerned that the Iranian regime is growing bolder and more dangerous, with catastrophic potential consequences for the region and the world. While we opposed the Iran deal at the time, we were happy to be proven wrong, but there are now worrying signs that Iran has been less than honest with the international community... Full story
Dear Editor: Thank you for including a quote from me about Henri (“Henri Landwirth dies at age 91,” April 27, 2018 issue). I had the honor of knowing and working with him for the years we spent in Orlando, and for some time afterwards. He WAS a unique and special Human Being. What I would like to add is that, very quietly, Henri made major contributions to support Youth Villages in Israel. When he visited them he always came back telling me that providing for needy children in Israel was something of which he was most proud. The world is a bet... Full story
Dear Editor: Have you ever noticed that it appears all of the reporting about the goings on in Gaza all come from the Gaza Strip? Also, all of the reporters seem to have Arabic names. Are you aware that there is no freedom of the press in Gaza? Thus, all of the dispatches are highly censored by the Hamas leadership. Nothing disparaging against the Palestinians is allowed to be sent out of Gaza to the free world. Thus, all we get is very biased reporting—fake news. What a shame. I’m sure if the Israeli wanted they too could provide cov... Full story
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) 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 of Orlando—Monday—Friday, 7:45 a.m.—8:30 a.m. Temple I... Full story
BERLIN (JTA)-In an unusual sight, the people lazing about or strolling down the paths in several parks here on a sun-drenched Sunday were wearing gleaming white kippahs. Seventy volunteers handed out some 6,000 of the satin yarmulkes in total at five parks in the German capital to counter a recent anti-Semitic incident targeting a man wearing the Jewish head covering. Three non-Jewish friends planned the event, dubbing it "Kopf Hoch"-literally "Keep your head high," or "Cheer Up." "It's always... Full story
Mr. and Mrs. Harry (Hank) Katzen of Orlando are pleased to announce the engagement of their son, Max David Katzen to Elana Rachel Rosner, daughter of Cantor and Mrs. Eugene Rosner of Havertown, Pa. Max is an analyst with PNC Realty Investors. He is a graduate of the Smeal College of Business at the Pennsylvania State University. Elana is a sales coordinator for Two Roads Hospitality at the Embassy Row Hotel. She is a graduate of the School of Hospitality Management at the Pennsylvania State... Full story
AMSTERDAM (JTA)-The debate about wearing a kippah in Western Europe returned only a decade or so ago, but it has nonetheless come to follow a rigid pattern even in that short period of time. The cycle-there have been dozens of such cases-begins with an anti-Semitic assault. It prompts a Jewish community official to warn congregants not to wear the Jewish skullcap in a certain area or at certain periods to avoid inviting further violent attacks. This triggers a wave of indignation that often exce... Full story
I recently heard from the Simon Wiesenthal Center... The Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced a political cartoon in Volkskrant, a major Dutch newspaper, for depicting Israel as a murderous bully celebrating its 70th birthday by gunning down defenseless Palestinians at the Gaza border. "For the last month, Hamas has deployed the people of Gaza, including terrorists, at the Israeli border in what it labeled as peaceful protests but in reality, they included firebombs, kites affixed with... Full story
