Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Schools across the nation have had to get creative with their commencement ceremonies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center in Maitland is no exception. The preschool, part of The Roth Family JCC, held its pre-k graduation on May 20 in the parking lot of the JCC, which remains closed to the public until June 1. A small gathering of families cheered on the graduates as they marched across the parking lot one by one, wearing face masks and obeying...
Even though the RAISE employees were furloughed along with everyone else during the COVID-19 lockdown, Loren London, RAISE director, and Rachel Slavkin, director of Employment and Education, decided to continue its weekly Lunch and Learn sessions via ZOOM, allowing RAISE employees to develop social and work skills they need to be independent and productive members of the community. The ZOOM sessions have also allowed the employees to get to know each other on a more personal level. Attending...
(JNS) - In honor of Lag B'Omer, a Jewish holiday commemorating the life of anti-Roman Torah sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the Israel Antiquities Authority on Monday revealed the discovery of a rare bronze coin from the period of the Bar Kochba revolt (circa 132 C.E.). The coin was uncovered during excavations in the William Davidson Archaeological Park between the Temple Mount and the City of David in Jerusalem. The excavations are conducted by the IAA and funded by the Ir David Foundation/City...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared an end to all agreements with Israel, including security cooperation, effectively turning over to Israel’s government the running of the entire West Bank. “The Palestine Liberation Organization and the State of Palestine are absolved, as of today, of all the agreements and understandings with the American and Israeli governments and of all the commitments based on these understandings and agreements, including the security ones,” Abbas said in a speech in Ramalla...
Even though his bar mitzvah isn't until October, Mason Moses, son of Andrew and Wendi Moses of Orlando, Fla., has been working hard on his Bar Mitzvah Project - ear savers to use with facemasks. Just what are ear savers? "Ear savers are little things that you put on the back of your ears to relieve the pressure behind your ears when you wear a mask," Mason explained. "We could not be more proud of all of his time, dedication and hard work. He has been busy printing ear savers for doctors, nurses...
Winter Park resident Pam Saffran and her three children know how hard it is to move forward after traumatic loss and the critical role community support plays in keeping dreams alive. The Saffrans have partnered with local nonprofit New Hope for Kids to award $2,000 college scholarships to four local students who experienced the death of a parent and demonstrated perseverance in the face of that adversity. The Dr. Alan J. Saffran Scholarship was created in memory of Saffran's late husband, a...
Jewish Pavilion seniors in long-term care received goody bags for Shavuot. The bags contained the message below along with information about Shavuot, cheese crackers, milk chocolate, cheese cake and coloring pages from Joanne Fink's Zenspirations....
(JTA) — His rise was meteoric and his fall just as sudden. Dr. Vladimir Zelenko, an Orthodox Jewish doctor who rose to fame in March while promoting a cocktail of drugs he claimed had successfully treated coronavirus — including one that President Donald Trump said Monday he is taking himself, despite the drug’s potentially dangerous side effects — has announced that he is leaving the Jewish community where he has practiced medicine for decades. In a video shared by the Orthodox news site Yeshiva World News, Zelenko announced he would leave Kir...
The COVID-19 pandemic has not changed StandWithUs’s mission but has led them to innovative and effective ways of continuing to meet its mission. Recent accomplishments include: • The StandWithUs Polak Social Media Department continues to be dynamic on all communication platforms as a source of information for millions of people each week, reaching over 28 million people. • Over 100,000 people have tuned into the StandWithUsConnect webinars covering a multitude of topics relevant to Israel, from Israel’s history to fighting anti-Se...
(Israel21c via JNS) — An immune system run amok may be responsible for some COVID-19 patients faring worse than others, suggests a new international study led by immunology researchers at Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science. In the study, published in the journal Cell on May 7 under the title, “Host-viral infection maps reveal signatures of severe COVID-19 patients,” researchers in the lab of professor Ido Amit introduce Viral-Track, a computational method they have validated to systematically detect viruses from multiple models of infecti...
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Palestinian Authority rejected a humanitarian shipment of medical supplies sent by the United Arab Emirates because it coordinated the shipment with Israel. The Etihad Airways flight that landed Tuesday night in Israel carrying 14 tons of medical aid to deal with the coronavirus was reported to be the first publicly acknowledged direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Israel. Israel and the UAE do not have diplomatic relations and there is no air travel between the two countries. “The UAE authorities did not coordinate with the...
(JNS) — Should Jewish communal organizations aim to achieve consensus above all or bear witness to the truth? Both in the Diaspora and in Israel, Jews are divided over politics, religion and worldview. These arguments, moreover, generally carry an emotionally fraught sub-text; that the opposing side threatens to undermine Jewish security and the existence of the Jewish people. This makes it even more difficult for Jewish organizations whose aim is to protect and defend the Jewish people from ever saying anything about contentious issues of t...
Coronavirus has shaken up the world to an extent not experienced since World War II. In an era when the word unprecedented is used constantly, we are living through a time that is truly unprecedented. For this reason, it is astounding that in a country where the majority of citizens believe in God, we barely hear the possibility that this pandemic brings with it a Divine message. No one can know with certainty what the message is. Yet each of us as individuals can and should ask ourselves: what is it that I can do better? Is there something...
(JNS) — A young Israeli soldier, Amit Ben-Yigal, was stoned to death last week by Palestinian Arab terrorists. The response of the American Jewish left was appalling. However, the response of the rest of the Jewish community wasn’t much better. Every Arab terrorist murder of a Jew is an outrage. But a death by stoning has unique implications that should merit additional comment and introspection by Jews around the world. Most Jews who are murdered by Arab terrorists are killed by gunshots or — as in the case of my daughter, Alisa — by bombs....
JNS) — If you think you’ve seen this movie before, you’re right. Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has declared that he is abrogating all agreements with Israel so many times it’s a wonder that he could do so again with a straight face. Indeed, he started making these threats as soon as he succeeded PLO chairman Yasser Arafat and has never really stopped during the course of the 15 years of his four-year term as leader of the P.A. The latest occasion for his usual theatrics is the possibility that Israel might extend sovereignty into p...
(JNS) — On July 1, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce plans to extend Israeli sovereignty over portions of the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) containing the vast majority of Israeli settlements. This territory comprises 30 percent of the West Bank. The remaining land, where most Palestinians reside, will be reserved for an independent Palestinian state under the Trump peace plan should the Palestinian people and its leadership choose to live in peace side-by-side next to the Jewish state. Although Israeli’s ant...
(JNS) — Cyber warfare is usually waged in secret. In a world where borders and geography are of no importance, the main challenge is to take action and cause damage without leaving tracks and risking reprisal. That is how all the players operate. The professionals are more successful, the amateurs, less so. According to a report released in the United States on May 21, however, Israel, a super-professional, changed the rules. Not only did it attack, but it also made sure that everyone knew it had done so. Not by mistake, or through o...
Heritage Florida Jewish News is accepting nominations for the 2020 Heritage Human Service Award, which will be presented at the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando in August. “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 Dick Weiner. Former recipients have inclu...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, all minyans have been canceled.) 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...
The RAISE program for adults with special needs is now accepting online applications for a limited number of fall positions. RAISE is a 6- to 12-month work and social skills training program offered through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando that is open to all faiths and provides paid employment at our partnering Jewish agencies. In addition, RAISE assists our employees in the transition to finding employment in the community. If you know a young adult who may benefit from RAISE or you are interested in volunteering as a Job Coach,...
Something was different. On Tuesday, May 19, in the spot where the Kinneret bus is generally parked, the Toasted truck took its place. By 10:30 a.m. there was the distinct scent of grilled cheese wafting from the truck. The Kinneret Council on Aging staff donned masks and gloves and lined up with carts to deliver a hot grilled cheese sandwich, tomato soup and coleslaw to all 301 Kinneret residents. The grill in the truck did not stop for 2 ½ hours, which is how long it took to deliver...
Jewish Academy of Orlando fifth graders presented the Living History museum during the school's remote assembly. The Living History museum concludes the students' study of colonial times and the class trip to Williamsburg, Virginia. Each student researched a person from the colonial time period and wrote a script detailing that person's life. As part of their project, they created a slide show with pictures and captions. They presented to the school dressed in period costumes. The following...
By Ben Sales (JTA) - Here's a story that would have been unremarkable until just a few months ago: A Jewish camp is planning to open this summer. Camp Modin in Maine has announced that it will open July 9 - two weeks later than originally planned - despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. And it has set out a detailed plan to make it happen. "COVID is something that's going to be with us for the foreseeable future," said Howard Salzberg, the camp's co-director with his wife, Lisa Wulkan Salzberg....
Chabad of Peabody (Massachusetts) will host a virtual historical evening with award-winning author, Holocaust survivor and psychologist Dr. Edith Eger on June 2, 7:30 p.m. She will discuss her book, "The Choice," a powerful, moving memoir and practical guide to healing which uses her past as an analogy to inspire people to reach their potential and shape their destinies. To register for this Zoom event, go to jewishpeabody.com. The suggested donation is $10....
Jill Goldsmith and her friendly seamstresses made and delivered many bags of facemasks to the Jewish Pavilion to be distributed to seniors in elder-care communities....
