Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 30
For the last 20 years, Scouts from Cub Scout Pack and Boy Scout Troop 641 have participated in the Annual Memorial Day Service at Woodlawn Cemetery in Gotha. This year the Scouts marched behind the Orange County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard in the opening ceremony. As the service began, Scouts handed out cold water to the Veterans, families and guests attending the event. During a special part of the service, the Boy and Girl Scouts handed out carnations to the widows of military veterans. For... Full story
The Rosen JCC will begin an expansion that will transform their current facility and programs with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 24 at 6:30 p.m. The expansion is two-fold: a 17,348 sq. ft. addition featuring a new theater/auditorium and enhanced youth wing, and an additional 4,769 sq. ft. area to be added to their award-winning Early Childhood Learning Center. Harris Rosen will be speaking at the ceremony, and light refreshments will be served. The auditorium will boast an elevated stage... Full story
This piece was written by Iris and Ori Ifrach, Rachelli and Avi Fraenkel, and Bat-Galim and Ofer Shaer, the parents of Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel. (JTA)-One year ago, our families were thrust into a nightmare beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Our sons, Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel, had been kidnapped while making their way home from school. For 18 (chai) days, we hovered somewhere between despair and hope while we prayed for their safe return... Full story
(JTA)-Given the long and storied history of the Holocaust film genre, it's unusual for a new movie on the subject to be lauded as innovative. But the new film "Son of Saul," the first by Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes, is being called just that. It also was one of the most widely talked about films at this year's prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where it landed the Grand Prix award for second best film. (The French film "Dheepan" won the top prize, the Palme d'Or.) "Son of Saul" stars... Full story
"We have given the best years of our lives to remember-to remember the tragedy of what happened... Now we are starting to see some light from all of our efforts." Such is the sentiment of Ilana Romano, widow of Israeli weightlifter Yossef Romano, who was murdered by Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists along with 10 other members of the Israeli Olympic team during the summer of 1972 Olympics in Munich, West Germany. That fateful event became known as the "Munich Massacre." Since then,... Full story
(JTA)-Two synagogues and the homes of countless Jewish residents were damaged in the floods that swept through Houston on Monday and into Tuesday, inundating homes and businesses, sweeping away cars and leaving at least five people dead. Houston, America's fourth-largest city and home to more than 40,000 Jews, was paralyzed when many of the canals that run through the city (known locally as bayous) crested after torrential rains soaked the city. Some 8-12 inches of water fell in a matter of... Full story
Congregation Sinai, in Minneola, had its first Mitzvah Day on Sunday, May 3. What a success it was! Mitzvah Day is a common event at many temples throughout the country. It is a day when congregants, both young and old, reach out to the community to give back. Since the meaning of "mitzvah" is a good deed, it goes along with Judaism's belief in "tikkun olam," repairing the world. Congregants met at the temple at 9:30 a.m. for a continental breakfast. People enjoyed the bagels, donuts, juice and... Full story
For the 2014-2015 school year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando introduced a new model of Jewish teen education in Central Florida: the Jewish Teen Education Network (JTEN). With the launch of this innovative program, the Federation successfully expanded the landscape of Jewish teen education, providing students with opportunities to learn about history, current events, culture and values from a Jewish perspective. JTEN began its inaugural year with three goals: give grants to area synagogues and agencies for specialized teen education... Full story
Rabbi Karen Allen will lead Congregation Beth Sholom in Friday evening services at 7 p.m. on June 12. An Oneg Shabbat with light refreshments will follow. The synagogue is located at 315 North 13th Street in Leesburg, with the entrance on Center Street.... Full story
The cemetery in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul neighborhood was bathed in the fading sunlight of a late May afternoon. Silently and steadily, the column of mourners wound their way toward an open grave, surrounded by glinting white headstones, inhaling the heady scent of the cypress trees that flourish on the adjacent hillsides. As the mourners came to a halt, a rabbi recited the Jewish memorial prayer, El Male Rachamim, his sorrowful tones punctuated by the crunch of the gravel underfoot and the gentle sobs of the family of the deceased. The m... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)—Let’s be clear from the outset: the BDS movement, the effort to support boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel, is sinister and malicious and is having a negative effect on Jewish students on some campuses and on the wider Jewish community. The origins of the movement lie in the highly organized and well-financed activities of anti-Israel activists who oppose the very concept of a Jewish state. They have cloaked their campaign in the language and imagery of human rights and looked to the efforts to isolate apa... Full story
It’s not easy. Perhaps it’s not wise, to comment on someone else’s politics. American officials, and lots of American Jews, especially those to the right and left extremes, often sound like loonies when expressing themselves about Israeli politics. Israelis have also blundered, at high cost. The greatest was Ariel Sharon’s certainty about the bridges he thought he was building with the Christians of Lebanon. We should remember Sabra and Shatilla, and everything else the Israelis did not get from the Christians. With all the appropriate reserva... Full story
As Jewish media far and wide started picking up on the story of this week’s devastating flood in Houston, which hit Jewish-heavy neighborhoods particularly hard, JNS.org has been (in my own estimation) conspicuously late to join the reporting. That is by design. I am both our editor and a resident of Houston, and in the days after the May 25-26 storm, the flood was a life event rather than a news story. But as I type these words on this Thursday (May 28) morning, while my local Jewish community continues to engage in inspirational relief e... Full story
The four hours of discussion on U.S.-Israel-diaspora Jewry relations was winding down as the dinner hour approached at the annual JPPI (Jewish People Policy Institute) Brainstorming Conference last Monday afternoon in Glen Cove, Long Island. That’s when the fireworks started. Most of the 25 breakout-session participants sitting around the table, Israelis and Americans, were board members of the Jerusalem-based global think tank, chaired by Stuart Eizenstat, former U.S. ambassador to the European Union. The people in the room included Mideast p... Full story
I always had a soft spot for the comedian Anne Meara, in large part because she looked a lot like my mother, of blessed memory. Similar cheek bones, the wide smile, a deep dimple in her left cheek. My mother was usually there, too, on her side of the striped love seat, when we’d watch Meara and her comedy partner and husband Jerry Stiller on a talk or variety show in the 1960s and ’70s—Carson, or Mike Douglas, or Ed Sullivan (where the pair were said to have performed 36 times). So it felt sort of personal when Meara died last week at age 8... 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
(The Nosher via JTA)-The hamburger, and definitely the cheeseburger, is arguably the most iconic American food. You would be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't love a good burger. But can the cheeseless kosher burger compare? In New York recently, gourmet kosher burgers have been all the rage. Three upscale kosher burger joints-Amsterdam Burger, Gotham Burger and, most recently Boeuf & Bun -- have opened in the past few years alone to much enthusiasm, and even some decent reviews. Still,... Full story
Bruce J. Parness, age 73, of Clermont, passed away on Friday, May 15, 2015, at Cornerstone Hospice of Lake and Sumter in Tavares. Mr. Parness was born on Jan. 31, 1942, in Providence, Rhode Island, to the late Frank and Claire Parness. He attended local area schools and graduated college with a master’s degree in engineering. He also served as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. On May 24, 1964, in Fall River, Mass., he married the former Lois Gitlin, his wife of nearly 51 years, who survives him. In addition to his wife, Mr. Parness is s... Full story
(ISRAEL21c)-Nepalese villagers now faced with massive rebuilding projects following the April 25 earthquake could benefit from the lessons learned by eco-minded builders in Israel's Arava desert. In preparation for future anticipated tremors, the Israelis are taking a unique approach to safe and environmentally sound construction rather than the more common, but expensive and less effective, reinforced concrete method often relied on to withstand earthquakes. Sitting a top the seismically... Full story
A potentially ugly row is brewing in the United Kingdom over an academic conference, due to be held at the University of Southampton in April, which carries the title, “International Law and the State of Israel: Legitimacy, Responsibility and Exceptionalism.” Given that a sentence construction like that one will leave most people with their eyes glazed over, let’s just cut to the chase here. The real title of this conference is, “Does the State of Israel Have a Legal Right to Exist? No, Of Course it Doesn’t.” Hence the growing volley of c... Full story
Holocaust memory... This is a new life-affirming perspective on Holocaust memory that I read recently in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. I pass it along to you omitting the many contributors to the book, because they were just too numerous to mention here: "Seventy years after the liberation of the Nazi death and concentration camps and the end of World War II, as the numbers of Holocaust survivors are steadily dwindling, their children and grandchildren have increasingly assumed... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Summer is almost here; I can feel it. Every time we get a warmer day, the women of New York City are giddy with sandal wearing and summertime accessories. The flowers are blooming, the farmer's markets have returned and the season of grilling is almost upon us. Growing up, barbecue sauce-slathered chicken was a staple, probably only because covering chicken in a sticky, sweet sauce was a surefire way to get the kids to eat it. But at some point I fell out of love with "BBQ... Full story
By Brian Blum (ISRAEL21c)-Did your cursor just vanish? That's not a glitch but a feature for Israeli fraud-busting startup BioCatch. Have you ever noticed that when you are visiting your bank's website or checking out at an ecommerce site, the cursor inexplicably vanishes and you have to move your mouse to get it back? This "trick" is part of how an award-winning Israeli fraud-busting startup is keeping users safe online. BioCatch calls the missing cursor maneuver and similar techniques it... Full story
ISTANBUL (JTA)-In the backyard of the Etz Ahayim synagogue in Turkey's largest city, congregant Yusuf Arslan hollers pleasantries as he mingles with other members of the small congregation. He needs to shout to be heard over the deafening sound of a sudden downpour hitting the blast-proof glass ceiling that stretches over the synagogue's spacious yard. Installed after Istanbul's deadly 2003 synagogue bombings, the shield is meant to prevent grenades from exploding in the complex should anyone hu... Full story
Latin gospel singer Ingrid Rosario, accompanied by a four-piece band, belts out impassioned ballads before a captive audience, hands clasped or in the air, eyes transfixed on the stage or closed in a meditative state. Is this scene from church? A Christian rock concert? Hardly. It's a prayer session at a staunchly pro-Israel event. The Jewish state was front and center at the April 28-30 annual convention of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC)/CONEL in Houston. On the... Full story
