Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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They escaped destruction by the Nazis, survived communism, and found their ways to new homes. This is a story of three Torahs that all have their roots in long-gone Czechoslovakian synagogues. Up until World War II, Czechoslovakia had a thriving Jewish population rooted in hundreds of years of interaction with its Christian neighbors. With the rise of Hitler, however, came the rise of antisemitism and The Final Solution. Throughout Europe, synagogues were burned and Jews were deported to...
The Men’s Club and Sisterhood of Congregation Ohev Shalom hosted an afternoon event on Sunday, May 22, to raise much-needed funds for Ukrainian refugees who have been forced to leave their homes and flee their country amid the ongoing war with Russia. Mark Stone, a long-standing member of the congregation and a mentalist extraordinaire, donated his time to present his comedy and ESP show “Mentalmania.” Stone astounded the audience with his uncanny ability to read minds, make predictions and “see” with his fingertips while blindfold...
Following a national search, The Holocaust Center has selected Talli Dippold, an educator and community builder with nearly 15 years of leadership experience in Holocaust education, as its new chief executive officer. She will start in that role on July 1, taking over from interim CEO Shelley Lauten. "Talli's knowledge of Holocaust education, teaching experience and personal ties to the Holocaust clearly demonstrate her alignment with our Center's mission, vision and goals making her a unique...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week at the 75th World Health Assembly meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, the Biden administration’s attempt to present 13 proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations that would empower the World Health Organization to unilaterally declare a “public health emergency” for any reason, failed miserably. None of Joe Biden’s 13 proposed amendments were adopted by the WHO. Rather than reducing the time frame, as Biden sought, the delegates agreed to extend the time for a member nation to reject an amendment from 9...
On May 27, Heritage Florida Jewish News employee Gil Dombrosky, along with his wife, Risa, and daughter, Karyn, attended a lecture on the Jewish History of Florida at the DeLand Regional Library. Sam Friedman, former director of Stetson University Hillel and now chief development officer of Shalom Orlando, presented the program. Some interesting facts presented were: • The first Jewish congregations in the state were Ahavath Chesed in Jacksonville and Temple Bethel in Pensacola, both claiming t...
Feeling burned out at work and need to take a day off for your mental health? Well, that break will deliver few benefits if you spend it in bed binge-watching your favorite shows or "doom-scrolling" online. Such activities are like "eating junk food" - it tastes good in the moment, but it's not good for you long-term. Instead, pepper your day with activities that are restorative but not stressful, such as taking a long walk outdoors or calling a friend or family member if you feel you've been...
Seniors living at home may forgo exercise. They may have limited access to the proper equipment and fitness programs and lack motivation. Senor communities offer a full range of gym equipment. They also offer a wide variety of classes such as chair exercise, yoga, weight lifting, dance etc. Daily on-site opportunities to improve mobility, strength and overall wellness make a world of difference. In a senior community, the support of friends may be a motivator as well. We all know that regular exercise is good for your heart and for weight...
Zionist Organization of America National President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Director of Research & Special Projects Elizabeth Berney, Esq. released the following statement: The U.S. State Department just clarified that the Biden administration is “committed” to opening an illegal “Palestinian” consulate in Jerusalem. This dashed the recent, previous sliver of good news, reported by The Times of Israel and Israel National News, based on statements from senior Biden administration officials, that the Biden administration had finally given up its...
At least 70,000 Israeli from all over the country proudly participated in the Flag Parade celebrating Jerusalem’s Day on Sunday night, ignoring Hamas’ threat to attack Israel. The Jerusalem Day celebrations, marking the victory during the 1967 Six-Day War and the reunification of Israel’s capital, include a parade in which tens of thousands of Israelis march with flags through the city’s center and then through the Old City while entering it through the Damascus Gate. In one of the most joyful and memorable marches in recent years, familie...
(JTA) — Jewish extremists shouted racist slogans and clashed with Palestinians during a heavily policed Jerusalem Day march, but there were no major injuries at an event that last year was among the spurs to a deadly conflict. Police said 50,000 Jews marched through the Old City on Sunday, Jerusalem Day, the Hebrew calendar anniversary of Israel’s capture of the area in the 1967 Six-Day War. A record 2,600 Jews visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, which is also the sight of a mosque enclave among the holiest in Islam. A num...
(JNS) — For the past three months, I have resisted the urge to write about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was just too disturbing. Covid wasn’t bad enough, so we needed a war too? War is ugly, cruel, terrible and barbaric. I have watched the genocide and devastation of Ukraine along with everybody else. I am sickened and distressed by it like everybody else. And I am most disturbed because I see very few diplomatic efforts to end the war. I ask myself, as Michael Goodwin put it in the New York Post, “Are we on the verge of sleep...
(JNS) — The May 24 slaughter of 19 children and two adults at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, provided fresh ammunition for the rhetorical and ideological battle over gun control. Combatants in this ongoing war tend to be diehards on the left and right. The former hold firearms and those who champion the constitutional right to bear them responsible for such horrific acts of violence. The latter hail the Second Amendment and support the National Rifle Association, which backs the right of law-abiding citizens to defend t...
On the day when the shooting happens, I finally unlock what some say is the most vital part of the American dream. My husband and I have a house in the suburbs now, big trees towering above — no picket fence, but a wide expanse of green and room for the pattering of tiny feet. As we sign the paperwork, we each take turns rocking our baby on our legs. This house is for our children. We say it over and over again. If it were just he and I, we would be content with the walls of a small Brooklyn apartment, with the city streets as a backyard. I...
(JNS) — Conspiracy theories cast a shadow over the 75th World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), as hundreds of health officials and diplomats converged on Geneva last week. One of the assembly’s key goals—to draft a new agreement that would “strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”—opened the U.N.-affiliated world body to accusations that it was attempting to usurp national governments’ powers to make health decisions. The conspiracy caught fire online as cultural, media and pol...
Dear Editor: Listening to the man who lost us Afghanistan along with the 13 dead American soldiers and the loss of 80 billion dollars in armaments, I felt sick to my stomach while he spoke at Arlington Cemetery on Memorial Day. The man has no shame. Hunter Biden’s lap top almost never existed with all the pornography and the evidence of the Biden Crime Family with Joe as the Big Man that we have a criminal speaking to the nation on this hallowed day. He’s not ashamed of what he’s doing to our nation to make it weaker than our enemies both...
Dear Editor: I had the opportunity to pick up the May 13, 2022 issue of Heritage. Not having read it in many months, I was impressed at the many articles, which were on top of critical issues facing Jews in America today. One article, however, raised more questions for me than it answered: “What do Jews say about abortion?” by Phillissa Cramer via JTA Cramer does not explain what overturning Roe v. Wade means. “Jewish women in dozens of states will almost certainly become unable to access care that they might well decide is required relig...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person minyans. 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. Congr...
(JTA) — In the summer of 2020, Gabe Kapler, then in his first season as manager of the San Francisco Giants, joined figures across sports in taking a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality. Now, two years later, Kapler has announced that he will not take the field at all for the anthem out of broad dismay over the United States’ direction, spurred by the mass murder of 19 children at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. “When I was the same age as the children in Uvalde, my father taught me to stand for the pledge of al...
(JTA) - A new super PAC led by "Black and Jewish" leaders has endorsed five Black Democrats who have positions that are friendly to AIPAC, the latest sign that pro-Israel donors are determined to stem erosion of support for Israel among African Americans. In its May 27 launch statement, first reported by Politico, the Urban Empowerment Action PAC does not mention Israel, instead saying that it "will support pragmatic, solutions-oriented congressional candidates dedicated to the educational...
Season four of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" was just as Jewy as the ones that came before it - with bar mitzvah scenes, lots of Yiddishisms, Jewish foods and contemplations about the existence of God. The Amazon Prime show about a Jewish standup comedian played by Rachel Brosnahan has consistently been one of the most Jewish shows on TV, despite the controversy about the fact that its star isn't a Jew. In almost every season, protagonist Midge Maisel visits a very Jewish location. In season two,...
American Jewish food is most typically defined as pastrami sandwiches, chocolate babka, or bagels and lox. But I am here to argue that the greatest American Jewish food may actually be the humble hot dog. No dish better embodies the totality of the American Jewish experience. What’s that you say? You didn’t know that hot dogs were a Jewish food? Well, that’s part of the story, too. Sausages of many varieties have existed since antiquity. The closest relatives of the hot dog are the frank...
(JTA) — A Pew Research Center survey released Thursday found that American adults are just not paying attention to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. A whopping 84 percent of adults surveyed said they have heard “not much” or “nothing at all” about the movement, which seeks to pressure Israel into changing its policy towards the Palestinians by promoting boycotts and economic sanctions. Only 5 percent of the surveyed adults — who were of diverse religious backgrounds — knew “some” about it, and only 2 percent st...
From the editor: Last week’s Heritage ran a Scene Around column from May 27, 2016. We do not understand how this happened, and we sincerely apologize to Gloria Yousha and our readers for any confusion about events that were posted in the column. The following is the column that should have appeared. What a surprise!... I’m referring to Frances Rose Shore … okay, you guessed it. “Dinah, is there anyone finer, in the state of Carolina” Dinah Shore, the fabulous singer! I never would have believed that Dinah Shore was Jewish, not in a million year...
Eighty-one Democrats from both the House and Senate sent a strongly worded letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday, urging him to pressure the Israeli government into stopping potential evictions of Arabs from an IDF firing zone. “We are deeply concerned that this relocation of Palestinian families from homes they have lived in for generations could spark violence, is in direct violation of international humanitarian law, and could further undermine efforts to reach a two-state solution,” wrote the Democratic lawmakers, hea...
MONTREAL (JTA) - In her 96 years on earth, Lilly Toth didn't get much of a formal education. Born in Budapest in 1925, the self-proclaimed spoiled brat often misbehaved and was frequently suspended from school. But instead of attending university in her late teens, the Holocaust survivor was literally running for her life - hiding with neighbors, surviving an attempted execution on the shores of the Danube, then working for the very fascist organization that attempted to take her life. Despite...
