Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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WASHINGTON (JTA)—Susan Rice has said that a “huge” portion of her work at the United Nations was defending Israel’s legitimacy. Her new job will likely be no less Israel-centric. President Obama named Rice June 5 his national security adviser and replaced her at the U.N. with Samantha Power, one of his top White House advisers. Rice succeeds Tom Donilon, who has been in the post since 2010. Rice has scored mostly high marks from Jewish groups for her defense of Israel at the United Nations...
Samantha Power, President Barack Obama’s replacement for Susan Rice as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, has a history of controversial comments about Israel, reigniting concerns regarding the Obama administration’s support for the Jewish state that were raised after the nomination of Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Morton Klein, national president of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), told JNS.org last Wednesday that a look at the list of Obama’s nominees and appointments to po...
Every morning Max, a kindergartner at the Jewish Academy of Orlando, would make sure his mother was awake by 6 because he didn’t want to be late for school and his morning ritual: greeting Lynne Shefsky, who had been head of school at the JAO for eight years. At 7:30 a.m. Max would be one of the first students in line to enter the school. “He would stand right by my side,” says Shefsky, “and if I were with someone else, he would wait patiently until he had a chance to say ‘Good morning,...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Israel’s settlement building is increasingly isolating the country in Europe, leading to European Union policies that could reinforce Israel’s delegitimization, according to the top EU representative to the peace process. Andreas Reinicke, the EU’s special envoy for the Middle East peace process, said increasing frustration with the settlement movement is leading Europe to adopt policies that single out Israel for punitive measures. In an interview June 5 at the EU’s Washington...
There is a “real possibility” that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “could survive Syria’s civil war and even prevail in it” against the rebels trying to topple him, Israeli International Relations and Strategic Affairs Minister Dr. Yuval Steinitz told a group of foreign journalists in Jerusalem on Monday. Steinitz’s comments reflect the recent turnaround in Assad’s fortunes, with success on the battlefield thanks to immense military aid from Hezbollah, financial aid by Iran, and diplomatic cover by Russia. The assessment also underscores t...
(JTA)—The year I unwittingly decided to become Christian started innocently enough. “There’s a sleepover at First Methodist on Friday and everyone is going,” I said to my parents. I was in the sixth grade, one of three Jews in class at our Texas public school. We lived in an area where there was at least one church on every block. It took us 45 minutes to get across town to temple, where we attended Hebrew school once a week. “So, can I go? Please?! I’ll die if I don’t go!” I begged, neglecting to mention that missing a social event where Cha...
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israel’s plans to move ahead with the funding of non-Orthodox rabbis appeared to be a landmark achievement for Reform and Conservative leaders, who have long chafed at their second-class treatment by the Israeli government. But even as they welcomed last week’s news that the Ministry of Religious Services was revamping its policies to permit non-Orthodox rabbis to receive government-funded salaries, Reform and Conservative leaders were cautious in their optimism—and perhaps...
Jewish Family Services Orlando (JFS Orlando), the Winter Park-based non-profit, human service agency, announces its partnership with Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in providing its Kids Konnect Family Circle program to students and their families beginning August 2013. Participating Orange County schools will host licensed JFS Orlando therapists who will work on-site with school guidance counselors. The counseling program is geared toward students from homes that are experiencing family disruption or life-altering situations including,...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Maimonides and Cardozo Societies in partnership with the Holocaust Center played host to an afternoon with Dr. Perry Brickman. His presentation recounted his experience at Emory University’s Dental School as a Jewish student. After his first year, he received a letter ejecting him from the university. In 2006 he discovered by chance that 65 percent of all Jewish students in the dental school between 1949-1962 had been flunked or forced to repeat yea...
Each week Jewish Pavilion volunteers join with residents at Atria of Lake Forest to socialize and play mah-jongg. Mae Gitles says she enjoys maj and could play every day of the week. These dedicated volunteers have become friends with Mae while perfecting their game. They recently celebrated Mae’s 96th birthday along with their weekly game of mah-jongg. Without these volunteers, it is likely that Mae wouldn’t have a game of maj since many of the people living at area nursing facilities are not...
The Florida Region of Women’s League f or Conservative Judaism held its annual conference on May 19-21 in Sarasota. Temple Israel Sisterhood, which sent six women to the conference, received top awards. The theme this year was: “Sisterhood: Many Visions, One Goal.” At the opening luncheon award certificates were presented to sisterhoods which had met the requirements for the Jewels in the Crown Awards, which honor those sisterhoods that nurture and sustain Jewish life and vitality in their...
In a recent article in The New Yorker, John McPhee (one of my favorite authors) writes about the pain and difficulty of, not just writing, but writing well. He recounts all the work a real writer knows: the multiple rewrites, the problems with writer’s block, word selection, subject selection, the constant feeling that your writing is worthy of a second grade reader. And yet this is John McPhee, who teaches at Princeton and has written dozens of books about matters as diverse as tennis and nucle...
By Ira Sharkansky Among the unpleasantness that Israeli Jews experience is the awareness that Jews along with Arabs and others are demonstrating against Israel. Noam Chomsky’s involvement in persuading Stephen Hawking to cancel his appearance at an Israeli conference was a prominent example, consistent with Chomsky’s record and perhaps reinforced by his own denial of entry to the country as an undesirable person. There are Israeli Jews who have joined the Palestinians’ campaign of BDS (boycott, disvestment, sanctions). They fit the image of ma...
The nomination of Samantha Power for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations has drawn the Jewish community’s attention to her controversial 2002 remark about hypothetical U.S. action against Israel to protect Palestinians from genocide. But Power’s confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate is also likely to address a broader question: How can lawmakers judge her record on responding to genocide, when the government agency she has headed for the past year has no office, no staff, no phone number, and no public record of taking any action to...
By Laurence Morrell I have a confession to make. This may come as a major surprise to everyone, but I strongly support the concept that all Palestinian Refugees have the Right of Return. Now before you get your panties in a wad let me clarify the term Palestinian Refugees. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency, (UNWRA) is the designated agency to oversee the care of the Palestinian Refugees In the original U.N. Resolution 194, Article 11 dealing with the creation of the UNWRA, the definition used and accepted was “someone whose normal p...
An unexpected obstacle to efforts within the European Union (EU) to designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization emerged last week when the new Bulgarian foreign minister, Kristian Vigenin, stated in a radio interview that evidence connecting the Lebanese Shi’a organization with last year’s murderous assault on a busload of Israeli tourists in the resort town of Burgas was “not conclusive.” Vigenin produced no new evidence to counter the conclusion, shared by American, Israeli and British intelligence agencies, that Hezbollah was behind...
Dear editor: How could it happen that some Jews, young and old, could and would embrace an ideology and people that call for their own destruction? How could it happen that some Jews, young and old, call for boycott, divesture and sanctions of the only country, Israel, that would save them when they would be in danger of being killed in acts of Jew hatred? How could it happen that some Jews, young and old, care for the Palestinians more than their own people when the Palestinian charter calls for the destruction of Israel and all Jews. How...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 a.m. 407-354-3660. Congregation Ahavas Yisrael—Monday - Friday, 7 a.m.; Sunday, 8 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 Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, JUNE 14 Light Shabbat candles at 8:08...
The Jewish Pavilion is gearing up for its annual Fall Festival/Walk at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 27 at Cranes Roost Park. Participants will walk in the paths of those who walked before us. The event will be named in memory of Nancy Kobrin and Lynn Steinmetz. Festivities include a free breakfast, live entertainment, activities for children, a health fair, vendors, live entertainment and a walk. Co-chairs of the 2013 walk are Norma Ball and Toby Vandemark....
By Pamela Ruben Special to the Heritage The Pavilion Golf Society shot a hole in one for the elder community with a successful inaugural golf outing June 2. More than 70 golfers were in full swing at Alaqua Country Club for a morning round of golf to raise funds for the Jewish Pavilion and its Senior Help Desk. Sunday morning golfer and Pavilion member Hank Katzen noted, “Today’s all about spending time with family and friends, while raising money for a great cause.” This sentiment was secon...
Eleanor Raff, of Longwood, died June 1, 2013. She was 86 years old. Born in New York City on Aug. 29, 1926 to Albert and Mollie Benmayor, Mrs. Raff was the younger of two children. Her older sister, Lena Sami, remembers her as a quiet, well-behaved child who was a good student. She developed a fondness for literature and writing, which followed her into adulthood. Mrs. Raff grew into quite a beauty and many thought she resembled Joan Crawford with all her style and class. She married her first...
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando hosted its Annual Meeting, celebrating its 40th anniversary on May 28 in its Harriett and Hymen Lake Cultural Center Auditorium. The program included a year-in-review video, awards presentation and performances....
Happy Birthday to me… Today, Friday, June 14 is my birthday. It is also Flag Day, the official day when Betsy Ross created the American Flag. When I was just a young kid, I asked my mom why people waved American Flags on my birthday. She said it was to celebrate me! (Of course, I thought!) Would you believe that today I turn 35 years old? (How about 45?...55?...65?... seventy something? HELL NO! My cousin, BENNETT PRIETO, was also born on this very same day. We were always known as “the twi...
On May 18, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando hosted the J Ball at the Rosen Plaza Hotel, celebrating its 40th anniversary, and honoring Susan and Jerry Roth. More than 300 people celebrated at the party, which was themed to the 1970s in honor of the JCC’s 1973 founding. Over $145,000 was raised to support the JCC’s Marvin Friedman Scholarship Fund which provides financial assistance to allow people to attend the JCC’s preschool, summer camp, and after school programs. Major spons...
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—As the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” flies to an opening on Father’s Day weekend, we earthbound Jewish men have the superhero’s creators—Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, Jewish teenagers from Cleveland—to thank for setting such a super high bar. Especially if Superman, the ultimate immigrant, is a member of the tribe, as cultural commentators like Harry Brod in his book “Superman is Jewish?” maintain. Finally, then, we have an explanation as to why Jewish men are expected to f...
