Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
The battle for control of Ammunition Hill was one of the most decisive of the Six-Day War. After fierce and bloody fighting against Jordanian forces in the early morning hours of June 6, 1967, Israeli victory there led directly to the capture of the Old City and the reunification of Jerusalem after almost 2,000 years. A national memorial to the battle that took place there, Ammunition Hill is located in the present-day neighborhood of Ma'alot Dafna, just feet from the 1948 border with Jordan...
Sonya Baumstein's three-years-in-the-making goal to row across the Pacific Ocean, began and ended within one week. She arrived in Choshi, Japan, in April, her boat arrived in May, and she had been waiting for the weather conditions to be optimal. On Sunday, June 7, Baumstein made sure her supplies were intact, called her parents, Darrel and Debbie Baumstein of Orlando, and rowed out of the Choshi marina in glassy smooth waters. She hoped to arrive in San Francisco by September. She made it into...
One of the best and most affordable teacher trainings in the state is the Teachers Institute on Holocaust Studies, presented annually by the Holocaust Center in Maitland. This professional learning opportunity, now in its 20th year, offers area educators the information, tools and resources they need to effectively teach this very difficult subject. Although the $100 tuition charged is much lower than most seminars of its kind, the Center has long recognized that it still might be unaffordable...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority in the Supreme Court decision that will keep "Israel" off the passports of Jerusalem-born Americans, begins by calling Jerusalem a "delicate subject." Competing claims to the Holy City were not the only timeworn and sensitive issue the justices contended with in their 6-3 decision on Monday, which upheld the State Department's policy of not allowing Americans born in Jerusalem to list "Israel" as their birthplace. The Supreme...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-It's early days for the White House's latest charm offensive among American Jews, but a new poll suggests that the wooing effort is having little effect. The poll, published Wednesday by J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that generally backs President Barack Obama's Middle East policies, shows Obama stuck at the same mid-50s approval ratings he was registering in April, when U.S.-Israel tensions were prominently in the news. Jim Gerstein, whose GBA Strategies conducted the po...
Although Israel has been providing free medical treatment to Syrian refugees as well as Palestinians from the disputed territories and even from Gaza, the U.N. World Health Organization singled out Israel as the one country in the world to be condemned for violating human health rights. Saudi Arabia, which sits as a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council, sponsored the exercise in the absurd. If hypocrisy needed a poster child, the despotic and brutal regime of Saudi Arabia, which is currently...
Since its founding the Holocaust Center has provided a cultural season that includes world-class arts exhibits, important films, and community observances. With powerful images and poignant messages, these arts programs have been an effective vehicle to teach courage and acceptance, and to inspire each of us to value and nurture diversity in our community. The next art exhibit will be: Remembering Ravensbruck, July 6 - Sept. 25, 2015. Remembering Ravensbruck highlights the unique experiences of women in the Holocaust. Every Jew who was...
All ladies in the community are invited to "Torah & Tea," a world-wide network of women's study groups that combines warm camaraderie with a weekly Torah insight, dedicated in loving memory of Rashi Minkowicz OBM. Here in Orlando, Torah & Tea has been initiated by a few women in the community who want to bring an infusion of excitement and inspiration to women's otherwise busy schedules. The group will meet every Tuesday morning, 9:30-10:30 a.m. in the Conference Room at the Chabad Center of...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center is again partnering with the Interfaith Council of Central Florida with a new adult education series “Understanding Our Tapestry of Faiths.” Meetings will be held on four Wednesdays: July 15, 22, 29 and Aug. 5, and each session will run from 2 - 3:30 p.m. Each session will feature representatives of two faith communities . Each speaker will have 20 minutes to present, and 45 minutes will be devoted to questions and discussion . The series will be structured to encourage open discussion. Spe...
The membership committee of Temple Israel cordially invites the community to participate in an evening of crafts, wine, snacks and fun at All Fired Up, 229 West Fairbanks Avenue, Winter Park. The event starts at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30. Attendees can choose from a selection of Judaic ceramic pieces to decorate while enjoying the company of Temple Israel and Orlando community friends. The discounted price of $18 per person includes one Judaic ceramic piece, all materials and food. While this even is open to the community, participants must...
Some words are laced with extra meaning, built on levels of nuance and implied messages. Words like turning. If you’re “turning a corner” in your life you’ve gotten around some obstacle and are heading towards something better. If you’re “turning over a new leaf” you’ve gotten rid of an old habit or promised to be better on a going forward basis. If you know someone who’s “turning over in their grave” they’re so upset at something someone close to them has done they can’t keep still...even...
The French, to the casual observer, are a real enigma when it comes to foreign policy. Sometimes it seems like they can be truly helpful, whereas other times they are truly awful. Take Iran. On the question of the mullahs’ nuclear ambitions, France has retained a healthy skepticism regarding the current negotiating process being pushed by the Obama administration. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was crystal clear that any deal with Iran that didn’t grant international inspectors unfette...
In the background of this note is the recent one about the misadventures of great powers, and producing unintended outcomes. It could have employed Barbara Tuchman’s title, “The March of Folly.” Here the focus is on the diplomatic maneuvers, proclamations, politely announced policy preferences, along with the yelling, screaming and chanting of the unwashed. At issue is what stands for international politics focused on Israel and the Palestinians. It includes Barack Obama’s comments that it may not be possible for his government to protect...
NEW YORK (JTA)—In the last 48 hours, rockets from Gaza were again fired at innocent civilians. This cannot be tolerated. The Israel Defense Forces must respond swiftly and without hesitation. We, as the opposition, will support strong government action. Yet such action cannot stand alone. We need to initiate and be proactive in order to restore quiet and start the painful but necessary process of separating from the Palestinians to reach a two-state solution. I’m going to argue that the only way to achieve the two-state solution is to give up...
“It is a fantastic commentary on the inhumanity of our times,” journalist Dorothy Thompson wrote at the height of the 1930s European Jewish refugee crisis, “that for thousands and thousands of people a piece of paper with a stamp on it is the difference between life and death.” Seventy-five years ago this month, president Franklin D. Roosevelt’s newly appointed assistant secretary of state sent his colleagues a memo outlining a strategy to “postpone and postpone and postpone” the granting of that “piece of paper” to refugees. Breckinridge Long...
Victories aren’t usually depressing, but recent headlines about Israel include those such as: “Israel Left Off U.N. List of Parties That Kill, Injure Kids,” “Palestinians Abandon Bid to Ban Israel From FIFA,” and a couple of headlines about failed motions for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement on college campuses. Surely all of these “victories” are better than the corresponding defeats. But still, we can and should do better. The problem with these victories is that they reflect a much deeper problem in the strategy of pro-Is...
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...
(JTA)—Ron Moody, a British Jewish actor best known for playing a character historically considered an anti-Semitic stereotype, has died at 91. Moody, who played the Jewish criminal Fagin in the stage and film versions of “Oliver,” an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” died on Thursday. His film portrayal of Fagin garnered an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award as best actor. Moody, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, went on to a regular role in the BBC show “EastEnders” and several other major TV programs, including “Star...
Helene Arost, age 92, of Orlando, passed away on Friday, May 22, 2015, at Florida Hospital Orlando. She was born in Philadelphia, Penn., on May 4, 1923, to the late Joseph and Elizabeth Paclin Stein. A high school graduate, she was married to the late Harold Arost for 57 years when he passed away on Dec. 2, 2000. The family relocated to the Orlando area from Philadelphia in 1957. She was a homemaker and was known for her elegance, style and grace. Mrs. Arost is survived by her children, Stuart (Linda) Arost of Winter Park, Donna Arost of Los...
Winnie Benjamin, age 84, of Orlando, passed away on Thursday, May 21, 2015, at Hospice of the Comforter. The youngest of eight children, she was born in Baxley, Georgia, on May 3, 1931, to the late William B. and Florence Bailey Causey, and was the widow of the late George M. Benjamin, her husband of 50 years, who passed away in July 2011. She and George relocated to Orlando in 1962, from Jacksonville and became members of Congregation of Reform Judaism. Mrs. Benjamin was a true Southern lady, tending to her garden and yard, she will be...
Sylvia Hershbein of Winter Springs died Tuesday, June 9, 2015. She was 95 years old. Mrs. Hershbein was a retired civil servant. She was born in New York City and moved to Orlando in 1969. A Life Member of Hadassah, she served as both the president of the Orlando Chapter and the Chaverot Group, culminating with her recognition as “Woman of the Year.” She served on numerous boards throughout the region including the Sisterhood of Temple Israel and the Civic Theater Guild of Central Florida. Mrs. Hershbein’s love of the theater led her to a lif...
Jerome Lewin, age 93, of Parkland, Fla., passed away on Friday, May 15, 2015, at Home Care Villa in Coral Springs, Fla. He was born in Brooklyn N.Y., on Oct. 28, 1921, to the late Harry and Ida Cutler Levy. He graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School and served in the United States Navy during World War II. On Dec. 6, 1942, in Brooklyn, he married the former Helen Blaweiss, his wife of over 72 years who survives him. He received his bachelor’s degree in engineering and was instrumental in developing the color matching process for the p...
(The Nosher via JTA)-You got through Mother's Day, Memorial Day weekend and even Shavuot. But folks, it's not quite time to relax: Father's Day is almost here. Another weekend to reserve for family celebrations and another round of gifts to procure. If the special dad or guy in your life loves to be in the kitchen, at the grill or engrossed in a good cookbook, then we've got a couple of great gift ideas to show him how much he is adored. For the meat lover • Facon Beef Bacon from Jack's G...
HERZLIYA, Israel (JTA)-When Israel's coalition government formed last month, its constituent parties all but ruled out establishing a Palestinian state in the near future. But that doesn't mean they can agree on what to do instead. Speaking at the Herzliya Conference this week, Israel's premier diplomatic and security policy gathering, senior Israeli government officials struck different and sometimes conflicting tones on what Israel's policy should be toward the Palestinians. Even within the...
Too close to home... I am really nervous about all the information I am sent relating to the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe. But now, after receiving this month's issue of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest, I am really upset. Anti-Semitism is getting much too close to home. Read on: The Jewish Telegraph Agency recently reported on two separate anti-Semitic incidents... one in which swastikas were spray painted on a Jewish fraternity house at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee,...
