Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Heritage Florida Jewish News congratulates all of the 2020 high school graduates in Central Florida. As everyone knows, graduations were either put on hold until July or not scheduled at all for this year because of the coronavirus. Many families got creative and held neighborhood parades, made banners, videoed their graduate in gown, or had small family gatherings to honor their student. Heritage would like to recognize these students. Congratulations to: Anne Botwinik Anne was home-schooled...
(JTA) - Astute viewers could find plenty of signs during the recent "Jeopardy!" Teachers Tournament that one leading contestant had some Jewish bona fides. There was the fact that Meggie Kwait teaches at Beit Rabban Day School, a Jewish school on Manhattan's Upper West Side. There was her covered hair, rare among game-show contestants but more common among observant Jewish women. And then there was her bet for the final question on a day when she was so far ahead she couldn't lose. "Yes, I...
A leading Evangelical Christian leader has spoken out publicly against the Black Lives Matter movement’s anti-Semitic manifesto and silence after synagogues and churches were attacked and defaced during their protests last week. “All true American patriots wept bitter tears at the brutal and needless death of George Floyd. Jews, Christians and people of conscience understand the inherent problems within our society that need to be addressed and healed. Racism of any kind does not belong in America and must be relegated to the annals of his...
(JTA) - While the world has had its attention fixed on the George Floyd protests and the ongoing threat of COVID-19, a political development with monumental implications has been brewing in the Middle East: Israel's potential annexation ofa parts of the West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised his supporters during multiple election campaigns last year that he would make areas outside of the country's borders part of the state. Now his chance is fast approaching. The terms...
StandWithUs is proud to announce the online global premiere of its powerful new documentary, "Minority of One." The screening will take place on June 22 at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. ET), followed by a live Q&A with the subject of the documentary, Hussein Aboubakr. Hussein Aboubakr Mansour was born in 1989 in Cairo, Egypt. The ultimate villains in the local lore were the "bloodthirsty Zionists," so Aboubakr began to study the supposed enemies of his people. He studied Hebrew at Cairo University, but di...
With all the craziness in the world right now, the Jewish Pavilion is trying to bring love, tradition, and comfort to those who are sheltered in elder-care facilities. Although unable to visit, Pavilion staff and volunteers have been calling and delivering cards, letters, pictures and goodies. The leadership of the Jewish Pavilion is trying to think out of the box for ways to remain in contact with our elders. One of the things the leadership of the Pavilion has learned is that many residents ca...
Blue Halo BioMedical's CEO, Anthony Ruben of Winter Park, recently announced that the company has made the semi-finals of the "Collision From Home" start-up event to be held June 24. Blue Halo was initially chosen as one of 50 start-ups to participate from hundreds of entrants representing innovative firms from across the globe. "[Recently] the team learned our award-winning company and its Blue Halo Coil Catheter are one of an elite handful to have made the semi-finals," said an ecstatic...
The Zionist Organization of America reiterates that, as ZOA President Morton Klein previously tweeted, we condemn and deeply mourn the despicable, horrific murder of George Floyd. ZOA moreover reiterates Klein’s call strongly urging that the former police officers involved must be held accountable to the full extent of the law. The killing of George Floyd, shown in an excruciating video, was an intolerable, depraved act. ZOA leadership has a long personal history of anti-racism activism. Klein fought for Black civil and voting rights, i...
(JNS) — A federal judge has denied Bernie Madoff’s request for compassionate release from prison in which the disgraced financier claimed to be terminally ill and likely to die in the next 18 months. Madoff, 82, has served 10 years of a 150-year sentence for running a Ponzi scheme worth almost $65 billion — the largest in history and one that inflicted heavy financial loss upon Jewish investors. Following his request in February to be released early, 520 of his victims wrote to the court with 96 percent of them objecting to such a move. “When...
(JTA) — More than 800 rabbis and cantors, including the leaders of three major denominations, signed a statement in support of peaceful protest against racism and in memory of George Floyd. The statement invoked Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, an iconic Jewish civil rights activist who marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. It was written and distributed by the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, a political advocacy organization that has a long history of civil rights activism. “Mr. Floyd was a victim of the nation’s long history...
(JTA) — The Palestinian Authority has submitted a proposal for an independent demilitarized Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said Tuesday that the P.A. had submitted a proposal to the so-called Quartet of international mediators — comprising the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — in response to the Trump administration’s release of its own Middle East peace plan in January. Shtayyeh said the proposal calls for a “sovereign Palestinian state, in...
(JNS) — Scattered among the thousands of cellphone videos depicting looting and destruction in the streets of America’s greatest cities are clips of a different sort. In these short videos, we see throngs of white people on their knees, bowing before black people and asking for forgiveness for their “white privilege” and the “structural racism” in the deplorable, irredeemable United States of America. Earlier this week, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee former Vice President Joe Biden symbolically embraced these genuflectin...
(JNS) — Americans are united in their outrage about the death of George Floyd, an African-American man who was wrongfully killed by a Minneapolis policeman. However, a commendable desire to oppose hate has quickly morphed into something beyond advocacy for a cause that all decent people support. Along with the opposition to police misconduct and racism has come the push to attack, shame and silence anyone who dissents not just from the main message of anti-racism, but of slogans, groups and gestures associated with it. To violate these new rule...
(JNS) — Two weeks after Israel gradually reopened its education system, students and teachers around the country came down with the coronavirus, forcing thousands of their peers and family members into quarantine. The main hotspot has been the Jerusalem high school, Hagymnasia Haivrit, in the capital’s Rechavia neighborhood, which had to shut down due to the more than 130 adults and teenagers who tested positive to COVID-19. More than 17 additional schools also closed, some by ministerial order, and a few by parental decree. If the trend con...
MINNETONKA, Minn. (JTA) — When I received a phone call last Saturday morning from the governor and lieutenant governor’s office, I sensed it would be a Shabbat and Shavuot unlike any other. They were organizing a press conference with a small group of clergy and other community leaders that afternoon. “Rabbi, would you attend?” It was minutes before our Zoom service, a phrase that would have felt odd typing three months ago. As an observant Jew, a rabbi leading community in prayer, and co-chair of the Minnesota Rabbinical Association, I felt...
Dear Editor: I disagree strongly with what Mel Pearlman wrote on May 8 (The Hobson’s choice for president). I don’t believe American Jews have a “Hobson’s choice for president.” There are “shades of gray” about the domestic issues he mentioned. Mr. Pearlman acknowledged that “President Trump has been a strong ally and friend of Israel” and gave examples.” I agree wholeheartedly. He went on to say “many of his (President Trump’s) domestic policies have not found favor with a significant majority in the American Jewish community,” mentioning...
Dear Editor: I am responding to the two letters in the Heritage on June 5 (“Why I detest Donald Trump” by Art Friedman and “We need a congress that works be-partisan” by Bill Kahn), which referenced my letter on May 22 concerning my appreciation of what President Trump has done for Israel. It is apparent that both writers were influenced by the liberal press. The positions taken in these letters do not foster unity but rather are divisive in their hatred of the president. It is important to remember that approximately half of the country are co...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, all minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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...
JERUSALEM (JTA) — If Israel annexes parts of the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority will declare a state on the 1967 borders with a capital in eastern Jerusalem, the P.A. prime minister said Tuesday. Mohammad Shtayyeh made the remarks in Ramallah to members of the Foreign Press Association, i24 News reported. Shtayyeh called annexation as “existential threat” to Palestinians, and said such a move also would mean the end of the Palestinians’ recognition of the State of Israel, which was given in an exchange of letters in 1993 between Prime Min...
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...
By Ed Borowsky This is the first article in a four-part series about the Puerto Rican Jews living in Central Florida and their history. Since Hurricane Maria in 2017 an exodus of Puerto Ricans, have relocated to the mainland United States. The overall population in Florida now exceeds one million, surpassing the Cuban population as the largest Hispanic group in the state. Jewish history in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico has the largest Jewish population of all the islands in the Caribbean. Today the...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - As many Jewish organizations across the United States sent out statements decrying racism over the past week, the head of the Zionist Organization of America took a different approach. Black Lives Matter "is a Jew hating, White hating, Israel hating, conservative-Black hating, violence promoting, dangerous Soros-funded extremist group of haters," ZOA President Mort Klein tweeted on Saturday. That tweet, expressing anger as others sought to show solidarity with nationwide...
From my heart... I stand with our African-American brothers and sister. Diversity is what makes the United States great! Please let's end racism and anti-Semitism once and for all! No longer divide us... This is a message from RONALD S. LAUDER, that appeared very recently in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest: "In frightening and uncertain times, like those we are facing now with the coronavirus, some people all too often and dangerously look for and unjustly blame scapegoats. There is an...
This moment has many of us reeling. Honestly, for those of you who are, like me, white-presenting Jewish parents, we should consider this a time of reckoning. Are we doing enough to make our homes anti-racist? What about our communal Jewish spaces? The work to dismantle racism goes beyond what we do when people are out in the streets protesting. And the activism we do outside of our home is just as important as the one we are doing inside our homes with our families, and especially with our...
The Katz School of Science and Health at Yeshiva University has created the Bright Futures Scholarship Initiative for students seeking master’s degrees in science and technology in industries that are redefining the modern economy and high technology in New York and around the world. For a flat rate tuition of $25,000, students admitted for the 2020-2021 academic year can now complete master’s degrees in artificial intelligence, biotechnology management and entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, data analytics and visualization, digital mar...
