Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - For its latest cover model, Vogue Germany selected a celebrity who regularly hobnobs with visiting dignitaries and walks the red carpet at film premieres: Margot Friedländer, 102, one of the oldest and most prominent Holocaust survivors in the world. In addition to documenting Friedländer impeccable attire and indefatigable spirit, the Vogue article includes her public condemnation of the rise of the political far right in Germany. About the rise of the far-right Alternative for G...
(JNS) - The lone Republican Jewish lawmaker in the Florida State legislature said Tuesday that he could never have imagined considering whether it was safe for Jews to live in the United States, even though the Sunshine State is the "gold standard" for fighting antisemitism. Randy Fine spoke after months of often violent antisemitic protests across the U.S. that have shaken American Jewry in ways not seen since World War II. "I would never have thought that I would live at a time when I would wo...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met on Monday in Washington with White House adviser Amos Hochstein. The two men discussed the ongoing conflict against Hezbollah and the “actions required to achieve a framework that enables the safe return of Israeli communities to their homes in the north,” according to an Israeli readout. Gallant reiterated his commitment to changing the security situation on the northern border. He told Hochstein that the transition to “Phase 3” in the war against Hamas in Gaza will impact developme...
(JTA) — Wikipedia’s editors have voted to declare the Anti-Defamation League “generally unreliable” on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, adding it to a list of banned and partially banned sources. An overwhelming majority of editors involved in the debate about the ADL also voted to deem the organization unreliable on the topic of antisemitism, its core focus. A formal declaration on that count is expected next. The decision about Israel-related citations, made last week, means that one of the most prominent and longstanding Jewish advocac...
How do we know there's a G-d? Do the Torah and science conflict? How do you know the Torah is true? These are some of the fascinating questions that will be discussed in "OMG - The Battle Between Faith and Logic," a six-lesson course from JLI teens. This course will tackle the greatest theological questions humanity has been asking for thousands of years. Students will stand alongside ancient Jewish thinkers who've grappled with powerful existential questions about G-d, morality, and dealing...
You might think that the Jewish Pavilion Senior Services maintains its focus only on the elder residents in the Orlando area. This is far from the fact. The seniors who we are engaged with continually interact with elementary age youngsters, high schoolers and those attending local universities. Let me introduce you to two young ladies who decided to dedicate their B’not Mitzvah project to the seniors at Oakmonte Village Lake Mary. Chloe and Layla were searching for a project to fulfill their ...
(Ocala, FL) — Herut North America announces Herut Central Florida’s first event. The Jewish Community event will be held on Sunday, June 30, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Clermont’s Waterfront Park at 330 3rd Street in Clermont, Florida. The event will include a kosher cooking demonstration, Hebrew lessons, rabbinical discussions, and Krav Maga sessions for all ages. Several local vendors will attend to support Israel and the Jewish people. “I am very excited to be putting on this first event for Herut here in Clermont,” stated Martin Beck, the...
(JNS) — The Israel Defense Forces is pursuing a phased approach in its ongoing offensive against Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, Gaza. By dividing Rafah into sub-areas and deploying a single division—the 162nd—rather than two, the IDF and the Israeli Cabinet have taken a slower path, but one that has avoided another crisis with the United States. According to Israeli military assessments, Hamas’s final functioning brigade will be dismantled in Rafah within weeks. Its defeat will mark a major milestone in the war that began on Oct. 7 with Ha...
(JNS) — Released Israeli hostage Amit Soussana on Monday recalled the sexual assault she experienced at the hands of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip during a White House event marking International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. “If someone had told me a few months ago while I was sitting in a dark room in Gaza tied up by my ankle and unable to move that I would be standing here today before you all, I would have thought that they were out of their mind,” she told attendees. “The sexual assault I experienced should...
(JNS) — With intense fighting in the Gaza Strip winding down, Jerusalem will deploy more troops to the northern border to defend against increasing Hezbollah attacks from Lebanon, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Channel 14 on Sunday night. “The intense phase of the fighting against Hamas is about to end,” he told “Patriots” host Yinon Magal, adding: “It doesn’t mean that the war is about to end, but the war in its intense phase is about to end in Rafah.” He added that the Israeli military will continue to “mow the grass” in Gaz...
(JNS) — Senior U.S. officials have assured Israel that Washington is prepared to “fully back” its ally in the event of a further escalation on the northern border, CNN reported on Friday, citing a Biden administration official. The Biden administration would offer Israel the security assistance it needs to fight Hezbollah, the senior official stated, adding, however, that the U.S. would not deploy American troops on the ground in such a scenario. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant took off for Washington overnight Saturday for meeti...
(JNS) — The Biden-Harris administration released its “Fact Sheet” on the “Administration’s Actions to Address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence” on June 17, 2024. It is available on the White House website. Curiously missing is any mention of the Oct. 7 massacre and the mass rapes committed by Hamas. Nor is there mention of the kidnappings, sadistic murders and other atrocities Hamas committed against women on that day and since. In her remarks later that day at a White House event intended to raise awareness about “Conflict-Related Sexual Viole...
(JNS) — The Biden administration is negotiating directly with Hamas for the release of the five American/Israeli citizens kidnapped and held hostage by the terror group since Oct. 7. The talks with Hamas, an American-designated international terrorist organization, are being brokered by Qatar. Qatar is an ally of both Hamas and Iran. Shockingly, those talks are happening with no input or involvement from Israel—America’s closest and most reliable ally in the world. This is like America negotiating with Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden after 9/11. I...
(Jewish Journal via JNS) — I’ve only been in Israel for 48 hours but I can already feel the angst. I asked a prominent thinker what is different about the current crisis, and he immediately replied: “The enormous gap between the level of our problems and the quality of our leadership.” Among other concerns, there’s a genuine fear that a war in the north with Hezbollah– a terror army equipped with tens of thousands of guided missiles that can disable critical infrastructure– will make the Gaza war feel like kid’s play. Meanwhile, ther...
(JNS) — Were you aware that the Dreyfusards, those seeking to exonerate the Jewish captain of France’s army who was accused of spying for Germany, were not only working for France and for Jews, but that their campaign “was also a fight for Black people, for LGBT people, for indigenous people, for Palestinians”? That is the opinion of Noah Berlatsky. In a 2019 op-ed piece on JNS, I employed the term “Diasporic supremacy” to relate to the new form of anti-Zionism that has developed, as well as the smug “we-do-not-agree-with-Is...
(The Washington Times via JNS) — The Nova Music Festival was billed as a celebration of “Friends, Love, and Infinite Freedom.” On Oct. 6, 2023, attendees from more than two dozen countries gathered in Israel’s Negev Desert just three miles from Hamas-ruled Gaza to sing, dance and celebrate peace through the night. At dawn the next day, Hamas terrorists used bulldozers and bombs to break through Israel’s high-tech fence that was thought to secure the border. Arriving at the festival grounds, they began slaughtering, raping, mutilating and kidna...
(JNS) — Act 1. The stage is set. The key players are Barack Obama, who wants to manufacture a break with Israel; Benjamin Netanyahu, looking to navigate a hostile administration; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vice President Joe Biden. During Biden’s visit to Israel, the Obama administration stages a scandal, claiming that it was deliberately insulted because the local Jerusalem municipality routed some housing that the administration belatedly opposed through an approvals process. Hillary Clinton spends an hour (and later brags abo...
MORNING 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. 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., 407-647-30...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) — The Israeli healthcare system is preparing to deal with pregnancies resulting from sexual assaults during captivity. An article was published in the June issue of the Israel Medical Association’s journal “HaRefuah” to instruct medical teams on addressing this “sensitive, difficult-to-comprehend, yet unavoidable matter.” The piece, written by Lt. Col. (res.) Dr. Leah Shelef, former head of the Air Force’s psychology department and current dean of Sapir College’s School of Social Work, and Professor Gil Zalsman, direct...
You may have seen her. You may have sat in synagogue while she was the cantor during a shabbat service in one of the many Jewish institutions in the Orlando area. She is the extremely versatile, tremendously talented Cantor Nina Fine. Currently, she works as a freelance cantor and educator and has led services and/or taught at six synagogues in the Orlando area, including High Holiday Cantor for the past seven years at Temple Beth El in Ormond Beach. Or perhaps you saw her on stage at Carnegie...
Chai Lifeline is a remarkable organization that provides crisis support and care for terminally ill children and those with severe long-term disabilities. Every summer, they host Camp Simcha, a two-week retreat where college students volunteer to take care of very sick children, providing 24/7 care, including tasks like changing feeding tubes. The goal is to give these children the time of their lives, filled with joy and happiness. The camp is actual multiple camps, in New Jersey, California,...
(JTA) - The musician Jonny Greenwood is pushing back on critics who say he should abandon a plan to tour with an Israeli collaborator because of the Israel-Hamas war. Greenwood and Dudu Tassa, an Israeli rock star from a prominent Mizrahi musical family, are scheduled to perform together on the European festival circuit this summer, a year after they released a joint record that featured singers from across the Middle East. Some of the dates were rescheduled after the pair canceled shows in the...
Diabetic kidney disease is a condition in which kidney function declines in individuals with diabetes resulting in the inefficient removal of waste and excess fluids from the body. This can lead to a buildup of toxins and damage to other organs. Certain factors increase the likelihood of developing diabetic kidney disease including high blood pressure, poor glucose control, genetic predisposition, and diet. Early stages of the disease may not show symptoms, but as kidney function worsens, patients may experience nausea, vomiting, loss of...
The PJ Library and the Jewish Chamber of Commerce will partner to present a special child-friendly mitzvah project benefiting Rosie’s Adventures Childhood Cancer Foundation. This event will take place on July 14 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. and is designed to bring families together for a day of creativity, compassion, and community service. A day of crafting for a cause The event invites families to participate in making crafts and bracelets that will be donated to children battling cancer. These handmade items aim to brighten the hospital rooms and l...
(JNS) - The most ancient ship ever found in the deep sea has been discovered off Israel's northern coast, shedding light on trade more than three millennia ago and revealing the existence of advanced navigation skills in that era, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Thursday. The 3,300-year-old ship's cargo, including hundreds of intact amphorae, was located 55 miles from shore at a depth of just over 1 mile, the state-run archaeological body said. The dramatic find was uncovered...
