Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - Last month, Adam Sandler threw his daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah party. Now it looks like his production company is making a bat mitzvah-themed film. The casting site Backstage has posted a casting call for an in-the-works adaptation of "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah," a 2005 young adult novel by Fiona Rosenbloom. Whether Sandler will have a role in the middle school-set story has not yet been revealed, but his Happy Madison Productions company is behind the film. Sammi...
(JTA) — On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision prohibiting government from excluding religion and religious institutions from government funding programs. This decision in Carson v. Makin follows on the heels of two other high court decisions in the last five years emphasizing that such exclusions constitute religious discrimination prohibited under the First Amendment. But what makes this decision important is its rejection of the so-called “status-use” distinction: government may not discriminate based on the mere relig...
By Molly R. Sinert Ruth S. Elson, 93, passed away peacefully on the morning of June 18, 2022. The oldest of seven siblings, Ruth was born April 29, 1929. She raised three children of her own in Rochester, N.Y., with Leonard “Lenny” Elson, her husband of 49 years. Ruth earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from SUNY Albany and used her science education to build a career, eventually proudly retiring with Eastman Kodak Company. Following retirement, Ruth and Lenny moved to Central Florida. Here they enjoyed family barbeques and pool days, findi...
Arlene Rubenstein Ludin passed away on June 19, 2022, at the age of 89. Arlene was born in Pittsburgh, Penn., on July 1, 1932, the daughter of Moe and Sally Rubenstein. She married Dr. Edward Ludin in 1953. They moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where Ed was a plastic surgeon. They were married 40 years until his passing in 1993. In addition to raising 3 children, Arlene was very involved in the art scene, chairing the National Council of Jewish Women art show and later serving as president of...
Victoria Roussman, age 75, of Orlando, passed away on Friday, June 17, 2022, at AdventHealth Hospice — Orlando after an extended illness. Victoria was born Jan. 31, 1947, in Miami, Fla., and was the daughter of the late Major Harold Roussman and step-daughter of the late Natalie Roussman. She is survived by her step-siblings, Andrea Eliscu and Richard Trock. Vicki graduated from Edgewater High School. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and her master’s from Iowa State. After working as a college student activ...
From the American Jewish Committee, a global Jewish advocacy organization A new website that claims to show the ties between various Massachusetts institutions and “support for the colonization of Palestine” has raised alarms over its dangerous targeting of the Jewish community. The map, published earlier this month by anonymous supporters of the BDS movement, is being promoted by anti-Israel groups such as Boston BDS and the left-wing nonprofit Massachusetts Peace Action. It claims to illustrate organizations and institutions in Mas...
(JTA) — Just under half of all Democratic senators are seeking the “direct involvement” of the United States in the investigation of the death of a Palestinian journalist who was shot over a month ago while covering an Israeli raid on a West Bank refugee camp. Twenty-four senators signed a letter sent to President Biden Thursday, three weeks prior to his first scheduled state visit to Israel. It is the largest action yet from U.S. lawmakers seeking an independent resolution to the May 11 killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh...
(New York Jewish Week) — Seeking the endorsement of Borough Park Orthodox leaders in his run for Congress, former mayor Bill de Blasio apologized for a 2020 tweet berating Jews for large gatherings held during the pandemic. In a video of Sunday’s meeting, called by an activist of the Bobov Hasidic movement, de Blasio is seen being asked about the tweet. In the tweet, he blasted “the Jewish community” following the packed funeral for a rabbi who died of COVID-19, and said the NYPD had been instructed to “summons or even arrest those who gathe...
Eli Rosenbaum to head DOJ team investigating war crimes in Ukraine By Madeline Fixler (JTA) — Eli Rosenbaum, a Justice Department veteran known for his work tracking and deporting former Nazis residing in the United States, will lead a team working to identify and prosecute people responsible for alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the appointment in a statement on Tuesday, while in Ukraine. “There is no hiding place for war criminals. The U.S. Justice Department will pursue every avenue of acc...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden is scheduled to visit Israel on July 13. Analysts tell JNS that among the key topics to be discussed will be the Iran threat; a security alliance between Israel and Gulf states; the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem; the poor health of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas; Russia-Syria-Ukraine; and a new global “I2U2” coalition involving India. The Iranian threat Negotiations for a new nuclear deal with Iran have been on the ropes since April when the Islamic Republic said it would not return to talks in Vienna...
(JNS) — There was little time for a period of transition for Julie Platt. But with her experience, there was little need for one. Announced in February as the incoming chair of the Jewish Federations of North America Board of Trustees, Platt was unanimously confirmed for the role. Only the second woman to lead the organization, Platt is a former banker who has focused on promoting Jewish education and helping to rescue the Jewish camp movement during the pandemic. Platt served as JFNA’s national campaign chair and chair of LiveSecure, the org...
(JNS) - The Stuttgart Administrative Court recently ruled that calls to single out the Jewish state for boycott, divestment and sanctions do not violate Germany's laws against hate speech and are protected, sparking outrage from critics that the decision turns anti-Semitism into a socially and politically correct view. "It is probably the first time in the history of the Federal Republic that a court has expressly declared 'anti-Semitic views' to be a legally protected area of 'freedom of opin...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) - For Jewish sports fans around the world, Sandy Koufax has for decades occupied an unmatched legendary status. Now, 57 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax has officially been immortalized with a statue at Dodger Stadium - next to his former teammate, Jackie Robinson. The Los Angeles Dodgers unveiled the Koufax statue with a pregame ceremony on Saturday, three years after the statue was initially announced. The...
