Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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COCOA-Standing in the crowd on the day the US Embassy opened in Jerusalem was Theresa Miles, former director of The Sister City Program of Cocoa (Florida), and her family. She was in Israel to celebrate the country's 70th anniversary and enjoy a family reunion with her sons, Jordan and Brandon. She also carried a framed artwork that Rabbi Joel and Tali Fox of B'nai Shira in Cocoa Beach had commissioned Orlando artist Judith Segall to create for the new embassy and to honor Israel's 70th birthday...
Last year's Men's Night Out was such a success that there will be a second such event in November. Organized by the Men's Clubs of Congregation Beth Am, Temple Israel, Congregation Ohev Shalom, Congregation of Reform Judaism, and South West Orlando Jewish Congregation (in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando), the evening will once again have an open bar, stupendous prime rib dinner catered by Arthur's, and fantastic entertainment. Michael Soll, vice president and immediate...
Criminal complaints are now being filed by students following the belligerent disruption of a May 17, 2018, Students Supporting Israel [SSI] event at University of California Los Angeles. At least a half-dozen students announced they would visit the UCLA police department to file formal complaints reporting criminal disruption of a meeting, as well as disturbing the peace and conspiracy. The move follows media disclosures that UCLA was reneging on the public pledge by two chancellors in the...
Leonard Stein, PhD, of the University of Toronto's Centre for Comparative Literature and President of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies has announced the awarding of a 2018 "Mini-Conference" to the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society. The one-day Conference, to be held on Sunday, Dec. 9 at the World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine Resort will focus on "Telling the Story of Crypto-Jews in the Southeast US." Scholars from many disciplines are expected to share in their research to...
While there’s still plenty of time left to enjoy summer vacation, Central Florida teens will soon be gearing up for a new school year—and a new Jewish year. It’s the perfect time to celebrate “New Beginnings,” the theme of the 2018 JTEN Community-wide Jewish Teen Retreat. The retreat, set for Aug. 6-7 at Camp Challenge in Sorrento, is open to all rising 8th- to 12th-graders in the Orlando area, regardless of synagogue or youth group affiliation. Teens will participate in a 24-hour immersive experience, including services, learning sessions...
COS Men’s Club invites you to a Middle Eastern food and swim party on Sunday, Aug. 5, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m at the home of Ken Davis. There will be homemade falafel and all the fixin’s and sides. All Men’s Club members are invited and if you are not a member, please come check us out anyway. Cost is $5 per person (we have to pay for the beer somehow). For Ken’s address and to RSVP, please call Ken Davis at 407-869-8898 or khdavis13@yahoo.com....
Eric Peisner and Vicki Freed Peisner were in Israel last week and had a pleasant surprise as they were approaching the Western Wall. They saw a large entourage of people-Israel soldiers bearing arms and other security-surrounding Prince William. Vicki was quick to think and snapped this picture of the British royalty in this historic moment....
NEW YORK (JTA)-Not an hour after Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement as associate justice on the Supreme Court, the National Council of Jewish Women tweeted its dismay. "Justice Kennedy's retirement could drastically shift the balance of the Supreme Court, and threaten the very rights and liberties we've fought so hard to protect," NCJW tweeted Wednesday. "We need a justice who will stand up for all of our rights, not just the wealthy and powerful." NCJW's is a voice of the Jewish liberal...
(Aish Hatorah Resources)—Without understanding what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today. Mention history and it can trigger a roll of the eyes. Add the Middle East to the equation and folks might start running for the hills, unwilling to get caught up in the seemingly bottomless pit of details and disputes. But without an understanding of what happened in the past, it’s impossible to grasp where we are today—and where we are has profound relevance for the region and the world. Fifty-one years ago, the Six-Day...
By Sarah N. Stern (JNS) It seems as though Hamas is itching for another war. No less than 45 rockets were fired in recent days from the Gaza Strip into Israel, two of which landed near a community center and one just outside a kindergarten—the second attack on a kindergarten in the last few weeks. Operatives also launched scores of balloons and kites with Molotov cocktails, firebombs, chemicals and other incendiary devices attached to them. So far, these seemingly innocuous instruments have destroyed more than 7,000 acres of agricultural f...
Hamas terrorists launched a barrage of rockets and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip at Israeli communities in the south in the wee hours of Wednesday morning. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. On Tuesday, Hamas orchestrated the launching of another wave of firebomb-laden kites and balloons that sparked fires. “Moments ago,” the IDF spokesman announced on twitter, “an IDF aircraft targeted a vehicle used by a group of Palestinians who launched arson balloons from the northern Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, as well as an...
(JNS)—We don’t yet know the details of the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan that presidential adviser Jared Kushner is preparing. But we do know how Kushner perceives the Palestinian Arabs. And he’s got them all wrong. The White House has released an official transcript of Kushner’s June 24 interview with the Palestinian Arab newspaper Al Quds. It shows that Kushner subscribes to the oldest myth of the conflict—that average Palestinians are really just like us. Here’s how he put it: “I believe that Palestinian people are less invested in t...
(JNS)—What does a portrait of Israeli society mid-2018 look like? This is a country that has, proportionately, the most number of Jews compared to the United States, but it is not a Jewish country. It is more appropriate to characterize it as a country with a prevalent anti-Zionist atmosphere. The High Court of Justice functions as the executor of decisions to evacuate settlements, as if on an assembly line. With nary a warning, some 2,500 police show up to empty a few homes in Netiv Ha’avot or an outpost near Tapuach. At Tel University, playin...
The idea to fully enforce the immigration laws of the United States, a fundamental right of every sovereign nation, even democratic ones, is not only good policy, but obligatory under our notion of the rule of law. The Trump administration however, has an uncanny ability to pursue a sound public policy idea only to implement it with disastrous results. The idea to separate children from their parents or alleged parents before vetting each “family” unit is not only contrary to generally accepted American values, but in fact, makes it more diffic...
(Jewish Media Resources)—My brother recently sent me a three-hour video of the Weinstein brothers, Eric and Bret, in conversation. Eric, the older brother, holds a PhD in mathematical physics from Harvard, and has published widely in both physics and economics. He is today the managing director of Thiel Capital, the investment arm of PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Bret taught biology at Evergreen State College until he ran afoul of the social justice warriors. He tried to teach his course on a “day of absence” declared by black students: whites...
(JNS)—US interests in the Middle East and beyond are well-served by a strategically constrained Syria. Historically, Syria has been a tectonic, volatile platform of violent, intolerant and unpredictable Arab/Islamic regional aspirations of grandeur, totally unrelated to Israel’s existence and policies. During the modern era, Syria has been a major arena of anti-U.S. hate-education and incitement, Islamic and international terrorism (e.g., the blowing up of the U.S. Embassy and Marines Headquarters in Beirut and Pan Am Flight 103), nar...
(JNS)—It is difficult to find better words than “treason” and “espionage” to describe the offenses attributed to former minister Gonen Segev. This man, who was a government minister, a senior partner in the decision-making process, gave information to Iran. Large parts of this affair are still under wraps, but what can be said clearly indicates that Segev was not duped or extorted. He chose, with eyes wide open, to help Israel’s archenemy gather intelligence. Segev was methodical and shrewd; he took measures to cover his tracks and tried recru...
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...
Often residents are moved to different communities. This does not mean good-bye. The Jewish Pavilion does all it can to continue relationships with our beloved seniors. Ron Dion had been at Life Care in Altamonte for several years and was a resident that made an impact on all that knew him. Dion was always the first in the room for both the monthly Shabbats as well as Penny D'Agostino's entertaining, with a huge smile on his face. Every Saturday, he eagerly welcomed Nancy Ludin during their...
(JNS)-As part of the annual Israel Festival in Jerusalem, I boarded the light rail with my fellow performers, each donning a white headset. Our choreographer was a pre-programmed Siri-like female voice named "Rachel" telling us exactly how to perform the show. But I am no actor, and neither were my fellow performers; in fact, we were the ones who needed tickets to the show! So there we were, in the middle of a performance on the Jerusalem light rail. "Try to look someone in the eye. Try! They...
When Walter Goldstein comes to seniors facilities to do programs, the residents know they're in for a treat. Goldstein, a program director for The Jewish Pavilion's south Orlando region, has a warm and welcoming way of connecting with them individually as they settle in for his programs. And he knows his audiences, leading engaging programs that both pull in Jewish culture and tradition and also remain relevant for the many non-Jews who also attend. And then there's that voice. Clear, strong,...
"Where have all the values gone?"... This is the title of a work written by a lovely lady, AUNITA PADGETT, a friend and fellow member of my Grief Support Group. It really hit home with me, especially all the young folks I see (even when they are driving) who constantly stare at their cell phones. I pass it along in part to you: "We have new gadgets, fancy automobiles and name brand clothing, but do we appreciate a new car, for instance, the way our grandparents and the whole family oohed and...
HOLLYWOOD, FL—This month, The Israeli-American Council announced plans to host their 5th Annual IAC National Conference—which draws thousands of participants from all over the country—in South Florida. The conference will be held from November 29 to December 2, 2018, and will bring the IAC’s community signature event to the heart of one of the largest Jewish and Israeli-American communities in the United States. “We are thrilled to announce that South Florida will host our 2018 national conference, which has grown exponentially in the last...
Celebrate Shabbat with the Synagogue that feels like family. Our Shabbat evening service led by Rabbi Karen Allen is on Friday, July 13 at 7 p.m. an Oneg Shabbat will follow the service. The Rabbi’s Torah Roundtable Discussion Group with Rabbi Karen Allen of Congregation Beth Sholom will be held on Thursday, July 19 at 1 p.m. at the Sumter County Administration and Library Building (with the golden dome) at 7375 Powell Rd. (near Pinellas Plaza and 466A), Wildwood. The Rabbi’s Roundtable series explores the current Torah Portion and and how it...
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (JTA)-In 2015, a jihadist killed a Jewish guard outside this capital city's main synagogue, where Hannah Bentow was having her bat mitzvah party. Her sense of security as a Jew in Denmark was shattered, she told JTA last week. Bentow and dozens of teenagers stayed inside for long uncertain minutes as police pursued and later killed the man who gunned down the volunteer guard, Dan Uzan. But Bentow said her decision to leave for Israel as soon as she turns 18 was sealed and rea...
