Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Prospective members are cordially invited to join the Temple Israel membership on Saturday evening, Aug. 2, at 9 p.m., for a creative Light Up Havdalah activity for children. As Shabbat is ushered out, the fun will begin using various light sources (glow sticks, flashlights, etc.), and a camera set up with a long exposure that will enable everyone to create light art. Following the festivities, s'mores will be served. No RSVP is needed and there is no charge. For more information, please call...
Washington Jewish Week Hours after tahe Israel Defense Forces began its ground operation in the Gaza Strip on July 17, U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) spoke on the Senate floor to express their support of Israel and its operation, while denouncing the Palestinian Authority's unity government and the moral equivalency drawn by those critical of Israel's actions. Graham noted that moments before his speech, the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution (S....
Jewish National Fund (JNF) will host its annual Tree of Life™ Award Dinner at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2014. The event will honor Orlando Magic Executive Alex Martins and local philanthropists Valeria and Jim Shapiro with the prestigious Tree of Life™ Award. Alex Martins originally joined the Orlando Magic as director of publicity/media relations before accepting his current role as Chief Executive Officer in 2011. Past chairman of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Com...
Washington Jewish Week Facing a constant barrage of rockets from Hamas terrorists in Gaza, Israel’s economy is proving just as dependable during the current crisis as the much-acclaimed Iron Dome missile defense system, helped in part by capital investments made internationally through the work of organizations like Israel Bonds. A product of the Development Corporation for Israel, an American-run brokerage and retail firm, Israel Bonds has long been a financial boon for the Jewish state’s economy. Now, the bonds are increasingly seen by bot...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-When the siren rang out in Jerusalem last week, the 41 teenage participants in a five-week summer Israel trip were already asleep, exhausted from a day that had begun with a flight from New York. Within minutes, they were awake, out of their rooms and in a fortified room. From their shelter, they could hear rockets explode overhead. It was July 8, the first day in Israel for participants in a trip organized by NCSY, the youth arm of the New York-based Orthodox Union and formerly...
"I feel so vulnerable when I am driving my car," said Ehud Zion Waldoks of Beersheba. "I am constantly preparing to stop abruptly, to leap out and grab my daughter and run for cover. I am calculating my speed to be a little faster than usual, but not reckless. I am checking where the nearest wall is at every traffic light." Waldoks's story is similar to that of all southern Israelis-and now most of the state of Israel, as rockets penetrate deeper than ever into the Jewish state. But as a residen...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—B’nai B’rith International condemns in the harshest possible terms the outrageous anti-Semitic attacks on Jews in Paris and elsewhere in France last weekend. A mob of about 100 people descended on a Paris synagogue wearing the colors of Hamas and shouted “Death to Jews,” according to local witnesses. Hundreds of Jews were trapped inside as the rioters threw bricks at the building. Worshippers were only able to leave when police arrived. Demonstrators in other parts of the city also attacked Jewish-owned stores. At one locat...
"Happy Hours at Savannah Court have never been more joyous since singer and volunteer, Esther Portes, began serenading our seniors," said Jewish Pavilion volunteer coordinator Gloria Newberger, who shared that she had run out of song-leaders after six years of organizing weekly sing-alongs and ice cream socials at the Maitland facility, adding that most volunteers were more comfortable dishing out ice cream than "the Golden Oldies." Newberger continued, "Soon after my plea, this angel, Esther...
Passport to Hebrew is Temple Israel's summer children's program for Hebrew enrichment. The program is open to all school-age children (members and non-members) and will take place on July 30, July 31 and Aug. 1 from 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. in the Roth Social Hall. Whether your child needs a refresher course in Hebrew, or if he/she is new to Hebrew, this program will be fun and exciting. This year's "Falafel Edition" will be centered on Israel and will feature a mini-ulpan experience. There will b...
This month, 47 members of Our Jewish Orlando (OJO) group welcomed special guest Dr. Yudit Greenberg, director of the Rollins College Jewish Studies Program to Torah on Tap at TAPS restaurant in Winter Park Village. Dr. Greenberg went in depth with the group as they spoke about love and the body in Judaism. Powered by the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, OJO has been successful in bringing Orlando's next generation together for connection and conversation. Shown here is Seth Payne listening...
It was often remarked that the late Palestine Liberation Organization leader, Yasser Arafat, would sound moderate when speaking in English and utterly intransigent when speaking in Arabic. Much of the same could be said about his successor, Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority. In an exclusive op-ed for Haaretz—published to coincide with the Israeli newspaper’s one-day conference on peace in Tel Aviv that was rudely interrupted by a barrage of rockets from Gaza—Abbas sounded rather statesmanlike. “As the president of the...
The short answer to the question heading this note is “No.” There are too many Muslims in the world, having weight in international forums, with the U.S. and E.U. inclined to go along with them. The ascendance of radicalism among Muslims makes any of their governments reluctant to challenge a hard line against Israel. All that is true, but within those constraints, there is wiggle room for Israel and its friends. Governments of Muslim countries routinely demand anti-Israel declarations in the U.N. and other bodies, and press governments of the...
Every two years it seems Hamas gets the courage and the means to begin an aerial assault on Israel. The usual responses always come. The Arab States and Iran call on Israel to stop the “aggression.” Gaza civilians get killed because Hamas puts their rocket launchers in alleyways and neighborhoods, trapping the civilians there. Every two years. As I write this it is going on now. The only discussion is one of a ground invasion. That is a political decision, not a military one. It will have been made before you read this. Hamas is supplied by...
A Washington Post foreign affairs blogger, Ishaan Tharoor, listed the names, ages, and places of death of the 83 Palestinian Arabs killed in the first three days of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge (“These are the names of 21 children killed in Gaza,” July 10, 2014), with the children identified by boldface type. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/07/09/these-are-the-names-of-13-children-killed-in-gaza/ Tharoor noted that Israel said it was trying to minimize civilian casualties, but nevertheless, “civilians are dying....
There’s something about war that can make intelligent people look foolish. I’m thinking right now of all those smart people in Tel Aviv who analyzed the subtleties of peace at the Haaretz Peace Conference—only a few hours before Jew-hating terrorists from Hamas began firing rockets all over Israel. I wonder if they even considered having a session at the conference called, “What happens when people want to kill you no matter what you do?” That session might have included, for example, a panel of experts discussing the Hamas Charter, which cal...
All too often, unspeakable crimes are committed that harshly violate moral norms. How a society reacts to such atrocities tells a lot about its ultimate values. Every community has its bigots, racists, and criminals, but in most, the murder of innocents is rejected as beyond the pale. A Frenchman who had fought for the Islamist jihadists in Syria shot to death four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels, Belgium, on May 24. The assassin was quickly apprehended, and the authorities pledged to do their utmost to prevent any recurrence....
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 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., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, JULY 25 Light S...
Even the best of medical care does not address loneliness, identity and belonging. Staff members and volunteers of the Jewish Pavilion (JP) bring Jewish culture to the doorstep or bedside of Jewish long-term care residents living in Central Florida's assisted living and skilled nursing facilities. Familiar traditions, rituals, and culturally based activities can turn everyday existence into a life of meaning, celebration, and connection. Those who cannot live at home on their own are likely to...
Henry W. Davison of Maitland, passed away on June 13, 2014. He was 85 years old. Mr. Davison was born in New York City on Oct. 9, 1928 to the late Carl and Kitty Davison. He was married to the late Rhona Olson Davison and is survived by his sons Alan (Karen) of Kissimmee and Brian (Laura) of Maitland, and his sister Joy Dreyfus of Longwood. Graveside services were held at Beth Israel Cemetery with Rabbi Arnold Siegel officiating. Arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando, Fla....
Maurice “Mo” Shams of Maitland, passed away on Sunday, July 13, 2014, at Florida Hospital – Orlando. He was 78 years old. Mo was born in Pensacola on May 17, 1936, to the late Sidney and Rachel Shams. A graduate of Pensacola High School, he received his BA from the University of Florida and JD from UF Law School and his master’s in taxation from NYU Law School. He served as a communications officer in the FL Air National Guard. Mo married his college sweetheart, Bonnie Harris, in 1962 and they moved to Orlando to start their family. In 1969, t...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Josh Orlian cracked up the judges on "America's Got Talent," but his Orthodox day school wasn't laughing. The 12-year-old kippah-wearing comic made his national television debut with a raunchy routine packed with sexual innuendo. The show's celebrity judges and studio audience seemed both stunned and entertained by the pre-bar-mitzvah-age cut-up's dirty jokes. While the sixth-grader's shtick garnered the approval of the four judges-they unanimously advanced him to the...
Now that we know... This comes directly from ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN, national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) with an aside by me: "Even after 100 years of remarkable progress against anti-Semitism, dangerous attitudes about Jews still persist throughout the world. Overall, 26 percent of the world's population, a little more than 1 billion people, harbor anti-Semitic attitudes. The index of anti-Semitic attitudes ranges from less than 1 percent in Laos, 3 percent in the Philippines, and...
(JTA) – Fifteen years ago, Sarah Starr snooped. That would set her on a path leading to Israel, where she lives and hopes to remain. To do so, however, Starr wants to prove that she is Jewish, which means locating her natural parents. Growing up in northwest London, Starr sensed she didn't belong. She didn't look like her parents or relatives, never felt connected to their Greek Orthodox religion and culture. When she would make a minor mistake, like breaking a dish, the parents remarked that t...
Temple Israel is co-sponsoring a Summer Sunday on July 27 with the JCC at the JCC campus. Current Temple Israel families and prospective families are invited to stop by the Temple Israel table where there will be lunch, music and games from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. All families are invited and encouraged to stay for the remainder of the day and enjoy the pool and outside areas of the JCC campus. JCC membership is not required for entry. For more information, please contact the Temple Israel office...
Be’er Sheva, Southern Israel—More than two dozen American Jewish communal leaders are currently touring communities in Southern Israel in an emergency solidarity mission of the Jewish Federations across North America (JFNA). The mission is an effort to visit locales directly affected by rocket attack and to demonstrate that the North American Jewish community stands alongside the people of Israel at this time. Meanwhile, JFNA has also launched an emergency fund aimed at providing urgent and immediate assistance to Israeli communities under the...
