Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
NEVE ILAN, Israel (JTA)—Luke Rosener removed his orange T-shirt, changed into a white dress shirt and alighted from a chartered bus. The garb was a far cry from the uniform Rosener will wear while playing for the U.S. volleyball team at the Maccabiah Games, the 78-nation sports competition that began this week in Israel. The attire was more befitting a religious ceremony—in this case, his bar mitzvah. Rosener, 22, of Cupertino, Calif., had never had a bar mitzvah, owing to his family’s finan... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Michael Oren was deep inside the State Department, relaxed and taking on all comers: He had the facts on his side. It was 2004 and the department was reviewing newly declassified National Security Agency evidence reinforcing Israel’s longstanding claim that its 1967 air attack on the USS Liberty spy ship was a mistake. The attack killed 34 American personnel. Oren, a preeminent historian of the Six-Day War, was not suffering gladly those at the State Department conference who... Full story
Three months into her position as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, Olga Yorish is even more determined to make a positive impact on our lives. Born in St Petersburg, Russia, the former refusenik has selflessly dedicated the past 20 years to Jewish Federations, having recently spent 5 ½ years serving as executive director in Greater New Bedford, Mass. “It was a very tired, old fashioned organization that had lost its way. It’s now not the same Federation I foun... Full story
Gunmen in Sinai have stepped up attacks on Egypt’s police there, killing three policemen in separate attacks July 18. Earlier last week three cement workers were killed in a similar incident. Now Egyptian police are massing for an offensive in Sinai, with Israel’s tacit support. Israel has already allowed two infantry battalions to be deployed near the towns of Al-Arish and Rafah. Over the past few years, the Sinai has become increasingly lawless with Bedouins, Palestinians and other groups using Sinai for smuggling weapons and drugs into bot... Full story
When Israeli doctors performed a CT scan on Abdulrazak, an 8-year-old Muslim boy from Ethiopia who was almost mauled to death by a wild hyena, they were surprised to find the rabid animal—that caused severe head, scalp and eye injuries to the young victim—had also taken a piece of his jaw bone. So, doctors at the government-run Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya added a bone graft operation to the list of planned life-saving surgeries already set up. “We’re trying to perform all the surgeri... Full story
RAANANA, Israel (JTA)—When U.S. Rep. Peter Deutsch lost his campaign for the U.S. Senate in 2004, forcing him out of Congress for the first time in 12 years, he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. So he did something not entirely uncommon among American Jews who haven’t quite figured out their next step: He went to Israel. More than eight years later, Deutsch is still here, living with his family in Raanana, a Tel Aviv suburb. His 22-year-old son recently completed a stint as a combat sol... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the incoming Iranian president’s plea for engagement with the United States and called for ratcheting up military pressure, a bipartisan letter circulating in the U.S. House of Representatives is urging President Obama to test Hassan Rohani’s offer. The letter, spearheaded by Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and David Price (D-N.C.), had garnered 118 signatures by the afternoon of July 18, more than a quarter of the House... Full story
The big celebration is coming up in five years. In 2018, Congregation Ohev Shalom will mark 100 years of service to the Jewish community of Central Florida. But 95 isn’t too shabby, either. Essentially founded in a farmhouse by some of the first Jews to come to Orlando, Ohev Shalom moved into what is its third home two years ago. The new building, at 613 Concourse Parkway S. in Maitland, has been bustling with activity ever since. There aren’t any events being planned specifically for Ohev Shalom’s 95th birthday, but the congregation figur... Full story
While the Jewish Pavilion is known for bringing Judaism to the doorsteps of our elders in long-term care, there is something even more important that we do says Nancy Ludin, executive director. Isolation and loneliness abound in senior communities. The friendships that the Jewish Pavilion staff and volunteers provide are priceless. Pictured is Pat Rubenstein with Carol, a resident at Savannah Court. Pat has been visiting and laughing with residents for more than 10 years. Also pictured is Barry... Full story
Each year the Holocaust Memorial Research and Education Center of Florida sponsors a community program in remembrance of Kristallnacht, also known as the November Pogrom, a series of attacks against Jewish communities throughout Germany and parts of Austria. On Nov. 9–10, 1938, thousands of Jewish homes and shops were ransacked and destroyed with sledgehammers, pickaxes and rocks. The streets were left covered in pieces of smashed windows—the origin of the name Kristallnacht, the “Night of Br... Full story
Bingo is back at Congregation Ohev Shalom from 7-9 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 8. Everyone age 18 and older is invited to participate in this purely fun event, which benefits the youth of Ohev Shalom. Bingo caller extraordinaire Rabbi David Kay will again call the 10 rounds of play. Prizes for each round include gift certificates from restaurants, movies and leisure activities. The 10th-round prize will be a cash jackpot. Participants may also purchase tickets for a 50/50 cash drawing, High Holiday parking spot, membership to youth groups and a week... Full story
With the overthrow of Mohamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt, one is almost forced to question whether the global Islamist movement has been dealt a mortal blow. The notion that the era of Islamism has come to an end is not as outlandish as it seems. While the faith of Islam crystallized in Arabia 15 centuries ago, the ideology of Islamism—which aims to place the imperatives of sharia law at the heart of a coercive and all-powerful state—is a product of the last century. Like its totalitarian cousins—fascism, communism and nat... Full story
There are some basic things that constitute nationhood. A nation must have a native language; but it’s all right if the same language is spoken elsewhere. The language must be constantly updated to cover the events, history and culture of that country. It should have a history, however long or short. In the case of the U.S. relatively short, In the case of Israel, really a long, long time. It is important once again to emphasize that the people of the ancient and holy land of Israel have had for the past 66 years, the first indigenous, e... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)—We don’t know. That’s the operative phrase of the new round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks announced last Friday and ostensibly set to begin in the coming days in Washington. We don’t know their parameters, or if Israel will freeze settlements, release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners or agree to negotiate based on its pre-1967 borders. We don’t know whether the Palestinian Authority has agreed to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. We don’t know how long Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will hold off on taki... Full story
Israel used to be just another picture in a textbook. It was another set of dates, another long list of names, another world. It was a photograph that was immensely important yet one could never understand why. Until I spent three weeks diving into Israeli culture through a BBYO summer program called Passport, Israel was simply a distant place—one I had not immersed myself in as I had in Florida, my home. I traveled through BBYO with 44 other teens from 16 different states and Canada. This trip opened my eyes to new perspectives—foods, cul...
The two-state premise for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict goes back to the very foundation of the State of Israel. The United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 divided British-ruled Mandatory Palestine into two separate entities, one Jewish, one Arab. The plan recognized that the land between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea must be shared, a principle at the core of current efforts to achieve, through bilateral negotiations, a permanent peace based on two states for two peoples. Even though many Zionists had originally sought Jew... Full story
We all want the Arab war against Israel to be finally resolved. But is establishing a Palestinian state the answer? Not when the Palestinians’ goal is Israel’s destruction, as opposed to a Palestinian state living in peace with Israel. Every opportunity the Palestinians had to establish a state was rejected because it meant accepting Israel. The offers they rejected included: a 1937 Peel Commission proposal of a state on 95 percent of territory what is today all of Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza; in 1947 a division of the land into Jewish and... Full story
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 a.m.; Sunday, 8 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 26 Light the Shabbat candles at 8:03... Full story
Congregation Beth Sholom of Leesburg invites the community to a festive Shabbat service at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 9. This uplifting service of music and song, led by Rabbi and Cantor Karen Allen, who will be playing her keyboard, features world-class violinist, Zoriy Zinger. Zinger was a soloist in the Russian Symphony Orchestra before reaching fame in America. He has performed at Lincoln Center, programs on television, and stage shows with popular musical artists including Ray Charles and Ricky Martin. Allen and Zinger have collaborated in... Full story
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, together with This World: The Jewish Values Network, will host Dr. Mehmet Oz, with wife, Lisa, on their first visit to Israel from July 28 through Aug. 4, where Oz is slated to meet with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The trip was initiated by Shmuley, who presented a Champions of Jewish Values award to Oz and his wife, together with Elie Wiesel and Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson, at the annual This World gala dinner held recently in New York. Through the g... Full story
The summer heat can become so enervating that it’s too hot to move; fortunately, though, it’s never too hot to read. In fact, reading is a great way to escape the heat. “Jo Joe” When 13-year-old Judith Ormond moves to a small town in Pennsylvania to live with her white, Christian grandparents, she faces true prejudice for the first time. The problem? Not only is she Jewish, but biracial. After finishing high school, Judith promises never to return. However, she breaks that vow 17 years later when an anonymous message arrives saying her grandmo... Full story
Rita B. Shore of Champions Gate died on Saturday, July 13, at her residence. She was 88 years old. A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., she was born on March 15, 1925, to the late George and Rose Metzger Bernstein. A graduate of Erasmus High School she was voted “Miss Subway” for New York. She moved from New York to Miami Beach with her young son, Ron, in the middle 1950s. She grew up in a theater family where her relatives starred in the Jewish vaudeville circuit. In Miami, Mrs. Shore became entrenched in the entertainment industry. She worked in man... Full story
Madonna’s bar mitzvah boy NEW YORK (6NoBacon.com)—Madonna reunited with her ex-husband and director Guy Ritchie to celebrate their son Rocco’s bar mitzvah on Saturday. The coming-of-age celebration took place at The Kabbalah Centre in New York and included a small gathering the previous night. Madonna has been known for her involvement in Kabbalah studies since the 1990s. The singer posted a photo on her Instagram of Rocco completing the writing of a Torah scroll with the caption, “ ‘We finish the last letter of the Torah for Rocco’s B... Full story
Thomas, pioneering journalist who retired following anti-Israel gibes, dies (JTA)—Helen Thomas, who paved the way for female journalists in Washington and beyond and retired after saying Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine,” has died. Thomas, who reported on every U.S. president from John F. Kennedy to Barack Obama working mostly for United Press International, died Saturday at her home in Washington from what was described as a long illness. She was 92. She was known for ending many... Full story
It’s almost time… I recently found an old…very old column of mine dated Feb. 8, 2002. (You read right, 2002!) In it, I made some comments about my marriage to Irv, and since our 53rd wedding anniversary is almost upon us (Aug. 3, 1960), I decided to repeat the comments: “I’ve mentioned often that I am married a long time to the same man. We exchanged vows with the words ‘Till death do us part.’ “Back in ancient times that wasn’t such a binding commitment. People knew they weren’t going to... Full story
