Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
(JTA)-As the Pokemon Go phenomenon grows, some institutions connected to European Jewry's darkest hour have taken precautions against it. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum in Poland has banned the addictive smartphone game, in which players viewing their environments through their device's camera run in search of animated figures that the game's application superimposes on the video feed in real time. Citing the need to respect the memory of the dead, the U.S. Holocaust Museum in...
At around 1 p.m. on a cloudy day in April 2014, Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., 74, pulled into the rear parking lot of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and opened fire. Shouting anti-Semitic slurs, he shot dead Dr. William Lewis Corporon, 69, and his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, before fleeing for the nearby Jewish geriatric center, Village Shalom. There, he murdered 53-year-old Terri LaManno. Miller told the Kansas City Star in an interview after his arrest that he conduct...
There is a new excitement at the Jewish Academy of Orlando. The Head of School, Alan Rusonik, shares, "It's a new year. A new beginning. A new excitement!" "The staff is gearing up for the new year," says Rusonik. The school is consolidating its operations back to its original space in the main building at the Maitland Jewish Community Campus. Rusonik adds, "all of our quality programming will remain the same, including TWO new programs we added last year. We have maintained an exceptional educa...
After a selection process that more closely resembled a reality television show than the usual political appointments, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that his choice for vice president is Indiana Governor Mike Pence, who beat out flashier contenders such as former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. For the pro-Israel community, Pence is viewed as a strong advocate for the Jewish state who can bolster Trump's...
CLEVELAND (JTA)-An issue of historical concern to American Jews drew waves of applause when Donald Trump Jr. preached about it Tuesday night from the stage of the Republican National Convention. It wasn't Israel, Iran or the fight against anti-Semitism. It was a call for the government to assist with private school costs, referred to as "school choice." Echoing Republican orthodoxy, the son of the party's nominee said it would promote competition and raise educational standards. American public...
CLEVELAND (JTA)-Wednesday night's gripping tale of a dramatic, sudden repudiation of Texas Sen. Ted Cruz by Sheldon Adelson, the major pro-Israel philanthropist and Republican donor, seems a little less consequential in the light of Thursday morning, according to folks who are close with Adelson and his wife, Miriam. There is no rift, they say, only a cooling off until after Nov. 8, Election Day. Until then, the Adelsons are invested in Donald Trump, while Cruz remains a darling of the...
NEW YORK (JTA)—At a time when many Jewish federations are reporting flat or declining fundraising, North America’s largest Jewish philanthropy said its annual campaign revenue has increased for the fourth consecutive year. UJA-Federation of New York announced Tuesday it had raised $153.4 million through its 2016 annual campaign, which ended June 30, up by $2.6 million from 2015. Outside the annual campaign, the federation raised $39.2 million through planned giving and endowments, and $15 million for capital projects and special ini...
The Jewish Academy of Orlando (JAO) is proceeding with plans, first announced in February, to consolidate its operations in the main building on the Maitland Jewish Community Campus, enabling the 38-year-old Jewish day school to sharpen its focus on its curriculum. When the 2016-17 academic year begins next month, JAO will have relocated the school’s operation entirely into the main campus building, which JAO has called home for most of its existence. JAO worked closely with the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando (JFGO), which owns and m...
Congregation Ohev Shalom’s clergy assistant, Vered Tzur, was hit from behind by a car on July 18, as she was riding her bicycle in Maitland. She died instantly. Tzur was born in Israel on May 14, 1966. She was buried in Israel where her family resides. Her partner, Susan Bernstein, attended the funeral. “Vered was a beloved member of the Ohev Shalom staff since last year. As the clergy assistant to myself, Rabbi David Kay and Cantor Allan Robuck, she was a joy to work with,” said Senior Rabbi Aaron Rubinger in an email sent to COS membe...
The RAISE program for young adults with special needs is now accepting online applications. There will be a limited number of positions available, as well as opportunities to volunteer as a Job Coach. RAISE is a 6- to 12-month work and social skills training program offered through the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando that provides paid employment at our partnering Jewish agencies for adults with special needs. In addition, RAISE assists its employees in the transition to finding employment in the community. If you know of a young adult...
The entire community is invited to a fun evening of BINGO on Thursday, Aug. 4 at Congregation Ohev Shalom. The event is open to anyone 18 and older and will take place at Congregation Ohev Shalom, 613 Concourse Pkwy SMaitland from 7-9 p.m. Rabbi David Kay is our BINGO caller extraordinaire. The Youth, Education, Family and Youth Scholarship Committees have been sponsoring BINGO several times over the past few years to benefit the Youth and Hebrew School Scholarship funds. Make it a date night, girls night out, guys night out or just come and...
A decade after fighting the Second Lebanon War against the Islamist terror militia Hezbollah, Israel is once again facing a build-up on its northern border, with the prospect of fresh hostilities looming The 2006 conflict, waged over a month during the hot summer, was the culmination of six years of rocket attacks by Hezbollah on cities and towns in northern Israel. By the time that war broke out, Hezbollah had taken advantage of Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 to assemble 15,000 fighters and thousands of missiles aimed in t...
(JNS.org) Exactly six years ago, when I was just 18 years old, I wrote as my Facebook status, “Doesn’t want to go home tomorrow :( I live in America but my heart is in Israel.” It was only my second time in Israel and I just knew. I knew that the minute I stepped off the plane back in the U.S., my heart would be split in two, and nothing would ever be the same again. I remember how when I got home from my first trip to Israel, I got into my onesie, a down jacket, and a blanket. It wasn’t actually that cold in Seattle, in fact, it was the summer...
When he was younger, our son Adam (now in his 50s) asked me “Dad, what will happen when the last old Jewish guy dies?” What he meant, metaphorically, was what do he and his generation do when they no longer have access to the stories, the culture and the warmth of that first generation that had that accent, loved that food and cried when they heard Ha Tikva. Memories fade. Young people will be voting in this year’s presidential election for the first time who were three years old when Saudi terrorists took out the Twin Towers. Their parents and...
The relationship between religion and state in Israel is stormy. Lately, it seems the ultra-Orthodox have launched a new offensive on several fronts. First, representatives of the ultra-Orthodox community went back on their Western Wall compromise agreement, a compromise that would give anyone interested in alternative prayer the option of holding services at the Wall’s southern section. Now, they are demanding that the Reform and Conservative movements be denied any official recognition in the new plaza at all. Further, judges from the P...
The recent op-ed by Yair Sheleg, “Israel’s battle for peace between religion and state,” is troublesome in several ways. While he portrays himself as a dispassionate analyst, it is clear that Sheleg’s essay intends, on the contrary, to inflame passions. The editor’s note added by JNS.org is revealing. In lieu of “haredi,” the writer used the pejorative term “ultra-Orthodox,” prompting this editorial disclaimer. In an era when we express sensitivity and consideration toward minority populations, we allow them to choose the terms of their ow...
The omission of Palestinian statehood from this year’s Republican Party platform is neither a radical change nor a departure from immutable U.S. policy, as some critics are claiming. In fact, both parties’ platforms have repeatedly changed positions on Israel-related issues over the years, in keeping with the preference of the presidential nominee or the changing mood among their rank and file. The first time the Republican platform mentioned a Palestinian state was in 1980. In that year’s race, GOP nominee Ronald Reagan positioned himse...
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 Isr...
MIAMI (JTA)-Growing up, I always dreamed of being a mom. Even as a kid I would brainstorm baby names, tell my dolls bedtime stories and swear that I would be a cool mom and let them eat cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had it all planned out, down to the soccer jerseys and frilly dresses my future children would wear. It all seemed easy enough-until it wasn't. When my husband Matan and I experienced difficulty getting pregnant, we worried that our lifelong dream of becoming parents...
(JTA)-When the late Austro-Hungarian aristocrat Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi attended church on Good Friday, his father would famously cause a scene, storming out when the liturgy came to the anti-Semitic exhortation "Let us also pray for the faithless Jews." Such protest was unusual in 19th-century Austria-Hungary, where anti-Semitism and other forms of racism were de rigueur. But the old count-a personal friend of Zionist legend Theodor Herzl-abhorred such biases in part because his wife,...
On July 19, Jewish Pavilion Program Director Gloria Green of Winter Garden presented her last presentation before she retires at Brookdale Ocoee. Christine Girard, the Activities director at Brookdale Ocoee Senior Living, provided a Jewish traditional lunch for Jewish residents that included latkes, pastrami, and lox and bagels-the perfect meal to go with Green's fifth (and final) program on the History of Jewish Food, which covered Jewish food from historic times to the present. Assisting...
Oh no! Who broke in?... (Remember, I write way in advance.) In the early morning yesterday, maybe 2 a.m. or so, I heard a loud boom which sounded like someone kicked in my front door. Not only did I hear it clearly, my dog started to bark and growl. She was also alarmed. What to do? I called 911 and was told that they were getting hundreds of calls reporting the same thing. They also said I should calm down as it probably was the sound of a sonic boom! Calm down? She didn't know me! Sheriff's...
(Kveller via JTA)—It took 42 years, 4 months and 18 days, but I think I may actually now like my hair. No, not the hair I was born with, but rather a finely tuned version that has taken years to attain. Too long. Too short. Too straight. Too dark. Too light. Too frizzy. Too flat. I can’t win! One morning recently I was working when my mom called. “Rae, what are you doing at 1 o’clock today?” she asked. Umm, why? “Because I made you an appointment to get a keratin treatment. I am paying for it. I’ll be over in five minutes to drop off the money...
CLEVELAND (JTA)- On the day Donald Trump wrapped up the Republican primaries, Marc Zell was ready to resign his position as vice president of Republicans Overseas, the party's expatriate group. Zell, who lives in Israel, was put off by Trump's inconsistent statements regarding the country. In particular, he felt insulted when Trump, at a Republican Jewish Coalition forum last December, said, "You're not going to support me because I don't want your money." He felt that the Republican...
(Kveller via JTA)—I was pregnant with my first daughter when I stood above the steps leading into the mikveh. After years of study, private and at a synagogue, and months of preparation, I was converting to Judaism. Naked and heavily pregnant, with my husband and rabbi standing in witness, the room was full of light and the still water before me. It was fitting and symbolic for me to be converting so close to delivering my first child. As a third-generation Mexican-American, I had grown up in a cultural limbo. I grew up in a mostly black and La...
