Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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As a former theater kid, "Glee" was my favorite show in my adolescent years and-admittedly-I still listen to its covers of classics and newer pop songs to this day. So as someone who now binge-watches Netflix to my heart's content, I was very happy to see that "Glee" is now available on that platform about a decade after its very first episode aired. I loved watching the characters in New Directions, McKinley High School's show choir, develop because I could see so many similarities between... Full story
(JNS)—JWed will celebrate its 3,300th marriage by offering one Jewish couple two free tickets to Israel. The online dating website will host a contest from July 23 to Aug. 16, asking engaged or married couples who met through the online dating site (or when the site was formerly called Frumster) to submit their stories and pictures for a chance to win two free tickets to Israel. “We are excited to bring the JWed family together to celebrate this milestone,” said CEO Ben Rabizadeh. “At a time of exciting growth for our company, we think it is a... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s former justice minister Ayelet Shaked is head of the New Right party, replacing Naftali Bennett, the former education minister. The announcement came on Sunday night in Ramat Gan, after weeks of uncertainty about Shaked’s political future. Shaked and Bennett reportedly met on Saturday night prior to the announcement. Shaked and Bennett broke with the right-wing Jewish Home Party ahead of the April elections to form the New Right Party, which they said is based on a “full and equal partnership” between Orthodox... Full story
(JNS)—The U.K. government has announced that it will be taking diplomatic and economic measures against Iran in the wake of the seizure of the British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero in the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Friday, but stopped short of calling for military action. British Foreign Secretary James Hunt warned of “serious consequences” on Sunday, and is expected to announce a series of diplomatic and economic measures aimed at Iran, possibly including pushing for the renewal of E.U. and U.N. sanctions, as well as the freezing of Irani... Full story
Written by Sheila Reback Gladys Friedman Paulin, 80, died Wednesday, July 17, 2019, in Winter Park, Florida. She was born in Cortland, New York, daughter of Norma C. and John C. Friedman. Gladys spent her childhood in Auburn, New York. She received her B.S. from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Gladys’s business career in New York City included positions as Benefits administrator and Pension specialist for Incentive Systems, Inc., Wheelabrator-Frye, Inc.; Combustion Engineering, Inc.; Pan American World Airways; Fiat; and S.P.A. She r... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-In the 1960s, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and John Glenn were household names, idolized as god-like figures by a public enraptured by NASA's forays into space. There was also Jules Bergman, who almost attained the same fame despite never actually going into space. The charismatic television reporter covered all of NASA's 54 manned space flights during his lifetime. One of those was Apollo 11, which, 50 years ago, on July 20, 1969, became the first manned spacecraft to... Full story
(JNS)-Elan Carr, a Jew of Iraqi descent, was appointed Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, a senior diplomatic post that had been vacant for two years until he assumed it in February. Carr is a well-known pro-Israel figure in California, having served as the Los Angeles deputy district attorney before making an unsuccessful 2014 bid on the Republican ticket for Congress in the Democrat-heavy L.A 33rd district. His wife, Dahlia, is a physician, and he flies every weekend from... Full story
Lamar Odom visits Lubavitcher Rebbe’s gravesite with his kids By Gabe Friedman (JTA)—Lamar Odom visited the New York gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, the late leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, with his two children last week. “I heard he makes miracles happen,” the former NBA star said in an Instagram post. “It’s a miracle to be here at this place with my children, reflecting on a better life we will build together.” Tens of thousands of people, including non-Jewish celebrities, have visited Schneerson’s gravesite in Queens this... Full story
(JTA)-In July 1939, eight months after Kristallnacht and seven weeks before Hitler would invade Poland, Congress killed a bill that would have allowed 20,000 Jewish refugee children into the United States. Opponents of the bill, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, said America should help its own poor people before foreigners, and worried that letting in children could later lead to admitting their parents. "I have nothing against the Jews," said a woman quoted by JTA at the time as Mrs.... Full story
(JTA)—U.S. Jews know more about religion in general than their non-Jewish neighbors, a new survey shows. Americans who are not Jewish, meanwhile, don’t know a lot about Judaism. But they like Jews more than any other religious group. And they think there are more Jews in the country than there actually are. The more non-Jews know about Jews, the more they like them. The data comes out of a new survey on what Americans know about religion published Tuesday by the Pew Research Center. The survey asked a group of diverse Americans a set of 32 que... Full story
When my 7-year-old son and I traveled to Budapest in 2002, we arrived at my friend Katalin's flat at 11 a.m. It was already over 90 degrees F. and there was no air conditioning. We could barely make it up the five flights after some 30 hours of travel, but of course we were hungry. Katalin, the daughter of Holocaust survivors who returned to Budapest after World War II, had anticipated what our condition would be and prepared something I had never had before-a refreshing cold cherry soup,... Full story
MONTREAL (JTA)-As long as there have been Jews, there have been two unwavering constants: anti-Semitism and Jewish jokes about anti-Semitism. Like the one told about the assassination of Czar Alexander of Russia in 1881, when a government official approaches a rabbi and growls, "I assume you know who was behind it." The rabbi replies, "I have no idea, but I'm sure the government will blame the Jews and the chimney sweeps." Confused, the official asks, "Why the chimney sweeps?" "Why the Jews?"... Full story
