Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 40
Gov. Rick Scott declared Sunday, July 21, 2013 to be “ Torah Day.” The proclamation honored the North Orlando Chabad community and the inauguration of the congregation’s first torah dedicated by Zvi and Dawn Shamu and Paul Sebag. Scott “extended greetings and best wishes upon” Rabbi Yanky Majesky and wife Chanshy on their commitment “to bringing the joy of Judaism” to residents of Sanford, Longwood, and Lake Mary (since 2010). A crowd of approximately 200 members of the Jewish community from all... Full story
Since its founding more than 30 years ago, the Holocaust Center in Maitland has been using fine art as a vehicle to remind visitors of the importance—and the humanity—of victims of genocide. Holocaust history is wrapped around the unfathomable statistic of six million Jewish people, including one and a half million children, dead. Holocaust education, particularly as expressed through fine arts, acknowledges that within that unimaginable number one can see that it is one person who died, the... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Israeli settler leader Dani Dayan has made it his mission over the years to warn members of Congress, particularly Republicans, of the perils of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Dayan has been a regular visitor to Washington, his trips often coinciding with developments in the peace process. During the Annapolis talks in 2007-08, Dayan would watch Israeli officials as they met with the media in the lobby of the venerable Mayflower Hotel, just blocks from the White House, and then move in to offer his own spin. In June, Dayan m... Full story
Long before Magic and Michael, before Kobe and LeBron, there was Ossie, the first scoring leader in the National Basketball Association—at least for a few seconds. Ossie Schectman, a Knicks guard and a onetime all-American at Long Island University in Brooklyn, died on July 30 at 94. According to The New York Times, he was remembered as a central figure in the NBA’s creation tale. He scored the first 2 points in the league’s history and became something of a celebrity when the distinction was u... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The election for Massachusetts governor is still 16 months away—too soon to know what the issues are or who the viable candidates will be. But apparently it’s never too soon for tikkun olam. Four of the declared candidates are Jewish, and all are grounding their campaigns in the religious imperative to repair the world. Steve Grossman, the state treasurer and a past chairman of the Democratic National Committee, quotes from Isaiah in describing his ambition to close the gap b... Full story
SANA’A, Yemen – Sam (not his real name), an American photographer and editor for an English-language local newspaper, lives in one of the tall historic buildings in the city. With increased kidnappings of Westerners in Yemen, he has grown more cautious. The number of kidnappings has increased recently, with tribesmen or Al-Qa’ida terrorists using hostages either as bargaining chips for the release of imprisoned members or as a way to get a lucrative ransom. Several foreigners have been abducted this year by either Al-Qa’ida gunmen or disgrun... Full story
Temple Shir Shalom of Oviedo will begin its 12th year of religious school with a “Meet the Teacher Oneg,” Friday evening, Aug. 16, immediately following Shabbat services at University Carillon United Methodist Church. Registration is underway for classes, which will begin at Double R Private School on Aug. 25. School hours are 9 a.m. to noon, and will run for 25 sessions during the school year. Temple membership is required for religious school enrollment. Shir Shalom, the largest Reform synagogue in Seminole County, enrolls students from Kin... Full story
Jordan Schilit, 22, of Tampa, and grandson of Edith and Charles Schulman of Winter Springs, was asked back to once again participate in the 2013 Maccabia Games. In 2009, he ran in the Maccabia Games in Israel. For this year’s games he ran the 1500m and the 5K. “It was exciting for Charles and me because JLTV broadcast live from the games,” said Edith. An average-to-above-average runner who didn’t even make the high school varsity team (his freshman year), Schilit persisted, and by the time he... Full story
While Jews across the nation are celebrating Rosh Hashanah on Sept. 5th and 6th, the Jewish Pavilion’s High Holiday season extends for several weeks. Their four program directors each coordinate a dozen High Holiday celebrations in independent, assisted- and skilled-nursing facilities in greater Orlando. Even buildings with one Jewish resident receive attention. The resident receives a visit complete with a card, High Holiday prayers, apples, honey, challah, honey cake and a Jewish calendar. I... Full story
The Jewish residents in senior communities are so thrilled to receive an annual gift from Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel. Each year they can count on receiving gorgeous Jewish calendars at their Jewish Pavilion High holiday services. Pictured is Norma Ball distrusting a calendar to Charlotte of Lake Mary Rehab. Charlotte is holding a shofar.... Full story
The victory of Hassan Rouhani in June’s Iranian presidential election has once again thrust the word “moderate” into the center of the agonized debate over western policy toward Tehran’s nuclear program—a debate whose latest iteration centers on the implications of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s planned visit to Iran next month. But what “moderate” actually means in this context remains unclear. If the various western pundits and politicians who have embraced Rouhani are to be believed, this wise successor to the hyperbolic Mahmoud Ahmadin... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—After 20 years of stops, starts and a bloody intifada in between, John Kerry believes he can pull out a final status Israeli-Palestinian peace deal in nine months. What clock is the U.S. secretary of state trying to beat? According to his aides, the one ticking down as Syria and Egypt roil into unknowable futures and Palestinians fume at the prospect of never achieving sovereignty. “It’s becoming more complicated on the ground, and a feeling of pessimism is settling in among Israelis and Palestinians,” said a State Departm... Full story
By Ed Ziegler We know that our children are our future. Therefore our future is what we teach our children. An effective way to brainwash children is by using textbooks that contain false and distorted information. In such misleading textbooks Christianity and Judaism are denigrated, favoring Islam. The Council on Islamic Education (CIE) was established to enhance Islam’s image over other religions. To accomplish this Muslim activists such as Susan Douglass and Shabbir Mansuri (founder of CIE) got themselves on advisory boards of textbook p... Full story
Anti-Semitism in Europe, often in the guise now of anti-Israel rhetoric and actions, has become too big a problem to ignore or rationalize away. And it is taking place on two levels: as official policy, and within societies where, according to recent polls, Israel is considered the most dangerous nation in the world, more of a threat to world peace even than Iran or North Korea. But getting the word out about this deeply disturbing trend has not been easy. The latest European Union attempt, in advance of Mideast peace talks, to, in effect,... Full story
In the museum attached to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, there is an exhibit called “Free2Choose.” Videos pose various scenarios: Should YouTube ban Holocaust denial? Should public schools allow Muslim girls to wear head scarves? The visitors are asked to vote, and the tallies are projected on a screen. “There are many lessons to be learned from the past,” the museum guidebook explains. “The fate of Anne Frank, as well as the millions of other victims of the Nazis, shows that violating human rights can have far-reaching effects.” But there i... Full story
Sunday’s vote by Israel’s Cabinet to approve the release of 104 Palestinian terrorists with blood on their hands may have been the right move in the context of the re-started peace talks, but definitely at the wrong time. As a business person I enter into negotiations with prospective clients all the time in an effort to craft an agreement that addresses the needs of both of us: the client’s need to have work done to his/her satisfaction and our need to be properly compensated for the work we do. But we never enter into a negotiation by saying... Full story
Dear editor: I was quite disappointed to read the article “Countering anti-Semitism in the month of Ramadan” written by Rashad Hussain. Although Mr. Hussain has impressive credentials as an individual, the organization to which he is the United States’ envoy certainly does not. A little research into the background of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation would reveal this. For starters, in their publications, any and all actions taken by the State of Israel in retribution to attacks on the Israeli citizens are labeled as “ terrorist actions.... 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, AUGUST 9 Light Shabbat at 7:53 p.m. Dor Shal... Full story
JTA—It wasn’t so long ago that Ryan Braun was just a rookie phenom, racking up numbers that had Jewish sports junkies rushing to put the Milwaukee Brewers’ slugger in the pantheon with Greenberg and Koufax. These days, not so much. The news is that Braun has accepted a suspension from Major League Baseball for the rest of the season, all but admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs. I say “all but admitting” because in accepting the time he still hasn’t explicitly acknowledged the crime:... Full story
Alma Getzov Kerben of Longwood, died Friday, July 26, 2013, at Florida Hospital Orlando. She was 76 years old. Mrs. Kerben was born Jan. 21, 1937 in Camden, N.J., to the late Samuel and Elizabeth (Cohen) Getzov. She moved to the Orlando area in 1955 from Miami, Fla. Mrs. Kerben is survived by her sons, Edward Kerben of Maitland, and Maury Kerben of Atlanta, Ga.; and three grandchildren, Jordan Kerben, Madison Kerben and Josh Weiner. Donations in memory of Mrs. Kerben may be made to Cong. of Reform Judaism, 928 Malone Dr., Orlando, Fla., 31820.... Full story
Dr. Jill Gabrielle Klein is author of “We Got the Water: Tracing My Family’s Path through Auschwitz” My father had to cope with an unfathomable situation: at the young age of 16, he was a prisoner in Auschwitz. He was deported from Hungary in the spring of 1944, was separated from his family and friends, and spent a year in Nazi concentration camps. Today he is 85. In the decades since the war ended he has enjoyed life to its fullest, having decided the day he was liberated that he would not give any more of himself to his captors by conti...
Princesses’ gig a teacher’s nightmare NEW YORK (6NoBacon.com)—When Stefan Serie appeared as an extra on Bravo’s “Princesses: Long Island,” he did what the female stars on the show do practically every episode—prance around a party wearing minimal clothing. The difference between Serie and the ladies (one of the differences, anyway) is he actually had something to lose: a job. The 30-year-old health teacher in Merrick showed up shirtless on the series premiere at Erica’s bash in the Hamptons, h... Full story
TEL AVIV (JTA)—The show was supposed to be a celebration of glamour and glitz, but in the second episode it dropped a bombshell: One of the protagonists’ husbands died of cardiac arrest. The five stars of “Meusharot,” Israel’s version of the “Real Housewives” reality series, handled the news in their own ways. One grappled with her feelings about death. Another baked a cake to bring to the shiva. Jennifer Snukal tried a different approach, arranging a sexy photo shoot that aimed to produce an... Full story
Right around the corner... When you read this column, hopefully I will have returned safely from Las Vegas... but actually, I don’t fly out there for another day. I hope my airport experience is more pleasant than on my last flight, which was round trip to Chicago from Orlando. It was an especially long wait for me on the TSA lines because the guy in front of me had to remove his ear pierce, his nose pierce, his tongue pierce, his belly-button pierce... (And I’m grateful not to have to remove my... Full story
