Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Eight people were injured, among them U.S. citizens after a Palestinian gunman open fired on civilians at a bus and a parking lot near Jerusalem's Old City. Following an intensive manhunt by Israel's security forces and several arrests, the suspected terrorist identified as east Jerusalem resident Amir Sidawi turned himself in to the Israeli police. "This was a lone assailant, a resident of the city with a criminal background," Prime Minister Yair Lapid stated. "Whoever harms Israeli citizens ha...
(JNS) — The pro-Israel nonprofit StandWithUs kickstarted its second national letter campaign last week, writing to roughly 3,000 universities across the United States about major issues Jewish students face on campus. “If your administration and [Diversity, Equity and Inclusion] offices prioritize social-justice issues, then combating anti-Semitism on campus should be a major focus,” said the Aug. 4 letter signed by StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein, StandWithUs Legal Department director Yael Lerman and Center for Combating Antisemitism direc...
Heritage Florida News award-winning columnist and Central Florida attorney Mel Pearlman was recently recognized by the Florida Bar Association at its Annual Convention for 50 years of distinctive service to the citizens of Florida as a member of the Florida Bar. Within the same time frame, Pearlman took second-place in the Louis Rapoport Award for Excellence in Commentary category from the American Jewish Press Association for his article in the Heritage titled "Mr. Biden's folly," (May 14,...
(New York Jewish Week) — Leaders of mostly left-wing Jewish groups and progressive New York Jewish politicians demanded an apology from the head of the Anti-Defamation League, saying he had maligned the progressive group Jews for Racial & Economic Justice. In a letter circulated by JFREJ, the signatories condemned “smear campaigns that seemed designed to isolate and divide progressive Jews from the rest of the Jewish community.” The letter is signed by City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council member Lincoln Restler, former Manhattan Borou...
It's finally here - back-to-school time! It can be stressful to get back into the routine of things for both parents and children. Try making the transition back to school a little easier by reducing common stressors. Do those chores really need to be done or can it wait until after they start school? Order in from your favorite restaurant and skip the dishes. Remember that the transition to a new grade can be just as stressful for kids as it is for you. Give yourselves a few days to adjust...
Lori Slutsky delivered a beautiful Shabbat service at the Cascade Heights community in Longwood. It was Erev Tishah B’Av so the service had an extra special feeling to it. All attendees were engaged and learned about the destruction of the two Temples in Jerusalem (the Bais Hamikdash). Blessings were made over wine and challah. All enjoyed and participated....
The Jewish Chamber met at Toojays on Colonial on Tuesday, Aug. 9, for networking and conversation. Many nice friendships were reunited or forged. The next Jewish Chamber event is Sept. 12 from 5-7 p.m. at the Roth Family JCC. Samantha Tayor, from J Life and Lake Mary Magazine, will be leading a session on speed networking. Visit https://jewish-chamber.com. Shown here Joshua Mizrachi (l) greets Scott Goldberg at the Jewish Chamber meet and greet....
(JTA) — A state senator who says the story of her grandfather’s murder during the Holocaust galvanizes her will be the Democratic candidate for Vermont’s single seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Becca Balint, who has been a state senator since 2015, won Vermont’s Democratic primary on Tuesday, easily fending off her main competitor, Molly Gray, the state’s lieutenant governor. With Vermont a reliably blue state, Balint is all but certain to become the state’s first woman representative in Congress. Balint was endorsed by Vermont’s prog...
(JNS) — The United States, United Kingdom, France and the European Union have called for “restraint” following the launch by Israel on Friday of “Operation Breaking Dawn” against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group in the Gaza Strip. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency, closed-door meeting on Monday to discuss the matter. U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also issued a statement on Saturday expressing her country’s support for Israel and its right to self-defense, while condemning the terrorists. She called for...
(JTA) — One of Israel’s strongest critics in Congress narrowly survived a tough Democratic primary, as Rep. Ilhan Omar eked out a victory Tuesday in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district. Omar, a two-term member of Congress who supports the movement to boycott Israel and once grouped Israel and the United States with Hamas and the Taliban in a statement about human rights abuses, faced a challenge from Don Samuels, a former Minneapolis city councilman who courted pro-Israel and suburban support. He drew 48.2 percent of the vote in the distr...
(JTA) — Olivia Newton-John, the iconic pop singer of the 1970s and ’80s, died at her home in Southern California Monday of the breast cancer she had battled for three decades. She was 73. Newton-John was most famous for her starring role as Sandy Olsson, alongside John Travolta’s Danny Zuko, in the 1978 musical “Grease,” and as the singer of the 1982 hit song “Physical.” Newton-John was born in Cambridge, England, to Brinley Newton-John and Irene Born, the daughter of Max Born, a Jewish Nobel laureate and one of the founders of quantum mechanic...
(The Jewish Voice via JNS) — When addressing the defining moment of the 20th century in terms of man’s inhumanity to man, we often reflect on the sheer barbarism of the Holocaust. But throughout the blood-stained annals of Jewish history, many other anti-Semitic massacres have been committed. Tragically, what is often neglected and summarily dismissed is the forced expulsion, evacuation and flight of 921,000 Jews of Sephardi and Mizrachi background from Arab countries and the Muslim world, primarily from 1948 to the early 1970s. For over 2,5...
(JNS) — In the current poisonous political atmosphere, many accusations are made by the right and left, each asserting the other is most responsible for all evil in the world. This is equally true regarding campuses. As with so much political rhetoric, little is based on research rather than individuals’ view through partisan goggles. But what does the data show? No one study is likely to be accepted or conclusive, but I ran across an interesting one by Eitan Hersh, an associate professor at Tufts University, and Laura Royden, a Ph.D. can...
(JNS) — Anyone wishing to understand the historic, religious and political significance of Jewish settlements in biblical Judea and Samaria (commonly misidentified as the “West Bank” under Jordanian control until the Six-Day War in 1967) should read Daniel Kane’s Mosaic article on Aug. 1 called “The Changing Faces of Israel’s Settlement Movement.” Although settlers are often depicted in the media (see The New York Times) as fanatics who have stolen Palestinian land, that reveals bias, not reality. The core of Kane’s analysis is the transformat...
(JNS) — On Aug. 5, as squadrons of Gaza militants from the terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad approached an Israeli border post, Israel initiated “Operation Breaking Dawn,” striking PIJ targets. The operation included a precision strike that took out top PIJ commander Tayseer al-Jabari. What is this shadowy organization, what are its goals and capabilities and what is the nature of the threat it poses to the State of Israel? Fortunately, this information is publicly available; sadly, it paints a picture of a militant faction capable of imme...
MORNING MINYANS Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person minyans. 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...
(JNS) — Hamas issued and then withdrew sweeping restrictions on foreign journalists working in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of this week’s conflict between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, according to the Associated Press. The restrictions included a ban on coverage about PIJ rockets falling short in Gaza and causing injuries and deaths, as well as a general rule requiring that Jerusalem be blamed for the latest escalation, according to the report. The Foreign Press Association, which represents international media in Israel, ann...
(JTA) - Negotiating the bomb-scarred roads of eastern Ukraine is the easy part of Ilya Pulin's day as he delivers food and medicine across eastern Ukraine as a volunteer. The difficult part, he told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, is finding and paying for fuel in the war-torn country. Since Russia invaded in February, "fuel prices have doubled. There are hour-long lines at petrol stations. And until a few days ago there was a five-gallon ration per person," said Pulin, a 38-year-old Jewish...
(Israel Hayom via JNS) - A 16-dunam (four-acre) noncontiguous parcel of land on a green hilltop in eastern Jerusalem, which lies between the security barrier and the eastern border of the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood, could soon become the most volatile in the city. The Israeli Justice Ministry has completed the process, conducted secretly, of transferring ownership of the land to the state, on a temporary basis. Civil researchers hired by the ministry's Custodian of Absentee Properties...
If you or your spouse served in the military, you may be eligible for aid that can be applied to the cost of care services. The VA Aid and Attendance pension was established to provide financial benefits outside the traditional VA residential care system. It specifically helps veterans and their spouses finance daily personal care services if needed. These services include Personal grooming assistance, medication assistance, help transitioning into bed and incontinence management. These are...
My favorite movie of all ... This has nothing to do with the column or the comedians I'm writing about today, but I just saw my favorite movie, "Singin' In The Rain," on television for the 4th or 5th time. I loved everything about that movie. Unfortunately all the stars, Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Conner, (none Jewish) are deceased, but they were and always will be favorites of mine. And dancing was my favorite talent ... more than singing. (Watching it gave me a good upbeat...
(JNS) British Foreign Secretary of State and Parliament member Liz Truss promised to consider moving the British embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem if she is elected Tory leader and becomes prime minister in September. The Conservative Party leadership candidate-one of two; she is vying against fellow Parliament member Rishi Sunak-made the promise in a letter written to members of Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI). She also participated in a CFI event on Monday night in which she...
(JTA) - A century ago, German philosopher Franz Rosenzweig spearheaded the revival of intellectual Jewish life in the city of Frankfurt am Main with the "Freies Jüdisches Lehrhaus" - the Jewish House of Free Study. As many as 1,100 adult students would attend lectures tailored to secular Jews and aimed at democratizing the kind of Jewish learning that was typically restricted to the beit midrash, or formal house of Jewish study. Now, a Lehrhaus in the spirit of 1920s Frankfurt is coming to the...
(JTA) - Could the new owner of Ben & Jerry's Israeli business interests rename a flavor "Judea and Samaria"? Avi Zinger, who bought the company's Hebrew and Arabic branding from parent company Unilever last month, recently told an Israeli news outlet that he had the right to do so, and even proposed renaming "Chunky Monkey" to the biblical name for the West Bank. And that threat, Ben & Jerry's lawyers say, is reason enough why the sale shouldn't legally go through. "If Ben & Jerry's wanted to pr...
(JNS) — Newfound technology enables the use of nanoparticles to assist the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. The technology, developed by a research team at Bar-Ilan University, uses nanoparticles to eliminate obstacles in the malignant tumor’s environment that impede the normal activity of natural killer cells (a special sub-type of white blood cells called lymphocytes). The research was published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine. Natural killer cells are a potent defense weapon of the body that assists the immune system in it...
