Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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It was the most unusual Jewish Federation annual meeting, and not just because Heritage publisher Jeff Gaeser did not have to wear a coat and tie to present the Human Service Award to Hank Katzen. Held virtually through Zoom, Gaeser read his speech from his kitchen and Hank and his wife, Marcie, accepted it from Israel - not really. Katzen had a virtual background of the Western Wall. He and Marcie must have been time traveling as well, because a few times each momentarily disappeared and then...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Gabby Giffords, the Jewish former congresswoman who became a leader in the gun control movement after being shot by an assailant in the head in 2011, opened the third night of the Democratic convention with an appeal to elect Joe Biden president. "We can let the shooting continue or we can act," Giffords said in a recorded video that opened the proceedings Wednesday at the convention, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. "We can protect our families, our...
(JNS) - The Democratic National Convention hosted an imam from an Islamic extremist institution on Sunday. Noman Hussain, imam of ISM Brookfield in Wisconsin, was one of the religious leaders who took part in the convention's "Interfaith Welcome Service." Hussain is a scholar at the Texas-based Qalam Institute, whose officials have advocated "the use of female sex slaves, the killing of adulterers, and incite hatred against Jews and other non-Muslims," according to the Middle East Forum. One of...
SAN FRANCISCO (J. the Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — When the evacuation orders came last night, Guerneville resident Sonia Tubridy and her daughter packed the car and left, joining a caravan of vehicles fleeing the North Bay area and the fires that threatened to engulf them. Tubridy, cultural director of the Russian River Jewish Community, was among the thousands of people ordered to evacuate from fires burning 46,000 acres across a vast area covering five counties and stretching from Vacaville north to Lake Berryessa and out t...
As the pandemic continues, the phone is ringing off the hook at the Orlando Senior Help Desk at the Jewish Pavilion. Seniors are in need of low–rent housing, assisted living, home care, emergency assistance, Medicaid, Medicare and much more. Jewish callers often look for local senior communities with substantial Jewish populations. Pictured is Penny Goldstein D'Agostino answering calls....
Kudos to Amy from Texas and hundreds of other wonderful people across the nation who have sent cards to the Jewish Pavilion for our elders in long-term care. Isolation and loneliness often define the daily lives of many seniors who are no longer able to visit with their family members and their friends at the Jewish Pavilion. The cards, gift bags and phone calls mean the world to them....
Jewish Academy of Orlando's students loved heading back to school with their friends. Here are a few peeks from the first day of school....
(JNS) — According to Israel’s Coronavirus Project coordinator, Ronni Gamzu, his main goal right now is to combat and contain the virus “without implementing a full lockdown on the country.” “I am not sure we will succeed, but I am trying,” he said. He made his remarks in a briefing to the foreign press this week. Gamzu, who in the past served as the Health Ministry director general, was appointed to the role in July by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. He told reporters at the briefing that despit...
(JNS) — Facebook, according to an Aug. 10 report, “actively promotes further Holocaust-denial content to that user” and “has been unwilling to recognize Holocaust denial as a form of hate speech against Jews.” “Hosting the Holohoax: A Snapshot of Holocaust Denial Across Social Media,” was released by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank in the United Kingdom. The findings show that not only is Holocaust-denial content available on Facebook, but the social-media network actively lists it through the site’s algorithm. Through a “sno...
(JNS) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Monday to require an ethnic-studies course requirement for matriculation from California State University, starting with the 2021-22 school year. Spearheaded by the AMCHA Initiative, 90 education, civil-rights and religious groups had called on Newsom to veto the bill, AB-1460. The organizations noted an important distinction between the broad field of ethnic studies — with its goal of understanding and celebrating the contributions of the state and country’s diversity — and the...
(JNS) — Last Tuesday, two notable events occurred in the Democratic Party. Joe Biden announced that he had selected California Senator Kamala Harris to serve as his running mate in November; and Rep. Ilhan Omar won her primary, all but guaranteeing her return to Congress for a second term. On the face of things, Harris’s selection seems like the more significant of the two events. But actually, Omar’s primary victory was far more momentous. Traditionally, presidential candidates have selected their running mates based on electoral consi...
The last few weeks have witnessed a landmark development in Arab-Israeli relations upon which all fair-minded Jews can finally agree. I am of course referring to the agreement reached on Aug. 13, 2020, between the government of Israel and the government of the United Arab Emirates to establish diplomatic normalization with and recognition of the Jewish state. The anticipated peace treaty and ancillary agreements covering cooperation and collaboration in the fields of medicine, security, transportation and trade are not yet formalized as of...
Let’s go back in time. The 1960s. Hippies. The March on Washington. George Wallace. Viet Nam. The Edmond Pettis Bridge. Remember? Well, I guess that those of us of a “certain age” do. We remember the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. We remember that time. The last time that the racial divide and the struggle for equality and voting rights were in the headlines on a daily basis. Those of us who were there and lived it saw many similarities to this past year. But, there is one significant difference this time: Where are the Jews? There...
President Donald Trump’s accomplishments establish him as an effective social justice president. He speaks proudly and joyfully of results — not platitudes: improving the lives of minority communities through increased employment, reducing income disparity by bringing highly paid manufacturing jobs back to the USA, giving offenders a second chance at life through criminal justice reform, securing ongoing funding for historically Black colleges and universities, and supporting parents in their efforts to get a good education for their chi...
Rabbi Steinsaltz, who passed away Aug. 7 in Jerusalem at the age of 83, was a rabbi in the most authentic meaning of the word: He was an educator. And the world was Rabbi Steinsaltz’s student body. He spent decades teaching, writing, publishing, lecturing, mentoring, and organizing, and all of this work was focused on bringing Jews closer to Judaism and Jewish sources. But, I think what Rabbi Steinsaltz really was at his essence was a dreamer. Rabbi Steinsaltz dreamed of a world where Jews cared more about each other, where ancient Jewish w...
Dear Editor: Kudos for publishing “Shame on Nancy Pelosi for endorsing Ilhan Omar,” in your July 31st issue. Pelosi has moved from the Light to the Darkness. In the Light she is the “Lioness,” supporting bills that will make a difference for those who desperately need help during these stressful times. However, with her endorsement of Ilhan Omar and now Rashida Tlaib, who have often openly expressed anti-Semitic views, she has moved into the Shadows. Why would Pelosi, a seasoned politician, choose to stand on the side of “Squad” members who...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, all minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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...
Due to the global Covid-19 pandemic and for the first time in its history, Birthright-Israel has postponed all trips since mid-March. “While tens of thousands of Jewish young adults were planning to visit Israel this summer, the organization quickly turned to online high-quality engagement with its alumni and prospective participants. Since mid-March we reached 4.4 million people around the world,” said Noa Bauer, vice president of Global Marketing at Birthright. “Today we invite the thousands of Birthright applicants whose trips were cance...
(JNS) - Israeli archaeologists have announced that they have unearthed a 1,300-year-old Byzantine-era church in the Lower Galilee in the village of Kfar Kama near Mount Tabor, which Christians believe is the Mount of Transfiguration where Jesus performed one his miracles. The excavation was conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority, in collaboration with the Kinneret Academic College and local volunteers. The head of the Greek Catholic Church in Israel also personally visited the site,...
Jaret Samuel Richman, son of Scott and Gwen Richman of Gotha, Fla., was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, at Congregation of Reform Judaism in Orlando. Jaret is in the eighth grade at Gotha Middle School where he is a member of the National Junior Honor Society and the Chess and Board Games Club. He also enjoys Boy Scouts and Karate. Sharing in the family's simcha were his sister, Jenna; brother, Evan; bubbe, Barbara Richman from Tampa, Fla.; and grandparents,...
(JNS) - Due to global coronavirus pandemic, this year's CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis) student conference was held via Zoom, teaching students how to effectively combat anti-Israel and biased propaganda on college campuses and online. Unable to attend the typical five-day, in-person training session in Boston, more than 100 students from 66 universities in North America, the United Kingdom and Israel joined together virtually earlier this month,...
While watching television ... (What else is there to do during this pandemic quarantine? Well. If I wasn't a widow I would figure it out!) Anyway, I saw some great movies in the last few days. "First Wives Club" was one of them. BETTE MIDLER and GOLDIE HAWN were two of the stars and both are Jewish. Also, SARAH JESSICA PARKER is featured in that movie, (Another Jew.) Next, I saw "Foul Play," again with Goldie Hawn as one of the stars. The movie featured the music of Barry Alan Pincus throughout....
(JNS) - Palestinian textbooks are rife with blatant incitement against Israel, as has been reported for decades. And in the United States, for example, Palestinian children studying under the Palestinian Authority school curriculum learn Newton's Second Law through the image of a boy with a slingshot targeting Israeli soldiers. And Dalal al-Mughrabi, the perpetrator of the 1978 Coastal Road massacre - in which 38 Israelis, including 13 children, were killed, and 71 wounded - is celebrated in an...
(JNS) - After denouncing racist, anti-Semitic fliers left around his community earlier this month and then being threatened by a neo-Nazi leader, Rabbi Shlomo Litvin of Lexington, Ky., aims to educate others on what Judaism and anti-Semitism are all about. The trouble began more than a week ago when people in suburban Lexington neighborhoods received fliers urging "Aryan men and women stand up" and said, in part, "Blood and Soil ... Jews will not replace us, Blacks will not replace us, Mexicans...
Written by the family Rod Mace James Bobele, 35, of Winter Park, died Aug. 12, 2020. He fought a rare cancer for 18 months with humor and courage. Rod was a 2nd Degree Black Belt, a touring Yo-Yo pro, semi-pro paintballer, a World Cup Soccer Opening Ceremony participant, played four varsity high school sports for Lake Mary High School, was honored by Duke University Talent Search, and enjoyed all water sports. Rod was awarded a full academic scholarship to college. He also completed four years...
