Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA)-The Israel-based humanitarian group IsraAID, B'nai B'rith International and Chabad are among those pitching in to help the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian's devastation, which has killed at least 20 people. "We are in the midst of a historic tragedy in parts of the northern Bahamas," Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said at a news conference Tuesday, adding the "devastation is unprecedented and extensive." The hurricane stalled over Grand Bahama Island for nearly two days, leaving...
(JNS)-"We are not strangers in Hebron, and we will stay here forever!" were the climactic remarks made on Wednesday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an official state ceremony at the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs in Hebron commemorating the 90th anniversary of the 1929 Jewish massacre. Netanyahu also said that he was proud that his government approved dozens of additional housing units last year for Jewish residents of the ancient city. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-Jason Greenblatt, President Donald Trump's top Middle East peace negotiator, is leaving the White House. Although the "ultimate" deal he helped craft has yet to be fully announced, the Trump administration suggested in the announcement that Greenblatt was leaving now that it had been written. A senior White House official said the plan is done. "The vision is now complete and will be released when appropriate," the official said in an email. Greenblatt said in a statement: "It...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Anti-aircraft missiles were fired from Lebanon at an Israeli military base and at military vehicles. “There are a number of confirmed hits,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement on Sunday afternoon. It later confirmed that a military ambulance and a military post were hit, but that there were no casualties. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as defense minister, spoke about the incident late Sunday afternoon at a news conference to mark the opening of Honduras’ diplomatic office in Jerusalem. “We are...
Jewish Academy of Orlando has launched a new academic program to serve the community. The school welcomed students to its new Transitional Kindergarten for the 2019-20 school year. TK is a grade that serves as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, providing students time to develop fundamental skills needed for success in an academic setting. "We are finding more and more that an extra year of maturational growth has long-term positive impacts on a child's social, emotional, and academic...
The third annual Men's Night Out, to be held Nov. 7 at Congregation Ohev Shalom, features not only great steak and a top-shelf cocktail hour, the comedic entertainment is top notch. The Orlando synagogue Men's Clubs, with support from the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, and key sponsors Alan Ginsburg and Aaron Gorovitz are bringing the men of the community one of the premier comedians in the country, Johnny Lampert. This event is a wonderful opportunity to unite Jewish men from all area...
In the article “Israeli puppeteer to teach at UCF this fall,” Sept. 6 issue, it states that the Israel Institute is bringing Israeli theater director, puppeteer and performer Ayelet Golan, to the University of Central Florida for a teaching residency during the Fall 2019 semester. Not mentioned in the article was that the Israel Institute is a Central Florida Hillel program and initiative, made possible by Hillel’s fundraising....
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando held its annual meeting on Aug. 25. Three awards were presented and the new board members were announced. Federation CEO Keith Dvorchik and board member Ryan Lefkowitz discussed the sale of the building adjacent to the Jewish Academy of Orlando and what that entails for the campus....
(JNS)-While many Israelis might already feel fatigued by the upcoming elections on Sept. 17, former justice minister Ayelet Shaked, who heads the newly formed right-wing Yamina Party, is both making history and surging in the polls. "I am the first female to head a right-wing political party in Israel's history," she told JNS. Heading a party that is polling consistently at 10 mandates, which would make it the fourth-largest party in the Knesset, Shaked has been very open about her nationalist...
(JNS)—Jewish and pro-Israel community leaders and groups reacted to the White House announcement on Thursday that U.S. Middle East special envoy Jason Greenblatt plans to resign within the coming weeks. “Mr. Greenblatt has played a pivotal role over the last two years in strengthening the U.S.-Israel relationship and in working on ways to seek a peaceful resolution of the conflict,” American Israel Public Affairs Committee spokesperson Marshall Wittmann told JNS. “We are grateful for his service to our country, and we wish him well in his fut...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will extend “Jewish sovereignty” over all communities in Judea and Samaria. He made the remarks Sunday to the new first graders on the first day of school at a national religious school in the Jewish settlement of Elkana, located in the northern West Bank, which is Samaria. “We will not uproot anyone here. There will be no more Gush Katif; there will be no more uprooting, and with G-d’s help we will apply Jewish sovereignty over all communities as part of the land of Israel an...
By Jonathan S. Tobin (JNS)—For the overwhelming majority of Americans, Labor Day weekend is the unofficial end of summer. But like other federal holidays, such as Memorial Day, which were once rooted in specific historical experiences such as the carnage of the Civil War, the first Monday of September is no longer tied specifically to a celebration of the labor movement. Labor unions are still with us, but in an economy that is no longer dominated by manufacturing industries they are but a shadow of their former selves both in terms of their n...
Congressional Representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) along with two other freshman democratic congresswomen, have now been collectively tagged with the moniker, “The Squad.” The descriptive name for the four was quickly and enthusiastically adopted by the media when the hashtag was jokingly suggested by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the four members of “The Squad,” at a press conference after a contentious meeting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Speaker had criticized the four freshman congresswomen for challen...
(JNS)—In an interview with my colleague Benjamin Kerstein last week, Rabbi Eli Cohen, the executive director of the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council in Brooklyn, N.Y., said something about the state of anti-Semitism in America today that’s worth revisiting. Commenting on the continuing spate of brutal attacks against visibly Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn, perpetrated mainly by African-American males, Rabbi Cohen remarked, “You know, white supremacists out somewhere in the United States, I don’t see any common denominator between that and som...
Netflix’s “The Spy” is a six-episode series about real-life Israeli Mossad hero Eli Cohen. “The Spy” stars Sacha Baron Cohen, most famous for his 2006 adult-oriented comedy movie “Borat,” as the legendary Mossad agent. “The Spy” debuted on Sept. 6. When Eli Cohen was publicly executed by the government of Syria on May 18, 1965, it was clear to Israelis and Syrians that he had succeeded in becoming a friend of the president of Syria, and had penetrated the innermost Syrian government circles. What was not yet known, however, was that he had g...
(JNS)—The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, commonly known as AIPAC, recently made headlines in almost every major media outlet when it wrongly and publicly criticized Israel’s just and proper decision to refuse to admit Jew-hating Israelophobes Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for a trip to so-called “Palestine” sponsored by a terror-promoting group Miftah. The congresswomen’s trip was designed to demonize Israel with numerous propaganda events to incite hatred and boycotts, divestment and sanctions against I...
Dear Editor: Your discussion of the J-Street version of Birthright trip to Israel records at length the impressions of three young ladies of their visit to the Holy Land (see “3 participants share what they learned on J Street’s first alternative to Birthright trip” in the Aug. 23 issue). All they remember is a village with water problems alleviated by the Israeli armed forces even though the population is entirely Arab. The second impression is the ladies’ concern over the many border checks imposed on the Arabs. The latter, of course,...
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 I...
To many, the term “Middle East peace” represents the impossible dream, if not the ultimate contradiction in terms. But there is a place in the region where Jews, Muslims and Christians meet peacefully every day on the basis of shared concerns and a sense of humanity. It’s not a country, though it is older than many of the nations in the vicinity. Nor is it a mirage, though the desert is within view. It’s the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. In the corridors, waiting areas, operating theaters, examination rooms, gardens and cafeter...
(JTA)-Like other local officials, Deborah Lauter can't say exactly what's causing the recent spike in hate crimes against Jews in New York City. It could be, in her words, "the rhetoric that's coming out of various elected officials." It could be animus among the city's diverse communities. It could be that the attacks are getting more press and therefore inspiring copycats. It could just be a hot summer when people need to blow off steam. "It's difficult to make generalizations," Lauter said....
(JTA)—As of this writing, Israel has not bombed Iran’s nuclear program. But according to an exposé in The New York Times that dropped Wednesday, it could still happen. And nearly did. The 10,000-word story details how close Israel came to attacking Iran, how Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush tried to deter the Israelis and what actually stopped the would-be bombing raid. It also tells the story of how President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement and what that means for the future of the Iran-Israel-U.S. hate...
AMSTERDAM (JTA)—Following a protracted legal fight, the family of Irma Klein last year finally got Dutch restitution officials to recognize that the Nazi occupation forced Klein to sell her Wassily Kandinsky painting to this city’s municipal Stedelijk Museum for a fraction of its worth. That was in 1940, several months into the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, when Klein and her husband sold “Painting with Houses” for the modern-day equivalent of about $1,600 because they needed money t...
Joseph Roif, son of Dr. David and Orly Diamond of Winter Park, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Thursday morning, June 20, 2019, at Congregation Ahavas Yisrael in Winter Park with his immediate family in attendance. Joseph is in the 8th grade at Glenridge Middle School. His hobbies include playing the saxophone and skateboarding. Joseph also led minchah services in conjunction with a reception held at Interlachen Country Club on Sunday, Sept. 8, 2019. Joining in the family's simcha...
An idol and a landsman... I'm referring to Ella Fitzgerald, a long time idol of mine and Sammy Davis Jr., a friend and also a fellow Jew. While watching the Ed Sullivan show on television recently, (Yes, I watch Ed Sullivan and even watch Johnny Carson so I will recognize the guests. I'm elderly, remember?) I had the pleasure of seeing these two talents perform together. What a treat! (Just thought I'd mention.) It's long overdue... I read this in the World Jewry Digest recently and pass it alon...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—On Sept. 4, Israel commemorated the 90th anniversary of the 1929 Hebron massacre, during which Arab residents slaughtered their Jewish neighbors, leading to a Jewish exodus for the next half century. Since then, Hebron has been a battleground, both literally and for the Zionist narrative. Split between heavily guarded Israeli- and Palestinian-controlled areas, the hotly contested West Bank city is home to approximately 215,000 Palestinians and about 1,000 Jews. The city where Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob a...
