Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The committee of the 19th Annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival-(l-r) Jay Glick, Dolores Indek, Harriet Weiss, Risa Tetenbaum, and Sheila Greenspoon-have a tough choice ahead of them as they seek to select the best possible films to feature at The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando's three-day event, held in conjunction with the Enzian Theater from November 4-6. The first evening on Saturday will take place at the Orlando Science Center, while the films on Sunday and Monday will be...
What better way to memorialize those who have loved and nurtured the arts than by naming a musical festival in their honor? Those were the thoughts of Jewish Pavilion Board member Geanne Share when she and husband, Adrian, chose to pass on the legacy of her parents, the late Inez 'Teddy' and Myron Snyder. With the arts and philanthropy at the center of Share's Brookline, Massachusetts home, she credits her parents for inspiring her life of volunteerism, with training given "while practically sti...
Israel and the U.S. inaugurated the first American military base on Israeli soil on Monday, Sept. 18, which will serve dozens of soldiers operating a missile defense system. The move comes at a time of growing Israeli concerns about archenemy Iran’s development of long-range missiles. Together with the U.S., Israel has developed a multilayered system of defenses against everything from long-range guided missile attacks from Iran to crude rockets fired from Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. The base’s opening is largely symbolic and isn’t expec...
When researchers at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America reported earlier this year that public school history textbooks and curricular materials were indoctrinating students against Israel, some high school officials were dismissive. Ruth Goldman, chair of the Newton, Mass. school committee, told the Washington Free Beacon that it is “an old subject” and “had all been taken care of.” She also said the problems cited by CAMERA “happened before my time on the committee.” However, it has since been revealed that she se...
(JTA)-A few weeks ago, Holly Davies was getting ready to homeschool her kids and preparing the family for the High Holidays. When Hurricane Harvey hit, she helped evacuate 150 people from her neighborhood by airboat and shelter nearly 100 people in a local church. Then came the hard part. For the past three weeks, Davies has been leading a force of up to 300 volunteers who have mobilized to repair homes and synagogues in and around the heavily Jewish housing development of Willow Meadows....
(JTA)—Puerto Rico’s three synagogues closed for Rosh Hashanah as Hurricane Maria pummeled the island. The synagogues, all in or nearby San Juan, canceled Wednesday evening services for the Jewish New Year and urged members to stay home, according to The Times of Israel. Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning after causing widespread destruction on the Caribbean island nation of Dominica In Puerto Rico, which has 3.3 million residents, power outages were expected as strong winds ripped trees out of the ground Leaders of the Jew...
Congregation Ohev Shalom's Men's Club will be hosting "A Celebration and So Long in the Sukkah" for Men's Club friends and family on Sunday, Oct. 8, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Join with the men for fun, food, music, and to give their best wishes to Howard Kaplan, past co-president and his family, as they prepare to move to Birmingham, Alabama. Congregation Ohev Shalom is at 613 Concourse Parkway South, Maitland, FL 32751 Please RSVP to Alan Zelt at alanzelt@gmail.com....
At a time of warming relations between Israel and Arab states, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held his first public meeting Monday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. The meeting comes amid speculation of an historic shift in Arab policy towards the Jewish state. During the hour-and-a-half meeting at the Palace Hotel, the leaders engaged in "a comprehensive discussion about the problems of the...
Despite the raging civil war to Israel’s north and east in Syria, the Jewish state’s northern border has remained precariously quiet over the last decade. No stranger to looming threats, Israeli officials are planning and ready for several worst-case scenarios in the north as Iran and its terror proxy Hezbollah continue to forge their stranglehold on the region. In a possible war scenario with Hezbollah, the Israeli military can launch a “massive and overwhelming” operation that would effectively “neutralize” a significant part of the Lebanes...
Galvanized by common threats by Iran and Islamic extremism, Israel and the its fellow Sunni Muslim Arab states have seen an unexpected warming in relations in recent years. However, despite public and closed-door cooperation, Israel still remains deeply unpopular among the so-called “Arab street.” Drawing on its high-tech prowess and unprecedented social media opportunities, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has strongly embraced new media channels to reach millions of viewers directly, including in the Arab world. Ofir Gende...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel will send a search and rescue team to Mexico in the wake of a severe earthquake—the second to hit the North American nation in two weeks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the operation and said it would leave for Mexico as soon as possible, his office said Sept. 20 in a statement. More than 200 people have been killed in the 7.1-magnitude earthquake that struck central Mexico on Tuesday afternoon, rocking the capital of Mexico City and causing hundreds of buildings to collapse. In addition, a delegation of 50 Isr...
An elderly woman approached her rabbi one year during services. “Rabbi!” she exclaimed, throwing her frail, skinny arms open wide. Given the fact that she stood barely five feet tall, the rabbi bent down to accommodate her. Maybe it was her height, or her age, or just a moment of awkwardness, but she missed planting a kiss on his cheek completely, and instead laid a big red smooch on his pristine white tallit, his beautiful prayer shawl that he wore only for special occasions. Flustered and emb...
Should American Jewish leaders speak to the rulers of a petrostate that finances Hamas terrorists to blow up their fellow Jews in Israel? That, in essence, is the fraught question emerging from the rumors and reports of recent days that prominent representatives of the U.S. Jewish community will meet with senior Qatari officials, supposedly including Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, on the fringes of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York this week. Having canvassed Jewish opinion on this question, I’ve concluded t...
A little-reported stabbing incident, coupled with a large dose of Palestinian Authority-generated fake news, have revealed pretty much everything you need to know about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It all began Aug. 18. Qatiba Zahran, age 17, left his hometown of Alar, near the city of Tulkarm, armed with a large knife. He was looking for an Israeli Jew to stab. He couldn’t find any Israelis in Alar, or in Tulkarm, because they have been under the control of the Palestinian Authority since 1995. That was when then-Prime Minister Yitzhak R...
The nuclear confrontation between the U.S. and North Korea entered a critical phase Sunday with North Korea’s conduct of an underground test of a thermonuclear bomb. If the previous round of this confrontation earlier this summer revolved around Pyongyang’s threat to attack the U.S. territory of Guam, Sunday’s test, together with North Korea’s recent tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the continental U.S., was a direct threat to U.S. cities. In other words, the current confrontation isn’t about U.S. superpowe...
(JTA)—The 2013 Pew survey “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” shows that Orthodox Judaism, while currently attracting the allegiance of only about 10 percent of all American Jews, is the fastest growing sector of the community. The high birthrate and retention rate confirmed by the survey have led some observers to predict that within a generation, American Jewry will be predominantly Orthodox, culturally if not demographically. Of course we cannot presume that present trends will continue, but it’s surely worth thinking about what such a Jewish...
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...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israel's rabbinical courts in recent years have ramped up their practice of blacklisting citizens they deem not Jewish, internal data released Sunday show. With increasing frequency, the courts have placed Israelis, almost all of them immigrants with Jewish heritage, on lists that prevent them from marrying Jews. The courts argue that they are acting to preserve the coherence of the Jewish people. But critics say the rabbinical courts have stepped outside their legal...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Larissa Raphael was sick of eating knishes that packed in plenty of potatoes but no punch. "I was like, 'why does the knish need to be bland?'" she said. "I want it to taste really good." As the former pastry chef of a late lamented restaurant that earned a Michelin star, she decided to take matters into her own hands. In February, Raphael, 47, launched her one-woman knish business, Riss' Knishes. Raphael started cooking up the idea last year when an acquaintance suggested she...
(JTA)-Tufts University's Hillel is described as "an organization that supports a white supremacist state" in a student-written guide to activist life at the university. The Tufts University Disorientation Guide offers information on social, spiritual, health and academic resources at the Boston-area university, but singles out Hillel for opprobrium, calling it a "Zionist space" and accusing it of "exploit(ing) black voices for their own pro-Israel agenda." The guide has been widely read and...
I received this letter... "As the Jewish year 5777 comes to an end, we must dig deep to find optimism for world Jewry in the coming year," is how it began. It was from RONALD S. LAUDER, President, World Jewish Congress. I think it is important and thought provoking enough to pass it along to you (in part): "Thanks to you (meaning all of us), despite having another difficult and tumultuous year, the Jewish people moved forward with unity, strength and great resolve. As troubling as this past year...
(The Nosher via JTA)-By the time Sukkot arrives, and we are three weeks into nonstop Jewish holiday mode, some people might be a little tired of cooking. I don't blame these people one bit. But Sukkot probably is my favorite holiday of the season to cook for-I love sitting outdoors in the brisk autumn air, enjoying harvest-inspired dishes with friends and family. This dish is (pretty) easy, totally unique and delish. The husband, who is by far my harshest critic, was in love with this recipe...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Stressing the chance to show off Israel to the world, Israeli officials joined with their Italian counterparts in announcing Monday that three stages of the prestigious Giro d'Italia cycling race will be held in the country, starting in Jerusalem. It will mark the first time that any leg of cycling's Grand Tour races-the Giro, the Tour de France and the Spanish Vuelta-will take place outside of Europe, and just the 12th time the Giro had gone outside of Italy in its 101-year...
(The Nosher via JTA)-One day many years ago, during the High Holidays yet, I called my mother early in the morning to yell at her about kugel. Really. In my family kugel meant skinny noodles mixed with eggs, schmaltz, salt and fried onions. I'd heard of the sweet kind from friends who rhapsodized about the ones their grandmas made. But I'd never tasted any of those because my mother told me they were horrible. Years later, when I finally did, it was a watershed culinary moment for me. I was at...
PARIS (JTA)-In a bid to preserve interest in the Holocaust by future generations, the Basel-based Anne Frank Foundation unveiled the first authorized comic book based on the teenager's famous diary written in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam. The 148-page adaptation, which was published Sept. 18 in France and in some 40 languages worldwide, was presented to journalists in the French capital Sept. 7 by the graphic diary's illustrator, David Polonsky from Israel, and its writer, the Israeli...
