Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On Wednesday, Sept. 3, Rabbi Rick Sherwin of Congregation Beth Am in Longwood joined 300 pulpit rabbis from around the country for the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee's 3rd National Rabbinic Symposium, a one-day symposium on U.S. – Israel relations that featured top thinkers and influential policy makers. AIPAC advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States. The mission of AIPAC is to strengthen, protect and promote the U.S.-Israel r...
In the Heritage Florida Jewish News' Rosh Hashanah issue, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando ran an ad with pictures of various jars labeled different types of Jews: Orthodox, Federation, Reform, Conservative, etc. Below the picture was the phrase: "Now more than ever, it's time to look beyond our labels." The point being made is that Jewish unity is what is important. A unified Jewish community is a strong community. It isn't just the Federation advocating this thought. Recently, three...
Dana Selznick has been listening to the needs of deaf and hearing impaired children since she was just a kid herself at Lake Mary High School (LMHS class of '05). Selznick befriended a deaf teen during her freshman year, and advocating on her behalf became second nature throughout her high school years. Selznick studied sign language at LMHS, and decided to pursue a career in deaf education. She received an undergraduate degree in deaf and hard of hearing education from the University of North...
A positive article in the Palestinian Authority’s official daily, Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, (Sept. 21, 2014), lauded Israel and Israeli employers of Palestinians for their positive employment ethics towards their Palestinian workers. At the same time, the article condemned Palestinian employers for taking advantage of their workers. The article explains that Palestinian workers get their full rights when employed by Israelis directly and that the only time they do not get their full rights is when there is a Palestinian middleman: “The only cas...
NEW YORK (JTA) – President Obama devoted the bulk of his U.N. speech to the fight against violent Islamic extremism and hardly mentioned Iran's nuclear program. In his address last year to the General Assembly, Obama spent a great deal of time talking about Tehran's nuclear pursuit, describing it as one of two major focus areas for American diplomatic efforts (the other was the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). On Wednesday, he devoted just four lines to Iran. "America is pursuing a diplomatic reso...
NEW YORK (JTA) - As with many exclusive events, the Metropolitan Opera House's Opening Night Gala on Monday had a few uninvited guests. But these weren't your typical party crashers. Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Met chanting "Shame on the Met!" and "Say no to the show!" in protest of the Metropolitan Opera Company's decision to produce the controversial opera "The Death of Klinghoffer." The John Adams opera, which debuted in 1991 and is set to premiere at the Met on Oct. 20,...
The Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando is hosting its annual FitTATA event to support the Florida Hospital Breast Cancer Care Fund on Sunday, Oct. 19. The event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature the following group exercise classes: 9 a.m.-BODYPUMP & Cycling; 9:30 a.m.-BODYCOMBAT; 10 a.m.-BODYJAM & Cycling; 10:15 a.m.-Born to Move (ages 6-12); 10:30 a.m.-SH'BAM; 11 a.m.-BODYFLOW & Cycling; and 11:15 a.m.-Born to Move (ages 6-12). Pre-registration is required for all Bodypu...
On Saturday, Oct. 25, the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando will hold its second Party of 8: A Dinner Experience for Jewish Young Adults. Here's how it works: Interested participants visit the JCC website and register for Party of 8. They will then be matched with seven other young adults with whom to enjoy dinner. The day before the event, each participant will be emailed with their dinner location, as the parties fan out across Downtown Orlando. Couples have the option of...
Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) for a program featuring genealogist lecturer, Joel Spector, who’s topic is “The Growth of the Jewish Population in Russia through the 1897 All-Russia Census.” The meeting takes place Tuesday, Oct. 7, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (6:30pm to meet with a maven or for computer questions or to schmooze.), at the Roth JCC Maitland Campus, Senior Lounge, 851 N. Maitland Ave., Maitland, FL 32751. This presentation will incorporate material from both English and Russian language sources to descr...
Space-time compression. Globalization. Expansion diffusion. These are terms my son just had to define and learn in his ninth grade human geography course. Though each has a different meaning, they all have an underlying connection. As technology improves, as travel is made easier, and ideas and culture and products are exported with greater ease, while the database we share may grow, the world shrinks. It is the rare individual now who is not connected. It is the unique community that does not h...
I will confess that I felt more anxious than I’d anticipated about the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum. In case it’s not clear why, I’m a British citizen who has lived in the United States for the past decade. Over that period, as with many arrivals to these shores, my attention has been consumed far more by domestic issues here, just as my concern with the finer details of politics in my native land has faded. Yet the spectacle of Scots voting on whether to leave the United Kingdom stirred something in me. I couldn’t observe it...
Does something smell especially bad? Or is it just the normal smell of political infighting and mutual accusation? Front and center is Martin Indyk, his past and present roles as a leading figure in the Brookings Institution, Qatar’s multi-million dollar gifts to Brookings, the failure of Indyk to broker a deal between Israel and Palestinians, and the blame that Indyk has directed against Prime Minister Netanyahu. Qatar has received headlines for its financial support of Hamas, the desire of Indyk’s bosses to include Qatar and Turkey among the...
The United States has a problem with Islamic State. Its problem is that it refuses to acknowledge why Islamic State is a problem. The problem with Islamic State is not that it is brutal. Plenty of regimes are brutal. Islamic State poses two challenges for the US. First, unlike the Saudis and even the Iranians, IS actively recruits Americans and other Westerners to join its lines. This is a problem because these Americans and other Westerners have embraced an ideology that is viciously hostile to every aspect of Western civilization. Two weeks...
I once heard a rabbi, a noted proponent of a Greater Israel, make a plea to his congregation for bipartisan empathy. This was just a few years after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, when both the Right’s dreams for an unchecked settlement movement and the Left’s dreams of a two-state solution appeared dashed. “Friends,” he said, “whether we are on the right or the left, I think we can all agree that our dreams have died.” “Except,” whispered a left-leaning friend, “his dream killed my dream.” That’s the problem when rabbis talk about Isr...
Every fall, Jewish teens arrive on college campuses unprepared, uninformed and unable to cope with the hostility and antagonism against Israel and Jews that they find there. While Birthright Israel does a commendable job of bolstering Jewish student pride and community, the program could have a much greater impact if the age of eligibility was lowered to 16. When Birthright Israel started in 1999, anti-Israel and anti-Jewish activities on campus were not the critical issue they have become. Consequently, teaching Jewish teens Israel advocacy...
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, 7:30 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 Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3 Light...
Many believe Yiddish, a mixture of German and Hebrew spoken by Eastern and Central European Jews before WWII, is a dying language. However, Yiddish has been alive and well for the past two years in greater Orlando, thanks to Yiddishe maven Joan Pohl and the support of the Jewish Pavilion. Pohl can be found in a makeshift classroom at Chambrel Assisted Living Center on the third Thursday of each month surrounded by a crowd of seniors, eager to practice the Yiddish language during the one hour...
A dozen guests enjoyed a Rosh Hashanah celebration party at Emeritus Ocoee Senior Living on Thursday, Sept. 18. The event is one of many provided by The Jewish Pavilion for the benefit of seniors in long-term care facilities in the Orlando Metropolitan Area. These events are open to any who would like to attend. The event began with a short Rosh Hashanah service including lighting of candles (battery operated due to fire regulations), and blessings over the bread, wine and apple slices. It...
I would recommend seeing the film “This is Where I Leave You” before spending time with your extended family. Despite their quirks, your own family will seem incredibly normal compared to the highly dysfunctional Altman clan, who make this film a “family affair” in the most unusual ways. The dramatic comedy opens with character, Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) having a really bad day. He discovers his wife in bed with his boss, and then receives a phone call that his father has passed away. Judd ar...
Greece, Hungary... oy vay!... Oy vay! is right. The more information I get about happenings in these countries, the more upset I become. (Of course, ISIS has me worried as well... More wrinkles on my brow.) I received this note from the World Jewish Congress Organization (WJC): "A devastating, anti-Semitic alliance was forged when more than one in five Hungarian voters recently cast their ballot for the far-right anti-Jewish and anti-Roma Jobbik party... giving them 23 seats of the 199 seat...
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (JTA) - This week marks the season premiere of "Saturday Night Live," which is entering its 40th season. Happy birthday guys! To mark the occasion, we've assembled a list of our 10 all-time favorite Jewish moments on SNL (they're like butter, so good Coffee Talk and Hanukkah Harry didn't make the cut): 10. Saving 'Soviet Jewelry' Gilda Radner scores as Emily Litella on a Chevy Chase-hosted Weekend Update segment, with her classic talking-head rant trying to figure out what all...
Beginning in June, the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando became home of Special Olympic Swimming for Seminole County. Athletes trained and practiced to compete in the State Games every Sunday, from June 1 through Sept. 28. During the Special Olympic swim meets, athletes are held to the same regulations of any swim competition. This means they must demonstrate proper form, legal starts, turns, and finishes. Lacey Nickell, aquatics supervisor for the JCC, was asked to help coach the...
The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA) – Tanya Klein grew up knowing that her mother, Tova Silverstein (nee Lowenbraun), had survived the Holocaust in hiding in her native Belgium. Mom, however, shared few details – only her rescuer's surname, Larose, and the name of the village, Villers-Poterie. But at a family wedding in 2009, Klein's chat with a cousin launched a quest to find and meet one of her mother's rescuers. And last week the Bal...
Kinneret Board members Geanne Share, Valerie Chestnut, and Lauren Sharfstein shared New Year's wishes with Kinneret residents on Wednesday, Sept. 17 in Kinneret Apartment's Jessie Render Social Hall. Over 30 residents from Kinneret I and Kinneret II apartments gathered in the social hall and learned about the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holiday while enjoying a snack of apples and honey. Kinneret's Cultural Enrichment Committee has scheduled a variety of Jewish programming events throughout...
LOS ANGELES (JTA) - It was 6 a.m. on Aug. 19, 1964 when the phone rang in the Los Angeles apartment of Ivor Davis, the young West Coast correspondent for London's Daily Express, circulation 4 million. On the other end was the paper's foreign editor, who told Davis to drive to the airport and catch the 11 a.m. flight to San Francisco. His assignment was to cover that evening's gig at the Cow Palace by a hot British pop group called the Beatles. For Davis and the band, it would be the start of a...
