Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - "Hands out of your pockets, sir!" barked a U.S. Secret Service agent at a bewildered pedestrian as Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett walked down the Fifth Avenue sidewalk in New York City, accompanied by a large entourage of Secret Service and Shin Bet agents, aides and reporters. A long motorcade of Black Secret Service Suburbans and police cars rolled alongside with blue lights flashing, keeping pace with the walkers. It was the eve of Shemini Atzeret, and Bennett had just come...
The year is 1144 and in England, a Christian boy was found dead in the woods with stab wounds. The Jews were accused of ritually murdering the boy and with this began the long ugly history of the Blood Libel. Though proven false time and time again, this lie reared its ugly head hundreds of times alleging that Jews would reenact the crucifixion every Easter or that they needed Christian blood for their Passover Matzah. Besides the obvious biblical commandment prohibiting murder, and the...
(JNS) - A state-of-the-art security command center was unveiled this week by the Secure Community Network to ensure that the Jewish community is prepared in the event of any violence or threats. Dubbed the National Jewish Security Operations Command Center, JSOCC, was built with funding by private donors and gives the SCN - the security arm of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations - a high-tech, centralized location where...
(JNS) — In his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Friday, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas demanded that Israel return to its pre-1967 borders or face consequences. “If the Israeli occupation authorities continue to entrench the reality of one apartheid state as is happening today, our Palestinian people and the entire world will not tolerate such a situation,” he said in a pre-recorded video. “Circumstances on the ground will inevitably impose equal and full political rights for all on the land of historical Palestine, within...
The Rosen JCC has an amazing fall planned. It will be filled with fun and excitement for the whole family. Miles to Go and the Rosen JCC: Your Town Square will be hosting the Good Ghoul Gala. The event will be at the Rosen Event center on Oct. 30th from 11a.m. – 3 p.m. This is a family friend, Halloween-themed day offering something for all ages. Guests can expect a spooky family fashion with surprise celebrity guests, Grammy nominated DJ, photo booth, games, shopping, trick or treating, H...
The Jewish Pavilion seeks to enhance the lives of our elders, of all faiths, in long-term care. They provide festive holiday programs and arrange friendly visits so that our aged know that they are not forgotten by the community. Their Orlando Senior Help Desk is their free resource that offers information and referrals to seniors and their family members 407-678-9363. Like many nonprofits, the Jewish Pavilion depends on its fundraising events for 1/3 of its budget, and some of these events have been cancelled due to the pandemic. You can help...
Dr. David Bortnick will explore the role of Florida’s Jews in the U.S. Civil War at a Zoom program of the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society to be held, Tuesday, Oct.12, at 2:30 p.m. This event is open to the public, all are welcome, there is no charge and no advance arrangements need be made. Bortnick, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Florida State University and holds a doctorate degree in Marriage and Family Living and a second doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology, both from Nova Southeastern University has devot...
WASHINGTON (JTA) - Vice President Kamala Harris "strongly disagrees" with a university student who told her that Israel was carrying out "ethnic genocide," her office said, pushing back against claims that she encouraged the student's view. "Throughout her career, the vice president has been unwavering in her commitment to Israel and to Israel's security," Harris's spokeswoman, Symone Sanders, said Friday in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "While visiting George Mason University...
(JNS)—Demarking a clear distinction between himself and his predecessor, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday morning that one of the most dangerous problems in the world today is political polarization. In his first address as prime minister to the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Bennett called polarizations one of two plagues affecting the world at the moment, with the other being the COVID-19 pandemic. “Both the coronavirus and polarization can erode public trust in our institutions. Both can paralyze nations,” he said....
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A GOP flier distributed to homes in the Virginia suburbs of Washington depicts the Jewish Democratic candidate for the House of Delegates at a table stacked high with gold coins, a pairing of images of Jewish candidates with money that has proliferated in political attack ads in recent years. “Dan Helmer has raised Virginia’s cost of living to new heights,” the mailer said. It was distributed this week by Helmer’s Republican challenger, Howard Pyon. Helmer, the incumbent in the House of Delegate’s 40th District, which cover...
(JNS) — The Iron Dome missile-defense system has long been one of the least controversial aspects of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Funding for the idea was approved in principle by the George W. Bush administration in 2007 after the Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems conceived the project. It was an answer to the heavy missile fire from Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza that Israel faced in 2006. The Iron Dome would give Israel the ability to shoot down the rockets and missiles shot at its villages, towns a...
As the pandemic extended into the second year of the High Holidays I found myself teetering between attending religious services in person or virtually as a participant in a live-streaming congregation. Last year, as a senior citizen and unprotected by vaccination it was a no-brainer to avoid services in person. Unfortunately, it was not a pleasant experience for me to “attend” live-streaming services. I felt completely disconnected. The online services were heavy into English with Hebrew being almost a second language. The music acc...
(JNS) — It’s the ultimate case of biting the hand that feeds you. Americans for Peace Now has launched a public assault on the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations — the very organization that risked its good name and credibility by welcoming Peace Now into its ranks, despite plenty of reason to turn them away. And just to make this whole episode even uglier and more ironic, the attack by APN on the Presidents Conference is over the issue of Jerusalem — the very issue that nearly torpedoed APN’s admission to the co...
I followed reports of Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent exchange with a student at George Mason University with great interest, and dismay. In many ways, she reminded me of an incident with Hillary Clinton, not in a good way. Harris addressed students at George Mason to mark National Voter Registration Day. Following her remarks, she opened the floor for questions. During questions, one student commented to Harris, “You brought up how the power of the people and demonstrations and organizing is very valuable in America. But I see that over t...
(JNS) — On Sept. 23, 2021, Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) introduced the “Two-State Solution Act” to “to preserve conditions for, and improve the likelihood of, a two-state solution that secures Israel’s future as a democratic state and a national home for the Jewish people, and a viable, democratic Palestinian state.” Yet, news coverage of Levin’s proposed legislation omitted crucial details and relevant history. POLITICO, hours before the bill dropped, offered an “exclusive look.” Writing for the magazine’s National Security Daily brief, report...
(JNS) — At the risk of putting a target on my back, it has occurred to me that the proper response for much of the anti-Israel activity on and off campus should be a combination of derision, counter-attack and neglect. I’ve been dealing with anti-Semitism, Israel denial and Middle East issues since my college days and, after more than 40 years, I have concluded that too much time, money, and energy is being spent responding to the latter. Instead, we should simply say, “who cares?” Who cares, for example, what Peter Beinart and others of his...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) 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. Congr...
(JTA) — In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett addressed the twin threats of Iran and the coronavirus, in keeping with his quest for a relationship with the international community that is less confrontational than his predecessor’s. Bennett launched his speech Monday morning with a plea to see Israel not as forever entrenched in warfare, but as a contributing member of the international community. Israel, Bennett said at the outset, “is a beacon of democracy, diverse by design, innov...
NEW YORK (JTA) - The first thing Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, facing a room full of the leaders of the American Jewish community: "I wish my mom were here." The son of American immigrants to Israel, Bennett, like his predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, speaks a fluent, nearly accentless English, and spent years living in the United States as both a child and an adult. But in other crucial ways, Bennett sounded different from Netanyahu in his first public address to American Jewish...
(JTA) – At a political rally in Berlin in June, a young Jewish gay man wearing a turquoise kippah launched his campaign to represent one of Germany's most ethnically diverse constituencies in parliament. The man, 34-year-old Marcel Yaron Goldhammer, promised to stoke the "embers of unity, justice and freedom" during his announcement speech in front of about 200 people in the southeastern Berlin neighborhood of Neukolln. But he's not running for a liberal party, or one promoting m...
More surprises ... Of course I've heard of WILLIAM SHATNER, but I never knew he was Jewish. Shatner was born in Montreal, Canada (like my mom). His grandparents were Jewish immigrants from present day Ukraine. (Also like my ancestors). He started out acting in Canada, playing many serious roles. When you think of William Shatner, you automatically think of "Star Trek." (Hey! Captain Kirk!) Incidentally, he is 90 years old and still going strong. Then there is Chaim Witz, musician, singer,...
(JTA) — Three Israelis have been arrested for an attack on Palestinian residents of the West Bank that sent a three-year-old to the hospital over the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. The attack came amid a week in which several Palestinian terror suspects have been killed in the West Bank and Jerusalem. A man in Gaza who Israeli troops said was carrying a “suspicious bag” was also shot dead Thursday, according to the Times of Israel. On Tuesday afternoon, dozens of Israeli settlers entered the Palestinian village of Khirbat al-Mufkara, throw...
Every week, one section of the Torah, known as the Torah portion or “parsha,” is designated as a focus of Jewish study and is read aloud in synagogue that Shabbat. The first mention of a scheduled Torah-reading cycle appears in the Bible, in Deuteronomy, where Moses instructs the tribe of Levi and the elders of Israel to gather all the people for a public reading from portions of the Torah once every seven years. The need to read the Torah publicly intensified after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.; Jews were dispersed into oth...
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive congresswoman from New York, said she changed her vote from “no” to “present” on a bill for special funding for Israel’s anti-missile Iron Dome defense system because of the “panic and horror” that seized the moment. Ocasio-Cortez could be seen weeping on the floor of Congress Thursday after casting her vote. She was one of 11 representatives, including the other members of “the Squad” of progressives, who did not vote to support the $1 billion in Iron Dome funding; 420 representative...
Mrs. Hannah B. Glaser, 92, formerly of Pikesville, Md., passed away peacefully on Sunday morning, Sept. 26, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. Hannah was born in Baltimore, Md., to Morris and Rose (Berlowitz) Biller on Aug. 22, 1929. She earned a Bachelor of Arts and a master’s degree in Education from Towson State College. Hannah worked as a Social Studies teacher at Northwestern High School for many years. An avid reader, she loved crossword puzzles and played Scrabble daily before dinner with her h... Full story
