Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the 70th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Debate in the late morning of Oct. 1, 2015. Twitter accounts from inside the Debate Hall reported that the hall was packed in anticipation of Netanyahu before his address began, and the crowds greeted Netanyahu with a round of applause upon his assumption of the role at the speakers' podium, one of the only Heads of State to be greeted as such. Netanyahu's address to UNGA was straightforward. As he said,... Full story
The Jewish Academy of Orlando is honoring the Render family and presenting a lifetime achievement award to the Katzen family at this year's annual gala. The event is on Saturday, Nov. 7 at the Hilton Orlando/Altamonte Springs at 6:30 p.m. with the theme "A Starry Night." "This year, we take take great pleasure in honoring two supporting families," said Alan Rusonik, Head of School. "Barry and Donna Render have been involved for many years; and we are so pleased to recognize their significant... Full story
On Saturday, Nov. 21, The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando will host its second annual Party After Dark, benefiting its Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center. The event, which begins at 8 p.m. at the JCC's Maitland location, will recognize the early childhood faculty members who have dedicated 15 or more years to creating an enriching learning environment for hundreds of children at the JCC. "The JCC is so fortunate to have so many outstanding teachers, and parents who love their... Full story
The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) is proud to announce that the United States Department of Health and Human Services has awarded the organization $12 million over 5 years, pending the availability of federal funds, to advance innovations in person-centered, trauma-informed supportive services for Holocaust survivors. This award will help Jewish organizations and the broader Aging Services Network support the compounded and urgent needs of Holocaust survivors, and ultimately, all aging survivors of trauma. “We are honored and h... Full story
(JTA)-All anyone attending the United Nations General Assembly opening seemed to want to talk about was the threat posed to the world by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. That was much to the consternation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argued in his speech before that body on Thursday that Iran, beyond the benefits accrued to it because of the sanctions relief for nuclear restrictions deal, was benefiting from the intensified focus on ISIS. "When your enemies fight each... Full story
Not so much as a willingness to abide by past agreements with the Israelis or the rest of the world can now be said on the part of the Palestinian leadership. Mahmoud Abbas, the so-called president of Palestine, announced on Sept. 30, 2015, at the 70th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 70) that the Palestinians are no longer bound by any standing international law, treaty, or norm. He explicitly stated that he and the Palestinians are no longer bound by the Oslo Accords of the 1990s, meaning, as Abbas explicitly noted, that Palestinian... Full story
On Friday, Sept. 18, 2015, the Pennsylvania Senate by vote of 49 to 0 passed Resolution No. 136 Session of 2015 Printer’s No. 979. The Resolution condemned economic, social, cultural and other boycotts of Israel and growing incidents of anti-Semitism. The House previously passed a similar Resolution. House Resolution 370 Session of 2015 Printer’s No. 1697 was introduced by Matt Baker of Tioga County. The Senate Resolution was introduced by Senator Stew Greenleaf of Montgomery and Bucks Counties. The Resolutions note the historical fact that the... Full story
Thanks to cake artist, Yael Miller, you can have your cake and decorate it too at "A Taste in the Park," sponsored by the Jewish Pavilion, on Sunday, Nov. 8 at the Maitland Civic Center-Venue on the Lake. The expert baker and owner of Ooga-Ooga! Cake Art will offer a one-half hour course in edible cupcake art to interested guests at the Pavilion's upcoming tasting event and Family Festival, taught in three consecutive time slots to accommodate guests arriving between noon and 3 p.m. Miller... Full story
JFS Orlando Executive Director Eric Geboff, in conjunction with partner program Sharsheret, is pleased to present Healing with Ayurveda, an interactive session led by Ayurvedic lifestyle consultant Polly Keller. Ayurveda is one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems developed in India thousands of years ago. The event will be held at the JFS Orlando offices, located at 2100 Lee Road, Winter Park, on Thursday, Oct. 22 from 6-8 p.m. The session will explore practical holistic methods that guide your body and mind to reduce stress while s... Full story
The Confirmation Class of Congregation Sinai built a sukkah to celebrate the holiday of Sukkot. Decorations for the sukkah were made by children of the Religious School ages 5-12. Flowers, fruits, and Hebrew letters were placed in the sukkah to remind us of the Harvest. "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the temporary dwellings that God commands us to live in during this holiday as our ancestors wandered through the desert for forty years, living in temporary shelters. A sukkah has four... Full story
In November 1974, the late Palestine Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat addressed the entire world from the rostrum of the United Nations General Assembly. Always a master of spectacle, Arafat cut an arresting figure as he strode toward the podium in a tieless black shirt and flowing cream jacket, with a perfectly-coiffed keffiyeh wrapped around his head. A holster without its gun—firearms are forbidden in the General Assembly Hall—was draped by his side pocket, completing the aesthetic effect of a Palestinian Che Guevara. Ara... Full story
(Washington, DC)—U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, made the following statement Sept. 29 on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding the need for American leadership and reform at the United Nations. Statement by Ros-Lehtinen: Mr. Speaker, yesterday we witnessed thugs, tyrants and dictators, from Russia, Iran, and Cuba, speak before the General Assembly at the United Nations. And with straight faces, each claimed to be defenders of peace, of international standards, of h... Full story
(JTA)—The rise of a new global power usually creates tensions with the incumbent superpower, and the United States-China duo is no exception. At their summit last week in Washington, D.C., Presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping spoke of progress in some areas, such as cyber espionage and climate change, but skirted more contentious issues, such as China’s reclamation of contested islands in the South China Sea and human rights. While the U.S. and China are managing an uneasy relationship, Israel and China are in the midst of a romance. Wit... Full story
(JTA)—As the new school year gets underway, Jewish educators are making decisions regarding how best to teach about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most begin with the premise that Jewish students should learn to support Israel and defend its government. Throughout the year, their lesson plans will flow from this fundamental objective. As a rabbi and Jewish educator this concerns me. I question why our Jewish institutions encourage critical thinking when teaching ancient Jewish texts—challenging students to consider multiple voi... Full story
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—During the course of the second Republican presidential debate, Ann Coulter, the well-known commentator, writer, speaker and provocateur, tweeted: “How many f---ing Jews do these people think there are in the United States?” Her explanation was that she had grown frustrated with the candidates’ remarks that concentrated on things nearly all Republicans agree on—admiration of Ronald Reagan, opposition to abortion and support for Israel—and ignored what she considers the biggest domestic problem facing America: immigration... Full story
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... Full story
Governments from around the world had their say at the speaker’s podium of the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) general debate held in New York from Sept. 28 to Oct. 3. The Jewish and Israeli communities have stakes in many of the issues addressed by the speakers, including the Iran nuclear deal, the question of the Palestinians, and overall stability in the Middle East region. Israel and the general Jewish community found barely an ally among the nations present at the UN. Many countries followed a script of s... Full story
Marvin Gassman, age 86, of Longwood, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015, at Florida Hospital—Orlando. Mr. Gassman was born on July 16, 1929, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the late Murray and Gussie Miller Gassman. Mr. Gassman was an U.S. Army veteran and received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Oswego and his master’s degree from Rollins College. In 1957, while stationed in Ft. Worth, he met and married his late wife, Sara, who passed away in 2008. Mr. Gassman was a project engineer working for NASA for... Full story
Miriam Lewis, age 86, of Orlando, passed away on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015, at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Orlando. Born in Manhattan, N.Y., on May 24, 1929, she was the daughter of the late William and Ruth Schonbach Lewis. Mrs. Lewis was an educator and earned a master’s degree. She and her late husband, Gerald, who passed away in 2010, relocated to the Orlando area from Valley Stream, N.Y., in 1989. She was a member of Hadassah and the South Orlando Jewish Congregation. Mrs. Lewis is survived by her daughter, Wendy, of Orlando. Graveside s... Full story
Jordan David Gebaide, son of Robert and Rachel Gebaide of Maitland, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2015 at Congregation Ohev Shalom of Maitland. Jordan is in the seventh grade at the Jewish Academy of Orlando. His hobbies and interests include cooking, extreme weather, learning about world cultures, Gator football, and Little League. He is also a member of Kadima. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Jordan's brother, Jonathan; grandparents, Robert Armel of... Full story
Harrison Slone, son of Lisa and Michael Slone of Winter Park will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015, at Congregation of Reform Judaism. Harrison is thankful for his strong Judaic education he received from the Jewish Academy of Orlando. He currently attends Tuscawilla Middle School where he runs cross country and plays the French Horn in the band. Harrison loves the outdoors and spending summers at Camp Weequahic. His hobbies include playing baseball, where he... Full story
It was a brave-some may argue foolhardy-lot who recently braved the August heat of the Negev desert to walk a short segment of the Israel National Trail (INT) at around noontime. But the nearly 100 young men in blue Israel Defense Forces t-shirts didn't appear to mind the blazing white heat. They were on the INT (Shvil Yisra'el in Hebrew, though to most Israelis it's just "the Shvil") to train. "We get lots of practice on different altitudes," says Aaron Lion, 20. "The Shvil is a really good... Full story
I have a dear friend... Because a dear family friend of mine (who will remain nameless), is facing chemotherapy due to a positive diagnosis of breast cancer, I found this letter I recently received from JOAN COLEN to be extremely interesting. (Incidentally, my friend lives in Winter Park.) And the fact that it praises the great accomplishments of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, makes it a subject I choose to write about. Here is Joan's letter in part: "I am a two-time cance... Full story
MOSCOW (JTA)-At Russia's largest kosher food factory, owner Pinhas Slobodnik welcomes his Muslim workers with a greeting in Arabic that he pronounces in a thick Russian accent. Some 120 workers, most from the predominantly Muslim republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, are employed at the factory-a sprawling complex built in 2009 in the basement of the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters in Russia. When it comes to kosher food for Russia's 250,000 Jews, he hasn't only cornered the market, he... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Obama administration has awarded $12 million for assistance to Holocaust survivors. The allocation from the Department of Health and Human Services to the Jewish Federations of North America, to be disbursed over five years, is part of an initiative launched in late 2013 by Vice President Joe Biden to address the needs of survivors in the United States, a quarter of whom live below the poverty line. Combined with matching private funds, the approximately $2.5 million per year over the five years “will support $4.1 mil... Full story
