Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 26 - 37 of 37
YEKATERINBURG, Russia (JTA)-Growing up in one of the Soviet Union's richest cities, Elena Chudnovskaya never imagined that she would be raising her daughter in a place so full of drug addicts that "the flowerbeds became strewn with syringes." But that is what became of her downtown apartment block after the collapse of communism, when soaring unemployment and the proximity to drug-producing countries unleashed a narcotics epidemic of alarming proportions in this district capital of 1.3 million...
Aaron Zev Soll, son of Stacey and Michael Soll of Winter Park, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. Aaron is in the seventh grade at the Jewish Academy of Orlando where he is a member of the National Junior Honors Society, the student council, and is the JAO soccer team captain. He also enjoys playing piano, running and sports. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Aaron's brother and sister, David and Jules;...
Papal wishes... This is directly from The World Jewish Congress Digest: "On September 2, World Jewish Congress president, Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER, led a small delegation of WJC leaders to represent the global Jewish community before Pope FRANCIS at the Vatican. The pope asked Ambassador Lauder to convey his personal wishes for a sweet and peaceful new year 5774 to all Jews. On behalf of global Jewry, Ambassador Lauder presented the pontiff with a gift of a Kiddish cup and a honey cake. At...
Our Jewish Orlando (OJO), Jewish Federation's Young Adult Division that is focused on connecting the next generation of Jews in Central Florida had its first event, Torah on Tap, which proved to be a huge success. Almost 50 people attended the event at the Hangar Bar & Grille in College Park where they mixed and mingled with other young professionals. In addition, Rabbi Hillel Skolnik from South Orlando Jewish Congregation led an intriguing discussion on building a vibrant young Jewish...
NEW YORK (JTA)-When his cousin died unexpectedly a few years ago, Hal Miller-Jacobs was recruited to oversee the funeral arrangements and wound up helping with the tahara-the traditional preparation of the body for burial. For the first time in his life, the 76-year-old computer professional joined with other volunteers in carefully washing, cleaning and dressing the body in a simple white shroud. "It was probably the most moving Jewish experience I ever had in my life," Miller-Jacobs said. But...
WASHINGTON (JTA)- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hoping the enemy of one's enemy truly does become a friend. In recent years, Netanyahu has said the enmity for Iran shared by Israel and the Arab states could become a spur to regional reconciliation. Last week, in a speech to the Knesset, he noted the "many issues" on which Israel and the Arabs have shared interests could open up "new possibilities," including a peace accord with the Palestinians. But while experts say that...
Five Jews violently attacked in Sydney SYDNEY (JTA)—Five Jews were hospitalized after being beaten in what was described by an Australian Jewish leader as the worst incident of anti-Semitic violence in Sydney in many years. Eight males, mostly teenagers, reportedly taunted the religious Jews—four from the Behar family—with slurs as they were walking home in suburban Bondi from Sabbath dinner after midnight Saturday. A violent confrontation ensued, some of which was caught on closed circuit TV cameras. Security guards from a nearby night...
Reaching back more than 75 years, the new documentary “Refuge: Stories of the Selfhelp Home” gives a voice to the final generation Holocaust survivors from Central Europe. “Refuge” explores the lives of six survivors and refugees against the context of the Nazi cataclysm and how a small group of them came together to create a community that has given shelter to more than 1,000 victims of Nazi persecution from Central Europe. The film illuminates the lost world of Central European Jewry prior to World War II—middle class, educated, cultured...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s peace talks with the Palestinians remain mostly shrouded in secrecy, but one thing is certain: The Palestinian prisoner release that paved the way for their resumption is increasing tensions in Israel’s governing coalition. Israel completed the second stage of the four-part release on Tuesday, setting free 26 prisoners who had committed crimes—mostly murders—before the Israeli-Palestinian peace process began in 1993. The first stage of the prisoner release occurred in August. The government approved the release i...
Bar’s baffling boy problem Hollywood, Fla. (JTA)—Some good news for the single guys out there: You can lose the JDate subscription because we have the perfect girl for you: Bar Refaeli is on the market, and she’s ready for a relationship. She told the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronoth herself, the New York Daily News reports. Can’t figure out why a hot blonde model is having trouble landing a guy? Neither can she. “I don’t understand it,” Refaeli said. “I look great. I’m cool. I like going out. I like being at home, I like movies, I like ea...
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando is hosting a program, titled “The Knowles Collection—What is it and how do I use it?” featuring FamilySearch and Jewish genealogy expert Todd Knowles, on Tuesday, Nov. 5 from 7 p.m. to 9.m. at the Roth JCC in Maitland. The Knowles Collection contains the genealogical records of Jewish people throughout the world. The people listed in the records are lined as families and a compiled from more than 1200 different sources. Knowles will show how to use this free research tool and how to make the m...
Congregation Beth Am in Longwood invites all Jewish Veterans, our military men and women on active duty and their families to attend the Shabbat Morning service at 9:30 a.m. on Nov. 9 in recognition of Veterans Day. Included in the invitation are the surviving families of those who have served the country. This year Beth Am encourages the families of young men and women currently stationed in American, Afghanistan, Iraq, and on military posts throughout the world to attend this special service. Rabbi Rick Sherwin believes that the Jewish...
