Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JTA) - French President Emmanuel Macron has inaugurated near Paris what is believed to be the world's first museum on the wrongful and antisemitic persecution of the late army captain Alfred Dreyfus. The new museum, inaugurated on Tuesday in the suburb of Médan, features at least 500 documents including photographs, court papers and personal objects from the 8-year ordeal that ended in 1906 with Dreyfus' exoneration from trumped-up espionage charges and convictions. Some of the documents are...
What do you get when you combine a healthy dose of appreciation, a gourmet luncheon with friends, and a one-of-a-kind holiday shopping bazaar? The answer is the Jewish Pavilion's "JP Connections," honoring its dedicated volunteers Gary Becker and Sandi Trainor. "Our annual luncheon on Dec. 2nd at 11 a.m. at the Hilton in Altamonte Springs is a yearly opportunity for us to show our appreciation and to connect with our wonderful volunteers and members who support the Jewish Pavilion in so many...
The 23rd Central Florida Jewish Film Festival is back to "in person" showings. Keeping tradition, the opening night and final night films will be shown at the Orlando Science Center's Digital Adventure Theatre, 777 E. Princeton St., Orlando. All other showings will be at the Enzian, 1300 S. Orlando Ave., Maitland. Only general admission tickets ($12) and Mensch tickets will be available. Unfortunately, there will not be Series passes this year. To purchase tickets, please visit enzian.org. The...
Steven Etzkin, brother of Michael and Allan Etzkin, passed away on Oct. 10, 2021. Steve lived in Orlando for nearly ten years, retiring to Central Florida with his wife Patti, to be closer to family. It was only last August when Michael died and one year earlier, his other brother, Allan, died. The following was written by his nephew, Robby Etzkin, former executive director of the Roth Family JCC, in tribute to his uncle. Robby was gracious to share it with the Heritage readers. Within 14...
The holidays are fast approaching. During the holiday season local schools provide students and their families extended vacation time. Many parents find themselves looking for fun activities for their kids to do with this time off. The Rosen JCC provides School’s Out Days. On these days the JCC offers mini-camps, which provide fun and engaging activities. This year there will be a fall and winter session for mini-camps. Here is a list of the camp options and how to register. These camps do fill up quickly so don’t wait to register. Fall 202...
On Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2-4 p.m., JFS Orlando will be hosting the Florida Department of Health, Orange County mobile vaccine unit at its location on 2100 Lee Road, Winter Park, FL 32789. Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be available, as well as booster shots for those who had their second dose of Pfizer 6 months ago. Free $10 grocery gift cards will be available for all who receive a vaccine. Vaccines and gift cards are available first come, first served. (Second doses, if needed, will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 15th 2-4 p.m.) Call...
Lappin Foundation’s Teen Antisemitism Task Force invites Jewish high school juniors and seniors to Israel on Campus: What to Know before You Get There. The program will take place on Monday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Zoom. Stephanie Margolis, New England High School Coordinator at StandWithUs, will explore transitions and trends from high school to college campus and ways to navigate difficult conversations. The program is free. Register at LappinFoundation.org. For more information email Sharon Wyner at swyner@lappinfounda...
The Holocaust Center will host Betty Grebenschikoff at the next virtual “In My Words” event on Tuesday, Nov. 9 from noon to 1 pm. Grebenschikoff was born in Berlin, Germany. Her family was forced to emigrate to Shanghai China when the Nazi’s began their rampage in Europe. Life became more difficult as her family was place in an internment camp, known as the Shanghai Ghetto. She was finally free when she made her way to the United States. She will share her full story and memories of Kristallnacht. To register, visit holocaus...
(JTA) - Mort Sahl, a Jewish satirist who was credited with making caustic political and social satire popular in stand-up comedy, died Tuesday at 94. Often walking on stage holding just a rolled up newspaper, Sahl liked to riff on the headlines of the day in extended improvised monologues. At a time when comedians tended to steer clear of politics, Sahl took aim at politicians and was known to end his sets with the line: "Are there any groups I haven't offended?" Steve Allen, the first host of "...
(JTA) — A third of Jewish college students say they have personally experienced antisemitism in the last year, according to a new survey conducted jointly by Hillel and the Anti-Defamation League. The two groups recently announced a partnership aimed at combating antisemitism on college campuses; the survey represents one of the first fruits of the relationship. The results add data and texture to the picture of Jewish life on campus that has been built in recent years in large part on anecdotes and firestorms. They suggest that the majority of...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Friday that six Palestinian NGOs will be listed as terror organizations for their close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. “Those organizations were active under the cover of civil society organizations, but in practice belong and constitute an arm of the [PFLP] leadership, the main activity of which is the liberation of Palestine and destruction of Israel,” he announced. “The security organizations will continue to act and intensify the strikes against terrori...
(JNS) — It’s never a good sign when George Soros’s name is back in the headlines. The Hungarian-born hedge-fund billionaire has become a touchstone of controversy. Both Republicans and Democrats in Virginian are taking his name in vain this week as the off-year election for governor, as well as various other state and local positions, has become a battleground in an unexpectedly tight race. Each side in the tribal culture war that characterizes contemporary American political discourse views him as a symbol that can help rally support to them....
(JNS) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom just announced the formation in his state, and allocation of millions of dollars, towards the Governor’s Council on Holocaust and Genocide Education. This seems commendable on its face, but it’s not that simple. If Newsom wants to be on the right side of history, he has to pick a side. He can’t simultaneously advocate for both Holocaust education and antisemitic ethnic-studies curricula. Nor should he advocate for lessons that bundle the Shoah with other genocides. Newsom should learn from the challen...
(JNS) — Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz has designated six major Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. This means that their bank trades and the movements of their leaders and affiliates are now monitored and barred from operating in the country. The evidence supporting Gantz’s move is astounding. The organizations in question — Addameer, al-Haq, Defense for Children Palestine, the Union of Agricultural Work Committees, Bisan Center for Research and Development, and the Union of Palestinian Women Committees — serve as the civilia...
(FLAME via JNS) What seemed a few months ago like just another whim of the overzealous “New Guard” now running the U.S. State Department seems today like a determined effort to take Israel down a peg. Since day one, the new administration has talked about reestablishing warm relations with the Palestinian Authority by reopening its Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. Ha, ha, very funny, thought many of us: There’s no state of Palestine, Jerusalem is the U.S.-recognized capital of Israel, the Palestinians are still paying terrorists to kill...
(JNS) — When Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced on Friday that he is listing six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist groups, all hell broke loose on the left. The outcry, which emanated not only from Washington and Brussels, but from the halls of the Knesset in Jerusalem and Muqata in Ramallah, could have been anticipated. There’s no sacred cow as holy as a self-described “humanitarian organization,” especially when it’s associated with and financed by equally untouchable foundations. Thus, though the impetus behind Gantz’s move was perfe...
Growing up with one foot in Mexico and one foot in the United States, I am no stranger to the idea of straddling two cultures. In religious studies, we call this idea liminality. Vampires, centaurs and even Jesus Christ (as both divine and human) are all liminal beings. To be liminal is to be half and half — not quite one, not quite the other. Though born in Mexico, I grew up in the Northeastern United States with my mother. The changing of the seasons from summer to fall was marked by a kaleidoscope of changing leaves, the smell of apple c...
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...
Researchers studying a boat-shaped formation in the mountains of Turkey have announced plans to conduct archaeological excavations at the site after new data suggests that the formation could be a man-made structure that appears to match the biblical description of Noah’s ark. According to the researchers, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys conducted at the “Durupinar site” in 2019 by Oregon-based Topa 3D show parallel lines and angular shapes, which are “strong indications of man-made construction,” between 8 and 20 feet below the surfa...
(JTA) - The dozens of Jews who escaped the Nazis by hiding in the sewers of Lviv became local and international lore almost immediately after World War II. "In the summer, when the rain seeped in, there was a lot of water everywhere," Krystyna Chiger recalled in testimony in 1947, when she was 11. "Then we had to lean very low on the stones right next to the wall so that the water would not flow on us." But the location of the underground hideouts remained unknown until recently, when a team of...
(JTA) - The World Series just ended with the Atlanta Braves winning four to two against the Houston Astros, and there were more Jewish players in this year's edition than there have been in decades. The American League champion Houston Astros, who ousted Chaim Bloom's Boston Red Sox, feature star slugger Alex Bregman. The National League champion Atlanta Braves boast an impressive duo of Jewish play-ers: pitcher Max Fried and outfielder Joc Pederson. (The Astros did not include Jewish backup...
(JTA) — Jewish ace pitcher Max Fried delivered his Atlanta Braves to their first World Championship since 1995 with six shutout innings in Tuesday’s Game 6 of a World Series heralded as the most Jewish in base-ball history. The 27-year-old lefty held the Houston Astros to four hits, overcoming a potentially serious injury to strike out six without surrendering a run or a walk. The game contained what might have been the most Jewish play in any Major League Baseball matchup ever: In the bottom of the second inning, Astros star third baseman Ale...
You've Got To Be Kidding ... Famous actor, SEAN PENN had a Jewish father, the son of emigrants from the Russian Empire. Sean's mom was not Jewish but he was raised in a secular home in Malibu, California. Another surprise ... Born in New York City, famous talk show host, stand up comic, political satirist and so much more, BILL MAHER's mom, Julie Berman Maher, was Jewish. Her parents were from Hungary. Do you remember ... Famous movie star, Lauren Bacall, was born back in 1924 and died in 2014....
I've read many great books, but it's rare that I have the urge to thank the author. In the case of "Hidden Heroes," I wanted to do so on two levels: to thank Pam Cohen for her outstanding recounting of details of the struggle to free Soviet Jews, and for her incredible role from the beginning in the outcome. One of the beautiful things about "Hidden Heroes" is that while recounting her experiences, Pam interweaves stories of the lives of many of the refuseniks on whose behalf she advocated. Far...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Sunrise NYC, the local chapter of a national youth environmental group, rejected a decision by the Washington, D.C. chapter to shun cooperation with “Zionist” groups. “Sunrise NYC rejects antisemitism in all its forms, and condemns the choices made by the DC hub,” Sunrise NYC tweeted Friday, aligning itself with a statement made by the national organization. “We stand with our Jewish members and the Jewish community against prejudice, and we will continue to stand arm in arm together during this urgent mome...
