Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
To understand the excitement of dedicating a new Torah, think along the lines of Halley's Comet and Flights to the Moon. These momentous, awe-inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime events stir a good deal of emotions in the people fortunate enough to view them first hand. While publishers can knock out millions of copies with dozens of new titles a week, crafting a single Torah scroll takes over a year to complete. What's the holdup? Computerized printing presses make printing a cinch, although the... Full story
The Jewish Federation kicked of its 2015 Shaping the Future Annual Campaign with a combined Hy Lake Pacesetters dinner and Women's Division Lion of Judah event on Sunday, Oct. 26. The event honored Harriett Lake and presented her with the Kipnis-Wilson/Friendland Award that Lake received earlier this year at the International Lion of Judah Conference. The festive '20s-style celebration was graciously hosted by Alan and Kelly Ginsburg at their home in Winter Park. The event set a winning pace... Full story
Each year the Holocaust Center in Maitland presents a program in remembrance of Kristallnacht, the assault on Jewish communities on Nov. 9 – 10, 1938 that many scholars identify as the beginning of Hitler's Final Solution. This year's commemoration, to be held Sunday, Nov. 9 at 4 p.m., will feature a special program of Music of Courage presented by Dr. Rose Grace, on the piano and Dr. Aaron I. Hilbun playing the oboe. Together, they will share the music – much of which is rooted in Jewish cul... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Jerry Silverman recently started his second five-year term as the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America-the first time that any chief of the federation umbrella organization has been signed to a second term. With the federations' annual General Assembly nearing-it's slated for Nov. 9-11 in National Harbor, Md., just outside of Washington-JTA thought it would be a good time to check in and see how the priority areas that Silverman identified last year have fared. He... Full story
JERUSALEM (JTA)-An anonymous White House staffer apparently isn't the only one who thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is shy about taking chances. A piece this week in The Atlantic magazine by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg ignited a firestorm with its revelation that an Obama administration official had called the Israeli prime minister "a coward" and "chickenshit." But on Netanyahu's home turf, Israeli political leaders also have criticized him as risk averse and focused solely on his political survival.... Full story
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall-a wall built right through the heart of Germany and its capital city, Berlin. This wall tore families apart, caused job loss to many, and cost the lives of more than 200 people who tried to cross over it. Before the Wall was constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) on Aug. 13, 1961, more than 3.5 million East Germans defected to West Germany. At first the GDR stated that there were no intentions to... Full story
The Mega Challah Bake has re-introduced the joy of challah-making to woman around the globe in recent months. On Thursday, Oct. 23, Orlando's five Chabad Centers brought the Mega Challah Bake to Central Florida, with more than 200 Jewish women of all affiliations joining in the mix. The Challah Bake was led by all five women of Chabad, who each brought something unique to the table, which they shared at the gathering held at the Maitland Civic Center. Chanshy Majesky, co-director of Chabad of... Full story
Filled with expressive, hand-lettered sentiments and charming original illustrations, "When You Lose Someone You Love" features excerpts of observations and feelings originally contained in Longwood artist/author Joanne Fink's personal grief journals. Started as a way of dealing with her own deep loss when she lost her husband of 29 years, Andy Trattner, unexpectedly in 2011, the book offers the gift of comfort to those grieving without sugar-coating the challenges of losing a loved one. "At... Full story
On Friday Oct. 24, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando hosted a festive Shabbat dinner in honor of the Israeli Police Inspector General Lt. General Yochanan Danino, the Israeli Police Attaché to North America Menachem Chaver, and a group of senior police officers from Israel who were visiting Orlando to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference held Oct. 24-26. Inspector General Danino was also accompanied by his wife, Yael, and daughter, Tom, and a group of... Full story
Naftali Bennett, Israel’s economy minister, got it 100 percent right in a Facebook posting just a few hours after the latest blow to American-Israeli relations—aka “chickenshitgate”— surfaced in the media. Responding to the anonymous “senior Obama administration” official who told The Atlantic correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a “chickenshit,” Bennett said, “Cursing the prime minister and calling him names is an insult not just to him but to the millions of Israeli citizens and Jews across the... Full story
Every once in a while someone new starts reading my notes, and responds with an expression of frustration. Usually it’s something like, “Dammit, what’s your solution?” Read my lips. There ain’t any. In politics one should never say never, but in this case there is close to a century of efforts circling back on similar ideas, with the same failure to bring the sides closer together. Is it time to plant a tombstone for the Two-State Solution? Who’s to blame? That’s a question too complex to answer. It resembles the question, “Do you believe in... Full story
Each lone wolf terror attack unto itself may appear minimal but Islamic fanatics are calling for an escalation in lone wolf activity in America. Their call is achieving the desired effect. After reading this article take a minute to imagine how much horror hundreds or even thousands of lone wolf suicide bombers could inflict in America. Image a suicide bomber or two in a subway during rush hour with knapsack bombs. Consider a car or truck bomb on a bridge or tunnel or at a reservoir dam or among pedestrians. The media rarely report on... Full story
Infanticide shakes Israel to the core. The world lets it pass unnoticed. A 10-month-old baby girl, on the playground, her head placed in the sniper’s scope, shot dead in her father’s arms. This cowardly, beastly act tore a hole in every Jewish heart. The pain was compounded by the drama of Shalhevet’s mother, crouched for hours on the floor of the playground, not allowing the burial society to touch her dead baby. All of Israel is shaken. Why? Because this is not about targeting settlers. It is about targeting Jews. All Jews. I am remin... Full story
On Friday afternoon, the Doctoral Students Council of the City University of New York (CUNY) once again considered a hateful resolution calling for a boycott of Israeli academic institutions After the same measure was defeated by 41 votes last month, this destructive and divisive resolution once again reared its ugly head. For a second time, the resolution failed to win passage, receiving 31 out of a required 39 votes. The hypocrites who promoted the resolution are part of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This... Full story
By Another young American man has given his life while fighting in the ranks of Islamist terrorists abroad. But this time, instead of being met with universal condemnations and scorn, the young terrorist is being greeted with sympathetic news accounts and “even-handed” statements from the State Department – all because he joined a politically correct terror group affiliated with the Palestinians. Just think. When Eric Harroun of Arizona joined an Al Qaeda group fighting in Syria last year, he was arrested as soon as he tried to re-enter the U... Full story
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, NOVEMBER 7 Ligh... Full story
Barry Seymour Cohen, 53, of Altamonte Springs, Florida, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Oct. 20, 2014. He was 53 years old. A funeral service was held at the Congregation of Reform Judaism Cemetery with Rabbi Aaron Rubinger officiating. Barry was born in Miami, Florida on May 28, 1961. Son of Dr. Raymond Cohen (deceased) and Miriam Cohen-Shader, he was the third of four children. He graduated from Coral Gables High School and went on to complete the Disney Culinary Program. For more than 20 years, Barry worked as a certified chef... Full story
Arnold D. “Arnie” Klein of Lake Mary, passed away on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, at South Seminole Hospital in Longwood. He was 62 years old. A native of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, Arnie was born on Aug. 1, 1952, to the late Robert Klein and Helen Pappas Klein. Following high school he attended Eastern Michigan University earning a bachelor’s in Business degree. On Jan. 5, 1980, in Mt. Pleasant, he married the former Rosalie Marcus, his wife of nearly 35 years. The family moved numerous times as Arnie’s career as a buyer in the toys and sportin... Full story
By Julie Wiener NEW YORK (JTA)-When your mother is the world's most famous advice columnist, you wouldn't think you'd have to learn any lesson the hard way. But Margo Howard-daughter of the late Ann Landers and the niece of Landers' twin sister Dear Abby (nee Esther and Pauline Friedman)-had to marry four times before she finally felt she'd gotten it right. In her new book, "Eat, Drink and Remarry: Confessions of a Serial Wife," the 74-year-old Howard, a Jewish former journalist and Slate's form... Full story
Cameron Waggoner, son of Pamela Waggoner, and grandson of Joyce and Mel Berger, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014, at Heathrow Country Club. Cameron is in seventh grade at Markham Woods Middle School in Lake Mary where he is involved in chorus, Inspire Chorus, and Black and Silver Chorus. He is also in Drama II. His interests are in magic, singing, acting and decorating. He dreams one day of becoming a vocal performer. Cameron and his family have been...
An unexpected meeting... I recently spoke and performed at a JCC 39er's meeting in Maitland with my talented accompanists, bassist, MOE LOWE and pianist, MICHAEL KRAMER. (I've had the pleasure of performing cabaret with Michael and his equally talented son, bassist, BEN KRAMER, in New York City a while back). After the presentation, a gentleman approached me with a bit of information about a book he had just written. His name is ABRAHAM GOLD, and he is a Holocaust survivor. (Right away I was... Full story
At the Jewish Academy of Orlando, science was all the rage at the Community Open House featuring Family Science Night Tuesday night, Oct. 28. Each class in the school offered hands-on science experiments in which the students could participate. In addition to doing these experiments themselves, the students could also interact with several scientists in the school demonstrating experiments for the students. These experiments included two 3-D printers, a demonstration of lasers, and flight simula... Full story
In southern Israel, the next generation of Jewish pioneers is making the desert bloom. A group of young, Zionist, idealistic adults are cultivating a previously uninhabited area in the northwest Negev on Israel's borders with Egypt and Gaza-growing tomatoes, potatoes, lettuce, cauliflower, pomegranates, olives, and more. "I am there (in the Negev) because I can make a difference," said Nava Uner, who lives in Bnei Netzarim, one of three Halutza (pioneer) communities, as part of the new Young... Full story
JERUSALEM-As the afternoon sun showers Jerusalem with gold, Ammunition Hill looks like any of the city's other 22 light rail stops. Since 2011, untold numbers of Israelis-Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike-have been catching the train every nine minutes or so along the 8.6-mile route through Jerusalem's main shopping streets and many residential neighborhoods. In fact, for the commuters, college students, and shoppers getting off and on here, there is little to indicate that a terrorist attack... Full story
What’s the cure for the recent ills of the United States Secret Service? American officials might consider taking some advice from their Israeli counterparts at the Shin Bet security agency. White House security breaches have sent the Secret Service scrambling to restructure itself in order to prevent similar or more serious mistakes in the future. But former Israeli security and intelligence officials note that the Shin Bet, which also protects top dignitaries, has virtually the same tactics, rules of engagement, and training procedures as i... Full story
