Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The Jewish Pavilion's annual "Walk in the Park," held Oct. 27 at Crane's Roost Park in Altamonte Springs, was a resounding success, and the support of the community couldn't have been better. There was a balloon man, face painters, booths with jewelry, food and beverages, and entertainment-enough for all to enjoy. These Jewish Academy of Orlando 5- to 8-year-olds brought a smile to everyone's face as they sang several favorites....
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA)-The Obama administration may be on a collision course with pro-Israel advocates over an intensified sanctions bill that the White House fears may scuttle negotiations to resolve the standoff over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs support a bill, passed in July by the House of Representatives, that would sanction entities...
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 our country. This year Beth Am encourages the families of our 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...
The 15th annual Central Florida Jewish Film Festival, co-produced by Enzian and the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando as part of the Cultural Festival Circuit and is supported by United Arts of Central Florida, is a cinematic celebration of Jewish life, culture, and history. Using the power of film to inform, educate, and most of all entertain, the festival challenges conventional perspectives on issues facing all of us. This year's festival will feature a newly expanded program...
(JNS.org) The U.S. government is asking pro-Israel activists to reduce their public support for more sanctions on Iran just prior to another round of discussions on the issue between Iranian and world leaders. White House officials met with Jewish organizations including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the American Jewish Committee, and the Anti-Defamation League last Tuesday. According to the Washington Free Beacon, a pro-Israel official who attended the briefing said that the Obama administration does not "want the new...
KIEV, Ukraine (JTA)-The explosion that ripped through Vadim Rabinovich's luxury SUV in central Kiev was strong enough to send a shock wave from the parking lot up to his third-floor office in the heart of the Ukrainian capital. "It was a shock for a day or two," Rabinovich said, "and then I moved on." The 60-year-old media mogul and Jewish philanthropist views the March 4 explosion as an attack on his life. He has accused Andrey Derkach, a businessman and former politician, of being...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) applauded the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) for its approval of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which includes the Holocaust survivor legislation. Services under the OAA help enable Holocaust survivors and other older adults to age in place in their homes and communities. “With each passing day it becomes even more urgent to do all we can for the survivors of the Holocaust,” said Michael Siegal, chairman of the JFNA Board of Trustees. “The guidanc...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Bernard Madoff. An unscrupulous contractor. Art that disappeared or was destroyed by fire—it’s not clear which. Bad, bad bookkeepers. And did we mention Bernard Madoff? These were among the causes of “material diversion” of assets—tax-speak for lost funds or property totaling $250,000 or 5 percent—reported by Jewish organizations on their tax returns. Since 2008, the IRS has asked nonprofit organizations to indicate on their tax returns whether they have become aware of such losses in the past year. According to an investigat...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando’s Choices 2014—the Jewish community’s biggest event for women—will celebrate its 20th anniversary by paying tribute to past Harriet Ginsburg Women of Choice to thank them once again for their vision in paving the way for generations to come. The event, to be held at the Rosen Plaza on Feb. 1, 2014, is co-chaired by Rita Isaak, Monique Eyal and Susan Bierman, who are planning a professionally written and produced interactive musical extravaganza highlig...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando welcomes Marisa West to its administrative team. West joins the team with a wealth of experience as office manager. She will be responsible for providing administrative support to Executive Director Olga Yorish, and will maintain daily operations for a smooth-running office. She also will provide support in numerous areas including finance/bookkeeping, event logistics, customer relations, vendor relations, human resources, building maintenance and...
Throughout all the stress of the upcoming two months, Beit Hamidrash has some stress relief for students with free one-time classes and get-togethers to “create your Jewish life.” Nov. 11, 7 p.m., students can take an hour to honor the memory of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht with a visit to the Holocaust Center and create a piece of their own commemorative art work. For an extra special take on Chanukah, on Dec. 2, at 7 p.m., Amy Geboff invites 8-12th graders and their parents to learn about “Balancing a Jewish life style in a non-Jewis...
Jewish Family Services Orlando, the Winter Park-based nonprofit, human service agency, is extending its heartfelt thanks to community partners who raised $5337 in cash and donated 4000 lbs. of nonperishable food for the annual High Holiday 2013 food drive. The food drive occurred during the High Holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur beginning Sept. 4 and ending Sept. 14, and were contributed by 11 temples and organizations: Congregation Ohev Shalom, Jewish Community Center, Congregation of Reform Judaism, Congregation Beth Am, Congregation...
When I was much, much younger I desperately wanted to be a musician. It was something my parents never encouraged, and I didn’t have any close friends who missed hanging out in the afternoon because of their music lessons. But I loved music. I loved the piercing sound of an electric guitar, the thrum of a bass guitar, the blast of a saxophone. So I tried. I tried them all—guitar, sax, mandolin, bass. I even went so far as to take harmonica lessons, because I thought, “That at least I can maste...
Ah, Saudi Arabia! The country that spawned 15 of the 19 terrorists that executed the atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001. The country we in America are told is an ally, even though, when it comes to values, we have virtually nothing in common with the reactionary oil billionaires running the place. The country whose oil supplies us, for the moment, with about 13 percent of our annual energy needs. The country with one of the most abysmal human rights records in the world, which bans any religion other than Islam, which imports slave labor from the...
In Woody Allen’s Sleeper, the hero wakes up from cryogenic sleep to find out a war has wiped out the world as he knew it. “Over 100 years ago,” a doctor tells him, “a man named Albert Shanker got a hold of a nuclear warhead.” Allen knew this incredibly specific joke would kill in 1970s New York, where it was easy to imagine that Armageddon would be launched by the fiery, bespectacled, Jewish leader of the New York City teachers’ union. The joke came to mind when I read how casino mogul, Jewish benefactor, and Republican bankroller Sheldon Ade...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Belief in God is at the core of my very being. But that belief is sometimes challenged by the scores of innocents killed over the millennia in God’s name, from biblical times to the present day. Last month, dozens were killed at a shopping mall in Kenya by terrorists demanding to know if those they were confronting were Muslim. If Muslim, they were spared; if not, they were murdered. One man who claimed to be Muslim was asked to name Muhammad’s mother. When he could not, he was summarily shot in the head. The day after the mall...
Israel and Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) are engaging in negotiations refused for years by the PA. Yet, only weeks ago, the PA Minister of Religious Affairs Mahmoud Al-Habbash delivered a paean to Shekih Ahmad Yassin, founder and leader of Hamas, the terrorist organization that has murdered hundreds of Israelis in scores of suicide bombings, calling him a Palestinian “icon.” How can peace talks and glorifying a terrorist chieftain coexist in the PA? Al-Habbash gave us the answer this summer, when he justi...
A decade ago, Jewish parents worried that their children wouldn’t marry Jewish or bar and bat mitzvah their own children. Today, however, we see a younger generation that is marrying within the faith and looking to raise their children Jewish, while maintaining a strong bond to Israel. Taglit-Birthright Israel’s free educational trip, offered to young Jewish adults between the ages of 18 and 26, is largely responsible for creating the change we believed only a decade ago to be impossible: The younger generation is not only more connected to...
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 8 Light Sha...
J Fit, a one-stop health and wellness fair, will be held at the JCC's Jack & Lee Rosen Southwest Orlando Campus on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10 a.m-2 p.m. J Fit will provide a day of education, recreation and fun for all ages. Families, adults and seniors will enjoy strolling through the interactive Health and Wellness Showcase, Green Market, and Yoga Zen Den. Group exercise demos, health screenings and organic shopping options will be highlighted. The event is free and open to the community. For...
The Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida is proud to announce its new board members: Michele Brennan, director of Communications and Neighborhood Relations, City of Orlando; Joel Maser of Greenberg Traurig; Jill Schwartz of Jill S. Schwartz & Associates; Monte Starr of Holland & Knight LLP; Roger Chapin, executive vice president of Mears Transportation Group; and Ian D. Robinson, vice president of Business & Organizational Development of Massey Services, Inc. Serving as...
Norman S. Jacobs of Winter Garden, passed away on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, at Florida Hospital, Orlando. He was 82 years old. Mr. Jacobs was born in Newark, N.J., on Jan. 23, 1931, to the late David Craig and Esther Greenstein Jacobs. He attended area schools and served in the U.S. Army. Mr. Jacobs was an entrepreneur and owned and operated various retail stores. On March 14, 1954, in Bradley Beach, N.J., he married Eileen Z. Starr, his wife of almost 60 years, who survives him. Mr. Jacobs is also survived by his son David of Longwood;...
Shirley R. Lichten of Longwood, passed away on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2013, at the Village on the Green Health Center. She was 101 years old. Born in New York City on March 14, 1912, to the late Joseph and Jessie Goldstein Epstein, Mrs. Lichten was an accomplished self-taught artist for more than a half century. She and her husband, Leo, who survives her, relocated to the Orlando area from Philadelphia in 1960, and became active members of the Congregation of Reform Judaism, the CRJ Seniors and Hadassah. Graveside services were held at Congregation...
Marla Wallach McFall of Maitland, passed away on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2013, at University of California – Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. She was 44 years old. An Orlando native, she was born on May 4, 1969, to the late Sidney and Gloria Halpern Wallach. She attended local area schools and was a hair stylist. Ms. McFall is survived by her fiancé Michael Wilson; sons, Simon Wilson and Charles McFall; and daughter, Sarah McFall. Funeral services were held at the Jacob “Yank” Frank Pavilion followed by burial in the Temple Israel Cemete...
Middle school students met at the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando on Saturday night, Oct. 19, for dinner and a night out at the RDV Ice Den....
