Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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ORLANDO (JTA)-In a keynote address to 5,000 attendees of the 73rd Biennial of the Union for Reform Judaism, Vice President Joe Biden stated that the Reform movement has "always been in the vanguard" of American social change. "For decades, you've been the heart and soul of opportunity for all Americans," he said. "Where you lead, the nation eventually follows," referring to Reform Jews' early stand for civil rights, gay equality and the transgender rights policy that was passed during the...
Congregation Beth Am in Longwood invites all Jewish Veterans, military men and women on active duty and their families to attend the Shabbat Morning service at 9:30 a.m. on Nov.14, 2015 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. This invitation is also extended to the...
The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando welcomes Sara Rennert, the new Youth & Camp director, who began overseeing the JCC's 43-year-old Camp J, J University, and youth programs on Nov. 9. A New York City native, Rennert oversaw all twelve summer camp programs at the Friedberg JCC on Long Island. Rennert has been a mainstay of their JCC, having worked there since she was a camp counselor in high school. She's also a product of the JCC world, having started attending JCC camps and after school...
NEW YORK (JTA)-When Joe Lieberman became the first observant Jew with a reasonable chance at being president-after Al Gore named him his vice presidential running mate in 2000-he faced a host of questions about how his Sabbath observance might impact his presidential duties. Now that Ben Carson, a Seventh Day Adventist, has emerged at the top of the polls in the Republican presidential primary, he's facing similar questions about his religion. So far, Carson's faith-which, like Judaism,...
TEL AVIV (JTA)-Some 100,000 people joined together in central Tel Aviv on Saturday to pay tribute to slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, but they were divided over what exactly they were rallying for. The demonstration, which marked the 20th anniversary of Rabin's assassination by a Jewish extremist incensed by his government's efforts to reach a peace accord with the Palestinians, was called "Remembering the murder, fighting for democracy"-a nod to the slaying's universal lesson of respecting...
(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org)-In a vote of 51-17, the Israeli Knesset on Monday approved a bill designed to toughen penalties for rock-throwing. The bill, designed as a temporary provision in its current format, passed its second and third reading on Monday, finalizing it into law. Its temporary nature, however, will require Knesset members to vote on it again in three years in order to decide whether to renew it. The new law, part of efforts to quell a recent wave of Palestinian...
Temple L'Chayim will host a Clermont Chanukah Party that will be open to the entire community on Sunday, Dec. 6, the first night of Chanukah from 6 to 9 p.m. There will be a special Chanukah candle lighting ceremony performed by Cantor Isaac Kriger and Rabbi Howard Schwartz of Temple L'Chayim. This annual celebration will be a terrific opportunity for the community to join together and to learn about Jewish tradition, history, culture and heritage. Rabbi Howard Schwartz will share the ancient...
Temple Israel's adult education committee will present a stimulating presentation by Dr. Norman Berdichevsky on Sunday, Nov. 22, at 4 p.m. in the Roth Social Hall at 50 S. Moss Road, Winter Springs. The topic will be the evolution of modern Hebrew. Dr. Berdichevsky is a noted author, freelance writer, editor, researcher and lecturer of history and culture at several major universities. His latest book, which will be the subject of his talk, is "Modern Hebrew-The Past and Future of a Revitalized...
Temple Israel is going all-out with a winning gala production directed by Eugene O'Neill award-winning playwright Ken Eulo, who will be directing the Temple Israel cast of actors in "Marriage is Murder," the world's first musical murder mystery. The play will be performed at Temple Israel on Dec. 5, at 6:30 p.m. Eulo had his plays presented On and Off Broadway (Lincoln Center, Helen Hayes Theatre, The Gate, The Globe, Manhattan Theatre Club and the Courtyard Playhouse), has written 13 published...
A few years ago, the British anti-Semitism scholar David Hirsh remarked that while Israel was the ostensible target of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, first in the firing line were diaspora Jews. This shouldn’t be surprising if you consider it carefully—Jewish organizations are typically called on by the media to defend Israel, particularly during times of conflict, and many individual Jews have faced ostracism within their own professional communities for speaking in support of Israel and against the boycott. So, whe...
As defenders of Israel we are constantly emphasizing that Israel promotes unconditional co-existence and would never stand for such an awful establishment like institutional discrimination. However what if I said we were wrong and that Israel does in fact actively permit prejudice to flourish? We as educators commit a severe injustice by failing to recognize this. We are so pre-occupied with convincing an obstinate side that apartheid against non-Jews does not exist in Israel that we commit the deprecating mistake of overlooking the...
It is not yet clear what caused the destruction of the Russian airliner as it flew from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh over the Sinai toward Saint Petersburg. However, the betting is an explosive device. Maybe slipped on the plane by a Bedouin baggage handler doing the work of Allah and the Islamic State, carried on by a passenger with similar motives and willing to die for the cause, or shot from below. Egypt is worried about its once flourishing tourist industry, now hanging on at a south Sinai beach a long way from the heart of the...
Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) head Matthew Brooks recently told The Hill, “We as a Jewish community have to take a long, hard step back and acknowledge the reality ... that today there is one pro-Israel party and that is the Republican Party.” What a boneheaded thing to say—both because it isn’t true, and because it’s a sure-fire way to hurt Israel. (Full disclosure: I’m a proud RJC member.) Let’s look at some of the ways we know the Democrats continue to support Israel: • In a survey last December nearly three times as many Democrats...
CHICAGO (JTA)—At a campaign event in Virginia last week, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders invoked his Judaism in response to a question about Islamophobia in the media. The exchange drew widespread attention, in part because Sanders has mostly avoided discussion of how his religion informs his politics. The contrast between his approach and that of other candidates is striking. But whatever else we might say about the merits of his candidacy, Sanders’ reticence to don the cloak of sanctimony is refreshing. Americans in gen...
Fifty years ago this week, two prominent figures in the American Jewish community startled their colleagues by calling for democratic elections to choose Jewish leaders. The occasion was a two-day conference in New York City, in November 1965, on “Planning for the American Jewish Community of Tomorrow—1975.” Jewish organizational professionals, rabbis, and scholars came together to discuss what should be done to ensure the wellbeing of American Jewry 10 years hence. Most of the speakers confined themselves to generalities and platitudes. But t...
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...
During the 2014 Oscars, they celebrated the 75th anniversary of the release of the “Wizard of Oz” by having Pink sing “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” But what few people realized, while listening to that incredible performer singing that unforgettable song, is that the music is deeply embedded in the Jewish experience. It is no accident, for example, that the greatest Christmas songs of all time were written by Jews. For example, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was written by Johnny Marks and “White Christmas” was penned by a Jewish liturgic...
Agie Janovitz, age 85, of Longwood, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, at Florida Hospital—Orlando. Agie was born in Secovce, Slovakia, on Nov. 6, 1929, to the late Adolph and Ilona Pollak Kritzler and was one of three children. The family immigrated to the United States through New York aboard the SS Aquitania in 1936, and went to Cleveland. In January 1952, in Cleveland, she married her late husband, Alvin Janovitz, who passed away in 2002, after 50 years of marriage. Mrs. Janovitz retired after many years as a secretary for the City of S...
Freda Mittleman, age 96, of Orlando, passed away on Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, at Brookdale Senior Living in Dr. Phillips. Born in Norfolk, Va., on March 9, 1919, to the late Abraham Irving Kuper and Florence Fishbein, she was a homemaker and the widow of the late Milton Mittleman who passed away in 1994. The family relocated to the Orlando area from Hicksville, N.Y., in 1946, and were former members of Congregation Ohev Shalom. Mrs. Mittleman is survived by her sons, Robert of Altamonte Springs and Joel of Orlando; two grandchildren; and two...
Betty Sherman, age 87, of Oviedo, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015, at Encore of Avalon Park, Orlando. She was born on Aug. 10, 1928, in Glasgow, Scotland, to the late Manuel and Mary Matafsky Goldinger. She was the widow of the late Izzy Sherman who passed away in October 2007, after 58 years of marriage. Mrs. Sherman worked for many years as an administrative assistant for the American Technion Society in Detroit, Mich., providing support for the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. In 2003, Betty and Izzy relocated to the Orlando...
Jacob Lewis, son of Gail and Jonathan Lewis of Apopka, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, at Congregation Beth Am in Longwood. Jacob is in the eighth grade at Piedmont Lakes Middle School. His hobbies and interests include reading, swimming, computers, video games, theme parks and he also likes to go exploring. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Jacob's grandparents, Micki and Richard Lewis; grandmother, Petey Norton; cousin, Rose Neidich; uncle, David...
Jessica Rochelle Nolte, daughter of Susan Godorov of Orlando and Dennis Nolte of Oviedo, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2015, at the Congregation of Reform Judaism. Jessica is in the seventh grade at Jackson Heights Middle School where she is a member of the Cross Country team. Her hobbies and interests include running, movies, shopping, hanging out with friends and spending time with her family. Jessica's bat mitzvah project was visiting the Jewish elderly...
Every Wednesday, Rabbi Joshua Neely of Temple Israel teaches two adult education classes which are open to the entire community at no charge. At noon on Wednesday, Rabbi Neely teaches in person and online his long-running class on the Torah portion of the week. This past Simchat Torah marked his sixth year teaching this popular class. His unique approach is to drill down on one aspect of the Torah portion instead of simply giving an overview. All are encouraged to read the full Torah portion...
Most Jewish students attending the University of Central Florida don't know him by face or by name. But real estate developer and Jewish philanthropist Hank Katzen is one of the masterminds behind Central Florida Hillel-a place that many consider to be their home away from home. The CFH center, located in the $60 million NorthView apartment complex, comprises 20,000 square feet of the 600,000-square-foot facility. In an attempt to create America's first self-sustaining Hillel, Katzen...
“A museum like no other”... “The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum was established to remember the victims of the Holocaust and to educate the nation and the world about one of the darkest chapters in human history.” (I received this brochure in the mail recently and will pass it along to you word for word. Now, perhaps more then ever we must be vigilant. A few years ago, my spouse and I visited the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. We were so very touched. Visit if you can... and support the museum if you are able.) It continu...
