Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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WASHINGTON (JTA)-Donald Trump will be the next U.S. president, having swept to victory in at least 29 states with 288 electoral votes and jolted a Jewish community made increasingly anxious as his rough-edged nativist rhetoric emboldened the far right and amplified a strain of anti-Semitic invective not heard in decades. Trump called on all Americans to "heal the wounds of our nation" and "come together as one united people" in his victory speech shortly before 3 a.m. Wednesday at the New York... Full story
Debt-retirement campaign has component to benefit local Jewish agencies Second of two parts Launched in March, the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Campus 2020 campaign has raised more than $1 million in pledges and matching funds that will go toward eliminating the $4.5 million in debt carried by the Maitland Jewish Community Campus, which is owned and managed by the Federation. In part one of this two-part series, Campus 2020 campaign Chairman Michael Soll, vice president and immediate... Full story
(JTA)-Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose Jewish-infused work became a soundtrack for melancholy, has died. He was 82. "It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has passed away," his Facebook page said late Thursday. "We have lost one of music's most revered and prolific visionaries." It did not give a cause of death but said there would be a funeral in Los Angeles in coming days. Cohen, a Montreal native born in 1934, was... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The top official of the Republican Jewish Coalition said the Anti-Defamation League had potentially compromised itself with its criticism of President-elect Donald Trump's words and actions during the campaign. The attack by the RJC on the venerated Jewish civil rights group-and an implied warning of more to come-signaled fraught times ahead for the more liberal precincts of the American Jewish community as they seek to establish ties with the nascent Trump administration.... Full story
WASHINGTON-Although it will be some time before President-elect Donald Trump names the members of his cabinet, the four individuals most often mentioned as contenders for the administration's top foreign policy post all have strong pro-Israel records. Trump himself once floated the name of John Bolton for secretary of state. Asked on the "Hugh Hewitt Show" radio program in August whom he might consider for the position, Trump replied that Bolton "is a good man" and that he was "seriously... Full story
Election night brought mixed results for Jewish politicians vying for seats in Congress. In the House of Representatives, the Jewish delegation saw its best results, increasing representation from 19 to 22 seats, including the election of a rare Jewish Republican. But in the Senate, some Jewish contenders fared poorly, with defeats in two major seats that could have helped shift the balance of power from Republican to Democrat in the upper chamber. In the House of Representatives, several... Full story
The following statement was released by Rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, Dean and Founder and Associate Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center on the election of Donald Trump “The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights NGO joins with all other Americans in congratulating Donald Trump on his election to be the next President of the United States. We are buoyed by Donald Trump’s unambiguous commitment to a strong and safe democratic Israel and his recognition of Jerusalem as its eternal and undivided capital. We look for... Full story
Following the election of Mr. Donald Trump and Governor Mike Pence to the Presidency and Vice Presidency of the United States, Rabbi David Zwiebel, Agudath Israel’s executive vice president, issued the following statement of congratulations: Agudath Israel of America congratulates Mr. Trump and Governor Pence on their historic victory in yesterday’s election. We offer them our most sincere wishes and heartfelt prayers for success. We have always enjoyed close working relationships with the White House, irrespective of which political party hap... Full story
“As a supporter of Secretary Clinton, I feel its important to state its our duty as Jews & Americans to pray for President-Elect Trump and his success-may he merit divine inspiration & bring together our nation. Elections are sacred & the moment its over we are united under the leadership of the President- elect.” Ezra Friedlander CEO, The Friedlander Group... Full story
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 dedicated volunteers Jane Edelstein and Lois Silverberg. "Our annual luncheon is our yearly opportunity for us to show our appreciation and to connect with our wonderful volunteers and membership who support the Jewish Pavilion in so many ways, whether spending time with seniors one-on-one,... Full story
"Find DNA Ancestors and Cousins" with genetic genealogist Diahan Southard turned out to be a hot topic with over 60 (plus nine via Internet) attending on Nov. 10 at UCF Hillel. Jointly sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO), the University of Central Florida (UCF) Judaic Studies Department, and the Central Florida Hillel Center for UCF Jewish Life; many members of the Central Florida Genealogical Society (CFGS) also attended. The attendees were nearly evenly spli... Full story
Jewish Academy of Orlando hosted a Scholastic Book fair this past week. The school has participated in this program for many years. Each year, Scholastic Book fair shares a theme; this year's was "Get Hooked on a Good Book." Students and staff participated in many events, including a "Pirates and Princesses" dress up day, which was followed by an evening pirate-themed family event. The school's parent and teacher committee, HUM, Horim U'Morim, assisted in the making the family event and book... Full story
Donald Trump is now America’s master. As improbable as that outcome might seem to metropolitan Americans, it is actually quite consistent with the pattern of politics during the last decade. Many of Trump’s fundamental beliefs—his aversion to foreign engagements, his portrait of long-standing American allies as free-loaders, his deferential attitude toward Russian President Vladimir Putin—have been on prominent display during President Barack Obama’s two terms in office. Since politics is never smooth and is chock-full of unintended consequen... Full story
Professors at a number of American universities have found a new cause: demanding the release of a terrorist who murdered two college students. This disturbing story begins on Feb. 21, 1969. That was the day a powerful bomb exploded in a Jerusalem supermarket. Two Hebrew University students (and roommates), Edward Jaffe and Leon Kanner, were killed. “They had been buying canned food for a botanical field trip when they were blown to bits,” the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported. “Many housewives brought bouquets of flowers to the employees of [... Full story
The United Nations Security Council devoted a recent session to bashing Israel, criticizing its policy of building Jewish communities in the biblical areas of Judea and Samaria, known to some as the “occupied territories.” At that meeting two weeks ago, the Israeli nongovernmental organizations B’Tselem and Americans for Peace Now (APN) gave testimony critical of Israeli policy. While Commentary’s Jonathan Tobin wrote the preeminentresponse, condemnation of these groups’ perfidy was relatively broad. Rabbi Eric Yoffie, former head of the Union... Full story
(JTA)-Using his M-16 assault rifle as a pillow, my father awoke abruptly from a dreamless sleep by the pleading voice of a young woman outside his tent in the Sinai. The woman, a uniformed volunteer, was urging reservists like him to forego shuteye to hear a musician whose name she did not know, but who had come from far away to perform for Israeli troops on the southern front of Israel's traumatic 1973 war with Egypt and Syria. Stumbling out of the khaki tent, my father and 12 other soldiers... Full story
Americans who opposed Donald Trump have awoken in a stupor, shocked that his victory was no mere nightmare. For those who cannot envision living under a Trump regime, “I’m moving to Canada” or elsewhere no longer feels like election-year blather. But where would you go? If five million Americans, alarmed by a reckless, ruthless chief executive, decided to move north tomorrow, Canada would not have the desire—or the ability—to absorb them. No country in the world would absorb that magnitude of American expats. Well, there is one country.... Full story
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 Isr... Full story
For those interested in their family history, the "My Jewish Roots" series of 10 monthly hands-on genealogy workshops is being held by the Jewish Genealogy Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO). These workshops are being co-hosted by The Roth Family JCC, Rosen JCC, UCF Hillel, Congregation Ohev Shalom, and Temple Israel in rotation at their facilities and also joinable over the Internet. The December Workshop topic is "Conduct USA based Research." The following is one of my stories of finding... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Are you a deli roll lover? You know deli roll-the beloved Jewish American dish where various deli meats and Russian dressing get all wrapped up inside puff pastry for a guilt-inducing Shabbat lunch dish. It's almost like a deli sandwich-knish hybrid. I never grew up eating deli roll, but when I tried it at a friend's house many years ago, I simultaneously thought: This is so unhealthy, yet I just want more. And so it was just a matter of time before I worked on my own... Full story
Germany pays tribute... I read this in a recent edition of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest. I never heard this before, a very touching piece of history and I pass it along to you: "Germany's Foreign Office and the Centrum Judaicum Berlin held an event to honor Jose Arturo Castellanos Contreras, El Salvador's consul-general in Geneva who during World War II helped to save tens of thousands of Jews from Central Europe from Nazi persecution by providing them with false papers of Salvadoran... Full story
As I pulled into Myrtle Rutberg's driveway at the house she has lived in for 30-some years, her son, Gerald, greeted me at my car. "My mother likes visitors to come in through the front door," he said as he led me to the front porch. Myrtle's dear friend Karnine greeted me at the door. Karnine stays with Myrtle and their relationship is like a mother and daughter. Myrtle was standing on her back patio, gazing out into her backyard. She wore a royal blue dress. Her straight white hair was combed... Full story
(JTA)-As a Jewish family originally from the Ivory Coast, Amy and George Camara and their four children felt somewhat immune to the rising anti-Semitic thuggery in France. The Camaras, relieved to leave their war-torn African country, settled in the northern French city of Lille in 2012. Because they fit no one's Jewish stereotype, they said they were able to live as Jews without fear-despite, in recent years, the rise in attacks on French Jews from a small segment of Muslim extremists. But the... Full story
Beth Malkin Utz, age 45, of Clermont, passed away on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016, at South Lake Hospital in Clermont. A daughter of Jerome and Elaine Satz Malkin of Clermont, Beth was born on Nov. 9, 1970, in Coral Gables, Fla. She was a licensed practical nurse. In addition to her parents, she is survived by her sister, Stacy (Scott) Overby of Highland Park, Iii.; and her niece, Rachel, and nephew Mark. She was predeceased by her brother Robert, and husband Gregory Utz. A graveside service was held at Beth Israel Memorial Park, Gotha, with Rabbi... Full story
(JTA)-Have you seen "Supergirl" yet? No, we're not talking about the popular TV series about Superman's fair-haired cousin, currently in its second season on The CW. Rather, we're talking about the new documentary "Supergirl" about Naomi (pronounced "Na-AH-mee") Kutin, a real-life Orthodox Jewish girl who broke world weightlifting records when she was just 9 years old. She has accomplished some incredible feats, but Naomi says power lifting is only about 30 percent physical-the rest is mental.... Full story
