Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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More than 40 Central Florida teens, 16 educators and youth directors, and five Jewish community leaders gathered at Congregation of Reform Judaism on election eve for "Decision 2016: Your Voice, Your Vote, Making a Difference." The program's goal was to help teens discover that their voices matter and they deserve to be heard, even if the students were too young to vote in this year's presidential election. The event, which was open to all local students in grades 8 to 12, was sponsored by the...
The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando is pleased to announce that Robby Etzkin has been promoted to executive director and agreed to a new contract to fulfill that role. Etzkin's promotion comes on the heels of the hiring of Keith Dvorchik, who began on Oct. 5 as The Roth Family JCC's chief executive officer, a new position for the organization. For eight months, Etzkin oversaw the 43-year-old community center while a search committee sought and hired Dvorchik as CEO. "I am...
First it was a book, written by local award-winning author Yvonne David in 2005. It won an honorable mention in the Independent Publisher Book Awards a year after publication, and was then adapted for the stage in the form of a concert reading by award-winning playwright Ellen W. Kaplan and performed in New York City at the Mesaper Theatre. Last March, David brought her concert reading to Orlando, and now David has reached her goal of producing “Out of the Apple Orchard” as a play. “While the commendable Director Kerry Giese and Assis...
The Maitland Jewish Community Campus-home to the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando, The Roth Family Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Academy of Orlando and the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center-is ensuring the security of the campus by hiring a security director. Rhonda Forest, president of JFGO announced that Andrew Brennan has been selected for the position and will officially start Jan. 3, 2017, but will probably be around campus before then. Brennan brings to the job mor...
(JTA)—President-elect Donald Trump has a complicated history with Jews. On the one hand, his daughter Ivanka converted to Orthodox Judaism before marrying Jared Kushner, and he’s spoken fondly about having Jewish grandchildren. On the other, some of Trump’s supporters identify with anti-Semitic elements of the alt-right movement. On Sunday, Trump appointed Stephen Bannon—the former chairman of Breitbart News, a conservative news site—as his chief strategist in a move that sparked swift criticism from the Anti-Defamation League. Still, Tr...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Criminal penalties for boycotting Israel would be extended to companies complying with the BDS movement, including the boycott of West Bank settlements, under a bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Reps. Pete Roskam, R-Ill., and Juan Vargas, D-Calif., introduced the bill Monday. The measure is a companion to one introduced in the Senate in September by Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., called the “Protecting Israel Against Discrimination Act.” The House bill amends language in bills...
(JTA)-Ruth Gruber, an American journalist who escorted 1,000 Jewish Holocaust refugees from Europe to the United States, has died. She was 105. Gruber died Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, in her Manhattan home, The Washington Post reported. She was known for her 1944 journey from Italy to New York aboard a ship carrying refugees from concentration camps. Despite the risk of sailing on waters patrolled by German submarines, then-Interior Secretary Harold Ickes appointed Gruber to travel with the...
President-elect Donald Trump assisted the Israeli government to establish infrastructure for new communities for Israelis being evacuated from the settlements in the Sinai in the1980s and from Gaza in 2005, Yedioth Ahronoth has learned. Sinai was evacuated as part of a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt which Gush Katif in Gaza was done so at the behest of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in a unilateral withdrawal. According to various estimations, Trump’s financial donations amounted to millions of shekels. The high costs of evacuatin...
The Jewish Pavilion exists because of its vast amount of volunteers. For this reason, every year the Pavilion recognizes all its volunteers and honors two specifically at the annual JP Connections. This year Jane Edelstein and Lois Silverberg are the honorees. Talk about jumping in with both feet-Jane Edelstein wears two hats at the Jewish Pavilion. Three years ago, when she first got involved as a volunteer with the Jewish Pavilion's Friends Board, she became the chairwoman of the fall Sunday...
When author William Goldman was headed off on a business trip, he promised his two young daughters he would write a story for them. "What should it be about?" he asked them. "A princess!" said one. "A bride!" said the other. So, in 1973, Goldman published "The Princess Bride." The first 20 pages had come easily, but then got stuck. Finally, he had the idea of making the novel a "best parts" abridgment of a fictitious older work by the fictitious "S. Morgenstern," a novelist from the equally...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah presents its annual Chanukah program on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 11:30 a.m. at Congregation Ohev Shalom. A special Chanukah lunch will be catered-with latkes of course-served up with a helping of festive music. Performing is the musical duo of Joe and Lynn Goldovitz, who will entertain with a unique combination of Chanukah and pop music. Joe and Lynn Goldovitz began performing music together when they met as teenagers. Their distinctive vocal blend is energetic and yet...
Jewish Family Services Orlando invites the community to visit its newly renovated building at an open house on Thursday, Dec. 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Light bites and refreshments will be serviced as the JFS team shares about the new programs the agency has to offer the community—with a special announcement at 6 p.m. JFS Orlando is located at The George Wolly Center, 2100 Lee Road in Winter Park. For more information or to RSVP, contact Mary Lee Walker at marylee.walker@jfsorlando.org or call 407-644-7593, ext. 241....
The Men’s Club of Congregation Ohev Shalom is doing it again! Two years ago, a large group of their members and friends enjoyed a great evening when they took a “cruise” on the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour and followed that with a delicious dinner at a popular Winter Park restaurant. This event was so well-received that they’re doing it again on Sunday, Dec. 4, at 5 p.m. The $38 per person fee includes the boat ride and a tasty dinner at Dexter’s that consists of vegetarian and fish options. If you’ve never done the Winter Park Scenic Boat...
For the first time in my life, on the morning after Donald Trump was elected to be the next president of the United States, I had a glimmering—the faintest of ideas—of what it must have felt like for Jews in 1930s Germany. I woke up asking myself questions I couldn’t answer, questions I’m sure were constantly on the minds of our ancestors. What do I do? How do I protect my family? Do we have to move to another country to be safe? Do we abandon our family, friends, our lives—and move halfway a...
(It is so simple—and it will put President Trump in history books!) The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 is a public law of the United States passed by the 104th Congress on October 23, 1995. It was passed for the purposes of initiating and funding the relocation of the Embassy of the United States in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999. The act also called for Jerusalem to remain an undivided city and for it to be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel. The proposed law was adopted by the Senate (93–5), and the...
I have worked with Stephen K. Bannon, President-elect Donald Trump’s new chief strategist and senior counselor, for nearly six years at Breitbart News. I can say, without hesitation, that Steve is a friend of the Jewish people and a defender of Israel, as well as being a passionate American patriot and a great leader. A word or two about my credentials: I am an Orthodox Jew, and I hold a Master of Arts degree in Jewish Studies. My thesis at the Isaac and Jesse Kaplan Centre at the University of Cape Town dealt with the troubled status of J...
At least five of the most notorious and sensational national sexual stories of the modern era belong to Jews: The Monica Lewinsky story of the 1990s; the quickly forgotten and tragic Chandra Levy affair in 2001; the duplicitous life of Governor Eliot Spitzer (who prosecuted prostitution rings, only to use them himself); the disturbing pedophilia of Jared Fogel, disgraced Subway pitchman, and now the libidinous Anthony Weiner once again creeping into national life. To be sure, Jews have no monopoly on national or political sex scandals. Tiger...
The Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) recent statements essentially criticizing the election victory by Donald Trump and Mike Pence are inappropriate and harmful. The front page of the ADL’s website features a blurb and link to an ADL blog post titled “White Supremacists Celebrate Trump’s Victory” (Nov. 10) that deceptively seems to tie President-elect Trump to former KKK leader David Duke and Jew-hating neo-Nazis—while never mentioning Trump’s repeated repudiations of David Duke and neo-Nazis. The ADL post also never mentions that the Trump/Pen...
Dear Editor: I am not surprised that David Cicilline is circulating a petition around. As Jew, who went to religious school for 12 years, I support Mr. Bannon. Mr. Bannon worked for Jewish businessman Andrew Breitbart. Recently he has taken a key position in the Trump Presidential Campaign. In that capacity he worked alongside Mr. Trump, Ivanka Trump—herself a convert to Orthodox Judaism—Ivanka’s husband Jared Kushner—a key Trump Advisor, and Eric Trump—whose wife is also Jewish. If Mr. Bannon was really anti-Semitic why would he work for...
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...
Marilyn Cohen Shapiro of Poinciana has announced the publication of "There Goes My Heart," a collection of personal memoirs. The collection of over 40 personal essays captures special moments in a lifetime spent in Upstate New York, Florida, Colorado, and beyond. Her Amazon author page states, "Readers will empathize with these true stories of dating, marriage, raising children, and caring for elderly parents through the author's wit edged with appreciation and love of family and friends." The...
(JTA)—The upset victory by Donald Trump in the 2016 elections stunned a Jewish activist and leadership class that is at times as divided as the electorate at large. JTA asked some of those leaders to describe their concerns and expectations in a series of brief essays titled “Worst fears, best hopes.” David Bernstein President/CEO, Jewish Council for Public Affairs Our fears are that some of the troubling views Donald Trump stated in the campaign are not just rhetoric but a blueprint for running the country. Our fears are that the new presi...
(JTA)-For years, whenever Jews and Muslims engaged in dialogue and activism, it usually concerned one issue: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With Donald Trump's ascent to the presidency, that appears to be changing. Regardless of what's happening across the ocean, Jews and Muslims in the United States are joining together to fight for shared domestic concerns. "It is a perhaps growing recognition that [the Israeli-Palestinian conflict] cannot define how American Jews and American Muslims...
Shopping, eating and conversation are the perfect combination for the Jewish Pavilion's annual membership event, which will take place on Dec. 8th at 11 a.m. at the Hilton in Altamonte Springs. Over 100 women are expected to this luncheon where volunteers will be acknowledged. Participants will receive a gourmet meal. ($25) The event includes a holiday bazaar and the presentation of the Volunteer of the Year awards to Jane Edelstein and Lois Silverberg. Special thanks to Pat Rubenstein who is...
Not surprising... My spouse was an aerospace engineer who worked on Gemini 4 thru Apollo 16. I was even invited to NASA for Apollo 12 and sat near former President Nixon and his Secret Service detail. I read this recently in the Weizmann Institute of Science digest and pass it along to you: "On July 4, 2016, a long-anticipated milestone was reached: the Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter. It's goal: revealing the secrets of the planet, our solar system and how they were formed. It took almost...
