Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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TEL AVIV (JTA)-It was 2 a.m. when Illana Attali's friend's screams woke her. Her friend had just heard about the series of coordinated terror attacks on Paris-a wave of violence that would kill at least 129 people on Friday. A Paris native who moved to Tel Aviv five years ago, Attali, 31, had been on a desert hike with two friends and had turned off her phone. When she first heard about the attacks, she thought it was just a bad dream. All three friends began sobbing and decided to head back to...
The Kinneret Council on Aging has announced the honorees for their 2016 '8 over 80' event to be held on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016. "We are once again thrilled with the support we have had from the community and were truly inspired by the number of outstanding individuals over the age of 80, who continue to contribute to our community and promote the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam," said Faye Novick, 8 over 80 chairwoman. "We hope the community will join in honoring our 8 over 80 once again with a...
Last April, a mezzuzah on a door was destroyed and swastikas were discovered carved into the walls of an off-campus apartment complex where UCF students were living. On Nov. 15, anti-Semitic stickers were found on a newsstand by Tower Four on campus. The stickers with the Nazi emblem were also found in Lake Claire, Tower Two, across from the CFE Arena, the Recreation and Wellness Center and Nike. In addition to the stickers, there was a note calling for the boycott of all Israelis products, and fliers were found that stated: “Florida, l...
JNS.org—Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year-old American yeshiva student from Massachusetts, was among the three people killed in a Palestinian terror attack in Gush Etzion on Thursday, Nov. 19. Schwartz was riding in a van with five of his friends from Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh when a Palestinian terrorist driving in the opposite direction opened fire on the van and other cars stuck in traffic. The students were heading back to the yeshiva after handing out food to IDF soldiers. “Ezra wanted nothing more than to help feed another person, to stu...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-The series of terrorist attacks that killed at least 129 in Paris pose a couple of major challenges for the United States, Jewish officials and security experts said. The challenges: security threats from the the 200 or so Islamic State fighters who have returned to the United States, and moral questions surrounding America's absorption of Syrian war refugees. The key takeaway from Friday's attacks, for which ISIS has claimed responsibility, is that the plotters managed to...
SHORT HILLS, N.J. (JTA)-"Show your support for the people of Paris by temporarily updating your profile picture with this new template we created," read the Facebook-sponsored text promoted not 24 hours after last week's terror attacks in Paris. The social media giant invited users to overlay their profile picture with the blue, white and red colors of the French flag. Within hours, my Facebook feed became awash in those colors, as well-meaning friends painted their virtual faces in solidarity...
(JTA)-Jonathan Pollard, the former Navy intelligence analyst convicted of spying for Israel, was freed from a federal prison in North Carolina. Pollard was released on parole early Friday after serving 30 years of a life sentence for passing classified documents to Israel. His imprisonment has long been a sore point in relations between the United States and Israel. Successive Israeli prime ministers have raised the issue in their meetings with U.S. presidents. In recent years, support in the U....
The Jewish Pavilion will host its Annual Volunteer Luncheon, JP Connections, at the Altamonte Hilton on Thursday, Dec. 10 at the Altamonte Hilton at 11 a.m. The luncheon will honor volunteers Penny D' Agostino and Joan Pohl, as well as all Pavilion volunteers and members. "Penny D'Agostino has a song in her heart for Orlando's seniors, and for the past six years she has shared her musical gifts with the elder-care community, bringing joy to hundreds of residents a year through music," said...
Congregation Beth Am in Longwood will host an informative meeting on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. -11:30 a.m. to discuss "Sex, Money & Power: Jewish Perspectives on Creating Healthy Relationships" among life partners, whether married or unmarried, straight or gay, newly coupled or with many years together. The expert panel features Rabbi Rick Sherwin, Dr. Roberta Marowitz, licensed marriage and family therapist, and Elaine Silver, collaborative divorce lawyer and family mediator. Rabbi Rick...
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah presents its annual Chanukah celebration on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 11:30 a.m. at Congregation Ohev Shalom. The festivities feature the musical talents of “The Piano Lady” Carol Stein and Cantor Jackie Rawiszer, who will perform a concert containing traditional songs of the season as well as contemporary music and compositions of their own creation. These two fine musicians, who bring their talents to the Orlando community, have received worldwide acclaim in their chosen careers. Music is Carol Stein’s way of chang...
The Rosen JCC, located at 11184 S. Apopka-Vineland Road, will resonate with Cracks! and Bams! at its inaugural Mah Jongg Tournament on Sunday, Dec. 13. It will feature a traditional format Mah Jongg tournament with four rounds of play, prizes, and a vegetarian Asian lunch. “We are thrilled to be offering a day of fun competition on the Southwest side of town, and we plan to make this an annual event,” commented Lorri Levine, the Rosen JCC’s membership director. “There are so many Mah Jongg players here who have been asking for this, and we...
One of the most memorable scenes in the 2010 film “Four Lions,” a dark British comedy about a group of the most incompetent jihadis imaginable, takes place as the aspiring martyrs climb into a van for the long nighttime drive down to London, where their plan is to bomb the annual marathon. As they set off in the dark, the four jihadis are silent and pensive, listening to a somber recording of chanted verses from the Qu’ran. But as dawn breaks on the outskirts of London, they swap out the Qu’ran for the irrepressibly joyful song “Dancin...
Clearly in 2015, in Israel, there has been a noticeable increase in violent attacks on civilians by Muslims. In Israel, almost every day, there are reports of attempts to murder Israelis. On Oct. 3 two Israeli men were stabbed, in Jerusalem, and killed by a Palestinian. On the same day a mother and her 2-year-old child were attacked. While on Oct 12, in three separate stabbing attacks in Jerusalem, six were wounded. One victim was a 13-year-old Israeli boy riding his bike. On Oct. 13, in four separate terror attacks, three Israelis were killed...
In 1948 I was in high school. Okay, now you have a pretty good idea of how long I’ve been around. Point is—I was in a high school of 1500 kids, of whom about 12 were Jews. When the State of Israel declared its independence, let’s just say there was not dancing in the halls. I was plumb ignorant of the situation. Ours was not a kosher home. My family was not active in the Jewish Community and while we had been impacted by the Holocaust as every Jew alive had to be, we had not lost any family members of whom we were aware. Two years later we move...
“This is an act of war,” French President François Hollande proclaimed after convening his security cabinet on Saturday. Hollande said the Islamic State terror group was responsible for Friday night’s appalling series of terrorist attacks, in which at least 129 people lost their lives, and that the attacks were planned outside of France. “France will be merciless toward the barbarians of the Islamic State group” and “will act with all the means necessary…on all fronts: interior and exterior, in coordination with our allies who themselves are...
(JTA)—The international outrage over the barbaric terrorist attacks in Paris is absolutely on target. But the absence of an outcry over the weeks of attacks against Jews in Israel—stabbings, shootings and car rammings are among the most common tactics—is equally outrageous. More than a dozen Israelis have been killed during the past month. Yet these terror attacks against Jews have largely drawn silence from the civilized world, or worse, questions about whether Israel deployed “excessive force” to defend itself. If people were being stabbed i...
Dear Editor: My name is Rachel Huss, and I grew up in a Jewish community. Having gone to a Jewish school and having been surrounded by Jews my entire life, I never experienced any form of anti-Semitism firsthand. My name is Tamara Zishuk and I grew up in a secular town, but I was constantly involved in Jewish life. Even so, my town has always been very welcoming, and I was never targeted on the account of being Jewish. Now, the two of us are a part of a separate community, the University of Central Florida. It’s a place where we live and l...
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...
Rabbi Karen Allen of Congregation Beth Sholom in Leesburg will lead a Shabbat service on Saturday morning, Nov.28 at 7 p.m. A light Kiddush will follow the service. The synagogue is located at 315 N. 13th Street in Leesburg, with the entrance on Center Street....
British born Muslim Kasim Hafeez made the remarkable journey from an adherent of Islamic extremist ideology to a proud Zionist, and finally, to Room 116 of the University of Central Florida's College of Business Administration on the night of Nov. 18. While there, Ben Suster and the UCF Knights for Israel student group hosted Hafeez for a talk before a standing-room-only audience titled "The Day I Stopped Hating Israel," discussing his journey from British Muslim to Muslim extremist to Israeli...
Barbara H. Elkes, PhD, age 64, passed away at her residence in Lake Mary on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. Born in Lakewood, New Jersey, on May 9, 1951, she was the daughter of the late Edward and Elona Friedman Halpren. Barbara graduated from Lakewood High School and did her undergraduate work at the University of Central Florida earning a degree in Sociology and Anthropology. She also received her master’s degree in Counseling from UCF. She continued her education receiving another master’s in Organizational Development from The Fielding Ins...
Anne Gobey, age 100 1/2, passed away on Nov. 16, 2015, at Vitas Hospice in Maitland. Born May 11, 1915, in New York City, Anne married David Shouel and had two children. After David’s sudden death at age 47, Anne moved to West Palm Beach, Fla., where she worked several jobs. Years later, Anne married Ben Gobey, whom she was married to for 17 years until his death. Anne loved to play mahjong and Bingo. She also loved to go to organization luncheons. She moved to Life Care in Altamonte in Sept. 2013. Anne is survived by her daughter, Carolyn (...
Hayden Tager Lehr, daughter of John and Katie Lehr of Winter Park, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2015, at Congregation Ohev Shalom. Hayden is in the seventh grade at Trinity Preparatory School where she is a member of the Middle School Basketball team and cheerleading. Her hobbies and interests include reading, music and spending time with friends. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Hayden's brother, Charles Edward Lehr; grandmother, Mira Lehr; uncle,...
David Elan Soll, son of Stacey and Michael Soll of Winter Park, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. David is in the seventh grade at the Jewish Academy of Orlando where he is a member of the school's soccer and basketball teams. His hobbies and interests include camping at Camp Barney Medintz. He is also a member of Kadima. For his Mitzvah project, David volunteers at the Coalition for the Homeless. Sharing in the...
Hadassah of Williamsburg is having a general membership meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. at Parkview Pointe Clubhouse, 5650 Parkview Pointe Drive, Orlando. The children of the Orlando Torah Academy will entertain with a delightful Chanukah program. Refreshments will be served. Members, associates and guests are cordially invited to attend and enjoy this happy holiday. For more information, call Eleanore, 407-351-9189, or Sylvia, 407-370-4812....
