Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

Articles from the November 28, 2014 edition


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  • What will ADL's priorities be in a post-Foxman era?

    Jacob Kamaras, JNS.org|Nov 28, 2014

    What message is the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sending to the Jewish community through its recent selection of White House aide and social entrepreneur Jonathan Greenblatt to succeed longtime National Director Abraham Foxman? While some are praising ADL for thinking outside the box with its hire and trying to appeal to a younger demographic, others are concerned that Greenblatt is too visibly partisan and that his past experience may signal ADL’s de-emphasis of the fight against anti-Semitism in favor of civil rights work. But most agree t...

  • Hillel students meet JNF leader

    Nov 28, 2014

    JNF CEO Russell Robinson (far left) met the staff and student leaders of Central Florida Hillel. Robinson came to Orlando as the guest speaker for the Orlando JNF's annual gala. Central Florida Hillel and the JNF work closely together on the college campus through Birthright trips, alternative spring breaks and speaker programs in order to create the Jewish community's next generation of leaders for Israel....

  • Party After Dark brightens the Childhood Learning Center

    Nov 28, 2014

    Two-hundred guests attended the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando's "Party After Dark" on Nov. 8, benefiting its Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center and honoring Shayna's Village founders, Es Cohen, Justin Presser, and Matt Presser. Co-chaired by Michelle Kutschinski and Heidi Zissman, the evening raised $17,500 and featured the band Crash Reality, delicious food by Brio Tuscan Grille, the recently renovated Courtyard Playground (lit by Lightbulbs Unlimited), flowers...

  • 'Jewish Soul Food' author Janna Gur wants to make vegetables 'sexy'

    Shannon Sarna|Nov 28, 2014

    NEW YORK (JTA)-Janna Gur's "The Book of New Israeli Food" has sat on my kitchen counter with my other favorite cookbooks for years, and I frequently pull it out for friends and family who are unfamiliar with Israeli cuisine, saying, "This is the book you need to buy to understand food in Israel." Gur's newly published sequel, "Jewish Soul Food: From Minsk to Marrakesh" (Random House), is even more beautiful than its predecessor and more accessible to an American audience. While in New York on a...

  • In Holocaust restitution affair, Austrian official's admission may undermine state's case

    Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA|Nov 28, 2014

    VIENNA (JTA)-An Austrian official's letter is threatening to undermine the central pillar of a controversial court decision that found a Jewish journalist guilty of defrauding the government. On Sept. 9, senior state attorney Martin Windisch wrote that the government "makes no claims" against Stephan Templ, who was sentenced in April to three years in jail for cheating Austria out of half the value of a sanatorium confiscated by the Nazis from one of Templ's relatives. In May, the Austrian...

  • Iran's Khamenei takes rhetoric to new level with 9-point list for destroying Israel

    Sean Savage, JNS.org|Nov 28, 2014

    Iranian Supreme Leader the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is known for his anti-Zionist rhetoric, has issued perhaps his most detailed tirade to date in a Twitter post titled "9 key questions about the elimination of Israel." "Why should & how can #Israel be eliminated? Ayatollah Khamenei's answer to 9 key questions. #HandsOffAlAqsa," read the introduction to Khamenei's tweet, posted Saturday, Nov. 8. The hashtag #HandsOffAlAqsa referred to the recent tensions between Arabs and Jews at the Temple...

  • Is Mahmoud Abbas to blame for Jerusalem synagogue attack?

    Ben Sales, JTA|Nov 28, 2014

    TEL AVIV (JTA)—After a gruesome attack by two Palestinian cousins left four dead at a Jerusalem synagogue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu singled out one person for blame: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. In a statement issued by his office, Abbas denounced the Tuesday morning attack, saying he “condemns the killing of civilians no matter who is doing it.” But over the past few weeks, as a string of violent attacks have unsettled Jerusalemites, Abbas has issued statements some see as encouraging violence against Israe...

  • Weekly roundup of world briefs from JTA

    Nov 28, 2014

    Controversial Jewish nation-state bill passes Israeli Cabinet vote JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel’s Cabinet passed a bill that would identify Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. The measure, which has engendered controversy, advanced in a 14-6 vote on Sunday. It must pass a preliminary reading and two other readings in the Israeli parliament, which will consider the so-called nation-state law on Wednesday. The ministers of the Likud (with the exception of Culture Minister Limor Livnat), Yisrael Beiteinu and Jewish Home parties voted for...

  • U.S. and Israel present a united front at D.C. confabs

    Ron Kampeas, JTA|Nov 28, 2014

    WASHINGTON (JTA)—Joe and Bibi? Still buddies. U.S. and Israel? Still allies. Agreement on Iran and the Palestinians? Well. The governments of President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were back on joshing terms this week, but the deep differences that led to recent name-calling exchanges still percolated. Netanyahu and Vice President Joe Biden, as well as top aides in both governments, used back-to-back conferences this weekend to get the message across loud and clear: We love one another. “Ron, you’d better damn well repor...

  • Israel develops revolutionary medical marijuana inhaler

    Ruthie Blum|Nov 28, 2014

    (ISRAEL21c)—A first-in-class pocket-sized metered-dose cannabis inhaler helps patients and doctors control, monitor and fine-tune dosages. As medical marijuana debates heat up across the globe, a government-backed Israeli startup has developed the first device of its kind to administer cannabis as a pharmaceutical. Unlike the current methods—smoking joints, imbibing oil, rubbing in a salve or eating laced brownies—this medical device enables the patient to inhale metered doses of vaporized cannabis granules. The Syqe Inhaler is the brain...

  • The shrinking Jewish Middle-and how to expand it

    Steven M. Cohen and Jack Wertheimer, JTA|Nov 28, 2014

    NEW YORK (JTA)-As the Jewish Federations of North America holds its annual General Assembly this week, newly emerging evidence from the Pew Research Center's 2013 "Portrait of American Jewry" points to enormous challenges facing federations, Jewish philanthropy and organized Jewish life, more generally. Virtually every Jewish institution is contending with a sharply diminishing base of people who give, join or even care. Though the Orthodox are expanding numerically and growing in strength, the...