Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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On Oct. 24, the Rosen JCC celebrated 10 years in Southwest Orlando with its "10th Anniversary: Building the Future" event. Harris Rosen was honored with the JCC's inaugural Community Builder award for all he has done and continues to do for the Southwest Orlando community. Following the presentation, Dr. Reuben Romirowsky, Rosen JCC CEO, shared the J's vision for the future, unveiling an architectural rendering of their plans. Instead of a nameplate on his desk, there is a slogan that says...
"My name is Harold Kushner. I'm here to tell you what is about to happen. It will begin as soon as I finish getting dressed and walk out my front door..." Thus begins "The Great Mongolian Bowling League of the United States of America," the first published Jewish-themed book by local author Ed Borowsky. This isn't the first book Borowsky has written. He has six other complete works-five fiction novels and a 2-act play. These fiction works are just "sitting in a closet in the dark." But "The...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-Benjamin Netanyahu has been charged in three corruption cases, marking the first time a sitting Israeli prime minister has been indicted. The charges, announced on Nov. 21 by the Justice Ministry and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit, include bribery and breach of public trust. Netanyahu has denied all the charges and has called the investigations against him a "witch hunt." He has 30 days to request that the Knesset grant him parliamentary immunity in order to avoid a...
(JNS)—Israel might be headed to a third election after all since Blue and White leader Benny Gantz could not cobble together a coalition government. His efforts followed those of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also the head of Likud, who was also unable to form a government. Gantz informed Israeli President Reuven Rivlin of the news on Wednesday, following short-lived efforts by the two party heads to attempt a unity government. “I asked of the prime minister, who lost in the electio...
On Friday evening, Nov. 22, the Jeffrey & Diane Ginsburg Hillel House at Stetson University Hillel was dedicated. It was an incredible event made even more special by the more than 100 people who joined us at the House to celebrate Jewish life at Stetson University. This is the speech Stetson Hillel Director Sam Friedman gave. When I was growing up, my mother always told me that the best part about being Jewish is that no matter where you go if you find the Jewish community you find family-the Jewish community will take care of you, and help...
In 2000, Israelis found themselves caught up in the second intifada in which thousands of terror attacks took place all throughout Israel. The injured Israelis who resided in Judea and Samaria waited hours for emergency response teams to reach them. Realizing something had to be done, the volunteer organization Rescuers Without Borders was founded. Today there are more than 1,000 volunteer medics, paramedics and doctors who are always on call, ready to help anyone in need in Judea and Samaria....
On Sunday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m.—1 p.m., Chabad of Altamonte Springs will celebrate a grand opening Brunch and Mezuzah affixing ceremony at its new location, 195 S. Westmonte Drive in Altamonte Springs. “Over the last three years, hundreds of local Jews have participated in Shabbat dinners, holiday celebrations, Shabbat services, Challah bakes, women’s programs, JLI adult education courses, classes or one of the many other activities offered at Chabad of Altamonte Springs,” said Rabbi Mendy Bronstein. “We are excited to announce that Chabad ha...
This is a developing story. (JTA)—Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Jewish National Security Council staffer whose firsthand account of the July phone call between President Donald Trump and the president of Ukraine is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, testified in the impeachment hearings on Tuesday. Here are the biggest takeaways from his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee. Vindman was thrice offered the position of Ukrainian defense minister. He rejected the offers. This minor bombshell has not yet been reported. Steve C...
NEW YORK (JTA)-Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of playing absurd comedic characters, from the dopey Brit Ali G to the Kazakh journalist Borat to the Israeli veteran Erran Morad. He rarely gives interviews and stays relatively far from the movie star limelight. But on Thursday, Cohen tossed aside the humorous facade to excoriate the social media industry and the "autocracy" he says it promotes in a non-ironic speech. After receiving the international leadership award from the...
This is a developing story. NEW YORK (JTA)—An Orthodox man was stabbed multiple times on his walk to synagogue for morning prayers. The man was approaching the synagogue Toshnad Heichel Torah Utfila in Spring Valley, New York, when a man got out of a car, began beating him and stabbed him. The assailant fled the scene before police and first responders arrived, according to Aaron Hershkowitz, an assistant to the synagogue’s rabbi. The incident occurred at approximately 5:45 a.m. “Upon arrival it was quickly determined that the individual had b...
Monday will long be remembered as a turning point in Middle East history. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s statement Monday that Israeli settlements are not illegal per se is the most significant shift in U.S. Middle East policy in the past generation. Jerusalem’s status as Israel’s capital has been a matter of U.S. law since 1996. There was little interest in Washington in recent years in pressuring Israel to withdraw from the Golan Heights. But the issue of the legality of Israeli settlements has been the defining issue of much of the i...
(JNS)—Amid all the hubbub over the latest wave of Palestinian Arab rocket attacks against Israel, one extremely important part of the story passed almost unnoticed. I call it Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas’s dirty little secret. A news brief carried by one of the wire services reported that the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine announced that it has “expanded its rockets’ range beyond Gaza border communities.” The significance of the news, as presented by the media, was that a terrorist faction was boasting of new ro...
(JNS)—U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the United States no longer considers Israel’s settlements in the West Bank inconsistent with international law. This policy shift comes in the wake of last week’s ruling by the European Court of Justice, laudably criticized by the Trump administration, holding that labels for food produced in Israeli settlements must adequately inform E.U. consumers of their origin in “occupied territory.” The legality of the settlements, in fact, largely hinges on whether the territory...
(JTA)—This week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States no longer considers Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Following the announcement, many 2020 Democratic candidates claimed the decision would “make peace harder to achieve” and “inflame tensions in the region.” However, as usual, the fears proved all for naught. Hamas did not respond with violence—in fact, they have even canceled their weekly “March of Return” protests along the Gaza border in an effort to avoid further confrontation w...
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s Nov. 18 announcement that the U.S. now regards Israel’s West Bank settlement enterprise as “not inconsistent with international law” is just the latest blow delivered by the Trump administration to the prospects of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine. It follows a series of similar steps designed to abet the clearly expressed annexation desires of Prime Minister Netanyahu, including President Trump’s refusal to endorse a two-state solution as U.S. policy and the State Department’s removal of...
WASHINGTON—On Monday, Nov. 18, Pastor John Hagee, the founder and Chairman of Christians United for Israel, expressed support for the Trump administration’s revocation of the Hansell Memorandum: “I want to express my profound appreciation to President Donald Trump for his bold and courageous support of Israel and the Jewish people. Thank you Secretary Pompeo for revoking the Hansell opinion of 1978 that held civilian settlements in Israel were not legal under international law. “CUFI has opposed the Hansell opinion, as it pre-judged the out...
Dear Editor: The American Jewish Congress greets yesterday’s historic announcement by the Trump Administration on the legality of settlements as a step in the direction of moving both sides towards a meaningful resolution. We reject the concept that policy changes that benefit Israel are zero-sum and will harm the stalled non-existent peace process. The status quo is unacceptable. The nearly forty-year-old policy recognizing settlements as illegal has not brought Israelis or Palestinians closer to lasting peace. The history of the peace p...
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...
By Laura Ben-David TEKOA, WEST BANK (JTA)-I have lived in Israel for 17 years, and I have lived in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank the entire time. To much of the world, that makes me a settler who lives on illegally occupied land. The international community considers all Israeli settlements to be illegal under international law-including East Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank, known as Judea and Samaria to us Israelis. Some of these areas are places that Jews have lived...
In a trip organized by Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, 20 prominent business and philanthropic interfaith leaders—many of whom hadn’t been to Israel before—came to the Negev and visited the main IDF training base, Tze’elim. The visit was hosted by FIDF supporter and philanthropist Alan Ginsburg of Orlando, Florida, as part of a mission trip aimed at giving the guests an inside look into the IDF and show the soldiers their solidarity and appreciation. The list of participants included Daivd Lamm, chairman and CEO of Lamm & Company Partner...
Local author Briana Gilbert and illustrator Rafael Layish shared their book "Hidden Wings of the Time Keeper" at the Jewish Academy of Orlando's Family Learning Night and Author Event that kicked off the annual Book Fair. Layish is an alumnus of the school....
The Jewish Pavilion will honor volunteers Randi Cunningham and Myrna Ossin at its JP Connections on Dec. 9, 11 a.m. at the Hilton-Altamonte Springs, located at 350 Northlake Blvd. This event recognizes the many talented people who give their time volunteering at the many assisted living facilities across Central Florida. Randi Cunningham knows you get more than you give Randi Cunningham found the mini challah and note card in her father's room while visiting the first week he was living at...
The Men's Night Out event was a great success with 250 seats sold and 230 seats filled. The winner of the Masters tickets was Jason Feldman who was thrilled to be the winner as it happens he is an avid golfer. Andy Rosen presented the two tickets to Feldman. According to Bart Neuman, MNO organizer, there also were a number of new sponsors this year. The total funds raised (after expenses) for the three years the event has been held is $58,000. All of it benefits the synagogues' youth...
I know Veteran's Day has past but... I wanted to salute all of our servicemen and women, and veterans. I also want to salute their families who have prayed and worried for their loved ones. (I've been there so I know how hard it is. Our eldest, DAVID is a Navy commander and a former soldier who served in Iraq. Our middle son, Dr. STEVEN, a psychologist, worked with recruits at Great Lakes Naval Training Center, Illinois, and our youngest son, RON, served in the Navy on a minesweeper in the...
When my daughter Julie headed out to Colorado in 2003, it was originally planned as a nine-month adventure teaching environmental science. Soon, however, Julie fell in love with the mountains, Colorado, and Sam, not necessarily in that order. They built a life together, completed graduate degrees, got married, bought a house in Frisco, and had a child. They have settled into the life at 9100 feet. Meanwhile, our son Adam chose a different path in another Frisco—San Francisco. After completing a law degree, he moved into an apartment in the m...
