Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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WASHINGTON (JTA)—As the Burning Bush crackles, God is heard. “Mow-zes,” God says in the mysterious mid-Atlantic accent that Hollywood once trained its actors to use—the one Anne Baxter as Nefertiti used to summon Charlton Heston’s Moses in the 1956 blockbuster “The Ten Commandments.” “Mow-zes, Mow-zes.” That epic, earnest and seemingly endless film has much in common with the Museum of the Bible, the $500 million extravaganza gifted to the National Mall by one of America’s leading evangelical families, the founders of the Hobby Lobby chain....
The Boards of Directors of the Holocaust Memorial Resource & Education Center of Florida and Congregation of Reform Judaism are thrilled to announce plans for a joint Jewish Heritage Tour to Poland and Germany from June 10-22, 2018. It was during the Holocaust Center's first sponsored tour to Poland and Prague in 2016 that HMREC Executive Director Pam Kancher and Rabbi Steven Engel decided to co-sponsor this trip to Poland and Germany in 2018. "Participants will have the opportunity to explore...
On Nov. 19, Central Florida Christians and Jews shared a unique evening together at the Rosen Plaza. The focal point of this year’s event was to bless the nation of Israel, and to raise funds for three organizations that help Jews still trapped in areas like Crimea and Ukraine make aliyah to Israel. The event, A Night to Bless Israel, was a successful interfaith event to show support for Israel, and raised $151,000 for Ezra International, Return Ministries and Cyrus. “Raising funds to bring 20 persecuted and impoverished Jewish families to Isr...
The US expressed horror on Friday, Nov. 24, over the release by Pakistan last week of Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the November 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai whose targets included Nariman House, the local Chabad center. “The United States is deeply concerned that Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) leader Hafiz Saeed has been released from house arrest in Pakistan,” a statement from the State Department declared. “LeT is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent civilians in terro...
Students and faculty of Lake Brantley High School are learning about how to stand up to hate in these troubling times. Through the dedication of Brantley's Club L'Chaim co-presidents Alana Halperin and Jordan Greenberg and student members, another informative meeting was held at the school to bring awareness to the reality of hate in the world, and how to combat it. These meetings are part of an on-going series. The first meeting of this kind was held a year ago. Although the students expected...
The Jewish Academy of Orlando has partnered with The Israel American Council and the Friends of Israel Scouts, to host the annual Chanukah party. It will take place at The Roth Family JCC on Dec. 10 from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Entertainment will be provided by the Ramat Gan Israeli dance group, and special Israeli food will be available for purchase. This event is open to the public and is free of charge....
The Roth Family JCC is gearing up for the 2018 "J-Rassic Park" J Ball Charity Auction that will be held March 14, 6:30 p.m., at the Orlando Science Center. In advance of the auction itself, the JCC is hosting a raffle for ticket-buyers: Anyone who buys their ticket by Dec. 21 will be entered into a raffle for 4 tickets to the Jan. 3 Orlando Magic game against the Houston Rockets. Tickets are currently on sale: General admission is $100; Tickets for parents of JCC preschool students, Jewish...
Elliott Davis, Lee Sisselsky and Judy Kahan Davis rode their bikes from Wekiva to O'Brien Road, where the Heritage office is located, to pick up their paper that did not arrive at their homes on Friday. The Heritage doesn't know why so many people did not get their Heritage newspaper last week. The papers are dropped off at the Orlando post office on Thursday for mail delivery on Friday. Once it leaves Heritage premises on Wednesday for printing, it is out of our control. We don't suggest that...
In the wake of an attack by a teenage Palestinian terrorist that left two Israelis wounded last Friday, Jewish organizations and community leaders are calling for the withdrawal of a congressional measure targeting Israel's treatment of Palestinian minors. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) and nine other Democrats in the House of Representatives last week introduced H.R. 4391, which would restrict U.S. aid to Israel if the Israelis undertake the "military detention, interrogation, abuse, or...
(JTA)—The team doctor for USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University, accused of molesting gymnasts who sought treatment from him including Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman, pleaded guilty to sexual assault against seven girls. Larry Nassar entered his guilty plea on Wednesday in Ingham County Circuit Court in Michigan. Nassar also has been accused of various levels of inappropriate or abusive sexual behavior by more than 130 women and girls, nearly all at Michigan State University. His accusers include Olympic gold medalists Raisman, M...
(JTA)—President Donald Trump will continue the White House tradition of hosting a Chanukah party. Invitations have been sent out George W. Bush started the tradition of an annual Chanukah party in 2001, the first year of his presidency. Barack Obama, his successor, continued the parties and often hosted two receptions to accommodate demand. Invitees typically include the heads of American Jewish organizations, Jewish members of the administration and Congress, and other prominent American Jews. Starting in 1979 with a lighting by Jimmy C...
The Palestinians’ move to freeze all ties with the US comes “in response to some unacceptable US measures,” a spokesman for Palestinian Authority stated. Nabil Abu Rudeineh was referring to the Palestinian decision to cut all communications with the US following its decision to close the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Washington, the Palestinian official WAFA news agency reported. Abu Rudeineh stressed that “the Palestinian decision is going to face challenges but the coming period is critical and an opportunity to correct Palesti...
Back in Queens College I had a weekly column in the school paper called “The Dean’s List,” Under the pseudonym Eddie Dean I would write a weekly movie/TV review and then list the Top 10 films/shows in that genre. My editor and I purposely made the lists controversial in order to facilitate reader response. I can only imagine that when the New York Times published their list of “12 Movies To See Before You Turn 13” this weekend they had this concept in mind. My jaw figuratively hit the ground when I saw the list included such films as “Die Hard...
In the wake of its controversial decision to host a panel discussion on anti-Semitism that includes Linda Sarsour and Rebecca Vilkomerson, the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, the New School chose to defend its choice of panelists, saying that engaging in “debate” is critical to its role as an academic institution and that there are “differing views on the issue of anti-Semitism.” In order to deflect from the criticism, the New School offered to have a second panel, to be organized by Tablet Magazine, whose writer Liel Leibovi...
What are the details of the Middle East peace plan that President Donald Trump will use to craft what he hopes is the “ultimate deal?” Sometime in the next few months, they will be unveiled as part of an effort to revive the dead-in-the-water peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Though we’ll have to wait and see what exactly is in the proposal being cooked up by a team led by presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner and chief negotiator Jason Greenblatt, the only two things that seem certain are that it is likely to be accep...
NEW YORK (JTA)—“Is So-and-So Jewish? How Jewish is she? Find out if she’s Jewish.” I often joke that JTA reporters and anti-Semitic bloggers write the same stories, only with different headlines. We proudly search down Jewish celebrities to show the diverse ways that Jews are contributing to the wider culture. The Daily Stormer uses the same names to prove that Jews are taking over. The problem for us, of course, is when the Jews we report on do bad things. Very bad things. The last few months have seen a deluge of stories about Jews in trou...
Dear Editor: While I like a good story with a happy ending, as occurred in your story ‘SupermanHPV’ in the Nov. 3, 2017, issue, I would like to add a cautionary note about the level of enthusiasm given to the Gardasil vaccine series in that story. There are 170 known types of HPV that cause different issues in humans from warts to cancer. Of these, 17 strains are known to cause cancer in humans. That being said, Gardasil is supposed to protect against 9 of these different strains that can cause cancer. The problem is, is that HPV is ubiquitous,...
Dear Editor: We are very appreciative of the thoughtful letter to the editor regarding the use of the Gardasil 9 vaccine to prevent HPV-related cancers. The points you made deserve discussion. While it is true that some individuals, even newborn children, can be exposed to HPV, the vast majority of infections develop following initiation of sexual activity. The recommended age to initiate the series is between ages 11 and 12, but it can be given as early as 9. The benefit of administration at this time is that it likely predates sexual debut...
Dear Editor: I have seen Kehillah and I am so excited about the exhibit at the Orange County Historical Museum. First let me thank all of the men and women who put this together. Just looking at the exhibit, you get an idea how many places they had to go to and people they had to chase down to get the information needed for this first-class exhibit. Second, I want to encourage everyone who reads this letter to take a couple of hours to see this exhibit—you won’t be sorry. You will be reminded of many people you know or knew. For me it was a r...
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...
Not long ago Yahel Epel, a volunteer with the Israeli American Council, fulfilled her assigned mission: She assembled 200 Jews, half of them Israeli American, in a room in Denver on a Friday evening for a potluck dinner and a Shishi Yisraeli program. Shishi Yisraeli, a program launched by IAC that means “Israeli Friday evening,” seeks a happy medium between what those with and without Israeli roots or backgrounds would enjoy on a Friday night. The idea: Get them together. Create community. How did it go? “It was nice,” she said this weekend...
(The Nosher via JTA)-Noodles and cottage cheese was the defining dish of my childhood. I think of it as the Eastern European version of boxed macaroni and cheese-a culinary staple of youth. Whenever I bring up noodles and cottage cheese in conversation, it always elicits a strong reaction: Either there is an immediate enthusiastic nostalgia associated with it, or instant confusion and/or disgust. I've found little neutrality on the subject. The polarity of responses inspired me to do more...
Central Florida Hillel welcomes Dana Bial as its new board chair. Bial received her bachelor's in Business Administration in Accounting and Computer Science from Kent State University and her master's of Taxation from Florida International University. She is principal and owner of Forefront CPA, PLLC, an Orlando-based accounting and tax consulting firm, that provides a full range of services to business and individuals around the world. Bial has lived in Orlando since 1998 where she and her husb...
Chanukah USPS Forever First class postage stamps are available on Amazon. The stamp features an illustration of a menorah in the window of a home. Forever stamps will always be valid for first class mail postage even if rates change....
Love thy neighbor?... I read this in the World Jewish Congress (WJC) digest and pass it along: "More than 200,000 Syrian civilians have benefited from Israeli aid sent over since last June, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) revealed. Dubbed 'Operation Good Neighbor,' the ongoing effort has seen the transfer of hundreds of tons of supplies to the residents of towns and villages just over the Syrian-Israeli border since the beginning of the civil war in 2013. According to the Jerusalem Post, the...
