Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Join the Roth Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando on Sunday, Dec. 7 from 1-4 p.m. at its Maitland location for Hanukarnival – an outdoor event the JCC is billing as a "dreideltastic, menorific family celebration." The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature inflatables, Chanukah-themed arts and crafts, Maccabee sports competitions, as well as musical performances by children from the JCC's Richard S. Adler Early Childhood Learning Center, the Jewish Academy of Orlando, a...
NEW YORK (JTA)-A Swiss museum's pledge this week to conduct a full search into the provenance of some 1,600 works of art it plans to accept from the estate of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of one of Hitler's main art dealers, once again has thrust the issue of Holocaust art restitution into the headlines. The announcement by the Kunstmuseum Bern underscores the ongoing quest for the transparent restitution of Holocaust art, but we should remember that the problem is not Europe's alone. Here in the...
ALGEMEINER-Birthright Israel, the American organization that organizes visits to Israel for participants from 66 different countries, has terminated a partnership with the controversial New Israel Fund (NIF,) resulting in the cancellation of a December visit to the Jewish state assembled by the two groups. In an email to trip participants, Stephanie Ives, the New York director for the NIF, said that "we have been cut from the trip for three reasons that have been communicated to us: (1)...
NEW YORK— The Foundation for Jewish Camp (FJC) has launched BunkConnectTM (BunkConnect.org), a new, national program that matches eligible families with high-quality nonprofit Jewish summer camps at a more affordable price. This philanthropic business venture has been developed in collaboration with forward-thinking business executives and leading philanthropists. “BunkConnect marries best practices from the business world, new technologies and learnings from the hospitality industry, and takes a fresh approach to addressing affordability in...
As international negotiators departed Vienna with a final deal on Iran's nuclear program still elusive, the commander of the widely-feared Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) threatened to eliminate the State of Israel by "conquering Palestine." Fars news agency, an official mouthpiece of the Iranian regime, reported that Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the Commander of the IRGC, declared in Tehran that "Americans have very clearly surrendered to Iran's might and this is obvious in their...
JERUSALEM-U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro visited the Har Nof Synagogue in Jerusalem, the scene of the Nov. 18 terror attack. The ambassador prayed in memory of all of the victims of the attack, including saying the Kaddish prayer for the departed and for peace. At the conclusion of the prayer service, the ambassador received a first-hand account of the terror attack from United Hatzalah emergency responders who were first on scene. After witnessing first-hand the scene of the terror...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Two factors make congressional intervention on Iran almost inevitable: The inability of nuclear negotiators to reach a deal by the deadline and the Republican sweep of midterm elections on Nov. 4. The talks, centered on the status of Iran’s nuclear program, were extended from Monday’s deadline to June 30. Meanwhile, the pro-Israel community, led by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, is seeking support for proposed legislation that would insert Congress into the process. “It is now essential that Congress take up...
Orlando Torah Academy second graders are forming yet another link in the chain of their Jewish heritage all the way back to Moses. On Friday, Nov. 7, these children reached a joyous milestone when they learned from inside the Chumash for the very first time. They began with the third parsha/portion in the book of Bereishis/Genesis, Parshas Lech-Lecha, where it talks about our forefather Abraham passing G-d-given tests. Their journey began in preschool where they learned the letters of the Aleph...
More than 300 Jewish National Fund (JNF) supporters gathered at the Rosen Plaza Hotel on the evening of Nov. 18 for JNF’s annual Orlando Tree of Life™ Award Dinner. Local philanthropists Valeria and Jim Shapiro and Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins were awarded JNF’s esteemed Tree of Life™ award. Tess Wise, founder of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center, was presented with the Guardian of Israel award. JNF Chief Executive Officer Russell F. Robinson was the keynote speaker and gave an update on JNF’s important work in Israel. F...
Rabbi Joshua Neely of Temple Israel will continue “Conversations with the Rabbi” on Sunday, Dec. 14, at Brown’s New York Deli in Maitland at 4 p.m. The topic of conversation will be “Israel: Situation From Inside Out.” This is a continuing series and gives all members of the community an opportunity to talk with the rabbi. There is no charge for admission. Brown’s New York Deli is on the corner of 17-92 and Lake Avenue in Maitland. For more information, please call the synagogue office (407-647-3055) or go to Temple Israel’s website at ww...
By Ben Cohen JNS.org The older I get, the more my childhood memories fade, but I still vividly remember the morning of Sunday, July 4, 1976. I was eight years old at the time, spending Shabbat with my grandparents at their house in London. Early on that Sunday, I woke to the sound of my grandpa, the eminent Sephardic Rabbi Dr. Solomon Gaon, whooping and yelling and generally making a racket in the kitchen—behavior that was most definitely out of character. Thinking something was wrong, I bolted downstairs to discover my elated grandfather l...
The Nov. 24 deadline for negotiating a deal on Iran’s nuclear program expired, as the P5+1 powers (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany) were unable to reach an agreement with the Islamic Republic. But the talks were extended to June 30, 2015. At the same time, an Iranian official said over the weekend that his country gave the Hezbollah terror group—which is based in Lebanon, Israel’s northern neighbor—hundreds of missiles with 160-220 mile ranges. “Our strategic guiding principle is the appropriate arming of Hezbollah and Hamas wit...
The scenario has been repeated more times than I can remember: Palestinian terrorists murder Israelis. The Obama administration condemns the attack. And that’s it. No change in U.S. policy, no penalties or consequences for those who encourage and praise the killers. The Palestinians are, quite literally, getting away with murder. Secretary of State John Kerry condemned the Nov. 18 slaughter of four Jews in a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood. He even acknowledged that it was “a pure result of incitement, of calls for days of rage...
Does Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas want peace with Israel? Given his posture since peace talks broke down in April, his inflammatory U.N. speech and ongoing rhetoric, and now a new wave of terrorism, one wonders. The horrific attack on a Jerusalem synagogue, killing five and wounding others as they were praying, triggered outrage among some world leaders. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urged Abbas to end the incitement that led to this latest tragedy. For Abbas, however, the forthrightness of his condemnation of “the at...
I’m repulsed by these anti-Israel groups on college campuses that pretend to care about oppressed people in the Middle East. They don’t. What they really care about is undermining Israel. Groups like Students for Justice in Palestine, for example, have no interest in engaging in a debate about Israeli-Palestinian co-existence. What they live for is to single out Israel and crush it. No wonder UCLA Chancellor Gene Block quickly released a statement last week opposing the vote by anti-Israel students that singled out Israel in a divestment res...
AKRON, Ohio (JTA)—Five years ago, when I began to work for Lippman Kanfer Family Foundation, I met with a colleague who worked with early-stage nonprofit organizations that are creating new ways of involving people in Jewish community life. How wonderful, I gushed, that there are all these people who felt outside of Jewish life and who are now trying out new approaches to Jewish engagement. “Dara,” my colleague stopped me to say, “these entrepreneurs aren’t outsiders. They are day school graduates and rabbis’ kids, and many are rabbis them...
MORNING AND EVENING MINYANS (Call synagogue to confirm time.) Chabad of South Orlando—Monday and Thursday, 8 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 Israel—Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-647-3055. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 5 Light Sha...
Nathan A Kroll, age 27, of Highland Park, Ill., passed away on Thursday, Nov. 20, 2104, at Dr. P. Phillips Hospital in Orlando. He was 27 years old. Mr. Kroll was born in Highland Park on Jan. 24, 1987, and was an entrepreneur in the technology field. Mr. Kroll is survived by his parents, Fred and Eileen Kroll of Highland Park. Services were held at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Ill. Funeral arrangements entrusted to Beth Shalom Memorial Chapel, 640 Lee Road, Orlando 32810....
Eleanor Kolpan of West Palm Beach, passed away on Friday, Nov. 21, 2014, at Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospice in Delray Beach. She was 92 years old. Mrs. Kolpan was born in New York City on April 9, 1922, to the late Harry and Sophie Kaufberg Reiholt. For many years, she worked as a secretary in the interior design industry. Mrs. Kolpan and her late husband, Harold, who passed away in 2007, relocated to Florida in 1953. She was predeceased by her brother George Flink and is survived by another brother Martin and her nephews. Burial was at...
Cissie Sacks of Celebration, passed away on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, at Spring Hill ALF Hospice in Orlando. She was 94 years old. A native of England, she was born on June 5, 1920, to the late Barnett and Rebecca Cohen Reeman. Following her formal schooling, she spent her working career in the family body armor business. She was married to her late husband, Abe, for over 50 years, when he passed away in 1995. Following Abe’s death, she relocated to the Orlando area to be nearer her daughter, Denise Sacks, and family. In addition to her d...
Ms. Rubin's seventh-grade civics class from Teague Middle School recently attended a field trip to the Holocaust Center. In the picture, (left) UpStanders coordinator Bailey Robb and Executive Director Pam Kancher hold a poster created by the students as a thank you to the Holocaust Center for their first experience with the UpStanders program. The poster tells a wonderful story of learning and empathy. Some of the poignant comments included: "It will touch me forever," "Thank you for teaching...
As part of the Holocaust Center’s participation of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, on Wednesday, Nov. 12, the Holocaust Center presented a panel discussion on marginalized communities. Marginalization, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is to put or keep someone in a powerless or unimportant position within a society or group. The Civil Rights Act was a long step forward toward equality of rights under the law. Unfortunately, there still are barriers and closed doors that prevent s...
LOS ANGELES (JTA)-Henry Koster had a long and successful career in Hollywood, directing a string of hits from the 1930s through the 1960s, including "Harvey," the comedy classic that paired Jimmy Stewart with a 6-foot invisible rabbit. But perhaps the most important film Koster ever made was also his least famous. Koster's "From Europe to Hollywood I," a home movie he shot in 1936, followed his journey from Hegyeshalom, Hungary, to Los Angeles. For Koster the trip -across Europe, the Atlantic...
Aviva Michal Diamond, daughter of Laura Diamond of Orlando and Dr. David Diamond of Winter Park, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2014, at Congregation Ohev Shalom in Maitland. Aviva is a seventh-grade student in the honors pre-International Baccalaureate Program at Glenridge Middle School. She is a graduate of the Jewish Academy of Orlando. Aviva is a USTA state ranked tennis player. Her other interests include playing the piano, reading, sports, and art....
Andrew LoMedico, son of Tom and Jen LoMedico of Healthrow, will be called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah on Dec. 13, 2014 at Congregation Beth Am in Longwood. Andrew is in the seventh grade at Markham Woods Middle School where he is in the gifted program, and a member of the drama club and art club. His hobbies and interests include Lacrosse, Xbox, listening to music, all sports and hanging out with friends. Sharing in the family's simcha will be Andrew's brother, Jack; sister, Reggie;...
