Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Want to change the Jewish community or even the world? Inspire a Jewish mother. No offense meant toward men. However, if a woman who has young children is inspired, she inspires her family. If enough families are inspired, a community can be inspired; and if enough communities become inspired, it can change the world. This is the belief of eight Jewish women who started the Jewish Women's Renaissance Program (JWRP) in 2008. How are Jewish women inspired? One proven way is to take them on a...
Back in the 60s, American band Sly and the Family Stone got everyone on their feet with their hit song "Stand!" ("You've been sitting much too long"). Today Bethanne Weiss, aka the Asset Queen, is singing that same tune in her new book, "Move Your Assets: From the Chair, Not the Bank!," encouraging her "peops" to stand more and sit (on their assets) less. She says in the book, that it hit her like a "one-pound brick of butta," that those who move more than they sit have less kvetches, ailments...
The Board of Directors of Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando (JFS Orlando) has established the Robert G. Petree Memorial Fund, in honor of Robert "Bob" Petree, who passed away earlier this year. According to Mike McKee, JFS Orlando president, "Bob was a longtime leader and ardent support of JFS Orlando. He served on the board for over 30 years in many leadership positions and as JFS' 11th president from 1994-1996. The board established this fund in Bob's memory, in recognition of many...
The Jewish Academy of Orlando invites grandparents, relatives and special friends to join them for their annual Generation Celebration to be held on Friday, Dec. 18 from 7:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m. The program will begin with a breakfast for all guests followed by a special program and interactive activities in the classroom. Generation Celebration will conclude with an exciting Shabbat program for both the students and guests. Reservations can be made by calling the school office at 407-647-0713....
The Syrian civil war continues to fester and has now drawn in nearly every major world power, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and Syria's neighbor of Turkey, who all have different and sometimes opposing interests. The geopolitical situation recently escalated to new heights on Nov. 24, when a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet near the Turkish-Syrian border. Turkey, which is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO),...
Part 1 of a 3-part series. The Republican Jewish Coalition held on Dec. 3, 2015, their 2016 Presidential Candidates Forum, with 13 of the remaining 14 Republican candidates in “one location to talk about the most important issues in the 2016 race.” Naturally, the forum centered on topics especially important to the Jewish Community, including the lately strained topic of U.S./Israel relations. The real frontrunners in the race elicited responses from applause to booing with their points about Israel. First up with the most direct Israel foc...
The artificiality of a Palestinian identity is reflected in the attitudes and actions of neighboring Arab nations who never established a Palestinian state. The rhetoric by Arab leaders on behalf of the Palestinians rings hollow, for the Arabs in neighboring lands, who control 99.9 percent of the Middle East land, have never recognized a Palestinian entity. They have always considered Palestine and its inhabitants part of the great “Arab nation,” historically and politically as an integral part of Greater Syria - Suriyya al-Kubra - a des...
The Jewish Studies Program at the University of Central Florida will offer seven courses in the upcoming fall semester, which begins January 2016. The courses to be offered are as follows: Elementary Modern Hebrew I, Elementary Modern Hebrew II, Judaism and Jesus, Wanderings: the Jewish People in Dispersion, Modern Jewish Experience, Notable Women in Jewish History, and Building a Nation—The Challenges to and Accomplishments of the State of Israel • Elementary Modern Hebrew Language and Culture I is designed to teach major language skills: lis...
Congregation Sinai of Minneola is embarking on a Torah restoration project and will also be fulfilling Mitzvah 613, (as written in Deut:31:19): "The 613 Mitzvah of the Torah is the obligation of every Jew to write a Torah." Congregation Sinai is ready to help all Jews in the Orlando area fulfill their mitzvah as they restore their Torahs, celebrate their restoration, and invite everyone to join them. A sofer from Sofer on Site in Miami, Fla., will be on hand to assist those who desire to write...
The rumors, sad to say, are true. Ben's Bake Shop is closing on Dec. 24. "As it stands, that's the plan," Ben Brenslauer, owner of the bakery told the Heritage in a phone interview. However, "the challahs will still be alive," he reassured, just not at the current location. It was B&K Bakery for years. Times change, people move on and it became Ben's Bake Shop. Brenslauer worked with the former owners. In fact, George and his wife came in to help from time to time. The bakery, tucked in the...
Chanukah, the Festival of Lights, will be celebrated on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 1 p.m. at Congregation Beth Sholom in Leesburg. Songs, stories, games, puzzles, and menorah lightings will be featured, with families lighting their channukkiot (menorahs) brought from home. Games and songs will be geared for all ages. Traditional foods include foods cooked in oil in honor of the miracle of the oil that burned in the menorah for eight nights. European Jewish potato latkes, and Israeli sufganiot (jelly donuts) will be served. Reservations: $5 for...
I was telling a friend this week that of all the topics I write about, the global campaign against Israel’s very existence is the one that just won’t go away, no matter how much I might wish otherwise. After all, it’s an issue that’s consumed a good deal of my attention for more than a decade now. Anyone who writes about a particular subject for that length of time faces the prospect of becoming inured to it, not to mention bored. (Take it from me; anti-Zionists are, on top of everything else, deeply boring folks who repeat the same discredited...
Dear Imam Abdul Rahmam Ahmad: I read the text of the condolence letter that you wrote the Jewish community of Boston following the recent murder of 18-year-old Ezra Schwartz by Palestinian terrorists. As the father of a young woman who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Israel in 1995, I appreciated the fact that you, as the imam of the Islamic Center of New England, spoke out. I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of your expression of “great sadness” that Ezra “had his life brutally cut short in Israel...” I am glad to know that, a...
It’s not exactly the story of Sisyphus, with Israel always pushing a stone but never getting it to the top of the hill, but it’s close. Currently we’re at another of the upticks in violence. We’ve lost count as to how many of these have occurred in the last century or more, or when we should start counting. We hear from some of the experts that it is almost all individual actions, lots of them by teenagers or even pre-teens. They are said to be excited by the Internet, preachers in the mosques, kids at school, or what they hear in the family ab...
He cannot move to Israel for at least five years. The reason reeks of hypocrisy. After 30 long years of imprisonment, unprecedented punishment for the crime of spying on behalf of an American ally, Jonathan Pollard is at last a free man. Almost. Pollard’s incarceration in a maximum security prison which he spent in solitary isolation for lengthy periods of time is finally over. Even those appalled by his offense must surely find sufficient compassion in their hearts to be gladdened by his long-awaited release, having more than paid for his u...
Examining America’s response to the Holocaust can help us avoid repeating the mistakes of that era, so applying the lessons of the Nazi years to contemporary concerns—including the plight of the Syrian refugees—certainly is appropriate. But those who are invoking the memory of the Jewish refugees are choosing the wrong analogy for today’s Syrian refugees. One problem with the analogy is that it distorts the nature of what happened—and what is happening now—to the victims. The Jews fleeing Hitler were the targets of religious and racial pers...
Secretary of State John Kerry’s assertion that the Palestinian Arabs are in a “very dire situation” is not only absurd but also very revealing--about the fantasies that guide the Obama administration’s Middle East policy. Emerging from a meeting with Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Nov. 24, Kerry declared: “I know that the situation for Palestinians in the West Bank, in Jerusalem, in Gaza is, at this moment, very dire, that there are extraordinary concerns, obviously, about the violence,” he added. “Dire”? Is he kidding or just...
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...
Congregation Beth Sholom has announced that the next meeting of Rabbi Karen Allen’s Roundtable Discussion will be held on Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. The Rabbi’s Roundtable series explores individual expressions of belief and how it affects our thoughts, our actions and our personal experiences and aspirations. The roundtable provides a unique opportunity to talk with the rabbi as she leads an informal and interactive discussion focusing on topics of contemporary Jewish interest. The Rabbi’s Roundtable is held at the Sumter County Administration Build...
The 3rd Annual “A December to Remember Daytona Beach” will continue Sunday, Dec. 13 with a Chanukah celebration at the Daytona Beach Bandshell located behind the Hilton and Ocean Walk Shoppes. The fun will begin at the Daytona Beach Bandshell with acoustic guitar musician Lazer Lloyd. From noon to 3 p.m. there will be senior games, Chaunkah bingo, Shimmy Girl Belly Dancing and Tambourine giveaway, and The Goldovitz Klezmer Band. From 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. is the Kids Expo with a sing along and candle lighting at 5:27 p.m. This event is free and ope...
Florence Kuppe, age 87, of Lake Mary, passed away at Florida Hospital-Orlando, on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. A native of Brooklyn, New York, she was born on Aug. 31, 1928, to the late Joseph and Diana Schuster Goodman and relocated to the Orlando area from Baldwin, N.Y., many years ago. She was a resident at Oakmont in Lake Mary for the last five years. Mrs. Kuppe was an elementary education teacher, receiving her bachelor’s from City College and a master’s from CW Post College. An only child, Mrs. Kuppe is survived by her daughters, Andrea Gol...
Loretta Pomerantz of Southfield, Mich., died on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. She was 83 years old. Interment was held out of state with a private family graveside service. Mrs. Pomerantz was the beloved wife of the late Leo Pomerantz; cherished mother of Susan Pomerantz and Steven (Beth) Pomerantz; loving grandma of Rebecca Pomerantz and Elyse Pomerantz; sister of Michael (Rosella Zarkin) Bossin and the late Gordon Bossin. She is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, grand nieces and grand nephews. For those who knew Mrs. Pomerantz and wish...
Marcell Scarlett, age 27, of Davenport, passed away on Monday, Nov. 23, 2015, in Sebring. A native of Livingston, New Jersey, he was a son of Floyd A. Scarlett and Yvonne Scarlett. Marcell relocated to the Orlando area with his family in 2003 and later began a successful career as a software developer. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his brothers Devin (Sumiya) and Jorn; and his sister, Joules. He is also survived by his children Rubi, Nilani and Evan and their mother, Christabel. A funeral service was held at the Pavilion at...
Suzan Lynda Shader passed away at Orlando Regional Medical Center on Nov. 29, 2015, from pulmonary emboli at age 61. Suzan was a long time resident of Orlando who was born at the same hospital in which she passed. Suzan was an active volunteer with The Jewish Pavilion and received their Volunteer of the Year Award in 2008. She also served on the Executive Board of the Jewish Pavilion for five years. Further, she was president and vice-president of the Chevrah Kadisha during her 15 years on that board. She was also an active volunteer of the...
Bernard Siegel, age 93, of Altamonte Springs, passed away at his residence on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015. Born in New York City on Feb. 21, 1922, he was the son of the late Harry and Anny Krupar Siegel. Following high school he entered the United States Army and served during World War II. He and his late wife, Dorothy, to whom he was married for 55 years when she passed away in 2009, relocated to Central Florida in 1989. They were members of Congregation Beth Am. In New York, Bernie owned and operated a taxi cab company. Mr. Siegel is survived...
