Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 30
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA)-In the early 1940s, at a time when it was virtually impossible for a South African of color to secure a professional apprenticeship, the Jewish law firm Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman gave a young black man a job as a clerk. It was among the first encounters in what would become a lifelong relationship between Nelson Mandela and South Africa's tiny Jewish community, impacting the statesman's life at several defining moments-from his arrival in Johannesburg from the...
WASHINGTON (JTA)— There’s the six-month interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program that trades some sanctions relief for a freeze on Iran’s nuclear program. And then there’s the interim before the interim begins. Little noticed in the wake of the historic pact reached last month by Iran and the major powers is the fact that technically, the deal is not yet underway. A commission of experts from the United States, Russia, Germany, Britain, China and France, working with Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, first must work out the technic...
The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando has an exciting new initiative in the works. In March 2014, RAISE (Recognizing Abilities and Inclusion of Special Employees) will be rolled out to the community. RAISE is a JFGO program that will offer a part-time paid work experience to adults with special needs. JFGO will work with local Jewish organizations to place special needs adults in job roles. By providing a part-time work experience, RAISE will offer each adult with special needs that...
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando has announced that the honoree for its annual J Ball event will be community philanthropist Bruce Gould. Gould will be recognized for his philanthropic accomplishments and his ongoing engagement in helping to make a difference locally and abroad -particularly in Orlando, New York and Israel. This year's J Ball will be held on Saturday, March 8, 2014 at the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. This event will be uniquely special as it commemorates the...
SAHARONIM, Israel (JTA)- A long chain-link fence with barbed wire seems to rise up out of the desert at the new Sadot facility in Israel for African migrants. Situated along Israel's barren border with Egypt and across the street from the notorious Ketziot Prison, which houses thousands of Palestinian prisoners, Sadot is slated to begin operations this month as an "open residence facility" for some 3,300 African migrants. In a large dirt field, long rows of railroad-style red-and-beige rooms...
JERUSALEM (JTA)-At least 28 protesters were arrested and 15 police officers injured during protests over a plan to resettle Bedouin into permanent communities in southern Israel. The thousands of protesters in the Negev Desert, Haifa, eastern Jerusalem and the Arab-Israel community of Taibe threw rocks at police forces and blocked roads as part of a so-called Day of Rage against the plan. Police used water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the demonstrators, according to The New...
(JTA)-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis in their first face-to-face meeting talked about the Middle East and plans for a papal trip to Israel, among other issues. Also at Monday's closed-door, 25-minute audience at the Vatican, Netanyahu presented the pope with a book about the Spanish Inquisition written by his father, the late historian Benzion Netanyahu. The dedication read, "To the great pastor and guardian of our common heritage." The Vatican said in a statement...
Plans are well underway for The Kinneret Council on Aging's (KCOA) fourth annual 8 over 80 Honorary Dinner that will be held on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014. The event recognizes individuals over the age of 80 who continue to contribute to the Jewish community through their volunteer and philanthropy efforts. This year's honorees are a dedicated and dynamic group of individuals. Nominated by Madeline Wolly, Ruth Goldhar is still a vibrant active 90-year-old woman. She moved to Central Florida in 1956...
On Nov. 25, the UCF Knights For Israel invited Sgt. Benjamin Anthony (IDF Reserves) of the Our Soldiers Speak organization, to speak on the state of Israel from a combat soldiers perspective. Anthony spoke to a standing-room-only crowd of more than 125 people, receiving three standing ovations. In the course of his lecture, Anthony humbly transformed himself from a battle-tested, heavy-machine gunner into a statesman. He prefaced his presentation by expressing to the audience he does not view...
A central tenet of Zionism is that Jews share a common heritage and destiny. Nevertheless, the reality of Jewish society in the state of Israel is marked by four prominent social and geo-cultural divisions: Orthodox observant vs. secular, veteran settlers vs. new immigrants, the haves vs. the have-nots and geo-cultural origin (European vs. Middle Eastern or Oriental). The last dimension has often been the source of ethnic humor—gefilte fish vs. shish kebab, but is in fact, a serious ”kulturkampf” over the image of the country. Left wing criti...
My brother died in Seattle early in the evening on Sept. 19, 2006, just before Rosh Hashana. I was sitting in the parking lot of his hospital, taking a moment to listen to an obscure song by an unknown alternative band when I got a call that he had passed away. The song was titled “Brother” by The Annuals. I missed him by minutes. Coincidence that I was listening to that song while his spirit left the earth? Probably. But then the following night, after I had flown back to Orlando with Ray...
It is very simple. Are you willing to give up your constitutional right to freedom of speech? That is exactly what will very likely happen if the world continues to implement anti-blasphemy laws to avoid offending fanatic Muslims in hopes they will not react violently. In Islam, if someone is even perceived as having insulted Islam, the individual may be tried and or attacked by a mob, or even sentenced to death. You might ask if Islam commands that those who insult the religion should be put to death? Under Sharia law, those who insult...
Is this just another bit of U.N. blather, one of 21 resolutions passed so far against Israel this year, while only four resolutions condemned activities in all the other countries of the world? Or does it portend 12 months of festivities on campuses, in union halls, liberal churches and other places susceptible to the nonsense that Palestine deserves more help than anything else? It would be easier to ignore if Barack Obama and John Kerry were not part of the chorus. The U.S. was one of four western states along with Israel, Canada, and...
In the coming days, there will be much reflection on the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, following the former South African president’s passing on Dec. 5. And in the coming weeks, we can anticipate a febrile exchange over his true views on Israel and the Middle East. We shouldn’t underestimate the significance of such a debate. Mandela has entered the pantheon of 20th-century figures that exercised the most extraordinary influence over global events, touching the lives of ordinary mortals in the process. In the 1940s, many Britons could tel...
BAYONNE, N.J. (JTA)—Arik Einstein, who died last week at the age of 74, basically invented Israeli popular music. He was a unique Israeli combination of Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles, embodying the spirit and the struggles of a younger, more optimistic Israel. His death brought tributes from the top leaders of Israeli society. Shy, almost reclusive, he died in the same Tel Aviv house in which he had been born. Find another rock star who has never changed addresses. But Einstein’s death has broader cultural implications. At a time when the U.S...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Right now, there is just one way for someone who is not Jewish to become Jewish in a publicly recognized and officially authorized fashion: undergo religious conversion under the auspices of a rabbi. Whether the path to Jewish identification follows Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist or other auspices, conversion is explicitly and entirely religious in nature. These movements and their rabbis vary both in the preparation they demand and the religious commitments they seek of potential converts. But all require a s...
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 13 Lig...
Jewish Pavilion volunteer, Penny D'Agostino, has been leading a choir for seniors at Horizon Bay for more than two years. Singing releases endorphins into your system and makes you feel energized and uplifted. People who sing are healthier than people who don't. Singing gives the lungs a workout, it tones abdominal, intercostal muscles and the diaphragm, and also stimulates circulation. Singing makes us breathe more deeply than many forms of strenuous exercise, so we take in more oxygen,...
TEL AVIV- Fifty lone soldiers and more than 200 young professional Olim celebrated "Thanksgivukkah" at a festive event organized by Nefesh B'Nefesh and White City Shabbat. Revelers celebrated the once-in-a-lifetime double holiday of Chanukah and Thanksgiving at the landmark Goren Synagogue in Tel Aviv with a three-course meal replete with traditional holiday foods including latkes and turkey. After the meal, Tel Aviv's deputy mayor Asaf Zamir led the Chanukah candle-lighting ceremony. This...
By Hillel Kuttler BALTIMORE (JTA)- Round faced and wavy haired, the little girl in dark overalls is standing on a traditional easy chair in her family's Chicago apartment on Winthrop Street. She is cradling a doll- perhaps a newly opened gift for the second birthday she is celebrating. The black-and-white photograph from New Year's Day 1959 is significant now for a mundane scribble on its back. "Pamela Beth Graff," her father, Irving, had written before enclosing the picture in a letter to his...
On the sixth night of Chanukah what would have been a simple twist of the light bulb for one staff person before the end of her shift, became a meaningful joyous occasion when the Stack and Goldman families (who are also Jewish Pavilion volunteers) sang the blessings over the Chanukkiah with the residents of Springhills of Lake Mary. Shown here are (l-r) Alexandra, Andrew and Lisa Goldman with resident Dill Hurwitz. The Jewish Pavilion wishes to thank these families for sharing this mitzvah...
The Chanukah festivities continued all over town well before and after the holiday, even on 'Black Friday' for this party. Shown here are volunteers and residents at Lake Mary Health & Rehab where residents enjoyed a Chanukah luncheon with live entertainment. The Jewish Pavilion thanks all who came to help and cook. Shown here(standing, left) Amy Shwartzer and Norma Ball; seated, residents Gussy and Patty....
Internet terrorism... Sounds frightening... and it is! According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, "There is a new battlefield in the war against terror: the Internet and the dynamic world of social networking. "Today, this technology that brings people together from across the globe also provides aspiring terrorists unprecedented access to vast libraries of step-by-step terrorism tutorials. "Recipes for the pressure cooker bombs and radio signals deployed by the Tsarnacv brothers to murder and...
Gaga returning to Israel HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (6NoBacon)—Pop superstar Lady Gaga has plans to perform in the Holy Land this summer, Israel’s Channel 2 reported. The show, which will be Gaga’s second in Israel, will likely take place at Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park and will likely not feature a kosher-meat dress, although that would be pretty great. Elsewhere on the American music scene, Beyonce, who was set to play Israel in the spring, may not make it due to what Haaretz calls a “snag” with an Israeli concert production company. But Israeli Beliebers wil...
WASHINGTON (JTA)-When reports emerged over the weekend that France's hard line was responsible for the failure of negotiations over Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program, supporters and critics of the diplomatic push resorted to familiar stereotypes. Conservatives scoffed that even the conflict-averse French had outflanked President Obama. Leftists accused Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, of doing Israel's bidding. The reality typically is more nuanced. France's posture in the...
