Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando held meetings Dec. 12 and Dec. 13 (at the Roth Family JCC and Rosen JCC, respectively) to discuss the results of the community study, conducted by the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University with the assistance of UNH Survey Center. The last study was done in 1993 – 28 years ago, and a lot has changed! There are 51,400 Jewish people (41,700 adults and 9,700 children) living in 25,500 Jewish households in Central Florida. In a...
(JNS) - Former longtime Kansas Republican senator, leader and 1996 GOP nominee for president Bob Dole died on Dec. 5 at the age of 98. Dole's death was announced by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation on Sunday morning, saying that Dole died in his sleep after it became known early this year that he had stage IV lung cancer. His passing was met with words of respect from a bipartisan swath of the Jewish community. Dole was the recipient of the Jewish Federations of North America's 2020 Lifetime...
(JTA) - Israeli officials are expected to attend the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing next year, unlike their American counterparts who will boycott the game to protest China's human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslim minority. Haaretz reported the news, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official who called the Americans' decision to boycott "bizarre." Earlier this week, the United States announced that no American officials would attend the games. The boycott only applies to diplomatic...
At the end of the first quarter as the spotlight glared at the stage, the Grand Menorah Lighting at Amyway Center captured the thousands of participants as Jewish musical artist Jimmy Levy from American Idol led with singing the Brochos. Chanukah Night gave the city of Orlando the opportunity to celebrate and share the fun spirit of Chanukah. The Grand Menorah was lit in the presence of thousands proclaiming the timeless message that light ultimately triumphs over darkness. "There is no better...
(JTA) - When she won the privilege of representing Puerto Rico in the Miss Universe contest, Michelle Marie Colon spoke of her pride in making history as the first Black woman from the territory to seize the honor. This week in Israel, where the contest is being held, she has been touting pride in another aspect of her heritage: her Jewish great-grandfather who escaped the Holocaust. Last week, Colon posted a photo of her holding hands with Noa Cochva, the Israeli entrant into the contest,...
After almost 2 years, this foursome was finally reunited. (l-r, standing) Jill Cousins, Dale Perreault and Debbie Meitin have been playing mahjong with Ruth (seated) for over six years. Ruth resides in Tuscawilla Nursing Home and they all look forward to their biweekly game. Throughout the pandemic, Jill, Dale and Debbie corresponded with Ruth many times, through phone calls and letters. Friendships and special bonds like this are very common through connections made through the Jewish...
(JTA) — Leaders of the New Hampshire House of Representatives released a statement last week condemning antisemitism after a state lawmaker tweeted in support of Palestinians using a slogan many deem to be antisemitic. Speaker of the House Sherman Packard, a Republican, and House Democratic leader Renny Cushing wrote in a joint statement Thursday that “any form of bigotry — anti-Semitism, racism, bigotry — has no place in our society” and “it is unacceptable that any member of this historic legislative body is involved in perpetuatin...
(JTA) — Student governments considered resolutions to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel at 17 college campuses in the United States during the 2020-2021 school year, according to a new report from the Anti-Defamation League. The watchdog group, which released the data Wednesday as part of its annual reporting, called the BDS resolutions a “cornerstone of anti-Israel campus activity during the last year.” During a school year in which a May conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza was accompanied by widespread criticism of Israel on an...
(JNS) — Students Supporting Israel said in an open letter that it urges the Duke University Student Government to vote against its president, who vetoed a decision to formally recognize the organization. DSG president Christina Wang vetoed recognition of SSI on Monday because the group called out a student on social media in a way that was “unacceptable for any student group,” Wang wrote in a statement obtained by Duke’s student publication, The Chronicle. “Have we really gotten to the point where one student government leader can de-platfo...
(JTA) — Pennsylvania will allocate $6.6 million in funding for the redevelopment of the Tree of Life synagogue campus where 11 people were killed in an antisemitic attack in 2018. Speaking at a press conference outside the synagogue Monday, the last day of Hanukkah, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe called the state’s contribution to the renovation “a Hanukkah present.” “Tree of Life is undertaking a project to remember the past, to inform the present, and promote healing for the future,” Wolf said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazett...
(JNS) Diaspora Jews have a collective history of constant migration. Ethnically cleansed hundreds of years ago from their ancient homeland in Israel, they wandered between continents that periodically persecuted them, threw them out or barred them altogether. How, then, should Jews approach today’s phenomenon of the mass migration of peoples? All over the world, millions are on the move from the impoverished and violent developing world to the West in search of a better and safer life. On America’s border with Mexico, tens of thousands are try...
(JNS) — A Knesset committee headed by Meretz Party member Moshe (“Mossi”) Raz recently sounded the alarm — sirens, even — over a supposed rise in settler violence against innocent Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. The figures provided by Yesh Din, which calls itself a non-governmental organization, do seem alarming. Of course, Yesh Din only deals with violence against Palestinians, not against Israelis. The organization has counted over 1,400 acts of violence since 2012 — 416 of them in the first half of this year. However, neither the...
In October, I wrote about the president’s announced shift from a foreign policy strategy of military intervention to a policy of “relentless diplomacy”; and the challenges he will face in dealing with Iran and with increased Palestinian intransigence toward any concessions in the conflict with Israel (“Everywhere,” Oct. 22, 2021) I also opined in that column, that the president conveyed a subtle message of reluctance to back up his “relentless diplomacy” with hard power coming on the heels of the humiliating withdrawal from Afghanistan....
Recent reports have slammed Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert for comments that were offensive to her colleague, Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Boebert shared a security-related incident in the U.S. Capitol, quipping that she saw Congresswoman Omar, noticed she didn’t have a backpack, so everything would be fine. Since her comment, Boebert has been slammed by the media, other congressional members, and more. There have been calls for her to be censured. Omar herself called out Boebert for “real consequences” of her “anti...
In a recent online exchange, the YouTuber Casey Neistat posted his fury after his car was broken into and the contents stolen. Los Angeles, he railed, was turning into a “3rd-world s-hole of a city.” The multimillionaire actor Seth Rogen chastised Neistat for his anger. Rogen claimed that a car’s contents were minor things to lose. He added that while living in West Hollywood he had his own car broken into 15 times, but thought little of it. Online bloggers ridiculed Rogen. No wonder — the actor lives in multimillion-dollar homes in the Los Ang...
Dear Editor: It is not surprising that anyone who subscribes to all Democratic narratives would advocate that all high schools should receive the Critical Race Theory — the pseudo-intellectual formula for anti-white racism and continuation of the war on the American Experiment that motivates the “progressive” element of the Democrat Party. This “theory” is the brilliant condemnation of our historical development by tenured professors in social sciences whose teaching careers featured Marxism for students from wealthy homes in elite colleges...
MORNING MINYANS (Please note, because of the coronavirus, some minyans have been canceled or held virtually.) Chabad of North Orlando and Chabad of Altamonte Springs are holding in-person minyans. 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. Congr...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Israel will set plans in motion to renovate the non-Orthodox prayer space at the Western Wall, an Israeli official said Tuesday in New York. The current Israeli government is expected to implement an agreement, shelved under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that would expand an area of the holy site where men and women could pray as they please. But speaking to journalists at the Israeli consulate in New York City, Diaspora Affairs Minister Nachman Shai said that before it formally implements the 2...
With the holiday season behind us, cool weather upon us, and our wax-covered Chanukiahs needing a polish before being put away until next year, there are few better films to snuggle up to than the Steven Spielberg produced, Don Bluth directed, “An American Tail.” Originally conceived as a television special, Spielberg felt that the work had the potential to expand into a feature. After having finished “The Secret of Nimh,” Spielberg approached Bluth and asked him to “make me something pretty, like you did in Nimh … make it beautiful....
(New York Jewish Week via JTA) - Yuri Foreman's professional peak as a boxer arguably came 11 years ago, when he faced off against Miguel Cotto in a marquee boxing match at Yankee Stadium. The match, dubbed the "Stadium Slugfest," was a super welterweight title fight that had been promoted on huge posters at subway stops around the city. Foreman was a world champion who had won his belt the year prior. Cotto was one of the best boxers in the world, and won the fight by technical knockout in the...
Maybe we should change the name to un-American Airlines ... Before I write about celebrities, I must comment on this ... A story I just heard over the television news: An elderly orthodox Jewish couple were kicked off an American Airlines flight for refusing to place his Tallis bag and tefillin on the floor! They placed the bag in the overhead bin but the hostess and other flight crew made them take it down. They tried to explain that the bag could not be placed on the floor and they refused to...
(JTA) - In 1955, theater director Jerome Robbins approached writer Arthur Laurents and composer Leonard Bernstein with a new idea for a Broadway musical: a contemporary retelling of "Romeo and Juliet," set among warring gangs of Jews and Catholics on New York City's Lower East Side. It would be called "East Side Story," and it would take place at the turn of the 20th century during the holidays of Easter and Passover. But something wasn't working. The writers wondered if all they were doing was...
(JNS) - A new autonomous unmanned ground vehicle introduced by Israeli companies Elbit Systems and Roboteam, called "Rook," can carry out a remarkable number of roles on the battlefield. Elad Levy, CEO of Roboteam, told JNS that the ground robot is tailor-made to client needs through its ability to be assembled in a system of "boxes," with each box allowing for clients to choose a different kind of capability - much like assembling Legos. While one box can act as an electrical engine, others...
(JNS) — Jewish groups are sounding the alarm after the New York City Police Department released statistics on Wednesday indicating that hate crimes have doubled in a single year. Of the nearly 500 hate crimes reported in the city as of November, some 180 were antisemitic in nature. The total is up from 121 incidents the year before and accounts for the largest number of hate crimes against any group. Scott Richman, NY/NJ regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said “it’s alarming that in the past seven weeks alone, we have had to is...
(JTA) - Michael Steinhardt, the hedge funder and megadonor to Jewish causes, has agreed to surrender 180 stolen antiquities worth $70 million to their rightful homelands and to never again collect ancient artifacts. In exchange, Steinhardt will avoid criminal charges related to an investigation that found he had acquired, owned and sold more than 1,000 looted items over the past three decades. Those are the terms of a deal that Steinhardt finalized Monday with Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus...
