Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
Chabad of South Orlando's Hebrew School is all about hands on learning. That is why on Sunday, Dec. 11, director Chani Konikov brought her students to the Millenia Home Depot. What does Home Depot have to do with Chanukah, many of the students wondered? They soon found out. Waiting for each student as well as other members of the community who came out for the event, was a set of materials with which to build a Menorah! Children of all ages were able to sand, build, and then paint their very... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-When Northwestern University's student Senate passed a resolution in February 2015 asking the university to divest from six corporations they said contributed to the violation of Palestinians' human rights, freshman Ross Krasner was hurt and surprised. The rhetoric of the measure, portraying Israel as an oppressor, was more extreme than what he had expected. Krasner decided to become more involved with the campus pro-Israel group, Wildcats for Israel, and became its president... Full story
For a year and a half, 53 community volunteers have been working with me on an exciting project. We are putting together an exhibit of the history of the Orlando Jewish community and the many contributions we have made to life in Central Florida. With the completion of the first phase of our exhibit, Kehillah: A Century of Jewish Life in Greater Orlando, and the declining days of 2016 coinciding, I have been reflecting on childhood memories in Orlando. Joining a lifetime of family memories, are “fishathons” on Lake Lucerne, community Lag B’Omer... Full story
The Central Conference of American Rabbis has announced that Rabbi Cindy Enger will become the Reform Movement's director of Rabbinic Placement, effective July 1, 2017. Rabbi Enger will be the first woman to ever hold the position of director of Rabbinic Placement in any Jewish movement. Rabbi Enger comes to the directorship with a wealth of experience as a congregational and organizational rabbi, a lawyer, and a lay leader. Prior to her ordination from HUC-JIR, she served as an attorney in... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA) Weird paradoxes have been packed into Chanukah observance forever. It's the holiday about killing infidels that is now celebrated as a victory of religious pluralism. It's the unofficial little Jewish holiday that a U.S. congressman once tried to turn into a major American holiday. It's the Jewish holiday with terrible songs written by Jews competing with the Christian holiday with wonderful songs, also written by Jews. Add this to the ironies: When eight or so Jewish... Full story
NEW YORK—The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, which serves as New York’s Holocaust Museum, has announced an international fellowship program for scholars, museum curators, artists and Holocaust educators supported by a $1,150,000 grant from The Vivian G. Prins Foundation. Vivian Prins was a successful businessman and entrepreneur who emigrated to the United States in 1938 to escape Nazi Germany. “The Foundation is proud to make this grant in honor of Bronia Brandman, a survivor of Auschwitz and one of the Museum... Full story
Nearly 70 percent of the major attacks against American Jews and their institutions during the last five decades have been carried out by white supremacists and Islamic terrorists, according to an unprecedented new report released by the Community Security Service (CSS), a Jewish security organization. "What is most concerning is that those who intend to harm the Jewish community are becoming increasingly brazen in their attacks," said Yehudit Barsky, the author of the report, which was... Full story
Please join the Jewish Pavilion on Sunday, Jan. 8, at 5 p.m. at Sheraton Orlando North (Maitland) for their Gems and Jeans Gala, as they honor Board members and community 'gems,' Geanne Share and Ruth Darvin, for providing exemplary volunteer assistance to Orlando's elder-care community. Slip on your favorite pair of 'dressy' jeans, and the Pavilion will provide the sparkle, with an evening of gourmet dining, live music, silent auction and a celebration of friends, with proceeds benefitting... Full story
The Orlando Chapter of Hadassah in conjunction with Chef and Restauranteur Sue Manatad presents a cooking demonstration of healthy Thai recipes on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2017, at Congregation of Reform Judaism (CRJ) at 11:30 a.m. The demonstration will be followed by a lunch of vegetarian Thai food prepared by Chef Manatad and supplemented with dairy items from Bagel King. Chef Manatad is the proprietor of Orchid Thai Cuisine on Park Avenue in Winter Park. She was born and raised in Bangkok,... Full story
The Rosen JCC has partnered with the National Basketball Academy, who will be operating the J’s youth basketball leagues. The winter season—which begins Jan. 17, 2017—includes six regular season games, and at least one playoff gave. Each participant will also participate in Jr. Magic practice and training sessions each week on Tuesdays. Volunteer coaches are also needed. League fees are $125 or $105 for JCC members. For more information, contact Ryan Kittleson, Jr. Magic League director for the National Basketball Academy, at 406-6... Full story
Chabad of Greater Orlando is hosting the Grand Menorah lighting and unity festival at Central Park on Park Ave., Winter Park. The event takes place on Sunday, Dec. 25, at 4 p.m. There will be Cirque performers, comedy and magic, a fire show, living statues, a strolling magician, face painting, Esther’s Jewish Story House, Judah the Macabbee, refreshments and food, and children can build a Dreidel. Entertainment will be provided by the incredible hypnotist Richard Barker, and live Jewish rock music by The Klezmorim. This event is free of c... Full story
On one of my first assignments abroad as a rookie journalist back in the early 1990s, I found myself in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, just as the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia was getting underway in earnest. One afternoon, sitting with a group of journalists and writers in a café in the city center, I was drawn into a long conversation with an Israeli professor who was temporarily teaching in Belgrade. We began comparing nationalism in the Balkans with nationalism in the Middle East, and an observation he made has stuck with me ever... Full story
As the BDS movement grows on college campuses, and as anti-Israel and anti-Semitic activities increase in high schools and in our communities, the American Jewish community is losing ground, losing time, and losing connection to Israel of our Jewish youth. Getting Jewish teens, ages 16 and 17, to Israel en masse, including and following up with Israel advocacy training before they go to college, will equip them to fight anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism, and particularly the BDS movement. Key to attracting Jewish teens en masse to go to Israel is to... Full story
The concept is vague and messy in a number of ways. Where does the Wild East begin? On the eastern border of what was Israel prior to the 1967 war? With or without the expansion of Jerusalem legislated by Israel but not recognized by other countries? Another vagueness is how many Israelis have moved beyond those lines in the first and second of those conceptions. Estimates range up to 800,000, with about half in the parts of Jerusalem defined as especially unkosher by the friendly part of the international community, Officially, those... Full story
Haim Saban is wrong when he says Minnesota’s U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison is unqualified to head the Democratic National Committee. Ellison’s anti-Israel and anti-Semitic lineages do not disqualify him from the position. They more than qualify him. It is Ellison, not Saban—the Israeli-American mega-donor to both the Democratic Party and pro-Israel causes—who represents the Democrats’ true colors. The party has been abandoning support for the Jewish state for well over a decade. Recent studies by Brookings, Gallup, and Pew reveal a growing gap of su... Full story
John Kerry and J Street are worried. They see their cherished dream of a Palestinian state slipping away. Kerry’s criticism of Israel at the Saban Forum Dec. 4 attracted a lot of attention. But the transcript of the U.S. secretary of state’s remarks reveals an important moment that the media overlooked. Just as he was about to denounce Israel’s policies, Kerry suddenly turned to the audience and said: “By the way, just let me ask a question. Raise your hands. I mean, I know some of you may not want to acknowledge, but how many of you believe... Full story
When students at Toronto’s Ryerson University Hillel proposed to their Student Union that the university participate in the broader Canadian Holocaust Awareness Week, they did not anticipate the jeers, snickers, and eventual walkout to prevent a quorum from approving the motion. Nor did they anticipate that this hateful behavior would be led by members of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Hillel students assumed SJP would respond as Hillel and most groups would respond were any minority group to propose an event promoting awareness of a... Full story
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... Full story
I started my genealogy research 18 years ago with the information I had available-not much. My maternal grandparent's marriage record included the names and birthplaces of their parents. The name for that great-grandfather, Joseph Rosenberger (1851-1899), happened to be the same as my mother's brother, so I felt I was on the right track. I was not aware of my great-grandfather having any siblings on either side of the Atlantic, and could find no mention of siblings in any census records since... Full story
You are selling your car. A prospective buyer offers your advertised price of $4,500. You say yes. It's a verbal acceptance. A few minutes later (before anything is put in writing), another prospect arrives and offers you $5,500. Do you honor your acceptance to the first buyer, take the higher offer from the second person, or attempt to negotiate for more money from the first buyer? This is just one in a series of ethical dilemmas discussed recently with a teen group from Congregation Ohev... Full story
Teenagers and seniors of today are probably farther apart than any other time throughout history. Ask a teenager what game he prefers to play, and he will most likely give you an answer of something that includes a tablet, smart phone, or other technological device. Ask a senior and you will likely hear Scrabble, cards, or another traditional game. Yet, despite these differences, the senior residents at Kinneret Apartments, and teenagers of CTeen from North and South Orlando, got together for... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)—Every year I create a new latke recipe for the Chanukah season. Potatoes are so last year, but inspiring roots and vegetables is the trend now. Plantain chips are among my favorite treats; put a bag in front of me, and it’s over. I blame my East Coast childhood for my addiction to Latin flavors. Sweet and salty plantains, deep flavors of paprika and sazon, and rice and beans are all my jam. So with my deep love affair with Latin cuisine, I took this idea as inspiration for this year’s latke creation. Plantains fry up beaut... Full story
Chanukah is almost here!... "Twas the night before Chanukah, boichiks and maidels, Not a sound could be heard, not even the dreidels, The menorah was set by the chimney alight, In the kitchen, the Bubbe was hopping a bite, Salami, Pastrami, a glaisele tay, And zoyere pickles mit bagels... Oy Vay! Gezint and geschmock the kinderlach felt, While dreaming of taiglach and Chanukah gelt, And Bubbe was carving a shtickele chicken, A tummel arose, like the wildest K'duchas, Santa had fallen right on... Full story
This week, the Jewish Academy of Orlando kindergarten students visited Savannah Court in Maitland. Every year, the students perform songs for Chanukah at the senior living community. "It is amazing to see the smiling faces," said teacher Andrea Gould. "Our kids' songs and dances seem to really affect the residents of the community-in a way that only kids and music can." Head of School Alan Rusonik added, "Our students visit Savannah Court several times a year. It is part of us teaching mitzvot... Full story
ZICHRON YAAKOV, Israel (JTA)-Kobi Ifrach stood on a stage in England wearing nothing but gold body paint, a Speedo and an Israeli flag. He had just become the first Israeli to win the Junior Mr. Universe bodybuilding competition. Back home in this northern Israeli town, Ifrach's haredi Orthodox parents were cheering him on. Days earlier they had lit Shabbat candles and prayed for his victory. Ifrach, 20, left the path of strict Jewish observance during high school and now abides instead by the s... Full story
