Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1 - 21 of 21
Judy Procell, aka Ms. Chanukah, takes a selfie with the residents at The Westminster.... Full story
There is a great resource through Jewish Family Services Orlando (JFS Orlando) for older adults and/or people with disabilities who may need transportation to and from various medical appointments and essential shopping trips. This service is called RIDE-Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly-and it has been erroneously assumed to be only for those with low incomes. But not so fast! It is available to ANY older adult and/or people with disabilities who need transportation! Widely used in... Full story
Every year at their annual gala, the Louis D. Brandeis Award Dinner, the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) recognizes one student in the country for his or her pro-Israel advocacy on campus. This year, on Nov. 22 at New York City's Grand Hyatt Hotel, in the presence of Israeli Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, Academy-Award-winning actor and Christian Zionist Jon Voight, and more than 1,100 others in attendance, Derek Silver of Winter P... Full story
The following is a statement from Stephen Greenberg, chairman, and Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations: We are deeply dismayed at the vote by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) 35-nation Board of Governors to close the file on the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program despite Iran’s continuing lack of transparency and hindrance of the inspection work. Moreover, Iran was found by the IAEA to have lied about its nuclear program and... Full story
WASHINGTON-Hillel International today announced a major new partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation to promote inclusion for students with disabilities at 550 college campuses across the country and around the world. The $750,000 grant will help Hillel International address practical barriers to participation in its student programs, as well as launch the spiritual, cultural and communal reflection and action necessary to ensure all Hillel communities can be inclusive of all students. Ov... Full story
Part 3 of a 3-part series The Republican Party’s candidates for the 2016 presidential race have, since the Paris terror attacks on Nov. 13, 2015, and the San Bernardino terror attack on Dec. 2, 2015, placed an increasing emphasis on their proposed measures aimed at increasing America’s national security. These proposals range from the intense to the laughable and, to some, the intensely laughable. Regarding the Islamic State (ISIS) group, an increasing threat to the West, multiple candidates support a ground operation in the Middle East aga... Full story
Famed Jewish actor and comedian Adam Sandler railed against Pink Floyd co-founder and anti-Israel activist Roger Waters during an appearance on the Howard Stern Show on Tuesday. "I'm very pro-Israel," Sandler told Stern, who has himself blasted Waters on a number of occasions on his Sirius satellite radio show. "And when someone says s*** about Israel, and I know people say s*** about Israel and they f***ing won't play there... I'm disgusted that they single out Israel that [they say], 'We... Full story
Join the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Orlando (JGSGO) for "Skeletons in Our Closets: Researching a Family Scandal," at the Roth Jewish Community Center, Senior Lounge, on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. After investigating rumors of an old family scandal that took place during the "Roaring Twenties" in Chicago, Robin B. Seidenberg uncovered a sensational story that made newspaper headlines across the nation. She will reveal an intriguing tale of wealth, romance,... Full story
On Jan. 17, middle school students from across the community are invited to attend the third annual middle school dance at The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando's Harriett and Hymen Lake Auditorium. The dance, themed this year as a Winter Wonderland, will feature a photo station, Zohler Sobel Entertainment DJ, emcee, games and snacks. Eight local Jewish organizations worked together to promote this event: BBYO, Congregation Beth Am, Congregation of Reform Judaism,... Full story
MindUP™, a new program and curriculum being taught at the Jewish Academy of Orlando, teaches social and emotional learning skills that link cognitive neuroscience, positive psychology and mindful awareness training utilizing a brain centric approach. The Jewish Academy of Orlando is the only school in Central Florida currently using this program, and only the second Jewish day school in the country to adopt this curriculum. The school is hosting a Parent Information Night on Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m.... Full story
Even before the dust settled on the happy headlines proclaiming that after 30 years in federal prison, Jonathan Pollard was being released, we discovered that his release wasn’t the end of his sad saga. Pollard’s parole conditions are draconian. For the next five years he will be under curfew, barred from stepping outside his apartment after 7 pm. He is prohibited from surfing the Internet. Anyone hiring him will be required to allow law enforcement authorities full access to their computers. Pollard already lost one job due to this con... Full story
ORLANDO (JTA)—Standing before the burning bush, Moses asks of God, “Mi anochi?” Who am I to be the one who goes to Pharaoh? Though there are many reasons why Moses may have asked the question, a tip-off to what is really on Moses’ mind comes just a few verses later when Moses reminds God that he is “slow of speech and tongue.” In most commentaries, this is interpreted to mean that Moses has a severe speech impediment. God’s response to Moses’ disability is powerful. God wants him for his leadership qualities notwithstanding his disability, and... Full story
The massacre in San Bernardino by an Islamist husband-and-wife terror team forces us to recognize, once again, that the United States has to choose between isolationism and internationalism in its foreign policy. Put another way, it’s a choice between disengaging from the world’s most febrile regions, in the hope that doing so will put us out of harm’s way and rein in our “imperial” instincts, or actively engaging on our own terms, in the expectation that we can effectively counter rogue regimes and terrorist groups. This is where we get to a... Full story
By Christine DeSouza It is unbelievable how people rewrite history. On the Israel Video Network (www.israelvideonetwork.com) a Costco smoothie demonstrator was videoed as she proceeded to slam Jews. Standing in front of a food demonstration in a Costco in the San Francisco Bay area, two men were having a discussion when an employee interrupted them to say that Jews should leave Israel because “it is Palestinian land,” and that they should “go back where they came from.” “Where is that?” one of the men asked. “Go back to Europe,” she... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—If Israel does not take steps now to preserve the option of two states and secure its own destiny as a Jewish and democratic state, it will wake up one day soon to find out it’s too late. That was the overarching message communicated repeatedly to an Israel Policy Forum delegation of American Jewish leaders to Israel which I recently led. Over five days in November, the leaders met with a diverse array of Israeli politicians, Palestinian officials, security establishment figures, diplomats, journalists and representatives of... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)-I grew up in northern New Jersey where my high school class was at least 20 percent Jewish. The local deli was run by one of my grandmother's former fourth-grade students from when she taught elementary school in Brooklyn. He deferred to her as Mrs. Isquith and she still called him "Kenny" as if he were still in fourth grade. If your parents had a falling out with one rabbi, your family could join another temple a few miles down the road. The stores were stocked with round... Full story
BERNARD “BERNIE” BEHRMAN Bernie Behrman, age 90, of Longwood, passed away at his residence on Monday, Dec. 14, 2015. He was born in Chicago, Ill., on July 5, 1925, to the late Abraham and Rose Gran Behrman. Mr. Behrman answered his country’s call and served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. On Sept. 6, 1959, in Chicago, he married the former Nancy Bobeng, his wife of nearly 56 years who survives him. Bernie and Nancy relocated to the Orlando area from Chicago in 1973. During his career he worked in retail furniture sales, and Berni... Full story
This Chanukah season Judy Appleton Procell has been literally putting her "selfie" out there on behalf of the elder-care community she serves as a program director for the Jewish Pavilion. "This year I have put a different spin on the Chanukah parties I have hosted on behalf of the Jewish Pavilion," remarked Procell. "I have taken a selfie at all nine parties so I can share these 'Kodak moments' with the community, and replicate the joy and the connection that we bring to our seniors." Procell... Full story
JFS Orlando announced today that over 6,000 pounds of food were collected and over $7,000 was raised through its Publix Super Markets Charities Fall Food Drive. During the weeks of Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, non-perishable food items were donated to the Pearlman Emergency Food Pantry. The food pantry provides emergency food assistance to hungry individuals and families in Central Florida. Last year, JFS Orlando provided over 76,000 meals to needy Central Floridians in an effort to alleviate hunger in Greater Orlando. The Fall Food Drive was... Full story
Hannah Lauren Bloom, daughter of Alan and Diane Bloom of Sanford, will be called to the Torah as a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, at Congregation Ohev Shalom of Maitland. Hannah is in the seventh grade at Sanford Middle School where she was a past participant of Odyssey of the Mind. Her hobbies and interests include dancing, singing, acting and hanging out with friends. She is also a member of Congregation Ohev Shalom’s Kadima Youth Group. Sharing in the family’s simcha will be Hannah’s brother, Ross; grandmother, Barbara M. Simon... Full story
A disturbing letter... I received a letter from RONALD S. LAUDER, president of the World Jewish Congress (WJC) and I pass it along in part to you: "As we close the door on 2015, I am dismayed by the wave of terror that has crashed over the Jewish state of Israel, taking with it the lives of too many innocent men, women and children and leaving many critically wounded. As terrorist thugs continue their violent attacks against the citizens of Israel, Jews in Europe are facing anti-Semitic... Full story
