Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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(JNS) - It's been a difficult decade. 2020 was the year of coronavirus-pandemic panic and the general collapse of established norms. This was compounded by the Black Lives Matter riots that set off a moral panic about race, with the mainstreaming of fringe ideas and intersectionality. 2021 was a little better, as the world gradually shook off its COVID paranoia. But it was notable mainly for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot that has roiled American politics ever since, the disastrous withdrawal from...
Any fan of wrestling knows how engaging wrestling can be as they are drawn into the drama of wrestling teams pummeling their opponents. Such is the sport of wrestling, and Central Florida is home to two young Israeli wrestlers - in fact, one of them is the youngest wrestler in Israel's history. In the world of wrestling, Hadar Horvitz and Ori Gold are known as the "Better Together" tag team. Horvitz, 23, is from Tel Aviv. Gold, 21, is from Kfar Saba. Both were drawn to wrestling at very early...
(JTA) — Yes, Lionel Messi will forever be the face of Argentina’s long-awaited World Cup championship on Sunday. But the voice of the victory belongs to the Argentinean Jewish sportscaster who cried as he announced the win. Andres Cantor, a prominent soccer announcer, responded to Argentina’s game-winning penalty shot with his signature elongated “Gooooooool!” In a video clip that has gone viral, Cantor can be seen grabbing onto his broadcast partner as he yells “Argentina, campeon de mundo!...
This year, as in the previous 44 years, Jewish Family Services of Greater Orlando is proud to have worked together with the community to make an impact on the lives of those in need, especially as hardships continue to grow. From fighting hunger and homelessness to addressing mental health needs JFS Orlando is always there if you need help or if you want to help. As you prepare for the countdown to 2023, join us in counting down the ways JFS Orlando has made an impact in the community this year so far and how your 2022 year-end gift can still...
Chanukah with the Jewish Pavilion was extra special at Brookdale Lake Orienta this year. The Jewish Chamber of Commerce partnered with the Pavilion and provided a top-notch party complete with candle lighting, latkes, doughnuts and chocolate gelt. The best part was the fabulous pianist Michael Kramer who provided superb entertainment. More than a dozen Jewish Chamber members interacted with seniors. They brought gifts and food and danced with their elders....
Before you start counting down the clock to the new year, take a moment to reflect on how you used your time this year... Were there things on your to-do list you needed to get done or wish you could have done, but didn’t? What got in the way of doing them? You might want to consider delegating the task to someone else if you can, or try making it more enjoyable for yourself by pairing it with something more pleasurable, like cleaning or folding laundry while you listen to your favorite podcast or watch sports. How we use our time can b...
(JNS) — The U.S. State Department’s point woman on Jew-hatred says there’s a key element to antisemitism differing it from other types of hate. It’s the conspiracy theory. “You can’t really grasp what antisemitism is, even if you care tremendously about it,” unless you understand the element that makes Jew-hatred unique, Deborah Lipstadt, the State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, said in a pre-Shabbat briefing on Friday. “If it’s someone you loathe, you just want to keep them down and keep them out of your life...
(JTA) — In its closing session, Ohio’s legislature passed a law imposing penalties of up to 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for “zoom-bombing” religious services, a practice that antisemites have used to intimidate Jews. The law, “Increasing Penalties for Disturbing a Religious Service,” passed last week unanimously in the state Senate. It had previously passed in the state House, 95-1. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sought the law after discovering that disrupting a religious service was only considered a “class four misdemeanor,...
(JNS) — A video of U.S. President Joe Biden saying that the nuclear deal with Iran is “dead” but that Washington will not announce as much surfaced on Tuesday, Dec. 20. The footage, which was apparently taken during Biden’s visit to California early last month, shows a woman asking him to declare that the 2015 agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is no longer in effect. “President Biden, could you please announce that the JCPOA is dead?” the Iranian-American woman asks, as the American president approaches...
(JTA) — Leonard Cohen’s momentous trip to the Sinai Desert to perform for Israeli soldiers in the wake of the Yom Kippur War is being turned into a dramatized TV series. “Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai” will be written by Yehonatan Indursky, a co-creator of “Shtisel,” the landmark Israeli drama about an Orthodox family in Jerusalem, according to Variety, which reported the news on Monday. The limited series, an adaptation of journalist Matti Friedman’s 2022 book of the same name, will film in Israel in 2024. It’s being co-produced by...
(JTA) — Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks, and even if you’re not Jewish, you can’t miss the fact that antisemitism is back in the news again: Kanye West, Kyrie Irving, Nick Fuentes; extremists returning in droves to Twitter; President Donald Trump kowtowing to antisemites over dinner at Mar-A-Lago; “Saturday Night Live” opening with a monologue trafficking in antisemitic tropes; members of the Black Hebrew Israelites intimidating Jewish fans coming to Barclays Center, and an endless feedback loop of antisemit...
(JNS) — In a social media post on Sunday, Prime Minister-designate Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu blasted the Gray Lady for its gall. “After burying the Holocaust for years on its back pages and demonizing Israel for decades on its front pages, The New York Times now shamefully calls for undermining Israel’s elected incoming government,” he tweeted, in response to a weekend editorial titled: “The Ideal of Democracy in a Jewish State Is in Jeopardy.” He was right to fight back, as the piece not only asserted that his coalition-in-fo...
Marjorie Taylor Greene has just been elected by the Republican Party to a position right behind Party Whip Kevin McCarthy. This puts an avowed “Christian Nationalist” and outspoken antisemite in a power position within the Republican Party. She is a wealthy Georgia citizen who is now being divorced by her husband of 27 years. She has, among other outrageous acts, made loud noises and “fooled around” like a belligerent child during the President’s State of the Union address in January of last year. She has claimed in public that the forest fi...
(JNS) Ahead of Chanukah, two students at Colgate University in New York vandalized a campus menorah. When they were caught, they explained that they didn’t mean it. They were just drunk. The incident at Colgate isn’t a big story in and of itself, because anti-Jewish incidents on campuses happen every day, all over the United States. However, the explanation the students provided for their behavior exposes a larger truth. Their thinking, apparently, was that their drunkenness made their deed understandable. Of course, if you’re drunk, you’d...
(JNS) — Liberal Jews in both the Diaspora and Israel have been hyperventilating over the “extremist” ministers in the incoming government headed by Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu. These are the rabble-rouser Itamar Ben-Gvir, the theocrat Bezalel Smotrich and the ultra-socially conservative Avi Maoz. With Netanyahu insisting that he will keep these three on a short leash, the rational position is to judge this government on what it actually does rather than wildly denouncing these men on the basis of their previous behavior....
MORNING MINYANS 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. Congregation Ohev Shalom — Sunday, 9 a.m., 407-298-4650. GOBOR Community Minyan at Jewish Academy of Orla...
(JTA) — The eight crazy nights of Chanukah came early for Adam Sandler when the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announced Tuesday that the comedian and actor would be honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a ceremony in March. The prize is presented annually to individuals “who have had an impact on American society” similar to that of the 19th-century novelist and humorist, “who startled many while delighting and informing many more with his uncompromising perspective on social injustice and personal folly.” Sandler,...
(JNS) - It is being dubbed the "Christian Birthright." The group of 120 American college students had just crisscrossed Israel on a nine-day journey, visited the requisite sites including a Friday night at the Western Wall, stops in Bethlehem and Nazareth, and must-see places such as the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, before diving into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with its diversity of narratives, security and multi-faith briefings, and visits to border areas. At first glance, the boisterous,...
(JTA) – As “The Daily Show” looks ahead to a future without host Trevor Noah, at least three Jewish comedians are waiting to take his place — at least temporarily. Al Franken, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler are among the extensive list of guest hosts Comedy Central has lined up to hold down the fort in 2023 following the Dec. 8 departure of Noah, who had taken over the show in 2015 after longtime Jewish host Jon Stewart called it quits. Noah, raised in South Africa, had a bar mitzvah and was raised by a single mom who converted to Judaism...
(JTA) – Once more for the record, Dave Chappelle: Jews don't actually run Hollywood. But anyone paying attention to pop culture in 2022 saw a lot of Jewish creativity. This year saw several big, distinctly Jewish releases across multiple media, ranging from acclaimed movies to popular TV shows to theater, books and viral TikToks. And amid endless debates over who has the right to tell (and be cast in) Jewish stories, it was notable just how many of the biggest pop-culture events of the year f...
Medical Alert systems should provide reliable, 24/7 monitoring by trained monitoring agents, allowing seniors and their caregivers to live with less worry, at home or on the go. An Alert system should provide the following: If there is an emergency, you should be able to push the button on your pendant or wristband. Systems with Fall Detection will automatically send an emergency alert to the company if a fall occurs. A monitoring center should receive the alert, and a trained monitoring agent should respond to over the base unit’s voice c...
Oy vey! - also: Oy vavoy! Oy vey iz mir! Oy gevalt! Or quite simply: Oy! - is an iconic Jewish expression that conveys the weariness of a people overly familiar with hardship and oppression, as well as the resilience of a people that finds hope and sometimes even humor in catastrophe. It's both heavy and light. It's tragic and funny. It's so much better with a thick Yiddish accent. But where did it come from? The word "oy" goes back thousands of years, all the way to the Hebrew Bible. In that cl...
(JNS) - Washington should steadfastly stand by the Jewish state, U.S. Congressman Dr. Andy Harris (R-Md.) said last week. "It is an American interest for Judea and Samaria - indeed all the land of the Bible - to remain a part of Israel. Unification of these biblical lands benefits people of all religions, ensuring religious freedom and access for all. It is not an obstacle to peace but a chance for real peace," said Harris during a visit to the Binyamin region. He vowed to ensure that the U.S....
(JNS) - U.S. Reps. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.) on Thursday were joined by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in announcing their bipartisan bill to award a Congressional Gold Medal to Benjamin Ferencz, the last living Nuremberg trials prosecutor. Over the course of his life, Ferencz has advocated for the rule of law and international justice. During World War II, Ferencz served in the U.S. Army and helped collect evidence of...
(JNS) - Some 70,000 people from 95 different countries immigrated to Israel in 2022 with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel, in cooperation with the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. It was the most olim in 23 years and a dramatic increase from 2021, when about 28,600 immigrants arrived in the country. Jewish Agency data for the period between Jan. 1 and Dec. 1, 2022, shows that 37,364 olim arrived from Russia; 14,680 from Ukraine; 3,500 from North America, with assistance from...
