Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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Much has been written about Righteous Gentiles, the men and women who risked their lives to help save the Jews in Europe during the Holocaust. One of the most successful rescues happened in Denmark, where Danish authority and innumerable private citizens working with Jewish community leaders came together to rescue thousands of their fellow citizens from certain death. Although the Nazis had occupied Denmark in 1939, initially there had been an uneasy peace. The Germans regarded the blond,...
(JTA) - In "The Zone of Interest," the Oscar-winning drama about life adjacent to Auschwitz, the children of Rudolf Höss, the Nazi concentration camp's commandant, are only dimly aware of the horrors unfolding on the other side of the fence. Now, a new documentary exploring what those real-life children knew, and when, is hitting theaters - and unlike "The Zone of Interest," it includes voices of Jews imprisoned at Auschwitz. "The Commandant's Shadow," directed by Daniela Volker and distributed...
By Toby Klein is no stranger to standing out and challenging the status quo. She successfully navigated coming out as gay to her Orthodox community, chose to do her doctorate researching Holocaust education at the University of Arkansas and spent time doing abortion advocacy work in the conservative southern state before becoming program manager for the Jewish LGBTQ+ advocacy organization A Wider Bridge. But Klein's work advocating for Israel since Oct. 7 has made her stand out like never...
(JTA) - For Rabbi Jill Hausman, spiritual leader of the Actors' Temple in Manhattan's Theater District, working with celebrities comes with the job description. So when she saw an email on Thursday from "Saturday Night Live," asking her to be on that week's show, she knew she had to accept. "If opportunities come along, it's such great fun for me to be in something with other people," she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "If people come to me with an opportunity, as long as I can, I'll try...
As time passes, the pain of losing a loved one may evolve either becoming more manageable or more intensifying. There’s no set timeline for healing as each person navigates grief in their own way. Finding outlets for emotions can be beneficial whether through journaling, creating a photo collage, immersing oneself in music, or simply taking a walk. For those seeking support, the Jewish Pavilion and various hospice groups stand ready to accompany individuals on their grief journeys. These bereavement support services aim to help individuals a...
(New York Jewish Week) - "I've always wanted to write about the Holocaust," the playwright Moisés Kaufman, son of a Romanian Holocaust survivor, told me this week. "But it's the one thing in history that has been most written about. What is there new to say?" One answer came in an article on the front page of the New York Times, dated Sept. 19, 2017, about a remarkable album of photographs donated anonymously to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. More than 100 carefully mounted snapshots...
(JTA) - Amanda Pogany works as the director of a Jewish day school in Brooklyn. But recently, she added another bullet point to her resume: consultant for "Sesame Street." Pogany weighed in on three new episodes of the educational children's TV show, all of which feature human characters explaining Jewish traditions to the show's iconic puppets. (Two aired this spring, while a third will air next year.) In one, Elmo and Big Bird learn to make challah for Shabbat. In another, a child writes a...
(JNS) - Israelis evacuated from their homes in communities opposite the Gaza Strip and the Upper Galilee, who live in temporary housing arrangements, have been provided specially designed areas called "Quiet Rooms" for them to retrieve some peace and privacy. The "Quiet Rooms," modeled after Beit Issie Shapiro's Snoezelen rooms, are controlled spaces designed to reduce anxiety and mental stress while calming sensory overload. Since 1993, when their first Snoezelen room opened, Ra'anana-based...
Written by Phelim McAleer, the play ‘October 7’ – with performances now through June 16 at the Actors Temple in New York – tells the story of Israel’s darkest day by using the compelling and dramatic accounts of those who lived through it performed by a cast of 14. ‘October 7’ is a 100 percent verbatim play consisting entirely of stories from those who were there. The interviews were conducted by veteran Irish journalists McAleer and Ann McElhinney who traveled to Israel in the immediate afterma...
This story was originally published on My Jewish Learning. (JTA) - My son's hair is more unruly than usual, though that's typical for this time of year. In our family, we follow the custom of not cutting our hair during the Omer, the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. The Omer is treated as a time of mourning - first marking the deaths of many thousands of Jews in the Bar Kochba revolt and subsequent plague in 132 CE, and later taking on significance as the time of year when Ashkenazi Jews...
Adult day-care services can be invaluable for caregivers and their loved ones at any stage, and enrolling seniors in day programs early in their elder journey can benefit everyone involved. Fortunately, finding the right program for you or the seniors in your life is easier than ever as more and more adult day-care providers emerge. Initially, caregivers may face pressure from well-meaning acquaintances to consider day care. It's essential to consider these suggestions but assert boundaries....
A long-time fan of “Jeopardy!,” I have become more interested in recent months watching the popular quiz show’s championship series that pits the best against the best. Watching it with Larry, we enjoy playing along, supplying our own questions to the clues given in numerous categories. As was true for the two of us in our Trivial Pursuit days, I do well in the arts and entertainment areas, especially literature. Larry does well in history, geography, and sports. We don’t do as well in the sciences. I know that I will never be a “Jeopar...
(JTA) - Despite steep backlash including protests from other competitors, Israel's Eden Golan placed fifth in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday night after delivering a rousing final performance of her song "Hurricane." The competition's winner is determined by a complex system in which juries for each participating country allocate half of all votes, while the public contributes the other half. Golan's success - which exceeded expectations set in betting markets before the competition -...
As caregivers, it’s crucial to acknowledge and celebrate even the smallest victories along the journey of caregiving. Each triumph, no matter how minor, represents a step forward in providing compassionate care and support to our loved ones. Reflecting on the caregiving experience, caregivers learn the invaluable lesson of patience and the importance of prioritizing self-care amidst the demands of caregiving. Transitioning to elder-care communities can be a daunting process for most seniors, but Jewish seniors often face unique challenges. B...
(JNS) — Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, is always the best time of year to consider our connection to Israel and the deep connection between Judaism and Zionism. As Olim, we ask ourselves and explain to our children why we moved here. The young generations who have never lived through a war are now confronted with the fact that we cannot take Israel for granted. After 76 years, we are still defending the legitimacy of our presence in our own homeland. Since Oct. 7, anti-Israel protestors and much of the global community have rej...
(JTA) — Last fall, Mo Husseini wrote a series of propositions — what he called “50 Completely True Things” — about the Israel-Hamas war and posted it on the social media site Threads. Identifying himself as “a Palestinian American who is tired of stupid people,” Husseini set out to puncture myths on both sides of the conflict, suggesting that neither Palestinians nor Israelis had a monopoly on truth, justice or the moral high ground. “This isn’t an essay in Foreign Affairs, you know? This is an idiot shit posting on the internet in tryin...
A native of Maitland, Florida, Jackie Ossin Hirsch founded Crowne Atlantic Business Brokers in 2004 after selling companies locally since 1998. Her brother Lee has been her business partner for 20 years. "We typically sell companies with EBIT of $1,000,000+ in Florida, Alabama, and the Carolinas," Hirsch explained. In the past weeks, Crowne Atlantic Business Brokers received two prestigious awards. Crowne Atlantic was honored by the Business Brokers of Florida as one of the Top 50 Business...
By Dor Malul (Israel Hayom via JNS) — Amid a wave of protests by pro-Palestinian students across the United States, Jewish students have decided to launch a counterattack against displays of antisemitism. Liat (not her real name), a doctoral student at Harvard University, together with other students, entered the anti-Israel lion’s den on campus—the protest encampment from which calls against Israel emanated, and where students expressed solidarity with Hamas’ terrorist acts. “Feeling that the administration was abandoning the Jewish and Israe...
(New York Jewish Week) — At a time of rising antisemitism, two shows about Jews caught up in a dangerous climate of hate received multiple nominations yesterday for the 2024 Tony Awards. A brand-new revival of the Kander and Ebb musical “Cabaret,” about the hedonistic antics at a late Weimar-era Berlin nightclub, received a total of nine nominations, while “Prayer for the French Republic,” a three-hour drama about antisemitism in France in 2016, received three. Both productions trail this year’s most-nominated: David Adjmi’s “Stereophonic,” abo...
(JNS) - The United Nations established Jan. 27 as Holocaust Remembrance Day to mark the day in 1945 when Auschwitz was liberated. The German Nazis built Auschwitz and thousands of other concentration and death camps to imprison and kill more than 6 million Jews. Humanity pledged "Never Again." Never again would people be killed for their race or religion. Never again would humanity let this happen. Instead of a relaxing winter break this year, 13 students from Drexel University in Philadelphia...
Ludwig"Lou" Ziemba is a retired successful businessman, a descendent of "Jewish royalty'" and a Holocaust survivor. Lou's story begins in Poland. Rabbi Menachem Ziemba, was the chief rabbi of Warsaw, a renowned holy figure in the Ger sect of the Chassidic movement, and a key player in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising through his pleas that urged inhabitants to fight against their captors. One of Rabbi Ziemba's nephews was Henoch, son of his brother Moshe. Henoch was a bit of a non-conformist...
(New York Jewish Week) - My son is in town from California for Passover, and on Tuesday night he treated the rest of the family to a Mets game. Before the first pitch, the Mets had a moment of silence for the pitcher Carl Erskine, who died that day at age 97. Erskine was a star of the storied Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the late 1940s and '50s, when they won the National League pennant five times and the 1955 World Series. Erskine was also the last surviving Dodger to have been profiled in Roger...
Caregivers entrusted with lives beyond their own should ideally join the 40 percent of Americans who have crafted a will or other estate-planning document. Yet, even the most meticulously prepared estate plan requires periodic review to ensure alignment with life’s twists and turns. Here are five critical life events necessitating a review of your estate plan: 1) Birth or adoption: Welcoming a new child requires updating your will to designate guardianship. Consider establishing trusts for children or grandchildren to manage assets effectively....
(JTA) — A Holocaust romance, sparked when a prisoner at Auschwitz-Birkenau is forced to tattoo a number on another prisoner’s arm and they fall in love at first sight, sounds almost implausibly uplifting for a story set in a concentration camp. But “The Tattooist of Auschwitz,” a new television series, is based on two Slovakian Jewish prisoners — Lali Sokolov and Gita Furman — who really did meet at Auschwitz, survive, marry and move to Australia together after the war. The six-part drama, which premiered May 2 on Peacock and Sky, draws from...
(JNS) — U.S. President Joe Biden released the following Passover message on Sunday evening ahead of the holiday: Tomorrow night, Jews around the world will celebrate Passover, recounting their miraculous Exodus story from hundreds of years of enslavement in Egypt and their journey to freedom. This holiday reminds us of a profound and powerful truth: that even in the face of persecution, if we hold on to faith, we shall endure and overcome. As Jews mark Passover with storytelling, songs and rituals, they will also read from the Haggadah how, i...
