Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 2901 - 2925 of 4376
(JTA)-As the Pokemon Go phenomenon grows, some institutions connected to European Jewry's darkest hour have taken precautions against it. The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and State Museum in Poland has banned the addictive smartphone game, in which players viewing their environments through their device's camera run in search of animated figures that the game's application superimposes on the video feed in real time. Citing the need to respect the memory of the dead, the U.S. Holocaust Museum in... Full story
At around 1 p.m. on a cloudy day in April 2014, Frazier Glenn Miller Jr., 74, pulled into the rear parking lot of the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City and opened fire. Shouting anti-Semitic slurs, he shot dead Dr. William Lewis Corporon, 69, and his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, before fleeing for the nearby Jewish geriatric center, Village Shalom. There, he murdered 53-year-old Terri LaManno. Miller told the Kansas City Star in an interview after his arrest that he conduct... Full story
MIAMI (JTA)-Growing up, I always dreamed of being a mom. Even as a kid I would brainstorm baby names, tell my dolls bedtime stories and swear that I would be a cool mom and let them eat cookies for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I had it all planned out, down to the soccer jerseys and frilly dresses my future children would wear. It all seemed easy enough-until it wasn't. When my husband Matan and I experienced difficulty getting pregnant, we worried that our lifelong dream of becoming parents... Full story
Oh no! Who broke in?... (Remember, I write way in advance.) In the early morning yesterday, maybe 2 a.m. or so, I heard a loud boom which sounded like someone kicked in my front door. Not only did I hear it clearly, my dog started to bark and growl. She was also alarmed. What to do? I called 911 and was told that they were getting hundreds of calls reporting the same thing. They also said I should calm down as it probably was the sound of a sonic boom! Calm down? She didn't know me! Sheriff's... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—It took 42 years, 4 months and 18 days, but I think I may actually now like my hair. No, not the hair I was born with, but rather a finely tuned version that has taken years to attain. Too long. Too short. Too straight. Too dark. Too light. Too frizzy. Too flat. I can’t win! One morning recently I was working when my mom called. “Rae, what are you doing at 1 o’clock today?” she asked. Umm, why? “Because I made you an appointment to get a keratin treatment. I am paying for it. I’ll be over in five minutes to drop off the money... Full story
(Kveller via JTA)—I was pregnant with my first daughter when I stood above the steps leading into the mikveh. After years of study, private and at a synagogue, and months of preparation, I was converting to Judaism. Naked and heavily pregnant, with my husband and rabbi standing in witness, the room was full of light and the still water before me. It was fitting and symbolic for me to be converting so close to delivering my first child. As a third-generation Mexican-American, I had grown up in a cultural limbo. I grew up in a mostly black and La... Full story
(JTA)—Summer’s here, and whether from the heat or the humidity or the harrowing election cycle, we bet you could use an escape. So take our advice: Whether you’re lucky enough to be lazing on a beach or packed in like a pickled herring on a subway car, take some time to retreat into a good, Jewishy book. Here are seven fresh reads on the lighter side—because it’s too hot out there to get too heavy. “A Book About Love” (Simon and Schuster) By Jonah Lehrer OK, you will probably hate this book—which is totally why you’ll have so much fun reading... Full story
The "Seeking Kin" column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. (JTA) – Discovering a Jewish past of which she was wholly unaware, Danette Devlin of Little Rock, Arkansas, has also found family. Devlin was raised without any religious affiliation. As an adult she attended Catholic and Episcopalian churches seeking a spiritual home. "There were lots of nice people, they were very welcoming, but it just wasn't right. It wasn't me," she said. In 2013, Devlin went online in an effort... Full story
BOSTON (JTA)-After 32 years at Middlebury College, the last 11 as its president, Ron Liebowitz is calling Brandeis University his new academic home. On July 1, the 59-year-old New York native took the reins as the ninth president of Brandeis, a Jewish-sponsored, nonsectarian research university in suburban Boston with an enrollment of 3,600 undergraduates and more than 2,000 graduate students. Liebowitz was appointed to the position last December. "Yeah, I'm nervous in some ways," Liebowitz ackn... Full story
To honor the victims and families of the tragic Pulse Club massacre in Orlando on June 12, Temple Israel has produced, and is offering for sale, a custom-designed commemorative T-shirt which shows the Jewish community's support and love for all who were affected by this event. T-shirts can be ordered online at www.tiflorida.org. The entire project was the idea of Emily Raij, a member of Temple Israel, who wanted to organize something in memory of and support of the Central Florida LGBT and... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Being an American Jew, more than anything else, means remembering the Holocaust. That's what nearly three quarters of Jewish Americans said, according to the Pew Research Center's landmark 2013 study on American Jewry. Asked to pick attributes "essential" to being Jewish, more Jews said Holocaust remembrance than leading an ethical or moral life, caring about Israel or observing Jewish law. If anyone personified that consensus, it was Elie Wiesel, the Holocaust survivor who... Full story
By Shannon Sarna (The Nosher via JTA)-If a sweet pulled brisket married a can of baked beans, this dish would be their delicious baby. I love baked beans, right out of the can, all summer long for cookouts and backyard parties. It reminds me of my childhood, not to mention it's just straight up easy and cheap. You can follow all my steps below. You could also put a brisket in a slow cooker with some water, a bottle of store-bought barbecue sauce and maybe an onion. After 3 1/2 hours, add the... Full story
Ha Ha Ha Hee Hee Hee Ho Ho Ho... No. Santa Claus isn't coming to town. (No way! This is a Jewish story!) I'm writing about my experience the other day with the Jewish Community Center's Laughter Yoga class that takes place every Monday afternoon from 12:15 pm until 1 pm. It is lead by the very talented and likeable DANA KAPLAN. I walked into the designated room at the JCC with Dana and saw some chairs in a semi-circle waiting for us. Lovely gals who were taking part, Barbara and Sylvia, were... Full story
Joshua Aaron Overturf: Marine veteran, firefighter, EMT, National Guard Army, training for Staff Sargent promotion and getting ready to attend paramedic school so that he can change his military occupational specialty to work as a helicopter medic. As if these accomplishments weren’t enough, my son also saved my life. I want to go back a little and tell you about what happened to me before this incident. On June 13, 2016, I had emergency surgery to fix a blockage behind a hernia on the right side of my stomach. I was in the hospital until J... Full story
JEDWABNE, Poland (JTA)-As German army troops invaded eastern Poland, Ichak Lewin's family fled their town of Wizna. On July 10, 1941, the Lewins approached the nearby town of Jedwabne, where hundreds of Jews lived and had the means to shelter other Jews. But the Lewins soon realized they had come to the wrong place. "We were on the cart when we smelled a fire and another bad smell," said Lewin, recalling the day 75 years ago that has changed how millions in Poland and beyond think of the... Full story
On Sunday, July 17, The Roth Family JCC of Greater Orlando's Theater at the J will host a One Orlando Concert. All proceeds from ticket and concession sales will benefit the One Orlando Fund, established by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to assist victims of the Pulse tragedy. Kerry and Amanda Giese, the directors of Theater at the J, felt that the amazing talent of the theater's performers could be helpful to raising money for the medical bills, funeral costs, and day-to-day expenses of the people... Full story
(JTA)-On my bookshelves there are two rows of volumes on the Soviet Jewry movement. Squeezed in among the tomes is a small, well-worn paperback with pages no longer attached to the spine, "The Jews of Silence," by Elie Wiesel. This slim volume is, however, a bridge. It crossed Wiesel and his readers over from his prior works, hearing the screams of those silenced in the Holocaust, to an eloquent challenge in 1966 to listen to the cry of our silenced but living oppressed brethren in the USSR.... Full story
Speaking with passion and commitment, nationally known speaker/media expert Laurie Cardoza-Moore, founder and president of Proclaiming Justice To the Nations (PJTN), once again encouraged her audience in Altamonte Springs to take a stand against the BDS movement. The event was hosted by the Greater Orlando Citizen Action Network. "My message... is if you stand by and you do nothing in your lifetime when you see what is happening to Israel and you see the rise of anti-Semitism, will you share... Full story
(The Nosher via JTA)-Look, I'm going to be honest with you: Deep frying is a huge pain. It's hot, it's splattery, sometimes things come out raw and it's not exactly healthy. BUT! Big, big but. It is also, when done right, one of the best things in the world. Deep frying has given us french fries, doughnuts, falafel and, perhaps most important, fried chicken. If there's a better food than fried chicken, I don't know it. To give this American comfort food classic an Israeli twist, I added plenty o... Full story
(JTA)-Most people know Elie Wiesel as the author of "Night," one of the first published autobiographical accounts of what life was like inside Nazi concentration camps. The book, which helped shape the American understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, has since become a staple on high school reading and best-seller lists. But Wiesel wrote more than 50 books of fiction and nonfiction-and not all were focused on his harrowing experiences in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. He was... Full story
Remember Hezbollah?... With all the talk and worry about Isis these days, we almost put on the "back burner" terrorist organizations like Hezbollah. DAVID HARRIS of the American Jewish Congress wrote the following (in part) on April 27th of this year: "Nearly three years ago, The European Union finally overcame its longstanding resistance and addressed the issue of adding Hezbollah to its terrorism list. The good news is that the 28 member states, prompted by the determination of Bulgaria,... Full story
(JTA)-In the world of television, Rachel Goldberg is a rare character: a Jewish, female antihero. She's the main character in "UnREAL," a scripted drama on Lifetime about the behind-the-scenes world of a "The Bachelor"-type reality show called "Everlasting." Rachel is played by Shiri Appleby, who's best known for her lead role as Liz Parker on "Roswell"; more recently she played Adam's nice Jewish girlfriend, Natalia, on "Girls." Rachel is complex in the way that all humans are complex-though sh... Full story
TULSA, Okla. (JTA)-Walk into Congregation B'nai Emunah on any Tuesday afternoon and you'll barely get through the massive, light-filled foyer before it hits you: an aromatic wave of warm oatmeal and raisins, or perhaps a sweet surge of rich, melting chocolate chips. What you're smelling isn't catered food for a bar mitzvah bash. Rather it's one of the most highly regarded bakeries in the region, which is also an innovative social justice project that might just be a model for civic-minded... Full story
A new Jewish community resident snowbird, Bill Squires of Windermere and Massachusetts, sang 'G-d Bless America' during the seventh inning stretch at the Boston Red Sox-Seattle Mariners baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston on Father's Day, June 19. A retired businessman, Squires has performed the 'Star Spangled Banner,' 'O Canada,' and 'G-d Bless America' at over 280 events throughout the east coast and Texas, including the Amway Center in Orlando; Florida spring training games for the... Full story
Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of Hamas terrorist leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef and author of a 2011 New York Times bestseller memoir, recently re-emerged in news headlines when he spoke at the annual conference of the Jerusalem Post newspaper. The so-called "Green Prince," Yousef is a Palestinian born in Ramallah and raised by one of Hamas's most dangerous leaders. The younger Yousef was arrested by Israel, but rather than becoming further hardened in prison, he became enlightened about the... Full story
