Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
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The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will screen the award-winning documentary film “Xueta Island” at the St. Augustine Waterworks, 184 San Marco Ave, St. Augustine, FL 32084 on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025. The 4 p.m., 63-minute screening will be followed by a commentary and discussion with Andrea White PhD, City Archaeologist for St. Augustine. Call the Waterworks at (904) 808-7330 for best directions. All are welcome, there is no charge. No advance arrangements are necessary. For further information contact SAJHS at www.sajhs.com, saj...
Recently, I graduated with my master’s degree. The experience, while rewarding, came with a hefty price tag — about $25,000. At the time, I thought, “Whew, education is an expensive investment.” But I quickly realized that for many of us, the true value of education is not just in the cost, but in the curriculum itself. After graduation, I, like many new college graduates, found myself entering the job market. After six years of college and 12 years of grade school, I thought I’d finally escaped the classroom. But, as life often does, it...
The ZOA Law and Justice center has assisted numerous Florida municipalities in putting together resolutions standing up for Israel and criminalizing acts that support terror. “Recently, it was brought to our attention that the city of Miramar, Florida is trying to pass an extremely antisemitic resolution. We’ve created a petition to fight against it and we need your help,” said Allison Zur, regional director of ZOA-Florida. To view and sign copy and paste in your browser “Zionist Organization of America/Mayor Messam: Abandon Dangerous Resolut...
Jake Gould, who was appointed to the board of the Jewish Federation of Volusia & Flagler Counties in March and has been working on young professional programming in the Greater Daytona Beach area, announced that they are hosting their first large-scale kickoff event on Sunday, Aug. 25, from 7-9 p.m. It is an Israel Bar Night at the rooftop bar of the Streamline Hotel, 140 S Atlantic Ave, Daytona Beach. There will be kosher Israeli appetizers, and Israeli music. This is an opportunity for young Jews all across North Florida, including...
In a landmark agreement for both institutions, the Jewish Capital Alliance of Central Florida, Inc. and the TOP Jewish Foundation, Inc., announce the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding to expand the mission of providing low-cost Impact Loans to local Jewish institutions. The MOU establishes an outline to jointly market, manage, and fund loans to Jewish organizations throughout greater Central and West-coastal Florida. In addition, TOP will provide investment management of JCA’s $3.2MM capital portfolio. Both JCA and TOP contribute d...
Clermont Herut held a successful summer event at Waterfront Park on Sunday, June 30, with over 75 people attending. A highlight of the event was the table of culinary creations from Sabbaba Market of Altamonte Springs. Attendees came from areas such as Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Leesburg, Four Corners and The Villages. A vast selection of Mediterranean and Kosher food was available to try and buy, and the tastes kept on coming throughout the event. At 2 p.m. the able bodied and fighting fit...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will tour the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica at the University of Florida on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024 under the direction of Dr. Rebecca Jefferson, the unofficial “The Jewish Librarian of Florida.” The Society and guests will meet in the parking lot of the Main Branch of the St. Johns County Library, 1960 North Ponce De Leon Boulevard (Route U.S. 1), St. Augustine, FL 32084 at 10 am. for the drive to Gainesville and a noontime lunch at CAVA, 1404 W University Avenue, Gainesville, Florida 326...
(JNS) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills on Monday geared to protect Jewish residents in the state. HB 187, Antisemitism, which went into effect on July 1, codifies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism and its contemporary examples of Jew-hatred into state law “to assist in the monitoring and reporting of antisemitic hate crimes and discrimination and to make residents aware of and to combat such incidents in this state.” The bill passed the Florida House 115-0 on Feb. 29, after h...
(JNS) - The lone Republican Jewish lawmaker in the Florida State legislature said Tuesday that he could never have imagined considering whether it was safe for Jews to live in the United States, even though the Sunshine State is the "gold standard" for fighting antisemitism. Randy Fine spoke after months of often violent antisemitic protests across the U.S. that have shaken American Jewry in ways not seen since World War II. "I would never have thought that I would live at a time when I would wo...
The Eleventh Annual Commemoration of the largest mass arrest of Rabbis in US History will take place outdoors at the Hilton St. Augustine Historic Bayfront, 32 Avenida Menendez, St. Augustine, at noon, Tuesday, June 18. This 30-minute event sponsored by the St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society, is free and all are welcome. On June 18, 1964, at the request of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 16 rabbis and a Reform Jewish administrator in St. Augustine were arrested and held in the St....
(JNS) — Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) shared his “disgust” over antisemitic protests on campuses during a meeting with pro-Israel and Jewish students at George Washington University’s Hillel on Wednesday. The senator’s daughter attended the school, located just blocks from the White House and U.S. State Department. “What I am seeing on that campus today is something I never could have imagined,” he said. “Our Jewish students deserve to have a place where they can live and learn without fearing for their safety—starting with university leader...
The University of Florida has provided a list of “dos and don’ts” for on-campus protest activities. There are consequences for non-compliance. What is allowed: Speech, expressing viewpoints, holding signs in hands. What is not allowed: No amplified sound, no demonstrations inside buildings, no littering, no sleeping, no unmanned signs, no blocking ingress.egress, no building of structures (chairs, stakes, benches, tables), no camping (including tents, sleeping bags, pillows, etc.), no distruption, no threats, no violence, no weapons, any other...
The largest Jewish festival in Central Florida, the 2024 Jewish Heritage Festival, is returning to The Casements in Ormond Beach on Sunday, April 7, 25 Riverside Drive, Ormond Beach, Fla., from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The entire event is free and open to the public. The Festival will feature nationally acclaimed entertainment, as well as Kosher, Mediterranean and deli-style food vendors. Also featured will be a Health and Wellness Fair, Israeli and Judaica artists and vendors, Jewish organization b...
(JNS) - For about a year, officials at the Florida Holocaust Museum in downtown St. Petersburg kept a closely guarded secret that the museum was seeking to become the permanent home of a treasure trove of documents from the late Elie Wiesel. On Feb. 3, at its annual "To Life" fundraising gala, the museum's biggest annual social event, museum board chair Mike Igel let the secret out, telling the audience the Wiesel Foundation had chosen the museum to house and exhibit a collection of Wiesel's...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will host Dr. Isaac Amon, director of Academic Research at Jewish Heritage Alliance, at its meeting Feb. 29 to begin at 2 p.m. The one-hour presentation in which Dr. Amon describes "An Extraordinary Odyssey: The 3,000 Year Story of Sefarad," will take place at the Main Library, 1960 North Ponce De Leon Boulevard in St. The Jewish Heritage Alliance is an educational organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Sefarad, Jews of the...
(JNS) — A controversial “Muslim civil-rights and advocacy” organization experienced a major blow to its reputation last week after the Florida House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to denounce the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The rest of the county should follow suit and permanently blacklist this Hamas-linked Islamist group. Introduced by State Rep. Randy Fine (R-Palm Bay), House Resolution 1209 encourages all state and local government agencies in Florida to “suspend contact and outreach activit...
GAINESVILLE, Florida — Amid the record levels of antisemitism on college campuses, student leaders at the University of Florida held the fifth-annual Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate® Bagel Day program on Jan. 31. Started in 2020 by University of Florida Hillel, Spread Cream Cheese, Not Hate® is a program that seeks to proactively combat antisemitism through education, outreach, awareness, and partnership. In connection with National Bagel Day, UF students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and community members are invited to sign the pledge to...
(JNS) — The Florida Department of Education has distributed $25 million in security funding—of $43 million allocated by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)—to more than 130 Jewish day schools and preschools across the state, the governor’s office announced earlier this week. “During a time of increased antisemitism around the world, Florida will continue to protect the Jewish community,” DeSantis stated on Jan. 30. “Today’s funding will give Florida’s Jewish day schools the tools they need to continue to keep their students safe.” The funding will help s...
Rabbi Isaac Barzak passed away on Nov. 26, 2023. He was 84. According to the city of Ormond Beach and the Ormond Beach Police Department, the altercation that occurred at the gate of the Tymber Creek community where Rabbi Barzak lived, was not motivated by hate or bias. Jarleene Almenas, the managing editor of The Ormond Beach Observer newspaper, sent Heritage the police report which stated that the incident occurred due to a malfunction at the community gate on Nov. 15. The Homeowners’ Association member who is responsible for managing the g...
Rabbi Israel Barzak, a mohel who performed britot for many families in Central Florida, died on Nov. 26, 2023, from injuries sustained after an assault in Ormond Beach. He was 84. According to a family friend, Rabbi Barzak was hit by someone at his gated community’s entrance as he was picking up delivered groceries. He was taken to the hospital where he died. Heritage contacted the Ormond Beach Police Department and learned there is an ongoing investigation into the assault and at this time they cannot release information. Rabbi Barzak’s wif...
(JTA) — A Florida organizer of the right-wing activist group Moms For Liberty who successfully pressed her school district to remove a version of Anne Frank’s diary recently appeared on a livestream banned from YouTube because of its pastor host’s antisemitism. Jennifer Pippin, who chairs the group’s chapter in Indian River County, Florida, appeared in September on the show TruNews, which is hosted by End Times preacher Rick Wiles. Wiles is a conspiracy theorist who has claimed that Jews and Zionists have “attacked Christian culture...
Florida’s state university system, in consultation with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, directed colleges to “deactivate” chapters of the national group Students for Justice in Palestine for defending Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of Israel and massacre of civilians earlier this month. Ray Rodrigues, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, issued the order on Tuesday in a written memo to school presidents within the system. About 1,400 people were killed in Hamas’ terror onslaught against Israel on...
The St. Augustine Jewish Historical Society will mark Veterans Day on Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, 11 a.m. at the St. Augustine National Cemetery, 104 Marine St, St. Augustine, FL 32084. A brief ceremony discussing the Jews who have been identified in the cemetery will be followed by gravesite visitations to those who are known to be Jews and others who are likely to be Jews including burials from the Spanish-American War era. All are welcome to this event. There is no charge. No advance arrangements...
(JNS) — Rhea Law, president of the University of South Florida in Tampa, received a letter from Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) warning about potential chaos prior to an anti-Zionist event on campus at the end of the month. The Tampa Bay BDS Conference is scheduled for Oct. 27, organized by Students for Socialism and Students for Justice in Palestine. It is being billed as an inaugural event. “I was proud to lead an effort as governor to implement Florida’s anti-BDS law, which prohibits public entities from entering into contracts with compa...
Breast cancer awareness is not merely a cause; it’s a movement that brings communities together. On Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, Inc., hosts its 2nd Annual Hadassah Walks for Breast Cancer Awareness. This event will take place throughout Florida, and promises a day filled with purpose, education, and camaraderie. In the Hadassah Florida Central Region, the following chapters are proud to Walk for Breast Cancer Awareness: • Tampa Ameet Chapter, Lylah Pinellas Chapter, and St. Petersburg Chapter are joini...
