Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice
Sorted by date Results 1788 - 1812 of 1920
Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, is proud to announce that Hadassah Magazine has received 12 Rockower awards, more than any other publication (magazine, newspaper or website) and more than all other magazines combined. Nine of the 12 awards were for first place. This is the second year in a row Hadassah Magazine has received the most awards. The Simon Rockower Award, sometimes referred to as the “Jewish Pulitzers,” is an award given for “Excellence in Jewish Journalism.” The award is sponsored by the American Jewish Pr... Full story
(JTA)—A Jewish carpenter filed a federal lawsuit saying he was attacked with anti-Semitic insults and threats while working for the New York Housing Authority. Mitchell Imberman, 60, of Manhattan, claimed in the suit filed in Brooklyn District Court that his bosses similarly attacked him when he asked them to help. Imberman said subordinates called him a “filthy Jew” and a “dumb kike,” the New York Post reported Sunday. He also said in the lawsuit that his tools were stolen, swastikas were painted on the walls where he worked and he found fec... Full story
In what many observers will see as the de facto expression of mainstream U.S. Jewry's outlook on J Street, members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations voted 22-17 (with three abstentions) to reject the membership application of the self-labeled "pro-Israel, pro-peace" lobby. J Street secured the votes of only about a third of the Conference's 50 members. The 42 Conference members in attendance in New York exceeded the 75-percent quorum needed to hold the vote,... Full story
LOS ANGELES - Jay Leno, the legendary former Tonight Show host, will be the official emcee at a star-studded event where former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be honored as the inaugural Genesis Prize laureate. Leno will host the May 22 ceremony at the Jerusalem Theater in Jerusalem, where more than 400 international dignitaries will be in attendance including Nobel laureates, world's leading philanthropists and global business leaders. Grammy award-winning pianist Evgeny Kissin, a... Full story
(ALGEMEINER) A rabbi extracted an apology from anti-Semites on bikes who verbally assaulted him as he was walking to shul in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Rabbi Michy Rav-Noy wrote on Facebook that the lesson was, “Jews! Stand up for yourselves!” The “main point” of his story, the rabbi said, was “showing them we won’t put up with it and having them apologize.” At 9:15 a.m., the rabbi was walking to synagogue when two men on bicycles screamed, “There goes a Jew! Look at that Jew!” Rabbi Rav-Noy said, “I yelled right back at them, ‘Come here now and... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-On Twitter, pro-Palestinian activists dubbed it "DivestApalooza." Student governments at three Southern California public universities all voted on divestment resolutions targeting Israel in a single day. The April 23 votes were part of a surge in student governments at American universities voting on divestment resolutions. In the past two years, at least 16 student governments have weighed divestment measures, including nine this spring, though a majority have rejected them.... Full story
(JNS.org) In the largest terrorism-related forfeiture in U.S. history, the U.S. government has agreed to distribute the proceeds of the sale of an Iran-linked Manhattan skyscraper and other buildings to the families of the victims of Iranian-sponsored terror attacks. The 36-story skyscraper located on 5th Avenue and West 52nd Street is majority owned by the Alavi Foundation, a non-profit organization that runs Islamic centers and promotes Persian culture. A 2009 lawsuit by the U.S. government claimed that the Alavi Foundation and two minority... Full story
(JNS.org)—The Obama administration notified Iran and the United Nations that it would deny a visa to newly appointed Iranian Ambassador to the U.N. Hamid Aboutalebi, who was part of an extremist student group that stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, taking 52 U.S. diplomats hostage for 444 days. The administration’s decision comes after the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a bill that would bar entry into the U.S. by any proposed U.N. representative who has engaged in espionage or terrorism or who may pose a thr... Full story
After facing growing pressure from faculty members, students, and an outside Muslim advocacy group, Brandeis University said that it is rescinding its decision to award an honorary degree to Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a women's rights activist and critic of Islam, over her "past statements that are inconsistent with Brandeis University's core values." But in light of the school's past decisions to honor American playwright and screenwriter Tony Kushner and South African Bishop Desmond Tutu, who have both... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)— The suspect in deadly shootings at two Jewish institutions in suburban Kansas City made no secret of his hateful views, but nobody anticipated the attack that claimed three lives on April 13. The shooter was identified as Frazier Glenn Miller, a 73-year-old white supremacist. The attack illustrates the dilemma of how best to protect Jewish institutions from the threat of deadly violence by extremists acting alone. “Lone wolves are really by far the most dangerous phenomenon. They are vastly more difficult to stop in adv... Full story
(The Algemeiner)—Alumni of Vassar College, an elite, liberal arts school in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., struck back against the rising anti-Israel tide on campus, protesting in a widely-read letter to the campus newspaper against recent moves by a group of faculty and students to vilify the Jewish state and intimidate pro-Israel voices. The open letter, initially signed by 66 alums, was printed by the Miscellany News, the campus newspaper of record since 1866, and quickly attracted dozens of comments from alums worldwide who agreed with the content o... Full story
(JNS.org) A group of 12 current and former Jewish student leaders at Connecticut-based Wesleyan University announced that the Hillel International-affiliated Wesleyan Jewish Community has rejected the Jewish campus umbrella’s Israel guidelines. Hillel’s standards of partnership state that it “will not partner with, house, or host organizations, groups, or speakers that as a matter of policy or practice: Deny the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders; Delegitimize, demonize, or apply a dou... Full story
NEW YORK-Hundreds of young Jewish adults from across the country are expected to re-imagine, create, and host Passover seders with friends with help from NEXT: A Division of Birthright Israel. To host, Birthright Israel alumni register with NEXT up until April 14 to receive resources and a small stipend designed to empower them to host personally meaningful and unique seders. Since 2011, more than 1,000 NEXT Passover seders have been hosted for thousands of young Jewish adults. Ben W. from... Full story
A film is coming your way called “The J Street Challenge.” A production of Americans for Peace and Tolerance, with APT’s Charles Jacobs as special consultant; produced, directed and written by Avi Goldwasser and Ilya Feoktistov, “The J Street Challenge” lines up a phalanx of illustrious academics and activists to expose the deception, the lies, and the anti-Israel animus behind J Street. But the film is not a snooze-parade of talking heads; ideas—important ideas—are supplemented with illustrations, maps, videos, and images both heartwarming and... Full story
More than five months after the Pew Research Center's "A Portrait of Jewish Americans" survey drew widespread pessimism over rising intermarriage and assimilation, as well as declining connection with synagogues and other institutions, proponents of a newly released study believe they may have the antidote for what ails the Jewish community. On March 10, the Jewish nonprofit Hazon and six funders released "Seeds of Opportunity: A National Study of Immersive Jewish Outdoor, Food, and... Full story
Prize-winning author of 15 books and Emmy Award-winner Simon Schama brings to life Jewish history and experience in a new five-part documentary series, "The Story of the Jews With Simon Schama," premiering Tuesday, March 25, from 8 to 10 p.m. EST (episodes 1 and 2) and April 1, from 8 to 11 p.m. EST (episodes 3, 4 and 5) on PBS. (Check local listings). The five-hour series follows Schama-who has written and presented 50 documentaries on art, literature and history and is a contributing editor... Full story
A documentary on Alice Herz-Sommer, who died Feb. 23 at 110 and was at the time the world’s oldest Holocaust survivor, won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary at the Academy Awards on Sunday evening. Born in Prague in 1903, Herz-Sommer was an accomplished pianist who survived the Terezin-Theresienstadt concentration camp and went on to teach at the Jerusalem Academy of Music for several decades. The winning documentary, titled “The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life,” chronicled her life as a musician.... Full story
Israel’s “favorable” rating in the United States has climbed to a 23-year high in the Gallup poll, even as the Obama administration has been pressuring the Israeli government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a peace deal that would result in the creation of a Palestinian state. Almost four times as many Americans view Israel favorably as view the Palestinian Authority favorably, according to Gallup. Currently, 72 percent of Americans surveyed say they have a favorable opinion of Israel, while only 23 percent say they have an unfav... Full story
NEWARK, N.J.—In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) and just in time for Passover, Manischewitz® is releasing limited run packaging on each of its five matzo boxes inside 5-lb packages. The matzo boxes feature fun and factual information about notable Jewish American inventors, comedians, historical figures, and more. These fun facts are sure to entertain and enlighten over breakfast or at the seder table. Some of the Jewish American figures featured include Ann Landers, Estee Lauder, Sandy Koufax, Irving Berlin, and the in... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)-When Rep. Eric Cantor took the stage last week at the Virginia Military Institute to deliver a wide-ranging foreign policy address, Auschwitz was on the House majority leader's mind-and so, observers suggest, was the state of his party. In his speech, the Virginia Republican cited his recent visit-his first-to the Nazi death camp, connecting past horrors to the present-day danger of retreating into isolationism. "Standing there as the frigid wind swept through the eerily quiet r... Full story
On Wednesday, Feb. 19, The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando's Jewish Community Relations Council hosted a community briefing at the JCC Maitland campus. The program, "Expanding the Base: Bipartisan Pro-Israel Support Among African-Americans" featured two leading activists from Orlando's African-American community, Alisia Adamson and Lucas Boyce. The goal of the program was to educate the Jewish community about the strength of the American pro-... Full story
NEW YORK-Abraham H. Foxman announced he will step down from his position as national director of the Anti-Defamation League on July 20, 2015, bringing to a close a 50-year career in Jewish communal service. "For almost five decades, ADL offered me the perfect vehicle to live a life of purpose both in standing up on behalf of the Jewish people to ensure that what happened during World War II would never happen again and in fighting bigotry and all forms of oppression," Foxman said. "My years at... Full story
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Hillel International shared with more than 125 American university presidents, including Dr. John Hitt of the University of Central Florida, an unprecedented letter from major Israeli academic leaders, representing every national research university. The letter thanked the American university leaders for speaking out publicly against an anti-Israel boycott passed by the American Studies Association (ASA). The letter from the Association of University Heads, Israel, is a groundbr... Full story
NEW YORK (JTA)-Think Expedia or Hotels.com or countless other vacation discount finders online, but instead to connect kids to Jewish camps. The Foundation for Jewish Camp announced Monday that it is piloting a new program this summer offering first-time campers from middle- and lower-income families camp sessions at prices that are 40-80 percent below the camps' standard rates. Called BunkConnect, the program, in partnership with the Center for Entrepreneurial Jewish Philanthropy, will make... Full story
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The highlight of AIPAC’s year is the final day of its annual policy conference, when thousands of activists ascend Capitol Hill to lobby for the passage of the organization’s legislative priorities. But just three weeks before the conference, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is facing a dilemma: how to craft a legislative agenda after losing a bruising battle with the Obama administration over Iran sanctions and amid uncertainty stemming from regional turmoil and ongoing Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. An AIPAC... Full story
