2021-06-18 E-Edition

1,200 hear governor, other lawmakers decry antisemitism at virtual town hall



When Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren’s 10-year-old daughter was learning about the Holocaust, he re-assured her that America was not like Nazi Germany, so it would not happen here. The truth is, Warren said, European Jewry could not have envisioned the horrors of the Holocaust before the rise of Nazism. That is why it is so important to remain […]

After 2 decades, Beth-El’s Rabbi Torop retiring



As Rabbi Michael Torop of St. Petersburg’s Temple Beth-El prepares to retire after 20 years at the end of the month, he feels a significant part of his legacy is taking the temple’s long-standing commitment to social justice to the next level. The rabbi feels he has led by example. The list is long: personally, meeting with farmworkers in the […]

Condo collapse struck a growing, diverse Jewish community


When a portion of Champlain Towers crumbled early Thursday morning, June 24, thrusting the beach town of Surfside, Florida into tragedy, it also struck at the heart of a thriving and growing Jewish community. As of Friday morning, four people had been confirmed dead, and local authorities say 159 people – many Jewish – remain unaccounted for, Surfside is one […]

Holocaust survivor: ‘My life has been lucky’



EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is based on Jewish Press interview of Pauline Meyerowitz, recollections of Pauline’s late brother, Jay (born Jacki), to his daughter Joy Brand-Richardson, and documents provided by the family and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. When Pauline Meyerowitz and her family made their way from Berlin to Cuba in 1939, they did not realize just how lucky […]

Family just misses fate of SS St. Louis passengers

Many are familiar with the tragic tale of the SS St. Louis, a German liner crowded with Jewish refugees that was denied a landing in Havana by the Cuban government in May 1939. The ship, carrying 937 people, was eventually forced to return to Western Europe. Many of those same people eventually came under Nazi occupation and approximately 254 of […]

#whyiwearmystar

A few weeks ago, for Memorial Day Weekend, I took a trip to Tallahassee. As a resident of Florida for more than 25 years, I found it unsettling that I had never visited the state capital. I confess – my knowledge and familiarity with state politics is negligible. However, I truly wanted to learn more and took a deep dive […]

Federation offers talk show from partner program in Israel

Learn about the innovative Krembo Wings project in Israel on Sunday, July 11 at 11 a.m. during a virtual talk show from the Hadera/Eiron region of Israel. The talk show is being put on by the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast and Partnership2Gether. It will feature an interview of Adi Mozer, international resource development director of Krembo Wings, a […]

Shabbat and a swim

The Tribe, the Jewish Federation of Florida’s Gulf Coast young adult group, celebrated Shabbat on June 11 with a potluck dinner and swim party. This was the Tribe’s first in-person event since the Federation rebranded its Young Adult Division. The sunny late Friday afternoon brought out about 25 people to the home of Greg and Jennifer Antonucci in Countryside to […]

Israel solidarity rally held at downtown Tampa park

A variety of Jewish and non-Jewish community members participated in a rally to show solidarity with Israel on Sunday, May 23 in Lykes Gaslight Park in downtown Tampa. Rabbi Mendy Dubrowski, one of the event organizers, estimated that the hour-long event drew 150 to 200 people. A contingent of around half a dozen pro-Palestinians showed up in a counter-protest. A […]