Recently the City of Miami celebrated Isidor Cohen, a true pioneer of Miami, with the naming of Isidor Cohen Road. The event, held with family and friends present at the Center for Jewish Life at Beth David, 2625 Southwest 3rd Avenue, honored his legacy of community growth, cultural inclusion, and vision for our city’s future. (Pictured: All descendants of Isidor and Ida Cohen.)

Pictured: Barry Snyder with Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

A Shloshim Memorial Service honoring the life of Lois May Jaffin Levine, the mother of Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, was held this week at Chabad Chayil in Miami-Dade North.

Pictured: “The Gentleman” - Courtesy of Transcend Cruises

South Florida Symphony Orchestra and participating South Florida synagogues are proud to announce a once-in-a-lifetime journey, "Jerusalem of the Rhine & The 80th Anniversary of the Liberation of Dachau." This exclusive and highly immersive voyage takes place Tuesday, June 24th, 2025 - Wednesday, July 2nd, 2025.

When’s the last time you wished a tree Happy New Year? Coming up this year on Thursday, February 13th, is a great opportunity to do exactly that. The day is known as Tu B’Shevat, and Jewish people throughout the world celebrate it as the New Year of Trees.

Pictured: The railway tracks used to transport Jews to the Auschwitz death camp in Poland. Credit: Moshe Milner, GPO

During World War II (1939-1945), multiple Concentration Camps were established by the Nazis across Europe, the "Final Solution" to a problem they saw as unbearable: the Jewish existence.

Pictured: Florida Gators men’s basketball Head Coach (L) Todd Golden with Neil Keller. (Photo Courtesy of Alyse Sachs)

Welcome to Keller’s Korner. This column will cover the men’s basketball Head Coach for the Florida Gators, Todd Golden. He was born on July 7, 1985 and as of this writing, he is coaching the sixth ranked team in the country. The Florida Gators had a huge and loud crowd when we attended the February 4, 2025 game against the Commodores of Vanderbilt.

Pictured: Egyptian protesters at the Rafah crossing on the border with Gaza. (Screenshot)

President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion to “clean out Gaza” and send its displaced population to neighboring Egypt and Jordan either temporarily or beyond, has sent shock waves through the Arab world, breaking decades-long understandings on the Palestinian issue.

Chai Lifeline is an international support network, providing social, emotional, and practical assistance to children, families, and communities impacted by medical crises and trauma through a variety of year-round programs and services.

On Being Jewish Now is an intimate and hopeful collection of meaningful, smart, funny, sad, emotional, and inspiring essays from today’s authors and advocates about what it means to be Jewish, how life has changed since the attacks on October 7th, 2023, and the unique culture that brings this group together.

The Greater Los Angeles Jewish community and beyond mourn the loss of Joe Hess, a cherished Holocaust survivor, philanthropist, and community leader, who passed away on January 21st, 2025, at the age of 92. Born on June 25th, 1932, in Fulda, Germany, Joe’s incredible life story was one of resilience, determination, and dedication to making the world a better place.

A Jewish National Fund-USA Grassroots Initiative dedicated to strengthening communities across Israel, has released new data showcasing its transformative impact on the country’s northern and southern regions. According to the latest report, its initiative has mobilized 7,495 active community volunteers, who in turn serve over 122,600 beneficiaries through educational, cultural, and social welfare programs.

Today, Plaintiffs The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (“JAFE”) announced that they have reached an agreement to resolve their claims against Harvard University. As part of the settlement, Harvard has agreed to implement a series of steps, building on measures that Harvard has undertaken over the past year as a part of its commitment to combating antisemitism. Harvard and the Brandeis Center look forward to working together in these efforts.

In an enchanting celebration of music, history and heritage, the City of Aventura presents L'Chaim: A Toast to the Jewish Legacy of Broadway on Thursday, February 20th at 8:00 p.m. at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center.

The City of Aventura has an entertaining Lineup in store for you featuring Yiddish and Jewish melodies, a Piano Festival with Ilya Itin and more. This celebration of talent and artistry promises unforgettable experiences for every audience.

Slow Burn Theatre Company presents “Parade,” a powerful and poignant musical revival based on the true story of the trial and lynching of Leo Frank, as part of its 2024/2025 Season supported by American National Bank and Visit Lauderdale through Sunday, February 23rd in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

Jewish Family Home Care (JFHC) – a not-for-profit agency – is honored to announce that it once again received three 2025 Best of Home Care Awards from Activated Insights, formerly Home Care Pulse, the leading firm in experience management for post-acute care. The awards include the Leader in Experience, Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice. JFHC received all three awards in 2024 and both the Best of Home Care® – Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice Awards from Activated Insights in 2023.

In response to the profound challenges facing Northern Israel, Jewish National Fund-USA is spearheading efforts to rehabilitate and rebuild communities devastated over the past year. On Monday, January 6th, 2025, the organization held a pivotal conference at the Cultural Hall in Kiryat Shmona, where it focussed on uniting local leaders and creating mission-driven communities to forge a more resilient future for the region.

A 2023 Gallup poll found that the percentage of Americans attending weekly religious services fell from 42% to 30% over the past 20 years. The article further broke these numbers down by individual religion. Sixteen percent of Jews responding to the survey expressed that they attend services weekly. And, while there was no deeper dive into the denomination breakdown, it stands to reason that if one were to remove Orthodox Jews from that equation, the percentage of Jews attending weekly services would be far, far lower than 16%. Ouch.

The Miami Jewish Film Festival (MJFF) proudly announces the program for its 28th edition which will be January 9th, 2025 - January 23rd, 2025. The Festival will showcase 110 feature films and 23 shorts from 25 countries, including 20 world premieres, 8 international premieres, 9 North American premieres, and 6 U.S. premieres. As the largest Jewish film festival in the world, 28th Edition will host over 80 in-theater screenings across eight venues in Greater Miami, including Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and North Miami.

Dear Friend(s),

The 45th Annual South Florida Chanukah Festival was nothing short of extraordinary, an unforgettable night brimming with energy, emotion, and inspiration that lit up the hearts of nearly 4,500 attendees in the sold-out arena – and thousands more worldwide who joined us online.

Birthright Israel is excited to announce the launch of its winter season, with a special milestone: for the first time since October 7th, participants will return to visit the northern regions of Israel. This week, the first groups have already begun touring the historic city of Safed, marking the return of Birthright trips to this iconic part of the country. Additionally, participants in the Birthright volunteering program will begin engaging in volunteer activities in northern towns within the next few weeks.

The atmosphere was energetic and inspiring at JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort and Spa in Aventura as former World Boxing Champion Floyd Mayweather announced that he was donating $1 Million to United Hatzalah of Israel. Mayweather made his pledge as he received United Hatzalah’s Champion of Israel Award during the life-saving organization’s annual Miami Gala. $14 Million was raised during the event that hosted 1,700 supporters. The gala’s co-chairs were Margo Cohen and Dr. Phil Frost.

A delegation of Jewish mothers from eight U.S. cities took part in Momentum’s year-long Journey of Growth, connecting them with their Jewish identity and heritage.

On December 11th, 2024, the spotlight shined on Hollywood stars Patricia Heaton and Liev Schreiber as the two celebrities demonstrated their unwavering support for Israel during the “American Friends of Magen David Adom’s 2024 Miami Gala – Celebrating Life. Honoring Lifesavers.” 900 supporters of AFMDA attended the festive fundraising extravaganza which was held at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort in Aventura.

6,500 Chabad Rabbis and Jewish leaders from around the globe gathered recently in Brooklyn, New York, for the Annual International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries, the largest rabbinic gathering in the world.

This month marks the fortieth anniversary of the publication of David S. Wyman’s The Abandonment of the Jews, a book that changed the way we think about our nation’s history—and also saved lives. That is a rare achievement.

The recent collapse of the Assad regime in Syria presents a pivotal moment in the Middle East, perhaps a unique opportunity in this challenging regional context. This sudden turn of events, coming on the heels of the devastating October 7th attack on Israel, has far-reaching implications, particularly for the region's power dynamics.

I was honored to be invited to this wonderful event where I met two ex-hostages who were held in captivity in Gaza for nearly a year after being kidnapped at the Nova Music Festival in Israel and arrived in West Palm Beach to meet with the local community and share their story. Amid reports of negotiations to release the remaining hostages, rescued hostages Almog Meir Jan and Andrey Kozlov are determined to raise awareness for the issue.

On November 2nd, 2024, Celia Malavsky of Hollywood, Florida turned 100 years old and her family gathered from across the nation and even from Israel to celebrate her.

A remarkable archaeological discovery emerged in the Jordan Valley during this year’s Chanukah Festival: a cache of coins minted under King of Judea Alexander Jannaeus, a significant ruler of the Hasmonean Kingdom from 104–76 BCE.

World renown Israeli Cantor and entertainer DuDu Fisher will perform in concert at Temple Sinai of Hollywood on Sunday, February 2nd, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. Fisher will be joined by Cantor Dimitry.

Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has reopened two facilities at its youth villages in Israel, which serve vulnerable teens and pre-teens, following extensive renovations.

Was honored to host a Diplomatic Lunch Meeting with Levente Magyar, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary and H.E. Szabolcs Takács, Ambassador of Hungary to the United States.

Jewish children across the globe joined together this Chanukah to raise awareness of the Israeli hostages being held by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza since the Hamas led massacre in southern Israel on October 7th, 2023.

The Junior League of Boca Raton (JLBR) will host a talk featuring Heather Hirsch, M.D. M.S., M.S.C.P., Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Founder of the Menopause & Midlife Clinic at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and now CEO of the Health by Heather Hirsch, M.D. Telemedicine Collaborative. Dr. Hirsch, who has appeared on Oprah Daily and in other national broadcasts, will speak about Perimenopause and Menopause.

Israeli security forces spent a few hours in the Palestinian Authority city of Jenin earlier this month. The incident didn’t make much news, but there’s much to be learned from it.

From January 22nd, 2025 through February 2nd, 2025, the Donald M. Ephraim Sun & Stars Film Festival (presented by MorseLife) will return for its third season at two venues. Screenings will take place at the Rinker Playhouse at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts on January 23rd - January 30th and at EVO Entertainment Delray Marketplace from January 31st - February 2nd.

When visitors explore the immersive “Nova Music Festival Exhibition: October 7th 6:29 a.m. — the Moment Music Stood Still” now open at the Greenwich Studio in North Miami, the horrific realities of that dreadful day suddenly come to life.

Life offers many ups and downs. Some blows, especially the unexpected ones, bolts out of the blue, are more hurtful than others, but what choice do we have? We must endure. The loss of loved ones, parents, partners, and worst of all a child leaves no option but to reel from the blow, get up, steady yourself and go on.

The Boca International Jewish Film Festival returns for its second season with the Florida premiere screening of the documentary “Shari & Lamb Chop.” The film will be presented during the festival’s Cinebash on January 27th, 2025, at the Wick Theater in Boca Raton. The evening includes a patron dinner beginning at 5:00 p.m., film screening and a live performance by Mallory Lewis (Shari Lewis’ daughter) and Lamb Chop. Film only tickets are available for $36. The festival runs from February 23rd through March 16th with screenings presented at both Movies of Delray and Cinemark Palace 20 in Boca Raton.

For nearly 25 years, Dr. Jeffrey M. Hausdorff has been directing a research center that studies gait, cognition and mobility at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center. Hausdorff also serves as a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy in the Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University.

Moshe Phillips is National Chairman of Americans For A Safe Israel (www.AFSI.org), a leading pro-Israel advocacy and education organization.

Get ready to relive the magic of Carole King's legendary career as the Tony® and Grammy® Award-winning show, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, graces the stage of The Wick Theatre. This inspiring true story charts Carole King's journey from teenage songwriter to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame icon.

“The humor of the blues, as Jerry (Leiber) used to say, was akin to Yiddish humor. Like, “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I wouldn’t have no luck at all.”” Mike Stoller

The Adolph & Rose Levis JCC (Levis JCC) is proud to present the 2025 Judy Levis Krug Boca Raton Jewish Film Festival on February 8th – February 22nd, at Movies of Delray. The two-week festival will feature more than 30 Israeli and Jewish-themed feature films, shorts, documentaries and comedies from around the world. Boca Raton’s original Jewish film festival, now in its ninth year, offers entertaining, inspiring and thought-provoking stories, community connection, and the unique opportunity to learn from filmmakers, producers, actors and directors at screenings and special events throughout the Festival.

United States Ambassador William Taylor is a diplomat, government official and former military officer. He currently serves as Vice President of the Russian and European Center at the United States Institute of Peace. From 2006 to 2009 he served as United States Ambassador to Ukraine, and as Chargé D'affaires to Ukraine from June 2019 to January 2020. On Wednesday, January 8th, 2025 at 12:30 p.m., Ambassador Taylor will lecture at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) on Florida Atlantic University’s Boca Raton campus. He will also give a presentation at FAU’s Jupiter campus on Thursday, January 9th, 2025 at 2:30 p.m.

Want to have an up-close look at some of the greatest pro golfers and NFL players playing tournament golf while raising money for South Florida charities?

LoveJewish.org in association with NSU Florida’s Alvin Sherman Library and the University of Miami Sue and Leonard Miller Center will present a FREE reading of award-winning playwright Debbie Slevin’s critically acclaimed play Gate B23: Carry-On Baggage.

Comes The Hysterically Funny Interfaith Comedy BAD SHABBOS