Sign up for Weekday J and get the latest on what's happening in the Jewish Bay Area.

MIAMI (JTA) — Jews in Florida are protesting a new religious theme park in Orlando that they say is a thinly disguised promotion of Christian messianism, at the expense of Judaism.

Outside the entrance, the leader of the militant Jewish Defense League, Irv Rubin, called the park's founder a "soul snatcher."

"His whole raison d'etre is to recruit Jews, to steal our souls," Rubin said of Baptist minister Marvin Rosenthal, who was born a Jew and calls himself a "Hebrew Christian."

Blending lavish special effects that include smoke shooting from a recreation of the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Land Experience contains a show that depicts the rituals of Yom Kippur, but concludes with a Nativity scene projected above the audience.

The 15-acre park, complete with a restaurant featuring the "Goliath Burger" cost $16 million to build.

Salon agrees to let barber keep kippah

NEW YORK (JTA) — A hair salon recently agreed to allow employees at its salons here to wear skullcaps at work.

The accord involving Jean Louis David came after a Russian immigrant barber was fired last year when he began wearing a yarmulke on the job.

The international company, which operates several salons in New York, also agreed not to ask prospective employees if they are available to work on Saturdays and to provide religious diversity training for its staff.

Jewish groups, Israel combat forgetfulness

NEW YORK (JTA) — North America's largest Jewish organizations are teaming up with the Israeli government to launch an information campaign to remind and educate American Jews and non-Jews about Israeli issues, according to the executive vice president of the federation umbrella organization.

Stephen Solender of the United Jewish Communities said the initiative is responding, in part, to recent focus group research indicating that large numbers of Americans do not remember what Israel offered the Palestinians at the Camp David summit last summer and do not recall that Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat was once considered a terrorist.