Month: June 2017

Archives

JFiT unveils fitness boosters for 2026 resolutions

JFiT unveils fitness boosters for 2026 resolutions

With New Year’s resolutions known to drive gym crowds, Simon Family JCC’s JFiT gym got in shape early to offer three unique, budget-friendly services to kickstart sustainable routines without hassle or high costs. And, while JCC membership offers myriad benefits and...

Great Jewish Bookshelf: Reading to belong

Great Jewish Bookshelf: Reading to belong

There is something deeply familiar—and deeply Jewish—about gathering around books. The Great Jewish Bookshelf taps into that instinct by offering participants the opportunity to receive a carefully curated selection of Jewish-themed books every other month – opening...

The theology of a simple basket

The theology of a simple basket

A visit to the Simon Family JCC inspires. During the Thanksgiving holiday, I visited the Simon Family Jewish Community Center of Tidewater (the JCC), a place I had visited before, but never truly experienced as it was meant to be lived. My earlier encounter had been...

Jewish Tidewater and beyond in 2025

Jewish Tidewater and beyond in 2025

This was another tough year for the global Jewish community – the continued war in Gaza, the escalation of antisemitic acts and outright discrimination, a slew of misinformation about Israel, the killings of two Israeli Embassy employees, and raised security alert...

Inspired at JFNA’s General Assembly

Inspired at JFNA’s General Assembly

I have recently returned from the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) annual General Assembly (GA) in Washington, D.C., where Tidewater had a strong delegation of both lay leaders and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater professional staff. We joined more than...

Ambivalence is not leadership when Jews are targeted

Ambivalence is not leadership when Jews are targeted

The protest outside Park East Synagogue in New York was not a complicated sociological moment. It was a group of demonstrators shouting slurs, taunts, and explicitly hostile language at Jews entering a house of worship.That should be the starting point for any...

A lesson in Tikkun Olam at Jewish Family Service

A lesson in Tikkun Olam at Jewish Family Service

When you hear the phrase Tikkun Olam—healing the world—you might picture simple acts of kindness: delivering meals, visiting the sick, or donating clothes. That’s what I imagined too when I joined the Jewish Family Service board in 2020. But I quickly realized I had...

Siblings on the Sidelines: Fun and Israeli spirit off the court

Begins Wednesday, December 10 during most JCC basketball games Children can join Siblings on the Sidelines — a fun new program led by Tidewater’s Shinshinim, Noga Yaniv and Yarden Lahan — while their siblings compete in the Simon Family JCC Youth Basketball League....

Moses Ezekiel’s Botanical Garden artist statues

Sunday, December 14, at 2 pm Chrysler Museum of Art Samantha Baskind, PhD., distinguished professor of Art History at Cleveland State University, will speak on The Remarkable Journey of Moses Ezekiel's Norfolk Botanical Garden Artist Statues.    Sir Moses...

David Bruce Jorgenson

NORFOLK - David Bruce Jorgenson, age 83, departed this world on October 31, 2025.  David lived a life full of love. Just before he was born, his parents – Minnesota transplants to Los Angeles – rode a train back to rural Minnesota to be surrounded by his first...

Richard Siff

PORTSMOUTH - Richard Siff, devoted husband and father, passed away on November 11, 2025.  Born in Norfolk, Virginia, he was the only child of Leon and Doris Siff. Richard cultivated an early interest in electronics through amateur radio, which led to a...

David Louis Taetle

MCLEAN, VIRGINIA - David Louis Taetle, 75, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on November 15, 2025. Born in Washington, D.C., Mr. Taetle attended Bryant University before embarking on a long and successful career as a financial consultant to...

 Jewish Artists of the Past

Legacy 2025 L’ Dor V’Dor – From Generation to Generation Grand opening: Saturday, December 6, 6:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus Henri Matisse, Ben Shan, and Jacques Lipchitz were the names mentioned by Mia Laufer, PhD, the Irene Leach curator of European Art for the...

From darkness to light: The unforgettable Jai Mitzvah in Buenos Aires

After experiencing vibrant and deeply moving Chaguim at Temple Emanuel, Pati, Lia, Ben, and I traveled to Buenos Aires, my hometown, to celebrate two very special occasions with our family there — my niece Martina’s Bat Mitzvah and my mother’s 75th birthday.  We...

Be a hero in minutes. Simon Family JCC Annual Blood Drive

November 24, 2025, 11:00 AM–3:45 PM: Join the Simon Family JCC and Red Cross in the Jaffe Gymnasium, 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach, for a lifesaving blood drive.  Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood, and one donation can save up to...

Monthly Volunteer Days launch to support Jewish Tidewater

Begins Friday, November 21• 10 am - 3 pm, Sandler Family Campus United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is launching a new initiative to bring community members together: Monthly Volunteer Days. Volunteers will gather once a month to take part in meaningful hands-on...

Thank you to our supporters who recently donated to Jewish News! 

Jewish News appreciates all who support the newspaper with generous contributions – whether in honor of or in memory of friends and loved ones or as a Friend of Jewish News. Friends of Jewish News Walter Fenska G-d Bless Israel Piotr and Charlotte Przyjemski Happy...

Modern warfare and the fight for truth in the age of misinformation

Israel in Focus: Hamas’ War – Truth and Consequences. An evening with MAJ John W. Spencer, USA (Ret.) Wednesday, December 3, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus, Free In an era where global conflicts are increasingly fought in dense urban environments, understanding the...

AJC responds to election of Zohran Mamdani

The day following the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City, Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee, distributed the following email.  The world’s attention is focused on New York City with Zohran Mamdani winning the mayoral election, and I...

Weddings with personalized twists for these area brides

Four young women, with childhood roots in Jewish Tidewater, have nuptials on the mind. Now spread out across the country, three of these Virginia natives recently married, while one is still in the planning stages.  Hannah Diehl Testa and her husband, Kevin...

Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman turns 80

Celebrating his 80th birthday this month, Rabbi Israel Zoberman has packed a lot into his eight decades – including living on three continents. Tidewater has been his home since 1981.  Born on November 12, 1945, in Chu, Kazakhstan to Polish Holocaust survivors,...

Scolnick raises nearly $8,000 in 10 minutes 

Henry Scolnick gave a speech at this year’s Annual Aid Another Gala, an event sponsored by Aid Another, an organization founded to promote and empower individuals with disabilities through dance, music, art, educational assistance, recreational activities, and sports....