Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
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Sunday, May 4, 10:30 am, Sandler Family Campus Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, in partnership with Embrace Counseling, is busy preparing for the 21st Annual Run, Roll, Stroll on the Sandler Family Campus. This year’s event promises to be more fun and exciting than...
Friday, May 23, 8:30 am, Jewish War Veterans Flagpole, Sandler Family Campus Memorial Day’s origins lie in the aftermath of the Civil War, a conflict that claimed more American lives than any other. The immense loss overwhelmed the nation, leading to the establishment...
NORFOLK - Ellen Manassee, a sharp, independent woman with a deep appreciation for the arts and culture, passed away peacefully on April 10, 2025, at Harbor’s Edge, where she had lived for the past 18 years. She was 90 years old.Born in the Bronx, Ellen carried her New...
NORFOLK - Rebecca “Betty” Sacks, age 84, passed away peacefully at home on April 6, 2025.She is survived by her loving children, David (Kathy) Sacks, Steven Sacks, and Elisa (Chris) Luck; sister-in-law, Maryann Sacks; and nephew, Jonathan Sacks. She was preceded in...
(JTA) — Pope Francis, who significantly advanced the Catholic Church’s relationship with Jews by actively promoting dialogue, reconciliation, and a strong stance against antisemitism — relations that were tested after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war — died...
Survey after survey reports that fewer adults and even fewer young people are aware of the Holocaust, or at least of its scale. In fact, denying the Holocaust or its enormity continues to gain followers and receive prominent placement on the national stage. With books...
Voting is underway in an election that gives American Jews an opportunity to directly shape Israel’s future.The U.S. election for seats in the 39th World Zionist Congress will help determine the balance of power in the legislative authority of a Zionist organization...
Grace Gilson(JTA) — When she was five years old, Kitty Saks’ home in Vienna was commandeered by the Nazis, leading her family to flee to Brussels, where she was hidden in a convent until the Allies liberated Belgium. Twenty-seven members of her family were killed in...
Wednesday, April 23, Ohef Sholom Temple, 6:45 pm Dr. Irving Berkowitz is the keynote speaker for the community’s Yom Hashoah commemoration, which is presented each year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission. Dr. Berkowitz is the son of...
As Jewish college students across North America experience unprecedented levels of antisemitism on campus, the University of Virginia has joined Hillel International’s flagship Campus Climate Initiative (CCI) program.Hillel’s CCI program is the nation’s leading...
U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner met with members of Tidewater’s Jewish community last month to discuss a range of issues, including Israel, the state of college campuses, and antisemitism.The former governor and senior senator from Virginia began the conversation by...
Recent federal budget cuts have significantly impacted food banks across the country, and the food pantry at Jewish Family Service is no exception.The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has eliminated more than $1 billion in funding for programs that helped schools...
Local folk musician Bob Zentz was bestowed a 2025 Music Lifetime Achievement Award from Veer Magazine during a ceremony at Elevation 27 last month. With a career that includes nearly every aspect of music – as a writer, performer, retailer, manager, mentor – Zentz has...
Thursday, March 27, 6:30 - 8 pm • The Westin Virginia Beach Town Center Each year, Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities awards its prestigious Humanitarian award to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the promotion of respect...
Partaking in BBYO’s International Convention 2025 was truly an experience I will never forget. The annual gathering took place this year over President’s Day Weekend in Denver, Col.From listening to the incredible speakers to dancing and singing with my friends at the...
Carin Simon, Strelitz International Academy’s director of development, and Ally St. Pierre, SIA’s admissions manager, recently attended the 2025 Prizmah Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This gathering brought together Jewish day school leaders from across the...
Tidewater BBYO had its spring kickoff at Surge Adventure Park, a multi-adventure trampoline park, ninja course, and arcade in Virginia Beach on Saturday, Feb 8. Eighteen teens attended the event, connecting with Jewish friends over pizza and an afternoon of fun. Henry...
The Temple Israel Men’s Club met on Sunday, February 9 for the annual Worldwide Wrap, a program of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Club. The 12 members who attended included a few who have never put on tefillin and a pre–Bat Mitzvah young lady. After everyone had a...
The Square Up for Maccabi football pool fundraiser raised more than $3,500 this year for the Team Virginia Beach delegation of the JCC Maccabi program.Using the last digit of each team’s cumulative score at the end of each quarter, winners were determined based on the...
The holiday of Purim begins this year on Thursday, March 13.Plenty of opportunities exist in Tidewater to participate in Purim festivities to commemorate Haman’s failed plot to destroy the Jews of Persia.The reading of the Megillah, Purim Carnivals, Purim Parties, and...
Sunday, March 9, 1 - 4 pm Sandler Family Campus PJ Library in Tidewater’s annual Purim celebration, Operation Hamantaschen – a day of baking hamantaschen and preparing a mitzvah project – offers three time slots this year (1 pm, 2 pm, and 3 pm), to make the cookies...
Sunday, March 16, 2 pm, Wells Theater, Norfolk Virginia Stage Company will produce the cult-classic musical Little Shop of Horrors at the Wells Theatre in Norfolk, March 12 through March 30. The quirky show’s book, lyrics, and music were written by Jews – lyricist...
Sunday, March 30, 1 pm, Temple Israel Temple Israel has been busy scheduling creative programming, including movies, lectures, and guest Shabbat speakers. The season’s highlight will be the congregation’s annual fundraiser – honoring the synagogue’s past presidents...
Monday, March 17, 5 pm, Simon Family JCC Golda Meir is remembered for many accomplishments – from playing a pivotal role in the founding of the State of Israel to becoming its first, and only, female Prime Minister.In Israel, her legacy now extends to a popular ice...
Saturday, April 26, 5 – 9 pm Sandler Family Campus The last Kids Night Out of the school year will be a special Supreme Pool Party Edition.With lots of beach balls, noodles, and dive toys, this Kids Night Out is sure to end the year with a splash! Kids will hang out...
From a tidy and unassuming office on the second floor of his office building in Virginia Beach, John Feigenbaum, a local Jewish community member, sits on a raised chair before his elevated computer screen and sets the pricing used by coin dealers throughout the United...
VIRGINIA BEACH - Abby Jane Buchberg, 74, passed away peacefully on February 22, 2025.Born to Benjamin and Alma Wilgard on January 21, 1951, in Norfolk, Va., Abby grew up in Portsmouth before moving to Atlanta, Ga. There she met the love of her life, Stephan Andrew...
NORFOLK - Leonard S. (Lenny) Frieden, born in Norfolk, Virginia, on March 31, 1927, passed away peacefully on February 24, 2025, at the age of 97.He was predeceased by his parents, Anna and Samuel Frieden; his sister, Yetta Bornstein; and his two brothers, Joseph...
NORFOLK - Joseph Henry Hecht died peacefully on Friday, February 14, 2025, at Lake Taylor Transitional Hospital in Norfolk, at age 99.Joseph was a native and lifelong resident of Norfolk, having been born on July 21, 1925, to Irving and Yetta Leibowitz Hecht. Joseph...
VIRGINIA BEACH - Catalina Carmen Mantel passed peacefully on February 14, 2025, just shy of 91.She was a kind, sweet, and elegant soul who loved people and chocolate. So, passing on Valentine’s Day was bittersweet and apropos.Catalina was born in Montevideo, Uruguay...
VIRGINIA BEACH - Edward Benjamin Ostroff passed away on February 15, 2025, at the age of 82.He was the son of Dr. Jacob J. Ostroff and Mary Ostroff of Baltimore, Maryland. Ed prepared for a life of caregiving and service at Baltimore City College High School (’59),...
VIRGINIA BEACH - Gideon Riess, a man whose warmth and wit enriched the lives of all who knew him, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 16, 2025, at the age of 86.Born on September 10, 1938, in Ramat Gan, Israel, he spent his final days in Virginia Beach,...