Norfolk—Brian Andrew Schiff, 41, of Norfolk died May 28, 2022. Brian was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Norfolk. He was the son of Janet Norkin Schiff and Dr. Ivan Rubin Schiff and grandson to the late Harry and Rosalind Norkin and to the late Mendel and...
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Frederic Somers Sukoff
Norfolk—Frederic Somers Sukoff was born on Long Island, N.Y. on October 15, 1937 and passed away peacefully in the presence of his loving family on the morning of May 24, 2022. Fred was a gentle giant with a big heart to match. His large stature was necessary because...
Pinchas Stolper, OU leader
(JTA)—Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, a pioneer in making Orthodox Judaism accessible to young people, has died at 90. In a statement released on May 26, the Orthodox Union focused on Stolper’s role in making its affiliated youth organization, the National Council of Synagogue...
Insightful reflections by Pittsburgh writers
Bound In The Bond Of Life (Pittsburgh Writers Reflect on the Tree of Life Tragedy) Edited by Beth Kissileff and Eric Lidji University of Pittsburgh Press, 2020 242 pages The utterly shocking and deeply unsettling 83-minute attack on Shabbat morning, October 27,...
Israel’s 74th celebration is a day to remember in Tidewater
Thousands of people visited the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community for a celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut on Sunday, May 1. The Israel Independence Day celebration was the first large-scale in-person event for the holiday since before...
Rabbi Sender Haber to leave B’nai Israel
Many communities have a rabbi. In the times of the Talmud, that term was deemed somewhat narrow for the many responsibilities devolved on the community leader. Another term was needed and coined: Mara D’asra, literally ‘leader of the community.’ Such a leader is Rabbi...
LOIS R. JAFFE
Mesa, Ariz.—Lois R. Jaffe, 84, passed away on Friday, April 20, 2018, at Santé of Mesa skilled nursing facility. Born in New York City, Lois grew up in the Bronx and Yonkers, N.Y. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers in 1951, then attended Oswego (N.Y.)...
DONALD HARRIS
Norfolk —Donald Lawrence Harris, 92, passed away on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 in Asheville, N.C. He was a long-time resident of Petersburg, Va. where he had a busy optometric practice until his retirement. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on May 7, 1925, he was the son of the...
BENTON FLAX
Virginia Beach —Benton Flax passed away peacefully on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 after a brief battle with cancer. He is survived by his three children Jan Morrisett (Michael), Eric Flax (Stacey), and Sharon Ozdarski, seven grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and...
MONA HALPRIN BELKOV
Norfolk —Mona Halprin Belkov, 100, passed away peacefully on April 25, 2018 surrounded by her family. Born in New York City, she was the daughter of the late Sol and Rose Halprin. She spent her formative years growing up in Pittman and Newark, N.J. When Mona was 19...
Erin Ashley McGrattan
Erin Ashley McGrattan on her conversion to Judaism. Her family and friends are so proud of her.
‘The Band’s Visit’ gets 11 Tony nominations
The Band’s Visit, about a troupe of Egyptian musicians that winds up in a tiny Israeli village, garnered 11 Tony nominations, including for best musical. The musical, based on a popular 2007 film of the same name directed by Israel’s Eran Kolirin, also scooped up...
Plenty of mazel tovs to go around on birth of #RoyalBaby
Although the British royal family presumably does not speak a word of Hebrew, there were plenty of mazel tovs to go around after the announcement that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, aka Prince William and Kate Middleton, welcomed the arrival of a baby boy. The...
TJF grants support wide range of projects for local agencies
The Tidewater Jewish Federation Grants process was created to have an impact on the Tidewater Jewish and general community by providing funding for new and innovative projects that focus on the social, welfare, health, education, community relations, and cultural...
Scholar highlights Jewish traditions on beer and horseradish
Most people would think twice before mixing horseradish and beer. However, Josh Kulp, the rosh (head) of the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, covered both topics during his weekend visit to Norfolk in March as scholar-in-residence for Congregation Beth El and Temple...
Eyal Rob lectures, spins in Tidewater
Co-founder of Israel’s first music television channel, Israeli journalist, culture critic, and DJ, Eyal Rob brought the Tel Aviv music scene to Tidewater last month. His visit concluded the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s...
Not your parents’ Science Fair
For anyone who ever wondered if a Yeti coffee cup really does keep coffee hotter than other competing cups, Shayna Friedman, a fourth-grade student at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater, answered this question through her Science Fair project. On Thursday, April 17, Hebrew...
Natalie Portman explains why she won’t accept prize in Israel: It’s about Netanyahu
Natalie Portman said she wouldn’t attend a prize ceremony in Israel because of her feelings about its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and “atrocities” committed on his watch, but emphasized that she would not shun Israel itself. The Jerusalem-born director and...
RBG filmmakers hope to inspire Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s millennial fans
NEW YORK (JTA)—One of the first scenes in a new documentary about Ruth Bader Ginsburg features the Supreme Court associate justice, then 84, vigorously lifting weights, doing leg exercises and holding herself in a plank position. The much buzzed-about workout routine...
Color Run to Color War
On Sunday, April 29, BINA students turned the field at the Simon Family JCC into a new form of a rainbow. The girls had a Color Run to raise money to use for conventions and programs with other communities. Most of the student body (along with a few future students)...
Lessons quickly learned from What We Carry
The following letter was sent last month to Elena Baum, director of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission: I am writing to you from Princess Anne Middle School. I am a school counselor here and wanted to reach out to you to thank you personally...
Israel Story enthralls Tidewater audience
In May 1967, the world heard the song Yerushalayim Shel Zahav, Jerusalem of Gold, for the first time as Shuli Nathan stood on stage and sang the words written by Naomi Shemer. At the time, the Old City of Jerusalem was still under control of the Jordanians, and the...
Holly Berger Markhoff art at Stravitz Galleries Through May
A contemporary mixed media artist known for her emotive figurative and expressionist paintings, Holly Berger Markhoff’s stunning paintings are now on exhibit at Richard Stravitz Sculpture & Fine Art Galleries in Virginia Beach. Influenced by the elongated figures...
Yom Hashoah moves the community
This year’s Yom Hashoah Commemoration, honoring the victims and survivors of the Holocaust, as well as liberators and righteous gentiles, brought the community together around not just awareness and sadness, but honor and hope for the future. Yom Hashoah co-chair Elka...
Harry Graber Retirement
Simon Family JCC’s Israel Fest 2018
Promoted as a major celebration of the Jewish state on the eve of its 70th anniversary, Israel Fest lived up to its billing on Sunday, April 22. Some 2,500 persons from across the community, double what attended in 2017, filled the backlot of the Simon Family JCC to...