(JTA)—When it came to babka, actress Kathryn Kates, who died last month at 73, preferred chocolate, according to The New York Times. But when Jerry and Elaine finally got to her bakery counter on Seinfeld, the only babka Kates had to offer was cinnamon. And that was a...
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Michael Lang, Jewish organizer of Woodstock festival
(New York Jewish Week via JTA)—Michael Lang, the Jewish co-creator of 1969’s legendary Woodstock Music and Art Fair, died last month at Memorial Sloan-Kettering hospital in Manhattan. He was 77. The cause, according to a family spokesperson, was a rare form of...
Ivan Reitman, ‘Ghostbusters’ director and son of Auschwitz survivor
(JTA)—Ivan Reitman, a Hollywood director and producer who was born in Czechoslovakia and went on to helm Ghostbusters and other beloved American blockbuster comedies, died Saturday, Feb. 12 at 75. Reitman died in his sleep at his home in Montecito, California,...

Big Saturday Night Celebration features actress, producer Judi Beecher in Tidewater
Tango Shalom: Screened live virtually and in-person Saturday, February 26, 7:30 pm, Susan S. Goode Fine and Performing Arts Center at Virginia Wesleyan University Judi Beecher is a multi-hyphenate. The actress, director, producer, singer-songwriter, model, and...
A new kind of Mah Jongg fundraiser
Janet Gordon Annual Mah Jongg Tournament: Sunday, April 3 The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way nearly everything takes place at Beth Sholom Village – from food service to family visits, religious services, and even fundraising. BSV has hosted the Janet Gordon...

Simon Family JCC gears up for JCC Maccabi Games in San Diego
This year’s JCC Maccabi Games is slated to take place in San Diego, California, which means the Simon Family JCC is busy recruiting athletes to join its eight-member delegation. For athletes who have traveled with and competed for the Simon Family JCC’s delegation in...
Learn about the Technion – Sunday, May 21, 10 am, Beth El
A multi-media program featuring Irv Elenberg, Mid-Atlantic regional director for the American Technion Society (ATS), will be presented by the Men's Club of Congregation Beth El and Avraham and Patricia Ashkenazi. Elenberg has transformed the Washington, DC office...
Holocaust Commission’s 13th Biennial Educators’ Conference Words Matter: Now More Than Ever
Wednesday, July 26, 7:30 am–4 pm, Norfolk Academy Batten Library Thursday, July 27, 7:30 am–5 pm, trip to the Virginia Holocaust Museum, Richmond The Holocaust Commission's 13th Biennial Educator's Conference, which continues a tradition of enabling teachers,...
Lag B’Omer Bash: Bonfires and Family Fun
Sunday, May 14, 5-7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Free for Moms in honor of Mothers' Day More than 400 people, young and old, gathered last year to light up the night sky with a blazing bonfire for an Israeli inspired Lag B'Omer Bash at the Sandler Family...
Albert Einstein was a sex magnet? Four surprising facts about the Jewish genius
NEW YORK (JTA)—Think “Albert Einstein,” and certain images or phrases likely come to mind: “genius,” “kooky,” “wild hair,” “theory of relativity,” “E=mc2”—maybe even “Zionist.” Sex and violence? Not so much. Then there’s Genius—National Geographic channel’s first...
Anti-Semitic incidents in US surging in ‘17, rose by a third in ‘16
( JTA)—Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States soared 86 percent in the first three months of 2017 after rising by more than one-third in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. There has been a massive increase in harassment of American Jews, largely since...
Zoe Siegel recognized for social justice endeavors
Early in her teen years, Zoe Martina Siegel knew that all was not right with the world. Her consciousness rose and she began to speak out. In fact, her Norfolk Academy senior speech was about reproductive rights and how politicized they are. It’s not so surprising,...
Renee Heyman turned lemons into lemonade into Pink Tea
When Renee Heyman, founding mother of The Pink Tea Initiative at Temple Emanuel, invited Paula Krukin Levy to help her organize her first fundraiser in 2012, she had no way of knowing the event would outlive her. A cancer survivor for 42 years, Heyman made a solemn...
For Elaine Luria, it’s ships to mermaids
United States Naval Cmdr. Elaine Goodman Luria appears at ease when there’s a new adventure, opportunity, or challenge to be seized. Whether it is operating ships for the U.S. Navy, imagining, starting, and expanding a new business, or raising a family, Luria calmly...
Women
May 1, 2017, Women Section
Seven incredible new things the world can thank Israel for
TEL AVIV (JTA)—To build a Jewish state in the Middle East, Israelis had to be innovators. Some of what they’ve come up with has been used mostly by their fellow citizens—think Hebrew slang, Bamba snacks and the Iron Dome missile defense system—at least so far. But...
From the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives
May 11, 2007 A benefit concert for the people of Darfur and southern Sudan, DARFEST will highlight stories of Lost Boys living in Hampton Roads between musical sets performed by four local high school rock bands. DARFEST is a concept developed by 10 area high school...
13th Annual Spring Into Healthy Living
Get hearts pumping at the 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll Sunday, May 7, 24th Street Park at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk Spring means it’s time for Jewish Family Service’s m o s t anticipated event of the year: the 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll. In addition to the...
Don Rickles, insult comedian and actor, is dead at 90
NEW YORK (JTA)—Don Rickles, the bullet-headed comedian and actor whose pioneering brand of insult comedy earned him the nickname “Mr. Warmth,” has died at 90. Rickles died Thursday, April 6 at his home in Los Angeles from kidney failure, according to his publicist. He...
Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, whose ‘Babi Yar’ exposed anti-Semitism
Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, best known for his poem commemorating the slaughter of Jews by the Nazis at the Ukrainian ravine known as Babi Yar, has died at 84. Yevtushenko died Saturday, April 1 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he had been a faculty member at the...
MORRIS SILVERSTEIN
Virg inia Beach —Morris Silverstein 94, passed away on March 31, 2017. His funeral took place at Woodlawn Funeral Home, with Cantor Elihu Flax officiating.
LARRY B. KURZER
Norfolk —Larry (nee Lawrence) Bennett Kurzer passed away in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on March 10, 2017. The 63-year-old Norfolk native was the devoted son of Lillian Traub Kozak, the late Phillip Kurzer and step-son of the late Norman Kozak. Larry attended the Hebrew...
AUGUSTA S. GOODMAN
Virginia Beach —Augusta Straus Goodman, born in Richmond, Virginia on May 10, 1917, passed away peacefully early Friday, March 31 with loved ones on either side, just six weeks before her 100th birthday. She is the daughter of the late Aubrey and Wilma Straus of...
Get a running start on the race!
Thursday, April 20, 6–7 pm Sandler Family Campus So you’re planning to run the JFS Run, Roll or Stroll 8K, 5K, or 1 Miler. Now what? Maybe this is your first race or your 10th. Either way, it helps to get tips from experienced runners. Hear some great running tips...
Get hearts pumping at the 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll
Sunday, May 7 24th Street Park at the Virginia Beach Boardwalk With options of the 8K run, 5K run or walk, and 1-mile run/walk, Jewish Family Service’s 13th Annual Run, Roll or Stroll is open to both serious and not-so-serious athletes. This also includes those of all...
2017 Israel Fest brings Israeli Culture to Tidewater
Sunday, April 30 11 am–4 pm Simon Family JCC The Simon Family Jewish Community Center’s largest celebration, Israel Fest, honors Israel’s 69th Independence Day. This annual festival offers the chance to experience some of the diverse culinary, cultural, and artistic...