The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic engulfing the globe is impacting our every moment. For United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC, it is forcing us to make decisions we never thought possible. It is also challenging us to imagine new ways to...
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Asian Americans are facing violent xenophobia during the coronavirus outbreak. Jews have a responsibility to speak out.
NEW YORK (JTA)—In recent weeks, we’ve seen an unprecedented epidemic of the coronavirus spread across the world. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen a spike in anti-Asian violence and prejudice. In the U.S., racist and xenophobic outbursts, assaults and discriminatory...
2 for Seder pivots with virtual direction
Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 pm 2 For Seder launched the expansion of its highly successful first-year campaign to combat anti-Semitism in February. Today, with the concerns surrounding the novel coronavirus, and new CDC guidelines for social gatherings, 2 for Seder is...
Rona and David Proser: Celebrating and ensuring Jewish lives in Tidewater
Having lived in Virginia Beach for close to 40 years, Rona and David Prosers’ lives and leadership have been interwoven into the fabric of Tidewater’s Jewish community. Rona taught at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater for 30 years, making a positive impact on the lives of...
Passover in a pandemic: Families on Zoom, solo seders and broken traditions
(JTA)—Rena Munster was looking forward to hosting a Passover seder for the first time. In past years, her parents or another relative hosted the meal. But this year she had invited her parents, siblings, and other extended family to her Washington, D.C., home. Her...
James Lipton, longtime host of Inside the Actor’s Studio, dies
James Lipton, who hosted the Inside the Actors Studio on the Bravo channel for 23 seasons, has died. He was 93. Lipton interviewed about 275 actors, writers and directors. In the first season alone his guests included Paul Newman, Alec Baldwin, Neil Simon, Sally...
Teens choose Jewish summers
For some of Tidewater’s Jewish teens, the summer was an opportunity to immerse themselves in Jewish worlds…focused on Judaism, performing mitzvot, exploring their Jewish identity. And, along the way, they all seemed to have incredible, meaningful and fun experiences....
B’nai Israel looks to the New Year under the spiritual leadership of Rabbi Sender Haber
In anticipation of an era of growth and increased involvement with the greater Tidewater Jewish community, B’nai Israel installed Rabbi Sender Haber as its new spiritual leader earlier this month. Rabbi Haber arrived in Tidewater more than 10 years ago as one of the...
Tidewater gets visit from top AIPAC exec
Howard Kohr, American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s executive director, made his first visit to the Tidewater Jewish community on Tuesday, July 17. His trip is a testament to the tremendous growth in local pro-Israel activism. In addition to meeting with local...
Vote now through Aug. 31 for Jewish Community Hero at JewishVa.org
Narrowing the field of worthy nominees submitted to the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater for the 2012 Hampton Roads Jewish Community Hero contest was no easy task, but eventually four were chosen to compete for the award. In July, a review committee comprised of...
Law Enforcement execs make special trip to learn lessons of the Holocaust
Walking through the darkened aisles of the U. S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., the same thought kept creeping into Laura Kaiser’s consciousness: when is somebody going to step up? When is somebody going to step up and do the right thing? After what...
Times change…but the vision remains the same for Hebrew Ladies Charity Society
This is the first in a series about the 110th anniversary of the Hebrew Ladies Charity Society. In future issues: about the founders, how the organization helps the community, and how HLC will commemorate 110 years. Some say it takes a village, but it took only nine...
Tidewater Men’s Leadership Mission
So, let’s say you’re a Jewish community leader… And let’s say you have a vision for the future of the Jewish community—not just the community of Tidewater, but the global Jewish community…. And let’s say that vision requires future leadership to bring it to fruition....
Despite militarized society, Israel has strict gun laws
TEL AVIV (JTA)–First-time visitors to Israel might be taken aback to see groups of armed teenagers walking through a city plaza on a weeknight, or surprised to walk into a public bathroom and see an M-16 laying across the sinks as a soldier washes his face. But guns...
The Elul To Do List
An end of summer to do list: 1. Put away beach and vacation gear 2. Buy school supplies 3. Plumb the depths of the relationship between your immortal soul and God in hopes of rekindling the spiritual passion in that relationship* 4. Return “summer reading” books to...
Education issues and the CRC
In 2010 I was asked to chair the Community Relations Council’s (CRC) education committee. Eliot Weinstein serves as vice chair. This committee assists with common education situations in our local school systems both public and private. Our goal is to provide a united...
William “Bill” Nusbaum: Tikkun Olam in Hampton Roads
Bill Nusbaum, 56, has a painting in his home of the village of Positano which he bought at an art auction at Ohef Sholom Temple in 2008. The landscape of the picturesque village nestled into a cove, precariously perched on the mountainside of Italy’s Amalfi Coastline,...
Beth Sholom Village holds annual meeting
Beth Sholom Village held its annual meeting on Thursday, June 14. Following cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, the meeting was held in the Religious—Cultural Center. Rabbi Michael Panitz delivered the invocation and Neil Friedman, president, presented his remarks. David...
JFS honors staff at Employee Appreciation Dinner
Dedicated. Unusually patient. Devoted. Knowledgeable. Gentle. Caring. Attentive. These are just a few of the words patients have used to describe Curlean Fentress, a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Jewish Family Service of Tidewater. For these and other reasons,...
JFS installs board
At Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s Annual Meeting on June 12, Elena Barr Baum, outgoing president, handed over the reins to Dr. Marcia Samuels, who will serve as president for the 2012–2014 term. Renee Strelitz, past president, installed Samuels and the other...
NFTY— The gift that keeps on giving
Imagine you are a 20-something newlywed with a full time job, busy making a life in a new city. A local Reform synagogue approaches you and your spouse with a plea for help. “Please help! The Temple Youth Group is in desperate need of adult supervision. We’ve heard...
Dead Sea Scrolls – a trip back in time at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute
On our way to take our daughter to camp, my family stopped in Philadelphia to visit relatives. As a bonus, we went to the Franklin Institute to see the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. In 1947, a young Bedouin boy came across a hidden cave along the shore of the Dead Sea....
Tidewater Jewish Foundation board elects new chairpersons and officers
At the June 6, 2012 meeting, Ron Kramer was elected chairperson of the board of directors of Tidewater Jewish Foundation. Kramer is a life-long resident of Tidewater and a member of a multi-generational philanthropic family. Following in the footsteps of his parents...
Jewish groups largely applaud health care ruling
WASHINGTON (JTA)—American Jewish groups—with the notable exception of the Republican Jewish Coalition—were largely satisfied with the U.S. Supreme Court’s vote to uphold President Obama’s landmark Affordable Care Act in a 5–4 vote. Nancy Kaufman, CEO of the National...
Presbyterian Church’s narrow rejection of divestment unlikely to slow anti-Israel push
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Proponents of using economic pressure to force Israel out of the West Bank may have lost a key battle —by a hair’s breadth—but they have no intention of giving up. That’s the message from backers of a divestment motion at the General Assembly of the...
JFS honors volunteers with appreciation brunch
With more than 6,000 collective hours of volunteer service in 2011 under their caps, one would think they’d look tired. But this was not the case for the Jewish Family Service volunteers attending the agency’s Volunteer Appreciation Brunch on June 27. They were...