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On an early Tuesday morning in June, 14 new graduates of the Tidewater Hineni! Leadership Program landed in Israel for the culmination of their two-year program. The 5th UJFT Tom Hofheimer Young Leadership Mission to Israel was underway. Day 1 The mission began with...
Who knew one year ago when we scheduled this issue’s Legal Matters that so many legal decisions and arguments would be taking place—in Israel and in the USA? Consider, for example, Israel’s suspension of the Western Wall agreement (page 16) and, its advancement of a...
Ellie Brooke and Deb Segaloff visited BINA High School to present the Holocaust Commission’s What We Carry program to students on Friday, June 9. The women presented the story of David Katz, a Holocaust survivor of blessed memory. This program was the culmination of...
The Simon Family JCC offers a calendar of bold perspectives and community enrichment for members and guests. With record number attendees for Camp JCC and speakers such as Dennis Ross, the JCC serves as a gathering place for fun, education, and social networking. The...
NEW YORK (JTA)—On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump made Mark Hetfield’s job impossible. Hetfield is the president and CEO of HIAS, an organization that resettles refugees in the United States. A week into his presidency, Trump issued an executive order barring refugees...
NEW YORK (JTA)—The vast majority of Reform and Conservative rabbis affiliate as Democrats, according to a new study. The study, published this month by Yale University, found that more than 80 percent of Reform rabbis, and about 70 percent of Conservative rabbis,...
Words Matter: Now More Than Ever Wednesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 27 The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s highly praised Biennial Educators’ Conference provides educators with tools, strategies, and techniques to use for...
On Tuesday, June 7, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Class of 2017 held a very moving graduation ceremony. Of the 14 students graduating from the school, 12 had attended the HAT since preschool. Next fall, these graduates will attend a variety of excellent schools...
It may have begun on a dark, rainy September night, but the 6th Annual Israel Today series ended with a bang on a beautiful, warm May evening, as the Tidewater community gathered to cook with Chefs Nir Margalith and Guy Marom, of travel and culinary group Puzzle...
Just who qualifies as a ‘senior’ is a bit confusing these days. That’s mainly because the definition of ‘senior’ and who identifies as one, is more of a moving target than ever before. While it wasn’t that long ago that very few people worked beyond 65 years old, or...
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is responding to catastrophic flooding and mudslides in Sri Lanka, the result of the worst storms to hit the island nation since 2003. JDC, together with its local partner Sarvodaya, a Buddhist-inspired...
(JTA)—Try to think of the most famous Israelis in history. Not necessarily the most consequential or “important” ones— like any number of Nobel Prize winners or behind-the-scenes Middle East peace deal negotiators—but those who are most universally recognizable. Most...
Tuesday, Sept. 10, 6:30 pm Each year, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater initiates a new fundraising drive, known as the Annual Campaign. To inform, inspire and motivate the community about the campaign, the UJFT presents a campaign kickoff—a pep rally of...
On a beautiful night at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront last month, 30 members of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet took full advantage of the summer evening. Hosted by Cabinet Chair Jodi Klebanoff at the home of her sister Stacy Brody, the...
An article in The Times of Israel recently reported that Israel is fourth in a ranking of countries with the most efficient health care. Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan were in the top three slots. The U.S. ranked even behind Iran, in 46th position. Compiled by...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The final two charter flights of new immigrants from Ethiopia landed in Israel. The two airplanes carrying the 450 new Israeli citizens arrived Wednesday, Aug. 28 at Ben Gurion Airport. A steady trickle of approximately 200 Ethiopian immigrants per...
During a brief visit in mid-August to a handful of large cities in North America, the president of Israel’s Bar-Ilan University made a special stop in Virginia Beach. On Sunday, August 11, Professor Moshe Kaveh, BIU president, was introduced to about 40 community...
Lisa’s* face lit up with joy when she reflected on visits to the “Big Top” with her son until his untimely death to cancer several years ago. She described happier times gone by, but her voice reflected sadness, as if she had already accepted that her circus days were...
Past presidents of the Simon Family JCC gathered last month for an update about changes and developments at the Simon Family JCC. “We wanted our past presidents to learn about the exciting new programs we are implementing at the JCC, including Camp JCC, membership...
Serving as president of any board requires a commitment of time, mediation skills, funds and an abundance of patience. Meet the Presidents is a new Jewish News column that introduces these remarkable people who have accepted the challenge of heading local Jewish...
In July, I excitedly boarded a plane from Norfolk to start my new career with AIPAC in Houston, Texas. As I quickly worked to find a new apartment, pack my clothing, book tickets, and make plans to begin my life in Houston, I couldn’t help but look back on my...
David Abraham, CEO of Beth Sholom Village and his entire team—everyone from director of nursing to dietary and maintenance—all interact with residents and family members to have a good handle on the day-to-day operations. Watching and being “hands on” is not enough,...
My annual July pilgrimage to Israel, the land where our people came to be and where I had the privilege to grow up, proved again to be a rewarding experience. It was an opportunity to reconnect with family, friends, sites and food, practice almost exclusively my...
We were jet lagged and out of it when we exited the doors from customs into the arrivals area of the Tel Aviv airport. There was the usual crowd of people waiting for their friends and family. I was expecting a tour guide and a sign, but instead there were women —and...
In an information-packed and emotional two days, 75 educators, human rights activists, and interested community members explored the question posed by the 11th Biennial Educators’ Conference of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater: Why...
These are the watchwords for the Days of Awe or the High Holy Days between the start of Rosh Hashanah and the conclusion of Yom Kippur. All are examined whether they have lived by these words in the past year and whether they promise to live by these words in the...
The evening of Thursday, June 20 began at Beth Sholom Village with drinks and appetizer’s prepared by The Village Caterers in honor of the Village’s annual meeting. The ceremony included many highlights. Neil Friedeman bid farewell to the board as president and...
Sunday, August 11, 5 pm After years of successful Sababa Sunday and Bringing Israel Home programs, a group of Jewish college students from Tidewater thought something needed to be added to the pro-Israel advocacy of the community. Comprised of Melissa Eichelbaum, Sam...
The Max Japha Volunteer of the Year award is presented annually by Jewish Family Service of Tidewater to honor an outstanding volunteer for his or her commitment to JFS. This year’s award was presented to Rita Brannan at the JFS Volunteer Appreciation Lunch last...
JFS recognizes and honors employees for longevity ‘Kind, caring and extremely efficient.’ That’s how one patient recently described Sharon Williams, JFS home health aide, and one of the many reasons she was selected as the JFS Home Health Aide of the Year for 2013....
On behalf of the Stein family, the Tidewater Jewish Foundation recently announced that Dinar Yusufov of Chesapeake is the 2013–2014 recipient of the Stein Family College Scholarship. She is the fifth recipient of this award established in memory of Arlene Stein. A...
For several years the Simon Family JCC has received requests not to close for so many Jewish holidays and to expand its Shabbat hours. The growth in the Kids Connection program and the Infant Care Center meant the closings had an even greater impact on the ability to...