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For three days last month, more than 400 high school students from across the nation attended AIPAC’s Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit in Washington, D.C for Israel advocacy and political activism training. Six students from Tidewater attended, with...
Joyce Strelitz demonstrated her kindness and caring for others each and every day, inspiring peers and young leaders alike to joyfully engage in Tikkun Olam. Having served on (and often chaired) nearly every local Jewish board in Tidewater, as well as on area...
The Leon Family Art Gallery wall on the second floor of the Simon Family JCC has been awash in both color and love the past few weeks. Twelve handmade, one-of-a-kind quilts showcased the craftsmanship of their creators, members of the Tzedakah Quilting Group, part of...
Music, dance, and a few, brief history lessons were part of the buildup which led to the colorful unveiling of the United States Postal Service’s 2016 Hanukkah Forever Stamp on Wednesday, Nov. 16 at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk. An enlargement of the stamp...
Jewish News Hanukkah, December 5, 2016
This is the time of year we think about other people, friends and family. This year, I hope you will also think about your community and the many ways you can make a difference. Before 2016 comes to an end, consider these exciting programs and matching gift...
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Call them Israel’s American volunteer fire brigade. Dozens of firefighters from across the United States put their lives on hold— leaving behind jobs and families—to help subdue the wildfires that swept Israel last month. While they all share a love of...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—As the wildfires that raged across this country for nearly a week were subdued Sunday, Nov. 27, Israelis surveyed the devastation in search of answers. The fires, which continued to flare, consumed as many as 32,000 acres of forest and brush across the...
(JTA)—Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose Jewish-infused work became a soundtrack for melancholy, has died. He was 82. “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has passed away,” his Facebook page...
Learning from one another, some area seniors and teens have found that they may have more in common than they first imagined. To enrich the lives of both teens and seniors by forming friendships, Ohef Sholom Temple applied for and received a two-year grant to fund a...
The halls of the Sandler Family Campus were lined with tables covered in red and white checked tablecloths on Wednesday, Oct. 19. It was not in preparation for an elaborate Italian dinner, but for the kickoff of three events with Neta Levi, Israel Today’s Israeli...
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—It was just a few weeks ago, on the night of Nov. 8, that my family had all anxiously exchanged text messages as we watched the election results trickle in. State by state, my Hillary-loving family saw our hopes slipping away—and now, too soon, we...
Dr. Lior Nesher, former head of the department of emergency medicine at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, spoke to the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Maimonides Society at the Sandler Family Campus last month. The event was sponsored by American Associates,...
The number of hands thrust into the air at the end of Maly Jackson’s presentation about her childhood escape from Ethiopia was testimony to the power of her story. A dozen of the Sunday School students visiting the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater wanted to ask...
That’s R-O-A-D not RHODE. It used to be “Elderhostel” programs, but apparently the connotation of “Elder” was a put-off to people under 90. So, it became “Road Scholar” programs—all over the country; all over the world—and in Baltimore. For us, it started with a call...
FAIRFAX, Va. (JTA)—Prominent Jewish surrogates for President Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney tackled domestic issues and foreign affairs during a cordial debate in Northern Virginia. Former Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.), representing Obama, faced off against...
After a seven-year courtship and 25 years of marriage, Ohef Sholom Temple board president, Ed Kramer, and his wife, Anne, exhibit a warmth and sense of humor with each other that extends outward, embracing everyone they come in contact with. It’s this warmth and humor...
D’var Torah delivered by Harry Graber, executive vice president, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at the UJFT Annual Campaign kickoff Tonight, we will speak to the Mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyiim also known as the Redemption or Rescuing of the Captives. This will be...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—A new American Jewish Committee poll found 65 percent of Jews nationwide planning to vote for President Obama and 24 percent for Mitt Romney, with another 10 percent undecided. The poll, conducted Sept. 6-17 among 1,040 Jewish voters nationwide, found...
NEW YORK (JTA)—In 1935, a trial was held in Bern, Switzerland, in which two individuals were being prosecuted for distributing the notorious anti-Semitic document The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. At the trial, witness after witness came forward testifying...
Jake Levy is prepared for his freshman year at the University of Pennsylvania. Beyond his clothing, his academic supplies and his dorm necessities, he is very clear about his Jewish identity. He declares without hesitation, “I love all things Jewish.” When he reflects...
The launching of the Friends of Melton/Alumni Association sets into place a plan for the future of the Florence Melton Adult Mini-School at the Simon Family JCC. Graduates, who have completed the first two years of the Mini-School, recently met to share ideas,...
It’s been an exhilarating few weeks since the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning and Strelitz Early Childhood Center preschool students returned to school on Aug. 27. Hallways and classrooms are bright and inviting, and students are now...
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (JTA)—Republicans and Democrats may not have much common ground this election year, yet their national conventions shared one feature: Both gatherings were blessed from the podium by prominent American rabbis. The Democrats had Rabbi David Wolpe, a...
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (JTA)—It was the nutsand- bolts convention that nearly broke down over the most ethereal of issues: Jerusalem and God. But by its third and final night, the Democratic National Convention had gotten back on message: jobs, jobs, staying on course with...
Thursday, Sept. 27, 6–8 pm In conjunction with the Jewish New Year, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is beginning its 2013 Annual Campaign to raise awareness and much needed funds to strengthen and perpetuate Jewish life in Hampton Roads, in Israel and...
Calvin Belkov went to Israel for the first time when he was 60 years old. During his childhood, he realized the historical significance of the Jewish homeland because so many of his parents’ generation had perished during the Holocaust. From reading magazines and...
Jackson, Miss.—The Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life (ISJL) recently launched a new national blog, “Southern & Jewish.” Created in partnership with My Jewish Learning, the blog is hosted on the MyJewishLearning.com website. MyJewishLearning.com...
The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s 2013 Annual Campaign begins on Thursday, September 27 from 6-8 p.m., at the Sandler Family Campus. The Kick Off event features the opening of From Gondar to Jerusalem: The Remarkable Rescue of Ethiopia’s Jews, a compelling,...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—It sounds like a political double feature with much of the same plot, but with different outcomes for the issues that tend to preoccupy Jewish voters. The same key words and themes are bouncing around Jewish events at the Republican convention in...
It began with a chance phone call to Temple Beth El and the question, “Where can a nice group of Jewish War Veterans have a kosher diner in Norfolk?” Several people put their minds together and suggested a dinner hosted at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center....
Following up on the success of Sababa Sundays of the past two years, the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater hosted a new event for local college bound Jewish students: Bringing Israel Home. Held on Sunday, Aug. 5 at Bite...