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With a mission to support students-first candidates for the Virginia Beach School Board, Jody and Alan Wagner, along with a group of parents, educators, and members of the Virginia Beach community, have formed The Citizens Advocating for Responsible Education PAC...
RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin on August 28 signed HB 18 and SB 7 to expand criminal penalties against bigotry and close a serious gap in the code by ensuring ethnicity is explicitly recognized among the protected classes. Attorney General Jason Miyares. “I’m...
Kickoff event: Thursday August 15, 5:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus Life & Legacy, now branded as Life & Legacy Plus, is being relaunched by Tidewater Jewish Foundation. Life & Legacy Plus is a four-year extension of the partnership program of the Harold...
Last month, I attended the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Summit. The event was a powerful demonstration of solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people, bringing together thousands of supporters from diverse backgrounds.From the moment I arrived, the atmosphere...
“Cardboard is evil!” At least it is when it’s backing for a framed document from 1878. As a result, when the volunteers who staff the Archive at Ohef Sholom Temple came across a framed document from 1878 that was backed with cardboard, the document was removed from...
Each year, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater sends a five-year calendar and information about the Jewish holidays to school superintendents, principals, and business, civic, and arts leaders in Hampton Roads. A letter...
I hear it over and over again – “Mi K’amcha Yisrael” – Who is like you the Jewish people?Enter the world of mitzvot – our secret weapon. How could that be? After all, what is a mitzvah? It’s a commandment in the Torah, which is 3,500 years old. How could doing a...
Guided by the principles of tzedakah (charity) and tikkun olam (repairing the world), Tidewater Jewish Foundation is dedicated to creating permanent resources for the Jewish community. The many facets of community involvement in which TJF is engaged have caused some...
Tidewater is starting its third year working with the Jewish Agency for Israel, hosting Shinshinim (Israeli Emissaries) to bring Israeli culture, knowledge, and experiences to people of all ages. Shinshin is an acronym for Shenat Sherut – a year of service given by an...
A recent Tidewater Jewish Foundation grant enabled Strelitz International Academy to purchase 50 enhanced emergency first aid and Stop the Bleed kits, significantly improving and enhancing the school’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities.In addition to...
Children signing brachot in American Sign Language (ASL). Students harmonizing with hand-drumming while singing Oseh Shalom. Kids laughing while playing drama games they learned at day camp. ASL interpreters at community events. What’s going on?Sharon Serbin is going...
A minor Jewish holiday, Tu B’Av is celebrated as a holiday of love. This year, it begins on the evening of Sunday, August 18 and ends at nightfall on Monday, August 19. There are few gestures that say “I love you” quite like making someone a meal. But as a chef, I...
Philissa Cramer (JTA) — Elon Musk, the tech titan who is under fire for his role in amplifying antisemitism on his social media platform X, visited Israel on Monday, Nov. 27 and toured the devastation at a kibbutz ravaged by Hamas on Oct. 7 alongside Prime Minister...
Regent University stands unwaveringly against the alarming rise of antisemitism on college campuses today. As expressed by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews....
Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — Organizers of a pro-Israel rally at the National Mall in Washington on Tuesday, Nov. 14, claim that 290,000 people showed up for the event, making it one of the largest gatherings of Jews in U.S. history at a time when an ongoing war in...
Naomi Limor Sedek In Tidewater and across the country, giving season is in full gear. The end of the year is a well-documented season of anxiety for many people, but meeting 2023 charitable goals does not have to be stressful. Tidewater Jewish Foundation is prepared...
Richmond, Va. — Attorney General Jason Miyares joined a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in sending a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas calling for the prompt removal of foreign student visa...
Kelly Burroughs Concerns in Israel have dominated most of our thoughts and prayers. The Jewish community’s generosity has enabled thousands of items and millions of dollars to be sent to support people in Israel. As hundreds of people came together on the Sandler...
Kelly Burroughs Jewish Family Service is often tasked with medical and end of life decisions for its Personal Affairs Management (PAM) clients. After-life decisions are also fulfilled, regardless of the deceased’s religious affiliation. For indigent clients who are...
Stephanie Peck In anticipation of its Thanksgiving meal distribution, Jewish Family Service’s food pantry planned to open at 10 am on Tuesday, Nov. 21. By 8:30 am, however, cars lined up outside the Sandler Family Campus. By the scheduled opening time, 25 cars had...
Staff report Jewish Family Service, in conjunction with the Missing in America Project, performed a full military burial service at the National Cemetery in Quantico, Va. for the cremains of 22 non-Jewish veterans and two non-Jewish veteran spouses on October 27. The...
Tuesday, Nov. 28, 9 am – 12 pm • 260 Grayson Road, Virginia Beach Kelly Burroughs As Jewish Family Service continues to evaluate needs in the community, the evident lack of access to quality mental health services is more and more apparent. As part of the agency’s...
Patti Wainger A prayer vigil in support of Israel was held at Congregation Beth El on Sunday, Oct. 29. Reverend Tim Giddens, director of Norfolk’s Ghent Area Ministry, (GAM), New Life Church’s Pastor, David McBride, and Congregation Beth El’s spiritual leader, Rabbi...
Naomi Limor Sedek In 1987, when I was 12 years old, I hopped on a bus that was arranged by the local Federation that left from the JCC to march in Washington on Freedom Sunday for the Soviet Jews. That was 36 years ago and made such a vivid impression on me and shaped...
Stephanie Peck Prior to the terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, William & Mary students from various faith groups would come together on campus and a positive relationship existed between Muslim and Jewish students. This peaceful exchange collapsed when Hamas...
Naomi Limor Sedek Nestled beside one of the area’s fastest-growing congregations, a new playground gleams under the sun. While it may appear as just slides and swings, it’s much more for the young Jewish families of B’nai Israel. Funded through a Tidewater Jewish...
Rabbi Ron Koas In the past month I was asked by my colleagues about our Shinshinim, and the secret of their success in our (Congregation Beth El) school, congregation, and community. I realize that not everyone is aware of this program, so please allow me to share a...
Myrna Amdursky The stars lined up correctly on Sunday, Oct. 22 for Tidewater’s 2nd Annual Daffodil Planting Day at the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth. The sun was shining brightly, the temperature was comfortable, Bob and Jeanne Zentz played music,...
Carin Simon Beyond the games, the food, and the festivities, the Strelitz International Academy Fall Festival demonstrated the power of community with more than 750 people attending. Held on Sunday, Oct. 22 at the Sandler Family Campus, the event exceeded...
Mia Klein In a visit to Tidewater, Rabbi Diana Fersko, author of We Need to Talk About Antisemitism and the rabbi at the Village Temple in Manhattan, shared a message of hope amid the ongoing war against Hamas in Israel and rising antisemitism around the world. “I...
Philissa Cramer (JTA) — As Elizabeth Rand watched an unnerving number of incidents pile up at colleges where her son was considering applying, she felt she had to do something. The longtime administrator of a Facebook group for people interested in discussing the...
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater joined with more than 120 Jewish organizations earlier this month in signing a letter prepared by the Jewish Council for Public Affairs. The letter reads: THE JEWISH COMMUNITY REJECTS...