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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...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Supreme Court ruled in favor of a Seattle-area football coach who lost his job after leading prayers on the field following his team’s victories, in a decision that could have ramifications for Jews in public schools and the military. A number of...
(JTA)—Brad Schneider knows from Chicagoland July 4 parades. The Jewish Democratic congressman has been working them since 2011, when he started running for his first term in Illinois’ 10th district. He packs five parades in on the day, and he can rattle off the...
Edie Weiss has embraced a life of travel and learned volumes about archeology, food, fashion, and how people relate to one another as a global community. A retired self-employed CPA, she shares what she’s learned about seeing the world and soaking it all in. Jewish...
A casual movie-goer until his mid-30s, Rabbi Michael Panitz, PhD, found that the invention of the VHS allowed him to enjoy films at home—and he began to study them. At the same time, he realized that films on Jewish subjects would be very useful in his work as a rabbi...
The Bonk-Rivin Holocaust Collection at Ohef Sholom Temple is managed by David Titus, a former college professor and academic librarian, and it is here that all corners of the Holocaust are explored. Titus has been a librarian for more than 45 years. He tells Jewish...
Third Mondays, 1:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus Simon Family Jewish Community Center’s Book Club has been active since it began in February 2008. When I was senior adult program coordinator for Jewish Family Service and Jewish Community Center, I recognized the need and...
Beth Sholom Village recently held an Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Seminar for all of its staff. The seminars were designed by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners LLC (NCCDP LLC), and the classes were facilitated by Tree of Life Dementia...
Joe Weintrob has been collecting stamps specifically about Israel, Jewish life, and the Holocaust since he was in the Cub Scouts in 1954. Now, Weintrob particularly likes to look for KKL (Keren Kayemet Le’Israel) stamps, which feature the early history of Israel and...
Long-time Virginia Beach residents Nancy and Steve Rosenberg have made the Simon Family JCC’s Fitness facilities a huge part of their life. Steve, a retired health care administrator, works out on the elliptical, treadmill, free weights, weight presses, and band...
The quilters at Ohef Sholom Temple are all about creating beautiful designs that bring joy and provide a rewarding sense of community. Marsha Moody says it’s fun, creative, and meaningful. “I’ve always loved fabric,” Moody says. “When we lived in Charlottesville in...
In the first semester of the 2021–22 school year, I taught my Virginia and U.S. History classes about the Holocaust and mentioned the local survivors and rescuers who had graciously shared their stories with former Indian River High School students in the past. I...
Many congregants and families at Ohef Sholom Temple already know its new director of Lifelong Learning, Alyson Morrissey. There are several reasons that Morrissey is well known around the temple. A beloved Jewish educator, Morrissey has taught in OST’s Religious and...
Exciting things are happening as construction on the Marty Einhorn Pavilion at the Sandler Family Campus continues to move forward. The concrete is in, the ceiling fans are on site, and the LED color-changing lights have just been installed. Named in memory of Marty...
As the war rages on in Ukraine, Jewish Tidewater has continued to give to the Tidewater Ukraine Emergency Fund. The fund has now raised and distributed approximately $678,000 to help the people of Ukraine via United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s overseas partners,...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Maine parents seeking funding to send their children to religious schools, a development that a dissenting Jewish justice, Stephen Breyer, suggested could open the door to broad public funding of parochial...
It’s been almost a month, and it feels like I just left yesterday. You know the experience was especially amazing when it is so difficult to move on from it. I went to Israel on a gap year known as Young Judaea Year Course. First, I lived in Jerusalem taking classes...
On a particularly sunny morning in late April, between Life Fit and Stretch classes he teaches at the Simon Family JCC’s JFiT Wellness Center, an email caught Tom Purcell’s eye. The message was an inquiry about submitting for the opportunity to be named “Mr. Muscle...
The Tsigala Story told to Abbot Granoff, MD, by his paternal grandfather Morris Granoff (Pa) ignited a curiosity about his family’s history. In addition to spending time in Ukraine, the Granoff family story is a tale of travel, perseverance, and creativity. Here is...
Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters opened its new $224 million, 14-story Children’s Pavilion on April 25. The facility offers a wide array of outpatient psychiatric services that include pediatric psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, mental...
Judging by the waiting list of more than 400 people for Dr. Michael S. Weissman, Ph.D.’s outpatient practice, you would think there is a heightened need for mental health services today, and you would be exactly right. According to the Chesapeake and Norfolk-based...