Stephanie Peck Each summer, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater submits a five-year, Jewish holiday calendar to area school districts, arts leaders, elected officials, and similar public and private institutions which...
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Strelitz International Academy is back to school
Ally St. Pierre A reimagined entryway with a beautiful IB®-themed mural and new toddler classrooms helped contribute to the excitement as Strelitz International Academy welcomed the new school year with open arms and smiling faces on Monday, August 21. Three days...
Be a Reader literacy project celebrates 24 years of cultivating the love of reading
Robin Ford For nearly a quarter of a century, the Be a Reader Literacy Project has transformed students’ lives in Norfolk and Virginia Beach Title I schools by igniting their passion for reading. As it enters its 24th year of operation, the project stands as a shining...
A new YLC director for a new year
Elana McGovern joins United Jewish Federation of Tidewater as director of Young Leadership Campaign Amy Zelenka Throughout her professional career, Elana McGovern has worked in non-profits and philanthropy, consistently centering her work on the essential Jewish value...
End of Summer Shabbat features prayers, splashes, and friendship
Nofar Trem Children, grandparents, and everyone in between, joined PJ Library in Tidewater and UJFT’s Young Adult Division on Friday, August 25 at the Sandler Family Campus for a celebratory End of Summer Shabbat. Swimming with friends and family, adult deep-water...
Recycling Reusables
Staff Report The Simon Family JCC is partnering with Lynnhaven River Now (LRNOW) to collect and distribute reusable bags. This program will help Virginia Beach residents reduce plastic bag pollution and prepare for a future when grocery stores, convenience stores, and...
Everything my college student needs to know he learned at synagogue
Rabbi Dave Levy (JTA) — Last week we did it: My wife and I dropped our eldest son off for his first year of college. As you can imagine, it is a heady, emotional moment. There is pride and joy mixed with anxiety and the bittersweet sense that this primary chapter of...
Are self-driving cars kosher?
San Francisco rabbis weigh in as robotaxis flood the city’s streets Liz Dovrat (J. The Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) Ask a rabbi about self-driving cars and you’d better be ready for a long answer. Self-driving cars — also known as robotaxis, autonomous...
Embracing Mindfulness: A path to reflection, renewal, and legacy
During this sacred season, let us reflect on the impact we want to make on the world and how we can align our philanthropic goals with our values. Naomi Sedek As the High Holidays approach, we find ourselves standing at the threshold of a new year, an opportunity for...
Nophar Tzilil Yarden wins Feldman Family Medical & Health Professions Student Scholarship
The recipient of the 2023 Feldman Family Medical & Health Professions Student Scholarship is Nophar Tzilil Yarden, a third-year medical school student at Virginia Commonwealth University. The scholarship is administered through Tidewater Jewish Foundation. Raised...
High Holiday Service Options in Tidewater
All area congregations offer High Holiday services. For exact times, ticket requirements, and virtual options, it is best to contact them in advance. CONGREGATIONS B’NAI ISRAEL CONGREGATION 420 Spotswood Ave., Norfolk, VA 23517 757-627-7358 bnaiisrael.org,...
Tashlich takes place in various forms in Tidewater
Stephanie Peck This year celebrates the sixth, worldwide Reverse Tashlich, an effort to tackle the global pollution problem by cleaning up our waterways. Tashlich comes from the Hebrew word, meaning “to cast.” Each Rosh Hashanah, Jews cast away their sins during the...
What do Jews say about abortion? Your primer as the Supreme Court weighs overturning Roe v. Wade
(JTA)—The Jewish Telegraphic Agency and its partners at 70 Faces Media have answered the question many times over the years, a testament to its persistence in political life and its significance to American Jews: What do Jews say about abortion? After a report that...
What Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter could mean for Jewish users—and antisemitism—on the platform
(JTA) — Let’s get one thing out of the way: Elon Musk is not Jewish. But his acquisition of Twitter comes amid longstanding problems with antisemitism and hate speech on the platform—and Jewish users fear his free-speech orientation could make things worse. Musk’s...
No time left to hesitate– register now for camp
Summer 2022 is only weeks away and camps around town and the country, for that matter, are preparing to welcome campers. Camp JCC, according to Dave Flagler, the camp’s director, is gearing up for an amazing experience. “Excitement about Camp JCC within the Tidewater...
Jewish American Heritage Month celebrated in May
By Presidential Proclamation every year since 2006, May is Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) in recognition of the indelible contributions Jewish Americans have made, and continue to make, to America’s history, culture, and society. The Weitzman leads this...
Strelitz International Academy’s Evening of the Arts: How We Express Ourselves
A packed house of Strelitz International Academy parents watched their children perform on stage, many for the first time, on Thursday, March 24. After two years of COVID mitigations, including no family programs or performances, SIA’s Evening of the Arts: How...
Consider Jewish judges on Virginia Supreme Court
The following letter was sent to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and others earlier this month to highlight the fact that there has never been a Jewish judge on the Virginia Supreme Court. April 13, 2022 The Honorable Glenn Youngkin Governor Office of the Governor...
Ukrainian refugee with Tidewater ties uses words to emote fear, hope, and gratitude
Stella Kremen emigrated from Ukraine in 1994 to Tidewater with her husband, two boys, and her parents. Her children attended Hebrew Academy of Tidewater. Kremen’s brother stayed behind in Ukraine. Kremen shares the following Instagram post from her niece, Karyna who...
Tidewater teens dive into Dive in Movie
The first “Dive in Movie” in the Simon Family JCC indoor pool took place on Saturday, March 26 with 20 Tidewater middle schoolers and teens attending. The event was hosted by Camp JCC in collaboration with Camp Sababa Beachaway, a Jewish sleepaway camp in Virginia...
S’more Fun on a Sunday afternoon
More than 60 people attended S’more Fun, a collaborative event presented by Camp JCC and Camp Sababa Beachaway on Sunday afternoon, March 27. Families enjoyed crafts, s’mores over a fire pit, and kosher pizza for dinner while children played gaga and other camp games...
Senate unanimously confirms Deborah Lipstadt as antisemitism monitor
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Senate, in a voice vote, unanimously confirmed Deborah Lipstadt, the Holocaust scholar who endured delays and a contentious hearing in her nomination to be antisemitism monitor. The vote late Wednesday, March 30 took mere seconds. “The ayes appear...
Embracing Jewish groups’ request, Biden proposes boosting budget for nonprofit security
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Joe Biden wants to increase federal funding for security for nonprofits from $250 million to $360 million, a key request advanced by Jewish organizations in the wake of attacks on Jewish institutions. Biden included the funding in the...
Israel’s governing coalition in crisis as right-wing Knesset member resigns, citing Passover food in hospitals
(JTA)—Of all the issues facing Israel—violence within the country, how to handle Russia’s war on Ukraine, Iran—the one that appears to have put the country’s delicate governing coalition at risk could appear picayune. When Idit Silman, a member of Knesset from the...
Support for those who are homeless in the community
When driving up to Congregation Beth El, a group of homeless people are frequently seen across the street at New Life Church waiting to get in to have a meal. Riding down Colonial Avenue, an old woman might be seen pushing a grocery cart with all her belongings in it,...
B’Tayavon: Something new for Passover
Falling in the spring, as it does each year, Passover is a great time to take advantage of fresh fruits and vegetables, especially after enjoying delicious soups and stews during the chillier winter months. Springtime and Passover and asparagus seem to all meet at the...
TJF and Feldman family unveil new medical and health professions scholarship fund
Recently announced by Tidewater Jewish Foundation and the Feldman Family, The Feldman Family Medical and Health Professions Scholarship Fund is an annual scholarship that will award up to $10,000 a year to Jewish students living in Virginia—with priority given to...
Holocaust education at its core: Lessons taught at Norview Middle School
Kindra Mosher, a new media specialist at Norview Middle School, is serious about students learning Holocaust history. A transplant from upstate New York, where Elie Wiesel’s Night was required eighth grade reading, Mosher loves offering students the books that United...
Madeleine Albright, first woman Secretary of State and a refugee who discovered her Jewish roots late in life
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Madeleine Albright was the quintessential late 20th-century Jewish diplomat, haunted by the Holocaust and determined to use what tools her adopted country had to crush inhumanity when it arose. Except she didn’t know she was Jewish until she was in...
Your Dollars at Work: JCC Budapest assists refugees
Devastated by what is happening in Ukraine, the reality in Hungary is that there is a lot to do. As of March 14, more than 250,000 Ukrainians have made their way to Hungary; most refugees arriving are women, children, and seniors (many elderly are disabled), and most...
Russian Jewish oligarchs step down from board of Genesis Group, the Jewish philanthropy they helped found
(JTA)—Russian billionaires Petr Aven, Mikhail Fridman, and German Kahn have stepped down from the board of Genesis Philanthropy Group, a major funder of Jewish causes founded by the trio, after they were sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom. The...
Zelensky offers new details about his family’s Holocaust history, igniting debate over Ukrainian Holocaust memory
(JTA)—Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s great-grandparents died when the Nazis burned their village, he said in an interview on CNN Monday, March 21. Speaking through a translator with Fareed Zakaria, Zelensky said, as he has many times before, that his...