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...
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Striving for Tikkun Olam
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...
Marching again
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...
William & Mary students experience antisemitism
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...
Craft a legacy, secure the Jewish future
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...
Shinshinim program is successful and important
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...
Daffodil Project is planted at Jewish Museum and Culture Center
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,...
Strelitz International Academy Fall Festival: A new event in Tidewater
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...
Rabbi Diana Fersko shares message of hope, urges community to speak up against antisemitism
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...
Mothers Against College Antisemitism, a new Facebook group and movement, has 42K members and counting
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...
More than 120 Jewish organizations sign letter rejecting bigotry and hate
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...
United in Solidarity: TJF’s unwavering support for Israel in times of crisis
Naomi Limor Sedek In these turbulent times, as we witness the horrific wave of violence and terrorism striking deep within Israel, our hearts and prayers are with our Israeli families, friends, and all those affected. The scenes of unrest shatter our hearts but...
Strelitz International Academy students celebrate Shavuot with a Mitzvah Fair
Primary Years students at Strelitz International Academy had excitement in their eyes as they entered the room for the Shavuot Mitzvah Fair on Friday, June 3. Richard Glasser’s family dedicated the unique holiday celebration in his memory. His brother Michael,...
ShinShinim are coming to Tidewater
Aya Sever of Kefar Sava, located 15 miles north of Tel Aviv, and Alma Ben Chorin, of Hertzliya, will fly into Norfolk this August to live in Tidewater through summer 2023. Both 18, Sever and Chorin are two of the 200 Israeli high school graduates that are among...
Sandy Koufax honored with a statue at Dodger Stadium
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—For Jewish sports fans around the world, Sandy Koufax has for decades occupied an unmatched legendary status. Now, 57 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe Yom Kippur, Koufax has officially been immortalized with...
I left Israel to give my kids the American dream. Is this it?
On the day when the shooting happens, I finally unlock what some say is the most vital part of the American dream. My husband and I have a house in the suburbs now, big trees towering above —no picket fence, but a wide expanse of green and room for the pattering of...
Junior’s, NYC’s iconic Jewish cheesecake emporium, buys back guns to protect the city it loves
(New York Jewish Week)—When Alan Rosen, the third-generation owner of Junior’s Restaurant, read the headlines back in April about a 12-year-old Brooklyn boy who was shot and killed while eating in the backseat of a car, the only thing he could think was, “enough...
A new podcast chronicles the little-known stories of boxers from the Holocaust era
(JTA)—In the early 1930s, Victor Perez was on top of the world. The Tunisian Jewish boxer, who fought under the ring name “Young Perez,” became the World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932 after moving from Tunis to Paris. He became a bona fide celebrity, dating...
Fishing Derby 2022 reels in some big ones
The Simon Family JCC’s Annual Catch and Release Fishing Derby at Lake Sandler took place Sunday, May 22. The Annual Fishing Derby is the only day of the year that Lake Sandler is open to the public for fishing—and word is out that it’s a great place to “reel ‘em in.”...
TJF Community Impact Grant helps William & Mary Hillel with new mental health and wellbeing cohort
Mental health and wellbeing has received a larger spotlight over the past few years. With the COVID-19 pandemic, quarantines, lack of in-person contact, and day-to-day stress, it’s no surprise that everyone from Olympic athletes to college students have made mental...
JCC Seniors Club has it all
If fun, community, food, entertainment, and friends that are all at least 55 years old are of interest, now is the time join the JCC Seniors Club. The Club’s May meeting hosted Frank Sings Frank with Frank Cubillo singing many of Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits. Patsi...
Authors pitch their books and presentations over Zoom
The virtual conference of the Jewish Book Council Network recently took place with lay leaders and staff of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater attending. The JBC Network, which includes roughly 120 member organizations across North America, provides an annual...
Judaism through the Arts offered at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater
A new six-week class on Jewish art through United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Konikoff Center of Learning has received the support of an anonymous donor, making the classes free for all who attended. The classes were a part of the curriculum offered by Jewish Art...
A fun day of baseball for BBYO at Harbor Park
BBYO celebrated the end of the school year at Harbor Park watching the Norfolk Tides on Sunday, May 15. BBYO members, prospects, and their families enjoyed lunch and plenty of cold soft drinks on a private patio during this warm afternoon. While not the final program,...
Copywriter joins Jewish News staff
Debbie Burke, an award-winning author and editor, and the founder of Queen Esther Publishing LLC, joined Jewish News last month as a staff copywriter. Burke has edited hundreds of books and articles for authors around the world, as well as for many boutique and...
National Council of Jewish Women creates outlet for Jews to donate to abortion funds
(JTA)—In the 1920s, the National Council of Jewish Women helped establish the first 10 birth control clinics in the United States, which later became Planned Parenthood clinics. Now, with the right to abortion under threat, the group is partnering with the National...
In her first talk as antisemitism monitor, Deborah Lipstadt decries those who do not take it seriously
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Antisemitism is often not taken seriously until it becomes deadly, said Deborah Lipstadt, the Holocaust scholar whose nomination to be the State Department’s antisemitism monitor was delayed as she tangled with Republican senators who were peeved at...
What you need to know about the antisemitic ideology behind the Buffalo shooting
(JTA)—The man charged with killing 10 people at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket Saturday, May 14, allegedly was motivated by a conspiracy theory that has spurred recent deadly attacks on Jews, among others. An online manifesto attributed to Payton Gendron, 18,...
Run, Roll, or Stroll a success
Jewish Family Service of Tidewater hosted its 18th annual Run, Roll, or Stroll race day event on Sunday, May 1. After two years of postponing due to COVID, this year’s Run, Roll, or Stroll came back in a big way with a record turn-out, with more than 350 people...
New and improved—Jewish Federation of North America’s Washington Conference 2022
Earlier this month, Jewish Federations of North America relaunched the biennial Washington Conference. The original incarnation ran from the late 1970’s through 2004. JFNA hosted the event once again for a group of more than 450 community members from across North...
Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives preserves community’s past for the future
Hal Sacks was a man of many words and a visionary. An author of two books and the Jewish News Book Review editor for more than 30 years, among his many activities within Tidewater’s Jewish community, Sacks spent several years on a personal mission to benefit the...
Role models wanted
“Why fit in when you were born to stand out? “Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” Dr. Seuss, quoted above, must have known exactly what it means to work at Camp JCC. Staff members are hired because of WHO they...