Southeastern Virginia: Chesapeake • Norfolk • Portsmouth • Suffolk • Virginia Beach
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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...
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...
(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,...
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...
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 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...
“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...
(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...
(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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
(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...
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,...
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...