Other News

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden unveiled a multifaceted and broad strategy to combat antisemitism in the United States that reaches from basketball courts to farming communities, from college campuses to police departments. “We must say clearly and forcefully...

(JTA) — For a decade starting in 2002, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi devoted herself to pro-Israel advocacy. After that, the Jewish philanthropist and activist from Annapolis, Maryland, went all in to fight for disability rights, working in the field for the next decade....

They say, “we are what we eat.”  Maybe this is because food is more than just the building blocks of our physical body. . .it is also feeds our spirit.  It reflects our emotions, “I need something fried today!”  our attitude, “I am feeling bold and spicy!” and our...

Setting goals and acquiring new skills are at the heart of kindergarten at Strelitz International Academy. This year, each student in Jamie Baker’s kindergarten class set a goal to accomplish with their classmates’ help. Goals included baking a Barbie cake, making and...

The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience’s 2023 Middle School Essay contest’s first place winner is Leah Steerman of Virginia Beach.  With the prompt, “If you were building a Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, which 3 things would you put in it?” MSJE,...

The Virginia Beach School Board met on Tuesday, April 25, to discuss, among other topics on their agenda, potential changes to the library media centers in each of the division’s schools. Virginia Beach citizens of all backgrounds spoke at the meeting about their...

An annual recognition and celebration of the more than 350-year history of Jewish achievements and contributions to the fabric of American life and culture in the United States, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is held during the month of May. JAHM was first...

Tidewater Jewish Foundation, an approved scholarship foundation under the Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit (EISTC) Program, is looking for new donors before its current fiscal/program year ends on June 30, 2023. BINA High School, Strelitz...

The new tradition of Sunday Fun Day continued this fall as PJ Library in Tidewater welcomed families to the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community on September 12 for an afternoon of field games, music, and ice cream. Families with...

Collectors, family, friends, and mentors gathered from across the country—and globe—to honor artist Lorraine Fink during a reception celebrating Then, Now, & Looking Forward: Lorraine Fink Retrospective. The reception was held via Zoom on Sunday, Sept. 12. As a...

Farm to table has become accessible to Beth Sholom Village by way of a very futuristic-looking farm. The “farms” are in towers that resemble modern art sculptures. The crops can be seen in the beautiful six-foot case that emits a warm light and varying hues of green....

Tidewater families raising Jewish children will now have more opportunities to participate in Jewish life, thanks to a grant recently awarded to United Jewish Federation of Tidewater by PJ Library®, the flagship program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation that provides...

Forty families gathered by the pool at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus to welcome Shabbat on Friday, August 27. Hosted by PJ Library in Tidewater, in partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division, the night began with pool games,...

On July 12, I hopped on a nine-and-a-half-hour plane ride with two of my best friends and 41 other teens to visit the land of Israel for 22 days. I always knew that visiting Israel would shift my perspective on being Jewish, but being able to experience that change...

Who would have thought 18 months ago, that we would still be speaking about COVID-19 as we approach another Jewish New Year? With our nation and world, we continue to combat the virus. But now we fight in a stronger position—with vaccinations—as we pivot daily and...

Elka Mednick As summer comes to a close and the High Holidays approach, annual concerns regarding conflicts between the academic calendar and the holidays are brought to the forefront. This year, the usual first day of school for public school students, the day after...

Compiled by Ronnie Jacobs Cohen, Shalom Tidewater Editor’s note: This listing is current as of Wednesday, August 18. Due to the evolving nature of COVID-19, it is advised to check with congregations to learn specific protocols for attending High Holiday Services,...

 Robin Ford As another potentially challenging school year is about to start, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Be a Reader (BeAR) program is gearing up for 2021–22. The program’s volunteers and staff hope to be able...

Thomas Mills Tidewater Jewish Foundation awarded a $7,500 Community Impact Grant in March to Toras Chaim to renovate their auditorium. Serving Tidewater’s Jewish community for almost 20 years, the school has undergone an extensive beautification project. Renovations...

Michelle Fenley Two special groups of Camp JCC campers demonstrated this summer that joy can be found through doing mitzvot. Despite the limitations that COVID‑19 placed on summer experiences, the two oldest groups of campers at the Simon Family JCC’s summer camp...

Earlier this summer, 14 members of the Simon Family Jewish Community Center participated in the Sprint 8 Cardio Challenge. “I wanted to challenge our members to change how they’re doing cardiovascular exercise with a clinically tested workout that provided real...

Lisa Richmon The pandemic surges and lulls before it rises again, but attacks on Israeli peace remains a front burner issue that never lets up. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater continues its partnership with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, known...

Emily Burack (JTA)—The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are finally happening, a full year after they were planned. And yes, they’re still being called the 2020 Olympics, even though they’re happening in 2021. The Jewish athletes competing this year—and there are many—are the...

Rabbi Adam Ruditsky Beth Sholom Village is not just a long-term care facility or rehab, an assisted living or memory care, but it is a dwelling place for Jewish life. At least that was so for Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, z’’l, who said: “A test of a people is how it...

  Temple Israel participated in another successful Mitzvah of the Month in June by conducting a Jewish Family Service food drive titled, “Bare Necessities.” Members of the congregation donated money, food, and products that families need to survive the summer....

(JTA)–Pro-Palestinian activists were swarming the social media comments sections of Ben & Jerry’s to demand the company boycott Israel. In response, Ben & Jerry’s appears to have indeed entered a boycott—of social media itself. The international ice cream...

Ben Sales (JTA)—Meet America’s Jews: They’re older, more educated, richer, and less religious, on average, than the rest of the country. They’re overwhelmingly white, though Jews under 30 are more diverse. Most of them care about Israel, though one in 10 support the...