Other News

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Colin Powell will be remembered in history as the first Black U.S. national security advisor, the first Black military chief of staff and the first Black secretary of state. He was also the first military chief to speak Yiddish as a second language,...

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Yair Lapid got what he wanted out of his Washington visit: the word “every,” instead of “other.” During Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s first meeting with President Biden in August, Bennett was happy with what he heard: the American...

Three rabbis walk into a bar. One Reform, one Conservative, one Orthodox. The story is significantly less funny than you might imagine. While, in general, rabbis tend to be pretty funny people when you get them together in social settings, this was a business meeting....

American athletes have won a total of 2,673 medals in the history of the Olympics, so the chances of meeting an American medal winner is low, but not impossible. Given that Israeli athletes have won only 13 medals, what are the chances of meeting an Israeli medal...

Jewish Family Service received this thank you note from an 11-year-old girl after Hanukkah last year: Dear JFS Helpers: Thank you for including me in the Chanukah gift drive. I live with my grandma and she and I have to watch how we spend money. My grandma surprised...

As the end of 2021 approaches, there’s a greater sense of normality: people are returning to society and the workplace. Yet, millions of people across the globe are still being impacted by COVID-19. Still, there is a silver lining: according to Giving USA 2021, a...

It is a Jewish custom to remember family members and friends on the anniversary of their passing. A memorial prayer is recited, a candle is lit, and donation is often given in memoriam. After not gathering in person for more than one year, Beth Sholom Village held a...

The 2020–21 wedding theme is a mix of Suspend Disbelief and Hello Fantastical. For three recently married couples, snookered by the pandemic and forced to alter their original dream wedding plans dramatically, getting the last laugh was extra sweet. Erin Leon and...

Paul Len Turok was born to count many blessings: Building a sweet life with Vivian (Viv); moving from South Africa to Virginia at just the right time; feeling embraced by the local Jewish community; raising two healthy children with good souls and great hair; and...

Though Leia Morrissey is in eighth grade, she knows she can make friends with anyone at any age. It’s a skill she picked up by participating in Better Together, a program that brings teens from area synagogues together with seniors at Beth Sholom Village. Now in its...

One of my favorite memories of Passover is hearing my grandfather tell stories about how his mother used to make the gefilte fish. I assumed like all families that they just went to the store and bought theirs. He explained to me that on the morning of Passover my...

Only one?? Impossible! I have so many great Passover memories because it has always been my favorite holiday, starting as a child sitting around my Aunt Florence’s dining room table in Baltimore with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins on my father’s side. I can’t...

Every year for Passover, my family would drive 90 minutes to attend a seder at my aunt and uncle’s kibbutz. They lived on Kibbutz Beth Alpha, near Jordan, and we lived in Haifa. Hundreds of people attended, filling many long tables. The kibbutz created their own...

Elijah Arnowitz is a seventh grader who is already dreaming about camp this summer, which will be his fifth, at Camp Ramah New England. “It’s torturous to think about it because I miss it so much!” Elijah says. What does he like about camp? “Bunk activities, Shabbat...

Every summer, 1,500 Jewish campers from more than 20 countries attend Camp Szarvas in Hungary. Funded in part by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), the camp’s mission is to create an opportunity for young Jews from around the world to meet,...

Close to 200 people interested in seeing the three newest films of survivor Alfred Dreyfus, liberator William Jucksch, and rescuer Dame Mary Barraco, attended a screening last December at the Simon Wiesenthal Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. These first-hand...

( JTA)—They volunteered. They played soccer. They went to camp. They were sweet, mature, and easygoing. They were just beginning their lives, or helping others on their way. And one may have died so that others could live. Jewish students and staff were among the 17...

Dedicated to offering programs throughout the year that raise awareness and bring people with disabilities, their families, and those who love them, into their Jewish communities in meaningful ways, for Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, National Jewish Disability...

The 25th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg* and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi, began with a free, pre-festival event at TCC Roper Performing Arts Center featuring the movie, Marshall. Presented in honor of Martin...

Purim, is a joyous holiday celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. This year, on February 28. It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to destroy all the Jews, as recorded in the Megillah (book of...

TILBURG, Netherlands (JTA)— Although he lives in a city with only a few dozen Jews, the Israel-born photographer Idan Hemo and his family enjoy each spring what he calls “hardcore Purim” street festivities. “Everyone dresses up, including and especially the adults, in...