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Following the expansion and restructuring of the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces’ (FIDF) executive office and welcoming Steven Weil as the new national director and CEO in mid-September, FIDF has formed the new Eastern Region. Seth Baron, who for the past seven...
The Glasser name stands for character and charisma—and juxtapositions. Jacob ‘Jake’ Glasser, the firm’s newest member, is the son of Lori and Michael Glasser, and nephew of former partners Stuart Glasser and Richard Glasser (of blessed memory). Named “Best Lawyers in...
The new administrator of The Terrace Assisted Living, Allison Whiteman, is very familiar to Beth Sholom Village. A gradute of Virginia Wesleyan College (now Virginia Wesleyan University), with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies, Whiteman knew she wanted to...
(JTA)—Jewish voters are set to vote 75% to 22% for Joe Biden, according to a poll by the American Jewish Committee. The poll released Monday, Oct. 19, shows the Democratic nominee expanding his support among Jewish voters from a 67–30 split in a poll last month and it...
(JTA)—On Thursday, Oct. 15, the FBI had a message for Jewish institutions across the country: Prepare for the possibility of violence on Election Day. That was the main takeaway from a webinar hosted by the Secure Community Network, which coordinates security for...
Pandemic isolation affects everyone differently. It’s human kryptonite. Nobody is immune because there is no antidote for the great equalizer—the need for human connection. Since 1946, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater has been fighting isolation-induced illness,...
Matthew Kramer-Morning joined United Jewish Federation of Tidewater as Young Leadership Campaign manager this month. Originally from Northern Wisconsin, Matt Kramer-Morning has a diverse background in the professional Jewish world. Most recently, he served in a...
(JTA)—In the haredi Orthodox world, a gadol is a Torah sage of such outstanding scholarly achievement that their legal conclusions are widely accepted and their words are deemed worthy of close study and repetition. More than just a mere expert, a gadol’s very persona...
(JTA)—There was an audible gasp as she entered the room. Flanked by bodyguards, with her white gloves prominent, Ruth Bader Ginsburg took a seat next to the bride and groom as cameras clicked rapidly. I had never co-officiated a marriage ceremony before, let alone...
Kerri Cohen recently joined United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC as a development associate. Born and raised in Suffolk, Va. she has also lived in Texas, Mexico, and Massachusetts. Cohen holds a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership...
Doron Almog, a former head of the Israeli Defense Forces’ Southern Command, was one of the heroes of Israel’s 1976 hostage rescue operation in Entebbe, Uganda, and winner of the 2016 Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. But the thing he says he’s most proud of is...
WASHINGTON (JTA)—President Donald Trump spent much of his 20-minute call with American Jewish leaders making the case for more American Jews to vote for him. He closed by repeating a line that has raised their eyebrows before. “We really appreciate you,” Trump said as...
NEW YORK (JTA)—On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump made Mark Hetfield’s job impossible. Hetfield is the president and CEO of HIAS, an organization that resettles refugees in the United States. A week into his presidency, Trump issued an executive order barring refugees...
NEW YORK (JTA)—The vast majority of Reform and Conservative rabbis affiliate as Democrats, according to a new study. The study, published this month by Yale University, found that more than 80 percent of Reform rabbis, and about 70 percent of Conservative rabbis,...
Words Matter: Now More Than Ever Wednesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 27 The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s highly praised Biennial Educators’ Conference provides educators with tools, strategies, and techniques to use for...
On Tuesday, June 7, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Class of 2017 held a very moving graduation ceremony. Of the 14 students graduating from the school, 12 had attended the HAT since preschool. Next fall, these graduates will attend a variety of excellent schools...
It may have begun on a dark, rainy September night, but the 6th Annual Israel Today series ended with a bang on a beautiful, warm May evening, as the Tidewater community gathered to cook with Chefs Nir Margalith and Guy Marom, of travel and culinary group Puzzle...
Just who qualifies as a ‘senior’ is a bit confusing these days. That’s mainly because the definition of ‘senior’ and who identifies as one, is more of a moving target than ever before. While it wasn’t that long ago that very few people worked beyond 65 years old, or...
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is responding to catastrophic flooding and mudslides in Sri Lanka, the result of the worst storms to hit the island nation since 2003. JDC, together with its local partner Sarvodaya, a Buddhist-inspired...
(JTA)—Try to think of the most famous Israelis in history. Not necessarily the most consequential or “important” ones— like any number of Nobel Prize winners or behind-the-scenes Middle East peace deal negotiators—but those who are most universally recognizable. Most...
Technology is now ubiquitous. Kids seem to be born knowing how to use it. Still, if they want to keep up with the technology curve, they will have to learn to build, program, and code. As a result, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has recently...
Father's Day, June 12, 2017
Sitting in front of my grandparents’ black and white television set watching Abba Eban’s unforgettable speech before the United Nations General Assembly is certainly one of my most distinctive memories of the Six-Day War. Just 10 years old and not able to fully...
(JTA)—The first thing Carl Reiner does every morning is pick up the paper and read the obituary section to check if he’s named there. “If I’m not, I’ll have my breakfast”—or so he says in the charming and appropriately titled HBO documentary If You’re Not in the Obit,...
When the seniors at Beth Sholom Village and the teens at Ohef Sholom Temple met for the first time last year at an Oneg Shabbat, there were jitters on both sides. But when the two groups came together a few weeks ago for their end-of-year banquet, those jitters were...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Shavuot is the “Rodney Dangerfield of Jewish holidays,” says Rabbi Shira Stutman of Washington, D.C.’s Sixth and I synagogue. Meaning: It gets no respect. Considered by Jewish tradition to be on par with the fall and spring festivals of Sukkot and...
JERUSALEM (JTA)—David Rubinger’s iconic photograph of three paratroopers at the Western Wall is the defining image of the 1967 Six-Day War. The men in the photo—Dr. Yitzhak Yifat, Tzion Karasenti and Chaim Oshri— have proudly served as symbols of the historic Israeli...
Next week we will hold our biennial meeting of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and the Simon Family JCC, where I will transition out of the board presidency and introduce John Strelitz as the incoming president. John’s presidency will continue a Strelitz legacy...
The community gathered on Wednesday, May 3 to celebrate the Simon Family JCC with One Night of Israeli food, wine, and music. The fundraising event, hosted by John Stein of Baker’s Crust, featured Israeli chefs Guy Marom and Nir Margalith of the travel and catering...
Staycation, May 29, 2017
I remember having the family for dinner and walking into the den where Joyce and Leonard (Strelitz) were on the phone with national UJA office people in New York—there was no CNN back then. I felt a nervous immediacy being in the room with people getting news directly...
On May 23, 1967 Gamal Abdel Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran – the entrance to the Red Sea, ordered the UN force to leave Sinai, and moved six divisions (130,000 soldiers) into Sinai. This was against the agreement with the U.S. and United Nations after the 1957...