JERUSALEM (JTA)—With Israel coming up on its second election in five months with no ruling coalition in power, some may be asking who is actually running the government. They needn’t worry—at least not very much. Israelis went to the polls in April expecting to elect...
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Senate unanimously condemns anti-Semitism with resolution co-introduced by Senator Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Senate unanimously approved a resolution condemning anti-Semitism, the latest congressional bid to address an issue that has roiled American politics. The resolution passed Thursday, June 13 was introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Tim...
Harold Grinspoon’s LIFE & LEGACY inspires locals
Harold Grinspoon is active, intelligent, quick to crack a joke, and he is only 90 years old. A true renaissance man, he has traveled far and wide, owned and operated a successful business, and has recently begun creating massive art installations, many of which are...
Eurovision in Israel: Celebrating global connections through music
Tel Aviv lit up with magic during the week of May 13 for the 64th annual Eurovision Song Contest. With all of Europe’s eyes on Israel, Tel Aviv did not disappoint. In 2018, Netta Barzili, representing Israel, was announced the winner of the 63rd Eurovision Song...
Where We Disappear, Simon Fink’s directorial debut set to premiere in Los Angeles
Friday, June 21, 7 pm The feature film, Where We Disappear, directed by Norfolk native Simon Fink, is getting its world premiere in Los Angeles at the historic TLC (Grauman’s) Chinese Theatres. The film is the official selection of the 2019 Dances With Films festival....
Temple Israel bonds over kabobs
No great community event ever happens without mountains of work being done behind the scene. The recent Israel Fest was certainly no exception. Norfolk’s Temple Israel offered festivalgoers a tasty—and healthy!—reprieve from the heat of the day in the form of cool,...
Community meets with Congressman Donald McEachin
At a meeting with Jewish community leaders last month, Representative Donald McEachin of Virginia’s 4th congressional district, said that his “passion and love of Israel comes from learning from his father (who was an army veteran), that you don’t abandon your allies,...
The UK is finally taking Labour’s anti-Semitism seriously
(JTA)—On a recent speaking tour in North America, I was asked repeatedly about anti-Semitism in the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn’s Labour has become an existential threat to British Jews, and audiences smartly inquired what could be done to stop growing...
A lost song and a grandson’s tribute
In Vilden Vald—Aaron Tessler ft. Zemiros Choir The Holocaust’s devastation brought about not only the decimation of the Jewish people in body, but also immeasurable losses to Jewish culture. Countless and precious pieces of memory, history, and tradition disappeared...
Ambassador casts a new light on Israel
Ambassador Ido Aharoni spoke at Ohef Sholom Temple as part of the Community Relations Council of the United Federation of Tidewater and community partners’ 8th annual Israel Today series on Wednesday, May 8. As a member of Israel’s Foreign Service for 25 years, and as...
Temple Israel holds first Women’s Seder
After a great deal of thought, discussion, planning, negotiating, shopping, cooking, and implementing—not to mention the counting, hard boiling and peeling of no fewer than 96 eggs—Temple Israel held its first Women’s Seder on April 24, 2019. TI member Shirley...
Armed Forces Shabbat at Ohef Sholom
Congresswoman Elaine Luria was Ohef Sholom Temple’s guest speaker for Armed Forces Shabbat on Friday, May 17. She spoke of her experience commanding combatant ships in the Navy, and how this, along with her strong Jewish upbringing, led her to her current position...
Health Care in the Jewish community
Israeli-developed HyGIeaCare® Center now open in collaboration with Gastrointestinal & Liver Specialists of Tidewater A new HyGIeaCare Center, where patients experience simple and easy bowel prep on the same day as their scheduled colonoscopy, recently opened at...
And the winner is… Brian Cohn, 6th grade student
For the fourth consecutive year, Tidewater students had the opportunity to learn some “cool facts” about Israel and share what they learned by creating original works of art. The 4th Annual Israel Poster Contest, sponsored by the Community Relations Council of the...
The Simon Family JCC celebrates its Biennial Meeting as its staff merges with the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater
Wednesday, June 15, 7 pm The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC are merging. Starting in January of 2016, JCC leadership initiated a plan for the Center and UJFT to combine resources, creating a stronger staff to support both the Federation and...
Local Lions of Judah welcome Jeannie Opdyke Smith to Tidewater
Yom HaShoah speaker Jeannie Opdyke Smith came to Tidewater a little early to meet with a special group of women. Thirty local Lions of Judah (Jewish women advocates and donors of $5,000 or greater to the UJFT annual campaign) met for lunch with Smith to hear in an...
Respect and hope mark community’s 2016 Yom Hashoah Holocaust Day of Remembrance gathering
From Wendy Juren Auerbach’s heartfelt welcome on behalf of the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater to Jay Klebanoff’s respectful closing remarks as UJFT president, Tidewater’s 2016 Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Day of Remembrance was a...
Hebrew Academy students write pen pals in Kiryat Yam
Snail mail. Almost a lost art form, yes? Not for Hebrew Academy of Tidewater students. The sending and receiving of hand-written letters with new Israeli pen pals has become a fun way to broaden world perspectives, develop their cognitive and creative abilities and...
Six ways Israel is counting its blessings on Independence Day
TEL AVIV (JTA)—When Israel entered its 1948 War of Independence, the coastal city of Rishon Lezion was a hardscrabble farming settlement with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants. As waves of immigrants inundated Israel in its founding years, many were settled in temporary...
Choose Life
Most rabbis have the luxury of building relationships with their congregants that grow and change over the course of decades. They get to see their congregants’ life cycle events, be with them during times of joy and grieve with them during times of sorrow. The...
From the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archive
May 19, 2006 The Women’s Cabinet Outreach Committee of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, co-chaired by Judy Rubin and Ellen Peck Rosenblum, held two tours of the Chrysler Museum focused on works by contemporary Jewish artists. May 24, 1996 Ada Michaels, who...
Naro Expanded Cinema’s presentation of The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the U.S. skews the truth
On Wednesday, May 4, the Naro Cinema presented The Occupation of the American Mind: Israel’s Public Relations War in the U.S. This film is an extremely skewed propaganda piece for the ‘Israel as evil occupier camp;’ those who believe Palestinian suffering is primarily...
Preschool hoop house full of hope Enriching the lives of little seedlings
A visit to the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center’s garden reveals some changes. In fact, some rather sizable changes—an eight-foot tall caterpillar, to be exact. Situated next to the garden beds in the back yard of the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, the...
Seder at Strelitz
On Tuesday, April 19, the Strelitz Early Childhood Center held an educational and fun Model Passover Seder. Preschool parents were invited to attend with their children. Together, parents and children sang Passover songs, tasted Passover foods, and the children...
Rabbi Arthur Z. Steinberg
February 7, 1938–April 10, 2016 Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg delivered the eulogy for Rabbi Arthur Z. Steinberg at Ohef Sholom Temple. An abbreviated version follows Heart-broken and sorrow filled, as we gather to remember our beloved Rabbi Arthur Z. Steinberg, we reflect...
Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy advisers are exactly who you’d expect them to be—which is now rare
WASHINGTON (JTA)—It’s the season of the unconventional foreign policy adviser: Donald Trump takes advice from his sonin- law and real estate attorney, and Bernie Sanders cites folks who didn’t know they were advising him. In this field, Hillary Clinton’s inner circle...
From the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives
May 5, 2006 For the second consecutive year, the Week of Healthy Living, Jewish Family Service’s major fundraising event, took place. It included the 2nd Annual Run, Roll or Stroll at Norfolk Botanical Gardens, as well as a variety of speakers and free health...
Judge Marc Jacobson to receive honorary doctorate from Old Dominion University at graduation ceremony
Saturday, May 7 Old Dominion University will present Judge Marc Jacobson with an honorary doctorate at its graduation ceremony next month. Jacobson served as a judge in the Commonwealth of Virginia for 14 years after practicing law for 32 years. He sat on the Norfolk...
Postcard from an ORT school in Argentina
Sixteen members of the Tidewater Jewish community traveled on a mission to the Jewish community of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sponsored by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, the mission allowed local donors to “follow their campaign dollars” to one of the many...
Passover at Strelitz
The Strelitz preschool students enjoyed sharing the Strelitz Model Family Seder with their parents. To get ready, they sang Passover songs, read Passover stories, acted out the narrative, and tasted the holiday foods. Each year, the students make Passover art...
A little politics, a little Talmud at recent YAD Men’s business lunch
The first half hour, it was all about ultra-fast Internet and light rail. The second half hour, the discussion shifted to business ethics, fair competition, and the Jewish perspective on both. That’s what young professionals found Tuesday, April 5 at a YAD men’s...
Meningitis is preventable with a vaccine
Disclaimer: The contents of this article are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your physician for personalized medical advice. A little fact about me: I am the oldest of six girls, affectionately...