(JTA)—With the announcement in January that it had picked Robert Kraft as its 2019 laureate, the Genesis Prize seemed poised for a calmer year. Last year the foundation that awards the “Jewish Nobel,” as it’s called, picked actress and director Natalie Portman as an...
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Time to Write
I formally retired from my Cardiology group after 45 years of practice in July 2018. Fortunate to be able to ease into retirement by ending night and weekend call after 35 years (which is obviously quite demanding and stressful), for the last several years, my...
‘Golden Years’ filled with family, travel, and…work
I’m glad to have this opportunity to reflect on my “golden years.” My long-suffering wife of 45 years, Carol, and I are worriers. So, prior to retiring, we spent lots of time worrying about having adequate health care and income so that once we retired we would, for...
What Retirement?
“What will I do?” After more than 40 years as a Clinical Laboratory Scientist/ Laboratory manager, I decided to retire. It was a wonderful career of hospital lab work and work in a private practice with the Group for Internal Medicine, where I had the privilege of...
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, interfaith activist who raised millions in Christian donations for Israel, dies at 67
To the many colleagues and supporters of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who died Wednesday, Feb. 6 at the age of 67, he was a man of vision whose enormous drive to succeed both facilitated and complicated his relentless efforts on behalf of the Jewish people. As head of...
A national Jewish group says community relations are in crisis
WASHINGTON (JTA)—An increase in anti-Semitism, an intensification of anti-Israel activity and decades of neglect have created a crisis in the Jewish community relations field, according to the umbrella group for Jewish public policy organizations, the Jewish Council...
Right-wing killings eclipsed all other extremist-related murders in 2018. The numbers don’t lie.
NEW YORK (JTA)—Every year, extremism takes a deadly toll around the world. No region is immune—not the Middle East, not Europe, and not the United States. In 2018, there were at least 50 Americans killed by extremists from different movements. Many of the victims were...
Amos Oz, iconic Israeli novelist and peace activist
Amos Oz, one of Israel’s most widely read and best-known writers, died December 28, 2018. He was 79. The cause was cancer, the Israeli media reported. Barely older than the country he chronicled in dozens of novels, essays and nonfiction books, Oz represented a...
Here I am!
First Person From YAD Cabinet In late spring of 2018, I received an invitation from Eliot Weinstein, Young Adult Division (YAD) Cabinet chair, and Jasmine Amitay, YAD director, to join the 2018-2019 YAD Cabinet. I had already participated in two of the United Jewish...
Art in the Family at Temple Israel
Like many synagogues, Temple Israel possesses art and artifacts that both enrich and inspire. On Saturday, December 8 and Sunday, December 9, the temple’s Art in the Family program offered a trio of experiences centered around its collection of Jewish-themed art,...
Amy Milligan honored at 35th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast
Amy Milligan, Old Dominion University’s Batten Endowed Assistant Professor in Jewish Studies and Women’s Studies and director of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, received a community leader award at the 35th annual Urban League of Hampton...
Israeli security as the U.S. leaves Syria
This piece was originally published in Real Clear Defense on January 5, 2019 The Israeli military launched an operation last month to expose and neutralize Hezbollah’s commando tunnels penetrating Israeli territory from Lebanon. According to Israeli officials, the...
Passover
Dear Readers, As much as we all love our Passover traditions and reminiscing about them, this is a holiday that consistently offers a new recipe, a new twist, a new way to celebrate and observe. In fact, according to Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz’s Torah Thought, the rabbis...
Tidewater gets update on World ORT
The local chapter of ORT, a Jewish organization devoted to education, held its annual spring lunch last month at the Sandler Family Campus. The event’s special guest was Harry Nadler, North American representative for World ORT, the international non-governmental...
Baseball’s back: Here’s a look at 8 Jewish major leaguers and a manager
(JTA) – Will Joc Pederson rebound from his second-half struggles of last season? Can Kevin Pillar build on his strong 2015 campaign? Will injuries derail one-time MVP Ryan Braun? These are some of the questions to be answered as these Jewish players and others get set...
Federation celebrates campaign volunteer solicitors
Volunteer solicitors from across all divisions of the 2016 UJFT campaign came together at the home of John and Renee Strelitz to celebrate the successes of the campaign to date, and to get energized to close the remaining open gifts. After being warmly welcomed by the...
From the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives
April 7, 2006 The Tidewater Chapter of Hadassah held its second annual hamantashen baking event for adults and kids. Baskets were decorated, filled with hamantashen and donated to Jewish Family Service. April 12, 1996 The Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Charitable Gift...
Hoop House added to preschool garden for year-round growing
Planting, harvesting, and baking are not typical activities for an early childhood curriculum. But they are at Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center, which is leading the way in providing a well-rounded education for its students. Three and four-year-old children...
Inside the Jewish life of Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland
(JTA)—Americans have heard a lot about Merrick Garland since President Barack Obama nominated him to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. But there’s a lot we still don’t know. What are his views on abortion? Will the Republican leadership give him a hearing in...
Online archives gets new name
Hal Sacks is a man of many words. Literally. The author of two books, Hal’s Navy and Passing in Review and countless Jewish News articles and book reviews, Sacks has spent the last few years on a personal mission to benefit the community—using his written and oratory...
Report: Israel world’s 11th happiest country
Israel is the 11th happiest place in the world and happier than the United States, according to a new study. Among the 156 countries ranked in the World Happiness Report conducted by University of British Columbia researchers, Israel placed 11th, two spots ahead of...
Home
Dear Readers, I think it is real this time. Glorious white blossoms, hopeful tree buds, and colorful flowers emerging from the soil are all welcome signs that spring might have actually sprung in Tidewater! With springtime, of course, comes a different focus on our...
Experiencing Jewish India with JDC
This past December I was incredibly lucky to spend 10 days with the Joint Distribution Committee ( JDC) to experience Jewish life in India. Prior to applying to this trip for college students, I was completely unaware that Jews lived in India, let alone in three...
Regent University Torah Dedication and Celebration
Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg delivered these remarks at the ceremony Hinei Matov u’Manayim Shevet Achim Gam Yachad. How good it is and how pleasant when brothers and sisters come together in unity. So we thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Larson for your faith, your vision, and your...
Toras Chaim: So much to write about
Rabbi Mordechai Loiterman, Toras Chaim’s principal, recently requested that board members and parents write articles about what is happening in the school. With so much occurring at Toras Chaim, it is hard to choose. While it would be interesting to write about the...
Courage is contagious
Inspired and encouraged by her parents’ commitment to public service and her own Christian faith, Olga Meshoe knew she had to get involved. On Wednesday, March 2, the Tidewater community heard from this young South African about her work as an advocate for Israel and...
YAD’s Purim party provides an evening escape to Fabulous Las Vegas
A little piece of the Las Vegas strip popped up in Tidewater on the evening of Saturday, March 19. The occasion? The Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s What Happens at Purim, Stays at Purim party. Nearly 200 revelers joined in the...
LeDor VaDor: the Senior Home in Buenos Aires
by Amy Zelenka Sixteen members of the Tidewater Jewish community recently returned from 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...
Sandler Family Campus hosts new homes for birds
Hoping to take advantage of the natural open landscape, Tom Edwards, Simon Family JCC sports and recreation director, has placed five birdhouses around the Sandler Family Campus. Edwards crafted four new bluebird nest boxes made of cedar. The handmade birdhouses are...
UJFT donors strengthen Jewish identity 5,000 miles away
This year, nearly 15,000 children and adults will participate in the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) camp programs. The most well known of JDC’s camps is Szarvas, in Hungary, which attracts 1,500 campers from 20 different countries. Not all Jews...
The Virginia bus to Israel keeps on rolling
“What makes each trip unique for you?” After returning from leading my 27th Birthright Israel trip, this question continues to be asked. This past winter season was somewhat unique because of the security situation in the Holy Land. Birthright Israel mandated that...
Summer Camp
Dear Readers, With so much to say about, reminisce about and learn about summer camp, there never seems to be a shortage of articles and topics for the Jewish News annual camp section. We begin this year with a fun piece about famous people and their Jewish overnight...