The 27th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film is one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the nation. A dedicated screening committee, led by Mark Robbins and William Laderberg, selected films meant to engage diverse Tidewater audiences—Jewish and...
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Charlie Harary: Mentor, parent, friend
Sitting in my car at Norfolk International Airport on Wednesday, January 8, I was a little apprehensive. After months of preparation, I was about to meet the legendary Charlie Harary and drive him to the Simon Family JCC. Harary was visiting Tidewater as part of the...
FIDF’s Virginia Chapter holds inaugural Biking for Soldiers
On a crisp autumn morning, on Sunday, October 27, 15 volunteers began cheering as a caravan of cars—with bike racks on the back—headed for Chickahominy Riverfront Park in Williamsburg. Bikers, of all ages and physical abilities, came out to demonstrate their support...
Rekindle your relationship with food. Reboot your family history.
Filling a room with more than 250 people, Cleveland Clinic’s Chief Wellness Officer, plant-based nutrition advocate, and author of What to Eat When, Dr. Michael Roizen came with a few surprises and a healthy dose of scientific data to back them up. A pre-event warmup...
Terrapin 2.0: Farm-fueled, color-blazed, and fired up
If you ask chef Amy Brandt what makes Terrapin in Virginia Beach the area’s marriage proposal mecca, she’ll propose two main ingredients. “There’s only one restaurant in the area with the intimacy of Terrapin and 100% integrity in everything they do,” says the former...
Jewish Family Service’s disability programs take place all year
Programs focusing on including and enriching the lives of those with various forms of disabilities or special needs are a big part of Jewish Family Service’s work. For more than 25 years, for example, Jewish Family Service has collaborated with the Jewish Community...
Disability with dignity
In order to best serve a community’s diverse needs, accountability and awareness co-exist with Kavod, the Hebrew term that translates to concepts of dignity, honor and respect. February is Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion Month. The community’s commitment to...
Generous donors help Jewish Family Service assist 229 locals during Hanukkah
Now in its 27th year, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s Chanukah Gift program annually helps local Jewish families in financial need with gifts and gift cards for those with children and teens, and with VISA gift cards for those without children. The community...
JCC Youth Basketball League tribute Sofia Ruiz Konikoff
For decades, the Simon Family JCC Youth Basketball League has mixed sportsmanship and athletic skill building with fun and friendship. The league is open to children of all faiths from kindergarten to 5th grade. The 2020 JCC Youth Basketball League season is dedicated...
BurgerIM opens in Norfolk
The Israeli burger chain, BurgerIM recently opened two locations in Norfolk, one just outside the Norfolk Premium Outlet mall and one on West 25th St. Burgerim, by the way, is the plural of burger in Hebrew. Started in Tel Aviv, the chain is expanding throughout the...
Kitchen Barn: Still crazy busy after all these years
Walk into Kitchen Barn in Virginia Beach, home to 100,000 kitchen gadgets and five full lines of cookware, and you’ll be greeted by a warm and friendly face with a head full of knowledge. The broad smile might belong to Annmarie King whose thick salt and pepper hair...
Dear Virginia Beach City Public School Jewish Community Families
I’m writing to share with you news that the first day of school in the 2021–2022 academic year will be September 7. This of course coincides with the first day of Rosh Hashanah, marking the Jewish New Year, the beginning of the holiest time of the year for the Jewish...
Neta Levi sparks creativity at Sandler Family Campus
The halls of the Sandler Family Campus were lined with tables covered in red and white checked tablecloths on Wednesday, Oct. 19. It was not in preparation for an elaborate Italian dinner, but for the kickoff of three events with Neta Levi, Israel Today’s Israeli...
Serving up shalom at a post-election Thanksgiving
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—It was just a few weeks ago, on the night of Nov. 8, that my family had all anxiously exchanged text messages as we watched the election results trickle in. State by state, my Hillary-loving family saw our hopes slipping away—and now, too soon, we...
Jewish contingent in House grows from 19 to 22
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The Jewish contingent to the U.S. House of Representatives grew from 19 to 22 in the 2016 elections, doubling its Republican representation from one to two. Five Jews overall were newly elected to the House, while one Jewish congressman in Florida and...
3rd Annual Mitzvah Day shows off Tidewater Jewish community’s can-do attitude
Participants at the Tidewater Jewish community’s 3rd Annual Mitzvah Day on Sunday, Oct. 30 demonstrated the benefits of a can-do attitude, working together to strengthen Jewish identity and improve life for those less fortunate. From teenagers who built sculptures...
Flour power and challahs galore bloom at 2016 Great Big Challah Bake
In a show of sisterhood and community, 125 women joined together to learn, laugh, mix, knead and braid at Tidewater’s 2nd Annual Great Big Challah Bake on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Held in the Cardo at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, the goal of the women’s-only...
Success stories inspire professionals at recent Society event
In September, the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held an inaugural event for its new Society of Professionals affinity group, promising unique and stimulating programming, and opportunities to connect to other professionals in the area. At its second event, the...
A house is not a home, until you have a good night’s sleep
Without a good night’s sleep, everything tends to be just a bit tougher. While physicians, teachers, employers and nearly all health experts stress the importance of sleep, not everyone has the good fortune to have a proper bed in which to get those necessary...
Business
The changing face of Jewish students brought to light during Women’s Luncheon
The Women’s Cabinet held its annual Lion-Tikva-Chai luncheon to thank women donors giving at the $1,800 level and greater. Stephanie Calliott welcomed the women and gave a brief and positive campaign update, thanking the donors who had already made their commitments...
A well-deserved honor for Amy Brooke
Friday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10 Leah Schwartz, BINA High School past president BINA High School is thrilled to have the opportunity to honor the commitment, hard work, and dedication of Amy Brooke. From the first tenuous steps to create a Jewish girls high school...
Something funny happened on the way to the Cuban Missile Crisis
Jim Eilberg, CAPT, SC, USNR (RET) I had just finished supper when the telephone call came from the Petty Officer of the Watch. “This is not a drill,” he announced. “This is a 100% recall. Return to the ship immediately.” That was Monday, October 23, 1962, about 6:30...
Salute to Veterans
JFS Chanukah Gift Program helps local families
Debbie Mayer, LCSW, CT Written on behalf of a local Jewish Family Service client: Two years ago, my family moved to Virginia to care for an elderly relative. Once we got here, the job I was promised didn’t come through. I decided to stay here with my two children...
Lee & Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival Wednesday, Nov. 9–Sunday, Nov 20
Sherri Wisoff Hundreds of books will soon fill the Cardo at the Simon Family JCC. Immigrant stories are part of Jewish history, so it is fitting that on Wednesday, Nov. 9 at 7 pm, the annual Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival begins with such stories...
Becoming an Israeli butterfly—insights from an IDF veteran
Laine M. Rutherford The life of a 17-year-old Israeli high school senior isn’t much different than a 17-year-old American student. They’re both listening to music, hanging out with friends, acting goofy, possibly dating, probably working, and thinking about graduation...
Campus security director creates patriotic art from discarded wood
Sales benefit area youths living in shelters Laine M. Rutherford Jason Capossere brings an impressive list of resources and skills to his position as Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus director of security and safety. He’s a veteran of the United States Navy, where he...
Be A Reader begins 18th year
Wendy Weissman, CRC assistant director United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Be A Reader (BEAR) literacy program launched the 2016-2017 school year with an orientation breakfast meeting on Monday, Sept. 26. Gail Flax, program founder and longtime chair, spoke to a...
Israel Today speaker offers clarity among chaos in the Middle East
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 7:30 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Wendy Weissman, assistant director, Community Relations Council Avi Melamed, an Israeli Jew, fluent in Arabic, English and Hebrew, is a former Israeli intelligence official and senior official on Arab...
Trump, Clinton campaigns slam UNESCO Jerusalem resolution
The Trump and Clinton campaigns slammed a UNESCO resolution that upholds Muslim claims on holy sites in Jerusalem while mostly erasing Jewish claims, and Donald Trump said he would recognize the city as Israel’s capital. “The United Nations’ attempt to disconnect the...
U.S., Israel and Jewish groups condemn UNESCO vote denying Jewish holy sites
The United States, Israeli officials and Jewish groups reacted with outrage to a preliminary vote by the United Nations cultural agency that denies a Jewish connection to the Old City of Jerusalem. UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural...