WASHINGTON (JTA) — The first public hearings in the Trump impeachment inquiry began this month with quite a splash. A bunch of Jewish actors are at play in this drama, and we’ve covered some before: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is caught in the middle...
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Everything you need to know about Israeli settlements and the Trump administration’s announcement
(JTA)—Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced this month that the United States will no longer consider Israeli Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal. Here’s an explainer about what the settlements are, how they are viewed in Israel and around the world,...
Congresswoman Elaine Luria leads effort to stand up for Israel and limit Hezbollah
Bipartisan letter to UN includes 240 Members of Congress Two hundred and forty lawmakers signed on to Congresswoman Elaine Luria’s (VA-02) bipartisan letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres urging an international effort to defend Israel,...
Activities abound at Beth Sholom Village
A range of activities are always on the calendar at Beth Sholom Village—some for health, and some for fun. Residents at BSV, for example, work with restorative nursing staff six days a week to stay active and prevent falling. Led by CNAs, participants exercise to...
27 years of bringing light to local Jewish children and teens
A Jewish Family Service client I was in a domestic abuse situation for a long time. I finally got the courage to leave and move back in with family. I was pregnant at the time. Although my family was able to take me in, they were not prepared for the new costs of...
Mikvah construction underway
“It is hard to believe how far we have come with the construction of the Mikvah! So many community members from all over have already come together to support this project. Hoping for continued success!!” says Sarah Lipman. To learn more about the new Mikvah, or to...
Israelis are using photos of Greta Thunberg to shame each other over plastic utensils
Israelis who are concerned about a warming climate have a new tactic: using cut-out photos of the prominent teen climate activist Greta Thunberg to shame their colleagues for using plasticware. In workplaces across Tel Aviv, people are placing pictures of Thunberg,...
A Jewish photographer has been capturing Alexander Vindman and his twin for nearly four decades
(JTA)—Carol Kitman remembers meeting Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman nearly 40 years ago in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The brothers were about 4½ years old and dressed in matching blue sailor outfits with navy caps. Kitman was instantly taken with the twins and asked to...
JFS welcomes three new board of directors
Jewish Family Service of Tidewater recently gained three new board members. Mazel Tov to the new directors and to JFS for adding these women to the board, as each brings different expertise. Rebecca Tall Fun fact—I have triplets (19-years-old, two boys and a girl)....
Saluting Israel’s heroes: the Benson family
Glenn Benson of Bethesda, Maryland, grew up in an ardently Zionist home, the son of South African immigrants who cared deeply for Israel. In high school he attended Jewish day school, participated in a B’nai B’rith Youth Organization summer trip to Israel, visited...
Congregation Beth Chaverim and Tidewater Chavurah held Joint High Holiday Services
Wonderful, warm, and meaningful High Holiday services were held with Tidewater Chavurah and Congregation Beth Chaverim in the Parrish Hall at Old Donation Episcopal Church in Virginia Beach. Combing the best of both Reform congregations resulted in inspiring services...
Shalom Baby: Moms bond with babies and heritage
Bond is exactly what Alicia Pahl-Cornelius did when she started listening to the CD of Jewish songs that came in her personally delivered Shalom Baby basket. Pahl-Cornelius says she loved her basket so much, she referred a friend who was days away from giving birth...
From the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archive
July 2006 Zena Herod officially became the head of school for Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and the Strelitz Early Childhood Center. Helen Kisser joined administration as new director of general studies and assistant director of SECC. Alene Kaufman continued as director...
Jewish community denounces racism, xenophobia and violence
We, the undersigned Jewish community organizations, stand together in denouncing racism and xenophobia in all circumstances. We share a belief that public figures, including those who aspire to hold elected office in service to people of all races and religions, have...
Top officials put a Jewish stamp on the Rio Olympics
RIO DE JANEIRO ( JTA)—Mazel tov! That’s perhaps how the big shots in charge of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the first to take place in South America, will toast victories when the competition gets underway Aug. 5. Three of the top officials of the Rio 2016 Organizing...
Camp JCC off to a splashing start
Monday, June 20 was the first day of Summer and the first day of Camp JCC. Campers routinely say swimming is one of their favorite camp activities, and children who stay for the entire day get swim instruction twice. These young campers sat on the edge of the pool to...
Falafel wars in Paris: Who’s got the better balls?
PARIS (JTA)—On a crowded sidewalk in the French capital, Yomi Peretz exchanges jokes and backslaps with customers who are waiting in a 20-yard queue in the rain to enter his falafel shop. This chummy interaction comes naturally to Peretz, a tall enthusiast of boxing...
Through all the clouds and rain, Israel Fest brought the sun
The Simon Family JCC didn’t allow the rumors of showers to rain on their parade for the 2016 Israel Fest. In fact, on Sunday, June 5, when the festival began at 11 am, the day brightened for all who attended. In place of sunrays and clear skies, the roof of the Reba...
Fluffy friends at Strelitz
Diana Smith’s two-year-old class at the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center took care of some chicken and turkey eggs this past spring. The children helped keep the eggs warm and were excited to meet their new animal friends when they hatched.
Low scores, high morale, make JCC Golf Tournament one of the best
The Simon Family JCC’s 6th Annual Presidents’ Cup Golf Tournament, held on June 6 at Heron Ridge Golf Club in Virginia Beach, was a success, across the “leader” board. The weather was ideal—low humidity, a light breeze, and temperatures in the 70s, and the course was...
Turning prayers for Orlando into action
On the Sunday morning following the Capital Pride Parade in Washington, D.C., I slept in and woke up with glitter still on my face. Stickers and handouts I had collected while I marched with National Council of Jewish Women and the Religious Action Center of Reform...
AJC ad highlights U.S., European Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism
A two-page American Jewish Committee (AJC) ad in the June 6 issue of the Wall Street Journal listed the 508 U.S. and European mayors and municipal leaders who have signed on to its Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism initiative, pledging to combat the rise of...
Brett Pomerantz is recipient of 2016–2017 Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation
The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation was awarded this month to Brett Pomerantz, a Hebrew Academy of Tidewater graduate, as well as a recent graduate of Western Branch High School in Chesapeake. The four-year scholarship for a...
From The Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives
June 23, 2006 The Florence Melton Adult Mini-School held a graduation ceremony for 23, the second largest class to graduate from the school since its inception in Tidewater. June 21, 1996 Jody Wagner, a partner in the law firm of Kaufman and Canoles, was installed as...
Annual Israel Today Forum celebrates five years
Another successful year of expert speakers and engaging dialogue concluded Wednesday, May 11 when Matti Friedman, former Jerusalem Bureau reporter and editor for the Associated Press visited Tidewater to share his take on mainstream media malfunction in the...
What We Carry premiere a huge success
Like a blustery March day in 2012, May 22, 2016 was a day full of anticipation for the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Four years ago, we had a new product no one had heard of called What We Carry. The innovative and interactive...
Sculptures by Lorraine Fink
Through June 16, Slover Library, Norfolk Mythically, with a wash of whimsy, this collection by includes 8- and 3-foot sculptures, which feature both obsolete and repurposed objects. The collection imparts a powerful, societal statement connecting past, present and...
Hebrew Academy Class of 2010 is off to college
Who doesn’t love a good before/after story? Hebrew Academy graduates from the Class of 2010 make a great one. And from the look of the photos, some pretty impressive growth happened in just a few short years. These students make HAT proud with their good hearts and...
CRC’s 5th annual Israel Today series ends with insight into mainstream media
It was a standing-room only crowd as the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and its community partners presented the final event in their 5th Annual Israel Today series on May 10. Matti Friedman, former Jerusalem Bureau reporter...
YAD’s leadership dinner with Matti Friedman
Past, present and future leaders of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division (YAD) gathered to hear the Community Relations Council’s Israel Today speaker Matti Friedman, and enjoy dinner and cocktails on Tuesday, May 10. YAD offers different...
Father’s Day
Dear Readers, In honor of Father’s Day, we asked a few daughters and sons who work with their dads to write a couple of paragraphs about the experience of spending their adult lives alongside their fathers. The responses were incredibly passionate, respectful,...
Three Jewish takeaways from Bernie Sanders’ run for president
(JTA)—Hillary Clinton is the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. But that’s not the end for Bernie Sanders, by far the most successful Jewish presidential candidate in American history. The Independent Vermont senator is defiant and says he’s taking the fight...