Other News

(JTA)—For months author J.K. Rowling has been warning about the dangers of anti-Semitism in England, sparring on Twitter with critics who either downplay the phenomenon or say its proponents are confusing criticism of Israel with Jew hatred.

Stephanie Ben Simon has joined Ohef Sholom Temple as director of Education and Engagement (DEE). As DEE, Ben Simon will develop and oversee a dynamic program of education and engagement for the entire congregation, creating educational opportunities in alignment with the temple’s values at every stage of the life cycle. In partnership with OST’s clergy and lay leadership, she says she is developing membership and programming plans with the goals of attracting prospective members, integrating new members into the Ohef Sholom community, as well as engaging existing members.

(JTA)—Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself blowing a several-foot-long shofar.

Zuckerberg executed a perfect tekiyah- teruah-shevarim combination on the twisted ram’s horn as one of his daughters is heard crying in the background.

This past summer I spent a month in Israel with 32 of my best friends, while meeting 52 new friends, on the most amazing trip of my life. We did all the typical activities you do when traveling to Israel, like floating in the Dead Sea and climbing Masada, but the fact that I was doing it with 84 other 16-year-olds, some whom I knew and others whom I was getting to know, made it all the more special and meaningful.

(JTA)—For years, American Jewish groups have agitated for more religious pluralism in Israel. And year after year, the Israeli government has acted as if the country’s demographic and political realities make any kind of substantial reform impossible.

The latest version of an annual survey disputes that claim: It shows that Jewish Israelis disapprove of how their government handles religious issues. It shows that they want more liberal religious policies. And it says they want American Jews to intervene in the debate.

A Jew makes news, but does that make it Jewish news?

Take the case of Michael Cohen, who pleaded guilty Tuesday, August 21 to fraud and campaign finance improprieties, directly implicating his former boss, President Donald Trump. Cohen, whose father survived the Holocaust, began his education at a yeshiva day school but transferred to the Lawrence Woodmere Academy. He once described himself as an “agnostic Jew.”

But little else in his story connects him to Jewish life in an interesting or newsworthy way.

Over the past month, JFit at the Simon Family JCC, has established new programs and classes—including a massage therapy service. “I’m always looking for new opportunities for the JCC to improve our services, whether it’s a new program, equipment, or talented...

(JTA)—You know what Oreos are.
They’re two delicious chocolate cookies sandwiched around a creme filling. Oreos also come in Double Stuff, vanilla, birthday cake and pumpkin spice (really).
There is debate on how they should be eaten, but everyone knows they’re best when dunked in milk.
What you might not know is that Oreos are just a copycat of Hydrox, a sandwich cookie first sold in 1908, four years before Oreos appeared on shelves. Even though (or maybe because?) they were second, Oreos came to dominate the market, becoming a fixture in America’s grocery stores.

New York Times obituary writer Margalit Fox announced she was leaving her position after writing farewells to more than 1,400 notable, notorious or downright unusual people over a 14-year span. Fox intends to turn to book-writing full time. Among the highlights of her time on the “dead beat” were obituaries of Jewish newsmakers, which like so many of her obits stand out for the vividness of her prose and the humor she sometimes brought to solemn moments. Here are some standouts.

Congregation Beth El is opening its doors; that is, opening them wider. Recognizing that while the congregation prides itself on its hospitality, there are many ways in which the community feels it can be more actively welcoming. To that end, plans are underway to...

Created in December 2005 as a Jewish engagement and literacy program for Jewish and interfaith families with young children, PJ Library sends free Jewish children’s books and music on a monthly basis directly to families’ homes. PJ Library is a program of the Harold...

Amie and Byron Harrell do not seem like typical legacy donors. With two young sons and retirement still several decades away, they nevertheless felt compelled to help ensure the future of Tidewater’s Jewish community with a LIFE & LEGACY gift. Deeply committed to...

In November, the weather tends to cool a bit and family activities start to move indoors. This month, the Simon Family JCC drew crowds for three special events. On Saturday, Nov. 7, families gathered for Hoedown Havdallah, complete with a petting zoo. Children helped...

February 23, 1929–October 30, 2015 A giant in the community, Tavia Gordon is remembered by Rabbi Jeff Arnowitz and Rabbi Arthur Ruberg. Their eulogies from his funeral at Congregation Beth El are excerpted here: As we gather to remember and celebrate the life of Tavia...

Congregation Beth El and Hazak ‘Got Healthy’ on Sunday, Nov. 1 when Hazak hosted a program exploring the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to achieve longevity. Approximately 80 people attended. The morning began with a breakfast buffet that included healthy...

This holiday season, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus security manager Jason Capossere is again collecting gifts, food donations, and cleaning and pet supplies to donate through area organizations to people—and animals— in need. This is the 15th anniversary of the...

Danny Rubin is no stranger to the readers of this publication. His picture has graced many a page in the Jewish News because of his volunteer work for the Simon Family JCC, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s YAD, Temple Israel, Beth Sholom Home and other agencies...

Seth M. Siegel shared his passion for averting a water crisis in this country and around the world with community members on Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Simon Family JCC. Siegel, the keynote speaker for the Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival, recently...

It is safe to say the bottle of cognac Colonel Ed Shames opened in celebration of his son’s bar mitzvah at Norfolk’s B’nai Israel synagogue in 1961 was unlike any bottle opened for a b’nai mitzvah in Hampton Roads. Shames’ bottle came straight from Adolph Hitler’s...

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Some 100,000 people joined together in central Tel Aviv on Saturday, Oct. 31 to pay tribute to slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, but they were divided over what exactly they were rallying for. The demonstration, which marked the 20th anniversary of...