AMSTERDAM (JTA)—Like many voters in democratic national elections, I almost always hope that whoever is elected will be able to serve out their full term—even if they weren’t my pick. This is especially true in my native Israel, whose infamously brittle coalitions...
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Simon Family JCC Personal Trainers bring expertise, value to members
A personal trainer for 16 years, Simon Family JCC trainer Susan Vann-Spruill says it is important for gym members to approach fitness with a plan. Without one, she says, the results are often minimal or worse. “Many people come to the gym regularly without a real plan...
Seven Jewish things to look for when Mueller wraps up his investigation
WASHINGTON (JTA)—It looks like Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating alleged improprieties associated with Donald Trump’s presidency and election campaign, is wrapping up his report. Or maybe not. Mueller has over his near-two-year run led a leak-free...
CTeens visit Norfolk Police with freshly baked cookies
Imagine a kitchen filled with three groups of teenagers hard at work baking chocolate chip cookies. Imagine they are Jewish teens from across Tidewater, representing a wide variety of schools and cities. And then, imagine they are baking cookies for others. Stop...
To good health, happiness, and joy! Lisa Barr, MD publishes book to outsmart pain
A component of many medical conditions, pain is complex. It is not just one thing—and the process of teasing out the one core issue at the root of the pain is challenging. In the first half of Outsmart Your Pain!, Lisa Barr, MD, reveals how stress and pain can become...
Al Vorspan, Jewish social justice leader for the Reform movement, dies at 95
(JTA)— Al Vorspan, who helped organize the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism and served as the longtime director of the Commission on Social Action, has died. Vorspan, who also was former senior vice president of the Union for Reform Judaism, died on Saturday,...
Israel ranked 10th healthiest country in the world
Israel is the 10th healthiest country in the world—54 spots ahead of the United States. The Bloomberg Healthiest Country Index, published last month, ranked 169 nations based on factors such as life expectancy and access to sanitation and medical care. Countries were...
Documentary on Joseph Pulitzer recalls another era of president vs. the press
LOS ANGELES (JTA)—It’s a story that would not sound too out of place in 2019: New York’s leading newspaper accuses the president of the United States of corruption and the latter sues the paper’s publisher for libel. Striking back, the publisher declares in an...
The Robert Kraft prostitute scandal is another PR headache for the ‘Jewish Nobel’ prize
(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...
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...
Governor McAuliffe hosts Hanukkah party at Executive Mansion
After a warm welcome to more than 100 members of the Jewish community from throughout the Commonwealth by Governor Terry McAuliffe, remarks by the Interfaith Alliance’s Rabbi Jack Moline, and the menorah lighting by Richmond’s Rabbis Michael Knopf and Dovid Asher,...
Bryan Mesh and Pam Guthrie honored at Beth Sholom Village
It was a bittersweet celebration. More than 80 staff members, friends and family gathered on Thursday, Dec. 10 to say farewell to Bryan Mesh, development director and former CEO of Beth Sholom Village, and to Pam Guthrie, administrator of The Terrace and former BSV...
Jewish Family Service Chanukah Gift Program 2015
Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s 23rd Annual Chanukah Gift Program was a huge success. Each year, JFS provides local Jewish families in financial need with gifts and gift cards for their children and teens, as well as money for those without children. In 2015 JFS...
Open the Gates includes special needs students at Ohef Sholom
In the Image of God—B’Tzelem Elohim At Ohef Sholom Temple (OST), Big Ideas are taught on Sunday mornings— ideas that enrich and move toward action throughout the week. One Big Jewish Idea from the Torah is B’tzelem Elohim—the idea that God created humanity “in the...
Film Festival committee members recap 23 years
Since the inception of the film festival, three committee members haven’t missed a single movie. The Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma* and Howard Laderberg is now in its 23rd year, and Lois and Barry Einhorn, along with Ellie Lipkin, have been...
Itzhak Perlman named winner of 2016 Genesis Prize
(JTA)—Itzhak Perlman, the Israeli-born violin virtuoso, was named the third winner of the Genesis Prize. Perlman was named the winner on Monday, Jan. 4 of the annual $1 million prize that has been dubbed the “Jewish Nobel.” He joins former New York City Mayor Michael...
Time to make “philanthropic” resolutions
As we turn our calendars to 2016, it is easy to think about the age old New Year’s resolutions, such as: • Exercise more • Lose weight • Eat healthier • Save more (get out of debt) • Spend more time with family (worklife balance) • Quit smoking But, have you thought...
Five reasons why children should learn coding
Learning to code is child’s play. Don’t believe it? Ask Rabbi Menda, who will say it’s true. As Hebrew Academy’s savvy Coding Club advisor (and Judaic Studies director), Rabbi Menda teaches students in grades three through five to code—and they’re having a blast...
Operation Understanding Hampton Roads program re-launches
Transformational experience for African American and Jewish teenagers to be coordinated by five community organizations A year long leadership development program for 40 African American and Jewish high school students in Tidewater, Operation Understanding Hampton...
One membership, two locations
Simon Family JCC and Town Center Fitness offer reciprocity Two local gyms are joining forces to create a fitness membership that offers access 365 days a year and 85 group fitness classes each week. Town Center Fitness, formed by Tom Purcell in 2004 as a convenient...
2015 news quiz
The ultimate test of Jewish and Israeli knowledge (JTA)—Bernie Sanders, Jenna Jameson, criminal rabbis: How much do you know about the Jews and their goings-on in 2015? 1. Which U.S. Jewish religious denomination made which landmark decision this year? a. The...
Will 2016 be the year of the female Orthodox rabbi?
WASHINGTON (JTA)—At first blush, it appears like a bombshell: The United States listened in on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s phone calls. But on closer examination, the revelations reported Dec. 29 by The Wall Street Journal might not be so far reaching....
United Nations to recognize Yom Kippur as official holiday
NEW YORK (JTA)—The United Nations will for the first time recognize Yom Kippur as an official holiday. Starting in 2016, no official meetings will take place on the Jewish day of atonement at the international body’s New York headquarters, and Jewish employees there...
Education Matters
Great Jewish Books Summer Program opens to applicants Amherst, MA—High school students are invited to apply to the 2016 Great Jewish Books Summer Program, a weeklong residential program at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Mass. Due to the popularity of the program...
The Hampton Years offers opportunity for education and conversation between local Jewish and African American community
Sunday, Jan. 31, 2 pm, Wells Theater, Norfolk Emerging from Washington D.C.’s Theater J’s Locally Grown Festival in 2013, The Hampton Years by Jacqueline E. Lawton explores the development of great African American artists John Biggers and Samella Lewis under the...
Interpreting our role in ‘Never Again’
Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding offered students the opportunity to visit the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Twelve ODU students, along with Farideh Goldin, IJIU director, and professor of...
Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care of Tidewater receives accreditation from National Institute for Jewish Hospice
Joining more than 60 hospices nationwide, Freda H. Gordon Hospice and Palliative Care of Tidewater became the second Hospice in Virginia to become accredited with the National Institute For Jewish Hospice (NIJH). The accreditation links Hospice and Palliative Care of...
Relating the past to the present: Holocaust Commission’s 2016 student competitions
The official start of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission’s 2016 Elie Wiesel Student Writing & Visual Arts Competitions was announced this month. This is the 19th year the Commission has invited students to enter the writing...
HAT and Strelitz students celebrate Grandparents Day
Thanksgiving break was about to begin and excitement filled the air as preschool through fifth graders from Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning and Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center celebrated during the cherished annual tradition of...
Operation Understanding returns to Hampton Roads in 2016
Founded by Lois and Barry Einhorn in 1998, Operation Understanding Hampton Roads was active until 2006. The program is re-launching in 2016 under the leadership of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities, along with coalition partners, the Community Relations...
