Other News

Archives

Arielle Di Porto brings stories of Aliyah to Tidewater

Arielle Di Porto brings stories of Aliyah to Tidewater

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet recently hosted Arielle Di Porto from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). Di Porto gave a stirring presentation about JAFI’s important work of rescuing Jews throughout the world. Director of the Aliyah division...

HAT and Strelitz celebrate traditions with grandparents

While many people were busy preparing turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Konikoff Center of Learning and the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center celebrated the time-honored tradition of Grandparents’ Day on Wednesday, Nov. 22....

Portnoys agree on their legacy

When talking with Erinn and Dr. Felix Portnoy, the commitment and love they have for the Jewish community is obvious. As parents of very young children, they feel compelled to step up and provide for the Jewish future of the next generation, and are thrilled to be...

Jewish volunteers serve Christmas dinner

For almost a quarter-century, about 20 Jews in Tidewater have engaged in a beloved Christmas tradition: serving Christmas dinner at a homeless shelter in Norfolk. For at least 20 years, they ensured that residents of the Dwelling Place, an emergency shelter that has...

HAT graduate moves home to serve community as rabbi

There’s a new rabbi in town. Just before Hanukkah, Virginia Beach native Rabbi Zalman Margolin moved from Brooklyn with his wife Bracha and their two children to expand Chabad of Tidewater with a new presence near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. “We are delighted to...

Cantor with a conscience: Cantor Jennifer Rueben

Cantor with a conscience: Cantor Jennifer Rueben

A soaring new cantorial voice can be heard at Ohef Sholom Temple. Facilitating meaningful prayer and bringing festive and beautiful music to her congregation, however, are not the only talents Cantor Jennifer Rueben has revealed since her arrival in Norfolk five short...

Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film

Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film

25 | Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg* and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi continues through Sunday, Jan. 28 National and international films, classics, and dramas featuring award-winning Jewish writers, actors, and...

YAD Family Shabbat filled with friends, food and fun

The annual Young Adult Division of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s End of the Summer Family Shabbat took place on Friday, Sept. 5, at the Simon Family JCC outdoor water park. With more than 85 people, this year’s YAD Summer Shabbat claimed the prize of...

Team Virginia Beach takes the GOLD at JCC Maccabi Games

by Ellie Bernstein Gold, Gold and more Gold! That is what Team Virginia Beach received at the JCC Maccabi Games held in Detroit last month. The Simon Family JCC’s 16 and under basketball team (comprised of Wayne Simon, Jake Levinson, Jacob Stern, Evan Roesen, Sheldon...

5th Annual Bringing Israel Home

by Laine M. Rutherford and Robin Mancoll Complicated. The military actions Israel has taken to defend its people. Palestinian civilian deaths. Feelings of teens entering the Israel Defense Forces. Life. All are very complicated. Speaking to 50 local Jewish college...

Bibi’s approval ratings, buoyed by war, are now plummeting—but why?

by Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA)— Israel’s war is over, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fight may only have just begun. The past month has seen Netanyahu’s approval rating plummet, according to polling by Israel’s Channel 2. On July 23, about a week after Israel...

Cease-fire marks end to Israel’s longest, bloodiest war in Gaza

by Ben Sales TEL AVIV (JTA)—A rocket barrage fell on Israel, a boom sounded over Tel Aviv and then it was over—at least for now. After 50 days of missiles, airstrikes, ground operations, tunnel incursions, truce talks, cease-fire proposals, death and destruction,...

Standing as one

These past months our community, world Jewry and the people of Israel have faced enormous political, moral and life threatening challenges. Facing these challenges requires collective and individual thoughtfulness, wisdom and fortitude. We must break down complex,...

Jewish News Advertiser Profile

Name: Ilene Leibowitz Lipton, admissions and marketing director at Leigh Hall Assisted Living in Norfolk. Age: 50 Education: University of Georgia, 1985 Children: Seth, 19 and Maya, 15 Hometown: Norfolk Favorite food: Hmmm, today it’s sushi, watermelon, Nutella and...

When one day isn’t enough: The UJFT Week of Extraordinary Deeds

Monday, Sept. 15–Sunday, Sept. 21 “Will It, Create It, Achieve It” Monday, Sept. 15, 7 pm • Mitzvah Day VA, Sunday, Sept. 21, 1:30 – 3:30 pm Every year, in order to nurture and enrich Jewish life in Tidewater, strengthen the global Jewish community, and care for...

Swordfish Swim Team celebrates winning season

by Leslie Shroyer As they took their final strokes of the season, members of the Simon Family JCC’s Swordfish Swim Team were all smiles and high fives on the last evening in July. The fifth and final swim meet for participants, ages 5 through 18, took place at the...

Hospice helps patients follow tough advice

by Norma Gaetani “It’s time to put your affairs in order.” This euphemism conveys a dramatic message in TV shows or films, but it is also practical advice for patients and families served by Freda H. Gordon Hospice & Palliative Care of Tidewater (HPCT). However,...

New leadership roles at Hebrew Academy

by Dee Dee Becker Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and the Strelitz Early Childhood Center will experience several new leadership changes and services for the start of the 2014-2015 academic year. Lorna Orleans, Strelitz preschool teacher, assumes the role of preschool...

Reflections on two journeys

by Mickey Held As a member of the Holocaust Commission for 20 years, I have been privileged to witness the impact we have made on our community with our many programs. As I escorted survivors to share their stories, I became transfixed by their journeys and inspired...

As chapter closes, Shimon Peres hailed by normally divided Knesset

by Ben Sales JERUSALEM (JTA)—In the midst of a grinding war in Gaza, a sometimes near-empty Knesset gallery was packed last month for an uplifting moment: what probably was the final political act of Israel’s elder statesman. Shimon Peres—former Israeli prime...

Tidewater women join The Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project in Israel

by Amy Lefcoe The water was low, but our determination was high as we kayaked our way down the Jordan River, pushing at times instead of rowing. We had already been in the North for a day but it felt like much longer. We were 200 Jewish women from across the country,...

Report from Israel

by Rabbi Israel Zoberman I have just returned from an extraordinary experience last month in Israel, the land I first came to in 1949 at the tender age of three and a half, already a refugee, from post-World War II Europe. Yet nothing could have prepared me for the...

Facing the music at Pardes Katz

by Marilyn Goldberg Johns A visit to the Matnas (community center) at Pardes Katz, struck many chords with the Tidewater Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project. Located outside of Tel Aviv, Pardes Katz has been an Israeli sister community with Tidewater for more than 20...

A personal visit to see friends and family

Amy Becker — July 16–July 27 Since I am a teacher and had time off this summer, I planned a trip to Israel to see friends and family who had moved there. Leading up to the day of my trip, I sat and thought about whether or not to go. I went back and forth one million...