( JTA)—They volunteered. They played soccer. They went to camp. They were sweet, mature, and easygoing. They were just beginning their lives, or helping others on their way. And one may have died so that others could live. Jewish students and staff were among the 17...
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Aaron David Miller discusses the future of the Middle East
For Aaron David Miller, any opportunity to get out of Washington is appreciated, but on Monday, Feb. 12, the treat was for the Tidewater Jewish community. In a packed room, Miller, the vice president of New Initiatives at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for...
A Letter to My Campers After Parkland
This post was originally published in Bossier Magazine, and on the Religious Action Center’s and Union for Reform Judaism’s blogs. It is republished here with the author’s permission. To: G4A, G3B, the Tsofim unit, and all of URJ Camp Coleman: After 17 people were...
VCIC to honor William L. Nusbaum with Humanitarian Award
Thursday, March 22, 5:45 pm The Westin, Virginia Beach Town Center The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities has selected William L. Nusbaum to receive a prestigious Humanitarian Award at their 54th annual dinner this month. The Tidewater chapter of VCIC will...
Last call for Israel stories
As you’ve probably heard by now, Israel turns 70 years old in April. To commemorate this milestone, the April 9 issue of Jewish News will feature all things Israel, including articles about the tiny nation’s beginning, it’s technological, medical, agricultural, and...
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Sponsored By Kempsville Conservative Synagogue
February is National Jewish Disability Awareness and Inclusion month
Dedicated to offering programs throughout the year that raise awareness and bring people with disabilities, their families, and those who love them, into their Jewish communities in meaningful ways, for Jewish Family Service of Tidewater, National Jewish Disability...
CRC, HUBB, and VCIC present Marshall, conclusion of Building Bridges Week
The 25th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg* and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi, began with a free, pre-festival event at TCC Roper Performing Arts Center featuring the movie, Marshall. Presented in honor of Martin...
Tidewater celebrates Purim
Purim, is a joyous holiday celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar. This year, on February 28. It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot to destroy all the Jews, as recorded in the Megillah (book of...
For Jews in the Netherlands, Catholic Carnival feels like ‘hardcore Purim’
TILBURG, Netherlands (JTA)— Although he lives in a city with only a few dozen Jews, the Israel-born photographer Idan Hemo and his family enjoy each spring what he calls “hardcore Purim” street festivities. “Everyone dresses up, including and especially the adults, in...
Why show Animal House at a Jewish film festival
Wow! It is truly remarkable that the Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma and Howard Laderberg* and Patricia and Avraham Ashkenazi has been around for a quarter of a century. That’s a long time to bring culture and entertainment to Tidewater by showing...
De Mommas and De Poppas’ tribute to parents draws big crowd to Beth Sholom Village
A cast of community members sang, danced, and joked about mothers, fathers, and kids during the A’Bisl Theater’s tribute to the Fifth Commandment during a spirited variety show at Beth Sholom Village on Sunday, Feb. 4. More than 200 people packed into the Pincus Paul...
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...
Optimism and uncertainty made July visit to Israel: Sunny, with a Chance of Rockets
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater accepted an invitation to present its innovative original program, What We Carry, at the 9th International Conference on Holocaust Education at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, July 7–10, 2014. The start of...
Brandeis University study shows American Jewish young adults overwhelmingly support Israel in war with Hamas
79% of respondents say Israel’s response is “justified” NEW YORK—Researchers from Brandeis University’s Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies (CMJS) released a study that finds that while American young adults may hold Israel responsible for the recent conflict in...
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...
After Harvard, Alan Dershowitz plans an active—and combative—retirement
by Anthony Weiss CHILMARK, Mass. (JTA)—Alan Dershowitz’s house is a bit of a mess. Most of the rooms in his Martha’s Vineyard home are cluttered with half-unpacked boxes filled with items from his Cambridge house, which he and his wife emptied recently and sold after...
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...
Stop the Sirens: Israel Under Fire
Since July 7, when Israel initiated Operation Protective Edge, we have been closely monitoring events and praying for an end to the conflict, while mourning each and every life lost. We don’t know how long it will take for authorities to feel that Israelis are safe...
