CRC and local high school work together to ensure bright future for foreign policymakers In May 2011, the topic of conversation among my First Colonial High School students was international stability and the global nuclear system. I asked them to work together and...
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ADL and Virginia Attorney General combine efforts to fight hate
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring was the Keynote Speaker at the Anti-Defamation League Washington, DC Region 2017 Annual Meeting, earlier this summer. Attorney General Herring began his remarks by highlighting the importance of ADL’s work combatting and...
TJF welcomes Barb Gelb
The Tidewater Jewish Foundation (TJF) is “delighted to welcome Barb Gelb as the new development associate and Life & Legacy Coordinator,” says Scott Kaplan, CFRE, president and CEO, Tidewater Jewish Foundation. “Barb comes to our community with a wealth of...
Palestinians show growing support for two-state solution, poll finds
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A nearly equal majority of Israelis and Palestinians back a two-state solution, a new poll shows, but the Palestinians’ support is rising. Support among Israelis is at 53 percent, a decline of 2 percentage points since December, and at 52 percent among...
Jewish Family Service, WHRO Public Media, Chrysler Museum and EVMS present Live Each Day: A Talk with Jane Gardner
Sunday, September 17, 2 pm Chrysler Museum of Art, free As a television news anchor, Jane Gardner faced intense pressure, deadlines, and other challenges. But it is off the air where she has faced her toughest challenge of all: fighting cancer—not just once, but four...
Largest number of schools ever represented at a Holocaust Commission Educators’ Conference
The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater held its Educators’ Conference, Words Matter: Now More Than Ever, July 26–27. For the 13th Biennial offering, chairs Gail Flax and Ina Leiderman could not have been more thrilled with the results....
Newly remodeled Leon Family Gallery features artists from around the globe
The Leon Family Gallery has a fresh, updated appearance—just in time for the new season of exhibits. Located on the second floor of the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, the new look and feel of the gallery offers a blank canvas to contrast the lively discussions on...
Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater
Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater, August 14, 2017
He came. He commented. They loved it.
Laughter hung in the air long after the end of comedian Elon Gold’s set during the Simon Family JCC’s first Laughter on the Lawn event. More than 400 community members gathered to partake in the hilarity. “He was so funny,” says Joel Rubin, “I’ve never heard anyone...
Why volunteering matters
Volunteering isn’t something to put off until you have extra time and money. There are numerous reasons why the returns far outweigh the time invested, especially during lean times. Alene and Ron Kaufman both volunteer at Jewish Family Service. “Everyone has some...
Want to help bless and beautify Beth Sholom Home?
No Jewish home, or even room, is complete without a kosher mezuzah on the door post. That will certainly be the case when the renovation of the Berger-Goldrich Home is completed by next summer. (see article on page 27) By donating a minimum of $1,000 to the Honor or...
Netanyahu defends suspending the Western Wall agreement. Here’s how.
(JTA)—American Jewish leaders are calling it a betrayal. They say that 17 months after achieving a historic agreement to provide a non-Orthodox space at Judaism’s holiest prayer site, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reneged in a Cabinet vote Sunday, June 25,...
Israeli-Bedouin diplomat says Israel’s diversity is abundant
If anyone can speak about diversity in Israel, it’s Israeli diplomat, Ishmael Khaldi. An Israeli-Bedouin-Arab-Muslim, Khaldi has been a minority his entire life—from the Arab Christian school he attended in the north of Israel, to college, to his service in the...
Speaker shares his theory of Muslim Brotherhood as global threat
Kyle Shideler didn’t come to Congregation Beth Chaverim on Monday, Dec. 9 to make the Tidewater Jewish community feel comfortable. He came to make audience members squirm, reciting broad statistics and showing images of terrorists and organizational tracts on a...
Tidewater teens at AIPAC
Four Tidewater teens attended AIPAC’s Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit in November. Each year, AIPAC partners with select Jewish Day Schools, synagogues, national youth groups and teen leadership organizations to bring 400 student leaders from across...
Jewish Family Service’s Chanukah Gift Program 2013
Jewish Family Service’s 21st Annual Chanukah Gift Program was a huge success. Each year, JFS reaches out to local Jewish families in need with gifts and gift cards for their children and teens and with money for those without children. This year, the JFS staff was...
Hillel at Virginia Tech celebrates Thanksgivukkah
The Malcolm Rosenberg Hillel Center in Blacksburg, Va. was filled with more than 250 students on Thursday, Dec. 5 for a Thanksgivukkah celebration. Marking a time when two holidays collide, this party was referred to as #VTT hanksgivukkah. In preparation for the...
The Sandler Campus’ Secret Santa
Visitors to the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus frequently see the observant, dedicated and serious demeanor of Jason Capossere, the Campus’s manager of safety and security. Beneath this professional exterior, rarely seen and largely unheralded, is Capossere’s...
Switch Day 2013 at Beth Sholom Village with old and new volunteers
For the past 30 years, Beth Sholom Village has hosted an annual “Switch Day” on Christmas, since it is a family day for a majority of BSV employees. The community has always played a role in coming together to help others, and this day is no exception when volunteers...
Israel: Jewish and Democratic
Martin J. Raffel is the senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), where he has served as the lead professional on Israel, world Jewry and international human rights for the past 26 years. He also holds the position of project director for...
Jewish 2013 news quiz
(JTA)—So, you think you know what’s going on in the Jewish world? Test just how closely you followed last year’s news (and remember it) with this end-of year-news quiz. 1. Berlin’s Jewish Museum provoked controversy this year with… a) an exhibit exploring the origins...
YAD celebrates Chanukah with LIGHT IT UP
The Young Adult Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, held its biggest event of the year on Saturday, Dec. 7. More than 180 people attended LIG HT IT UP, a club-themed twist on a traditional Chanukah party, held in the Cardo on the Sandler Family Campus....
CRC getting ready for A Date With The State
Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day: Wednesday, Feb. 5 CRC meeting to discuss agenda: Wednesday, Jan. 8, 6 pm Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, when Jews from throughout the Commonwealth descend on the Virginia General Assembly to lobby legislators on issues important to the...
The secrets behind Hebrew Academy’s Hanukkah De-Lights
The audience was seated, the lights lowered, the curtains rose and…action! Hanukkah De-Lights 2013 Symbols of Hanukkah wowed parents and other family members, who clapped, hollered and danced in their seats with faces of pride and love. Little did they know of the...
Student raises funds and awareness for homeless
Since he was a toddler, Caleb Peck has been sensitive to the plight of homelessness. In fact, after his first encounter with someone less fortunate, he began asking questions about why this happens to some people and how it can be made better. Now, he has taken...
Ohef Sholom Temple marks 12 years of inclusive families
This summer, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Defense of Marriage Act decision, which legally recognized same sex married couples, Ohef Sholom noted a milestone in its 169-year-history: 12 years of inclusion for same sex families in its congregation. At its May...
Extraordinary community inspires Super Sunday committee
Sunday, Jan. 26, 9 am–1 pm The young adult Steering Committee planning Super Sunday, the Tidewater Jewish community’s annual phone-a-thon are representative of the Tidewater Jewish population. Some are multi-generational Jews, others have only lived here a year or...
Swarthmore Hillel picks fight over campus group’s Israel guidelines
NEW YORK (JTA)—With an estimated Jewish population of 275 undergraduates, the Quaker-founded Swarthmore College outside Philadelphia is home to one of the smaller Hillel chapters in the country. But that hasn’t stopped student activists at the small suburban school...
American Studies Association votes for boycott of Israeli universities
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The membership of the American Studies Association endorsed its national council’s call for a boycott of Israeli universities. Two-thirds of the 1,252 members who voted approved the boycott, according to an ASA announcement Monday, Dec. 16, a day...
Israel: Jewish and Democratic
Martin J. Raffel is the senior vice president of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), where he has served as the lead professional on Israel, world Jewry and international human rights for the past 26 years. He also holds the position of project director for...
Help the Simon Family JCC and Jewish Family Service through United Way gifts
When giving to the United Way of South Hampton Roads through your workplace or individually, please consider designating all or part of your pledge to the Simon Family JCC and/or Jewish Family Service of Tidewater. When you get your United Way form, you’ll see it’s...
Sing us the songs of Zion
BAYONNE, N.J. (JTA)—Arik Einstein, who died last month at the age of 74, basically invented Israeli popular music. He was a unique Israeli combination of Sinatra, Dylan and the Beatles, embodying the spirit and the struggles of a younger, more optimistic Israel. His...