Other News

In Spring 2017, the Ohef Sholom Temple board of directors unanimously approved a proposal to welcome independent households to one year of enrollment in the Temple’s Reform Jewish Sunday morning classes. An “independent household” is a family that expresses its Jewish...

In preparation for the school year and the Jewish High Holy Days, it’s important to be proactive in communicating with faculty and administrators about these holidays so Jewish students have the opportunity to observe without penalty. While schools may try their best...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

I was honored to receive an invitation last month to the premiere of the film adaptation of Markus Zuzak’s award winning novel, The Book Thief, at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. There would be a panel after the film including the author, director, and...

The girls of BINA High School presented “An Evening of Royalty” at Bnai Israel Congregation on Sunday, Nov. 17. The program, coordinated and directed by Chayale Lefkowitz, focused on the meaning of God’s kingship and what it means to be a subject in His kingdom. More...

On October 29, Hebrew Academy of Tidewater and Strelitz students joined more than one million other students across the country by participating in the 12th annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day. Launched by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project in...

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...

A large and emotional gathering at Thanksgiving David Abraham Every Thanksgiving, we travel to Indianapolis to be with my side of the family. This has been a long-standing tradition that my family loves to do. We have a tremendous amount of fun and camaraderie. I am...

Memories of Beth El and Thanksgiving A native of Norfolk , Shulamith Elster is the daughter of the late Rabbi and Mrs. Paul Reich (Congregation Beth El, 1935 to 1967). She writes occasionally for the Washington Jewish Week reflecting on her 50 years in the Washington...

NEW YORK (JTA)—We were sharing a pastrami sandwich and pickles at the Los Angeles landmark Canter’s Deli. I was 24. She was nearly 50 years older, with a piercing voice as loud as her flaming red wig. Her name was Eva Rubenstein Grant, and she was a little-known...