The Guide to Jewish Living in Tidewater 2023
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New Gaga pit assures more game time
Originating in Israel, Gaga is a sport like dodgeball, played in a circular pit where players hit and roll the ball to eliminate opposing players. The Simon Family JCC built its first Gaga pit nearly 10 years ago to entertain students and campers on the Sandler Family...
JFS Biennial Meeting: New leadership, awards, and farewells
This year marks 75 years of commitment by Jewish Family Service to serve the community. For more than three quarters of a century, thousands of people have received help from the family services agency. Part of the agency’s success is the legacy of its board of...
Summer Camp opens at JCC with spirit and fun
Off to an exceptional start, Camp JCC’s campers and counselors are quickly finding their rhythm – building solid relationships throughout the camp community. One key to Camp JCC’s initial success is the dedicated team of counselors who seamlessly settled into their...
Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata honored
A luncheon to honor and express appreciation to Delegate Anne Ferrell Tata for her leadership and efforts in passing the first piece of legislation in Virginia aimed at fighting antisemitism – adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s Working...
Dear Readers: Senior Living
Dear Readers, What age qualifies as a senior? It seems like the answer depends on where you inquire. AARP, for example, says its organization is dedicated to people 50 and over. According to Medicare, however, a senior is 65 years old or older. But anyone 55 can...
A family’s reunion to celebrate a portrait’s rebirth
A portrait of Lewis Nusbaum (1830-1902) has been restored to its original condition thanks to the skill of the Chrysler Museum’s conservator, Mark Lewis, and the generosity of several of Nusbaum’s descendants. In June, many of those descendants gathered at Ohef Sholom...
Virginia Beach School Board votes “no” on library changes
The Virginia Beach School Board met on Monday, June 12 to vote on, among other topics on their agenda, potential changes to the library media centers in each of the division’s schools. The vote on the proposed change to the school’s library policy in Virginia Beach...
Dear Readers: Health Care in the Jewish Community
Dear Readers, One of the most accurate truisms, in my opinion anyway, is “If you have your health, you have everything.” Of course, until we or someone close to us faces a medical challenge, the saying seems to be reserved for “older people.” It is in fact, true for...
Steven Warsof: An Inside Business 2023 Healthcare Hero
Inside Business presented the 2023 Healthcare Heroes Awards to “recognize outstanding individuals and organizations that are making a noteworthy difference in healthcare across Hampton Roads” on Tuesday, June 20. The breakfast event took place at the Westin Virginia...
Mazel Tov to Jewish Tidewater’s Graduates!
Graduation season began again this year with plenty for Jewish Tidewater’s graduates and their families to celebrate, and Jewish News celebrated plenty with 34 graduates from high schools, colleges, and myriad graduate programs in the June 12, 2023 edition. Here, we...
Celebrate Community with the 2023 Biennial
Wednesday, June 14, 6:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus In our Jewish community, we seize every opportunity to honor our past as we plan for the future. We remember our past leadership throughout our community who set the bar for high achievements for contributing time...
Purposeful flights with Jack Fox
A ‘jack-of-all-businesses,’ Jack Fox is currently enjoying life flying, fishing, boating, and playing gin rummy and tennis. He also supports many projects at Ohef Sholom Temple as well as hospitals and museums/performing arts venues in Florida, where he splits his...
Local golfer Jeffrey Flax competes in the 2022 Israeli Maccabi Games
In August of last year, Jewish News extended best wishes and mazel tov to local attorney Jeffrey Flax for qualifying for the Masters Golf Division in the 2022 Israeli Maccabi Games (formally called The Maccabiah Games, a quadrennial Jewish Olympics). As of...
2022 Graduates
Jewish News celebrates these 2022 graduates with their families and the community. Mazel Tov on these students’ achievements and best of luck as they take their next steps. Ayden Cohn Virginia Tech Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, minor in Nuclear...
Virginia Beach teen wins $36,000 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award
Evan Nied, a Virginia Beach teenager, has been awarded the 2022 Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Award from the Helen Diller Family Foundation for his work in planting trees to mitigate the disastrous effects of climate change. The $36,000 award is for his nonprofit...
Jewish Geography is a hit in Tidewater
David Leon became the reigning Who Knows One? champion in Tidewater when he won the Jewish Geography competition against rival contestant, Anne Fleder. Micah Hart, creator of Who Knows One?, hosted a live show at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater...
AJC Global Forum 2022 highlights American Jewish Committee’s work
For the first time since 2019, the American Jewish Committee convened its AJC Global Forum in person. More than 1,000 people attended the conference held at Temple Emanu-El in New York City to hear from world leaders and top experts, consider tough questions, and get...
Strelitz International Academy student creates “Feel Better” bags to help others
When Molly Futterman’s kindergarten class at the Strelitz International Academy kicked off their IB unit with a focus on goal setting this past January, her friends had wonderful goals for themselves. Goals included scoring more soccer goals, learning to ride a bike...
Dear Readers
Dear Readers, The medical profession has devoted tremendous resources to battling and preventing the COVID-19 virus since early 2020. Rightly so, vaccinations, masks, lockdowns, new treatments, and social distancing have dominated the world’s attention. But,...
Alan Wagner, MD: Local ophthalmologist is first in region to use gene therapy to halt/reverse blindness and other conditions
Through the Virginia Beach-based Wagner Kapoor Research Institute, local ophthalmologists and vitreoretinal surgeons Alan L. Wagner, MD, FACS, FICS, FASRS, AME, and Kapil G. Kapoor, MD, FACS, FICS, are conducting trials of an FDA-approved study into gene therapy to...
2022 Graduates
Jewish News celebrates these 2022 graduates with their families and the community. Mazel Tov on these students' achievements and best of luck as they take their next steps.
Women’s Spring Lunch brings joy and tears
Sometimes, a topic touches so close to one’s heart that it’s impossible to ignore it or turn away. On Wednesday, June 1, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Women’s Cabinet hosted its annual Spring Lunch at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach. The...
Chalk Over Hate raises antisemitism awareness
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC joined Jewish organizations across North America for Chalk Over Hate, an initiative of Artists 4 Israel to fight antisemitism through public art on Friday, June 3. “As the CEO of Artists 4 Israel, I am...
Annie Sandler and volunteers visit Poland’s Ukrainian refugees
In late April, Annie Sandler, along with eight other board members and staffers of the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) and student volunteers from Active Jewish Teens (AJT), traveled to Poland to visit Ukrainian refugees. The group had a rigorous schedule, first...
Dear Readers (Dads & Grads)
Dear Readers, A couple of weeks ago, it seemed that everywhere I turned, people were talking about graduations. Were there more than usual, or were we all just so excited to have proper ceremonies at the appropriate time and not the drive-by celebrations of 2020?...
Strelitz International Academy Class of 2022 Graduates
SIA graduates will attend the following middle school programs this fall: Cape Henry Collegiate, Norfolk Collegiate School, Norfolk Academy, Old Donation School, and Princess Anne Middle. SIA is an International Baccalaureate World School. Back row: Leia Silverstein,...
Jewish Tidewater’s graduates excel
‘Kids’ reflect on their dads
While every day is a great day to honor, appreciate, and love our dads (and the dads in our lives: grandfathers, sons, uncles, friends, and neighbors), this Father’s Day there’s even more reason to enjoy the holiday. It is the first summer in recent years that it’s...
Jewish community’s Memorial Day program honors and remembers
On the sunny morning of Friday, May 27, a group of 50 community members gathered to commemorate the upcoming Memorial Day prior to the long weekend’s start. Hosted by the local Navy Chaplains, along with the Jewish War Veterans (Post 158), the Board of Rabbis and...
Mikro Kodesh Cemetery gets spruced up and hosts Genziah
The heat of the day didn’t stop Jewish Tidewater’s volunteers from coming out on the morning of Sunday, May 22 to Mikro Kodesh Cemetery in Chesapeake. That morning, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division, together with Chabad of Tidewater and...
Rabbi Sender Haber to leave B’nai Israel
Many communities have a rabbi. In the times of the Talmud, that term was deemed somewhat narrow for the many responsibilities devolved on the community leader. Another term was needed and coined: Mara D’asra, literally ‘leader of the community.’ Such a leader is Rabbi...