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Anyone who has traveled by the Pembroke Square area in the last few weeks might have seen exciting developments taking place on the corner by Target. Aviva Pembroke, the premier senior community that is being created in partnership by Beth Sholom Village and Pembroke...
We joined the Tidewater delegation for Jewish Advocacy Day in Richmond on Wednesday, Feb. 8. In the morning, we all met to ride the bus to Richmond at the Simon Family JCC—you could feel the excitement. After six months of working with the community, meeting people,...
NADIV, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s young men’s Giving Circle, recently completed this year’s giving process at the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth. On a Sunday evening in February the members were hosted for a dinner, learned about the...
Luca Calliott proves that one can never begin reading the Jewish News too early.
Almost 50 early morning risers boarded a bus to Richmond for Virginia’s annual Jewish Advocacy Day on Wednesday, Feb. 8. Organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, the delegation joined nearly 200 citizen...
International Holocaust Remembrance Day was observed this year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Holocaust Commission with the publication of To Life: The Past Is Present, Holocaust Stories of Hampton Roads Survivors, Liberators, and Rescuers. This collection...
Dear Readers, Longevity unwittingly turned into the theme for this issue’s Mazel Tov section. Doing so makes perfect sense, and frankly, I wonder why we’ve never done it before. After all, when celebrating at weddings we hope the marriages will be “forever” and when a...
Jewish News: When and where did you meet? Minette and Charles Cooper: In New York on a blind date through Marjorie Quarte, a senior in Minette’s house at Smith College who was dating Charles’s brother Joel. JN: Charles, how did you convince Minette to move to Norfolk?...
Caught on Camera: Dani Weinstein says she wants to read Jewish News to see who she knows in each issue.
Next month, Sandy Goldberg, account executive at Jewish News, turns 80. If he hadn’t shared the news, no one would know. He’s always active…traveling with his wife Anne, busy with his family, entertaining, exercising at the Simon Family JCC, and working the phones and...
Tidewater’s ShinShinim, Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin, have been busy this winter spreading Israeli culture and education throughout the community. In addition to leading programs at the Simon Family JCC, they have engaged with students at Strelitz International...
Dear Readers, Last month I listened to an Apple News In Conversation podcast featuring an interview with Steve Lopez, author of Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement From Some Who’ve Done It and Some Who Never Will. In his mid-60s and considering...
Tzedakah is more than a financial transaction. Giving builds trusting relationships and includes contributions of time, effort, and insight. Tzedakah—philanthropy and charity—as well as Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) are concepts and values that are carried...
The Simon Family JCC Swordfish Winter Swim team is undefeated through its first four swim meets. Jacob Gynan, head coach and Waverly Howard, assistant coach, have lead the Swordfish to virtual swim meet victories over JCCs from Mid-Westchester, N.Y., Milwaukee, Wisc.,...
Children from kindergarten through second grade participated in the Israel Club, a new after school class at the Simon Family JCC on Monday, January 31. The idea of creating an Israel Club stemmed from the desire to build connections between the next generation and...
(New York Jewish Week via JTA)—It was the best of Twitter. It was the worst of Twitter. During the long agonizing hours of Saturday, January 15, during which a rabbi and three congregants were held against their will at a Dallas-area synagogue, social media performed...
On his first day in office, Saturday, January 15, Governor Glenn Youngkin issued an Executive Order establishing a commission to combat antisemitism in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The order states: “The Commonwealth of Virginia has been a pioneer for religious...
vamuseums.org A late 19th century oil painting of Lewis Nusbaum, an early member of both Ohef Sholom Temple and Beth El, is a finalist in the Virginia Association of Museum’s annual competition for Virginia’s most endangered artifact. The oil painting is one of many...
Anyone who has ever attended a Jewish Family Service of Tidewater event, participated in Run, Roll or Stroll, ordered a Basket of Hope centerpiece for a celebration, or made a charitable gift to JFS, likely encountered Sue Graves. For more than two decades, Graves has...
Dear Readers, Whether one eats to live or lives to eat, food is always a discussion. And, somehow, food is often tied to romance and friendship. Speaking of food and friendship, in November, a friend came to town with three copies of Israeli-born British chef Yotam...
A catering mentor once told Shari Berman, ‘We eat with our eyes.’ As a young kosher caterer, art lover, and teacher, she took his words to heart and allowed her brain to release childhood memories. “When I was in high school, my mother’s culinary talent impressed...
(JTA)—Bob Saget, the comedian and actor famous for playing a wholesome sitcom father figure, but who never lost his flair for raunchy comedy, has died at 65. Saget died shortly after performing in Orlando, on Saturday January 8, where he had delivered a show with his...
Along with Jewish communities around the world, we recently shared our Hanukkah candle lightings with friends, families, and our community. From the annual Chabad of Tidewater celebration at Mount Trashmore (the 40th year of lighting that particular menorah!), to...
In an interview which aired December 8 on CBN, Congresswoman Elaine Luria spoke about her concern with the growing number of her Democratic colleagues publicly espousing anti-Israel views. “I’ve always viewed the U.S. support for Israel as incredibly strong,” Luria...
A successful local dentist, Dr. David Konikoff understands the importance of all sorts of education, and uniquely, that of dental education. Konikoff also believes in helping others where and when he is able. And so, he and his family made a $1 million gift to...
When walking into Strelitz International Academy, one of the first things to see is the school’s four core values posted in the lobby: Kavod (Honor), Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World), Torah v’Lishma, and Kehillah (Community). As Tidewater’s Jewish Community Day...
On Saturday, December 4, on the seventh night of Hanukkah, members and friends of Kehillat Bet Hamidrash/Kempsville Conservative Synagogue gathered to celebrate the Festival of Lights. Beginning with Havdalah and continuing with lighting a chanukiyah inside and...
(JTA)—When Ed Shames described his Jewish self, he used the term “tough SOB.” Shames, the oldest surviving member of the legendary Easy Company parachute infantry regiment, could also have added “patient.” Shames, who died Dec. 3 at age 99 at his home in Virginia...
Dear Readers, Business can be very personal, despite the famous phrase from The Godfather. (You know the one…‘it’s not personal, it’s strictly business.’) In fact, business is often very personal. That’s what Lisa Richmon learned when she spoke to Josh Leibowitz and...
‘Playing it safe’ used to be a nice way to say cop out. Today, however, safety is the national trend for young professionals returning to the parental home to invest and save money, work remotely, job hop virtually, spend more time with family—and avoid becoming a CDC...
COVID pulls families apart. Covid brings families together. In May 2020, Avidan Itzhak returned home to Virginia where he continued to work as a corporate recruiter for a healthcare company. At that time, he had no intention to leave New York for the foreseeable...