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Rave reviews for Film Festival

Rave reviews for Film Festival

The 26th Annual Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma & Howard Laderberg and Patricia & Avraham Ashkenazi was “one of the most successful in the 26-year history of the festival,” according to Mark Robbins, Film Festival screening committee...

Retirement in Style

Retirement in Style

Ever wonder why Tidewater and the Jewish community have so many active retirees and busy seniors? We all know that our weather is mild (everything is relative, I know, as I’m always checking temps in Boston, DC, and points south), getting from place to place is easy,...

Jonathan Schanzer in Tidewater

Jonathan Schanzer in Tidewater

Wednesday, February 20, 7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus, Free As part of the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and community partners’ annual Israel Today series, Jonathan Schanzer, the senior vice president for...

Food is Love

Food is Love

Food connects people,” says Dalit Gvirtsman, a co-founder of Cooking Up, an international network of food classes. “Food is love,” she continues. Gvirtsman might have a point. After all, consider how many dates, celebrations, and even interviews take place at...

New Jewish members of Congress receive special greeting

New Jewish members of Congress receive special greeting

Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism staff welcomed members of the 116th Congress to Washington on Thursday, January 3. Incoming Jewish members were also delivered babkas. Congresswoman Elaine Luria, representing Virginia’s 2nd district, was welcomed on her...

A Chinese Christmas at Beth Sholom Village

A Chinese Christmas at Beth Sholom Village

On Christmas Day, more than 100 people gathered in the Pincus Paul Social Hall inside Beth Sholom Village for an afternoon of kosher Chinese food, camaraderie, and laughter. Plates were filled with egg rolls, beef and broccoli, and lo mein. Meanwhile, local comedian...

Be mindful of reactions to the market

Be mindful of reactions to the market

Is this time different? While those of us who have been investing for decades have experienced many tumultuous markets, each and every time volatility strikes, so does fear. I’ve learned a lot about investor behavior through the years, and I know how closely emotion...

Israeli writer to give 2013 Helen and Daniel Sonenshine Lecture at ODU

Sunday, April 14, 7 pm An Israeli Holocaust survivor forbidden by his granddaughter to mention his experiences in the war during her engagement party, collapses with a stroke when she yells at him to remain quiet. A Jewish woman struggles unsuccessfully to find the...

Intriguing discussion follows CRC films at Temple Emanuel

As the media was covering President Obama’s visit to Israel on March 20, a group of community members gathered that night at Temple Emanuel in Virginia Beach to discuss the role the media plays in shaping negative opinions about Israel. The synagogue hosted the third...

Rabbi Jake brings story of Hillel revival at UVA to Hampton Roads

I don’t know what made me more proud. Hearing how strong Hillel has become at my alma mater, the University of Virginia, or the fact that my nephew was the one delivering the good news. Rabbi Jake Rubin, son of my brother, came to Norfolk at the invitation of Hillel...

JCC has new director of children, family and camp

Jill Sava joins the Simon Family JCC as its new director of the children and family department, which includes directing Summer Camp, Kids Connection, the Before and After School Program, and the Babysitting department. The sixth of seven children in a very close-knit...

Community religious leaders participate in CRC Interfaith Seder

Over bowls of matzoh ball soup and glasses of sweet, Kosher wine, almost 80 faith leaders and representatives of Tidewater’s many religious affiliations gathered at the Simon Family Jewish Community Center on March 19 for a pre-Passover seder. The Community Relations...

Betsy Karotkin and Jennifer Adut: Judaism, Pray it Forward

Betsy Oasis Karotkin and her daughter, Jennifer Karotkin Adut both treasure their Jewish heritage. As mother and daughter, their stories are intertwined, and yet their journeys are completely different. “Life, like art, is full of surprises,” says Karotkin. An artist...

“Laughing like a Jew”

Julia Child often laughed about her experience being raised as a child on tuna noodle casserole in Southern California. It wasn’t until she was in her 20s and sat down to her first Parisian meal that she knew in her heart that she was actually French. Myself, I didn’t...

Women celebrate at festive seder

The response to the 2013 Tidewater Women’s Outreach Seder, held at the Simon Family JCC on March 17, was evident before the first bite of egg matzoh crossed a lipsticked mouth. Women from all affiliations and backgrounds made reservations early, and the Seder drew...

As trip began, Obama and Netanyahu were all smiles

JERUSALEM (JTA)—President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it’s safe to say, haven’t always been the best of friends. The leaders of two closely allied countries, they’ve have had a relationship described more often as tense than anything else. But...

Joel Richard Nied: Going to the Hill

“Ice cream and cake, ice cream and cake...” are the words repeated throughout the video that Joel Nied put together as an invitation to his son’s fifth birthday party. The short, which is extremely entertaining, has clarity, energy, rhythm and packs a punch, much like...

Neil Lazarus champions concept of diplomacy in Israel Today Forum

Neil Lazarus barely uttered the word “diplomacy” during his whirlwind two-day visit to Tidewater on Feb. 13 and 14. Yet the prolific speaker demonstrated diplomacy in a variety of ways, through his informational discussions at area schools and a church, in his...

Ron Wolfson motivates community with interactive presentations

Entering the multi-purpose room at the Sandler Family Campus on the evening of Feb. 7, there was little indication that a lesson was being taught by the smiling man at the door who was extending his hand and offering a personal, “Welcome. It’s so good to see you.” The...

Kempsville Synagogue uses UJFT grant to upgrade communications

Long before the Sandler Family Campus opened, in the days when there was no “Town Center” or even Lynnhaven Mall, Jewish families living in central Virginia Beach had a choice to make if they wanted to go to shul: they could drive to Norfolk, or they could drive to...

Volunteers and donors make Super Sunday super successful

An outpouring of community support made the 2013 Super Sunday phone-a-thon one of the most successful in recent years. The annual event, held at the Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish community on Sunday, Jan. 27, raised more than $100,000 from more than...

Talking about the Virginia Israel Advisory Board

When a group of Tidewater advocates traveled to Richmond for Date with the State, or Jewish Advocacy Day, last month, one of the main topics discussed with area General Assembly members was the Virginia Israel Advisory Board. The Community Relations Council of the...