Through United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s partnership with Secure Community Network, Tidewater is part of a national security initiative. We work closely with law enforcement and Jewish institutions across the region to strengthen security, share information, and coordinate response efforts. This ongoing coordination helps ensure that Jewish institutions are prepared, connected, and supported in maintaining a safe and secure environment.

 We remain in constant contact with local, state, and federal law enforcement and actively monitor the threat landscape. We also remain in close contact with all our Jewish institutions and are assessing opportunities to further improve our security preparedness and infrastructure. As a precaution, additional patrols are being conducted around Jewish institutions in Tidewater. At press time, there is no information indicating a specific threat to local Jewish institutions.

 As always, we encourage organizations and community members to remain aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious activity—both to law enforcement and through our incident reporting link: JewishVA.org/incident.

See something, say something.

Your awareness is the first line of defense. Report suspicious activity immediately: JewishVA.org/incident.

Why it matters.

The West Bloomfield incident demonstrates how training, preparation, and vigilance save lives. Every action you take contributes to keeping Tidewater safe.

 Bring SCN to your synagogue for a training session. SCN’s gold-standard curriculum empowers participants with hands-on training and life-saving skills to prevent, respond to, and recover from potential incidents. To schedule a session, email mgoldsmith@ujft.org or call 757-965-6125.

Eight best practices for community safety.

As recommended by JFNA, SCN, and the ADL:

• Coordinate with law enforcement and SCN Regional Security Advisor 

• Extend security perimeters wherever possible

• Limit events to pre-screened attendees

• Require registration and verification for public events

• Share event details only with confirmed attendees

• Control access to known participants

• Stay alert and report suspicious activity

• Add armed law enforcement, private security, or trained volunteers

Thank you for your vigilance and commitment to keeping our community safe. Working together, we strengthen the security of our entire community.

Mike Goldsmith is Tidewater’s Secure Community Network’s regional security advisor.  He may be reached at mgoldsmith@ujft.org.

 “The state of the Jewish union in America is strong, but it is being tested,” said Fingerhut. “We are united in our commitment to America and to Jewish life, even as we worry about the real threats of violence and the growing acceptance of antisemitic rhetoric.”

 During his remarks, which was billed as JFNA’s inaugural “State of the Jewish Union” address ahead of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address the following week, Fingerhut issued six recommendations to Congress which centered on increasing security for Jewish communities.

 They included providing federal support for security personnel, expanding FBI capabilities to counter domestic terrorism, increasing support for local and state law enforcement, prosecuting hate crimes aggressively, and holding social media companies accountable for amplifying antisemitic rhetoric.

 “Jewish children and teens are facing growing risks online, including antisemitic harassment, bullying, and extremist content,” said Fingerhut. “We recognize the difficulty of legislating in this field, but states are moving forward, and it’s time for Congress to move forward as well.”

 Fingerhut also called on Congress to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program to $1 billion annually, and “make the program more flexible and simpler to use.” (This year, the program is requiring recipients to support federal immigration enforcement and avoid programs advancing diversity, raising concern among many Jewish groups, including JFNA.)

 At the beginning of his address, Fingerhut also emphasized the ties between the American Jewish community and Israel, which have come under scrutiny since JFNA published a survey last month which found that only one-third of American Jews say they identify as Zionist.

 “The focus of today’s talk will be about the state of Jews in America, but it is not possible to have that conversation without acknowledging and addressing the emotional, familial, and religious connection between the American Jewish community and the people of Israel,” said Fingerhut.

 Fingerhut’s remarks come shortly after Bret Stephens, the right-leaning Jewish New York Times columnist, argued during his 92NY’s annual “The State of World Jewry” speech that groups devoted to combating antisemitism, including the Anti-Defamation League, should abandon their strategy and instead focus on bolstering Jewish education and communal infrastructure.

 During Fingerhut’s address, which largely centered on the security burdens placed on Jewish communities and concern for changes to social services funding, he also pivoted to a broader vision of Jewish life beyond the need for protection alone.

 “It is important for the Congress to know that Jewish life is not only what we are protecting, but what we are building,” said Fingerhut. “It is Jewish education and Jewish experiences, but it is also human services, dignity, and belonging.”

 The meal can be seen in Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History, which airs on Tuesday evenings, and it features a diverse set of Jews — including many who are Black — discussing the role that the Exodus story plays in both Black and Jewish traditions.

 The conversation does not avoid difficult topics that challenge the conventional wisdom that having gained freedom from slavery represents a clear parallel for Jews and Black Americans.

 “Something that I often think about during Passover is every year we commemorate our freedom as Jews,” says Nate Looney, director of community safety and belonging at the Jewish Federations of North America, in a clip shared exclusively with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “But as Black Americans, we’re often told to ‘get over slavery,’ and ‘forget about it.’”

 The four-episode docuseries explores the historical rifts and alliances between Jewish and Black Americans and is hosted by Harvard University historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. It comes during Black History Month — and as questions have simmered about whether the last several years have irreparably harmed the historic kinship between Jewish and Black Americans.

 It argues that the relationship between Black and Jewish Americans wasn’t set in stone during the civil rights movement when Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel marched in Selma with Martin Luther King Jr., but was shaped by centuries of history, and continues to be shaped by oppression and white supremacy.

 Among those at the table with Looney are Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi of New York’s Central Synagogue; cookbook author and culinary historian Michael Twitty; writer Jamaica Kincaid; David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker; and Rabbi Shais Rishon, also known as MaNishtana.

 The series explores key moments in the histories of Black and Jewish Americans, and how those moments ran parallel and crossed paths over the past five centuries. It covers the transatlantic slave trade, the overlaps between the Great Migration and Jewish immigration from Europe, the lynching of Leo Frank, the civil rights movement, the Crown Heights riots, the 2017 Unite the Right rally, and post-Oct. 7 activism.

 “A lot of previous conversations about [Black and Jewish relations] really just look at that golden era or just look at the divisions that have come in the last decades, but we’re trying to take a holistic view about how race and caste [were] established in America,” Sara Wolitzky, co-executive producer and director of the docuseries told eJewishPhilanthropy.

 Black and Jewish America features a variety of academics, activists, writers, and celebrities, including Rev. Al Sharpton, Jewish studies professor Susannah Heschel (the rabbi’s daughter), actor Billy Crystal, activist and professor Cornel West, and playwright Tony Kushner.

The episodes run every Tuesday at 9 pm, ET until Feb. 24.

The destruction to the synagogue building was extensive, and, while damage assessments are still underway, the congregation is committed to rebuilding. Early reports indicated that several Torah scrolls were burned and others damaged. Thankfully, a Torah scroll rescued from the Holocaust was behind a glass case and survived the fire. The loss of the Sifrei Torah is a profound spiritual and communal loss, and we mourn it deeply with the Jackson Jewish community. At the same time, the fact that a Torah that survived the Holocaust and has been preserved for decades was not damaged reminds us of who we are and how long we have endured.

We have been in direct touch with the leadership of Beth Israel Congregation and with the Institute of Southern Jewish Life, with which we have a long relationship, and which has its offices at the synagogue. We have offered and will continue to offer any and all support that the community may need. We know that many Federations, especially those located nearby, have also offered to help. As you can imagine, this small community is being overwhelmed with inquiries from all around the world.

Of course, the full costs of rebuilding cannot be established at this time. 

For those who are asking how they can help now, JFNA has opened a special mailbox at Jewishfederations.org – Beth Israel, Jackson MS Rebuilding Fund. All donations will be forwarded in full to Beth Israel Congregation with appropriate attribution. To donate directly, the synagogue has indicated the following fund will be used to support the costs of the damage and rebuilding: Beth Israel Congregation Rebuilding Fund at bethisraelms.org.

Once again, Jewish history and Jewish life are being tested. This is the same synagogue that was bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967. That history matters. And this attack comes as we mark one year since the devastating fires in Los Angeles, which the LA Federation community continues to navigate with courage and resolve, and just a few short weeks after the attacks in Sydney.

We will support Beth Israel Congregation and the Jewish community of Jackson, Mississippi through this moment of pain and through the long work of rebuilding as we always do.

Like the Torah that survived fire and history, our people persist. Our community is united and our resolve is stronger than ever.

Am Yisrael Chai!

Gary Torgow, chair

Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO

Jewish Federations of North America

We continue to pray for the imminent return of the remaining hostages and for their families and loved ones to be able to give them the proper burial they deserve. May they be comforted among all the mourners of Zion.   We look forward to the full implementation of this ceasefire deal and pray for peace in the Middle East.

 We prayed for the day when the hostages would be returned and the fighting, which endured for 738 days, through 105 Shabbats, and 18 major Jewish holidays would cease. We did so along with our Tidewater Jewish community, with the Jewish people around the world, and with our friends and allies locally and globally.  

Not only have we prayed but we have also advocated together, marched together, and raised funds together to meet the humanitarian and emergency needs of our Israeli family– klal Yisrael, we are one people responsible for one another.

In addition, as Jewish Federations of North America said in a statement on Monday, Oct. 13, “We honor the resilience of the hostages and their families and continue to pray for all whose lives have been shattered by terror. They built their cause into a social movement that has garnered support across the globe and never wavered. 

“We also take this moment to recognize the enormous sacrifice and service of Israel’s soldiers and their families, who put their time, their economic wellbeing, their bodies, and their lives on the line to protect Israel during this horrific period. We mourn the loss of 915 soldiers who died as they fought successfully to get the hostages home and defeat Israel’s enemies.”  

Let’s all continue to pray for healing and peace.

Am Yisrael Chai,

Mona Flax, President

Betty Ann Levin, Executive Vice President/CEO

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

 Joy is found in the laughter shared around our holiday tables, in the melodies of prayer that echo through our synagogues, and in quiet moments of gratitude for our family, our community, and for the Jewish people.  It is found in acts of loving kindness, in the resilience of our spirit, and in the hope we carry into the new year.

 In a world that often feels uncertain, choosing joy is an act of courage. And when we choose it together, it becomes a source of strength. Let us enter 5786 with renewed purpose and a commitment to lift one another up. May this be a year of sweetness, healing, and shared celebration.

May 5786 provide us the opportunity for unity and continuing engagement in Jewish Tidewater.  Unity is our strength.  We have myriad examples of increased engagement in our synagogues, our day schools, and in our community programming through many of our Jewish communal organizations.  

May 5786 free the Israeli hostages, bring an end to war and suffering in the Middle East, Ukraine, and around the globe, and strengthen the Jewish people. 

L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu,

Betty Ann Levin

Executive vice president/CEO

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater

Tidewater’s Jewish community often gathers for commemorations and celebrations. In fact, over the past several months, from Yom Hashoah to Yom Ha’Atzmaut, and for so many more occasions as well, we have gathered in area synagogues and on the Sandler Family Campus. Community members have shared with me how inspiring and motivating it is to see people of all ages unite (which is particularly apparent throughout the pages of this issue of Jewish News!).

Let’s come together again – this time for the Federation’s Biennial Meeting on Wednesday evening, June 11, in the Marty Einhorn Pavilion on our community campus. It’s an opportunity to reflect on both our successes and challenges of the last two years and to look forward with anticipation to new goals, new programs, and hope for a peaceful world.

Personally, I am grateful for our community’s leadership who have brought us to this point, especially for the UJFT presidents I have had the opportunity to work with over the last seven years. Now, I look forward to working with Mona Flax, UJFT’s next president, who will be installed at the Biennial Meeting.

I am also grateful for the lay and professional leadership of all our partner agencies and synagogues. At the meeting, we will have the opportunity to recognize lay leaders who have gone above and beyond over the last two years at these organizations and institutions, as nominated by his/her respective leadership, through the Joseph (Buddy) Strelitz Community Service awards.

We will also have the opportunity to recognize Linda Spindel with the first Tzedek Award. Few people demonstrate this Jewish value of justice, of giving to those in need, as Linda has and does. Through her leadership of and volunteerism at so many area organizations, Linda is a most deserving recipient. Let’s celebrate her together.

There are more leaders to recognize at the Biennial, and I look forward to seeing you.

Together, we are strengthening and perpetuating Jewish life in Tidewater, working every day to fulfill the mission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

Thank you for the role you play in building community.

Betty Ann Levin is executive vice president/CEO of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC.

I would also share the substantial impact of the over $4.8 million our community raised within just a few months, following the horrendous attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The funds were quickly sent to our overseas partners to help meet Israel’s humanitarian, emergency, and wartime needs.

But this year, as we prepare for 5785, my thoughts remain where they have been for the last 339 days (as I write this), with the hostages and their families. We are most recently mourning the death of 6 hostages, executed by Hamas in the tunnels of Gaza, including American Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, originally of Richmond. The slaughter of more than 1,200 on October 7, the hundreds of thousands of displaced Israelis, driven from their homes by Hamas and Hezbollah, and the death of countless Palestinian civilians callously subjected by Hamas to the ravages of war, has indescribably impacted all of us.

We have given with our contributions, our hearts, our volunteerism, and our voices over the last year. We have advocated, we have prayed, and we have marched. Almost 100 from our community joined over 290,000 individuals who participated in the historic March for Israel, the largest pro-Israel rally in U.S. history, in November 2023 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. I recently had the opportunity to spontaneously participate in a (much smaller) march in Nashville, Tennessee, while on vacation with my family. I learned about the march when I bumped into a Jewish family walking down the street in Nashville. The father is the rabbi of Nashville’s largest reform congregation. Our small Jewish world got a little smaller that day. (I was also proud to march both times with my colleague from Tidewater Jewish Foundation, Naomi Limor Sedek.)

Many of you joined us on October 10, 2023, as we came together following October 7. You joined us at the March for Israel. I hope you join us this October 7, as we continue to pray, remember, and act.

As we prepare for this solemn anniversary, I wish you and your families l’shana tova tikatevu. May 5785 free the hostages and bring peace to Israel and the Jewish people.

Betty Ann Levin
Executive Vice President/CEO
United Jewish Federation of Tidewater