What’s Happening

For the past 15 years, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater has presented free health awareness events as part of Spring Into Healthy Living, along with the annual JFS Run, Roll or Stroll. Speakers have included physicians from the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins, in...

Wednesday, May 1, 6:45 pm, Temple Israel Join the community for an evening to honor local Holocaust survivors and remember the six million Jews who were murdered during the Shoah, as well as to hear Dr. Roger Loria’s harrowing experience of escape and survival. Dr....

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus April 2019 JDC’s HOME: Lens on Israel, a photography exhibit from Temple Emanu-El’s Bernard Museum of Judaica & Streicker Center in New York, showcases the work of photographers who have documented the...

Leon Family Gallery, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus May 2019 An artists’ rights organization, Artists 4 Israel advocates for Israel and its freedoms through all artistic media. Their team of international artists (more than 1,000 participating artists representing...

From Remembrance to Independence: Yom HaZikaron to Yom HaAtzmaut Wednesday, May 8, 7:30 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple Free and open to the community with RSVP (Required)  to www.JewishVA.org/IsraelToday As the sun sets on May 8, Israelis and Jews around the world move from...

Wednesday, May 15, 11:30 am–1 pm Sandler Family Campus Seniors have an abundance of programs to choose from at the Simon Family JCC. From museum tours to book clubs, current events discussions to card games, there is no shortage of fun or engaging activities. When it...

Sunday, May 19, 11 am–4 pm as part of Israel Fest at the Sandler Family Campus Artists 4 Israel will be in Tidewater as part of Israel Fest, and the final event in the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Simon Family JCC, and...

A two-part series for teens and parents offering resources and tools to strategically respond to anti-Semitism and anti-Israel rhetoric on campus Thursday, May 9, 6–9 pm: ADL and Ambassador Ido Aharoni (for students and parents) Friday, May 17, 4–6 pm: Artists 4...

Sunday, May 12, 6 pm Always the backbone of B’nai Israel Congregation, the B’nai Israel Sisterhood was responsible for a wealth of programs, classes, and fundraisers. They gave the synagogue an aura of energy, fun, and inspiration. The shul is planning a “pass the...

Wednesday, May 15, 8:30 am Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus My journey in becoming a group fitness instructor started with my love of being a participant in classes. I loved the music, the comradery, the variety, and most of all—the instructors. A good instructor...

Sunday, May 19, 11 am–4 pm, Sandler Family Campus This year’s Israel Fest will offer even more ways to experience and celebrate the State of Israel…without leaving Tidewater. Families can visit Tidewater’s own Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and compete in a scavenger hunt;...

Sunday, April 17, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm—Free and open to everyone April is the ideal time to put summer plans in place for young children. The weather’s warm, the school year is almost over, and rather than be left scrambling for what to do for three long months,...

April 12, 7:30 pm, Chrysler Hall In this return Virginia Arts Festival engagement, Yo Yo Ma is joined by his longtime friend and frequent musical partner, Emanuel Ax, a virtuoso pianist whose passionate performances have drawn acclaim around the world. The San...

Vote online for your favorite Israel poster beginning April 4 This winter, the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invited students in grades 1 through 12 to participate in their 4th annual Israel Poster Contest. Students...

Thursday, April 21, 12 pm The Simon Family JCC is hosting a Seniors Seder, sponsored by Tidewater Jewish Foundation and The Joseph Fleishmann Memorial Fund. Led by Cantor Elihu Flax and Rabbi Michael Panitz, this will be a mini-Seder with all of the traditional...

Thursday, April 7, Norfolk Waterside Marriott The Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities named Jody M. Wagner chair of the 2016 Humanitarian Awards Dinner. The awards celebration honors individuals and organizations who have made...

Sunday, April 10, 2 pm, Temple Emanuel The 5th Annual Pink Tea will honor Women Cancer Survivors and promote the concept that “your good health is in your hands.” Concerned that not everyone had health insurance and were not able to afford mammograms and pap smears, a...

Sunday, May 22, 2 pm, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts The world is rapidly losing the voices of those who witnessed the Holocaust. In its effort to keep those voices alive, the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater will add three new...

Saturday, March 19, 8 pm, Sandler Family Campus They call her Lady Luck, and chances are good she may show up with Frank Sinatra, Liberace, or a beautiful blonde bombshell at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus for the “party of the year.” The Young Adult Division...

Wednesday, April 13, 7 pm, Chrysler Museum Renowned physician from the Cleveland Clinic to speak in Norfolk during Spring into Healthy Living program More than 82 million Americans are currently diagnosed with cardiovascular disease— and millions more think they are...

Sunday, March 6, 11 am–2 pm, Sandler Family Campus Being deployed overseas presents a soldier or sailor with difficult situations, no matter their location. In addition to being separated from family, they’re stripped of all normal creature comforts, living on mostly...

Wednesday, March 2, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus South African Olga Meshoe plans to tell as many people in Tidewater as possible why Israel is not an apartheid state. She is the second speaker in the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of...

Thursdays, beginning March 3, 6–7 pm, Simon Family JCC The Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis and Cantors, in partnership with the Simon Family JCC, is offering a new free weekly course, A Pluralistic Introduction to Judaism. Designed for those seeking to learn more about...

At camp JCC, summer camp is more than just a place where children go when school is out. Campers discover, grow, and learn. Each week, a new theme is introduced with activities to match. Register for one week or the entire summer. Camp lasts from June 20 through...

Saturday, March 19, 8 pm Or at least it probably won’t—not this year anyway. UJFT’s Young Adult Division is getting ready for its annual Purim Party. This year, it’s Las Vegas style. The 2016 YAD Purim Party promises Elvis impersonators, showgirls, casino tables,...

Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding will feature Michael Brenner, the Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., as this year’s Sonenshine Lecture Series speaker for...

Last call for entries: Deadline is Monday, Feb. 29, 4:30 pm The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invites area 1st through 12th graders to participate in their fourth annual Israel Poster Contest. Students and teachers can find a...

Mondays, 8 pm, Simon Family JCC Anyone who happened to be at the Simon Family JCC on Monday, Feb. 1 might have caught a glimpse of Dr. Herb Brewer studying Jewish history and philosophy with Rabbi Shmuel Katz of the Norfolk Kollel, or attorney Ken Wilson, a member of...

The S.S. Quanza: Jewish Refugees and the Port of Norfolk. Sunday, March 6, 2 pm In 1940, one year after the St. Louis and its “Voyage of the Damned,” a Portuguese steamer brought fewer than 100 refugees from Europe to Norfolk, Va. Most of the passengers were Jews, and...