What’s Happening

Each year, the Simon Family JCC’s Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma and Howard Laderberg* inspires, educates, and entertains through evocative narrative and documentary films which portray the Jewish experience. These films offer cinematic...

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018 12:30 pm Sandler Family Campus To prepare for this year’s Date with the State, also known as Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, which takes place on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, UJFT’s Community Relations Council Legislative Action Committee will host a...

Thursday, Dec. 21 6:30–8:30 pm The YAD Guys Night Out will be at Topgolf this month. See who has the longest drive, and test skills on the range alongside YAD guys. RSVP to Sara Gottschalk at sgottschalk@ujft.org for a spot in one of the bays.

Sunday, Dec. 10, 12:30 pm Hands on Tidewater needs help to groom the Mikro Kodesh cemetery on 2295 Berkley Ave., in Chesapeake. YAD will clean headstones, clear weeds, and remove overgrown shrubs. Take part in a mitzvah to help restore the cemetery. Street parking is...

Friday, Dec. 8, 5:45 pm Enjoy a delicious Shabbat dinner with YAD hosted by Chabad House at 1920 Colley Ave in Norfolk. The Young Adult Division (YAD) of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is open to adults ages 22 through 45. $10 per adult and $5 per child (a...

Simon Family JCC’s Leon Family Gallery, Sandler Family Campus What’s up now and next Repairing the World December Produced by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), Repairing the World: Frame by Frame is comprised of work by Israeli and American...

Thursday, Dec. 14, 5:30 – 7:30 pm Join YAD for a special Hanukkah Happy Hour at Twist and welcome in the third night with a menorah lighting. Appetizers are on YAD; drinks are on attendees. The Young Adult Division (YAD) of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater is...

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 1:30 pm Simon Family JCC Israeli music, bingo, prizes, traditional Hanukkah snacks, and more are planned for the JCC Seniors Club’s Hanukkah celebration. This event is free and open to the community. For more information or to RSVP, contact Melissa...

Friday, Dec. 15, 6 pm Old Donation Episcopal Church Tidewater Chavurah has moved its second-Friday Shabbat service so that it can celebrate Shabbat during Hanukkah. The festivities will begin with a latke dinner at 6 pm, continuing with a Shabbat service at 7 pm,...

Israeli artist Amit Shimoni gives political and cultural figures fashionable facelifts for free. Amit Shimoni has done the impossible. This Israeli designer-illustrator is making people smile when they see politicians. Shimoni, 29, is the artist behind Hipstory, an...

Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018, 7 am–4 pm bus leaves from the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Meet State Senator and Delegates, discuss issues that affect the Jewish community. The governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general have all been invited on the date, too....

Monday, Dec. 4, 4 pm, Dreyfus Auditorium, Cape Henry Collegiate The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Cape Henry Collegiate are presenting Reflections on Israel, a talk by Karen Mason, an eighth grade history teacher, about...

Sunday, September 22, 10 am Temple Israel, 7255 Granby Street, Norfolk The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Temple Israel invite the community to a special briefing with Amos Guiora. A renowned security expert, media...

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 7:30 pm Through a grant from the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and with the support of the Milton Kramer Scholar-in- Residence Fund, Congregation Beth El will host Malcolm Gladwell in a program broadcast live via satellite from the 92nd Street...

Sundays, Oct. 13–Nov. 10 9 to 10 am Since learning doesn’t stop at a particular age or after finishing formal schooling, consider a five-week introductory course in Hebrew to become more inspired and active Jewish learners. This course consists of learning basic...

Saturday, Sept. 28, 7:30 pm—Sunday, Sept. 29, 9 am Six through eighth graders are invited to join friends at the Simon Family JCC Middle School Lock In. Kick off the new school year with plenty of fun, food, games, movies and more. $15 for JCC members; $30 for...

Tuesday, Sept. 24, 11 am Mindle Crystel Gross, a teacher of conversational Yiddish, will be the featured speaker at The Yiddish Club at the Simon Family JCC. This meeting is open to everyone, Yiddish club members and nonmembers, Yiddish speakers, and those who speak...

Sunday, Sept. 22, 5–6:30 pm “PJ” stands for “pajamas,” and invokes that time at the end of the day when parents and children strengthen their bond through love and learning by cuddling up with a book. The PJ Library® is an international, award-winning Jewish family...

September brings a new Spinning® program, Power Yoga, and Tai Chi in the water class, among other new additions, to the Simon Family JCC Fitness Center. On Sept. 22, JCC cycle instructors will participate in a day-long Spinning® certification to become Spinning®...

Wednesday, Sept. 11, 4:30 -6:30 pm The Afro-Semitic Experience, a band beyond categorization, will perform their special, “soul-driven” music in a concert presented by Old Dominion University’s Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding. The bad is a...

Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 pm The UJFT’s Young Adult Division is hosting a progressive dinner like you’ve never seen before! Join this Sukkah Hop, at the homes of several YADian’s living in Middle Plantation in Virginia Beach. For $10, the evening will include appetizers,...

Sunday, Sept. 22, 10 am Temple Israel and the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater invite the community to join them for a free community briefing at the temple. Professor Amos Guiora will share insight on the renewed...

A trip for eligible young adults who have not gone on their free 10-day trip to Israel with Taglit-Birthright Israel, is being offered by Network JCFR. The organization is sending a group of 22–27-year-olds to Israel this winter. Registration opens Sept. 9, so...

Monday, Nov. 11, 11 am When the nation celebrates Veterans Day, a solemn ceremony will also take place at the Jewish Veterans Memorial on the Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish community. Now three years old, the memorial was created through significant...

Mondays, Sept. 16 and 30 and Oct. 14 and 28, 7–8:30 pm You know it isn’t true. You want to stand up for Israel. You’ve got 30 seconds before you lose them. What do you say? Actually, it takes about three minutes to make a clear case that Israel isn’t a racist state,...

The aftermath of the July 3 ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has been tragically bloody, yet deeply illuminating for students of the Muslim Brotherhood. The secretive organization, once mislabeled as secular and moderate by U.S. Director of National...

Aug. 5-6 In his 2006 book Sophie Scholl and the White Rose, co-author Jud Newborn explores the actions of a group of college students in Nazi Germany who protested against the human and civil rights violations they saw occurring in their country. Despite certain...

Tuesday, August 20, 8 am A caravan of Simon JCC “Day Trippers” is headed to Petersburg and Richmond. Open to adults of any age, the first stop of the day will be at the Virginia Diner for breakfast and shopping. The bus will then travel to Old Towne Petersburg, an...