Thanks for reading,

Terri Denison
Editor

If you’d like to help strengthen and secure the Jewish community with a gift to the 2026 UJFT Community Campaign, there is still time. Visit www.jewishva.org/donate, call Amy Zelenka, UJFT’s chief development officer, at 757-965-6139, or mail a check to the Federation with the note: “2026 UJFT Campaign” to 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200, Virginia Beach, VA 23462.

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Liel Aisikowitz

Liel, 17, grew up in Yerucham and brings a global perspective shaped by her eight years living in Canada before returning to Israel. Growing up between cultures, she developed a deep appreciation for connection, identity, and community—values that inspire her work as a Shinshin.
In high school, Liel majored in chemistry and mechatronics, while also dedicating her time to youth leadership through Tzofim and volunteering in a Hebrew school abroad. She is a thoughtful and adaptable individual who enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with others.

Liel describes herself as both structured and spontaneous—organized when it comes to responsibilities, but always ready for a last-minute adventure. Her perfect day, she says, is “relaxing at the beach, soaking up the sun.”

She says she applied for the Shinshinim program because “I know what it feels like to live outside of Israel and not really understand what’s going on. I want to be someone people can turn to—to ask questions and form a real connection, beyond what they see online.”

Liel is especially passionate about sharing what she loves most about Israel: its hospitality, its food, and the sense of unity that connects people across differences.

Evyatar Olswang

Evyatar, 18, comes from the moshav of Kidron and brings a strong passion for creativity, leadership, and community-building. A self-described “creative and social person,” he has spent years involved in youth leadership, guiding both younger children and teens in his local youth movement.

In school, Evyatar majored in philosophy and theater fields that reflect both his intellectual curiosity and his love for artistic expression. He is also an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys hiking, drawing, journaling, and spending time in nature.

Evyatar has already built strong connections to American Jewish life. He attended a Jewish summer camp in Pennsylvania and participated in a Bronfman Fellowship seminar in New York, where he engaged in conversations about Jewish identity and community.

He says he applied for the Shinshimim program because “I care deeply about people, community, and Jewish life. I want to create spaces where people feel comfortable asking questions, expressing themselves, and building real connections.”

His experiences volunteering, especially after October 7th, when he helped organize aid efforts and community initiatives, have strengthened his commitment to meaningful service and leadership.

When he’s not leading or creating, Evyatar is likely found hiking outdoors, cooking, or planning his dream future travels around the world.
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Both of these young Israelis share a deep desire to connect with the Tidewater community—not just by sharing facts about Israel, but by building authentic relationships that bring Israel to life in personal and meaningful ways.

Throughout the year, they plan to lead programs, visit schools and synagogues, and engage with people of all ages. Whether through conversation, culture, or creativity, their goal is to strengthen the bond between Israel and the Tidewater Jewish community.

To learn more about the program, apply to become a host family, or find ways to get involved, visit JewishVA.org/Shinshinim or contact Nofar Trem at NTrem@UJFT.org.

“For Minette, I believe the temple choir was an intersection of two very meaningful elements in her life – music and faith,” says Chuck Woodward, Ohef Sholom Temple’s music director. “For its members, the choir became a community. Minette sang with the choir for nearly 40 years, helping nurture a space where relationships formed alongside the music.”

Cooper’s belief in building community extended far beyond Jewish life. She saw the arts as another way people could gather, connect, and understand one another. Her most enduring impact came through Arts for Learning Virginia (formerly Young Audiences), where she served as a donor, program leader, and board president, and as a member of the organization’s national board of directors. Under her influence, the organization grew to more than 600 performances annually, bringing arts education directly to more than 38,000 students in schools across the state.

She also worked closely with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (serving as president the same time she was president of Ohef Sholom) as well as numerous regional arts and educational institutions – receiving multiple awards for her effectiveness and contributions as a board member and leader.
Her influence expanded from local organizations to statewide advocacy efforts, including the creation of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads and as a board member of Virginians for the Arts, where she helped demonstrate the civic and economic importance of the arts.

Leadership aside, Cooper never stopped being a participant. She continued to attend board meetings, serve on committees, sing in the Virginia Symphony Chorus, and subscribe to an array of arts performances across Hampton Roads, regularly bringing family and friends along.

“She saw Judaism as family,” says her son, Erik. “Her goal was always to make sure everyone felt heard.” The mother of three – Brooke, Erik, and Jeff – she was known for hosting family seders and break the fasts that included extended family and friends.

“She took pleasure in seeing her kids and grandchildren build their own Jewish lives,” says Erik.

Through her involvement with the Elizabeth River Project, she participated in oyster-raising efforts from her pier and later delivered them for environmental monitoring. Her grandchildren joined her in this work, and several continued it in their own B’nai Mitzvah and civic projects.
She was, Jeff says, the “rock” of the family, quietly managing logistics, gatherings, and connections.

“I relied on her to do a lot of stuff without realizing all the stuff I relied on her to do. She just did it,” says Erik.

She maintained a meticulously organized system for the family’s annual holiday card, the Cooper Gazette, which reached upwards of 2,500 people each year. Long before digital networks, she built her own, an expansive web of connection sustained through the relationships she carefully tended. In every corner of her life across more than half a century in the Jewish community, the arts, and civic institutions across Tidewater, Cooper practiced her most defining qualities: a relentless curiosity about people and a determination that no one should ever feel forgotten.

“Her small family growing up shaped everything,” Jeff says. “It’s why she built so much community around her.”

Perhaps most powerfully, Cooper lives on in her family by the habits she demonstrated: showing up, staying connected, and believing that community is something you actively create every day.

As her granddaughter Hannah reflects, she was “a once-in-a-generation person.”

Cooper’s impact cannot be contained in a single organization, title, or decade. It lives in the institutions she strengthened, the cultural life she expanded, the Jewish history she preserved, and the thousands of people who received a handwritten note, a remembered detail, or an invitation that made them feel included.

Minette Cooper spent her life making sure people felt remembered. In the process, she created communities that will remember her for generations.

Interested in nominating someone to be recognized as an Outstanding Jewish American in Tidewater? Visit JewishVA.org/TidewaterHeroes or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.

Zerbib echoes that sentiment. “It’s been nice to hear their opinions and the way they see Judaism,” she says. “I’ve really appreciated their openness and acceptance.”

While long-distance community building is a central goal of the program, the students also gain firsthand experience with a healthcare system very different from their own.

“These comparisons are important because they broaden your worldview,” Zerbib says. “People think the American system is the most advanced, and in some ways that’s true.. but in Israel, preventive care is very common, and community medicine is very strong. Each system has things the other can learn from.”

Sirota says she was impressed by communication systems in U.S. hospitals and the benefits of shorter physician shifts, but noted the prevalence of chronic illness among younger patients.

“I was surprised to see the volume of patients that had very complicated background diseases,” she says. “For us in Israel, it’s relatively rare for women in their mid-20s and 30s to have conditions like Type 2 diabetes, chronic hypertension, and chronic kidney disease.”

The exchange comes as many Israeli medical students complete portions of their education amid war and instability. Sirota recalls taking exams during missile alerts.

“During those tests, you suddenly hear a siren,” she says. “You stop the test, go to the shelter, come back after 10 or 15 minutes, and then you have to continue the test.”

This reality, she says, required constant mental adjustment. “You have to change your mindset very fast. You’re in danger, and suddenly everything is okay, and you have to be focused for your test.”

Those experiences have shaped the students’ understanding of the role physicians play during times of crisis.

“During war, patients don’t always come just for physical symptoms,” Zerbib says. “Sometimes they come just to talk, to share the stress they’re feeling. The doctor might be the only person they speak to that day. The human connection becomes much more important during times of uncertainty.”

Warsof says programs like this one serve as a reminder that those connections can endure despite distance and conflict.

“Medicine, education, and community don’t stop during war,” he says. “Relationships continue. Learning continues. And those connections help strengthen Jewish communities on both sides of the ocean.”

For both students, the impact is immediate.

“It really felt like when we got here that there’s some sort of flow of connection that’s being kept through us just coming

To support Tidewater’s growing Jewish community, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater is partnering with JScreen to host a life-saving educational event this fall. Whether planning a family or looking to understand personal hereditary cancer risks, proactive screening and access to preventative genetic testing can help secure healthier futures.

Centuries of shared ancestry mean that people of Ashkenazi Jewish descent face significantly higher genetic health risks than the general population. Consider:

• One in three to one in four Ashkenazi Jews carry a gene mutation for serious recessive conditions such as Tay-Sachs or Canavan disease. This is 10 times higher than the general population.
• No symptoms. Most carriers show zero symptoms. Testing is the only way to know one’s status.
• A 25% risk. If both parents carry the same recessive gene, there is a one-in-four chance their child will inherit the disease.
• Cancer risks. Ashkenazi populations also face a much higher prevalence of BRCA gene mutations, which are linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
  The event offers affordable genetic testing, emphasizing that knowledge is a key tool in early prevention and proactive health management. Attendees will gain insights into two primary screening options:

1. Hereditary Cancer Testing: Screens for BRCA1, BRCA2, and more than 60 genes associated with inherited cancer risks.
2. Reproductive Carrier Screening: Tests for Tay-Sachs, cystic fibrosis, and more than 260 other conditions passed to children.
   

Participants will receive genetic test kits to provide and submit a sample directly at the event. The kits can also be mailed from home using a prepaid mailer. Once submitted, Jscreen’s partner, Myriad Genetics, will provide a personalized cost estimate for the test. Since some insurance carriers do not cover the cost of the test, participants can self-pay a flat rate of $249. JFS will have limited financial assistance to cover the cost of testing for participants who cannot afford the fees.

Knowledge is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to protecting one’s personal health and supporting future generations. Bringing JScreen to Tidewater gives individuals and families access to information that can truly save lives.

And, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this is the perfect time to make the commitment to dive into this important information. An $18 subsidized event entry fee covers case review and physician test order. The standard fee is $49.

Pre-registration is highly encouraged so testing kits can be prepared in advance. On-site registration will also be available.

For additional information, contact Julie Kievit, Jewish Community Relations Manager at JFS of Tidewater, at jkievit@jfshamptonroads.org.