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The 57th annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner will take place virtually to ensure the safety and well-being of the community. The Humanitarian Award of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities is presented to those individuals who have demonstrated a...

As this issue of the Jewish News goes to press with a special focus on investments, we are approaching Super Bowl weekend. With many sports fans in my house, I cannot help but think about our short- and long-term investment strategies for our annual Community...

(JTA)—Chuck Schumer could not let the moment pass without mentioning its Jewish history. Georgia’s new senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, were sworn in on Wednesday, January 20, making Schumer the new Senate majority leader—the first-ever Jew in that powerful...

RICHMOND—Governor Ralph Northam announced on Wednesday, January 6, the leadership and members of a new advisory committee charged with making recommendations on culturally relevant and inclusive education practices in Virginia’s public schools. The Culturally Relevant...

Got some spare time? Want to make a difference in the community? If so, Jewish Family Service of Tidewater’s Personal Affairs Management (PAM) program needs some help. The JFS PAM program was created to prevent the exploitation of elderly and vulnerable adults in the...

Engaging campers and teens has been a part of Dave Flagler’s life for more than a decade. In fact, this summer will be his 10th summer in camp leadership, nine of which took place within the JCC movement as a director. Now, Flagler joins United Jewish Federation of...

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) Virginia Chapter joined with Strelitz International Academy (SIA) to create Hanukkah cards for soldiers in the IDF’s main infantry Brigade, the Nachal. Three years ago, the FIDF Virginia Chapter adopted the Nachal Unit...

In September 2016, Tidewater Jewish Foundation partnered with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation to launch the Life & Legacy program in Tidewater. After four successful years, 332 donors have made 571 legacy commitments worth $21.5 million in current and future gifts...

As Jewish Family Service nears its 75th year as a Jewish Service Agency, the non-profit organization is charting its future by focusing on the increasing needs of the community. JFS sees an opportunity to expand and re-energize the agency’s big impact mission-based...

Strelitz International Academy returned from Winter Break to Spirit Week, January 5–8, culminating in the Day of Giving, hoping to inspire parents to participate in the school’s annual donor fund (ADF) reflecting the power of community. Spirit Week was the brainchild...

Hanukkah is celebrated each year when the days are short and the nights are long and dark. For eight whimsical nights, family and friends gather to enjoy precious time together. Delicious meals are prepared, prayers are said, and children play games while the menorah...

In what seems to be an ever enduring global pandemic, tour guides across the world are devising creative ways for visitors to experience other countries without packing a thing. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Society of Professionals (SoP) recently embarked...

As we approach the end of 2020, I believe most of us can agree that it has been tumultuous and that 2021 cannot come soon enough! Still, in the face of unprecedented challenges, our Jewish community remains strong, engaged, and committed. The strength of our community...

After a seven-year recess, the Florence Melton School of Adult Learning is back in session. The name Melton is associated with innovation, activism, and invention. Florence Melton disrupted the footwear industry when she founded the R.G. Barry Corporation with her...

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater & the Simon Family JCC’s Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival 2020–2021* *events shown only through December 16 All events are open to the community with RSVP or tickets required and will take place virtually...

Summer camp at the JCC has always been more than a break from school routines and homework. This year, however, playing outdoors, finding a best friend, singing songs together, and tackling new challenges at Camp JCC will be a reprieve from virtually everything and...

As the bus barreled across the Thracian plain towards Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, it followed a five-hour straight course west from my temporary home of Burgas, an ancient port on the shores of the Black Sea. Along this route, 9,000 years of civilization have etched...

Every day from Friday, December 11 through Friday, December 18, there will be a different "Hanukkah Hot Deal," including discounts for Camp JCC, the Cardo Cafe, the JCC, Virginia Festival of Jewish Film, Melton School, and more. Visit the UJFT Facebook page and...

Matthew Weinstein has led a fulfilled and busy life. He managed to find success and make an impact through his work, community service, and commitment to family. Not one to let retirement slow him down, Weinstein now puts his corporate healthcare experience to good...

Former Gomley Chesed Synagogue in Portsmouth has been successfully reimagined as a vibrant hub of Hebrew learning. The Churchland site is the home to Toras Chaim, a lively Jewish community affiliated with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater that stresses Derech...

Brith Sholom did not let the pandemic stop them from taking care of their community. Forced to think out of the box by having its November food drive for Jewish Family Service’s Food Pantry in the parking lot instead of during an in-person meeting, members drove up...

Programming for Tidewater BBYO has been a challenge, to say the least. With national BBYO restrictions in place to ensure the teens’ safety, including no indoor gatherings, members have had to be creative and patient. Meeting at the mercy of the weather has probably...

On a beautiful, warm November evening, the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus’s parking lot turned into a place for families to gather for Havdalah. Called Havadallah on the Lot, the event was organized and led by PJ Library in Tidewater. As cars arrived, each family...

A successful Community Campaign is essential to ensure the strength and well-being of Jewish Tidewater’s agencies and community members. Understanding that the longer the COVID-19 crisis drags on, the greater will become the needs of Jewish Tidewater’s community...

Students at Strelitz International Academy now know that learning about politics can be fun. As an IB Candidate School, SIA students learn about the world through inquiries, interviews, investigations, discussions, projects, and research. During the recent U.S....