Jewish News

Sunday, July 9, 10 am Just as Hans Christian Andersen’s Rumpelstiltzken spun straw into gold for the miller’s daughter, every year Congregation Beth El spins its members’ gently used clothing, jewelry, and other items into funds to support the synagogue’s operations. In fact, Beth El’s annual summer rummage sale is now an institution and one [...]

Shira Low Itzhak, a United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Women’s Cabinet member, will undertake a grueling bike ride on July 19. Along with 250 other women, she will ride 75 miles from New Jersey through the Catskill Mountains of New York. The World’s Greatest Finish Line is Chai Lifeline’s Camp Simcha in Glen Spey, N.Y. [...]

The Simon Family JCC offers a calendar of bold perspectives and community enrichment for members and guests. With record number attendees for Camp JCC and speakers such as Dennis Ross, the JCC serves as a gathering place for fun, education, and social networking. The JCC’s diversity of programs and events guarantees there is something for [...]

NEW YORK (JTA)—On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump made Mark Hetfield’s job impossible. Hetfield is the president and CEO of HIAS, an organization that resettles refugees in the United States. A week into his presidency, Trump issued an executive order barring refugees from entering the country, leaving Hetfield’s group bereft. Its supporters joined the protests [...]

NEW YORK (JTA)—The vast majority of Reform and Conservative rabbis affiliate as Democrats, according to a new study. The study, published this month by Yale University, found that more than 80 percent of Reform rabbis, and about 70 percent of Conservative rabbis, affiliate as Democrats. Both were among the top five most Democratic clergy of [...]

Words Matter: Now More Than Ever Wednesday, July 26 and Thursday, July 27 The Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s highly praised Biennial Educators’ Conference provides educators with tools, strategies, and techniques to use for promoting respect, empathy, and accountability in their classrooms. Studying the lessons of the Holocaust provides educators with [...]

On Tuesday, June 7, the Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Class of 2017 held a very moving graduation ceremony. Of the 14 students graduating from the school, 12 had attended the HAT since preschool. Next fall, these graduates will attend a variety of excellent schools including the Gifted Program at Brickell Academy, Plaza International Baccalaureate Middle [...]

It may have begun on a dark, rainy September night, but the 6th Annual Israel Today series ended with a bang on a beautiful, warm May evening, as the Tidewater community gathered to cook with Chefs Nir Margalith and Guy Marom, of travel and culinary group Puzzle Israel. Facilitated by the Community Relations Council of [...]

Just who qualifies as a ‘senior’ is a bit confusing these days. That’s mainly because the definition of ‘senior’ and who identifies as one, is more of a moving target than ever before. While it wasn’t that long ago that very few people worked beyond 65 years old, or that it was uncommon to find [...]

The 2017 Biennial Meeting of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater was held June 7 in the Fleder Multipurpose Room on The Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus. The community was invited, and leaders from temples and synagogues, other Jewish agencies, and the UJFT board of directors attended. The evening saw Jay Klebanoff, outgoing president, [...]