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Southeastern Virginia | Vol. 60 No. 17 | 7 Sivan 5782 | June 6, 2022

The Jewish response to recent gun violence

10 JDC, Annie Sandler, help Ukranian refugees

16 Jewish News celebrates area graduates

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Biden’s decision to keep Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on terror list is reportedly final

Published 20 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

QR code generated on http://qrcode.littleidiot.be

Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON ( JTA)—President Joe Biden has reportedly made final his decision not to remove Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from a list of designated terrorists subject to U.S. sanctions, putting the Iran nuclear deal in jeopardy.

Politico

“This is the right, moral and correct

Wednesday, May 25 to the Senate Foreign

decision by President Biden, who updated

Relations Committee and said the deal

me on this decision during our last con-

remained the best means of keeping Iran

versation. For this I thank him.”

from getting a nuclear bomb, but that

Progressives have pressed Biden to

reentry seemed less than likely, in part

remove the designation, which they say

because of Iran’s insistence on delisting

was imposed by former President Donald

the IRGC.

Trump in 2019 to frustrate any U.S. return to the deal.

reported

that

Biden

informed Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of his decision in an April 24 phone call.

Biden wants to reenter the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, but says that Iran’s demand that the IRGC be removed from the list is not on the table. The IRGC regularly calls for Israel’s destruction, and it backs terrorist groups and insurgents around the world with money, training and guidance.

“President Biden is a true friend of Israel who is committed to its strength and security,” Bennett said in a statement after Politico reported the story, citing a senior Western official.

tenuous at this point,” he said.

The Obama administration, which

A number of senators of both parties

Biden served as vice president, brokered

were skeptical of reentering the deal,

the sanctions relief for nuclear rollback

saying that it does not appear that it

deal, in 2015. Trump quit in 2018, and in

will adequately stem its nuclear develop-

2019 Iran stopped abiding by some of the

ment and other malign activities. Some

deal’s provisions and is now believed to

Democrats spoke up for the deal.

be closer than ever to weaponizing fissile material.

Separately,

deal, but is believed to be sensitive to

the assassination of an IRGC colonel in

U.S. veterans who saw hundreds of troops

Tehran over the weekend. The Times cited

killed in attacks organized and backed by

an intelligence official; it did not say of

the IRGC.

which country.

tor in talks in Vienna aiming at getting the

IRGC leaders swore revenge at Sayad Khodayee’s funeral on Tuesday, May 24.

United States back into the deal, testified

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CANDLE LIGHTING

QUOTABLE ‘Kids’ reflect on their dads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fishing Derby at Lake Sandler. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Jewish community’s Memorial Day program . . 28 TJF Community Impact Grant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 JCC Seniors Club has it all. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Authors pitch their books. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Mikro Kodesh Cemetery gets spruced up and hosts Genizah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Judaism through the Arts offered at UJFT. . . . . 32 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 A fun day of baseball for BBYO at Harbor Park. 38 Debbie Burke joins Jewish News. . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Laura G. Gross, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Mona Flax, Secretary Betty Ann Levin, Executive Vice-President

reported that Israel has acknowledged to the United States that it is responsible for

Robert Malley, the chief U.S. negotia-

Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Debbie Burke, Copywriter Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus

The New York Times

Biden campaigned on reentering the

CONTENTS Up Front. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Biden suspends assistance to Sudan. . . . . . . . . . .5 Jewish groups condemn Texas elementary school shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Israeli wonders about the American dream. . . . . 7 Junior’s buys back guns to protect the city it loves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Podcast chronicles boxers of Holocaust era. . . . . 9 Annie Sandler visits Poland’s Ukrainian refugees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Zelensky to Kissinger: The world didn’t adapt to the Nazis . . . . . . . 11 Dads & Grads. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Tidewater’s Jewish grads excel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

“The prospects for a deal are at best

Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757-965-6100 • fax 757-965-6102 email news@ujft.org

“Whatever I thought it was going to be or I thought I knew from reading the news, it was heartbreaking and hard to imagine what you’re looking at” —page 10

Friday, June 10/11 Sivan Light candles at 8:06 pm Friday, June 17/18 Sivan Light candles at 8:09 pm Friday, June 24/25 Sivan Light candles at 8:1 pm Friday, July 1/2 Tammuz Light candles at 8:10 pm Friday, July 8/9 Tammuz Light candles at 8:09 pm Friday, July 15/16 Tammuz Light candles at 8:06 pm

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BRIEFS VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, MILA KUNIS, ZOË KRAVITZ AMONG JEWS ON THIS YEAR’S TIME 100 LIST Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s Jewish president who has been leading his country during the Russian invasion that began in late February, has been named to Time magazine’s annual list of the world’s 100 most influential people. Zelensky was listed in the “Leaders” category, and his entry was written by U.S. President Joe Biden.

Several Jewish entertainers also made the list released Monday, May 23, including another with Ukrainian heritage: actress Mila Kunis, who immigrated from Chernivtsi to the United States at age 7 and launched a campaign that has raised over $36 million for Ukrainian refugee aid efforts. Other actors like Andrew Garfield, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Zoë Kravitz were included, as well as Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson, who was just announced to be leaving after seven years on the show.

Taika Waititi, the Jewish-Maori director from New Zealand of JoJo Rabbit fame, had his entry written up by Jewish actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. In JoJo Rabbit, a Hitler Youth member finds out his mother (played by Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their attic.

Andy Jassy, who became CEO of Amazon last year, was named in the “Titans” category.

Other Jews who made it on the list include photographer and opioid crisis activist Nan Goldin, who led protests against museums’ ties to the Sackler family of Purdue Pharma, and David Zaslav, CEO and president of Warner Bros. Discovery. (JTA) ISRAELI-OWNED EATERY IN LONDON HIT WITH ‘FREE PALESTINE’ GRAFFITI Unidentified individuals spray-painted the words “free Palestine” on the facade of an Israeli-owned cafe in London.

The incident, which the owner Michael Levi suspects was an antisemitic hate crime, occurred on May 14 at Michaels Brasserie, the Jewish News of London reported.

The graffiti was painted there late at night on a Saturday, the report said.

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Police arrived at the café and documented the incident and are looking into it, Levi told the Jewish News. Levi said that there was nothing Jewish about the cafe’s facade when it was vandalized.

“I can’t really get angry with people who choose this path. I just feel ashamed and hurt, and upset. We just try to live our lives doing the best we can…and then this,” he told the newspaper.

The café serves Middle Eastern foods popular in Israel and in Arab countries, including shakshuka, shawarma, and smoked eggplant. (JTA)

DOZENS OF ARRESTS BUT NO CASUALTIES REPORTED AFTER JERUSALEM DAY CLASHES Jewish extremists shouted racist slogans and clashed with Palestinians during a heavily policed Jerusalem Day march, but there were no major injuries at an event that last year was among the spurs to a deadly conflict.

Police said 50,000 Jews marched through the Old City on Sunday, May 29, Jerusalem Day, the Hebrew calendar anniversary of Israel’s capture of the area in the 1967 Six-Day War. A record 2,600 Jews visited the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, which is also the site of a mosque enclave among the holiest in Islam.

A number of the Jewish marchers shouted “Death to Arabs,” reports said, and “may your villages burn.” Some Palestinians rushed the marchers, and there were fights. There were reports of minor injuries. Media reported police arrested about 50 people, most Palestinians.

Kann, Israel’s public broadcaster, reported Palestinians stoning vehicles and Jews attacking Palestinians with pepper spray. There were some minor injuries.

The day culminated with tens of thousands of Jews dancing at the Western Wall, the Jewish holy site that is adjacent to the Temple Mount.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said he would not tolerate Jewish extremists who tried to provoke a conflict and had instructed police to arrest rioters. “The overwhelming majority of participants have come to celebrate but unfortunately

there is a minority that has come to set the area ablaze, take advantage of the government’s strong position against Hamas threats, and trying to use force in order to ignite a conflict,” he said.

A number of marchers hoisted Israeli flags when they reached the Temple Mount, something that Hamas, the terrorist organization controlling the Gaza Strip, had warned could provoke rocket attacks. Israel’s Iron Dome antimissile system reportedly is on alert.

Hamas used the planned Jerusalem Day celebration last year as among its pretexts for launching rockets into Israel, sparking an 11-day conflict in which more than 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis were killed.

Bennett, whose governing coalition is hanging by a thread, is eager to stem tensions ahead of a visit next month by President Joe Biden. The region has been roiled by a spate of deadly Palestinian terrorist attacks and unsettled by Israel’s recent announcement of new settlement building. (JTA)

BOYCOTT ADVOCATES CLAIM VICTORY AS GENERAL MILLS DIVESTS ITS ISRAELI DOUGH OPERATION General Mills announced Tuesday, May 31 it would be fully divesting from a business venture in Israel that had operated in an East Jerusalem settlement, in a move pro-Palestinian activists celebrated as the result of their campaign against the food conglomerate.

The Minnesota-based company has operated a Pillsbury frozen-food factory in the Atarot Industrial Zone since 2002, in a joint venture with Israeli investment group Bodan Holdings. In a statement, the company said it would sell its majority stake in the venture back to Bodan as part of a larger international investment strategy.

General Mills’ statement did not mention politics and noted that the company had previously moved to sell off its European dough business, as well. The company did not return multiple requests for comment from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

The company has been a target of pro-Palestinian activists since it was

included in a 2020 United Nations database of companies doing business in Israeli settlements.

American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker-affiliated activist organization that has been pushing the company to end its Israel operations via a campaign called “No Dough For The Occupation,” took credit for the divestment in a statement.

“General Mills’ divestment shows that public pressure works even on the largest of corporations,” Noam Perry, a member of the group’s Economic Activism team, said in the statement.

The divestment carried echoes of another food producer’s Israel-related move: last year’s decision by ice-cream manufacturer Ben & Jerry’s to stop selling ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territory.” In that case, the decision was explicitly political, coming on the heels of Israel’s deadly conflict with Hamas.

And the blowback was swift, with Jewish groups and several state governments lining up to not only boycott Ben & Jerry’s products but also divest from its parent company, the British multinational conglomerate Unilever—in many cases citing anti-Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions laws to do so. (JTA)

IN JERUSALEM, IDENTICAL TWINS GIVE BIRTH TO BOYS ON THE SAME DAY When they were born, Yael came first, and then came her twin sister, Avital.

The twins preserved that sequence 31 years later when they gave birth on the same day on Monday, May 30 to boys at Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek hospital.

That’s not where the coincidences stopped, according to a hospital news release and an interview the twins gave to Kikar HaShabbat, a religious news outlet.

The sisters Yael Yishai and Avital Segel, who live in the Gush Etzion bloc in the West Bank, were each bearing a fourth child, and each had two girls and a boy already.

The nursing staff made sure the sisters shared a room, which they appreciated. “It was so much fun to be in the same room, with newborns,” Avital said.

The hospital noted that a similar event occurred in 1997. (JTA)

ISRAEL Biden administration suspends Abraham Accords assistance to Sudan, urges Israel to call for democracy Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—the Biden administration has suspended assistance to Sudan, including assistance related to its normalization deal with Israel, and wants Israel to call out the bloody coup that removed the country’s civilian government last year.

“The United States is not moving forward at this time with assistance originally committed to Sudan’s civilian-led transitional government in connection with its efforts to improve Sudan’s bilateral relationship with Israel,” a State Department spokesman said in an email Friday, May 27 in response to a query.

“This includes wheat shipments and certain development and trade and investment assistance.”

Jewish Insider first reported the development.

The spokesman noted that the United States also suspended foreign assistance unrelated to the Abraham Accords, the normalization agreements between Israel and four Arab states, because of the coup.

He said the Biden administration expected Israel to join in the call for a return to a democratically elected government.

“Any moves made in this regard by Sudan’s military leaders would not enjoy credibility with the Sudanese people,” he said. “We strongly encourage the State of Israel to join us and the broader international community in vocally pressing for Sudan’s military leaders to cede power to a credible civilian-led transitional government.”

Sudan’s military seized power last fall, arresting the country’s prime minister. Protesters turned out in force and dozens were killed by security forces in demonstrations.

Israel has not commented on the situation, and a minister in the former civilian government said in Haaretz that this will be seen as backing for the coup.

The Trump administration in its final months brokered normalization

agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain, as well as Sudan. The full agreement with Sudan has yet to come to full fruition because of instability in the country.

The Biden administration, in one of its few areas of agreement with its predecessor, has committed to advancing the Abraham Accords.

“As for the Abraham Accords, as we’ve said, they are a positive development that have had clear benefits for Israel and the region.”

“As for the Abraham Accords, as we’ve said, they are a positive development that have had clear benefits for Israel and the region,” said the spokesman, who spoke on condition that he not be named, as is State Department custom.

“The United States will continue to look for opportunities to engage with Israel and other countries to normalize relations and expand cooperation.”

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NATION

Jewish groups condemn Texas elementary school shooting, but only some push for action Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA)—After the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that killed at least 19 children and two adults on Tuesday, May 24, an array of Jewish groups issued statements that fell into two categories: generalized grief and recommendations for action.

The groups who repeated longstanding and direct calls for gun control included those aligned with the Reform and Conservative movements, along with B’nai B’rith International, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW).

The NCJW was arguably the most blunt.

“We must end gun violence in this country,” the group said on Twitter. “We must choose leaders and laws that regulate and restrict guns.”

The Jewish Federations of North America, which this year for a period removed gun control from its “Public Priorities” list, avoided politics. Its statement said “our hearts break” and that “We mourn this terrible tragedy with the Uvalde community.”

Jewish organizations were for decades united across the board in advocating for gun control, but in recent years they have retreated from the issue. Officials have said that it has become untenable to embrace advocacy that one of the two parties reject, as the United States has become more polarized.

“When we speak out on established policy issues, we still risk creating a backlash,” David Bernstein, head of the consensus-driven Jewish public policy umbrella JCPA, told JTA in 2018, noting that he received right-wing criticism for speaking up on guns in the wake of the Parkland school shooting. The JCPA said May 24: “We must all join together to end gun violence and domestic terrorism growing on our nation.”

The majority of American Jewish groups, even many who could be

6 | JEWISH NEWS | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

characterized as center or to the right on Israel policy, remain outspoken on the issue. For example, the statement from B’nai B’rith—a nearly-180-year-old antisemitism watchdog—noted that its president, Seth Riklin, was a Texan.

“What will be the tipping point for our country to finally act on sensible gun reform measures?” read a statement in his name and of the group’s CEO, Daniel Mariaschin. “It seems our country is paralyzed by an irrational fear of taking action to stop this plague.”

The statement by the Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly suggested a barely concealed fury at the conventional calls for “thoughts and prayers” after mass shootings.

“While our hearts and sincere prayers go out to the people of Uvalde, especially the families of the victims, thoughts and prayers have never been enough; it is past time for action,” said its statement. “It is high time that United States politicians, currently obsessed with reelection campaigns, put aside partisanship in order literally to save lives.”

On the more liberal front, two Reform leaders used even stronger language.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, took aim at indications that the Supreme Court could soon further loosen gun ownership restrictions, and Congress’ failure to pass gun control laws. “Now two branches of government will worship a cult of death by deifying the Second Amendment,” he said on Twitter.

Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the director of the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center, described on Twitter “the rage and heartbreak of living in a society that repeatedly permits the destruction of life.”

“God forgive this country for loving guns more than children,” he added.

But several groups did not mention gun control; some clarified to the JTA that they support legislation on the issue despite a lack of pointed language in their statements.

“Another unspeakable horror. Another occasion for national shock, mourning and, yes, anger,” said David Harris, the outgoing CEO of the American Jewish Committee. “Will the pandemic of violence in our nation ever end?” An AJC spokesman said that Harris and the organization were focused on the tragedy, but said that the AJC had in the past pushed for more gun controls and that it would back any new measures proposed by President Joe Biden.

“It is high time that United States politicians, currently obsessed with reelection campaigns, put aside partisanship in order literally to save lives.”

A JFNA spokesman, meanwhile, said it is “assessing potential next steps” with its partner organizations. The spokesman pointed to an updated priorities document published after JTA reported that it had removed any mention of guns from its original document. The updated document calls for improved enforcement of existing gun restrictions but does not advocate for any new proposals.

Agudath Israel of America, the umbrella body for Haredi Orthodox Jews, said it was “horrified” by the attack, but a spokesman said the organization has never had a formal position on gun control and that its statement spoke “to the horrific tragedy and the pain of the bereaved.”

A number of organizations that did not mention gun control pivoted to favored issues. The Orthodox Union, which takes a lead in advocating for federal and state funding to secure Jewish institutions, said schools must be “places of safety.”

Nathan Diament, the O.U.’s Washington’s director, said his tweet was focused on the tragedy.

But in an email, he wrote that “The O.U. supports ‘common-sense gun safety measures’—which includes (post-Sandy Hook) supporting the Manchin-Toomey bill,” a failed bipartisan bid, written after the 2012 mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, that would have strengthened background checks for gun purchases.

The Anti-Defamation League, which has a leading role in tracking extremism, said it would “investigate the shooter’s social media footprint.” A spokesman for the ADL also said the group focused first “on the tragedy, the victims,” and pointed a reporter to its statement after the Sandy Hook massacre, which read: “We firmly believe that one way to limit the power of extremists and reduce violence in our communities is to enact tough, effective gun control legislation.”

The AJC and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee also retweeted Israeli government expressions of sympathy with the victims of the attack. AIPAC quoted each tweet, “Allies stand together.”

Like many other Western democracies, Israel has strict gun control laws and a much lower frequency of mass shootings.

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, the Tree of Life synagogue rabbi who called the police when a gunman murdered 11 worshipers in his Pittsburgh congregation in 2018, said in a statement that the pain of surviving that attack returned to him.

“This morning, as I lifted my eyes, tears fell,” Myers said. “The pain of surviving the attack here in Pittsburgh once again feels fresh in my mind after yesterday’s horrific massacre at an elementary school. I readied myself to question God, ‘Why?’ But God returned my question, ‘why?’ Today we mourn with the families and friends of 19 beautiful children and two educators. May their memories be a blessing. We offer prayers of comfort and healing for the children who are now forever changed by what they witnessed.

And tomorrow, we must all return to and wrestle with God’s question for us: ‘why?’”

NATION

I left Israel to give my kids the American dream.

Is this it?

Lior Zaltzman

O

n the day when the shooting happens, I finally unlock what some say is the most vital part of the American dream. My husband and I have a house in the suburbs now, big trees towering above —no picket fence, but a wide expanse of green and room for the pattering of tiny feet. As we sign the paperwork, we each take turns rocking our baby on our legs.

This house is for our children. We say it over and over again. If it were just he and I, we would be content with the walls of a small Brooklyn apartment, with the city streets as a backyard. Instead, we chose to give them rooms to grow into, a shingle roof, manicured lawns and a garden to plant and grow together.

Like so many of the families in Uvalde, Texas, I am an immigrant. I came here to this country with a dream to give myself and my children a better future. As we drive home, our baby sleeping in the backseat, we hear the news of 21 dreams extinguished by an AR-15.

Just like the shooter at Robb Elementary school, I got my first rifle at 18—it was borrowed, not bought, and a few weeks later I returned it, along with magazines full of bullets, to an army warehouse. It scraped against the fabric of my coarse olive green uniform, pushed against my core as I slept with it under my army-issued mattress. As I shot it at a dusty military range, I couldn’t help but think: I am too young and too stupid for this.

When I was young, not much older than my oldest son is now, I was promised that maybe I wouldn’t have to go to the army when I grew up. When I moved away from Israel to the United States, I found comfort in the fact that this was one false promise I wouldn’t have to make to my children. But instead, I find myself with a much more harrowing false promise to make. Each day I send them to school, I’ll have to tell them they are safe when I know they are not.

I grew up in a country where the faces of fallen soldiers greet you every

morning at the entrance of schools, with a memorial wall for the soldier alumni who perished. And yet I knew that I was safe in the walls of my classrooms.

I come from a place dubbed the Holy Land, yet I cannot fathom how one could value thoughts and prayers over actions to protect the sanctity of the lives of our schoolchildren. I come from a land known for such violence, yet it has never treated the life of its young with such callousness.

Too many men and women in power send us the message that guns are more important than the lives of our children and of their teachers.

I come from a place known for occupation and war, shelters and bombs, missile fire and violent attacks in the streets—for all those reasons, I’m glad my children are growing up somewhere different. And yet, it’s also a place of gun control—it’s very hard to obtain a permit for a weapon in Israel. Once, someone tried to partially blame school shootings on America’s militarization, and I attempted to refute the argument by saying that I come from an even more militarized place. They scoffed at me, but it was true—school shootings don’t happen in Israel.

The week before the Uvalde shooting, I talked to Jewish comedian Michael Ian Black about his book A Better Man, an open letter to his son about boyhood and masculinity, which is bracketed by school shootings. I was distracted during our interview—my son was terribly ill, and being faced with your child’s mortality is a haunting, terrible thing. I told him how his book feels just as relevant now, two

years after it came out, especially after the Buffalo shooting that had taken place the week before. As we ended our call, he told me that this would not be the last time his book feels pertinent, the last mass shooting.

It’s an awful thing to be right about this week. It’s an awful thing that these shootings feel unavoidable. It’s an awful thing to, once again, be faced with our children’s mortality this way. I return, over and over again, to an Onion headline: “‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.” I come from a country that prevents this— so many other immigrants in this country do, too. The 21 victims of the Uvalde shooting should still be with us.

Yes, in Israel, we send children to defend our country, in uniforms and guns—but at least they know they’ll be in danger.

Every day, the children of this country get drafted to be part of a war, one that they didn’t sign up for—a cynical war waged by politicians and gun lobbies. Almost every mass shooting involves an AR-15, and yet we refuse to outlaw them; so many shootings are committed by young, angry men, and yet we don’t restrict their access to guns. Too many men and women in power send us the message that guns are more important than the lives of our children and of their teachers, who are meant to foster their growth, not shield them with their bodies.

I had my children in this country hoping, in part, to protect them from violence. But when I see images of Alithia Ramirez and Irma Garcia—all the Uvalde victims and their families, another community devastated by this same gun—I recognize that’s an American dream that, for now, I cannot give them.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media.

This article first appeared on Kveller.

Forever Helping Others

Architect Bernard Spigel died in 1968, leaving a legacy of homes, schools, and other buildings he designed.

Today, Spigel Scholars are designing buildings of their own.

A scholarship that Bernard’s daughter, LucySpigel Herman, created at the community foundation to honor him helps future architects pay for their education.

Find out how you can leave your mark.

Visit LeaveABequest.org jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 7

NATION

Junior’s, NYC’s iconic Jewish cheesecake emporium, buys back guns to protect the city it loves Week on Tuesday, May 24, Rosen says he considered the buyback a success. “There’s now 69 less guns on the street,” he said.

He also said he was touched by the small differences he felt the event made in the community and in individuals’ lives—a Julia Gergely grandmother who was able to finally, and safely, get rid of her grandson’s gun; (New York Jewish Week)—When Alan a young boy who turned in his toy gun Rosen, the third-generation owner of because he realized it was harmful. (He Junior’s Restaurant, read the headlines was paid $20, Rosen said.) back in April about a 12-year-old Brooklyn Rosen adds that, as a bastion of New boy who was shot and killed while eating York City—and Brooklyn, in particuin the backseat of a car, the only thing he lar—for more than seven decades, Junior’s could think was, “enough already.” feels obligated to give back and protect “I had limited options on what I the community as much as possible. “It could do—I’m in the restaurant busiwas worth all the money,” he said of the ness,” Rosen, 53, told the New York Jewish buyback event. “It may not be the most Week. “But I took it upon myself to do efficient way to solve gun violence issues, something. It was a tipping point.” but it’s what I can do right now.”

So, in between his regular workday In a devastating twist, at the time of at the famous restaurant and cheesethe interview, the school shooting at Robb cake bakery—which includes overseeing Elementary in Uvalde, Texas was unfoldJunior’s original Downtown Brooklyn ing into a national tragedy. Nineteen location, as well as outposts in Midtown children and two teachers were gunned Manhattan and Foxwoods Casino— down in the attack.

Rosen contacted the mayor’s office to see “As a parent of three, I’m devastated what he could do to help prevent gun that innocents were murdered yesterday,” violence. After several phone calls, he Rosen said during a follow-up conversawas connected with the NYPD, then New tion on Wednesday, May 25. “This is not a York Police Foundation and, eventually, political statement, by the way. It’s getting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. legal or illegal guns off the streets. Having Ultimately, Rosen and said that, no 18-year-old should Gonzalez collaborated on be able to buy an assault rifle. organizing a gun buyback Anyone who can’t agree to that event through the New York needs to rethink their beliefs.” guns were City Police Foundation.

Rosen’s concerns come collected at (Initially, Rosen had wanted amid a wave of rising crime in the buyback to host the event in its uberthe city: One Sunday morning, retro Brooklyn location, a day after the gun buyback “before being informed that’s event, a man was shot dead on not how gun buybacks are run,” accordthe subway. “New York has seen enough,” ing to Grub Street, which broke the story.)

Rosen said.

In the end, the event was held Saturday, The New York Times reported in April May 21, at the Emmanuel Baptist Church that shootings in New York City rose in in the Clinton Hill neighborhood in the first quarter of 2022 to 296 incidents, Brooklyn. Rosen donated $20,000 in up from 260 during the same period last funds for the rewards; they offered $200 year. The trend reflects “continuing and and an iPad for working assault rifles and completely unacceptable violence in our handguns, and $25 for airguns. streets,” as Police Commissioner Keechant Speaking with the New York Jewish L. Sewell said in a briefing. (It’s worth

69

8 | JEWISH NEWS | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

noting, however, that while gun violence is up, homicides are down—and nowhere near the number they reached in the 1990s.)

Though he officially grew up in Great Neck, Long Island, Rosen was practically raised at the restaurant at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues, which was founded in 1950 by his grandfather, Harry Rosen. In the 1950s, Junior’s served as a gathering place for Brooklynites of all ages, especially Dodgers fans hoping to catch a game at Ebbets Field.

By the 1960s, Ebbets Field had been demolished, the Dodgers had decamped to Los Angeles and a significant chunk of Junior’s clientele had moved to suburbia—but Harry Rosen wasn’t deterred. He and a baker developed Junior’s signature cheesecake recipe, which rose in popularity across the city and kept Junior’s on the map.

“I see it definitely as part of the Jewish tradition,” Alan Rosen says of the rich dairy dessert that made Junior’s famous.

“I don’t think America identifies it as a Jewish dessert, but it has its roots there for sure. We came here from Eastern Europe.

We brought our recipes to the Lower East Side and you know, we went from there.”

Alan and his brother Kevin took over in the early 1990s, and under his leadership, the restaurant took flight. In 2000, he opened a second location in Grand Central Terminal, which was soon followed by locations in Times Square, the Barclays Center and at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut. Rosen was also responsible for expanding Junior’s mail-order cheesecake business around the country, significantly propelled by his appearances on QVC and other national television shows.

Despite the enormous growth and some menu expansions—Rosen’s father and uncle, Walter and Marvin, had adapted to accommodate customer tastes in the 1970s, like fried chicken and shrimp parmigiana—the recipe for the famous cheesecake has stayed exactly the same since it was first introduced in 1960.

“Besides the love, it’s cream cheese, it’s fresh eggs, it’s sugar, heavy cream and a touch of vanilla,” Rosen says. “It’s really not a secret. It’s how we blend it, it’s how we bake it, it’s how we take our time and make it in a water bath. It’s all of those little things combined.”

“It may not be the most efficient way to solve gun violence issues, but it’s what I can do right now.”

Calling himself a “purist at heart,” Rosen says his favorite cheesecake flavor is the original. However, if he’s bringing home a cake for the weekend, he’ll often opt for the devil’s food, a plain cheesecake inside a chocolate layer cake, which has long been a family favorite.

Rosen says he would “absolutely” hold a gun buyback event like this again, noting that having the Junior’s name attached helps get the word out there and generates more success. “I thought it was amazing,” he said. With nearly 70 guns turned in, the event collected two dozen more weapons than similar recent events, as Grub Street reported.

“We are taught to do good things from early on in our lives,” Rosen says of how his Jewish identity inspired him, quickly adding that he doesn’t know if his commitment to his community is due to his and the restaurant’s Jewish roots, or if it is because of the sense of moral justice his parents instilled in him as a child.

“There’s tons of ways to give charity or help your fellow man or woman,” says Rosen, who is a member of Temple Emanu-El in Harrison, New York. “Do I have that sort of bend to me because of my religion? Possibly. I think it’s more because of my upbringing. My mom, my dad, they made sure to tell me that you do good things for others when you’re fortunate.”

Local Relationships Matter

NATION A new podcast chronicles the little-known stories of boxers from the Holocaust era Jacob Gurvis

(JTA)—In the early 1930s, Victor Perez was on top of the world.

The Tunisian Jewish boxer, who fought under the ring name “Young Perez,” became the World Flyweight Champion in 1931 and 1932 after moving from Tunis to Paris. He became a bona fide celebrity, dating famous French actress Mireille Balin (who would later go on to date Nazis).

But like millions of others, Perez’s story took a dark turn as the Nazi campaign progressed. In September 1943, Perez was detained and transported to the Monowitz subcamp of Auschwitz, the same labor camp where authors Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel were held.

While at Monowitz, Perez was forced to box other inmates to entertain the SS officers. The winner would receive extra food; the loser would be killed. Perez was ultimately murdered during a 1945 death march.

That story is just the first episode of Holocaust Histories, a new podcast by Jonathan Bonder, a 36-year-old Ontario native and sound designer whose credits include Jean-Claude Van Damme’s 2015 film Pound of Flesh among other movies, shorts and commercials.

Bonder envisions each season of Holocaust Histories, which is serialized and debuted last month, will focus on a different theme. Season one focuses on professional boxers whose careers were cut short by the Holocaust.

There are hundreds of films about the Holocaust, not to mention countless books and television series. But in terms of Holocaust history podcasts, Bonder found the available content underwhelming.

“There’s hundreds and hundreds of true crime podcasts, comedy, sports,” Bonder says. “And I thought to have something that was needed right now, which is the education of the Holocaust—if someone like me wanted to find a podcast about the Holocaust, they would be disappointed, like I was.”

And given his background, Bonder was also motivated to make better use of the

audio setting to elevate the storytelling.

“A lot of podcasts, they’re telling the story and they just blanket it with either a music soundtrack or a series of drums,” he says. “I thought it is missing a big opportunity, which is to make it more cinematic. If you can do that, then it’s going to be more entertaining, and if it’s more entertaining then ultimately it will be more educational. The message will get across better.”

It all started when Bonder learned about famous boxer and Holocaust survivor Harry Haft, the subject of HBO’s The Survivor. Haft’s story stuck with him, and when Bonder later learned about other Jewish boxers from the era, “I kind of just got obsessed with these individual stories,” he said.

Bonder began researching every Holocaust boxer he could find. Some, he said, only had a single sentence in a book or article and little else. The people he ultimately chose to highlight were those with well-documented, yet little-known, stories.

“I don’t think enough people know about a lot of these people’s stories, like I didn’t,” Bonder says. “I’m Jewish, I am a sports fanatic, and I didn’t know about this.”

Bonder says he chose to begin the series with Perez’s story because it contained the most general information about the Holocaust. It also illustrates an underappreciated component of many of these boxers’ stories, he added: their genuine athletic ability.

“What’s also not stressed enough is that these individuals were amazing boxers,” Bonder says. “Once the Holocaust comes, it kind of gets forgotten. Once that tragedy struck, their lives were just flipped upside down.”

By beginning the series in Tunisia, Bonder also accomplishes one of his main goals: of telling geographically diverse stories beyond the Eastern European Jewish narrative.

“It’s surprising to learn about the Jewish history of places that you didn’t really know about,” Bonder says. “We all think about Germany when we think

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about the Holocaust and the history. A lot of us have relatives from Eastern Europe, or different places within Europe. But then once you get outside of that Eastern Europe and that central Jewish hub of Europe, then to me it’s really fascinating.”

In a recent episode, listeners were transported to Italy to learn about Pacifico Di Consiglio, a Jewish teenage boxer who actively sought out Nazis to fight on the streets of Rome.

After just one episode into season one, Bonder says the reception has been his favorite part of the experience.

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“I’ve heard back from Holocaust museums and a few organizations,” he says. “It’s a big positive to get a good reception from the Jewish community.”

Bonder is donating a portion of the money he raises to various Holocaust education organizations, beginning with the USC Shoah Foundation. Supporting these organizations, many of which have served as crucial sources of information for Bonder’s research, is an added bonus.

But right now, Bonder’s focus is on getting the word out.

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 9

UKRAINE

Annie Sandler and volunteers visit Poland’s Ukrainian refugees Debbie Burke

I

n late April, Annie Sandler, along with eight other board members and staffers of the JDC (Joint Distribution Committee) and student volunteers from Active Jewish Teens (AJT), traveled to Poland to visit Ukrainian refugees.

The group had a rigorous schedule, first landing in the city of Lublin to tour the former Chachmei Lublin Yeshiva, which is currently serving as a refugee hostel. The Yeshiva basement had been refurbished as a warehouse for the vast array of gifts-in-kind received from all over the world to aid in the current crisis.

Sandler was struck by the refugees’

experiences. “Whatever I thought it was going to be or I thought I knew from reading the news, it was heartbreaking and hard to imagine what you’re looking at; to imagine the numbers, and each one of their stories was more disturbing than the next. We’re Westerners and you just don’t hear these stories and the personal devastation.”

One of the refugees they met with spoke freely and with much emotion. Her words were translated by one of the student volunteers, who shared this: “This is only one story from Kyviv.

She has more, believe me; we have a lot of stories here. She really feels proud to be useful here because it’s important to her.

Srodborow, a camp on the outskirts of Warsaw, was converted to a refugee hostel for families with kids.

10 | JEWISH NEWS | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

She asked me what I can do, I cannot sit, give me some job, to do something. She continued [to] work online with [inaudible]. They have seders, they have online meetings with employees.

Now in [the] JCC we have humanitarian storage and they have…people who stay in the JCC… who are delivering this humanitarian help to our community members…and actually all the city uses our humanitarian storage there still. It’s safe, at least now. The first meeting that she had online was Project Freedom Annie Sandler with Diego at Operation Blessing tent. supported by the All of the tents were at a border crossing at Medyka.

AJT and JCC… they just cried. She wishes [to]…continue to build the Jewish community there, she hopes.

Everyone hopes.”

Sandler and the others in the group then proceeded to the Majdanek Holocaust Memorial. The site had been a Nazi concentration and extermination camp built during Germany’s occupation of Poland in World War II. In the afternoon, they visited the Hampton Refugee Hostel in Warsaw, and they completed the day with local JDC staff, the head of the Warsaw Jewish community, and guests from other Jewish organizations.

Day two, they took a tour of the Jewish Community Building, followed by a briefing with Amir Ben Zvi (JDC-KIEV), visited the call A Nazi victim, this widow from Mariupol hid in a cellar with her best friend of 50 years. Her husband died and center, and went to the warehouse she buried him in her garden. She and her friend walked where goods for refugees were being out on streets littered with dead bodies and demolished buildings. She found JDC who got them to Warsaw. JDC stocked. Later, at the Warsaw JCC, took the two women to Germany.

S P E C I A L E V E N T I N V I TAT I O N SP EC I A L E VE N T I N VI TAT I O N

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Refugees at Holiday Inn in Warsaw.

they learned what the organization is doing to help the refugees integrate back into the local community as smoothly and quickly as possible. Afterward, Sandler and some others flew back to the US with the remainder of the group returning to Tel Aviv.

Sandler has traveled extensively throughout the world on behalf of the JDC to help communities in need. Her admiration for the JDC is evident. “What’s made their work so impactful is that they have been on the ground in the FSU [former Soviet Union], Ukraine, and all the surrounding countries since it was founded in 1914.”

According to JDC’s website, in the past three months, the organization has had significant accomplishments in aiding refugees from Ukraine and many other aspects of humanitarian work including fielding calls through its Hesed social welfare network and 24/7 emergency hotline system; providing refugees with vital necessities such as food, medicine, and psychosocial support; evacuating more than 12,000 Jews fleeing violence in Ukraine; delivering more than 300 tons of humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Jews in Ukraine and those who have fled to Moldova (including essentials like food and medicine); hosting refugees and local community members at communal Passover seders across Ukraine, Poland,

Romania, Moldova, and Hungary; and aiding refugees at JDC-NATAN, a 24/7 medical clinic set up in Poland’s largest humanitarian aid center—just eight miles from the Ukraine border. JDC has also delivered hundreds of wheelchairs and crutches to those with disabilities, as well as telemedicine devices that can provide medical care to thousands of sick and injured Ukrainians.

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( JTA) Ukraine’s Jewish president Volodymyr Zelensky brought up the Holocaust to snap back at former Jewish U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who argued last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that Ukraine should give up its hope to reclaim territory that Russia annexed in 2014 in the interest of stopping the current war as soon as possible.

Henry Kissinger said that Ukraine should end the war by accepting the “status quo ante”—in other words, Russia’s effective 2014 annexation of territories in eastern Ukraine.

“In my view, movement towards negotiations and negotiations on peace need to begin in the next two months so that the outcome of the war should be outlined,” he said.

“In the real year 1938, when Mr. Kissinger’s family was fleeing Nazi Germany…nobody heard from him then that it was necessary to adapt to the Nazis instead of fleeing them or fighting them.”

Zelensky slammed the suggestion in remarks translated into English by his office.

“No matter what the Russian state does, there is always someone who says: let’s take its interests into account. This year in Davos it was heard again,” Zelensky said.

“Still in Davos, for example, Mr. Kissinger emerges from the deep past and says that a piece of Ukraine should be given to

12 | JEWISH NEWS | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Volodymyr Zelensky, August 26, 2019

Russia. So that there is no alienation of Russia from Europe.”

Zelensky added: “It seems that Mr. Kissinger’s calendar is not 2022, but 1938, and he thought he was talking to an audience not in Davos, but in Munich of that time.”

The 1938 reference alludes to the agreement in Munich that year by Western European powers to allow Adolf Hitler to claim Czechoslovakia, in the hopes of containing his ambitions. Hitler then invaded Poland the next year, launching World War II. Zelensky then brought up Kissinger’s personal Holocaust past.

“By the way, in the real year 1938, when Mr. Kissinger’s family was fleeing Nazi Germany, he was 15 years old, and he understood everything perfectly,” Zelensky said. “And nobody heard from him then that it was necessary to adapt to the Nazis instead of fleeing them or fighting them.”

Kissinger, 98, fled Nazi Germany as a youth, and when he was of age enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought Nazis in Germany. He went on to serve as the first Jewish secretary of state, from 1973 to 1977.

s d a D &ds a r G Supplement to Jewish News, June 6, 2022 jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 13

Dads & Grads Dear Readers,

A

couple

of

weeks ago, it

seemed that everywhere

I

turned,

people were talking about

gradua-

tions. Were there more than usual, or were we all just so excited to have proper ceremonies at the appropriate

Deni Budman at her drive-by graduation celebration in 2020.

time and not the drive-by celebrations of 2020? Whatever the reason, a lot of diplomas were being awarded.

Inspired by all the graduation activity, I sent a few emails to parents, friends, and colleagues asking for information about their 2022 grads, with an additional request to share the email with others. The exciting results of those queries—and many years of

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Not to be left out, the entire class of 2022 Strelitz International Academy graduates is celebrated on page 15.

Of course, there wouldn’t be any grads without the dads. Jewish News asked several ‘kids’ to tell us about their fathers. Beth Cohen Jaffe, Michael Nusbaum, and David, Miles, and Stephen Leon share the wisdom and inspiration they’ve learned from their dads, Bob Cohen, Charlie Nusbaum, and Arnold Leon. The piece begins on page 24.

Mazel Tov to the Class of 2022 and Happy Father’s Day to the dads of all years!

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14 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Terri Denison Editor

Dads & Grads Strelitz International Academy Class of 2022 Graduates SIA graduates will attend the following middle school programs this fall: Cape Henry Collegiate, Norfolk Collegiate School, Norfolk Academy, Old Donation School, and Princess Anne Middle.

SIA is an International Baccalaureate World School.

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jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 15

Dads & Grads

Jewish Tidewater’s graduates excel Terri Denison

T

here’s a reason for the pomp and circumstance that surround most graduations—it’s a time to recognize achievements, formally bid goodbye to a treasured educational institution, and move on to life’s next

chapter and adventure.

Got a Jewish graduate?

If your graduate is not in this section and you’d like them to

For parents, the feeling of pride and happiness for their children’s success is a feeling that one mom called “over the moon.” For graduates, there’s often a mix of excitement, sadness, and guarded anticipation for the future. And, this year, for the Jewish Tidewater community, there’s much to collectively feel proud of and celebrate—with so many graduating from respected schools, earning impressive degrees, and planning rewarding futures.

be celebrated in Jewish News, please submit their information

by June 10 for the June 27, 2022 issue. Include: Graduate’s name, school, what’s next, and parents’ names.

Email to: tdenison@ujft.org.

Jewish News is excited to celebrate these outstanding graduates and cheer them on for their next steps.

Thank you!

Mazel Tov!

Jonah Abrams Norfolk Academy Next: Christopher Newport University as part of the Presidential Leadership Program.

Jonah is the son of Rachel and Marc Abrams.

16 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Courtney Anderson Landstown High School Next: Christopher Newport University as a member of the President’s Leadership Program and the Pre-Med Scholars Program.

Courtney plans to major in Chemistry with a focus on medical research.

Courtney is the daughter of Rachel and Eric Anderson.

Lily Auerbach Norfolk Academy Next: George Washington University, where she was awarded a Presidential Academic Scholarship.

Lily is the daughter of Wendy Juren and Franklin Auerbach.

Dads & Grads

Jared Berklee Tulane University Next: Jared plans to take a year or two off to work at a law firm in New York and then intends to go to law school.

Jared is the son of Betty and Ken Berklee.

Jemma Brodie Maury High School Next: Longwood University Jemma plans to major in Graphic and Animation Design.

Jemma is the daughter of Marcia Futterman Brodie and Steve Brodie, of blessed memory.

Bella Rose Cardon Norfolk Academy Next: VCU where she plans to study art and psychology.

Bella is the daughter of Elyse and David Cardon.

Ben Casey JMU Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences Next: Ben has his EMT certificate and is pursuing fire fighting and paramedic.

Ben is the son of Debbie Casey and Martin Casey.

Madeline Torop Budman Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Master’s of Arts in Hebrew Letters Next: Continue at HUC-JIR with Rabbinic ordination in 2024.

Madeline is the daughter of Terri and Steve Budman.

Aaron David Budman Torop Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Master’s of Arts in Hebrew Letters Next: Continue at HUC-JIR with Rabbinic ordination in 2024.

Aaron is the son of Betsy and Michael Torop.

Gabriella Diskin University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, Bachelor of Arts Gabi was the associate director of the Equity Collaborative at Batten and was active in the Center for Global Health Equity Student Advisory Board.

Next: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to pursue a master’s degree.

She is the daughter of Glenn and Esther Diskin.

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 17

Dads & Grads

Jordan Dobrinsky JMU Class of 2021 with a degree in Business with a concentration in Marketing.

Next: Jordan currently works in National Delivery for Apex Systems (IT staffing).

Jordan is the daughter of Jodi and Andy Dobrinsky.

Noah Dobrinsky JMU Class of 2022 with a degree in Hospitality Management and a minor in Business from the Hart School of Hospitality Management.

Noah is the son of Jodi and Andy Dobrinsky.

Audrey Fleder Tulane University Major in Sociology with a minor in Public Policy.

Next: Audrey is taking a Birthright Israel trip in June and will begin a job search when she returns.

Audrey is the daughter of Anne and Lawrence Fleder.

Reed Goldner Virginia Tech Next: Reed will be working for KPMG as an audit associate.

Reed is the son of Sharon and Mark Goldner.

Phillip Goldstein University of Virginia Phillip graduated in three years with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology.

Next: Phillip plans to work this year and apply to dental school.

Phillip is the son of Laura and Keith Goldstein.

Rose Goodman University of California at Berkeley School of Law. Rose begins work this summer for the law firm Fried Frank in New York City.

Rose is the daughter of Lynne Garson and Wayne Goodman.

18 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Dads & Grads

Rachel Goretsky Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University Master of Law and Diplomacy Rachel is the recipient of the Edmund A. Gullion Prize, which is awarded each year by the faculty of the Fletcher School to the student who best exemplifies high academic achievement combined with participation in the activities of the school and the promotion of its character as an academic community.

Next: Working at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

Rachel is the daughter of Sharon and Michael Goretsky.

Ben Levy Tulane University Degree in Political Economy and a minor in Real Estate.

Next: Ben is working at Starwood Property Trust in Miami.

Ben is the son of Amy and Kirk Levy.

Jacob Levy Georgetown Law School Next: He will join Kirkland & Ellis in New York City.

Jacob is the son of Amy and Kirk Levy.

Nathan Levy The University of Chicago MBA from the Booth School of Business Next: He will join Boston Consulting Group.

Nathan is the son of Amy and Kirk Levy.

Richard Tavss (R.T.) Maiden Cape Henry Collegiate Next: Davis College of Business and Economics at Radford University.

R.T. is the son of Besianne Tavss Maiden and David Brown and Guy and Jodi Maiden.

Samantha Maiden Cape Henry Collegiate Next: University of South Carolina majoring in Retail Management.

Sam is the daughter of Besianne Tavss Maiden and David Brown and Guy and Jodi Maiden.

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 19

Dads & Grads

Zachary Maiden Hampden-Sydney College With a major in Spanish and a minor in Law and Public Policy.

Next: After studying in Spain this summer, Zach will attend Tulane Law School in the fall.

Zach is the son of Besianne Tavss Maiden and David Brown and Guy and Jodi Maiden.

Mariah Moss New York University Tish School of the Arts Bachelor of Fine Arts Next: Mariah plans to remain in New York City and hopes to land a career in movie production and acting.

Mariah is the daughter of Suzanne and Gary Moss.

20 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Lily Mersel Norfolk Academy Recipient of the George Newton Award Winner for Excellence in the Study of Foreign Language.

Next: North Carolina State University to study Genetics and Biology.

Lily is the daughter of Rick and Laura Mersel.

Evan Nied Kempsville High School The Entrepreneurship and Business Academy Next: Evan will attend University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar and Echols Scholar.

Evan is the son of Emily and Joel Nied.

Anna Mirovski University of Virginia Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Biology and minor in Russian Language and Literature.

Next: Touro College of Dental Medicine.

Anna is the daughter of Margaret Baumgarten and Max Mirovski.

Jack Rosenblum Vanderbilt University Next: Jack will start a new job at Starwood Property Trust in Miami this summer.

Jack is the son of Ellen and Scott Rosenblum.

Dads & Grads

Helene Emma Schulwolf Norfolk Academy Honor Roll, Leadership Lab, Tunstall Three Sport Athletic Award 2019–2022, Elie Wiesel Writing & Visual Arts Competition 2022 Visual Art Chairpersons Award recipient.

Next: Helene will attend Tulane University, majoring in Speech Pathology.

Helene is the daughter of Lisa and Neal Schulwolf.

Itzik Sedek Indiana University Kelley School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and Real Estate.

Next: Itzik will start at American University Washington College of Law in the fall.

Itzik is the son of Naomi Limor Sedek and Simon Sedek.

Tali Sedek New York University Master of Science in Accounting Next: Tali will begin working for PWC in Manhattan this fall.

Tali is the daughter of Naomi Limor Sedek and Simon Sedek.

Abby Seeman Norfolk Collegiate School Next: Virginia Tech Class of 2026 to major in Dairy Science (pre-Veterinarian).

Abby is the daughter of Patti and Paul Seeman.

Ethan Segerman Bullis High School in Potomac, Md. Next: Ethan plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston. He will spend his first semester abroad with one third of his class.

Ethan is the son of Hallie and Charles Segerman.

He is the grandson of Betsy and Ed Karotkin.

Lucy Siegel The University of San Francisco Master of Science in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Next: Lucy will continue working for Edible Planet Ventures and Pulp Pantry.

Lucy is the daughter of Lisa Bertini and Jack Siegel.

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Dads & Grads

Zoe Siegel, MPH Columbia University Master of Public Health from Mailman School of Public Health Next: Zoe will work for McCann Global Health as a strategist.

Zoe is the daughter of Lisa Bertini and Jack Siegel.

Sydnie Simon Norfolk Academy Recipient of the John Connor Community Service Award.

Next: University of Texas in Austin Sydnie is the daughter of Shelly and Britt Simon.

Shira Soria North Central University Doctorate in Business Administration with Honors.

Next: Spending lots of time with family.

Shira is married to Danny Soria.

Carey Stredler Norfolk Academy Carey is the recipient of the Victor and Joyce Ratnavale Science Award.

Next: George Mason University.

Carey is the daughter of Laura Carey and Andrew Stredler.

Joseph Strelitz Vanderbilt University Joseph graduated cum laude with a major in Human and Organizational Development and a minor in Business.

Next: He will be working at KPMG in consulting in the Washington, DC area.

Joseph is the son of Renee and John Strelitz.

Lauren Jeri Weinstein Norfolk Academy Next: Lauren will attend The University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in the fall.

Lauren is the daughter of Dena and Lee Weinstein.

22 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Dads & Grads

Tal Zach Norfolk Academy Recipient of the Tralor Cozart Nunnally German Award. She was also a student varsity athlete for swim and crew.

Next: Tal will attend William & Mary as a pre-Medicine student.

Tal is the daughter of Hila and Shachar Zach.

The Levy family celebrates Ben’s graduation from Tulane.

Congratulations to the Graduating Class of 2022.

During this unique time we look to the men in our lives that have helped shape who we are today.

The Strelitz family celebrates Joseph’s graduation at Vanderbilt.

WALL EINHORN & CHERNITZER

150 West Main Street, Suite 1200 Norfolk, VA 23510 www.wec.cpa I 757-625-4700

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Dads & Grads

‘Kids’ reflect on their dads Debbie Burke

W

hile every day is a great day to honor, appreciate, and love our dads (and the dads in our lives: grandfathers, sons, uncles, friends, and neighbors), this Father’s Day there’s even more reason to enjoy the holiday. It is the first summer in recent years that it’s possible to visit and be with loved ones with virtually no restrictions. May the sunshine be abundant, even on cloudy days!

Jewish News asked a few local sons and daughters to share how their dads have impacted them…and how they continue to do so, even today, no matter their age.

the business side, he’s taught me not to be afraid to ask questions, no matter how big or how small, and treat people all the same way and help them all out.

What is your dad’s favorite saying?

When things are copacetic and everyone’s having a good time, he likes to borrow Adam Sandler’s saying that things go together “like lamb and tuna fish.”

Michael and Charlie Nusbaum.

Michael Nusbaum on his dad, Charlie Nusbaum In what way do you think your father has been an excellent role model for you?

He’s definitely one of these “lead by example” types. He puts the community and his family and his faith before other items, and he prioritizes his life to be successful within the business world and outside of it. He takes the time to educate me and others in the business. I’m the third generation to come into the business.

How has he been an inspiration to you in your work or your outside interests?

Definitely in my passions, by encouraging me to find my role in the community. You don’t have to be the fundraising person; you can set up and coordinate events. On

What is your favorite childhood memory of him?

I played sports all through my younger years and I’m still involved in coaching lacrosse. That passion for growing the game no matter what the sport is, passing knowledge on to the next generation, and his enthusiasm for watching every player on the team improve are my most profound memories of him.

Where do you and your dad live now?

We both live in Norfolk, about two miles apart. It’s far enough that we have that separation, but in an emergency, I can go across the bridge and help him out.

How would you describe your commitment to the Jewish community?

I’m proud of being Jewish and it’s something I’ve always been proud of no matter where I’ve been. We’ve been here a long time and have a deep family history in this area. There are large shoes to fill, but it’s a challenge I certainly welcome. I’m excited to carry that beacon forward to other generations of Nusbaums.

24 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Steve, David, Arnold, and Miles Leon.

Miles Leon, Stephen Leon, and David A. Leon on their dad, Arnold Leon

What is your dad’s favorite saying?

Be careful!

In what way do you think your father has been an excellent role model for you?

Despite challenges, he has lead an accomplished life and career, being the first in his family to graduate college and graduate school, and to achieve success in law and business. He worked hard and always makes a point to give back to his community, Israel, and his alma mater. He has never forgotten where he came from and remains well-grounded.

What is your favorite memory of him when you were growing up?

We spent summers at the beach. We took family trips together; particularly memorable were those to Israel.

How has he been an inspiration to you today either in your work or your outside interests?

He has a positive outlook on life. He never complains. He showed us that it is important to do well in school, to go to college, and to get good grades. He has always taken pride in our accomplishments and those of our families.

Where do you live and where does your dad live now?

We all live in the Tidewater communities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

How would you describe your commitment to the Jewish community?

We think that it is important to give back and to be involved, to participate; not just with money but also with one’s time.

Dads & Grads What is your dad’s favorite saying?

My dad always would say (and still says) to his children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren, “Make YOU proud of YOU.” This expression had so much significance in our family that my daughter, Aly, actually used it as the theme of her speech when she delivered the commencement address to her high school graduation class.

Beth Jaffee and Robert Cohen.

Beth Cohen Jaffe on her dad, Bob Cohen In what way do you think your father has been an excellent role model for you?

My dad has instilled in me the core values that define who I am today. He always put his family first while maintaining a successful law practice. To this day, he is my go-to person for guidance and advice on virtually any subject. He taught me the art of negotiation, how to be a good listener, and always made me feel like there was nothing I couldn’t do if I put my mind to it.

How has he been an inspiration to you today either in your work or your outside interests?

I always respected my dad’s work ethic and how he treated people on a day-today basis. It served as a model for me throughout my 30-year career in marketing and public relations. Throughout my life, my dad always fostered and encouraged my love of art and design. He inspired me to create my own art studio and to start painting at the age of 60.

What is your favorite memory of him when you were growing up?

Waiting for him to come home from work at night so we could eat together as a family where we would all share stories... but HE was always the best storyteller!

(Of course, they were always a little bit embellished….)

Where do you live and where does your dad live now?

I am very blessed to have both of my parents still living in the same city with me.

My dad is 93 and my mom is 90 and they celebrated 71 years of marriage on June 3.

Although my husband and I are in Florida for the winter, we are so lucky to live so close to one another in Virginia Beach most of the year. I love hanging out with him at the Virginia House pool, where at 93, he is still swimming laps.

How has he influenced you in terms of your relationship with your own children?

Throughout my life, my dad always emphasized the importance of being honest, respectful, and keeping open lines of communication. We always knew he had our back and we could talk with him about anything without judgment. This is the framework that has guided me as a parent to my own children.

Happy Fathers Day

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jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 25

Dads & Grads

Fishing Derby 2022 reels in some big ones T

he Simon Family JCC’s Annual Catch and Release Fishing Derby at Lake Sandler took place Sunday, May 22.

The Annual Fishing Derby is the only day of the year that Lake Sandler is open to the public for fishing—and word is out that it’s a great place to “reel ‘em in.”

Families, kids, teens, and adults all came out to cast, catch, and release all sizes of fish.

A number of prizes were awarded, including fishing gear, gift certificates, camping equipment, and more.

“I participated in the event not only because fishing is relaxing for me, but as a representative of Tidewater Jewish Foundation to help young anglers,” says Craig Bailey, TJF’s controller. “I showed one child how to properly tie a fish hook to the line with the uni-knot style. I also brought out several different fishing rods for everyone to see a variety of fishing equipment anglers can use.”

Managed by the JCC’s Fitness, Aquatics, and Recreation Department, Tom Edwards weighed each caught fish.

The winners were: •A ge nine and under: brothers Zackary and Luke Kingsland tied for biggest fish at 1 pound, 14 ounces.

• Age 10–55: Andrew Hucke had the biggest catch of the day at 3 pounds, 7 ounces.

•A ge 55+: Erin Edwards lead the day with a 1 pound, 6 ounce catch.

26 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

THURSDAY

JUNE 30 7:30PM Reba & Sam Sandler

Family Campus

LIVE GAME SHOW Who Knows One? is a hilarious game show that has become a cultural hit in the Jewish community, combining six degrees of separation and Jewish geography.

Now the creator of Who Knows One?, Micah Hart, is bringing the experience to Tidewater with a live, interactive version of the show!

Come see how we're all connected to each other, and share a few laughs along the way!

Seats are limited! $10 through June 23 | $18 beginning June 24 & at door.

JewishVA.org/WhoKnowsOne

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | Dads & Grads | JEWISH NEWS | 27

HONORING THOSE WHO SERVED

Jewish community’s Memorial Day program honors and remembers Elka Mednick

O

n the sunny morning of Friday, May 27, a group of 50 community members gathered to commemorate the upcoming Memorial Day prior to the long weekend’s start.

Hosted by the local Navy Chaplains, along with the Jewish War Veterans (Post 158), the Board of Rabbis and Cantors of Hampton Roads, and the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s JCRC, those assembled paused to honor and reflect on the sacrifices of those who have served in the United States Armed Forces.

The program featured remarks from Rabbi Yonatan Warren, LCDR, CHC, USN; Cantor Wendi Fried; Rabbi Aaron Kleinman, CDR, CHC, USN; Rabbi Israel Zoberman; Rabbi Adam Ruditsky; Herman Shelanski, VADM, USN-Ret.; Cantor Elihu Flax; and Rabbi Mitchell Shranz, CDR, CHC, USN.

Some of the participants in the Veterans Memorial Garden on the Sandler Family Campus.

Rabbi Yonatan Warren, LCDR, CHC, USN welcomes the assembled group to the commemoration.

28 | JEWISH NEWS | Dads & Grads | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Sherry Baron with her father’s World War II uniform.

TIDEWATER JEWISH FOUNDATION

TJF Community Impact Grant helps William & Mary Hillel with new mental health and wellbeing cohort to be more mentally present and healthy for their college experience.” ental health and wellbeing has Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s grant received a larger spotlight over of $2,000 helped William & Mary Hillel the past few years. With the COVID-19 offer programs such as de-stressing pandemic, quarantines, lack of in-perknitting sessions, meditation programs, son contact, and day-to-day stress, it’s cooking programs, group conversations no surprise that with mental everyone from health professionOlympic athletes als, and more. to college stu“By investdents have made ing in this mental health program, TJF’s and wellbeing support granted a greater priorour students the ity. For William opportunity to & Mary Hillel, have programthe staff saw an ming that spoke opportunity to to their mental create programs health needs,” and services to says Litt. “The enhance the lives TJF Community of Jewish stuImpact Grant dents on campus. really made a dif“We saw a real ference for us.”

Jewish students at William & Mary Hillel gather during a need to help stu- program at the Shenkman Jewish Center.

“TJF is proud dents, especially to support an during COVID,” says Rabbi Gershon innovative program that tackles a complex Litt, director of William & Mary Hillel. issue like mental health,” says Naomi Limor “Students are stressed and anxiety and Sedek, president and CEO of Tidewater depression are rampant among college Jewish Foundation. “Not only is William students today. Giving them a safe space & Mary Hillel providing the mental health to deal with their anxiety was important resources and services Jewish students for us.” need, but they’re also laying down a founStarting in the fall of 2021, William & dation that will support mental health and Mary Hillel created a cohort to offer stuwellbeing for years to come.” dent-initiated programming in the mental So far, the cohort has proved to be health and wellbeing space. Mental health incredibly successful. W & M Hillel professionals were brought in to offer expected 10 to 15 students to enroll in guidance and advice on how to implement the cohort in fall 2021, with an increase a well-rounded mental health program. to 25 students by spring 2022. Yet, by the Additionally, the program worked closely end of the first year, almost 100 students with the campus counseling department had participated. to educate Jewish students about what “Not only were we able to run amazing counseling services they offered. programs and offer a category of program“Most Hillel programs are social, reliming that we were not able to offer in the gious, cultural, or historical,” says Litt. past, but the effect the program had on our “Self-help programs, or programs that Jewish students carried over into the rest of deal with the wellbeing of the student, our Hillel programming, as well as into our engage the whole student and allow them students’ personal lives,” says Litt.

Thomas Mills

M

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 29

Leaving a Legacy in Jewish Tidewater

IT’S A WRAP JCC Seniors Club has it all

Throughout my life, I have always been involved in Jewish organizations and stayed connected to Israel. Over the years I have learned that synagogues change, leaders change, and people change and that without our Jewish identity we have nothing.

I take great pride in being able to gift a life insurance policy to the Jewish community that has meant so much to me throughout my lifetime.

- Dr. Herman Mallick*

Conference attendees listen as Shelley Sanders presents her book.

Hunter Thomas

Frank Cubillo sings High Hopes to a laughing Norman Greenberg.

Robin Ford

I

f fun, community, food, entertainment, and friends that are all at least 55 years old are of interest, now is the time join the JCC Seniors Club.

The Club’s May meeting hosted Frank Sings Frank with Frank Cubillo singing many of Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits.

Patsi Walton, club president, says, “Frank is very charismatic and personable in his entertaining! Besides, he is a retired Marine. I have seen him three times. Who knows what he will do next!”

Dr. Herman Mallick* gifted a Life Insurance Policy to support TJF’s Community Impact Grants. What will your legacy be?

For more information on the JCC Seniors Club, contact Robin Ford, senior adult program coordinator, at 757-321-2304 or rford@ujft.org.

Define your legacy with a gift to endow the Jewish community so future generations have the opportunity to embrace our shared heritage and the values you hold dear.

T

he virtual conference of the Jewish Book Council Network recently took place with lay leaders and staff of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater attending. The JBC Network, which includes roughly 120 member organizations across North America, provides an annual platform through which authors can share their books.

This year, 260 authors presented their books to the Network over Zoom, with each getting two minutes over the course of three days to pitch their book and their speaking style. The goal?

To find communities to visit where they can present their books and ideas.

Throughout last year, more than a dozen authors visited Tidewater through the Lee and Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, both in-person and through online events. They covered topics from WWII commandos to vacationing in the Catskills— books specifically about Judaism or Israel, or books on other topics written by Jewish authors. What almost all of them had in common was that the authors had presented their books before the JBC Network.

The lay leaders and staff that attended last month’s conference will narrow the list of more than 200 authors down to those deemed most interesting and most engaging for Jewish Tidewater to create an exciting calendar of events for the 2022–2023 Jewish Book Festival season.

For more information about Arts + Ideas programming, including the Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at HThomas@UJFT.org.

* of blessed memory

Contact us for your free guide: tjfinfo@ujft.org | 757-965-6111 foundation.jewishva.org

Authors pitch their books and presentations over Zoom

Frank and Jimmy McClendon entertain the Seniors Club with a Frank Sinatra classic sing-along.

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IT’S A WRAP Mikro Kodesh Cemetery gets spruced up and hosts Genziah Matthew Kramer-Morning

T

he heat of the day didn’t stop Jewish Tidewater’s volunteers from coming out on the morning of Sunday, May 22 to Mikro Kodesh Cemetery in Chesapeake.

That morning, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Adult Division, together with Chabad of Tidewater and Norfolk Kollel, gathered to clear overgrowth that had made its way onto the graves in the cemetery and bury the community’s discarded shaimos.

Shaimos refers to objects that hold holiness in them. Torah scrolls, tefillin, prayer books, and mezuzah scrolls all require burial to be disposed of, rather than being discarded or recycled. A community collection of shaimos from synagogues and households by Chabad and the Federation took place in the weeks leading up to the Genizah. That Sunday, 130 boxes of shaimos were laid to rest in the cemetery.

“The burial of the books and sacred items are in following with the mitzvah in Deuteronomy 12:4 of not doing to G-dly sacredness as is to be done to idolatry, i.e. destroy and get rid of. When these prayer books, mezuzahs, and so on are no longer fit for using, we respectfully place them in the ground,” says Rabbi Levi Brashevitsky.

“Decked with tools and supplies to clear the overgrown and unkempt weeds, trees, and foliage of this sacred space, the resting place of so many dating back to the 1800s, we of the local Jewish community who have no familial relation to, nor know those buried here, feel the strong bond of one Jew to another. We came to demonstrate that we are one and that those resting are not forgotten,” says Rabbi Brashevitsky.

“While we may not have read/learned through all the books being buried, we are reminded of the inheritance that the Torah is to each and everyone of us (Deuteronomy 33:4),” says Brashevitsky.

“And just like those whom we came to respect at Mikro Kodesh, the Torah, books, etc. are not only buried in the ground, but also in our hearts and the

way we live.”

After laying the boxes, the volunteers said Kaddish for all those buried in the cemetery. All of the community volunteers deserve a note of appreciation for coming out and braving the hot spring humidity to clean up Mikro Kodesh and help bury the community Genizah.

Matthew Kramer-Morning is United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Young Leadership Campaign director. He may be reached at mkmorning@ujft.org.

David Calliott, YAD chair, cuts overgrowth along a fence at Mikro Kodesh.

BBYO teens and director clean overgrowth from graves at Mikro Kodesh: Ethan Gilbert, Dave Flagler, and Simone Nied.

Mark Robbins Photography

Rabbi Yedidya Koven shows a scroll pulled from old tefillin and explains its significance as part of the Torah with Rabbi Levi Brashevitsky.

Dave Flagler and Rabbi Levi Brashevitsky prepare to bury the ‘shaimos,’ or holy objects that need to be disposed of in the cemetery.

Two of the youngest community volunteers.

Mike Yaary removes brush.

Old books are ready to be buried in the community Genizah.

Rabbi Yedidya Koven removes brush.

Books are respectfully unloaded and placed for burial: Simone Nied, David Calliott, Rabbi Aaron Slone, Tim Thornton, Ethan Gilbert, and Mike Yaary.

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IT’S A WRAP Judaism through the Arts offered at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Sierra Lautman

A

Jewish art students create their Chagall-inspired art.

new six-week class on Jewish art through United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Konikoff Center of Learning has received the support of an anonymous donor, making the classes free for all who attended.

The classes were a part of the curriculum offered by Jewish Art Education ( JAE)—an organization dedicated to educating the world on the contributions of the Jewish visual arts to Jewish civilization.

Twice a month from March through May, between 25 and 45 people gathered at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus to learn about Jewish contributions to some of the greatest art in history.

Attendees were inspired by themes—such as the art of Jewish women and of the Jewish holidays—as well as by individual

artists, such as Modigliani and Chagall.

During a presentation called “The Art of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world),” participants donated food to the Jewish Food Pantry and created greeting cards to be shared through Jewish Family Service of Tidewater.

The final lecture, which was on the art of Marc Chagall, included the artist’s history and a deep study of his work, followed by participants having an opportunity to paint their own Chagall-inspired creations.

Thanks to the donor, lunch was provided to all those who attended the Jewish Art Education classes at the Simon Family JCC. For more information about Jewish Art Education classes and similar opportunities to learn as a community, contact Sierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation, at 757-965-6107 or SLautman@UJFT.org.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Program Department Administrative Associate The UJFT seeks a qualified Administrative Associate to support our extremely busy events driven Programs Department. Under the direction of the Chief Program Officer, this position has an essential role in the department’s functioning as it supports the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), Arts + Ideas, Leon Family Art Gallery, Seniors Programs, Jewish Innovation, and BeAR programs. This critical position requires an individual with strong communication skills, accustom to a fast pace work environment, a problem-solver, proven administrative skills, and who likes to work as part of a team.

Milly Cohen, Annette Mand, Carol Smith, Shelly Loeb, Roz Drucker, DeAnne Lindsey, and Lynn Bell create greeting cards for Jewish Family Service of Tidewater.

Salary is competitive, and commensurate with experience Complete job description is posted at: www.jewishva.org Submit cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to resumes@ujft.org

The United Jewish Federation of Tidewater/Simon Family Jewish Community Center is firmly committed to a policy of equal employment opportunity for all qualified persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, non-disqualifying disability or veteran status.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 32 | JEWISH NEWS | June 6, 2022 | jewishnewsva.org

Jewish Art Education lecture over lunch.

WHAT’S HAPPENING Opening the doors of conversation: a reflection of rising tides and tensions in Tidewater Exhibit: June 8–July 31, Leon Gallery at the Sandler Family Campus Hunter Thomas

A

s sea levels rise, so do tensions within the community. That is the idea that local artist Renée Calway is portraying in her exhibit, Rising Tides, Rising Tensions.

The exhibit, which is inspired by the work of the In[HEIR]itance Project in Hampton Roads, explores how as the tides rise, so do tensions relating to socio-economic inequalities that lead to disparity in neighborhoods most affected by coastal flooding.

The In[HEIR]itance Project is a national arts organization that recently wrote and produced a play called Exodus: Homecoming. Inspired by conversations with Hampton Roads residents and the biblical narrative of Exodus, the show reimagined the seven cities as an intergenerational family exploring the struggles of the area. It was performed in May at the Attucks Theatre as part of the Virginia Arts Festival’s 25th Anniversary Season.

Calway’s exhibit accompanied the performances and was on display in the lobby during the run of the show.

As In[HEIR]itance Project moves on to its next community, Calway wants to keep the conversations surrounding their work in Hampton Roads alive.

Raised in Norfolk, Calway works to facilitate interactive healing arts experiences utilizing unconventional materials.

She promotes ecological awareness with a special interest in intersectional studies of socio-politics and statistics.

“The rising waters affect us all, but Black and Brown communities are most threatened by flooding,” says Calway. “The exhibit seeks to inspire us to examine our racial history, evaluate discriminatory practices in our present, and work together to create a future in which all people are elevated to equal ground.”

The exhibit features a series of doors grouped together in a maze-like pattern, portraying the experiences of those in the region who have historically been privileged enough to use the front door, versus

ARE YOU READY TO START YOUR MEDICAL CAREER? The Tidewater Jewish Foundation can help with the Feldman Family Medical and Health Professions Student Scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to Virginia Jewish students who have been accepted at a Virginia based institution for a degree in their chosen healthcare field.

Scholarship applicants must: • Must identify as Jewish • Live in Virginia, with priority to those from the Hampton Roads area • Accepted to study at a Virginia based institution

the experiences of those relegated to the back door. Calway plasters the doors with print media representing the “front door” and “back door” stories, and flooding is represented through a visual rising waterline, water-damaged articles, maps, and photos.

Created as a mobile exhibit, Rising Tides/Rising Tensions will travel throughout Tidewater over the next year, beginning at the Sandler Family Campus, June 8 through July 31.

For more information about Arts + Ideas programming, including the Leon Family Gallery, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at HThomas@ UJFT.org.

To learn more about Renée Calway, visit reneecalway.com or @indigoskywarrior on Instagram.

• Be entering a field of medicine, dentistry, Physician Assistant, nursing as LPN, RN or Nurse Practitioner; pharmacy or physical therapy; ancillary medical professions, and all those who will be comforted and cared for as a result

Applications now open.

Apply online at bit.ly/tjf-feldman.

Due by July 1, 2022

jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 33

WHAT’S HAPPENING It’s time to get back to Camp JCC Dave Flagler

A

s Camp JCC prepares to open for the summer of 2022, the word that keeps coming to mind is “Back.” Beyond the anticipation of being “back” at Camp JCC, who and what are “back” at Camp JCC is exciting.

The campers are back. Enrollment requests poured in this year, and waiting lists were required earlier than ever.

Seventy-five percent of the campers are returners. The camp’s CIT (Counselor in Training) contingent, nearly entirely comprised of former Camp JCC campers themselves, is coming back to give others the meaningful experience they had.

The Camp JCC Team is back. Many counselors from the 2021 summer and before are coming back to camp.

Additionally, many familiar faces from the 2021 camp leadership team, including Chris and Michelle Fenley, Sarah Cooper,

and Kate-Lynn Cipolla, are back as a part of an expanded team for summer 2022.

Special events are back. This summer, campers can look forward to even more “Fun Fridays,” special performances, and camp-wide events. For older campers, many previous favorites such as “camper choice,” late stays, and overnights are back, in addition to more field trips.

Anticipation and excitement for Camp JCC are back. Parents say that their campers have been talking about camp all year and they are counting down the days until they are back at camp with their friends.

In other words, Camp JCC is back and ready for an unforgettable summer.

To learn more about Camp JCC, or to hear about year-round opportunities for teens in the community, contact Dave Flagler, director of camp and teen engagement, at DFlagler@UJFT.org or 757-452-3182.

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Come see how we’re all connected— and share a few laughs along the way Who Knows One? Thursday, June 30, 7:30 pm Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Hunter Thomas

“J

ewish Geography” is a concept many Jews know well—conversations in which one person finds out whose sister went to sleepaway camp with whose cousin, and which suburban temple in Illinois shares a family tie with the big synagogue in New York City.

Who Knows One? brings Jewish geography to a game show format, tying community together to show how everyone is connected. As founder and host Micah Hart puts it, “It’s not who you Micah Hart. know, it’s who you know knows.”

Hart will host a live show bringing community back together in Tidewater.

Just planning that event unveiled a host of connections between him and Tidewater.

Hart’s wife, Hillary Lesser Hart, grew up at Kempsville Conservative Synagogue. When Betsy Karotkin got the news that the Harts were visiting the Lessers this summer, she connected Hart with Betty Ann Levin, United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s executive vice president/CEO, who shared the opportunity with Robin Mancoll, UJFT chief program officer, whose husband’s aunt, Susan Donn, grew up with Hart’s dad, Macy Hart, in Jackson, Mississippi.

Macy Hart is founder of the Institute of Southern Jewish Life and known by many in Tidewater, Virginia, and beyond.

Hart has another connection with Tidewater—Madeline Budman, a Norfolk native, who has been on Who Knows One? as ‘The Chosen One.’ “It was hilarious to watch on Facebook Live while people I had never heard of tried to leverage their connections to search for me,” Budman says. “A couple of possible paths to me were brought up, but

eventually I was brought on the Zoom by the assistant director of URJ Kutz Camp who knew me when I was a teen!”

‘The Chosen One’ is the person the show’s contestants need to find by leveraging their own networks. But here’s the twist…no information can be exchanged via social media, texts, or phone calls.

Contestants must invite their friends to join a Zoom call. Each person brings another friend onto the call until The Chosen One is found.

Who Knows One? originated on Zoom during the beginning of the pandemic, but Hart recently started taking the show on the road, hosting and meeting contestants live.

“Hilary is from Virginia Beach and grew up there, so we come back to visit her family a handful of times a year,” says Hart.

Her parents are David and Renee Lesser.

“I love doing Who Knows One? shows in different communities because it’s a wonderful reminder that no matter how we identify as Jews, we are all connected to each other, and there is such a wonderful spirit of connection and reconnection that flows through the show, both with the live audience and with the people we engage through the game itself,” says Hart.

Hart will host Who Knows One? live at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus on Thursday, June 30 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $10 through June 23 and $18 beginning June 24 and at the door. Seats are limited. Purchase tickets at JewishVA.org/ WhoKnowsOne. For more information about Arts + Ideas programming, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at HThomas@ UJFT.org.

CALENDAR

WHAT’S HAPPENING JUNE 8, WEDNESDAY—JULY 31, SUNDAY

Rising Tides, Rising Tensions exhibit, Leon Gallery at the Sandler Family Campus. Featuring the work of artist Renée Calway as part of the In[HEIR]itance Project. For more information, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas, at HThomas@UJFT.org. See page 33.

Sunday, July 10–Tuesday, July 12

JUNE 10, FRIDAY

Special Tour of The Guiding Hand: The Barr Foundation Collection of Torah Pointers at the Chrysler Museum of Art at 10 am. Space is extremely limited. For information, visit JewishVA.org/ KCL or contact Sierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at 757-965-6107 or slautman@ujft.org.

JUNE 11, SATURDAY

Celebration and fond farewell to Rabbi Arthur and Miriam Brunn-Ruberg at Congregation Beth El’s Shabbat morning services at 9:45 am. Luncheon to follow. Contact sandy@bethelnorfolk.com.

JUNE 12, SUNDAY

Car Wash Fundraiser for Team Virginia Beach. The event will benefit #TeamVB that will go to San Diego, Calif. this summer for the JCC Maccabi Games, which is the largest Jewish teen sports festival in the US. 1–3 pm. Tickets are $10. Contact Tom Edwards at tedwards@ujft.org.

JUNE 21, TUESDAY—JUNE 24, FRIDAY

First week of Camp JCC, Summer Session 2022. Weekly sessions offered through the end of August. For more information, visit campjcc.org. See page 34.

JUNE 30, THURSDAY

“Who Knows One?” live game show, 7:30-9:30 pm. at the Sandler Family Campus. For more information, including tickets, contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas, at HThomas@UJFT.org.

See page 34.

Send submissions for calendar to news@ujft.org. Be Include date, event name, sponsor, address, time, cost and phone.

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Paper Midrash dynamic duo to visit Tidewater

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Summer Employment Opportunity UJFT/Simon Family JCC A wonderful place to work!

Sierra Lautman

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his summer, dynamic duo Isaac Brynjegard-Bialik and Rabbi Shawna Brynjegard-Bialik will visit Tidewater live and in-person for three days through the Milton “Mickey” Kramer Scholar-inResidence Fund of the Congregation Beth El Foundation’s Tidewater Together Series.

This in-person series is a follow-up to the variety of programs that they led online in February, including guest sermons, a gallery talk, and paper-cut Torah workshops with the synagogue religious schools.

On July 10, they will be at the Sandler Family Campus for a “Text Study with Knives,” a hands-on papercutting workshop. In this workshop, participants will study some midrash (stories about the stories in the Torah) and how everyone brings something different to the story.

Known for their hands-on papercutting workshops for adults, Isaac and Rabbi Shawna will then guide participants

through the creation of individual art commentary. Open to the community, no experience or artistic ability is required for this program, and all materials are provided.

For the next two days, July 11 and 12, the duo will join Camp JCC campers for interactive, hands-on learning. Rising first through fifth graders will create a variety of mosaics that combine Tidewater’s history and culture with Jewish study.

Rising sixth through eighth graders will be joined by campers from Sababa Beach Away for an evening of Jewish spray painting. Counselors in Training will take part in a leadership workshop that culminates in a “Make Your Own Golem,” paper cutting experience.

To learn more about these programs, contact Sierra Lautman, director of Jewish Innovation, at United Jewish Federation of Tidewater at 757-965-6107 or SLautman@UJFT.org. To RSVP to the workshop on Sunday, July 10, go to: JewishVA.org/PaperMidrash.

Great opportunity to earn extra $ for the summer!

2022 CAMP JCC Now hiring fun and creative staff for the following positions!

Special Needs Counselors Specialists for Activities: Sports, Music, and Arts etc.

Staff Orientation: June 12—17 Camp JCC begins June 21-August 12 Last Blast (Post Camp): August 15-August 26 Applications available at www.simonfamilyjcc.org Submit completed application to resumes@ujft.org Submit by mail to: United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Attention: Taftaleen T. Hunter, Director of Human Resources-Confidential 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23462

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER jewishnewsva.org | June 6, 2022 | JEWISH NEWS | 35

OBITUARIES OSCAR BROWN BRICK, NEW JERSEY—Oscar Brown, 95, of Brick, N.J. (formerly of Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, and Norfolk) passed away peacefully at home on May 27 after a battle with cancer.

Born in Norfolk to Israel and Gussie Brown (of blessed memory), the youngest brother of Rose Brown Mensh, Betty Brown Segal, and Leah Brown Abramson (all of blessed memory). Oscar lived most of his life in the Tidewater area. He was a Boy Scout and became an Eagle Scout.

He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute (now Virginia Tech) and Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) School of Pharmacy, earning the degree of Bachelor of Science and became a Registered Pharmacist from the Virginia Board of Pharmacy.

He owned Brown’s Pharmacy on High Street in Portsmouth. He served as the director of Pharmacy Services

at Maryview Hospital (now Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center) in Portsmouth. He worked as a state employee in the Portsmouth Health Department.

He was a past president of the Virginia Society of Hospital Pharmacists. He also became a licensed HVAC contractor.

Oscar served in the United States Navy during World War II, including on the battleship USS North Carolina BB-55 and was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of Electronic Technician’s Mate Third Class.

Oscar was active in his community. He was a past president of Gomley Chesed Congregation, then in Portsmouth. He was honored by the Men’s Club with the Blue Yarmulka Man of the Year Award.

Oscar was extremely talented in many fields, particularly with a great ability to fix things. He enjoyed using many different tools and always looked for the next project to be worked on.

Oscar was predeceased by his

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wife, Elaine Bennett Brown (of blessed memory). Oscar is survived by his children, Susan Brown Rubin (Robert) and Michael Bradley Brown; his grandchildren, Daniel Rubin (Miriam), Jonathan Rubin, Greg Brown (Chelsea) and Jeff Pate Brown (Kayla), his great-granddaughter Elaine Lucille Pate Brown, and his many nieces and nephews.

The funeral was graveside at Chevra Thilim Cemetery, Portsmouth. Shiva was observed in New Jersey.

Donations in Oscar’s memory may be made to a charity of your choice.

Funeral arrangements by Belkoff Goldstein Funeral Chapel in Lakewood, N.J. and by Sturtevant Funeral Home in Portsmouth, Va.

TERRY JEAN KOENIG CHESAPEAKE—Our beautiful mother, Terri Jean Koenig, 62, went home to be with her Lord on May 18, 2022, with her family and friends surrounding her in love.

Terri was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin on April 4, 1960, to Audrey and William. Her main goal in life was to raise a family and she excelled and fulfilled it beyond expectation as evidenced by her children and grandchildren. Terri was the most loving soul you could meet and when you spent a few minutes with her, your life was instantly better. She was kind, generous, uplifting, and funny, even when she did not understand the joke!

She had an affinity for making people happy with her smile and bubbly personality, and her laughter was contagious.

Terri loved her family and friends fiercely and always filled her home or other homes with warmth and happiness.

Terri enjoyed blessing those around her by cooking for them, whether it was her famous lemon bars or some other specialty that her family and friends came to know. She enjoyed watching football, specifically the Green Bay Packers. Terri was known to shop for the best bargain around town and would drive to every store she could to find one. She loved to play board games with her grandchildren, continuing the family tradition she started with her children when they were young.

Terri was a member of Freedom

Fellowship Church and loved worshiping the Lord with her friends. She was especially fond of worship music.

Left to cherish her memory are her loving children, Amy (Tomer) Yashaev of Norfolk, Sarah (Andrew) Wyatt of Chesapeake, and Christopher (Kristen) Koenig of Norfolk; father, William F. Miller of Wausau, Wisc.; siblings, William “Billy” Miller of Germany, John, Mark and Timothy Miller of Wausau, Wisc., Constance Ledford of MN, and Dan Johnson of Wisc.; grandchildren, Xander, Geoffrey, Avi, Liam, Andrew II, Sawyer, Kadence, Sierra, Aiden and Preston; and countless other family and friends.

She is predeceased by her loving mother, Audrey, her cherished daughter, Jennifer, and her beloved Yorkie, Hummer.

Her family received visitors at Altmeyer Funeral Home, Chesapeake. A celebration of life service immediately followed. Committal services were held at Chesapeake Memorial Garden. Express condolences to the family at www.altmeyerfh.com.

BRIAN ANDREW SCHIFF NORFOLK—Brian Andrew Schiff, 41, of Norfolk died May 28, 2022.

Brian was born in Houston, Texas and grew up in Norfolk. He was the son of Janet Norkin Schiff and Dr. Ivan Rubin Schiff and grandson to the late Harry and Rosalind Norkin and to the late Mendel and Gertude Schiff.

Brian worked for several local security companies and was a former volunteer with the Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad.

Survivors include his mother Janet Norkin Schiff, father Dr. Ivan Rubin Schiff and his wife Amelia, a brother Reid Schiff, two sisters, Dr. Lauren Schiff Weber and her husband Dr. William Weber, Leslie Schiff McLain and her husband Jason McLain. Brian is also survived by his nieces and nephews, Charlotte, Eleanor, Teddy, and Benny, as well as his extended family and friends. Brian tried to be a true friend to everyone he met.

A graveside service was conducted at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk by Rabbi Michael Panitz.

OBITUARIES Donations may be sent to Temple Israel and The American Cancer Society.

Online condolences may be shared with the family at www.hdoliver.com.

Zoberman. Poppa, the table has been slapped.

Online condolences may be offered to the family at hdoliver.com.

FREDERIC SOMERS SUKOFF NORFOLK—Frederic Somers Sukoff was born on Long Island, N.Y. on October 15, 1937 and passed away peacefully in the presence of his loving family on the morning of May 24, 2022.

Fred was a gentle giant with a big heart to match. His large stature was necessary because all his love and kindness could not be contained in a smaller frame.

He is survived by his sister, Sandra Nesson of Norfolk, Va.; three daughters, Carolyn Sukoff Jacobs and her husband Mark of Norfolk and Rockledge, Fla., Stephanie Sukoff Trzeciakiewicz and her husband David of Norfolk, and Becky Sukoff Udman and her husband Yerachmiel of Dallas, Texas; and three step-children Randy, Ira, and Emily, affectionately known as “The Bergerettes.” Each of his 22 grandchildren think they are the favorite. In addition, he had 24 great grandchildren, all of whom he adored. He was predeceased in life by his wife Linda Berger Sukoff and granddaughter Lindy Jane Clary.

For the past 20 years, Caroline Shapero has been his companion, best friend, confidante, gin rummy opponent, and most recently, roommate, sharing their new home together in Harbors Edge.

Poppa Fred extended his unending love to Caroline’s children and grandchildren, growing his family even more.

As Fred told us many times, he spent 20 years of hell in the retail business, running the family business, Sanfred’s Dress Shops and 40 years of bliss in the insurance business at the Frieden Agency.

Although long since retired, he kept his friendships with “the boys,” often sharing a meal and a glass of Pinot Grigio. He was a source of wisdom, wit, and optimism to all that knew him. Poppa Fred was always available for anyone needing advice, a joke, a hug, or a good meal. He created nicknames for everyone and was as silly as he was sentimental.

Graveside services were held at Forest Lawn Cemetery, officiated by Rabbi Israel

PINCHAS STOLPER, OU LEADER Ron Kampeas

(JTA)—Rabbi Pinchas Stolper, a pioneer in making Orthodox Judaism accessible to young people, has died at 90.

In a statement released on May 26, the Orthodox Union focused on Stolper’s role in making its affiliated youth organization, the National Council of Synagogue Youth, a national powerhouse. Stolper died May 25; the statement did not identify a cause of death.

“Rabbi Stolper was a trailblazing pioneer in the education of Jewish teens who served as the first full-time national director of NCSY and as the longest-serving executive vice president of the Orthodox Union,” it said. “He created and developed modalities of experiential Jewish learning and living that have become the standard for inspiring commitment in Jewish students around the world.”

Stolper showed his potential for youth leadership when in 1950, at 18, he organized a protest against an official visit of a German soccer team to New York. The horrors of the Nazi years were still being revealed and Stolper was furious that a German delegation would be honored at city hall; he and about a dozen of his friends pelted the team with tomatoes.

According to an account in Matzav, an Orthodox news site, Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner, the director of Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin Yeshiva, read the news of Stolper’s arrest the next morning and declared to a colleague: “This young man has chutzpah.

We need him in our yeshiva.”

Stolper became close to Hutner, a leading figure in mid-20th century American Orthodoxy and soon rose to positions of influence within the Modern Orthodox movement.

“During more than 40 years of working with Jewish youth, Rabbi Stolper built the NCSY movement from coast to coast,” the Orthodox Union wrote.

Stolper wrote a stack of books making the holidays at Shabbat more accessible to younger leaders, and also a book of

advice on relationships, Jewish Alternatives in Love, Dating and Marriage.

Stolper also was key in advancing the career of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, whose writings on the Torah in the 1970s and 1980s are credited with spurring a return to Orthodoxy among young Jews.

“I…was taken by his unusual ability to explain a difficult topic—one usually

reserved for advanced scholars, a topic almost untouched previously in English— with such simplicity that it could be understood by any intelligent reader,” Stolper said of Kaplan. “It was clear to me that his special talent could fill a significant void in English Judaica.”

Stolper is survived by his wife, Elaine, his daughter Michal and his son, Akiva.

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IT’S A WRAP

TIDEWATER A fun day of baseball for BBYO at Harbor Park

Copywriter joins Jewish News staff

Dave Flagler

B

BYO celebrated the end of the school year at Harbor Park watching the Norfolk Tides on Sunday, May 15.

BBYO members, prospects, and their families enjoyed lunch and plenty of cold soft drinks on a private patio during this warm afternoon. While not the final program, this outing was the signature event to end a successful year of BBYO programming.

To learn more about BBYO or other ways that teens can get involved in the Tidewater Jewish community, contact Dave Flagler, director of camp and teen engagement at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, at DFlagler@ UJFT.org or 757-452-3182.

BBYO on the scoreboard at Harbor Park.

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Chris Lyon

christopherlyon@friedenagency.com Nate Simon and Sam Levin share a special moment with Riptide.

a member of The Frieden Agency

Debbie Burke.

D

ebbie Burke, an award-winning author and editor, and the founder of Queen Esther Publishing LLC, joined Jewish News last month as a staff copywriter.

Burke has edited hundreds of books and articles for authors around the world, as well as for many boutique and university presses in the US and the UK. She is the author of eight books, both fiction and nonfiction, most of them about jazz (one is about klezmer). She is a former news writer and columnist, and was the editor of a business journal and a lifestyle magazine in Northeast Pennsylvania. She is currently working on a new murder mystery about a jazz saxophone player from Russia.

Burke launched her international jazz blog, debbieburkeauthor.com in 2016, which has hundreds of personal interviews with megastars from the jazz community, as well as up-and-coming musicians.

Brooklyn-born, she has lived in six different states in the eastern half of the US, but most of all, loves being near the ocean and is ecstatic to call Virginia Beach her new home.

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