Jewish News - May 8, 2023

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Virginia Beach School Board reviews books in school libraries

Elka Mednick

The Virginia Beach School Board met on Tuesday, April 25, to discuss, among other topics on their agenda, potential changes to the library media centers in each of the division’s schools.

Virginia Beach citizens of all backgrounds spoke at the meeting about their concerns about topics on the evening’s agenda. It is important to know that policies enacted by the division must be studied and either reestablished or canceled every five years, as with several agenda items.

Among some of the proposed changes was a review process for the digital and print items contained in each school library. Using a recently enacted law, the Virginia Beach School Board has begun a process by which to identify materials that feature sexually explicit content and how to administer these items depending on the grade levels the library serves. Under the potential policy, many commonly known titles are identified as sexually explicit, such as The House on Mango Street, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. These books can be found on a list put forth by the school board as having the potential to be segregated from the other materials housed in the library.

Larry Siegel was one of dozens who spoke at the meeting. “As all of the librarians noted in their remarks, this proposed Policy is not necessary, is an administrative nightmare for them, is a very bad idea, and infringes on free speech,” he says. “As I noted, if adopted, it will harm the stellar reputation of the City of Virginia Beach School System and impede the ability of businesses – large and small – to recruit exceptional candidates to the Virginia Beach.”

Lisa Bertini spoke about the personal impact of several books. “Books change lives. In high school, my elder daughter read The House on Mango Street and was transported. She would read passages to me that dance with magical metaphors. She learned about empathy and what Hispanic people have to give up to live in America. That book changed her for good.

“When I saw Shakespeare’s work on this list I wept. Shakespeare’s Opus is arguably the most important literature in the world. To banish his Romeo and Juliet is to rob teenagers of falling in love with words.”

Siegel made clear he strongly opposes this new Policy noting “the history of the Holocaust that involved the banning and burning of books as a precursor to the burning of people.”

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We wondered, would anyone come?

As all of the librarians noted in their remarks, this proposed Policy is not necessary, is an administrative nightmare for them, is a very bad idea, and infringes on free speech.

Switzerland to erect first national memorial honoring Nazi victims

The Swiss government agreed last month to help pay for the country’s first national memorial to honor the 6 million Jews and other victims of the Holocaust.

Long known for its reputation of neutrality during World War II, Switzerland has seen its image undercut in recent decades by reve lations that major Swiss banks played a key role in financially supporting Nazi Germany. The decision to establish a Swiss national memorial is also notable because while there are about 60 private memorials spread throughout the country, there are no official federal sites to commemorate the victims of the Nazi regime.

“The Federal Council considers it of great impor tance to keep alive the memory of the consequences of National Socialism, namely the Holocaust and the fate of the six million Jews and all other victims of the National Socialist regime,” a government statement said.

The memorial has been in the works for several years, and had the broad support of political, cultural, and civil society, as well as Switzerland’s churches and Muslim organizations, according to the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities, an umbrella group for the Jewish community.

A completed concept was submitted to the Federal Council in 2021, and calls for a national memorial have become louder in recent years. The Federal Council approved 2.5 million Swiss francs, or $2.8 million, for the memorial, which will be in Bern. It is dedicated to those who opposed Nazism and offered protection to the persecuted and commemorates those persecuted or those whom the Swiss authorities refused to rescue.

Also last month, the U.S. Senate Budget Committee accused Credit Suisse of impeding an investigation into former accounts at the bank that were held by Nazis. Jewish organizations have long claimed that in addition to financially supporting Nazi Germany, Credit Suisse also held onto money looted from Jews long after the war ended.

In the 1990s, Ruth Dreifuss, Switzerland’s first Jewish and woman president, called for an investigation into the issue. A government report found that Switzerland had taken part in over three-quarters of worldwide gold transactions by Nazi Germany’s Reichsbank. In 1999, Credit Suisse paid Jewish groups and Holocaust survivors a

settlement of $1.25 billion in restitution.

Also of note, thousands of people who headed toward the Swiss borders during World War II seeking protection were turned away.

“It is imperative that the victims of the Nazis and the Shoah are not forgotten,” the Swiss Federation of Jewish Communities said. “Ultimately, remembering also includes lessons for the present and the future.” (JTA)

Arsenal soccer club launches Jewish fan group to combat antisemitism

The English Premier League club Arsenal has launched a new fan affiliate group called the “Jewish Gooners,” as part of its plan to address recent incidents of antisemitism.

The club also announced that it had banned 31 fans for three years each over “abusive and discriminatory behaviour since the start of the 2021/22 season.”

Those 31 incidents include five acts of antisemitism, three of which occurred at the team’s Emirates Stadium in London, and two online.

In January, Arsenal launched an investigation into alleged antisemitic incidents that occurred at the stadium and at a local pub during the team’s match against Tottenham, a team known for its sizable Jewish fanbase.

The new affiliate group, the “Jewish Gooners,” which incorporates the nickname for Arsenal fans, will aim to both prevent future antise mitic incidents and to create a more “inclusive” environ ment for Jewish fans, according to the Jewish Chronicle of London. The Jewish security group Community Security Trust and Britain’s antisemitism czar Lord John Mann are both involved.

“We’re very pleased to welcome the Jewish Gooners supporters’ club to the Arsenal family,” said Arsenal spokesman Mark Brindle. “We’ve already worked together on a number of initiatives and we’re looking forward to building

on this in the future.”

Jewish Arsenal fans had been in conversation with the club about creating such a group for more than two years. The group will also enable observant fans to give their tickets to friends when matches fall on Shabbat.

While Arsenal and other clubs have plenty of Jewish fans, Jewish players are rare in the Premier League, arguably the best soccer league in the world. One rising star, Israeli midfielder Manor Solomon, has turned heads with his performance for Fulham F.C., leading to reports that the 23-year-old could draw interest from top teams, including Arsenal.

Arsenal, a London-based team with over a dozen league titles in its 136 years of existence, is currently in the top spot of the Premier League this season. (JTA)

British Jewish schoolchildren present a new ‘Adon Olam’ for king’s coronation

Among the many honors accruing to King Charles III in advance of his coronation was a new version of a traditional prayer performed by a British-Jewish children’s choir.

United Synagogue, the union of British Orthodox synagogues, commissioned a new recording of Adon Olam, a prayer perhaps most recognizable as the conclusion of Shabbat services, and dedicated it to the new king.

The rendition was composed by a British-Jewish musician who teaches at a Jewish school and was arranged by the brothers in the indie rock duo Portnoy, according to the Jewish Chronicle. The choir includes children from five Jewish schools who are accompanied by musicians from Ukraine. Everyone involved is wearing a shirt for the coronation, in a We are the World-style video.

The recording is part of a passel of celebrations that British communities undertook as they prepared to crown a new monarch for the first time in more than 70 years. Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September after taking the throne in 1952.

“King Charles III has always been a stalwart personal friend to the Jewish community,” Anthony Broza, chief executive of Wienerworld, a music distributor company that participated in the project. “We hope that this new recording of Adon Olam will act as further recognition of the community’s affection for the Royal Family and our gratitude that Jews can observe their customs and traditions safely and openly in the UK.” (JTA)

May is Jewish American Heritage Month

An annual recognition and celebration of the more than 350-year history of Jewish achievements and contributions to the fabric of American life and culture in the United States, Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM) is held during the month of May.

JAHM was first recognized in April 2006 following the passage of resolutions in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Since then, annual proclamations have been issued by presidents, governors, state legislatures, school boards, and other governing bodies.

With the rise of antisemitism, Jewish American Heritage Month provides an opportunity to counter hatred with education and historical awareness.

Excerpts from a Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2023

This month, we celebrate the enduring heritage of Jewish Americans, whose values, culture, and contributions have shaped our character as a Nation. For generations, the story of the Jewish people — one of resilience, faith, and hope in the face of adversity, prejudice and persecution — has been woven into the fabric of our Nation’s story. It has driven us forward in our ongoing march for justice, equality, and freedom as we recommit to upholding the principles of our Nation’s founding and realizing the promise of America for all Americans.

Jewish Americans continue to enrich every part of American life as educators and entrepreneurs, athletes and artists, scientists and entertainers, public officials and activists, labor and community leaders, diplomats and military service members, public health heroes, and more. Last year, I was proud to host the White House’s first-ever Jewish New Year reception. During our Hanukkah celebration, I was also proud to unveil the first-ever permanent menorah at the White House — reinforcing the permanency of Jewish culture in America.

I have made clear that I will not remain silent in the face of this antisemitic venom, vitriol, and violence. During my first year in office, I signed the bipartisan COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act to help State and local law enforcement better identify and respond to hate crimes. I appointed Deborah Lipstadt, a historian of the Holocaust, as the first Ambassador-level Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. And my Administration also secured the largest increase in funding ever for the physical security of nonprofits, including synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, and Jewish day schools.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2023 as Jewish American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to learn more about the heritage and contributions of Jewish Americans and to observe this month with appropriate programs, activities, and ceremonies.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

Magen David Adom has been saving lives since 1930, some 18 years before Israel became a state. We take immense pride in being Israel’s national emergency medical service and in supplying the blood and medical care for the soldiers who have ensured Israel’s existence. Join us in celebrating Israel’s 75th year of independence on Yom HaAtzma’ut.

Support Magen David Adom by donating today at afmda.org/give. Or for further information about giving opportunities, contact 561-835-0510 or southeast@afmda.org.

afmda.org/give

Israel is celebrating 75 years. Magen David Adom has been there for all of them.

Forever Helping Others

TJF seeks new donors for education tax credit program

Terri Denison

Tidewater Jewish Foundation, an approved scholarship foundation under the Virginia Education Improvement Scholarship Tax Credit (EISTC) Program, is looking for new donors before its current fiscal/program year ends on June 30, 2023.

BINA High School, Strelitz International Academy, and Toras Chaim all benefit from the Program and all have current students approved for scholarships that cannot be fully funded without additional donations in the next several weeks. The program’s goal is to help qualifying students (lower- and middle-income families) at local Jewish day schools.

“If our Jewish schools made their goals vis-a-vis this Program for this academic year, what a difference that would make,” says Naomi Limor Sedek, TJF president/CEO. “We are shy of donations by about $107,000 that could fully fund this year’s scholarships.”

This is an opportunity to help support Jewish education and get a Virginia Income Tax credit for 2023, according to Limor Sedek. TJF hopes to fully award scholarships to students at BINA, Strelitz, and Toras Chaim.

“Many students at SIA rely on tuition assistance from the tax credit dollars in order to attend the school. Without

DONOR TAX BENEFIT

come together as a community and support families who otherwise would not be able to give their children a Jewish day school education,” says Rabbi Gershon Litt on behalf of Toras Chaim.

“Our families work very hard, and they have many children,” says Litt. “Each child deserves the right to a Jewish education, but many can’t afford it. Some of our kids have special needs and our school is able to assist with those needs because of this Program.”

Amy Brooke of BINA agrees. “It is

of a nurturing environment,” says Simon, noting that the tax credit program “provides opportunities for a broader pool of students to attend the school.”

“The EISTC Program has been a game changer for our community and allowed our school to grow and add services and programs we could not have added without it,” says Litt. “This money all goes to our kids. We hope that members of our community will see the need and do what they can to help the kids.”

In fact, SIA has experienced 40%

POTENTIAL 2022-2023 SCHOLARSHIPS

important that it (Jewish education) be affordable to our families. There are limited institutions that provide Jewish education subsidies to make the decision easy to prioritize the need in these challenging times to learn about Jewish history, Jewish identity, and belief in G-d.”

It is unfortunate, says Brooke, “when a parents’ decision of wanting a Jewish education for their child must be made solely on their ability to afford it.

Donation (Cash, or FMV of Marketable Securities) $10,000

Virginia EISTC (65% of donation as a credit to VA Income Taxes) (1) - $6,500

Federal Tax Savings (24% charitable contribution of NET $3,500) (2) - $840

Virginia Tax Savings (5.75% charitable contribution of NET $3,500) (3) - $201

the support, these families would not be able to afford for their children to attend the school,” says Carin Simon, director of advancement, Strelitz International Academy.

“Many of our families require these scholarships to be able to afford to send their children to private Jewish schools. It is an amazing opportunity, and we need to

“It has always been my strong feeling,” continues Brooke, “That all Jewish education in a community should be subsidized equally. The need for Jewish education at all levels of observance is critical to the survival of the Jewish people.”

“SIA provides all students with an excellent academic curriculum and foundation in Jewish education with the support

growth in enrollment over the last five years, which has increased the amount of financial aid requests, Simon says.

In addition, Litt notes that “some people think that this Program takes away from public schools. It does not. 100% of all money that goes into this program is raised from private donors who donate to the scholarship foundation of their choice. This is lifting up children while not adversely effecting children in public schools. The EISTC is a win/win for everyone.”

Scholarships are funded with specific donations to TJF and requires pre-authorization by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE).

Donations qualify for a 65% credit against an individual’s or business’s Virginia income tax. In fact, a $10,000 gift can help support local Jewish education and may only have a net after-tax cost of less than 25 cents on the dollar.

Potential donors are encouraged to consult their professional tax advisors.

For more information, contact Naomi Limor Sedek at 757-965-6109 or nsedek@ujft.org or Randy Parrish, at 757-965-6104 or rparrish@ ujft.org.

ADL cheers Tucker Carlson’s ouster at Fox News, where he had long embraced white nationalist rhetoric

Andrew Lapin

(JTA) — In a move that shocked many, Fox News announced on Monday, April 24 that it had “parted ways” with Tucker Carlson, the network’s most-watched host, whose on-air embrace of white nationalist conspiracy theories had defined its editorial voice since 2017.

The channel didn’t give a reason for Carlson’s departure in its press release, which said that his last program aired the previous Friday, and its own staff was reportedly blindsided by the move. But it came shortly after Fox News paid nearly $800 million in a high-profile defamation settlement to Dominion Voting Systems, in part because of lies Carlson told his viewers about the company’s role in the 2020 presidential election.

Carlson is separately facing a lawsuit from a Jewish former producer on his show, who alleges that senior staff fostered an office culture full of sexism and antisemitism, including berating an Israeli employee for taking the High Holidays off from work. The producer, Abby Grossberg, also said that she had been pushed by Fox to give false testimony in the Dominion case.

Citing anonymous sources, the Los Angeles Times reported that Carlson had been fired and that the decision to do so had come from Fox Corporation cheif executive Lachlan Murdoch. The reason, the source said, had less to do with the Dominion settlement than with Grossberg’s lawsuit, and with Carlson’s commentary on other issues including the Jan. 6, 2021, attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

To the Anti-Defamation League, the firing was long overdue. The group’s leader called for Fox to fire Carlson in 2021, after the host first promoted the white-supremacist Great Replacement theory on air.

“It’s about time,” tweeted the group’s CEO, Jonathan Greenblatt. “For far too long, Tucker Carlson has used his primetime show to spew antisemitic, racist, xenophobic & anti-LGBTQ hate to millions.”

At the time, Fox rebuffed the ADL’s petition weeks later. The network said that Carlson had actually been talking about voting rights when he outlined the Great Replacement theory, a far-right belief that attributes a diversifying electorate to a shadowy conspiracy, typically engineered by Jews, to replace white voters with immigrants and minority groups.

“A full review of the guest interview indicates that Mr. Carlson decried and rejected replacement theory,” Lachlan Murdoch, CEO of the Fox Corporation, said at the time.

The ADL’s public stance on Carlson’s employment led to criticism from the right, with Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz calling the group “racist.” Carlson also went after them on his program by parroting other white supremacist-adjacent beliefs about Israel. Last year, he gave an extended interview to Kanye West after the rapper donned a “White Lives Matter” shirt at Paris Fashion Week, but before West’s many public antisemitic rants; producers reportedly edited out antisemitic comments West had made during the interview.

For years, Carlson had evaded any discipline from Fox over his airing of such views. But the Dominion case exposed how he had been openly lying to viewers about other news issues, as well. Text messages from Carlson made public in the lawsuit’s discovery phase revealed that he personally believed former President Donald Trump and his lawyers had “discredited their own case” about the voting-machine company rigging the 2020 election, yet Carlson continued to promote the idea on his show.

“I hate him passionately,” Carlson texted a producer about Trump on another occasion.

JEWISH TIDEWATER

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Secure Community Network partner to bolster community safety and security

Mike Goldsmith, law enforcement veteran to Advise, direct and develop community security program

Wyatt Ronan, SCN Communications Director

The Secure Community Network

(SCN), the official safety and security organization for the Jewish community in North America, and the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, launched a new community security program led by Michael Goldsmith, regional security advisor. The

program is designed to significantly increase safety and security for all those who participate in synagogues, day schools, museums, service organizations, and other centers of Jewish life in and around Tidewater.

“SCN is honored to work in partnership with the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater to ensure the safety, security,

and resiliency of the Jewish people. This initiative is part of our effort to create a security shield over the Jewish community in North America,” says Michael Masters SCN national director and CEO. “We are establishing comprehensive security initiatives across the country to empower communities and give them the resources they need to protect themselves. We are thrilled to build on our partnership with the Federation and Tidewater community to support greater safety and security efforts for the community.”

“UJFT is excited to enhance our partnership with SCN and welcome Mike Goldsmith to our team,” says Betty Ann Levin, UJFT executive vice president/CEO. “As America faces dramatic increases in antisemitic threats and incidents, Jewish communal security has never been more important. Michael`s nearly 35 years of experience and knowledge of safety and security issues in our com munity will be instrumental in keeping us as safe, secure, and prepared as possible.”

Tidewater is amoung the growing network of Jewish Federations and communities that have partnered with SCN to launch community-wide security programs designed around an “all threats, all hazards” approach to preparedness, safety, security, and resiliency. Each program is connected to SCN’s national operations, providing direct access to SCN’s National Jewish Security Operations Command Center and Duty Desk, as well as best practice security resources and support related to policies, procedures, physical security, facility assessments, training, and incident response.

To lead the effort, public safety expert and law enforcement veteran Michael Goldsmith has been appointed the Regional

Security Advisor. Goldsmith will serve as SCN’s full-time representative to develop and administer a comprehensive program that provides risk mitigation, security consultations, assessments, and training to Jewish institutions throughout the region. He will teach SCN’s flagship training courses such as Be Aware: Introduction to Situational Awareness, Countering Active Threat Training, and Stop the Bleed®.

Goldsmith served the City of Norfolk for nearly 35 years as a law enforcement officer and as Deputy City Manager. While with the Norfolk Police Department, he worked in patrol operations, special operations, criminal and administrative investigations, and homeland security. He was appointed Chief of the department in 2012.

Goldsmith also served as the Law Enforcement subject matter expert for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization`s Allied Command Transformation, where he participated in exercises at the NATO Defense College in Rome, Italy and the Defense Concepts and Doctrine Center in Shrivenham, England.

Goldsmith will serve as an expert advisor to Jewish institutions and establish a system of collaboration, coordination, and communication among community organizations. He will also serve as a liaison to local, state, and federal law enforcement partners and represent the Federation and the Jewish community in public security forums.

“It’s an honor for me to continue working in Tidewater and contribute to the safety and security of the Jewish community,” says Goldsmith. “I look forward to leveraging my professional experience and community relationships to help everyone become more prepared and resilient against all forms of threats.”

Michael Goldsmith

In speech, ADL chief focuses on anti-Zionists and threats to Orthodox; avoids Trump

Ron Kampeas

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In a major policy speech, Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt doubled down on his argument that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, emphasized the threat to visibly Orthodox Jews and accused The New York Times of an “antisemitic attack” in its coverage of Hasidic movements.

One topic he didn’t discuss: former President Donald Trump and his extremist supporters, a frequent topic of concern for the ADL and Greenblatt in recent years.

The speech at the ADL’s annual leadership summit in Washington, D.C. on May 1, was remarkable for barely mentioning what has, for years, been the group’s focus: the threat from the far right, spurred in part by Trump’s ascendance. Instead, Greenblatt, in prepared remarks, tacked to the center, remaining focused on a message he sounded at the same summit a year ago — that anti-Zionism is unquestionably antisemitism.

“I know that for bigots — especially those who self-style as ‘anti-Zionists’ — Israel’s Independence Day is a day to redouble their efforts to make sure it is Israel’s last Independence Day,” he said, adding later, “To underscore what I said at this event last year: Anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Full stop.”

His speech last year drew criticism from the left for marginalizing parts of the Jewish community that criticize Israel, and for equating that sector with a stream of extremism on the other end of the political spectrum that has fueled deadly attacks on Jews.

Despite not featuring in Greenblatt’s speech, the threat from the right was nonetheless very much embedded in the conference agenda; one session was dedicated to the surge of the far right on social media, and another was dedicated to ties between the extremes of the conservative movement today and the John Birch Society, the seminal extremist movement founded in the anticommunist fervor of the mid-20th century.

Greenblatt emphasized that antisemitism knows no single ideological home. He

noted what the ADL has documented an alarming spike in antisemitic attacks and that more than half of violent attacks have targeted visibly Orthodox Jews.

“This year, we find that the dramatic increase in antisemitic incidents is not due to any single ideology fueling violence, or one group becoming more accepting of antisemitism than another,” he said. “It’s due to every ideology becoming more comfortable with anti-Jewish hate.”

Since he took the ADL’s helm in 2015, Greenblatt has been under fire from conservatives for the organization’s emphasis on threats emerging from the extreme right, though the organization has always focused on far-right antisemitism. Greenblatt’s speech touched on themes that have troubled Jewish conservatives, including the perceived threat to pro-Israel Jews on campuses, and defending haredi Orthodox Jews from what they describe as threats to their lifestyles and education system.

Greenblatt took the New York Times to task for its series of articles reporting on deficiencies and malfeasance in Hasidic schools in New York.

“Our Orthodox brothers and sisters are constantly under threat,” he said. “It is one that needs solidarity and support from everyone – Jewish and non-Jewish alike. So, to see this community singled out by elite institutions, like the New York Times, arguably the most important paper in the world, depicting them as clannish and using power to manipulate events … that represents an antisemitic attack on their community.”

Absent from his speech was any mention of Trump, although the former president is seen as the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 and has intensified his attacks on “globalists” and on progressive Jewish billionaire George Soros, tropes that the ADL and other groups have said fuel antisemitism.

Greenblatt was outspoken last year in criticizing Trump for having dinner with Kanye West after the rapper embarked on a string of antisemitic comments. That dinner

also included Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust denier and far-right provocateur. The ADL led a campaign urging Adidas to end its

partnership with West. After Adidas ended the collaboration, it announced a partnership with the ADL.

Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors

We are pleased to announce that Marc Weiss, Financial Advisor was recognized on the 2023 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors List. This recognition serves as a reminder that we are committed to working every day toward the financial success of our clients.

Let ’s Connect

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208 Golden Oak Ct, 3rd Floor, Ste 300 Virginia Beach, VA 23452

Direct: 757-667-3482

Marc.A.Weiss@wellsfargo.com wellsfargoadvisors.com

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Mission returns from Israel with new appreciation for the work of Federation and partners

This is the second installment of the story of their trip. The first installment appeared in the April 3 issue of Jewish News.

Amy Zelenka

DAY 4

Sunday morning saw our group depart Jerusalem, with our first stop at the Gush Etzion Heritage Center, nestled in the Judean Hills, some 15 minutes south

having to do with Gush Etzion. Inside, a multi-media exhibit describes the Jewish settlement project in the region from the 1920s to present day.

From greater Jerusalem, our bus turned north, and we headed to Neve Michael, one of our Federation’s beneficiary

allows local and Neve Michael children to study together. We were met upon arrival by our long-time friend Have Levene. She led us on a tour of the campus, starting with the cafeteria, where the kids were up to their elbows in glue and streamers and various arts and crafts – preparing for their Purim Carnival. We walked through the school – also decked out for the holiday –and visited the gift room –filled with toys, games, and other gifts that every and any child would love to receive. For many of these kids, it is the first time they are given a birthday gift, or a prize for achieving. We marveled at the way the merchandise in this “store” room was displayed – allowing the gift recipients to select their own prize with great dignity and meaning.

From Neve Michael, we continued north to our destination of Kibbutz Kfar Blum in the Upper Galilee, founded in 1943 by the Labor Zionist Habonim youth movement. We checked in at the Kibbutz’s hotel and settled in for a pre-dinner cocktail

and discussion about what we had seen, felt, and experienced so far. With temperatures in the low 70’s it was not the “bonfire weather” we had anticipated, but we enjoyed receiving our “Mission Blankies” anyway. Our rooms were in a quiet building set within a beautiful park-like landscape – creating the perfect environment for a good night’s sleep. And we needed it! Busy day to follow!

DAY 5

Monday morning (early!) we met with Brigadier General Ilan Lavi (IDF retired) for a group briefing on the geopolitics of the region. It was a fascinating presentation on the challenges facing the IDF to secure Israel’s borders (eliminate terror tunnels, surveil activities on the borders with Lebanon and Syria, etc.). General Lavi spoke of the close tactical relationship between the US armed forces and those of the IDF, and the mutual benefit that each receives from joint training exercises and

of Jerusalem. Gush Etzion is a group of Israeli settlements whose history goes back to the 1920s. One of these settlements is Kibbutz Kfar Etzion. A heritage center and museum that chronicle the area’s history and especially the bloody battles waged on Gush Etzion and its supply lines by the Arab legion in 1948. After the final battle, during which most of the kibbutz’s male defenders were killed, the area remained empty of Jews until after the Six-Day War in 1967, when Israel recaptured the area. Next to the museum is a memorial garden with a Lone Oak Tree. The garden is dedicated to the defenders of the kibbutz and an archive that compiles findings and documents

organizations in Israel. Neve Michael is a residential home for children at-risk – a warm and caring environment for more than 300 children aged three to 18 who are not able to stay with their biological families. The children come from all over Israel. They are victims of neglect and physical and sexual abuse. Many have witnessed acts of violence. All of the children are raised in family units by a married couple with their own children, creating a loving family atmosphere, and modelling a healthy family environment for children who may never have known one before. The on-premises elementary school, run under the auspices of the Ministry of Education,

A small but might group of Federation donors participated in the 2023 UJFT Community Mission to Israel, February 28 through March 9. During the week-long journey, they wandered through history, culture, and time. . . soaking in all there was to see, hear, taste, feel,

Group in front of Lone Oak Tree

Amongst the pear trees with JDC’s Digi-Basta professionals

shared techniques and technologies. He also spoke about the complex problem of IDF bombings and collateral damages. Lebanon, he explained, is a failed economy with rampant poverty. Many families do not have access to their money (if they even have funds saved in their bank accounts) to meet their most basic needs. If approached by someone offering a few hundred dollars to store some crates in their basement, they face a dilemma: Take the money and feed the family? Or don’t take the money and watch your neighbors eat. Those who take the money and store the unknown products unwittingly (or having decided that it was worth the risk) make themselves a target for an IDF rocket, seeking to eliminate a weapons cache. This is collateral (civilian) damage – very different from the way that the Russians are currently targeting civilian buildings and infrastructure to effect as much damage and loss of life as possible in their own campaign against Ukraine. It’s easy to conflate the loss of human life by an armed force, but incredibly

important to be able to distinguish the true motives and complex circumstances surrounding it.

Following this heavy conversation, our group needed a stretch and some fresh air, so we headed off to the Tel Dan Nature Reserve (one of Israel’s National Parks) to walk the trails and learn about the history of the region and the important water sources of Israel. The Park was created in 1969 to preserve the area (which contains the source of the River Dan) in the face of growing Israeli water demands. Rain falling and snow caps melting on Mount Hermon are the original source of the springs. The water mixes with the mountain’s limestone rock and creates carbolic acid which melts the lime. Water trickles though the resulting crevices into the ground. When it can descend no further it flows on a level called the aquifer until it finds a spot where it can break out of the rock. Tel Dan is also famous for its impressive archaeological digs, which cover two main periods: the time when it

Continued on page 13

Laura Gross and Alene Kaufman at Adir Winery

Magnificent Art inside the Abuhav Synagogue

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 into a Virginia-based institution for a degree in their chosen healthcare field.

Scholarship applicants must:

• Identify as Jewish

•Live in Virginia, with priority to those from Hampton Roads

• Be accepted into a Virginiabased institution as a full-time student pursuing a health care degree.

• Have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and show substantiated financial need as determined by FASFA

JEWISH TIDEWATER

2023 Stein Family Scholarship Winner: John Weber Williamson

The annual Stein Family College Scholarship of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation is awarded this year to John Weber Williamson, a senior at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake.

Williamson is the 16th recipient of the four-year scholarship, which provides up to $20,000 per year to a Jewish student in Tidewater. The scholarship was established in 2009 in memory of Arlene Stein, who did not complete college because of financial hardship. Arlene passed away in 2007 and Jerry Stein, her beloved husband, in 2014. TJF works closely with the Stein family each year to administer the scholarship.

Williamson will attend Old Dominion University, majoring in psychology with a focus on cognitive and clinical psychology. He says he plans to focus on early diagnosis and early intervention for children with special needs. Having two older brothers with autism, Williamson has experienced how early detection of special needs can significantly impact an individual’s quality of life.

Among his honors and activities, Williamson was recently inducted into the National Honor Society, where volunteerism is required and encouraged. While volunteering at Ohef Sholom Temple and its Religious School are some of his favorite acts of service, it was the experiences and opportunities from being a member of the school marching band for four years that has allowed Williamson to volunteer across many sectors in the community – from environmental causes such as Clean the Bay Days to community health initiatives such as blood drives. Being active and involved in the community is where Williamson thrives.

Without the Stein Family Scholarship, Williamson says he would have been a commuter student, unable to immerse himself fully in the campus community. Instead, he will now be able to take advantage of ODU’s recent invitation to join the LivingLearning Community, a program that allows him to live and engage with other students with similar academic and professional interests, while helping students manage college transition, academic

focus, and social-emotional wellness.

When asked about his key to success, Williamson says, “Do not be afraid to do what you love and are passionate about, even if others don’t agree. Your passion will keep you motivated!”

Prior recipients of the scholarship include Morgan Conley (Brandeis University ’13), Eric Smith (University of Virginia ’14), Marissa Arager (George Mason University ’15), Avi Malkin (College of William and Mary ’16), Dinar Yusufov (James Madison University ’17), Amanda Gladstone (Virginia Tech ’18), Dana Cohen (Virginia Tech ’19), Brett Pomerantz (Virginia Tech ’20), Sydney Levine (University of Virginia ’21), and Lucie Waldman (Old Dominion University), Faith White (Kent State University ’23), Emily Myers (Shenandoah University, ‘24), Danial Watts (Virginia Tech ‘25) and Leia Morrisey (University of Virginia ’26).

For more information and to apply for next year’s Stein Family College Scholarship, contact Ann Swindell, Tidewater Jewish Foundation donor relations and grant manager, at aswindell@ujft.org or 757-965-6111.

Learn More and Apply Now at bit.ly/tjf-feldman.

Apply by July 1, 2023

Continued from page 11 was a Canaanite city named Laish, about 4,000 years ago, and the era when it was inhabited by descendants of the tribe of Dan and given a new name. Enroute to the park’s exit, we stopped at the Tel Dan Canaanite Arched Gate, which has been described as an architectural “rough draft” of the form perfected some 1,500 years later by the Romans. The mud-brick gate was constructed in the second millennium B.C. as a defense for the Canaanite city of Laish. It was a truly impressive site to behold and left us in no doubt of its archaeological significance.

Having communed with nature and history, back on the bus we got. Yalla! – Cheerfully met by our mission driver, William, we headed to our next stop – a JDC site visit at Kibbutz Yiftach, near the Lebanese border and Kiryat Shmona. There we met up with our friend Barbara Dudley (whose family make their home on the Kibbutz) as well as our JDC professionals and one of the Kibbutz farmers engaged in a JDC program known as Digi-Basta. The program provides training to vulnerable small produce farmers – helping them shift their business models to adopt direct-to-consumer marketing and modern working methods. These strategies can help them weather the threats of a challenging economy and decline in local agriculture. Through a three-month course, farmers learn entrepreneurship and business skills, proactive sales models, digital marketing, and much more –the tools and skills needed to shift to a 21st century business model.

From bus to tractor we went – heading out to the fields of the kibbutz to admire the flowering orchards of pear trees, fields of vegetables, and even various wheats and grains grown on the farm. We sat in the middle of the fields and learned about the challenges facing small farmers in Israel and their hopes for a more lucrative crop future (including the possibility of growing vanilla beans – currently only farmed in Madagascar, Mexico, and Tahiti). We were treated to farm grown samples of salads and fresh baked sour dough bread before heading off to our next adventure.

It was inspiring to hear from the young farmer and kibbutzniks about their hopes and dreams, and it made us truly

appreciate that their love for the land of Israel was deep and visceral and rooted in the soil (literally), and that whatever they can do to make the land flourish, they will do. Living in the periphery has its challenges, but each of them seemed willing and happy to face them.

In typical Mission fashion, we arrived at our next meal still full from the last. But who can be in wine country and not visit a winery? In the heart of the Upper Galilee, along the slopes of Admon Mountain, is an inspiring family winery that has raised the standard of Israeli wine to a new level. Adir Winery produces award-winning wines which reflect the ideal conditions in which their grapes are grown and harvested. They are a “gift of nature, grown from the love of the earth, nurtured by the warm Mediterranean sun and produced with the utmost care and commitment to uncompromising quality.”

From Adir we headed to Tsfat, to visit the synagogues there, learn the history of each, and enjoy a bit of shopping in the artist colony. But we could not tour or shop for long, as Purim was approaching, and we had masks to don and groggers to prime! The spirit of Purim was thick in the air as we walked the narrow, cobbled streets of Tsfat and up and down its many (did I say many? I mean a lot of…) steps, making our way to the Megillah reading at the “Chabad by the Galleries” service. Surrounded by new friends and adorable children in Purim costume, we enjoyed a very fast reading of the Purim story with lots of raucous stomping and noisemaking whenever the name of Haman was mentioned. We laughed and laughed each time to a certain noisemaking rubber pig let out a particularly notable snort!

Exhausted from once again winning the battle over evil, and with a light rain beginning to fall, we made our way back to the bus, took off our masks, and wended our way back to the hotel for dinner and a well-earned sleep. Another busy day tomorrow! Purim Sameach and Lila Tov!

In case you missed the first installment of the 2023 UJFT Community Mission to Israel, go to JewishNewsVa.org and search Community Mission. Look for the third and final

Memorial Day Commemoration

Thursday, May 25, 8:30 am, Jewish War Veterans Flagpole, Sandler Family Campus

The Board of Rabbis and Cantors of Hampton Roads and the Jewish War Veterans (Post 158) will host a community Memorial Day Weekend observance to start the weekend in appreciation of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom that Americans experience.

The weekend that will be marked by the celebration of Shavuot (Jewish dairy fest) and Memorial Day (for many, a secular barbecue fest), will also offer an opportunity to join together to pause and

value the many brave men and women who have given their lives in support of a nation where “we can go to shul on Friday and Saturday and go to the beach on Sunday,” says Rabbi Yonatan M. Warren, BCC, Lieutenant Commander, U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps.

Hosted by the local Navy Jewish Chaplains, Rabbi Yoni Warren (Navy Medical Center Portsmouth) and Rabbi Aaron Kleinman (Marine Forces Command), this event is open to all. Rain location will be inside the Sandler Family Campus.

30th Annual National Senior Health and Fitness Day 2023

Wednesday May 31

9 am – 2 pm Sandler Family Campus

Simon Family JCC presents the 30th Annual Senior Health & Fitness Day.

The day-long celebration includes group fitness classes, games, vendors, and prize raffles. Plus, the Cardo Cafe will be open.

required.

Don’t miss the Camp JCC experience

Dave Flagler

With summer right around the corner, Camp JCC is gearing up for another exciting season. Last year’s day camp program was so successful that this year’s spots are filling fast – good news for the camp and an incentive for parents to register children for a summer filled with fun, learning, and new experiences before it’s too late.

Camp JCC prides itself on offering a wide range of activities designed to engage and challenge campers of all ages. From daily instructional and recreational swim to sports, art, drama, Israeli culture, and gaga ball, the program helps children explore their interests, develop new skills, make new friends, and strengthen existing friendships in a supportive and inclusive environment. Campers build strong relationships with each other and their counselors, creating a tight-knit community. Camp JCC counselors, specialists, and support staff help campers develop confidence and independence, while also fostering a sense of belonging.

In addition to regular daily programming, Camp JCC offers a variety of special activities throughout the summer. Themed days and weeks, special guests and entertainers, field trips for older campers, and camp-wide celebrations are just some examples.

Camp JCC begins on Tuesday, June 20. Register for individual weeks or the entire summer (if space is available). Visit www.campjcc.org for more information and to register.

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.

Eliza Kimball and Dani Weinstein decorate their kites during art time.

Ella Gladstein, Liam Yashaev, and Aiden Bennett chase Henry Krupnick through a color run at the conclusion of Color War week.

Judy Blume is having a moment.

Here’s why Jewish women love her

Sarah Rosen (JTA) — As a young teenager growing up in Manhattan, Nina Kauder found it nearly impossible to ask her mother difficult questions about puberty or her Jewish identity, for two reasons.

Her mother had fled the Holocaust as a child and was, in Kauder’s words, “very tough” to talk to. And by the time Kauder was a teen, her mother was terminally ill. She got her first period just months after her mother’s death.

So Kauder, now 58 and a health coach, turned to Judy Blume.

She remembers reading Blume’s 1970

young adult classic Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, about a sixth grader with a Jewish father and Christian mother, in her closet with a flashlight after bedtime.

“I’m reading in there, devouring her book, learning about boys, learning about breasts, learning about brassieres, learning about religion, about identity, about growing up in the United States — learning about all of that,” she says.

Kauder isn’t alone. Blume’s 29 books, which have sold more than 90 million copies and been translated into 39 languages, have been touchstones for women — especially Jewish American women

— for multiple generations. Her protagonists deal with a range of teen issues, from bullying to sex to loneliness to menstruation, in a realistic way, but they also grapple with issues of Jewish identity as they come of age, adding an extra layer of relevance for young Jewish readers.

Blume is having a moment with the recent release of a documentary about her life and career streaming on Amazon Prime titled Judy Blume Forever and a major on-screen adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, which debuted on Friday, April 28 to warm reviews. The topics Blume has written

about since 1969 have remained relevant: her books still regularly land on banned book lists as states continually debate what young readers should be able to access. (Several of her books were banned in states including Texas, Florida, Utah, and Pennsylvania last year.) She regularly speaks out on the dangers of book banning, which she attributes to fear, explaining that “because fear is contagious, some parents are easily swayed.”

The documentary tells the story of Blume’s life and career, beginning with her secular Jewish upbringing in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Born in 1938,

Two films – one about her and one based on one of her most popular books – are screening now. . . before the summer heats up and more time is spent outside. . .away from theaters and televisions.

Blume was seven when World War II ended, and she describes a nervous childhood in the film. Her mother reassured her that the war happened far away and that they were safe.

“Did I believe that?” Blume asks in the film. “I don’t know. I was a Jewish girl, and this happened because you were a Jew. I was an anxious child.”

She also connects her childhood anxiety to her prolific imagination: “I felt adults kept secrets from the kids. I hated those secrets. I think I had to make up what those secrets were. That fueled my imagination.”

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret centers on an 11-year-old who moves to a new town with her parents and has intimate conversations with God. Margaret longs to feel normal, to start growing breasts and get her period along with her friends. She also struggles with her religious identity; her mother is Christian, and her father is Jewish, and neither set of grandparents approved of the union. Margaret sets out on a quest to learn about and pick a religion, all the while wondering why she only feels God’s presence when she’s alone.

During the war, Kauder’s mother had “survived in France as a hidden child, [hidden] by the nuns in a Roman Catholic environment.” Subsequently, growing up, Kauder “didn’t have a Jewish or a religious or a spiritual influence at all.” She identified with Margaret.

“Here comes Judy Blume’s book, which for different reasons has a Jewish and a Catholic influence, but she’s trying to figure it out,” Kauder says.

To Jessye Ejdelman, a 31-year-old software engineer who attends a Modern Orthodox synagogue in New York City and is raising her children in a Yiddish immersive household, the book is also a strong expression of American Jewishness: of “not being sure where you fit as a Jew and not being sure where God fits as a Jew and as an American.”

To Edjelman, the Margaret character demonstrates something meaningful about the Jewish relationship to God. “The literal wrestling with God in a way is very like Jacob. I think of Judy Blume when I think of that, like that wrestling with God, that uncertainty.”

But the book’s relevance in her teenage years went beyond religion.

“[Like in] Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, I was also a girl who was waiting for my first period to come,” she says. “I remember pretending to have my period and I really related to Margaret as a character because of that… Like I was just waiting to not be awkward or weird or ugly or a child… Many, many women relate to that feeling.”

In the 1970s, after her writing career and the women’s liberation movement took off, Blume decided to leave the suburbs and her first marriage. “I wanted to see the world. I wanted to travel everywhere,” she explains in the film.

After her divorce, her books became more explicitly drawn from her own life. In 1977, Blume wrote what she calls her “most autobiographical novel,” the book Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself, about her post-war Jewish childhood. It includes a scene where the young characters grapple with their fear of the Nazis by playing make-believe.

Elisa Zuritsky, 53, a TV writer and producer behind shows like Sex and the City, Odd Mom Out and Smash, remembers watching The Brady Bunch on TV in the early 1970s — a time when Jewish themes were far less common on screen — and hoping they might include a Jewish moment or character.

“I started reading Judy Blume books and the thrill that there were any Jewish characters in her books and heroines and narrators of her stories was monumental, I think, for me,” said Zuritsky, who grew up attending Jewish day school in Philadelphia. “I so rarely saw Jews anywhere in the popular culture that I consumed.”

Rereading the books as an adult, Zuritsky said, “what struck me the most, and what I think I was responding to as a kid, was how unadorned and unapologetically honest she let her narrators be.” She aspired to be just as honest in her own writing about women’s life experiences.

“There’s a direct line between reading Judy Blume books and being an adult writing for Sex and the City. It’s pulling from the same well,” she said. “The bar was set for me personally by [Judy Blume].”

Parade and Leopoldstadt each nab 6 Tony nominations in a big year for Jewish Broadway

Andrew Lapin

(JTA) — Shows about the Holocaust and a notorious American antisemitic incident picked up several Tony Award nominations,

as Broadway’s biggest honors made room for a sizable Jewish presence.

Most notably, a revival of the 1998 musical Parade, starring Ben Platt as

the early-20th-century Jewish lynching victim Leo Frank, scored six nominations, including best revival of a musical and a best actor nod for Platt. Jewish lead actress Micaela Diamond also scored a nomination for playing Leo’s wife Lucille, causing awards presenter Lea Michele to squeal with glee (pun intended) as she read Diamond’s name at the livestreamed nominations ceremony.

Arriving during a heightened moment of national awareness about antisemitism, Parade attracted notice early in its Broadway run when a performance was picketed by neo-Nazis. That incident led to an outpouring of support from B*roadway’s Jewish community. Platt himself arrived at last night’s Met Gala wearing a Star of David necklace, further driving home the show’s message.

Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard’s epic, highly personal play about multiple generations of a Jewish Viennese family before, during and after the Holocaust, also received six nominations, including an expected nod for best play. Brandon Uranowitz also earned a nod for best actor in a featured role in a play, and Patrick Marber scored a best direction nomination; both are Jewish.

Signs were more mixed for another high-profile Jewish production, The Sign In Sidney Brustein’s Window, which eked out two nominations, including best revival of a play. The show, first written by Lorraine Hansberry in 1964 shortly before her death, follows a Jewish bohemian grappling with political and social change in Greenwich Village.

Besides Parade, the musical revival category was dominated by shows with Jewish roots. Also nominated was a new version of the 1960 classic Camelot, billed as “Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot” in recognition of the two Jewish Broadway scribes who crafted the initial production, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Written by Aaron Sorkin, who is Jewish, and directed by Bartlett Sher, who learned as a teenager that his father was Jewish, the new Camelot had five nominations.

Two reinterpretations of Stephen

Sondheim standards, Into The Woods and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, rounded out the category. The pop singer Josh Groban, whose father was Jewish before converting to his mother’s Christianity, was nominated for playing the lead role.

The play Good Night, Oscar, about the Jewish entertainer Oscar Levant’s struggles with mental illness, picked up three nominations. Death of a Salesman, a new revival of the classic play by Jewish playwright Arthur Miller, also picked up two nominations.

Jewish actress Jessica Hecht picked up an acting nomination for her lead role in the play Summer, 1976, about a lifelong friendship between two women.

Among the other nominees was a modern-day musical reimagining of Some Like It Hot, the 1959 cross-dressing comedy. The original movie had plenty of Jewish talent: It was directed by Billy Wilder, co-starred Tony Curtis and Jewish convert Marilyn Monroe, and featured recently deceased Jewish character actor Nehemiah Persoff in a small role. The new musical, by Amber Ruffin and Matthew López, led the pack with 13 Tony nominations including best new musical. Veteran Jewish songwriter Marc Shaiman picked up a nomination for co-writing the show’s score.

Another new musical based on a movie, New York, New York, also built off of Jewish talent: the songwriting duo John Kander and Fred Ebb wrote the music for the original 1977 film, and Kander is co-credited with Lin-Manuel Miranda for additional music. New York, New York received nine nominations, including best new musical.

The prolific Jewish theater composer Jeanine Tesori had another Broadway hit this year with the musical Kimberly Akimbo, which received eight nominations, including one for her music.

The nominations were co-announced Tuesday, May 2 by Michele, who has been the talk of Broadway since she replaced Beanie Feldstein as the lead of the Funny Girl revival.

The Tonys will air on CBS and various Paramount-owned streaming services on June 11.

Outdoor Aquatic Center opens for Summer at Simon Family JCC and Sandler Family Campus for Memorial Day weekend

SATURDAY – MONDAY

MAY 27-29, 11:30 am – 5:30 pm

With temperatures climbing this Spring, the opening of the Metzger Outdoor Aquatic Center is planned for Memorial Day weekend. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, members and guests are will be able to enjoy all of the fun the outdoor pools and water park offer.

The same hours will be in effect for the following weekend, June 3-4.

June 10 - August 20, outdoor pool hours will be extended to 7 pm on weekdays (MondayThursday), with the pool continuing to close at 5:30 pm on Fridays through Sundays.

August 21 - September 4, the pool will close at 6 pm on weekdays, and 5:30 pm, Friday - Sunday, including Labor Day on Sept. 4.

June 20 - August 11, outdoor lap swimmers can swim outdoor in the lap lane after 12 pm, to accommodate the camp schedule.

The JCC Summer Swordfish swim team is an excellent way for children to improve swimming skills with great coaches, make new friends, and stay fit over summer. Go to SimonFamilyJCC.org for more information.

Camps

The Jewish Sport Report:

Why there are so many Jewish sports halls of fame?

Jacob Gurvis

(JTA) — On one wall of the dining hall at the Indiana University Hillel sits 36 framed photographs of Jewish alumni who have made an impact in the sports industry, from athletes to executives. It’s the IU Jewish Sports Wall of Fame.

One of those pictures is of Josh Rawitch, who has had a long career as an executive in baseball. At first, Rawitch tells the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, he questioned whether he was truly worthy of being honored alongside fellow Hoosiers like Mark Cuban, the billionaire businessman and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and all-time Jewish Olympic legend Mark Spitz.

But then Rawitch thought about the location of the wall, and who it might impact.

“You’re going to have young people, 18, 19 years old, walking in there looking at the wall, seeing all these people who are up there who have gone on to do significant things in the industry,” Rawitch says. “That’s actually pretty cool. That actually inspires them. If I was 18 and I’d have walked in and that wall had been there when I was a freshman, I would have thought, ‘that’s really cool.’ I would love to be like one of those people someday.”

Rawitch knows a thing or two about halls of fame: He’s the president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. He says institutions like the one he leads are important “repositories for history.”

“I think having a hall of fame of any kind in any city essentially does two things — it honors people who are really good at what they do, and it documents the history of what’s gone on in that industry,” he says.

The display that honors Rawitch in Bloomington is just one of many halls, walls, and exhibits across the United States and the world — many of them small — that honor Jewish greatness in sports. From Southern California to Philadelphia, St. Louis to Washington, D.C., similar organizations and institutions recognize Jewish athletes, coaches, executives, media members and beyond.

Why so many?

“We want to call attention to that because of the antisemitic trope that Jews are not good soldiers, farmers, or athletes. We need to overcome that,” says Jed Margolis, who runs the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Israel, which has honored more than 400 athletes since 1981 and is housed in Netanya after being founded in the United States. “It’s simply not true. And telling the stories out there will help inspire people and lay to rest some of those falsehoods which I think are important to overcome.”

In the fight against antisemitism, Steve Rosenberg, who chairs the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, says “the best defense is a good offense.” The Philadelphia hall, which inducted its first class in 1997 and has moved locations multiple times, has 183 total inductees, including former NFL tight end Brent Novoselsky and longtime 76ers broadcaster Marc Zumoff.

“We shine the light on the great accomplishments of Jews in sports. And we need to do more of that in the world,” Rosenberg says.

Rosenberg adds that he thinks there should be even more halls of fame, for Jewish actors, architects, poets and so on, “so that we can celebrate our accomplishments, not in the way that we pat ourselves on the back, but that we can talk about all the great things that we do as a people.”

For Craig Neuman, the chief programming officer at the St. Louis Jewish Community Center, a key feature of Jewish culture is the sense of connection Jews feel when they discover that a celebrity is Jewish.

Like the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame seeks to recognize the most elite athletes — Jewish world record holders, Olympians, and the like. Or, as Margolis puts it: “We’re looking for the best of the best: the Hank Greenbergs, the Mark Spitzes, people like that.”

“As the National Baseball Hall of Fame, I think it’s pretty clear that we are honoring the absolute greatest who

ever played or worked within the game of baseball nationally,” Rawitch says. “Clearly, that should be harder to get into than, say, the California Baseball Hall of Fame or the New York Baseball Hall of Fame. But I don’t think it should diminish if you’re a recipient of that. It should be an honor for anybody who’s named to any sort of hall or wall of fame.”

Inclusivity is central to the local halls of fame.

“I think we want to, on some level, send a message that says, ‘hey, just because you’re not in Cooperstown doesn’t mean that you didn’t have an impact in the world, on your sport, in your community,’” says Neuman.

But that doesn’t mean the standards for entry aren’t high. In fact, in St. Louis, candidates for induction must possess more than just athletic accomplishments — there’s also the “mensch factor.”

“When you are in a position where people might look up to you because

of some accomplishments, and whether it’s because you’re an athlete, or you’re a politician, or a lawyer or whatever the profession that puts you in the public’s eye, there’s a certain responsibility that comes along with that,” says Neuman. “It’s a great example to set that, yeah, this guy was a great baseball player, but he was also a great human being as well.”

The St. Louis Jewish Sports Hall of Fame has 84 members inducted across eight classes dating back to 1992 — including Chicago Cubs ace Ken Holtzman and basketball legend Nancy Lieberman. The last group was enshrined in 2018.

Many of those inductees represent more than the typical professional sports — baseball, basketball, football, soccer and hockey. There are racquetball and handball players, even a hot air balloonist. For Rosenberg, recognizing people from a diverse range of sports is an important part of the work, especially as he works to engage younger members of the community.

“I want the young people, particularly the young Jews, to know that there’s a place for you, no matter if you’re a golfer, a swimmer, a gymnast, a baseball player, whatever you want to do, that you can go on to achieve greatness and that greatness will be recognized,” Rosenberg says.

“The reality is, if I stood at the hall of fame on any given day, people that are coming in just to see the hall of fame, we couldn’t get a minyan,” Rosenberg says, referencing Judaism’s 10-person prayer quorum. “Maybe over the course of a year. But we do get the sort of incidental traffic, people that are going to the JCC for other activities.”

The Philadelphia hall’s journey to the JCC was not a simple one. The collection used to have a permanent space at a local YMHA, featuring typical sports artifacts like bats and jerseys. Then it moved into the Jewish federation building — until September 2021, when Hurricane Ida caused severe flooding that destroyed

much of the hall of fame’s memorabilia. The current exhibit at the JCC is more two-dimensional, Rosenberg said.

One of the Philadelphia inductees is Arn Tellem, the vice chairman of the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and a longtime agent who represented A-list athletes like Kobe Bryant. Throughout the 2000s, Tellem was regularly ranked among the top agents in all of sports, and he is a member of the Southern California, Michigan and Philadelphia Jewish Sports Halls of Fame.

By the time Tellem got the call from the Philadelphia hall in 2015, he had received his fair share of recognition. But that didn’t make this honor count any less for the Philadelphia native. Rosenberg said Tellem “couldn’t wait to come” to the ceremony, bringing three tables worth of supporters with him.

“Arn Tellem isn’t doing this for recognition, or for money, or for fame,” Rosenberg says. “He has that. It means something to him.”

Barbra Streisand

next ‘Jewish Nobel,’

Jackie Hajdenberg (JTA) — The prize dubbed the “Jewish Nobel” will be going to Barbra Streisand later this year, in a return to its tradition

prize’s return to celebrity tradition

of honoring Jewish celebrities for their lifetime of achievements.

The iconic actor and singer is getting the Genesis Prize, which has been awarded

Local Relationships Matter

since 2013, in recognition of her contributions to a number of fields, including the arts and philanthropy.

The prize was endowed by a group of Russian Jewish billionaires, three of whom stepped down from the board of a related foundation, the Genesis Philanthropy Group, after being targeted by Western sanctions last year for their ties to Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine. The most recent Genesis Prize, awarded earlier this year, went to Jewish activists and nonprofits in Ukraine — the first time the prize had not been given to a single individual.

Now, the prize foundation is signaling a return to normalcy by selecting Streisand, 81, who has served as a symbol of pride for generations of women and men who saw themselves reflected in her brash, Brooklynbred, unapologetically Jewish persona. She has sold more than 100 million records; had more albums chart in the Top 40 than any other female recording artist; and is one of just 18 people to rack up an EGOT — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

The prize’s goal is to stimulate Jewish giving by raising awareness of particular needs. Streisand will be donating her $1 million award to four groups aimed at protecting the environment, promoting women’s health, combating disinformation in the media, and aiding the people of Ukraine, according to a press release from the Genesis Prize Foundation.

“I am delighted to be honored by

the special 10th Anniversary Genesis Prize and to work with The Genesis Prize Foundation to support organizations that seek to better society and our shared humanity,” Streisand said in a statement. “I am very proud of my Jewish heritage and have always been moved by the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, to repair the world. I hope to join and inspire others in their own commitment to build a better world.”

The ceremony honoring Streisand, which will be held for the first time in Los Angeles, marks another change for the prize.

Before this year, the prize had been awarded at a ceremony in Israel. In the past, it was presented in cooperation with the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, and in 2018, actor Natalie Portman, that year’s honoree, stirred controversy by declining to attend the ceremony in protest of “recent events” in Israel. The partnership with the prime minister ended in 2020.

The award seeks to honor “extraordinary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement, contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values,” according to the press release, and has generally gone to a celebrity who has worn their Jewish identity publicly. Many of its laureates have been involved in the arts — including actors Michael Douglas and Portman; sculptor Anish Kapoor; violinist Itzhak Perlman; and, in 2021, filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

Our client relationships are anything but transactional. We are long-term partners, dedicated to the success of our clients, and most importantly, their people.

As the Chief Executive Officer at the Peninsula Foodbank, she believes the Foodbank not only distributes food but is also the spokesperson for those who otherwise don’t have a voice.

“There are so many low income individuals who haven’t received any benefit from the recovering economy and those who because of their life circumstances need help every now and then. We are there to help ensure their voices are heard.”

“Since 2004, when I started with the Foodbank and got to know Payday Payroll, I have always felt that Payday has been involved and helped to build it’s business through positive support for others in the community, both non-profits and start up businesses. I particularly appreciate the generosity that Payday has shown to the nonprofits in our community.”

MEET: Karen

Joyner

is getting the

in

Community Shabbat celebrated at the Cavalier

Terri Denison

Bob Lehman loves orchestrating Shabbat dinners – of all sizes. His latest, held last month at the Cavalier Golf & Yacht Club, welcomed 78 guests for an evening of conversation, blessings, and a delicious meal that took place under a tent over the course of three hours.

A member of the Cavalier House Committee for two years, Lehman saw the club organize events around Easter and Christmas. “I suggested we should do something for the Jewish members of the Cavalier,” he recalls.

Bonnie Brand agreed and helped Lehman plan the evening, which was attended by members and guests of members – and not everyone was Jewish.

The menu for last month’s event offered Israeli-Mediterranean cuisine, along with Shabbat staples such as brisket. “We would like to do one with Sephardic food next – we always want to feature different fare,” says Lehman.

The prayers over the challah and the kiddush were led by Brand and Lehman.

With plans for another community Shabbat dinner in the fall, Lehman says it is open to everyone. . . non-members just must be on a member’s ticket. “We’ll be able to accomodate up to 150 people,” says Lehman.

To learn more or to attend a future Shabbat dinner, contact Bob Lehman for information, including the cost, at drbob@doc4kids.com.

Thank you to the generous Israel Fest sponsors!

Danny Miller, Debby Mandell, Laura Gross, Roseann Simon, Mona Flax, Vivian Turok, Lisa Barr, and Bob Lehman.

Norman and Nathan Goldin with Bob Lehman. Norman Goldin, Art Sandler, Farideh Goldin, and Bob Lehman.

IT’S A WRAP

Fifty years post Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, this group celebrates. . . again

Stephanie Adler Calliott

The year was 1959 and three young couples in Norfolk were about to add to their growing families. Who knew the women would deliver their babies on the same day at the same hospital, creating lifelong friendships for their newborns? It was the beginning of annual joint birthday celebrations for Matthew White, Steven Friedman, and me — Stephanie Adler Calliott.

Home movies and Kodak instamatic photos captured the years of December birthday dinners for the three families — and the annual “okay boys, give her a kiss on the cheek” routine. In the younger years, the boys would grab me for that smooch on my cheek; in the teenage years, Matthew and Steven would look at each other and negotiate: “You go first”. “No, you do it.” “No. You.” And I’d stand there, cool (and embarrassed) with those juvenile delinquents, until they got to it. Simpler times.

Fast forward to 1972/1973. We carried around our colorful Panasonic ball and chain AM radios when we weren’t listening to records in our room (when we should have been doing homework). We spent every Tuesday night (BBYO) and Sunday afternoon at the JCC on Newport Avenue. Tins of Charles Chips were delivered to homes and families went out for Chinese food on Sunday nights. Braces on our teeth and macrame belts around our hips were all the rage. We ate Carrol’s hamburgers and played in the street after supper. It was the time of our Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. Simpler times.

We bought our shoes at Hirschler’s and visited the monkey at Hofheimer’s. Mr. Tiner, at the Wards Corner Barbershop, cut everyone’s hair. Our parents were members of the Amity Social Club. The popular bands, Angus and Mad Wax, played Stairway to Heaven, Colour My World, and Jesus is Just Alright with Me at our parties. The Lafayette Yacht Club was alive and well. Simpler times.

As was the custom in those days, Matthew, Steven, and I had a joint Bar/ Bat Mitzvah party in Room 400 at the JCC. We had a dance contest and showed home movies from our annual birthday parties through the years. We received Cross pen and pencil sets. We ate popcorn and celebrated at Regino’s afterwards. Simpler times.

heard from me since we made fun of our Sunday school teacher together, but do you happen to have so and so’s email address?” We amassed a list of people from our childhood and sent out invitations to our

Colorado, Florida, New York, and South Carolina gathered in the Marty Einhorn Pavilion at the Simon Family JCC. The DJ played the hits from 1971 through 1974 (putting that playlist together was the best). There were scrapbooks of old bar mitzvah invitations and yarmulkes, souvenirs from BBYO days, and a lot of old photos. Gift bags of old-time candy made the evening even more nostalgic. I wore a crocheted granny square potholder vest with my Hebrew name necklace and the “Steph” bracelet I’d received when I turned 16. If only I’d had time to whip up a macrame belt. Simpler times.

It was a beautiful night for a 50th reunion of our childhood.

we turned 60, the three of us had lunch and talked about the many years we’d celebrated our childhood birthdays together. And then, an idea was born — wouldn’t it be fun to get everyone back together? We didn’t remember our haftorahs, but we DID remember our friends’ bar/bat mitzvah parties. They were fun. And we went to one almost every weekend. Simpler times.

A few years passed and when we turned 63, we still loved the idea. We would bring back a piece of those simpler times.

We searched address books, Facebook, and LinkedIn, and began asking people “do you know what ever happened to so and so?” We called people’s siblings, texted friends of siblings, and emailed friends of friends. “Hi. I know you haven’t

“Bar/Bat Mitzvah 50th Anniversary party.” We told people, “If you’re wildly rich, famous, and successful, just remember we knew you when (and we don’t care).” Simpler times.

We wondered, would anyone come?

Well, the reaction was positive and immediate. People were coming. They were changing their plans. Meadowbrook Terrace. Wards Corner. Riverpoint. Wexford Terrace. Sterling Point. Kempsville. They, too, wanted to take a trip back to simpler times.

And come they did.

On April 15, 2023, more than 100 people from across Virginia, California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Georgia,

Everyone wore name tags. So many people hadn’t seen each other since junior high school. We were beyond joyful. You could hear people exclaiming “Oh my gosh. You’re here!” “It’s really you!” “I can’t believe we’re together again.” “Remember the time we…?” People were hugging and laughing and snapping pictures. I loved watching all the mini reunions. We never gave out the trophies or held the traditional dance contest. People just reconnected. That’s why they’d come. We were together again. And we promised to stay in touch.

It was a wonderful reminder for each of us. Old friends are special. Simpler times are worth revisiting. It’s never too late to reconnect. Find the joy in your friendships and treasure them.

NADIV helps spruce up Strelitz Gardens

The men of NADIV, gathered behind Strelitz International Academy on Sunday, March 19 to weed, repair, and prepare the gardens for the children of the Early Childhood program. Alongside the Early Childhood teachers and NADIV families, the gardens were prepped for spring planting.

In addition to the existing boxes, tires were painted to allow for new garden beds and pallets were dug and placed near the gardens. The new additions and the gardens will be used to educate the children about the wonders and science of life and gardening.

“Thank you to everyone who came out to help!” says Elyssa Brinn of Strelitz International Academy’s Early Years director.

Matthew Weinstein: 2020 Kaufmann Award recipient

Sunday, June 4, Ohef Sholom Temple 10:30 am: Buffet Breakfast, 11 am: Ceremony, $10

The Henry B. Kaufmann Award is presented by Ohef Sholom Temple’s Men’s Club to a congregant who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the Temple and the community in a volunteer capacity. The award’s namesake, Henry B. Kaufmann, was an accountant by trade and extremely active in synagogue and community life. Matthew Weinstein is this year’s recipient, on the 40th anniversary of the first presentation.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Weinstein attended the University of Virginia. Upon graduation he started on a path that ultimately led to a successful career in hospital administration and corporate management. Thirty-five years ago, Weinstein, and his wife Giselle, settled in Virginia Beach. The couple has three adult children and six grandchildren.

A prolific volunteer, the list of organizations Weinstein has served could fill a book. A sampling of his Ohef Sholom activities include past member and past vice president of the board of directors, past co-chair of the adult education committee, past Men’s Club president (three times!), and past director of the Ohef Sholom Temple Foundation. Other committees he has served on include long range planning, personnel, finance and development, and a number of ad hocs. Weinstein helped organize several Mussar (Jewish spirituality) groups and continues to act as a Mussar facilitator.

On the community side, one of Weinstein’s proudest achievements, and an opportunity to put his knowledge of hospital administration to work, is his involvement with Beth Sholom Village as a past secretary and president. He is also the founder/board chairman/project coordinator of Faith Works Coalition, an all-volunteer organization comprised of religious outreach groups, businesses, and individuals. Their mission statement is “To eliminate poor living conditions by providing health and safety repairs for the elderly, disabled, and low-income homeowners in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.” Following his passion for music – he plays saxophone and piano– Weinstein is secretary, vice president, and a board member of Tidewater Winds. In fact, one of his original compositions was performed by The Winds at various venues in years past.

The Weinsteins are dedicated to assisting legal asylum seekers who have recently settled in the area by providing them food, shelter, vocational support, language training, and health care. For two years they sheltered a young mother and her two children who had been in an abusive situation until she was able to become independent financially, vocationally, and emotionally.

When he is not volunteering, or fixing something around the house, Weinstein can be found cooking for large family gatherings, playing piano or sax, working out, or on a tennis court or golf course where he claims to be a “club tennis player and very bad golfer.” This successful, compassionate, Renaissance man, with the quick wit and self-deprecating sense of humor, is a true mensch in every sense of the word. RSVP to reservations@ohefsholom.org.

Peabody award-winning producer of 60 Minutes to share behind-the-scenes insights

Wednesday, May 17, 12 pm, Sandler Family Campus, $12

Hunter Thomas

Ira Rosen, the acclaimed 60 Minutes producer and author of Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes, will be the featured speaker at a lunch-time event at the Simon Family JCC.

Rosen is a renowned journalist, producer, and author who has worked on some of the most significant stories in modern history. During his time at CBS News, he played an essential role in covering events such as the Gulf War, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the killing of Osama bin Laden.

His latest book, Ticking Clock, is an inside look at 60 Minutes, a staple of American television for more than 50 years. In the book, Rosen shares stories from his time working on the groundbreaking news program and offers insights into the personalities and events that have made at it such a beloved institution.

The event will offer a behind-thescenes look into American journalism and broadcast news and the personalities from behind television screens. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear Rosen speak about his experiences, ask questions, and get copies of his book signed.

Tickets are $12 ($6 for those 55 years old or older) and include lunch. Bundle tickets, including lunch and a copy of Ticking Clock, are available for

$27 through May 10.

For tickets or information about other upcoming events, visit JewishVA. org/BookFest, or contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at UJFT, at HThomas@UJFT.org.

This event is presented as part of the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, which is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.

Author of One Hundred Saturdays to tell story of Stella Levi and Jewish Rhodes

Tuesday, May 9, 12 pm, Zoom

Hunter Thomas

With nearly a century of her life behind her, Stella Levi never spoke in detail about her past. Then, one Saturday at her Greenwich Village apartment, she met Michael Frank.

The upcoming online event with Frank, author of One Hundred Saturdays: Stella Levi and the Search for a Lost World, promises to offer an insightful and thought-provoking discussion outlining six years’ worth of weekend meetings between Frank and Levi – uncovering the many layers of Levi’s life. The event is hosted by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC in partnership with UJFT’s Holocaust Commission.

Born and raised in the old Sephardic Jewish quarter of the island of Rhodes, Levi tells Frank what it felt like to come of age on an Italian island in the eastern Aegean. In July 1943, Nazi soldiers rounded up all 1,700-plus residents of the Jewish quarter – the Juderia – and sent them first by boat and then by train to Auschwitz on the longest journey experienced by any deportees during the Holocaust. Ninety percent of Rhode’s Jews were murdered upon arrival.

In the book, readers are treated to a rich tapestry of family history, cultural insights, and personal reflection.

During the virtual Zoom event, Frank will speak about the research process that went into creating One Hundred Saturdays. He will also discuss the challenges of delving into family history and the emotions that arose while writing. Attendees will be able to ask questions and engage in a dialogue with the author.

This program is free and open to the community. Registration is required in advance to receive the Zoom link. To register, visit JewishVA.org/BookFest, or contact Hunter Thomas, director of Arts + Ideas at UJFT, at HThomas@UJFT.org.

This event is presented as part of the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, which is held in coordination with the Jewish Book Council, the longest-running organization devoted exclusively to the support and celebration of Jewish literature.

SAVE THE

2023: Simon Family JCC Day Camp Employment

Looking for wonderful place to work? Try Camp JCC !

At Camp JCC, energetic and passionate staff provide a safe and positive learning environment for campers. Previous summer day camp work expe-rience and/or experience working with children helpful.

Excellent Career Experience for

College students, high school students (rising Juniors, Seniors) or graduates, or for those looking to work in recreation, education, or social work. All positions serve as role models for campers and each other.

Now Hiring… for the following positions:

Sr. Counselors (High School Graduates or 18 years old)

Junior Counselor (High School Rising Junior and 16 years old)

Specialists ( Activities: Sports, Music, Arts, etc.)

Special Needs Shadow Counselors •Administrative Assistant Camp Nurse ( RN or LPN)

Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience

For more information, contact:

Taftaleen Hunter, Human Resources Director

Applications available at www.simonfamilyjcc.org

Submit completed application to: resumes@ujft.org or by mail

UJFT/Simon Family JCC

Attention: Confidential: Human Resources

5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 • Virginia Beach, VA 23462

Staff Orientation: June 11-17; Camper/Counselor Meet & Greet: June 19

Last Blast Camp (Post Camp) August 14 - 25

Rose Blikshteyn

NORFOLK¬– We are saddened to announce the passing of Rose Blikshteyn, widow of Mikhail.

The graveside funeral took place at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The family received visitors following the funeral at the home of Anatoliy Korik.

May her memory endure as a blessing.

Leonard (Lenny) Laibstain

NORFOLK ¬– Leonard (Lenny) Laibstain, born December 29, 1924, passed away peacefully at 98 on April 26, 2023.

He was the son of David and Rebecca Laibstain (of blessed memory) and brother to Dr. Alter Laibstain (Dorothy), Dr. Herman Laibstain (Lenore), Eva Laibstain Wainger (Paul), Harry Laibstain (Helen), and Rosalind Laibstain Gamsey (Linwood).

Leonard was born and raised in the

Berkley section of Norfolk. He graduated from Maury High School and took some college courses at the Norfolk division of William and Mary (now ODU). He was a Mason of Norfolk Lodge #1 and a Shriner.

In 1939, at the age of 15, Leonard and his brother Harry started Virginia Furniture Company, where he worked until he was 95. After having heart surgery, he visited patients through national support group Mended Hearts for over 25 years. Leonard was kind, generous, and had a good sense of humor and was a friend to all. He loved to tell stories of events of his past, especially the time he worked as a young boy at Ocean View.

Surviving is his devoted and the love of his life wife, Carol. They had over 65 years together. With her they traveled extensively in the U.S. and Europe. They took more than 30 cruises and enjoyed going to plays and concerts.

He is survived by his children, Daniel (Jane) of N. Potomac, Md., Jeffrey (Bonnie) of Virginia Beach, and Patricia Laibstain (Kirsten Berol) of Baltimore, Md.; grandchildren, Blake, Raven, Sara (Reggie), and Marc whom he loved dearly. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins; sister-inlaw, Helen Laibstain; and brother-in-law, Linwood Gamsey.

A funeral service took plaec at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apts., Norfolk Chapel.

Donations to Beth El Temple or a favorite charity.

Gloria L. Simon

VIRGINIA BEACH —Gloria L. Simon passed away peacefully in an assisted living facility surrounded by her family on Saturday, April 22, 2023, after a sudden decline in health.

Gloria was born November 19, 1929 in Norfolk, Va. to the late Harry P. Flax and Dorothy Shapiro Flax and spent most of her life in Hampton Roads.

Gloria is predeceased by her husband of 67 years, Leo S. Simon of Virginia Beach who passed away in 2020; She is survived by her sons, Stephen C. Simon and wife, Carol of Bettendorf, Iowa; son, Paul S. Simon and wife, Lisa of Markham, Va.; grandchildren Stephen Michael Simon of Bettendorf, Iowa, Ashley Cerritelli and husband Steven of Denver, Col., Jennifer Simon of Bettendorf, Iowa, Justin Simon of Fairfax, Va., Emily Simon of Washington, D.C. and one great-grandchild, Samantha Simon.

Gloria graduated from Northampton High School in 1947 and then obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary in 1951. Her career included advertising, education, volunteerism, and homemaker.

A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk officiated by Rabbi Rosalin Mandelberg of Ohef Sholom Temple.

Funeral arrangements provided by HD Oliver Funeral Apts. The family requests donations to an animal rescue organization of your choice in Gloria Simon’s name. Online condolences may be made to the family at hdoliver.com.

Rachel Elizabeth Silver

NORFOLK – Rachel Elizabeth Silver, 59, died on April 28, 2023.

The beloved daughter of Paula Russel of Norfolk, sister to James Silver of Florida, and loyal friend to people across the country, Rachel and her booming spirit will be greatly missed. She was intelligent, talented, clever, and funny, and would be happy to tell you exactly that.

When Rachel wasn’t writing advertising copy for clients from Virginia to Florida, New York, Michigan, Ohio and beyond, she could be found throwing together an impromptu dinner party for 10, making eclectic mix tapes from her vast trove of music and knowledge, or holding forth on one of the countless topics about which she was both passionate and always right. Rachel championed many causes and supported others in so many ways. She had an encyclopedic memory and was liable to belt out the complete lyrics to any song, at any time. Rachel was a tenacious trivia partner, uninhibited dancer, fiercely loyal friend, and lifelong cat whisperer.

She was predeceased by her beloved step-father Tom Russel.

A celebration of Rachel’s life took place at Chevra T’hilim Synagouge/The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth. H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments.

Daniel Stern

BALTIMORE —Daniel Stern, of Baltimore, Maryland, a past president of the Seaboard Region of Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs and a past international officer, passed away on Monday, April 24, 2023, at the age of 83.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Sheila Stern (nee Aronowitz), children, Dr. Jamie Stern (Dr. Marc Adelsheimer), Dr. Robert Stern (Dr. Gillian Schweitzer), and Melissa (Tope) Lala, sister, Marlene Klein, and grandchildren, Hannah (John) Miller, Dr. Hayley Lala, Rachel Adelsheimer, Samantha Lala, Trevor Stern, Jacob Adelsheimer, Jessica Lala, and Talia Stern. He was predeceased by his parents, Aaron and Miriam Stern.

He had many dear friends in the Tidewater area.

Services took place at Sol Levinson’s

OBITUARIES

Chapel in Pikesville. Interment was in Mikro Kodesh Beth Israel Cemetery. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Beth Israel Congregation, 3706 Crondall Lane, Owings Mills, MD 21117.

Diane M. Zaba

NORFOLK – Diane M. Zaba of Norfolk, 73, died at her home on April 7, 2023, just over two months after her husband Joel N. Zaba.

Daughter of the late Nicholas G. Psaki, Jr. and Patricia E. Psaki, Diane graduated from Fayetteville Senior High School (N.C.) in 1967. She completed her B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971, and her J.D. at the Hastings College of the Law in Calif. in 1977. She practiced law in Hampton Roads beginning in 1978, focusing on real estate and pro bono work with children. She married Joel in 1988, and worked with him in the Learning Skills Company.

Diane had a passion for her family, dogs, and roses; she cherished her far-flung family and was central in its constellation of experience, memories, and quirky humor. For as long as she was able, she was involved in the Buddy Brigade, a local pet therapy program, taking generations of her therapy dogs to cheer and encourage hospital patients of all ages.

She loved travel, books, and films; she had an unforgettable laugh, great loving-kindness, and a strong sense of justice. An army brat, Diane delighted in traveling far afield; she and Joel visited France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Poland and Egypt, among many others. They made their Ghent house, where they lived for over 30 years, a vivid collage of places they visited, wonders they saw, and people they met.

Diane is survived by her siblings, Nicholas G. Psaki III, Denise M. Walker, F. Regina Psaki, and Alexandra Eleni Psaki, and their families; her stepmother, Cindy H. Psaki; nephews Nicholas G. Psaki IV and Gary P. Graham and niece Katherine A. Gemme, and their families; and a new generation of great-grand nieces and nephews. Her dear friends Dani Dorresteyn and Tricia Dage were chosen sisters, and Diane wouldn’t want us to forget her four beloved dogs.

Memorial contributions may be made

to the Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters. A memorial service will be forthcoming in the summer.

Chasia Bobrov Zoberman

HAIFA, ISRAEL –Bobrov Zoberman, 102 years old, died in Haifa, Israel on April 7.

The mother of Rabbi Israel

Zoberman, Chasia was a Holocaust survivor from Sarny, Ukraine (Poland) who became a refugee at age 17. Heroically managing to keep ahead of the fast-pursuing Nazis who murdered countless members of her extended family, she somehow made it to Siberia. There, she met and married Yechiel from Zamosc, Poland who served for five years in the Russian army, participating in the legendary battles outside Moscow and Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Chasia and Yechiel birthed Rabbi Israel Zoberman (Jennifer) in Chu, Kazakstan (USSR) in 1945, Ester Golan (Zeev) in the D.P. Wetzlar camp in 1947, and Emma Rimon (Menachem) in Haifa, Israel 1954.

Chasia was the youngest and last survivor of seven siblings born to Ester and Israel Bobrov from the Pinsk area in Belarus. Chasia, most kind and hospitable with saintly qualities, was a gifted mathematician and poet who shared her war’s experiences and the heavy family losses with Israeli high school students in Haifa. Yet, family and food above all! She left a legacy of love of six grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

She was a great Israeli patriot from a dedicated Jewish and Zionist home. Chasia’s grandmother, Rachel Leah, and Rachel Leah, the mother of Dr. Chaim Weitzmann, Israel’s first president, were first cousins.

Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People.

Ben Harris, Philissa Cramer (JTA) — Rabbi Harold Kushner, one of the most influential congregational rabbis of the 20th century whose works of popular theology reached millions of people outside the synagogue, has died.

Kushner, who turned 88 on April 3, died Friday, April 28 in Canton, Massachusetts, just miles from the synagogue where he had been rabbi laureate for more than three decades.

Kushner’s fairly conventional trajectory as a Conservative rabbi was altered shortly after arriving at Temple Israel of Natick when, on the day his daughter Ariel was born, his three-year-old son Aaron was diagnosed with a fatal premature aging condition, progeria.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People, published in 1981, represented Kushner’s attempt to make sense of

Aaron’s suffering and eventual death, just days after his 14th birthday. It was turned down by two publishers before being released by Schocken Books, a Jewish imprint.

In the book, Kushner labors to reconcile the twin Jewish beliefs in God’s omnipotence and his benevolence with the reality of human suffering. ”Can I, in good faith, continue to teach people that

Chris Sisler, Vice President, Member of Ohef Sholom Temple, Board member of the Berger-Goldrich Home at Beth Sholom Village, James E. Altmeyer, Jr., President, James E. Altmeyer, Sr., Owner

the world is good, and that a kind and loving God is responsible for what happens in it?” he writes.

Ultimately, he concludes that God’s ability is limited when it comes to controlling the hazards of life that result in tragedy on a widespread and smaller scale, such as the Holocaust and the death of a child.

It is a view that runs afoul of traditional Jewish teaching about God, and it earned Kushner critics among some Orthodox Jews and also drew rebuttals from other Jewish theologians. But it resonated widely for a long time and with many people, Jewish and non-Jewish, rocketing to the top of The New York Times’ best-seller list. More than 4 million copies have been sold in at least a dozen languages.

Other books followed, tackling topics equally as daunting: the meaning of life, talking to children about God, overcoming disappointment. To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking, published in 1993, became a go-to resource for people exploring Judaism, while Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Success, published in 1986, was another best-seller.

“I think that Rabbi Kushner was successful because he catered to everybody,” Carolyn Hessel, the director of the Jewish Book Council, said in 2017 when it revived the Lifetime Achievement Award to honor Kushner. “He reached everybody’s heart. It wasn’t just the Jewish heart. He reached the heart of every human being.”

Kushner was born in Brooklyn and educated in the New York City public schools. After his ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1960, he went to court to have his military exemption waived.

For two years he served as a military chaplain in Oklahoma before assuming his first pulpit, as an assistant rabbi at another Temple Israel, this one in Great Neck, New York.

Four years later he moved to Natick, where he remained even as he became a celebrity. In 1983, with his book a best-seller and demanding more of his time, Kushner cut back to parttime at the synagogue. Seven years later

he stepped down to devote himself fully to writing.

The congregation, believing their then-55-year-old rabbi too young to be named rabbi emeritus, made Kushner their rabbi laureate, a title held by only a handful of American spiritual leaders.

It would be one of a growing number of accolades: Kushner was honored by the Roman Catholic organization the Christophers as someone who made the world a better place, and the organization Religion in America named him clergyman of the year in 1999. In 2004 he read from the book of Isaiah at the state funeral of President Ronald

Jerry Springer, son of Jewish refugees whose eponymous talk show was known for conflict

Andrew Silow-Carroll (JTA) — Jerry Springer, the son of Jewish refugees who set aside a promising political career to become the ringleader of a circus-like syndicated talk show featuring feuding couples, angry exes and frequent fisticuffs, died Thursday, April 27 at his home in the Chicago area. He died of pancreatic cancer.

Over nearly 5,000 episodes beginning in 1991 and lasting until 2018,

outbreak of World War II. Twenty-seven other members of Springer’s family were killed in the Holocaust.

The family moved to the United States in 1949, settling in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of Queens in New York City. Springer’s first career after earning a law degree from Northwestern University was in politics. He worked on the 1968 presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy that ended with Kennedy’s assassination, then ran a failed campaign for U.S. Congress in 1970 before being elected to Cincinnati’s City Council in 1971.

In 1977, Springer was elected mayor of Cincinnati and, under a power-sharing arrangement between his Democratic Party and a third party, served a single one-year term — by most accounts responsibly and effectively.

After serving as mayor, he anchored the news for the NBC affiliate in Cincinnati for 10 years before making the leap to syndicated TV.

Reagan. He remained involved in the Conservative movement after leaving the pulpit, serving as a leader in the New England region of its rabbinical association and, with the novelist Chaim Potok, editing its 2001 Etz Hayim Torah commentary.

“My seminary training was all about Jewish answers. My congregational experience has been more in terms of Jewish questions,” Kushner told JTA in 2008. “I start with the anguish, the uncertainty, the lack of fulfillment I find in the lives of the very nice, decent people who are in this synagogue and who are my readers. And Judaism is the answer.”

He added, “How do I live a fulfilling life is the question. And Judaism is the answer.”

Kushner’s wife, Suzette, died in 2022, 45 years after their son Aaron. Kushner is survived by his daughter, Ariel Kushner Haber, and two grandchildren.

Springer transformed daytime television conventions with a program designed to encourage conflict among its guests. Where rivals like Oprah Winfrey and Phil Donahue were interviewing celebrities and tackling more serious issues, Springer would bring on everyday people and pit them against one another in shows about incest, adultery, and polyamory.

In an interview last year, he acknowledged the critics — including prominent British rabbis — who decried his version of “tabloid television” and said it had fueled divisions in society. “I just apologize,” he said. “I’m so sorry. What have I done? I’ve ruined the culture.”

Springer’s path to television notoriety was not preordained. He was born in a London tube station in 1944 during a German bombing raid to parents, Richard and Margot Springer, who were German-Jewish refugees from the Nazis. They escaped from what was then Prussia (now present-day Poland) and arrived in Britain in 1939 just before the

The Jerry Springer Show started with more high-minded intentions before, as ratings dipped, he embraced the sensational. The television series was produced and aired by NBCUniversal and CW, and earned Springer a fortune: In 2000, Broadcasting & Cable reported, Springer was given a five-year, $30 million contract extension paying him $6 million per year.

The show’s high ratings and queasy critical reception (“family values” groups such as the Parents Television Council and the American Family Association called for boycotts) also obscured his own sober and tragic Jewish family story.

In 2008, Springer investigated his relatives’ fates on the BBC1 program Who Do You Think You Are? He broke down in tears at the train station where his maternal grandmother was sent to her death in the Chelmno extermination camp.

In 2015, Springer visited London to support a British Holocaust refugee project preserving the archive of what was originally known as the Central British Fund for German Jewry and later World Jewish Relief. The group helped tens of thousands of European Jews escape the Nazis to Britain in the 1930s and 1940s — including thousands of children as part of the Kindertransport and

May the source of peace send peace to all who mourn, and comfort to all who are bereaved.

OBITUARIES

Springer’s parents.

“I was deeply touched when I received the records of my parents’ immigration,” Springer said. “These papers are a piece of my family history which I will treasure forever.”

After his talk show went off the air in 2018, he attempted a comeback with a courtroom show, Judge Jerry. It ran for three seasons. His last TV appearance came last season on The Masked Singer, where he performed as “The Beetle,” singing a Frank Sinatra tune.

In 2018, an off-Broadway version of the musical Jerry Springer: The Opera, opened in New York. Originally staged in London 15 years earlier, it featured songs celebrating the Springer ethos: “Fat people fighting / Open crotch sighting / Pimps in bad suits / Mothers who are prostitutes.” Nevertheless, a reviewer said the musical was “surprisingly free of the sometimes savage cruelty that distinguished the [talk] show from its wimpy competitors.”

In 2009, Springer joined the cast

of the Broadway revival of the musical Chicago, playing the part of a slick lawyer whose adulterous client is facing charges in a tawdry murder case.

In a 2004 interview with the public radio program This American Life, Springer put his tumultuous career in perspective.

“Well, we certainly made a difference in television. I’m not sure people are happy about it,” he told Alex Blumberg. “I try not to think about it too much. Life is what it is. And you take what’s handed and you work as hard as you can and, hopefully, you’ll be successful. But I just don’t spend too much time worrying about that. I do my show. I’ve always said it’s a stupid show. I’ve had a wonderful life because of it and all that, but I’ve never, for a second, thought that it’s important. It’s trivial. It’s chewing gum, and I recognize that.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter, his survivors include his wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and sister.

CALENDAR MAY 9, TUESDAY

One Hundred Saturdays: In Search for a Lost World with Michael Frank. Online—watch from home. One Hundred Saturdays tells the remarkable story of 99-year-old Stella Levi, the vibrant world of Jewish Rhodes, the deportation to Auschwitz that extinguished 90 percent of her community, and the resilience and wisdom of the woman who lived to tell the tale. 12 pm. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, in partnership with UJFT’s Holocaust Commission. Online, free, and open to the community. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/BookFest or contact Hunter Thomas at HThomas@UJFT.org.

May 13, SATURDAY

Steeple to Steeple– a multi-block walking tour of eight churches and one synagogue, Chevra T’helim, which houses The Jewish Museum and Cultural Center. 9 am - 3 pm Tickets, which include lunch at St. John’s are $22 in advance and $25 at the gate on 206 High Street. Proceeds will go to EDMARC Hospice for Children. Only 100 tickets are available at www.stjohnsportsmouth.org.

MAY 15, MONDAY

The JCC Book Club discusses The Postmistress of Paris by Meg Waite Clayton. This active book club was established in 2008. More than 190 books, poems, and short stories later, it is still going strong. The club meets on the third Monday of each month, 1:30-3:00 pm, both in-person and on Zoom. For more information, visit JewishVA.org/Seniors or contact Sherry Lieberman at joeann124@aol.com.

MAY 17, WEDNESDAY

Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes with Ira Rosen. Writer and producer Ira Rosen reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show. His story is a 60 Minutes story on 60 Minutes itself. When producer Ira Rosen walked into the 60 Minutes offices in June 1980, he knew he was about to enter television history. His career catapulted him to the heights of TV journalism, breaking some of the most important stories in TV news. Presented by the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival, 12 pm. $12 admission, $6 ages 55+, (lunch included). $27 for lunch and signed book. Special pricing for lunch and book ends May 10. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/BookFest or contact HunterThomas at HThomas@UJFT.org.

MAY 20, SATURDAY

Kids Night Out at the Simon Family JCC. Need a date night? Kids Night Out is the answer! Drop children off at the Simon Family JCC from 6 to 10 pm to enjoy a night filled with games, crafts, snacks, and swimming*! Children four years old to 12 years old may attend. $25 per child; $20 for each additional child (max of $65 per household). Simon Family JCC patrons with a family membership pay a discounted rate. Register by 4 pm Friday, May 19, by visiting JewishVA. org/KNO-FF. Space is limited.

*For those that can swim without a floatation device. Lifeguard supervised.

May 25, THURSDAY

Monthly Moon Circle. The Konikoff Center for Learning of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater hosts a tradition that spans thousands of years: a monthly holiday known as Rosh Chodesh, meaning “head of the month.” Breathing new life into one of Judaism’s best-kept secrets, come together for self-reflection and rituals to help connect with this ancient legacy, learn from Jewish wisdom, and embrace the unique spiritual energy of each month. 6:45 pm. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/KCL or contact Sierra Lautman at SLautman@UJFT.org.

JUNE 6, TUESDAY

The Postmistress of Paris with Meg Waite Clayton. Online – Watch from Home. This haunting novel revisits the dark early days of the German occupation of France, both a love story and a tale of high-stakes danger and incomparable courage. A young American heiress from Chicago helps artists hunted by the Nazis escape from war-torn Europe. Presented by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC’s Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival in partnership with UJFT’s Holocaust Commission. 12 pm. Online, free, and open to the community, registration is required. For more information and to register, visit JewishVA.org/ BookFest or contact Hunter Thomas at HThomas@UJFT.org.

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