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(JTA) — American Airlines announced earlier this month it would not be resuming flights to Israel until September 2025, extending an existing pause by an additional six months and potentially sparking a cascade of other airline delays in resuming regular Israel service.
The move makes American Airlines the first United States-based carrier to push back flights to Israel until at least the second half of 2025, amid a swath of cancellations affecting most non-Israeli airlines. It means that American flights could be suspended through next year’s High Holiday season and Sukkot, a popular time for Israel travel.
Delta and its partner airlines currently have pauses on Israel flights through March, while United Airlines has not set a return date yet for its own Israel flights.
Many carriers suspended flights to Israel following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and have delayed their return to the region citing renewed security concerns including the expansion of regional conflict into Lebanon and Iran. Others resumed flights after Oct. 7 but suspended them amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, which has included multiple missile barrages from Iran.
The scarcity of flights and their frequent interruptions have made traveling to and from Israel an expensive, often madcap process. To manage costs, many travelers are opting to fly first to a European city that has budget service before connecting to their final destination — although several budget European airlines, including EasyJet and Ryanair, have also suspended service to Israel through at least spring 2025.
The Israeli carrier El Al is currently the only airline offering direct flights between the United States and Israel. El Al’s effective monopoly on the service since Oct. 7 resulted in an investigation over price gouging and a change in policy that locked in flight rates to and from some European cities.
In a statement, a spokesperson for American Airlines told the Jewish News Syndicate that customers who had already bought flights could get a full refund or exchange them for another airline.
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December 2
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Iran has executed a 20-year-old Jewish man who killed a man in a 2022 fight after the victim’s family refused to negotiate an alternative punishment.
Arvin Ghahremani had been scheduled to be executed in May but received a stay after Jewish and human rights groups around the world called attention to his case.
Ghahremani was arrested more than two years ago on charges that he had killed a man with whom he had a financial dispute. In a report published in Mizan Online, an Iranian news agency, the prosecutor for the city of Kermanshah, where Ghahremani lived, offered details about the killing, saying that the victim had been stabbed five times, including in his back and neck.
The prosecutor said Ghahremani had confessed to the crime and that the execution had been carried out in compliance with Iranian law after the victim’s family had twice declined referrals to the Dispute Resolution Council, a government body through which citizens can negotiate disputes outside of the formal justice system.
Iran’s penal code is based in part on Islamic Sharia law, which requires qisas, or retaliation in kind, for certain crimes but allows blood money to the family of the deceased as an acceptable recompense in cases of manslaughter. But according to statements spread on Telegram in May by Iranian Jewish leaders, the victim’s family repeatedly refused offers of payment, known as diyat, and attempts by the community to mediate the issue with Islamic leaders were unsuccessful.
The May statement noted that the Jewish community had offered to fund a school or mosque named after the deceased, but the offer was not accepted.
The nonprofit Iran Human Rights, which operates out of Norway, said Ghahremani had been hanged at Kermanshah’s central prison. The group tied Ghahremani’s execution to Iran’s explosive conflict with Israel, which has included a recent volley of strikes and a report that Iranian leaders are readying a “strong and complex” attack in response to Israel’s recent bombing of Iranian military facilities.
The group’s director, Mahmood Amiri-Moghadam, said in a statement, “Like many of those sentenced to qisas, Arvin’s case and the judicial process had significant flaws. However, in addition to this, Arvin was a Jew, and the institutionalized antisemitism in the Islamic Republic undoubtedly played a crucial role in the implementation of his sentence.”
Ghahremani was among the estimated 8,500 Jews who still live in Iran, following an exodus of most of Iran’s once-major Jewish population after the 1979 revolution that put Islamic leaders in charge.
While Iranian Jews must be cautious about their contact with the Persian Jewish diaspora, the Kermanshah Jewish community drew attention to Ghahremani’s case by circulating messages on WhatsApp. Many used his Hebrew name, Arvin Netanel Ben Siona. One included
a desperate voice note from his mother. “I am asking everyone to help pray,” Sonia Saadati said in a tear-filled message in Farsi. (JTA)
Argentina’s Javier Milei selects Jewish ambassador to replace foreign minister
AJewish veterinarian from an influential business dynasty has been named Argentina’s foreign minister at a time when President Javier Milei has prioritized ties with the United States and Israel.
Gerardo Werthein replaced Diana Mondino, whom Milei fired after Argentina voted in the United Nations to condemn the U.S. embargo on Cuba. The United States and Israel — which Milei, elected last year, has defined as Argentina’s main allies, in a shift for Argentina — were the only two votes opposing the non-binding resolution.
Werthein had been Milei’s ambassador to the United States, one of two Jewish ambassadors that the selfdescribed “anarcho-capitalist” has appointed. The other is Axel Wahnish, an Orthodox rabbi who represents Argentina in Israel.
Werthein will lead a “transformation in our country’s foreign policy,” according to a statement from Milei’s office.
A main component of that transformation has been Argentina’s relationship to Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Milei’s predecessor was a sharp critic of Israel, as are his counterparts across Latin America. The leaders of neighboring Brazil and Chile have condemned Israel for its military response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack, as has Colombia’s Gustavo Petro. Milei, in contrast, has offered full-throated support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and visited Israel in February on his first international trip as president.
The realignment has included defining Hamas as a terrorist group for the first time, as well as formally naming the terror group Hezbollah as culpable for two deadly attacks on Jewish targets in Buenos Aires in the 1990s.
Werthein, whose only direct diplomatic experience includes his short stint as ambassador, is expected to draw on his years in international sports collaboration and his role in the family business.
That business started in 1904 when an ancestor, an immigrant from Bessarabia in what was then Russia, founded a country store in the agricultural La Pampa province called “The Hebrew.” Today, the Werthein Group has interests in agriculture and livestock, retail, telecommunications, real estate, financial services, wineries, and energy. Gerardo Werthein left the company in 2019.
Werthein has competed as an equestrian and was president of the Argentine Olympic Committee from 2009 to 2021, during which Buenos Aires was chosen to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. He is also a member of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Services.
He traveled to New York with Milei a year ago to visit the gravesite of the Lubavitcher Rebbe in Queens, one of several demonstrations of Jewish affinity that the
Catholic-born Milei, an avowed philosemite, made before and after his election.
The U.S. ambassador to Argentina, Marc Stanley, is also Jewish and active in the local Jewish community in Buenos Aires. (JTA)
Chicago school board president resigns amid backlash over antisemitic social media posts
The president of Chicago’s public school board resigned Oct. 31 after only a week on the job following two days of backlash over his antisemitic social media posts.
Rev. Mitchell Ikenna Johnson had defied calls to resign just a day before, even as a growing share of the city council and Illinois’ Jewish Democratic governor J.B. Pritzker called for him to do so. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (no relation) had initially expressed support for Johnson before announcing that the president had left at his own request.
The mayor called Johnson’s posts “not only hurtful but deeply disturbing.”
Johnson’s posts included referring to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel as “resistance against oppression.” He also wrote, “The Nazi Germans’ ideology has been adopted by the Zionist Jews,” and accused pro-Israel Jews of joining “with the alt-right community.”
“I want to be clear: antisemitic, misogynistic, and conspiratorial statements are unacceptable,” Mayor Johnson said in his statement, adding that the board president “would hinder the important work we need to accomplish for our schools” if he remained in his role.
Mitchell Ikenna Johnson, who was picked to help replace the board after all its members resigned last month over anger with the mayor, previously had a track record of collaboration with Jewish community groups. He spoke out against antisemitism after the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting and has attended events held by Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. As recently as 2020 he had continued to post positive comments about Jews. But his trajectory appeared to have shifted after Oct. 7.
Johnson apologized to “the Jewish community” for his posts, calling them “clearly reactive and insensitive.” He added that in the last few months, “I have asked for and received feedback from my Jewish friends and colleagues who helped me be more thoughtful as I addressed these sensitive matters.”
Groups celebrating Johnson’s resignation included the American Jewish Committee; the Jewish United Fund, Chicago’s local federation; and the regional office of the Anti-Defamation League.
The controversy came as the city was reeling from the shooting of an Orthodox Jewish man on his way to synagogue on the city’s north side. Local Jewish leaders had accused Mayor Johnson of downplaying the victim’s Jewish identity in his public comments condemning the shooting. (JTA)
Asaf Elia-Shalev (JTA) — California voters did what was widely expected and elected Rep. Adam Schiff, a Jewish Democrat, in the senate race to replace the late Dianne Feinstein, another Jewish Democrat, who died while in office last year after serving in the role for more than 30 years.
Schiff, who currently represents parts of greater Los Angeles in the U.S. House of Representatives, defeated Steve Garvey, a former star baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had hoped to beat the odds and become the first Republican to be elected to a statewide office in California in 18 years.
Schiff’s victory elevates a lawmaker who largely fits the typical mold of a Jewish Democrat with his pro-Israel politics and an endorsement from the political action committee affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. Considered a hawk on national security issues, he made his name the same way Feinstein did — serving on a congressional intelligence committee.
major nemesis, including by coining for him a nickname which strikes many as antisemitic: “Shifty Schiff.” Trump used the moniker as recently as Monday, Nov. 4 while vilifying him at a rally in Pittsburgh for his own presidential campaign.
“Adam Shifty Schiff is one of the truly unattractive people,” Trump said. “I call him, ‘watermelon head.’ He’s got the largest head and the smallest neck. He’s not a stupid person but he’s an evil kind of person. He’s likely going to be a senator, unfortunately. This scum is going to be a senator.”
Previously, Trump has called Schiff an “enemy from within” and threatened to jail him once in power. He has made similar threats against other members of the congressional committee that investigated the Jan. 6 riots. With Schiff’s victory, California will be represented by two men in the Senate, the other being Alex Padilla, after many years in which the state counted at least one woman senator.
In remembrance of local veterans who have passed in the last year: The Tidewater Jewish community honors all those who have served
Benjamin C. Altschul US Army
Richard Jerrold (Dicky) Flax US Army
Gerald Coleman Jaffe US Army
Harvey Theodore Pizor US Navy
David J. Weinstein US Navy
The person appointed to serve out Feinstein’s term, Sen. Laphonza Butler, did not run herself.
Schiff became one of the most prominent politicians in the country by confronting Donald Trump during the former president’s impeachments, over which Schiff helped preside, and by formally investigating the attempted overthrow of the 2020 election by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump in turn has treated Schiff as a
Because Schiff was so heavily favored to win, the Los Angeles Times described the race as “sleepy, bordering on dull.” Schiff spent considerable time stumping for the presidential candidacy of Kamala Harris and raised significant funds for Democrats in various battleground races.
Garvey, who ran a largely low-key campaign, traveled to Israel over the summer to signal his stance on an issue that has assumed increased prominence as a result of the ongoing war initiated on Oct. 7, 2023, when the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel.
Sidney Morton Cohen US Air Force
Morton Joseph Glasser US Coast Guard Hugh Janes US Army Reserve
Dr. Ronald Jay Portman US Army
Samuel G. Werbel US Navy
Updated as of October 7, 2024
Support the Jewish War Veterans Monument at the Sandler Family Campus and honor a veteran by purchasing a monument paver in their name.
For more information, contact Ann Swindell aswindell@tjfva.org | 757-965-6106 foundation.jewishva.org
Ron Kampeas, Ben Sales (JTA) — WASHINGTON — As midnight arrived on the East Coast, it appeared increasingly likely that Donald Trump would retake the presidency — a victory that would reshape the United States and that could change its relationship with Israel while ushering in an administration whose domestic priorities do not match those of most American Jews.
That victory was confirmed early Wednesday morning when news agencies called Wisconsin for Trump, confirming that he had passed the 270 electoral vote threshold needed to win.
The tally made clear that Trump had successfully convinced a majority of voters to return him to the White House after a four-year hiatus that included an
attempted insurrection by his supporters; felony convictions; and allegations of authoritarianism by officials who worked with him.
For many Jews, Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel — which launched a multifront war and sparked a global surge in antisemitism — has shaped the campaign. The war split the Democratic Party, whose progressive wing pushed Harris to temper her support for Israel, and each campaign accused the other of being antisemitic, anti-Israel and fascist.
Trump centered his pitch to Jewish voters on his support for Israel. He pointed to his record as president, when he fulfilled a long list of Israeli government priorities — from moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem to brokering normalization
deals between Israel and several Arab countries.
He also promised to crack down on anti-Israel campus protests, which some Jewish students have said create an antisemitic atmosphere. Trump has said he will defund universities that do not adequately protect Jewish students and will deport foreign students who participate in the unrest.
He has encouraged Israel to achieve its goals in the war. But has also called for a quick end to the war in Gaza, which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far resisted. He has also suggested repeatedly that Israel’s survival depends on his election, but has campaigned with and praised harsh critics of the country who endorsed him.
And he disquieted many Jews, including some of his supporters, when he said they would be partly to blame if he lost. While he made efforts to secure a historically large share of the Jewish vote, early exit polls suggested that the vast majority of Jews voted for Harris — turned off by Trump’s character as well as his domestic policies.
In the longer-term Trump — through his associations with isolationists like his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, and Tucker Carlson, the talk show host who recently interviewed a Holocaust denier and has become an informal adviser to Trump — appears to favor a retreat from the traditionally robust American role on the world stage.
More broadly, Trump ran a campaign promising both a restoration and an acceleration of his first administration, from 2017 to 2021, and outside groups and think tanks comprised of veterans of his presidency have proposed a massive expansion of his executive powers. He plans mass deportations of immigrants and social policies that would favor Christian influence in government. He has also vowed “retribution” against his opponents, whom he has discussed jailing, and has spoken repeatedly of “the enemy within” the country.
Polls before and on Election Day showed that most Jews opposed Trump. The majority of American Jews also do not align with his key policies, from ending federal protections for abortion to his draconian pledges on immigration.
An exception was the Orthodox community, which has shown support for Trump in large numbers. Trump acknowledged that affection during the campaign in a visit to the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the Chabad Hasidic movement.
Jewish voters across the board were bombarded by campaign materials about Israel, with the discourse especially tense in Michigan, which also has a large ArabAmerican population.
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(JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fi red his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, saying he no longer trusted him, a drastic step while Israel is fighting on multiple fronts, faces domestic political turmoil, and is contending with regional and global
material from a Netanyahu aide, in which the prime minister’s office has denied participating in any leak and suggested that the probe was “arbitrary.”
Gallant’s fi ring was announced on Election Day in the United States, whose result will determine the next four years of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Gallant was one of the most trusted Israeli government officials in Washington.
The decision — the second time in as many years that Netanyahu has announced Gallant’s termination — comes as Iran is threatening to strike Israel in response to a previous round of bombing. It also comes amid a growing investigation into leaks of classified
In a statement Netanyahu delivered as a video message in Hebrew, he said he could no longer work with Gallant due to irreconcilable differences over the war.
“In the midst of war, more than ever, complete trust is required between the Prime Minister and the Defense Minister,” the statement said. “Unfortunately, even though such trust was present during the fi rst months of the military campaign, and we had a very productive cooperation, during the past several months this trust between myself and the Defense
Minister has begun to crack. Defense Minister Gallant and I had substantial disagreements on the management of the military campaign, disagreements which were accompanied by public statements and actions that contravened the decisions of the Government and the Security Cabinet.”
He continued, “I have made multiple attempts to resolve these disagreements, but they became increasingly wider. They were also brought to the knowledge of the public in an inappropriate manner, and what is even worse, they have reached the knowledge of the enemy; our enemies have taken great delight in these disagreements and have derived much benefit from them.”
Netanyahu did not detail those disagreements, but Gallant differed publicly with Netanyahu on a number of issues, including U.S.-Israel relations, the need for a detailed postwar plan in Gaza, and Netanyahu’s efforts to preserve haredi Orthodox men’s exemption from the military draft.
Biden feels “18 of the 19 people who work for Netanyahu are liars.” He did not specify who the 19th person was, though Gallant has been in almost daily contact with Lloyd Austin, the U.S. defense secretary.
That relationship is especially sensitive at this moment, when Iran is threatening to counterattack Israel for its retaliatory strikes last month on Iranian military bases. Netanyahu, at Biden’s
request, had held back from striking Iranian oil and nuclear sites.
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Netanyahu said he was replacing Gallant with the current foreign minister, Israel Katz. Gideon Saar, a politician who has vacillated between being Netanyahu’s ally and rival, will become the new foreign minister.
Protesters took to the streets almost as soon as Netanyahu made the announcement. Netanyahu last tried to fire Gallant in March of 2023, when the defense minister publicly voiced opposition to the government’s effort to weaken the judiciary. Protests forced Netanyahu to reverse that decision.
Gallant is the minister most trusted by the Biden administration as it has become increasingly frustrated with Netanyahu and his conduct of the war in Gaza. Veteran investigative journalist Bob Woodward said that recently that
Netanyahu’s firing of Gallant came just minutes after he released a statement saying that there had been a “flood of criminal leaks” from the Security Cabinet, the Israeli government’s top decision-making body on matters of war, while complaining that police were selectively investigating his office.
That investigation, which has dominated Israeli headlines, centers on a staffer in the Prime Minister’s Office named Eliezer Feldstein, who is suspected of working with people in the security establishment to leak and alter top-secret documents obtained from Hamas. The leaks of purported information, which were published in Bild, a German publication, and in the London-based Jewish Chronicle, reinforced Netanyahu’s claims at a time when he was reportedly obstructing progress toward a ceasefire deal with Hamas that would have seen the group release Israeli hostages.
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(JTA) — The first rule of exit polls is to be careful about interpreting early exit polls, which aren’t always accurate.
The second rule is that, for now at least, they represent the best information we have about the question occupying Jews of all political persuasions: How many Jews voted for Donald Trump? And how many voted for Kamala Harris?
In recent decades, between 20% and 30% of American Jews have supported Republicans in national elections. The GOP hit a high-water mark in 1980, when Ronald Reagan won some 40% of Jewish votes, but the more typical split makes Jews among the most reliably Democratic demographics in the United States.
But this year, with some Jews feeling alienated from the left and others all-in on the right due to Israel, some speculated that Trump could post an unusually strong showing among Jewish voters.
Initial polls suggest that was not the case, at least in the aggregate. The National Election Pool, which produces an exit poll for a consortium of major news organizations, found that 79% of Jews said they voted Democratic, compared to 21% who voted Republican.
A second major analysis, for Fox News by a nonpartisan polling firm using data from the Associated Press, found lower but still substantial support for Harris. It concluded that 66% of Jews voted for her.
Edison Research, which conducts the national pool poll, surveyed voters in 10 states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Wisconsin. It did not survey voters in New York or California, which are home to the largest Jewish populations and reliably vote Democratic by wide margins.
It did not immediately release
details about how many voters were surveyed and cautioned that the results could change as polling continued and results were adjusted to reflect the real vote tallies, a process called weighting that is a standard component of survey methodology.
If accurate, the National Election Pool’s result would be the lowest proportion of Jewish votes for a Republican presidential candidate in 24 years.
But that’s a big if: Exit polls are notoriously unreliable, with famous examples of polls failing to reflect the real results of elections.
Some have shifted in methodology as the proportion of voters casting ballots in person on Election Day has fallen over time. And like all polls, they can also reflect the partisan bent of their pollsters.
Fox News, which is right-leaning but has a reputation for reliable polling, conducted its own Election Day “voter analysis” that it said solved for some of the problems in traditional exit polling. It found that 66% of Jews voted for Harris, compared to 31% for Trump. The poll still found that Jews voted for Harris at higher rates than members of any other religion.
The Fox News analysis, which was conducted by the nonpartisan firm NORC using data collected by the Associated Press, covered more states and broke down the results by state, enabling an analysis of the Jewish vote by state. It found that 55% of Jews in New York and 56% of Jews in Florida voted for Harris, likely reflecting the impact of the states’ significant Orthodox populations.
In contrast, the poll found that 76% of Jews in California voted for Harris. The number of Jews in most states was too small to allow for state-level reporting.
IN CONVERSATION WITH VIRGINIA BEACH CITY COUNCILMAN JOASH SCHULMAN
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18
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“Diplomacy has long been the backbone of U.S. foreign policy, and among its most skilled practitioners is Stuart Eizenstat... [He] recognizes that diplomacy is not the pursuit of perfection but the balancing of risk.
— Hillary Clinton, Former U.S. Secretary of State
“Eizenstat masterfully transports readers into the rooms where diplomacy happens... It is a real, unflinching, and even heroic look at what diplomats do and what can be achieved through dialogue.”
— Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States
“[Eizenstat] offers a detailed account of U.S. contributions to key diplomatic developments in different regions around the world, and especially the Middle East, understanding the powerful influence America has and its ability to manage the international order and protect its allies.”
— Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel (2006-2009)
“When the time comes for resuming the Middle East peace process, diplomats should carefully study The Art of Diplomacy. Otherwise, they might overlook the best practices that have worked before or, worse, be doomed to repeat past errors.”
— Joel Singer, key negotiator of the 1993 Olso Accords
Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat held high positions under both Republicans and Democrats in the White House and the Treasury, State, and Commerce Departments during forty-plus years of public service. To learn more, visit JewishVA.org/Eizenstat.
Ron Kampeas (JTA) — Josh Stein, North Carolina’s Democratic attorney general, is projected to become the state’s fi rst Jewish governor after defeating Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate who once called himself a “Black NAZI.”
The race was closely watched both because of Robinson’s inflammatory comments denigrating Jews, LGBTQ people, and others, and because North Carolina is one of seven swing states that could determine the campaign for president.
Stein, 58, is a centrist Democrat who is the son of a prominent civil rights lawyer. He previously worked as a high school teacher and state senator, as well as in the state Justice Department.
“Tonight, the people of North Carolina resoundingly embraced a vision that’s optimistic, forward-looking and welcoming, a vision that’s about creating opportunity for
every North Carolinian,” Stein said in his victory speech on Tuesday, Nov. 5. “We chose hope over hate, competence over chaos, decency over division.”
The governor-elect is active in Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, a Reform synagogue, and has invoked his Judaism publicly. He once coached a kids’ JCC soccer team.
“Our Jewish faith obliges us to do our part to make the world a better place, better than we found it,” he tweeted to mark Rosh Hashanah in 2022. “This principle guides me as your attorney general.”
Stein’s margin of 54% to 42% over Robinson at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time was much wider than the presidential vote in this battleground state, where Vice President Kamala Harris was neck and neck with former President Donald Trump. Democrats hoped that Stein’s success would buoy Harris to victory there, after Joe Biden lost the state to Trump by a narrow margin in 2020, but it didn’t happen.
Roy Cooper, the state’s term-limited Democratic
governor, tapped Stein to succeed him. Robinson was boosted by Trump’s endorsement.
For the state’s Jewish Democrats, the joy of seeing Stein win may be overshadowed only by the relief of seeing Robinson lose. A newcomer to politics before he won the lieutenant governor’s race in 2020, Robinson has a history of offensive posts, including on adult websites, that emerged in a litany of revelations over the last year.
In one post, he wrote that Black Panther, the blockbuster Marvel movie, was “created by an agnostic Jew and put to film by satanic marxist” and that it was “only created to pull the shekels out of your Schvartze pockets.”
And besides calling himself a “Nazi,” Robinson has written dismissively about Nazis, posting on Facebook in 2017, “I am so sick of seeing and hearing people STILL talk about Nazis and Hitler and how evil and manipulative they were. NEWS FLASH PEOPLE, THE NAZIS (National Socialist) ARE GONE! We did away with them.”
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Boy meets girl. They court, fall in love, and get married. Together, they’re active in the community and passionate about giving back. As a couple, they support various causes, donate to multiple charities, and offer their time and talents to make a difference. Yet, despite their generosity, they find themselves wondering if their giving
attending community events, supporting current-event causes, and much more.
Naomi Limor Sedek, TJF president and CEO, says, “Philanthropy is deeply personal, and each family’s journey is unique. Our goal is to help families create a giving legacy that reflects their values and has a lasting impact on both their family and our community.”
could have a more significant impact — if there’s a way to bring more strategy and purpose to their charitable efforts.
This is where Tidewater Jewish Foundation steps in. Through their tailored philanthropy planning services, TJF helps families such as this couple take their charitable giving to the next level. By focusing on a comprehensive, three-step approach, TJF assists families in uncovering their philanthropic values, developing a clear plan, and staying engaged to ensure long-term success and meaningful impact.
TJF begins by exploring the unique values and motivations that drive each family member’s charitable giving. By engaging in a “philanthropic audit,” families can reflect on their core beliefs and preferences. TJF takes a broad view of philanthropy, recognizing that modern giving involves more than just financial donations — it includes volunteering,
Once family values are identified, TJF develops a detailed philanthropy plan which outlines the culture and values the family wants to establish, strategies for fostering strong family connections, and recommendations for integrating the giving plan with estate planning. TJF also provides systems for measuring the effectiveness of the family’s charitable efforts, ensuring that the plan remains impactful over time.
TJF believes in the concept of “The Journey,” recognizing that philanthropy can begin at any stage of life — whether at birth, during a bar or bat mitzvah, or at any milestone along the way. This journey represents a lifelong commitment to giving back and ensuring that the legacies of our ancestors live on.
“The Journey of philanthropy is not bound by time,” says Sedek. “Every step taken—whether big or small—creates ripples of impact that will benefit generations to come. We are here to
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To ensure long-term success, TJF emphasizes the importance of regular communication and engagement. TJF works closely with families to schedule check-ins, providing resources, online tools, and expert guidance. This ongoing support helps families stay aligned with their giving goals, continuing their journey of philanthropy as their values and priorities evolve.
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To schedule an appointment with TJF’s team for a legacy conversation, contact Naomi Limor Sedek at nsedek@tjfva.org or 757-965-6109.
Accountant Melvin R Green
endowed a scholarship at the Hampton Roads Community Foundation His goal? To give future students opportunities he never had Today, years after his passing, Green’s gift continues to support students
Jewish Family Service helps local Jewish families of all ages, including elderly people and their grandchildren.
Here is one such story:
A grandmother comes to JFS for help with her electric bill, and JFS provides the funds to keep her power bill current. As she shares her concerns, she reveals that her daughter is recently a single parent and that she and her granddaughter are also financially struggling and that she does not have any funds to help them. As she talks with the JFS case manager, it is suggested that she give JFS a wish list to help her eight-year-old granddaughter with things she needs, and she wants. The grandmother did not know what to expect.
In advance of Hanukkah in 2023, several generous donors brought in bags filled with new clothing, toys, Barbie Dolls, games, craft sets, and even a new winter coat and boots. She wrote the following thank you note: “To All who gave for my granddaughter, this was her best Hanukkah above and beyond her wishes. It’s a Hanukkah dream for us. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”
Your gift can live forever, too Visit leaveabequest.org to learn more
Now in its 32nd year, Jewish Family Service’s annual Chanukah Gift Program is now underway. The program provides holiday gifts to local Jewish children and teens in financially struggling families. JFS asks the community to continue its tradition of helping this year, too, even for those whose don’t exchange gifts for Hanukkah. Many gifts are used by these children throughout the year. JFS expects to serve about 50 different local Jewish children and teens in 2024.
donors, this is a personal way to learn and practice tzedakah, giving to others, as they shop with parents for gifts for other children, knowing that the gifts will make a significant impact.
• Purchase new, unwrapped gifts, both fun and practical, for specific children and teens in need.
The wish list of what these children and teens need is long. For donors, this is an opportunity to do a mitzvah for children who have no choice in their families’ financial situation. For young
Donors may call JFS at 757-459-4640 for children’s wish lists.
• Go shopping and buy some extra items for those in need.
• Send gift cards from Amazon, Target, fast food restaurants, movie theaters, and grocery stores.
• Send JFS a tax-deductible cash/check/credit card donation, and JFS will do the shopping.
Visit the JFS table at the Mitzvah Mall, hosted by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, on Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 am – 12 pm, at the Sandler Family Campus, to drop off the gifts at the Donation Station. All Hanukkah donations must be received by December 6. Checks should be made payable to Jewish Family Service of Tidewater and sent to JFS, Attn: Maryann Kettyle, 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 400, Virginia Beach, VA 23462. Gifts can also be dropped off in-person at JFS’s counseling office: Embrace Counseling, 260 Grayson Road, Suite 200, Virginia Beach, Va.
Jewish Family Service assists local Jewish families in need at all times of the year and will keep any surplus donations for use throughout 2024-2025. For more information, contact Maryann Kettyle, JFS case manager, at 757-459-4640 or MKettyle@jfshamptonroads.org.
We joke about it – “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” But the truth is that whenever possible, Jewish people look for a way to celebrate, for reasons to proclaim, “Mazel Tov!”
B’nai Mitzvot teens, for example, hear those congratulatory words following their call to the Torah and the conclusion of the Shabbat morning service. For their Mitzvah Projects, however, probably not so much, though these diligent students should receive multiple rounds of applause and shouts of “Mazel Tov!” for all they have accomplished for others. Some recent teens and their creative, thoughtful Mitzvah Projects are highlighted beginning on page 20.
For another group, their “Mazel Tovs!” this year were accompanied by Happy Birthday songs. Leonette and Beryl Adler, Lenny Brooke, and Lorraine Fink celebrated major milestone birthdays in 2024. This inspiring collection of people share a few words with readers about their very full lives. “We should all live so long!” Page 25.
Just like bagels are no longer considered exclusively a Jewish food, “Mazel Tov!” appears more and more often in mainstream conversation, songs, and theater. Stephanie Peck’s article about this phenomenon is on page 31.
We hope you enjoy these and the other articles within the section – and that when you’re about to celebrate any occasion, you consider choosing one of our advertisers to make your celebration just right.
Stephanie Peck
Becoming a bar or bat mitzvah is a multi-faceted time for 13-year-olds and their families.
Preparations for this special milestone include studying Jewish history and Hebrew, learning how to conduct a Shabbat service, interpreting a parsha, and applying its meaning to current events. Many b’nai mitzvah students also take the extra step of completing a mitzvah project.
These local teens, who recently completed the b’nai mitzvah process, share why they chose their Mitzvah Projects and how they completed them. From raising money to raising awareness, their efforts offer hope for a bright Jewish future.
Son of Lynn and Jonathan Beha Congregation Beth El
Bar Mitzvah: June 22, 2024
Great Bridge Middle School
Mitzvah Project: Gathered donations for the animal shelter.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project?
Walden Beha: I’ve always liked animals, and the animal shelter was one of the few options I had for mitzvah projects.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Walden: The people running the animal shelter had to spend less money on food and other supplies, and I bet the animals were pretty happy.
Lila Friedman
Daughter of Mindy and Howard Friedman Congregation Beth El Bat Mitzvah: May 4, 2024 Great Neck Middle School
Mitzvah Project: Jewish Family Service Food Pantry
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project?
Lila Friedman: I picked this as my mitzvah project because I know a lot of people are struggling right now and it’s important to give back to our community and help others who are less fortunate. I had a lot of friends and family from around the country and locally who wanted to support my project. We turned some of the donations into centerpieces for my bat mitzvah to show everyone who came and who donated how their donations were being used.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Lila: When I was in the four-year-old class at Strelitz, we collected canned goods for the food pantry as part of my Family of the Week project. We thought it would be good if we did something like that again for my bat mitzvah project.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Lila: My whole family benefitted from this project as well as the people in the community who rely on the food pantry for support. My sister and I helped stock the shelves and got to see how the pantry worked and where everything was stored. My whole family helped transport three carloads of donations to JFS and helped keep everything organized as we got so many donations. We had fun making the centerpieces and a lot of people at my bat mitzvah commented what a great project we had and how they were proud of me. We know a lot of people had a little extra food because of the kindness and generosity from those who helped support my project.
Son of Lisa and Andrew Jones
Temple Israel
Bar Mitzvah: May 4, 2024
Old Donation School
Mitzvah Project: Created a Virtual 5K Run for Neve Michael’s Children Village in Israel.
All profits from this virtual 5K went directly to Neve Michael, which is a children’s home for more than 400 disadvantaged children. Neve Michael was established in Israel in 1943. The proceeds were used to purchase sports equipment. As part of this project, Wesley created the virtual 5K sign-up website, promoted the race, made medals, and participated in the 5k.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project?
Wesley: I like running and sports and Dr. Rabbi Michael Panitz told me about the children’s home, Neve Michael, in Israel. I wanted to raise money to help these children buy sports equipment like what I am fortunate enough to have.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Wesley: Dr. Michael Panitz helped inform me of the children’s village in Israel.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Wesley: Neve Michael’s children as well as the participants in the 5k race benefited from exercising for a great cause.
Daughter of Adina and Timothy Gadell
Ohef Sholom Temple
Bat Mitzvah: October 26, 2024
Old Donation School
Mitzvah Project: Neighborhood trash clean ups.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project?
Mya Gadell: Because my neighborhood is on the Elizabeth River and, if we keep the neighborhood clean, we contribute to the cleanliness of the river.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Mya: No, I chose this project on my own. Keeping our natural environment clean, alive, and well has always been a passion of mine.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Mya: Not only did my neighborhood benefit from this, but so did the Elizabeth River Foundation. I sent them the amounts of trash picked up so they could enter it into their system. I was happy to have aided their mission and contributed to keeping the river and my neighborhood nice and clean!
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Son of Julie Blumenthal and Jonathan Lomogda
Ohef Sholom Temple
Bar Mitzvah: November 2, 2024
Norfolk Collegiate School
Mitzvah Project: Organized a sneaker drive to help migrant workers who do seasonal labor harvesting crops on farms on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Eli thought it was important to raise awareness about the importance of shoes for people working long hours on their feet. He decorated large donation boxes and placed them throughout the community. One donation box went to his current middle school at Norfolk Collegiate, one box went to his elementary school at Strelitz International Academy (SIA), and one box went to the JCC. “The response has been amazing, and I have had so many people generously donate their shoes!!” he says.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project and what inspired you?
Eli Lomogda: The idea for my mitzvah project was inspired by: (1) a message from my Torah portion which is
about the promise of a new tomorrow (rainbow) especially after a difficult time (flood), and (2) my love of sneakers … I’m a self-described “sneaker head.”
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Eli: Migrant workers – many of whom come from Central American countries.
In doing this mitzvah project, I learned that: (1) there are people in my community who need help, (2) there are generous people in my community who want to help people in need, and (3) kids can be leaders in making their community better.
I am proud of this mitzvah project and see it not as an end but as a beginning of a lifetime of mitzvot!
Daughter of Erica and James Moore
Ohef Sholom Temple
Bat Mitzvah: October 19, 2024
Kempsville Middle School
Mitzvah Project: Spread awareness and raised money for the Autism Society of Virginia.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this subject?
Magnolia Moore: With a strong support system and special services, differently abled people, like my brother, Hunter, can live full, joyful lives. I want to make sure that he and others like him have faith in G-d and in a family and community who always love and support them. I want to help other families who are like us. I hope that others will contribute and be part of the circle of family and friends and support those who are in need on the spectrum.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Magnolia: My brother Hunter and others on the spectrum.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Magnolia: The Autism community in Tidewater. I was successful and met my goal!
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Daughter of JoEllen Rose and LCDR Ben Orloff
Ohef Sholom Temple
Bat Mitzvah: May 25, 2024
Norfolk Academy
Mitzvah Project: Partnering with the Virginia Aquarium and a college student to host trash clean ups and index the information to better understand what specific problems need to be addressed to keep our area clean.
Ella presented the information and ways to help the cause to her synagogue and scout troop.
Jewish News: Why did you choose this project?
Ella Orloff: I chose the project because I wanted to help the people in my community as well as the unique area we live in.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Ella: My troop inspired me to pursue this project from all the trash pickups we’ve led and the conversations about keeping our environment clean.
JN: Who benefited from this mitzvah project?
Ella: Organizations that study and use the information such as NOAA benefited from my project, the animals in the area benefited from the cleaner space, and I benefited because I was able to learn about the process of putting together events like these and learning how to lead groups in a project.
Son of Diana and Brennan Smith
Ohef Sholom Temple
Bar Mitzvah: May 11, 2024 Salem Middle School
Mitzvah project: Collected non-perishable food and monetary donations for a Military Food Pantry with a special focus on specialized diets such as gluten free, dairy free, etc.
JN: Why did you choose this subject?
Emmett: I chose a mitzvah project that would line up with all of the lessons my portion talks about. One that would help others and still foster independence for those who need some extra help. I have had dietary needs such as not being able to eat things like gluten, dairy, or soy, and it was hard to find things at first, but after a while, it got easier and easier to find not only food that tastes good but food that I can eat regularly. This process of finding good food took a while, so now I am on a mission to help make this food accessible to those who need it. When volunteering at my mom’s work, I helped in the food pantry and realized the need for specialized foods. I thought about this lack of specialized foods, so I decided to dedicate my project to the Patriot’s pantry at the ASYMCA. Not only is it a military food bank, but I also have close relationships with the kind people who work there.
JN: Did anyone inspire you to pursue this mitzvah project?
Emmett: My mom because she works for the Armed Services YMCA and my dad, since he’s in the military.
JN: Who benefitted from this mitzvah project?
Emmett: Military families struggling with food insecurity. I raised boxes and boxes of food and over $2,000 in monetary donations.
Stephanie Peck
A fortunate group of people celebrated major milestone birthdays this year. Beryl and Leonette Adler, Lenny Brooke, and Lorraine Fink all live at home, stay active in their different pursuits, and celebrated with their ever-growing families. Happy Birthday and Mazel Tov to these incredible people still making certain their lives are well-lived!
95 years old
A retired estates attorney with Pender & Coward, Beryl Adler is a Norfolk native. He attended Taylor Elementary, Blair Junior High School, and Maury High School – all in Ghent. Married for 69 years to Leonette, whom he met at a dance at Hunter College where she was studying, he has three daughters, five grandchildren, and two great grandchildren.
Jewish News: How did you celebrate your milestone birthday?
Beryl Adler: I was with my dear wife. Leonette Adler: We had a big party at Dockside. Huge balloons and everyone was there. We sat outside on the deck with our family.
JN: How do you spend your days?
90
The “Best in Show” winner of the first Boardwalk Art Show in July 1956, Leonette Adler is a native of the Bronx, N.Y. She moved to Norfolk to marry Beryl Adler, then a young Navy lieutenant. In addition to painting, Adler spent many years teaching art at the Jewish Community Center, Tidewater Community College, and Norfolk Academy.
A mom to three daughters, grandmother to five, and great grandmother to two, she can still be found in her studio painting, with her works sold at various shows.
BA: I think about my good fortune a lot. I read multiple newspapers each day.
JN: What are you grateful for?
BA: I am grateful for my good health that I enjoy at 95. I even have my wits about me most of the time!
LA: And he’s still driving!
JN: What was your favorite decade?
BA: Most of my memories of things in the past are all very good. I don’t have any issues that give me any pause.
LA: Beryl has memorable moments as a lawyer, a judge, and the dad of three girls.
JN: What words of wisdom would you like to pass on?
BA: Make the most of any opportunity that comes your way.
JN: How do you spend your days?
LA: I walk every day. And I paint, read, and cook, and the day disappears!
JN: What are you grateful for?
LA: I am grateful for each day.
JN: What was your favorite decade?
LA: My whole married life was, and is, memorable and joyous. We have been married for 69 years.
JN: Do you have words of wisdom to pass on?
LA: I don’t think so; I haven’t got a clue!
Helping with your gift selections since 1975.
The former owner of Southern Packing Corporation, Lenny Brooke has been married to Ellie for 63 years and is nearly as active as ever. His son, Jeffrey Brooke says, “Even now after my father has turned 90, he still calls on a few customers from Southern Packing Corporation and goes out to the plant in Chesapeake to make sure Ronnie and Todd (his cousins, to whom he sold the business) “don’t screw it up.” He has three grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
Jewish News: How did you celebrate your milestone birthday?
Lenny Brooke: We celebrated at my son, Jeff’s, house. We had a deluxe meal with two of our grandchildren and four of our great-grandchildren. One grandchild lives in Israel with his family and couldn’t join us.
JN: How do you spend your days?
LB: I still deliver Meals on Wheels. I meet with friends and play golf. My wife, Ellie, and I do many things together.
JN: What are you grateful for?
LB: I am grateful to be alive! I feel good and have no old age characteristics; I get up and go. Ellie and I are very fortunate to be so active for our ages.
JN: What was your favorite decade?
LB: The best decade was the 60’s. We got married in 1961 and those were our early married years.
JN: What words of wisdom would you like to pass on?
LB: I am thankful for my wife and my good health and welfare. We celebrate Judaism together. We are ambulatory and active. A gift that will be enjoyed every time it is used!
The oldest in this esteemed group, Lorriane Fink manages to find humor in almost every situation – at her 99th birthday, for example, she suggested the cake be turned upside down to make her 66! She’s an award-winning artist, a retired art teacher from Old Dominion University, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Chrysler Museum, and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, and her paintings and other works of art hang in various museums and galleries throughout the area. Fink has five children and nine grandchildren and was married to Bill, her late husband, for 63 years.
Jewish News: How did you celebrate your milestone birthday?
Lorraine Fink: Most of my family came in for it. We partied; it was written up in the newspaper. It was a very family-oriented celebration. Plus, the family re-enacted a portrait taken more than 25 years ago – with everyone dressed in the same colors as they were then.
I spent 15 years at ODU getting my bachelor’s and master’s degrees. ODU had a 100th celebration for me and an art exhibit with a lot of my artwork. ODU asked to borrow the artwork for incoming students to see in the art education building. They had a reception for me.
JN: How do you spend your days?
LF: I am still working. And I’m happy to be breathing in and out! I’m busy thanking God. My work is my artwork: painting, drawing, collage. Friends and family come over to do artwork together with me.
JN: What are you grateful for?
LF: I’m grateful for today and every day.
JN: What was your favorite decade?
LF: My favorite time is when all the kids were home, and my husband was with me. Nothing like having all the kids around and my husband at home.
JN: What words of wisdom would you like to pass on?
LF: Be with people you look up to – that’s what it’s all about. Having respect for each and every individual.
Asaf Elia-Shalev
(JTA) — When Adalbert and Hilda Parlagi fled Vienna in 1938, a month after the Nazi annexation of Austria, they left behind a collection of artwork, which they and their heirs spent decades trying to retrieve.
Last month in New Orleans, FBI agents presented the couple’s grandchildren with one of the looted works: a pastel drawing by French impressionist Claude Monet. “Our grandfather would have been so happy to
fi nd out this Monet was being restituted after all his attempts over the years,” the heirs said in a joint statement. “This is a very moving and exceptional day for us, a day neither of us ever thought would happen.”
The 1865 Monet measures 7 by 11 inches and is titled “Bord de Mer,” which means “Seaside.” It depicts a rocky section of the Normandy coast, where Allied forces landed on D-Day in 1944, beginning their liberation of Nazi-occupied France.
The pastel is one of about 600,000 works of art, along with millions of books and religious items, that were looted by the Nazis during World War II. The FBI’s Art Crime Team, which worked on this case, has helped recover some 20,000 artworks over the years.
Adalbert “Bela” Parlagi was a successful businessman and art collector born in Budapest
who moved to Vienna as a young man. He married his wife, Hilda, who was from Prague, and they had two children, Hedwig and Franz. According to the Associated Press, the couple had abandoned their Jewish identity and raised their children as Protestants. However, under Nazi race laws, they were still considered Jewish, and the family fled to the United Kingdom in March 1938, shortly after the Anschluss.
The Parlagis tried to have their belongings, including the Monet and seven other artworks, shipped to them in London, but in 1940, the Gestapo confi scated their property. The artwork was sold at auction, with the proceeds going into the coffers of the Third Reich.
As soon as the war ended, Adalbert Parlagi began a lifelong quest to recover his beloved paintings, a cause bolstered by a series of international declarations against the market in Nazi-looted art. However, he was thwarted by the Viennese auctioneer who had sold off his looted artworks, as the auctioneer claimed to Parlagi that he had no record or recollection of the sale.
Parlagi died in 1981, and his son, Franz, took up the effort until his own death in 2012.
Two years later, the next generation enlisted the help of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe, a London-based NGO, whose team scoured museum
archives and online listings for years before making a breakthrough in 2021. The researchers discovered that a New Orleans art dealer had sold the Monet to a local physician and his wife in 2019.
The FBI got involved and soon contacted the unsuspecting couple, Kevin Schlamp and his wife, Bridget Vita, to notify them of the pastel’s history. The couple voluntarily relinquished their ownership rights, according to an FBI press release.
“The Schlamp family’s cooperation was key to the successful resolution of this case, and their integrity in
ensuring the pastel’s return is highly commendable,” the release said.
Vita, whose husband died earlier this year, told a New Orleans newspaper, “We lost a painting, but the Jewish community had lost so much more.”
The Parlagi heirs recovered another drawing in March from the collection of an Austrian museum, but they are still searching for six remaining artworks, including a charcoal drawing by Camille Pissarro and a watercolor by Paul Signac.
W E D N E S D A Y N O V 2 0
1 2 : 0 0 P M
WHEN COSTCO DECIDES TO SELL A BOOK, IT CAN REPRESENT 25% OF THE BOOK’S TOTAL SALES!
David and Susan Schwartz are two of Costco’s biggest fans, and they’ve got some facts to share!
COSTCO EVEN SELLS CASKETS AND COFFINS - AT GREAT PRICES!
THE PRICE OF THE HOT DOG & BEVERAGE HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE 1985.
IN 2016 COSTCO SOLD OVER 4 BILLION EGGS11 MILLION EVERY DAY!
COSTCO SELLS MORE THAN HALF OF THE WORLD'S CASHEWS!
COSTCO IS THE SECOND LARGEST RETAILER IN CANADA
Stephanie Peck
Sitting in a movie theater, watching a favorite show, or listening to the radio, most Jewish people can’t help but chuckle when Hebrew or Yiddish vernacular is heard, as if they’re the only listener privy to this inside joke. But how, and when, did the phrase “mazel tov” become so ubiquitous in pop culture?
Even rap stars, accused of antisemitism, have been prone to insert these joyful words into their music, albeit among other stanzas laced with expletives and R-rated lyrics.
Mazel, which is translated as “luck,” literally means “constellation” or “planet.” The Talmud explains that a person’s fortune is influenced by the position of the heavenly spheres, according to chabad.org. Our mazel, our luck, is determined when we are born.
In Hebrew, tov translates to good.
So, there it is – Good Luck!
In an article on forward.com, Julie Potash refers to “mazel tov” as the most celebratory Jewish lyric of all time. In the song, I Gotta Feeling, The Black Eyed Peas croon, “Fill up my cup (drink)! Mazel tov (l’chaim)!” Potash interprets this as the overwhelming emotion one experiences when a grandchild or great-grandchild is dancing joyfully at a bar or bat mitzvah. What a feeling, to see the fruits of Jewish history, together, celebrating in the same room. Potash asks, “Did will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas) have a profound understanding of this, feeling so deeply connected to the Jewish experience that he was moved to write a song of celebration in the language of the Jews?”
Mazel Tov, a restaurant in Hungary, serves as one of the most popular culture clubs in Budapest’s Jewish Quarter. The
place operates in the spirit of diversity and acceptance and provides not only Mediterranean cuisine and cocktails, but hosts various cultural events, too, according to welovebudapest.com. One of Mazel Tov’s primary goals is to provide a space for everyone who believes in an open and inclusive world; the programs also aim to convey these messages.
Emily Burack, deputy managing editor of the website, heyalma.com, searched Genius, the popular lyric site, for songs containing the words mazel tov. Included in her list are three songs by Jay-Z, Omigod You Guys from Legally Blonde: The Musical, popular Jewish rapper Drake, DJ Khaled, Kesha, A$AP Rocky, Weird Al Yankovic, and Pusha T (a rapper with Virginia Beach roots). Burack even created a “mazel tov” playlist on the digital music service, Spotify. Many of these songs, unsurprisingly, are
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not for the ears of children.
As one of the most celebrated Jewish actors and comedians of his generation, Adam Sandler shares his Jewish wit to nationwide audiences through movies such as The Wedding Singer and You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. Although most famous for his Chanukah song, which does not mention mazel tov, Sandler’s song in Wedding Singer does, and is aptly named Mazel Tov.
Other notable productions which include these two congratulatory words include Love and Mazel Tov (2020), Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), Mazel Tov ou le Mariage (a 1968 French film translated in English to Marry Me! Marry Me!), and Fiddler on the Roof (1964). More recently, the Netflix show, Nobody Wants This, wouldn’t be kosher without the pronouncement of “mazel tov.” Afterall, one of the show’s main characters is a rabbi.
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Jackie Hajdenberg (JTA) — As an art director at the United States Postal Service, Antonio Alcalá has designed stamps honoring Woodstock, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Ezra Jack Keats’ children’s book classic A Snowy Day. But this year’s Hanukkah stamp is the first that honors an important piece of his own heritage.
“My mother escaped Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport. Many of her family members did also survive, including my grandparents,” Alcalá says.
He adds, “So when I was a child, we would celebrate multiple holidays, including Hanukkah, and as the youngest of three boys, I was the one who always got to light the fi rst candle.”
The postal service has issued Hanukkah stamps since 1996, more than three decades after it first started issuing Christmas stamps. Previous versions have drawn on traditional Jewish art forms — the 2022 stamp drew on a synagogue stained-glass look — included dreidel imagery and depicted a range of menorahs, real and illustrated.
Alcalá’s stamp also showcases a menorah. But unlike the others that Americans
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have used to mail Hanukkah cards, his doesn’t feature any candles.
That’s by design. “The fl ames are shown, but the candles themselves are not present,” Alcalá says. “They’re implied. And to me, that sort of alludes to this sort of aspect of faith that’s both tied to this and also to the larger sort of religious experience.”
The Hanukkah stamp is the only Jewish stamp created by the USPS, which also produces holiday stamps for Christmas, Eid, Kwanzaa, and Diwali.
In drafting this year’s stamp (a process that began in 2022), Alcalá began on the computer, and eventually shifted to paper and ink, which he says, “conveyed a lot more humanity to it, than sort of more mechanical, perfectly created geometric illustration.”
His influences included Andy Warhol, the mid-century pop artist, and the illustrations of Ben Shahn, the Jewish artist known for his work in social realism.
“I don’t think it’s anything that I invented, but it was the language that I thought was appropriate,” Alcalá says. “I was really interested in something that was not so sterile-feeling, but also very simple.”
• Flexible burial options
• Flexible payment options
Approved by all area Rabbis and Chevrah Kadisha
Alcalá also channeled his upbringing in what he said was “a secular Jewish family” in San Diego, California. Designing a Hanukkah stamp, he says, was a “huge thrill” given his background and all his mother went through to continue the family’s Hanukkah traditions.
According to an account written by his brother based on a diary their grandfather kept when fleeing Hamburg in 1941, Alcalá’s German grandparents traveled to the United States on the same ship from Portugal as Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late leader of the ChabadLubavitch Hasidic movement. Other
members of the family were murdered by the Nazis, and Alcalá’s mother and her siblings went years without direct contact with their parents.
“It’s one of those things where you wish some of your relatives were still around to see that day. But my brothers are still around, and they’ll get to see it,” Alcalá says about designing the Hanukkah stamp.
“I’m very excited,” he adds. “It’s a piece of my family history that I get to see distributed across the country.”
This year’s stamp was formally issued at an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 19.
$60,000 $60,000 Eligibility
The Stein Family College Scholarship offers up to $15,000/year – for up to four (4) years! The is the largest scholarship in Jewish Tidewater; awarded to Hampton Roads Jewish students entering college. Applicants are evaluated on financial need, Jewish/ community engagement, and academic potential.
Additional Qualifications:
• Must be a high school graduate entering a degree-granting institution in the US
• Minimum GPA of 3.0
• Demonstrate academic ability, concern for school, the Jewish community, and general communities through extracurricular activities and volunteer service.
• Demonstrate substantiated financial need as determined by FAFSA
The Stein Scholarship is dedicated in loving memory of Arlene Shea Stein who was unable to finish college due to financial hardship.
Simon
On a cool Sunday in October, the Sandler Family Campus transformed into a magical Fall Wonderland for the 2nd Annual Strelitz Fall Festival. This signature Strelitz International Academy event brought the community together with delicious food, unique vendors, activity rentals, and even some live animal encounters. This year’s festival was more vibrant than ever, drawing in record excitement and participation.
Themed raffle baskets created by SIA classes lined the Campus Cardo. From a
Vacation Basket to a Self-Care Basket and even a Pet Care Basket, families purchased tickets in hopes of winning their favorite. The grand drawing for the baskets took place at the end of the festival, keeping everyone on their toes, adding a burst of anticipation to wrap up the day.
As people stepped out of the Cardo doors, they were greeted with scarecrows, hay bales, pumpkins, and two live scarecrow juggler and stilt walkers.
Admission included unlimited access to carnival games, pony rides, and train rides
looping around the campus white top. Fresh kosher hot dogs, burgers, popcorn, and other treats kept families fueled for all the fun.
The entire community pitched in to bring the event to life, with parents, faculty, and volunteers coordinating setup, check-in, and food stations, while SIA alumni and community teens ran the lively carnival games. Generous sponsors helped make the Strelitz Fall Festival a fantastic fundraiser and a heartwarming community event. In addition to games and food, the festival showed the power of unity, with volunteers
from local groups such as Congregation Beth El’s Bogrim program and Tallwood High School’s Israel Club helping support the festivities. One highlight was the chance for alumni and their families to reconnect with each other and with the SIA faculty, reflecting the lasting bonds within the Strelitz community.
Next year’s Strelitz Fall Festival will be held on Sunday, October 26, 2025.
Carin Simon is director of advancement for Strelitz International Academy.
Pony Ride Sponsors
Dodge Family
Deb & Peter Segaloff
Petting Zoo Sponsor
Babbi & Brad Bangel
Beth Sholom Village
Heather & Doug Moore
The Foleck Center
MBCS CPAs, PC
The Rosenbaum Family
Southern Bank
The Stockpot Vandelay Industries
Virginia Beach Obstetrics & Gynecology
Universal Pest & Termite, Inc.
Ellen & Bill Wagner
Amy & Eliot Weinstein WoogWorks
Carnival Game Sponsor
Jennifer Waldholtz & Greg Antonucci
Randall, Caldwell & Nolan Buntin
Bill & Allison Carden
Eric Joffe Construction Corp
Hart Electric
Sara Jo & Joel Rubin
Sharkey's Cuts for Kids
Susan & Eric Schwartzman
Carin & Mike Simon
Terkeltaub Family
Virginia Business Solutions
Harvest Sponsor
Seeman Family WhoRiddle?
Donita Lozada
St. Pierre Family
"Recently my mother required 12 hour per day personal care assistance. On short notice, Changing Tides Home Care provided the necessary assistance. They have been responsive to my mother's needs and have kept the family informed by telephone, text and portal. I am very pleased with their services.”
-Andrew H. Hook, President of
Hook Law Center
Amy Zelenka
Nearly a year on from the horrific events of October 7th, dozens of participants from several United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Israel Missions met at the home of Ashley and Greg Zittrain to welcome, hear, and learn from their beloved Israeli tour guide and teacher, Zalman Spivak. It was incredibly moving to meet with Zalman again, and to see with our own eyes that after months of IDF reserve service, he is well (if a little skinny), healthy, and ever the optimist.
Zalman spoke of the events of October 7, 2023, and the various dynamics swirling around in Israel, in its aftermath. He spoke of its impact on the entire Israeli society – from kibbutz farmer to high-tech engineer. And he described the different (and often at-very-public-odds -with-one-another) sides of the political spectrum. Zalman addressed the pre-war situation in the country, which may have contributed to Israel’s surprise at the attack – and the universal desire of Israelis to “Bring Them Home Now.” He also spoke pragmatically about the need to “finish the job,” in rooting out terror and threats to the Jewish state.
Zalman’s visit began prior to Israel turning its sights on Lebanon in early October, but he did touch on the inevitability of having to address the Hezbollah hostilities which
began last year on October 8 and had been ramping up continuously.
“With 60,000 residents of the north being unable to live in their own homes for an entire year,” he said, “the situation cannot be ignored.” He explained that the circumstances in the nation’s northern portion, essentially indicated that the Israeli government could not protect its northern residents. And no country is willing to allow that scenario to continue.
Zalman talked about the personal losses he endured during the war – friends, classmates, and others who had been killed on October 7th, taken hostage to Gaza, or killed while fighting in the IDF. In a country as small as
Israel, every loss is personal. And he talked about attending many, many military funerals. Zalman’s telling about the funerals brought to mind the many times that he guided our groups at Har Herzl, Israel’s national military cemetery, and the stories he shared with us there, as he pointed out the graves of famous dignitaries, as well as of ordinary soldiers.
Sharing a video presentation with the group brought the situation home for us, as we glimpsed before and after photos and of Zalman visiting familiar places throughout the country, guiding his own children (because the tour buses were not rolling). His presentation also showed Israelis and volunteers from other places (as some from our own community), helping one another – volunteering on farms where farmers had been called up to reserve units; cooking and packing meals for soldiers; and helping wherever the need presented itself.
In the end, Zalman’s message was one of hope –Tikvah. It may simply be that there is no other choice but to hope: hope for the return of the hostages; hope for the end of the war; and hope that Israel’s leaders (whoever they will be) can lead the country through a post war rebuilding period – not just fixing damaged buildings and farms, but rebuilding the confidence, mental health, and capacity for joy of a now beleaguered nation.
Amy Zelenka is United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s chief development officer and Missions director.
Ally St. Pierre
Fourth-grade students at Strelitz International Academy engaged in an exciting blend of STEM education and cultural exploration as part of the school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) Primary Years Programme (PYP) on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Incorporating themes from recent Jewish holidays: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot, students applied their inquiry skills in a series of creative, hands-on experiments, encouraging critical thinking and collaboration.
how these liquids interacted, discovering how each one layers based on its density. The experiment also linked back to the holiday symbolism of honey, representing a sweet start to the new year.
One highlight of the afternoon was a science activity inspired by the symbolic Tashlich tradition. In this experiment, students dropped cubes of baking soda into vinegar, resulting in a fi zzing chemical
reaction. This visual display represented the act of letting go of the old – much like the traditional casting off sins into flowing water.
The fourth graders also explored the concept of density with a sweet twist. Using honey, oil, and water, they observed
The grand finale was a structural challenge: building mini sukkot out of marshmallows and other materials. Each group designed and constructed their own sukkah, testing its strength and stability against simulated desert storms. This activity highlighted their creativity and engineering skills, as well as the PYP’s focus on fostering open-minded, reflective learners.
This afternoon of science and cultural connection allowed the students to deepen their understanding of both key scientific concepts and the rich traditions that inspire community and reflection—hallmarks of the IB approach to education.
Jackie Hajdenberg (JTA) — In Jesse Eisenberg’s new film, a pair of American Jewish cousins on a heritage tour of Poland sneak back onto a train they already had tickets for, after getting off at the wrong stop.
“It’s the principle of the thing,” says Benji, played by Kieran Culkin. “We shouldn’t have to pay for tickets in Poland. This is our country.”
“No it’s not,” says David, played by Eisenberg. “It was our country. They kicked us out because they thought we were cheap.”
It is an exchange that encapsulates the mix of pathos, humor and fast-paced banter that Eisenberg brings to A Real Pain, which he wrote and directed in addition to stars in. Eisenberg, 41, loosely based the script and characters on a composite of real people and experiences, including a 2008
visit with his now-wife to what was once his great-aunt’s house in Poland until 1939 — back when the Eisenbergs were still “Ajzenbergs.”
“I was at this house, I was standing in front of it, and I was expecting to feel something specific and revelatory, and nothing came,” Eisenberg says in a Zoom interview. “That feeling of emptiness kind of stayed with me for a long time. I was trying to diagnose the emptiness, and I was wondering: Is it because I’m an unfeeling person? Or is it because it’s really just impossible to connect to the past in an easy way, in a kind of external way?”
All these years later, A Real Pain, now in theaters, seeks to ask those questions, Eisenberg says. “How do we reconnect to the past? And how do our modern struggles connect to the struggles of our families?”
Eisenberg, best known for his cerebral, often neurotic turns in The Social Network, the FX limited series Fleishman is in Trouble and a number of Woody Allen films, has returned to the Holocaust as a subject in a number of projects. In 2013 he wrote and starred in The Revisionist, an off-Broadway play about a Polish survivor of the Holocaust. In 2020 he took part in a staged reading at New York’s Museum of Jewish Heritage of The Investigation, Peter Weiss’ documentary play about the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials of 1963-1965. That same year he played Marcel Marceau in Resistance, about the famed mime’s role in the French resistance.
As in Treasure, a movie released this year in which Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry star as a daughter and father who travel to Auschwitz, A Real Pain is about the main
characters’ evolving relationship and about the legacy of the Holocaust on American Jews now two generations removed from the genocide.
In Benji and David Kaplan, viewers are introduced to two very different expressions of trauma: Benji feels everything and has no filter and an ability to get people to open up, while David is overly cautious, analytical and takes medication for obsessivecompulsive disorder.
They set out for Poland while reeling from the death of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, joining a tour group of adults much older than they are. The group is led by facts-obsessed guide James (Will Sharpe), and includes Marcia (Jennifer Grey), whose marriage recently fell apart, as well as a survivor of the Rwandan genocide, Eloge (Kurt Egyiawan).
Egyiawan’s character is based on a real person, Eloge Butera, who converted to Judaism because, Eisenberg says, “the only people he felt connected to were older Jewish people who could relate to the experience.” Eisenberg and Butera have stayed in touch since meeting at a wedding years ago, and Eisenberg says he had always thought Butera’s story made him an interesting model for a trip participant.
“As I was writing, of course, it occurred to me that it does this other thing, which is allow the audience to broaden out their perspective,” Eisenberg says from Indiana, wearing the same red Indiana University baseball cap his character wears throughout the fi lm. (Eisenberg dropped out of Hebrew school in his native New York City but has recently begun attending a synagogue in Bloomington, Indiana, where he lives with his family.)
He adds, “It allows me to bring in other stories of trauma in a way that’s not kind of academic, but actually in the physical presence of this man who is a survivor.”
As the movie’s characters reckon with their personal and collective trauma, the main characters’ differences come into stark relief. Benji wisecracks his way across the brittle terrain, while David
deals with a sense of guilt for ever having felt like his own problems were legitimate.
On a walk with the group, the cousins briefly imagine what their life would be like if the Holocaust didn’t happen. They would probably be religious Jews, Benji thinks, and have beards, and not touch women, according to traditional interpretations of Jewish law. Bottom line: They would likely still live in Poland.
That’s a scenario with some appeal for Eisenberg, who developed such an affection for the country while filming there that he decided to seek citizenship, an option often available to descendants of Polish Holocaust survivors. He will become a citizen this month and formally mark the occasion at the Polish embassy in Washington, D.C., which will also screen the film.
“I think of myself as a New Yorker through and through, because I go to Broadway shows and I was born here, but the reality of my lineage is that we were Polish for a lot longer,” Eisenberg says. “There’s something so kind of sad about the way things can end so abruptly and be forgotten so abruptly, because to remember was so painful, because of the war and because so many people were killed. And so, the way I think about it is I’m trying to reconnect.”
Filming in Poland, Eisenberg says, allowed him to experience the generosity of the people living there who worked to tell his family’s story and preserve the memory of the Holocaust, defying his expectations of contemporary Polish cultural attitudes toward the Holocaust.
In 2018, the Polish government, led by the right-wing nationalist Law and Justice Party, passed a law criminalizing speech blaming Poland for crimes committed by the Nazis, part of a broad effort to demand pride in Polish history. (The party was ousted from power last year.) The law created a chilling effect for some stewards of Holocaust history, curbing a public reckoning about the degree to which Poles collaborated with the Nazis.
The crackdown on “unpatriotic” accounts of Polish history also caused a shakeup at the Polin Museum, Poland’s national Jewish museum, where A Real Pain had its international premiere in May. A museum leader was pushed out when he sought to
stage an exhibit about a wave of antisemitic persecution in 1968. When the museum recently marked its first decade, Eisenberg spoke virtually at the gala.
Eisenberg says the political tensions over Holocaust memory did not encroach on him as he filmed on location, including at the interior of the Majdanek concentration camp, which remains remarkably preserved.
“I’m aware of it in a kind of intellectual way, but my experience there was just the exact opposite,” he says. “I was working with a crew of 150 people who were all eager and working their asses off to try to make my personal family story come to life.”
In gaining permission to film at Majdanek, Eisenberg says he benefited from telling a story that is rooted firmly in the present, even though the camp uniquely lends itself to filmmaking set in the past because it remains in roughly the same condition as it was in when the Nazis operated it.
“A few things were in our favor: Most movies want to shoot in Majdanek, and they want to turn it into 1942 Auschwitz, and they want to have 100 extras in Nazi uniforms running around with guns. We were trying to do the opposite,” Eisenberg says. “What we were trying to do was depict Majdanek as it is now as a tourist site, in an attempt to do the exact thing Majdanek is trying to do itself, which is to try to bring awareness to this, to the horrors that occurred on these grounds.”
He says he had ended up becoming close with a number of young scholars on the staff at the camp memorial. “Our relationship started off with suspicion,” Eisenberg recalls, “and wound up as a beautiful meeting of the minds.”
Eisenberg says he believes that collaborating with others around his age — removed by generations from direct connection with the Holocaust — enabled A Real Pain to channel a fresh approach to grappling with the past.
“I’m in a younger generation,” he says. “I have enough distance to go to Poland … and not feel the kind of visceral memories of pain, but going there with an open heart and mind and meeting people who I love and who are contemporaries and friends and who are working to make the world a better place.”
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 13 • 7 PM
Sunday, November 24, 10 am – 12 pm, Sandler Family Campus | Learn
Dave Flagler
As part of Community Impact Day: Creating Kindness and Jewish Camp Curiosity, a Camp Fair will offer an opportunity for families to explore a wide variety of Jewish sleepaway and day camps. With more than eight camps participating, meaningful and enriching Jewish summer programming tailored to diverse interests and experiences will be on display. No two children or families are alike, which is why it is important to meet all the camps, see their unique offerings, and engage in conversations about what program
would be a good fit based on a child’s passions and needs. The participating camps represent different Jewish denominations, each offering a mix of activities, educational programs, and pathways for youth and their families to connect with Jewish life. The camp representatives aren’t just going to recruit for their own programs; they want children to have positive Jewish camp experiences, and they collaborate throughout the year to advance this shared mission and foster positive, lifelong memories of Jewish camping. Camps at the Fair will include 6 Points, Camps Airy and
Sara Jo Rubin
They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I would like to think that’s the case with our family. Over the years, we have donated to a host of causes, from Beth Sholom to Strelitz to Jewish Family Service (for whom I worked 31 years ago), and to organizations outside the Jewish community.
When we give a donation or serve on a board, we don’t usually consider who is watching, but when you have two children and now five grandchildren, you realize they are watching when you see them do the same. I am so proud of Danny and Shikma (as well as Molly and Joe in NOVA) for how they practice tzedakah – and now their kids, who are following in their footsteps.
Early in her time in Hampton Roads, Shikma joined CHKD’s Ambassadors and began to instill philanthropy by setting up a portable table for her children, Niv and Shai, to sell lemonade for CHKD. “You can pay with Venmo!” they yell out to bike riders who say they have no cash. When their cousins Lucy, Nora, and Harris visit, they join them on the street. Niv and Shai have also purchased canned goods and delivered them to the JFS food closet.
A major proponent for kindness, when I see our boys and girls practicing what is important to me, I feel like I have done (some of) my work as their Grandma or Gigi, as they call me.
But it’s also why I jumped at the opportunity to help promote Community Impact Day. I even recruited Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads to be among those in the Mitzvah Mall, accepting $1 gifts from toddlers to teens and perhaps encouraging the adults in their lives to throw in more.
The money raised will be valuable to the recipients, but it’s the sheer act of learning and giving that will resonate with the children. One dollar becomes $10 someday, and if they work hard and follow the lead of the adults in their lives, they will eventually make legacy gifts to the Jewish community, which Joel and I have done.
So, circle this one on your calendar. It’s the Sunday before Thanksgiving, an ideal time to show some gratitude for your family’s good fortune by sharing it with others and setting a good example for the next generations.
Louise, Camp Harlam, Camp JCC Tidewater, Camp Poyntelle, Camp Ramah, Perlman Camp, and Sababa Beachaway. Jewish Tidewater’s access to so many options for Jewish camping is an investment in Jewish continuity, ensuring that the next generation stays connected to their heritage in meaningful ways.
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.
Amy Weinstein
I am beyond excited to attend and present at the Community Impact Day: Creating Kindness and Jewish Camp Curiosity.
The energy of being at Jewish overnight camp is unmatched, and I am thrilled that the camp I attended as a child and teen, and then worked at as a college student, URJ Camp Harlam, will be part of this gathering.
Now I have a new role at Camp Harlam – as a parent. There is something truly magical about experiencing Jewish camping through the eyes of my children. It’s a chance to witness their joy and growth in an environment that fosters connection, creativity, and community.
It’s my hope that the Camp Curiosity portion of this event opens a world of opportunities to our community and our children, with just a small glimpse into several summer programs that offer unforgettable experiences and leave lasting impacts.
As a presenter, I look forward to sharing
information about Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s B’nai Tzedek Youth Philanthropy program. This initiative empowers young people to engage in charitable giving, as well as emphasizes the importance of community responsibility. I hope families with kids in third grade and up will join us for the Family Philanthropy Pizza Party at 12 pm (registration is required). This is an opportunity to explore how we can make charitable giving fun and engaging for everyone.
I can’t wait to see families come together to discover new ways to incorporate philanthropy into their lives. Through our hands-on activities and discussions that spark curiosity, we’ll show how giving back can be an exciting and fulfi lling journey.
This event is certain to inspire attendees and strengthen the bonds within our community by connecting with other families and sharing our common passion for Jewish traditions, shared values, and the spirit of giving.
Join us as we create kindness and explore the joy of Jewish camp and philanthropy together!
Kelly Burroughs
The Mitzvah Mall aspect of Community Impact Day is an amazing way for area youth and adults to know about all the incredible work that is taking place in Hampton Roads. Jewish Family Service serves and supports those in the community who are forgotten and vulnerable.
JFS is excited to be able to share some of its work, as well as share the space, with other nonprofits that are working for the same tikkun olam goal – healing the world through acts of kindness.
Stop by the JFS table at the Mitzvah Mall to paint rocks for its Jaffe Family Healing Rock Garden. A “donation station” will also be available to drop off a new, unwrapped gift for a child for its annual Chanukah Gift Program.
The Mitzvah Mall is a great opportunity to show the next generation of leaders and philanthropists the impact that even a small donation can make to ensure that the work continues and inspires a generous spirit for a lifetime. This day will be a coming together of much needed hope, fellowship, and service.
Kelly Burroughs is Jewish Family Service’s CEO.
Friday Oneg 8:15pm Back to the Future
Shabbat 3:30pm The Jewish Conception of the Messiah
Shalosh Seudos after Mincha 4:45 PM
Eddie Shapiro
Oxford University Press
432 pp.
$39.95
Reviewed by Nili Belkin In Here’s To The Ladies, Eddie Shapiro interviews 20 award-winning actresses. His style is open, honest, and gently invasive, allowing his interviewee to provide information that anyone else may have failed to access. Readers become privy to secrets, gossip, spats, and reminiscences, making them feel as if present and participating with him during the interview process.
But, later in the interview, stating that Betty Buckley (who replaced her) “was very good for it (the role).” Cook also relates a decline in prime roles because “I was too fat,” so, as
Humor and hard work are components of the success these women achieve.
Faith Prince began her career in a church in Lynchburg, Va. About playing Ursala
was cast as the first Elphaba in Wicked, working for two years in workshops and development until it was Broadwaybound, when she was replaced by a bigger named star and Block became the understudy.
Eddie Shapiro will take part in a special cabaret-style evening with live music in partnership with Zeiders American Dream Theater and ROÚGE Theater Reinvented* Wednesday, December 4, 7:30 pm, Sandler Family Campus
Each interview begins with a short history detailing the actress’s education and rise to stardom. This is a diverse group, ranging from Charlotte d’Amboise, who grew up in the New York City Ballet, to Portsmouth native Adrienne Warren, who turned to musical theater after sustaining an injury that eliminated her basketball future. Mary Beth Peil transitions from opera to musical theater, and Stephanie J. Block gets her theatrical start playing roles in SoCal theme parks. Each shares insight into her hard work, self-doubt, and successes.
Shapiro begins the book with an interview with the now-deceased Barbara Cook. He joins her in her New York apartment, setting the tone of cozy reminiscing for the rest of the book. Shapiro and Cook discuss her rise in the theater to starring roles in classics Oklahoma!, Carousel, and The Music Man, as well as her transition to cabaret and concert performer later in life. She dishes on past work experiences: leaving the London production of Carrie, predicting “this is going to be a phenomenal failure.”
with many of the women in this book, she changed her focus to continue her successful career.
The women are open with Shapiro about professional relationships, providing gossip and insight, such as that Leonard Bernstein was “so kind. And supportive…. Very sexy man.” Reports on Jerome Robbins stating, “we all felt burnt out.” Claims that Yul Brynner “had my back” and Robert Preston described as “Extraordinarily sexual.”
Cast and crew relationships are also included. Their dressers, for example, they say, “become your therapist, your lifesaver. They keep you from going on stage nude.”
Filled with tales of queens, princesses, cheerleaders, and rock stars, stories of friendship, loss, and grief are interwoven throughout the book. Kelli O’Hara cries when speaking of personal loss from the deaths of her friends and co-stars Marin Mazzie and Rebecca Luker. “They were strong, funny, sweet, good people. And they’re gone.” And Charlotte d’Amboise shares how terrifying it was in 1985 when many on Broadway were dying from AIDS. “Everybody was just terrified. You got it and you were dead. Fast.”
in The Little Mermaid, she says, “I enjoyed scaring children. Who knew?” Heather Headley, who offers a unique approach to the role of the witch in Into the Woods says, “I love The Witch, and she taught me a lot!” Grit is a requirement for achieving their success. Stephanie Block
Then there is the exhausting and exhilarating award season. The monthlong award season increases demands on stars who are already doing eight shows a week. The tension and excitement grow knowing Tony judges may be in the audience at any time.
Shapiro clearly adores these women. His sheer love of music theater shines through the book as he presents a personal introduction to a group of incredible leading ladies from the Broadway stage. So, sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy this delightful collection of interviews. Reading Here’s To The Ladies is like attending the cast party of the year.
*The presentation is part of the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival. $10 for JCC members; $14 for non-members.
Learn more and register at JewishVA.org/BookFest.
NOVEMBER 11, MONDAY
Camp JCC School Days Out. When school is not in session, School Days Out offers fun crafts, sports, games, gaga, and free swim. 9 am – 4 pm. Extended care option covers 8 am - 6 pm. Single days, 5 Day Bundles, and 10 Day Bundles available. Future dates: Dec 23 - Jan 3 (excluding Dec. 25 and Jan 1). Information: www.jcc.jewishva.org/ school-days-out.
NOVEMBER 13 – 18, WEDNESDAY - MONDAY
NOVEMBER 23, SATURDAY
WorldPerfect: The Jewish Impact on Civilization with Rabbi Ken Spiro. As a part of the Ann Zukerman Memorial Scholar-in-Residence weekend hosted by B’nai Israel Congregation, Rabbi Ken Spiro will explore 4,000 years of world history. 7:30 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free. Information and registration (required): www.JewishVA. org/Spiro.
NOVEMBER 24, SUNDAY
NOVEMBER 13, WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 14, THURSDAY
Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival presents Claire Sufrin, editor of Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas. Sufrin will join Hillel professionals from throughout Virginia to talk about the current climate on college campuses through a discussion of the summer 2024 issue of the journal, Jewish on Campus. 12 pm. Online. Free. Registration required: JewishVA.org/Sufrin.
NOVEMBER 18, MONDAY
The Shabbat Project. In partnership with Konikoff Center for Learning of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, enjoy a Shabbat crash course, bake challah with friends, or connect with new people at a community dinner. Special guests and the Traveling Chassidim will bring extra energy and joy to the Shabbat experience. Open to the community. B'nai Israel Congregation. Information: TidewaterShabbatProject.com/events.
The Annual Great Big Challah Bake for women of all ages. Hosted by B’nai Israel Congregation and part of the global Shabbos Project. All ingredients and recipes provided. Each participant will leave with two challahs ready to bake and enjoy for Shabbat. Suggested donation $5. 7 pm. B’nai Israel Congregation. Information and registration: www.Jewishva.org/ChallahBake.
Community Impact Day: Creating Kindness and Jewish Camp Curiosity. A partnership between United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, Tidewater Jewish Foundation, Ohef Sholom Temple, and Congregation Beth El, meet representatives from a variety of Jewish camps from across the Eastern region. Visit the Mitzvah Mall (non-profits) to learn about their important work and make donations. 10 am – 12 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free. Registration required: JewishVA.org/CampandKindness. See page 40.
JCC Book Club will meet to discuss The House is on Fire by Rachel Beanland. Join in person or via Zoom. 1:30 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free Information: contact Mia Klein at Mklein@ujft.org or Sherry Lieberman at joeann124@aol.com.
NOVEMBER 20, WEDNESDAY
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, author of The Art of Diplomacy, presented by the Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival and the 14th annual Israel Today series. Ambassador Eizenstat takes readers inside the room of high-stakes global negotiations through gripping firsthand accounts and exclusive interviews. 7:30 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free. Registration required: JewishVA.org/Eizenstat.
JCC Seniors Club – Meet the Authors. Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival presents Susan and David Schwartz, authors of The Joy of Costco. JCC Seniors club is for adults 55 and over. Membership is $15 per year; monthly $6 lunch charge. 11:30 lunch. 1 pm presenter. Sandler Family Campus. Information: Mia Klein at MKlein@UJFT.org.
NOVEMBER 21, THURSDAY
Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival and Strelitz International Academy present Lenore Skenazy, author of Free Range Kids. With real-world examples, Lenore Skenazy describes how parents and educators can step back so kids can step up. 6:30 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free. Registration required: JewishVA.org/Skenazy.
NOVEMBER 26, TUESDAY
Yiddish Club. Attendees can reconnect with old friends and make new ones who share a love for Yiddishkeit. Meets the first Tuesday of each month. 1 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Free. Information and registration: visit JewishVA.org/YiddishClub or contact Mia Klein at MKlein@ujft.org or 757-452-3184.
Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival presents David and Susan Schwartz, authors of The Joy of Costco. Two of Costco’s biggest fans, they’ve got some facts to share. JCC members, $10 with lunch. Non-members, $14 with lunch. 12 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Registration required by November 12: JewishVA.org/Schwartz.
DECEMBER 4, WEDNESDAY
Lee & Bernard Jaffe Family Jewish Book Festival presents Eddie Shapiro, author Here’s to the Ladies. Join theatre journalist Eddie Shapiro for a Cabaret-style evening celebrating the lives of incredible women and the songs they brought to life, featuring live music in partnership with Zeiders American Dream Theater and ROÚGE Theater Reinvented. 7:30 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Tickets $10 for JCC members, $14 for non-members. Registration required by November 26: JewishVA.org/Shapiro. See page 42.
DECEMBER 5, THURSDAY
RoundTable Conversation: What’s your take? Agree to Disagree. Discuss, don’t dismiss. United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC invite members to discuss timely topics, from the war in Israel to the latest health technology and everything in between. 1 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Information and registration: visit www.Jewishva.org/RoundTable or contact Mia Klein at MKlein@UJFT.org.
DECEMBER 7, SATURDAY
Frozen Flames: A Festival of Lights, Latkes, and Libations. Glass blowing, drinks, and a celebration of fire and ice for Jewish young adults in Tidewater. Presented by the Young Adult Division of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Open to all young Jewish adults aged 21-45ish. 7 pm. The NEW Chrysler Glass Studio. $36. $54 with a +1. Registration required: JewishVA.org/frozenflames.
DECEMBER 15, SUNDAY
What is Modern Jewish Art? A Lecture by Ori Soltes, PhD. This stimulating look at 20th and 21st centuries Jewish art will investigate connections to the ancient roots of Jewish identity and explore its meaning amidst the Jewish experience in modern times. Presented by the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in partnership with United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Jewish Art Education. 2 pm. Chrysler Museum of Art. $18 general admission, $9 for students/military with ID. Information and registration: JewishVA.org/JewishArt or Mia Klein at MKlein@UJFT.org or 757-452-3184 or Myrna Teck at Teck.JArtEd@gmail.com.
DINA, MINNESOTA – Ethel-Raye Greenspan, 87, of Norfolk, Va., passed away from heart disease in Edina, Minn. on October 16, 2024, surrounded by her family.
Born in Norfolk on May 8, 1937, to parents David and Helen Nesson, Ethel-Raye attended Granby High School and spent two years at Ohio State. Her 1962 marriage to Dr. Mark Greenspan ended in divorce and she did not remarry.
Ethel-Raye was a dedicated mother, grandmother, and friend whose home was always open. She loved to entertain and met regularly with friends for Mah Jong and dominoes. She took her skills at making people feel welcome to the market by starting a chapter of the Single Gourmet franchise in Hampton Roads in the late ‘80s. As chronicled in The Virginian-Pilot, the Single Gourmet contributed to several marriages over its 20 years of operation. She worked into her 80s and finished her working career as a receptionist at Beth Sholom Village.
Ethel-Raye’s artistic expression spanned decades and disciplines. She was an adept painter, quilter, and needlepoint worker, but beads were her passion. Throughout her career she created numerous beaded artifacts, flowers and other arrangements; at one point her talents were showcased in The Virginian-Pilot, along with a picture of a beaded-flower orange tree. Ethel-Raye also loved plants
and always enjoyed creating cuttings, repotting and decorating.
A lifelong resident of Norfolk, Ethel-Raye was a member of the Beth El Sisterhood, Beth El Congregation, and later Ohef Sholom Temple. She will be remembered as a beautiful debutante and prolific crafter, but more importantly as a dedicated mother/grandmother and well-connected, kind heart who never shied from friendliness, engaging in conversation with those around her.
Ethel-Raye is survived by her children Jeffrey (Cindy) Greenspan, Amy-Ann (Jeremy) Mayberg, and JohnJay Greenspan; grandchildren David (Laura) Greenspan, Jamie Greenspan, Bradley (Amanda) Santamour, Maxwell McCutcheon, Luz (Fernanda) Mayberg, and Rafael (Gemma) Forbush; great-grandchildren Avery, Logan, Kenton, Madalynn, Nolan, Mayim, and Gabriel; and siblings Eddie (JoAnn) Nesson and Nancy Ghertner.
Memorial services were held at H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments and were followed by a reception at Beth El. Donations are requested to be made to the American Diabetes Association or the American Heart Association. Online condolences can be made to the family at hdoliver.com.
VIRGINIA BEACH – Miriam Mednick Seeherman, 91, died peacefully on October 25, 2024.
A native of New York City, she moved to the area for love in 1956.
Miriam radiated kindness to everyone she met and did her best to ease the burdens of those who struggled. She was
intellectually curious, loved the arts, and was always ready with a laugh.
She dedicated herself to volunteering in her community in diverse areas: music, art, senior wellness, and religious tolerance, among others.
Her leadership roles included: Feldman Chamber Music Society, president; Jewish Family Service, president; Beth Sholom Home, president; Norfolk Commission on Aging, chair; VA/NC Anti-Defamation League, chair; and Jewish Community Relations Council of United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, chair. There were many more. Miriam also received multiple humanitarian and community awards over the years.
Miriam was predeceased by her husbands, Maurice Mednick and Bob Seeherman, and by her brother, Ralph Golub.
She is survived by her children, Saul, Felicia, Lainie and Palmer, and Joel; stepchildren, Michael, Marc and Judith; grandchildren, Kimberly, Chelsea and Dan, Raven and Jimmy, Maurice, Elka, Avi, Seth and Shira; and great-grandson Dylan; and countless beloved cousins, nieces, nephews, and chosen family.
Miriam treasured the long standing and new friendships in her life and in these groups: Low-Key Book Group, Monday Bridge Group, Wednesday Mah Jong Group, Stock Club, and “The Y” Silver Sneakers Group.
Memorial services were held at Ohef Sholom Temple.
Donations are requested to a cause close to the donor’s heart, in Miriam’s memory. Online condolences can be made to the family at hdoliver.com.
Andrew Silow-Carroll (JTA) — Adam Abeshouse, a producer of classical music whose resume included three Grammy Awards as well as side gigs performing on Broadway in the pit orchestra of Fiddler on the Roof and setting up his synagogue’s sound system, died last month at his home in Westchester County, New York. He was 63.
The cause was bile duct cancer, according to his family.
A trained violinist who built what his wife Maria Abeshouse called his “dream” studio (and what the pianist Joshua Denk called a “nerd’s paradise”) at their home in South Salem, New York, Abeshouse produced recordings for a roster of A-list musical artists. They included violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell, pianists Emanuel Ax and Simone Dinnerstein, and ensembles ranging from The Kronos Quartet to Russia’s St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra.
His Grammys included classical producer of the year, in 1999.
He was also the founder, in 2002, of the Classical Recording Foundation, which helped artists record their passion projects when major record labels had begun to retreat from what the New York Times once called, in a story about the foundation, “projects of high artistic merit but low commercial priority.”
When others would wonder why the world needed more versions of previously recorded works, Abeshouse offered a sports analogy.
“But does anyone invoke that sort of reasoning when it comes to great tennis matches or baseball games?” he asked in a profi le in The New Yorker in 2002. “If that axiom were applied to sporting events, the stadiums would be empty.”
Abeshouse was also a regular at his
synagogue, the Pelham Jewish Center in Westchester County, where in addition to setting up the sound system, he would play in various ensembles, including on the holiday of Purim. “I have a Grammyaward winning sound engineer making sure everyone can hear my sermons,” the synagogue’s rabbi, Benjamin Resnick, joked at Abeshouse’s funeral.
Adam and Maria Abeshouse traveled to Israel with a group from the synagogue in 2005, and would return another five times.
“Growing up as Adam’s daughter meant joyful Shabbat dinners, delicious food, and superb wine,” his daughter Emily recalled at the funeral.
Before turning nearly full time to recording others, Abeshouse was a freelance violinist who appeared as a sub in the orchestra pits of Broadway musicals, including productions of Fiddler on the Roof in the 1990s. He can also be seen performing in the 1980 movie Fame about students at a performing arts high school in New York City.
Born June 5, 1961, Abeshouse grew up in Westbury, Long Island. His grandfather left Russia for China in the early years of the 20th century and spent 10 years in Harbin, a city in Northern Manchuria that was briefly a haven for Jews fleeing the Pale of Settlement. A balalaika player in the czar’s army orchestra, his grandfather eventually settled in Sydney, Australia, where he opened a music store.
Abehouse’s father, Jack, an accomplished amateur musician whose company compounded fl avors and fragrances, moved to New York in 1952 and married his mother, Evy.
Abeshouse began playing violin in the third grade. He studied at New York University and the Manhattan School of Music.
This summer, when his disease metastasized and he entered home hospice,
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Approved by all area Rabbis and Chevrah Kadisha
Abeshouse had two requests, according to his wife. The first was that the wedding of their daughter Emily to Jesse Weisfelner, a former lone soldier in the Israeli military, be moved from Dec. 29 to Sept. 15; the second was that friends and clients come to his studio for what would be a farewell concert a few weeks later.
According to a report in NPR, among those gathered for the concert were Bell, Denk, pianist Lara Downes, and the string trio Time for Three.
“We’ve made many, many recordings together,” Bell told NPR. “I’ve spent many hours with him in the studios, doing a
process which is usually excruciating for me. But with him it always became a fun time together. Those moments have been so precious to me.”
“He was able to enjoy and take part in both” the wedding and the concert, Maria, his wife of 38 years, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “He was very sociable, and afterwards he was pretty wired for a long time. He had meetings, then a big meeting on the phone the next day for his classical recording foundation. That and the studio were legacies that he wanted to go on.”
His survivors include his wife, his daughters Emily and Sarah, and a brother, David.
Asaf Elia-Shalev (JTA) — Bernie Marcus, 95, the billionaire who co-founded Home Depot and became a Republican megadonor and supporter of civic and political causes in the United States and Israel, died Monday, Nov. 4 in Boca Raton, Florida. His death came on the eve of an election into which he had poured millions of dollars to support Donald Trump and Republicans across the country.
In the final political donation recorded publicly before his death, made in July, Marcus gave $1 million to the United Democracy Project, a campaign fundraising group affiliated with the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC that Marcus has supported since its creation in 2022.
“The Home Depot is deeply saddened by the passing of our beloved founder, Bernard Marcus,” the company he founded in 1978 said in a statement announcing Marcus’ death. “To us, he was simply ‘Bernie.’”
Over the course of his life, Marcus donated more than $2 billion to various causes, according to Forbes, and he leaves behind an estimated net worth of $11 billion that will mostly go to the Marcus Foundation.
Born to Russian Jewish immigrants in Newark, New Jersey, in 1929, Marcus “never lost sight of his humble roots, using his success not for fame or fortune but to generously help others,” the company said.
Among Marcus’ legacies are the transformation of downtown Atlanta with the establishment of the Georgia Aquarium; a massive advance in autism awareness and research thanks to the Marcus Autism Center, also in Atlanta; and the founding of the Israel Democracy Institute in Jerusalem, a think tank focused on governance.
Toward the end of his life, Marcus, with his wife Billi, became perhaps best known for his staunch support of Donald Trump, second only to Sheldon Adelson among conservative Jewish megadonors. Marcus helped propel Trump into the White House in 2016 by contributing $7 million and gave even more four years later to finance his failed reelection campaign. Last year, he said he intended to support Trump again in this year’s election despite the former president’s felony convictions and his “brash style.”
Marcus also defended former Trump advisor Steve Bannon against charges of abetting antisemitism and extremism. At one point, Home Depot fended off calls to boycott the company over Marcus’ politics.
Unlike Adelson, his peer in philanthropy and Republican politics, Marcus donated money in Israel while making sure to avoid taking sides in the country’s fractured parliamentary politics. In addition to the nonpartisan Israel Democracy Institute, he gave to causes like health
care, including the Marcus National Blood Services Center, established with a $25 million donation.
His philanthropy in Israel was rooted in his sense of identity. “I’m proud of the fact that I’m Jewish and what happened with the Holocaust is not going to happen again if I can do anything about it,” he said in an extensive profile published by Philanthropy Magazine in 2012.
Where some focused on threats from without, Marcus worried primarily about how the country’s own government structures were undermining its viability.
“Until Israel has a constitution and a Bill of Rights, the rule of law is murky. And I’m a great believer in the rule of law,” he said in 2012. Israel still has no constitution.
Born months before the start of the Great Depression, Marcus was raised in a tenement in Newark, New Jersey.
A teenager during World War II and its aftermath, he joined his family on trips to the Catskills where he performed magic and hypnotism. The experience of reading and satisfying an audience helped seed a dream of becoming a psychiatrist. But Marcus’ parents couldn’t afford to send him to medical school, so he became a pharmacist instead. (He also said he was rejected because of quotas limiting Jewish enrollment.)
He didn’t much care for the technical side of the field, but he took a liking to sales. That realization led him to become a retail manager, taking ever larger roles until he came to a chain of hardware stores in Los Angeles.
At age 49, after leaving the company amid corporate turmoil, Marcus joined Arthur Blank to found a new home improvement retailer with a vision that would transform the industry.
The pair picked Atlanta as their starting point, found investors and quickly opened a number of stores under the Home Depot banner. They tapped into a massive unmet demand among Americans to fix up their own homes. Unlike the old-style of hardware stores, Home Depot offered a massive warehouse space that stocked not only tools but paint and lumber, which had typically required a visit to separate retailers.
In Marcus’ 19 years as CEO, Home Depot became a ubiquitous American brand. He remained chair of the company’s board of directors until 2002 when he left to focus on giving away the wealth he had accumulated.
In 2010, Marcus signed the Giving Pledge, the initiative by Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to encourage the ultra-wealthy to give away a majority of their money to charity. Then, in 2020, he joined the Jewish Future Pledge, a promise by its signers to earmark most of their wealth to Jewish or Israel-related causes.
He had been raised to give away his money, Marcus said in an interview, pointing to the memory of his mother who sometimes denied him a nickel for ice cream, saying the coin was going toward planting trees in Israel instead.
Marcus took pride in his company’s record of ingraining the value of tzedakah, or charity, in his employees. “Kids come out of working at Home Depot and they all have this feeling of tzedakah. “I turned them all into Jews!” he was quoted as saying.
The largest and most notable acts of charity were not necessarily dedicated to Jewish causes. In Georgia, he was a major patron of civic institutions. In the late 1990s, Marcus and the then-governor of Georgia, Roy Barnes, flew back to Atlanta from a tour of Israel. During the flight, Marcus said he wanted to give a gift to the city of Atlanta, proposing an aquarium that could anchor a redevelopment of downtown. That conversation culminated in one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, the Georgia Aquarium, which opened in 2005 thanks in large part to a $250 million donation from Marcus.
An employee’s struggles parenting a child with autism spurred Marcus’ interest in the issue, which he championed by founding a world-leading institute, the Marcus Autism Center, and spearheading a research and advocacy group, Autism Speaks.
Also, in the realm of heath, he was a major donor to Atlanta’s Shepherd Center for spinal and brain injury rehabilitation, and the founding donor of a neuroscience institute at the Boca Raton Regional Hospital in Florida.
Marcus was also influential in the field of philanthropy itself, modeling a business-like mindset that always sought as large a return on a philanthropic investment as possible. His libertarian ideology and faith in the free market also drove his contributions to advocacy against government regulations.
In his final years, Marcus grew increasingly concerned about antisemitism in the United States and on college campuses, which he said he thought had risen to the levels he experienced as a child and young adult prior to the founding of Israel.
“We are very careful with our giving. And we’ve given away over $2 billion in the last several years, and in the places that we’ve given it, we follow it very carefully,” he said. “We make sure that the money is being spent the way it should be spent.”
Marcus is survived by his wife and stepson; his children from his first marriage; and grandchildren, for whom he said his 2022 book, Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself, was intended.
