Jewish News - September 17, 2018

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Southeastern Virginia | Vol. 57 No. 2 | 23 Elul 5779 | September 17, 2018

31 The school year begins at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater

32 Super Sunday Sunday, October 21

UJFT launches inspiring 2019 Annual Campaign —page 14

HAT and Strelitz thank donors 26 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 Address Service Requested

Non-Profit Org. US POSTAGE PAid Suburban MD Permit 6543

High Holidays

32 Hanoch Piven Israel Today’s Artist-In-Residence

33 Patricia and Avraham Azhkenazi and FIDF

Supplement to Jewish News September 17, 2018

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What a start to 5779!

Published 21 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.

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t was wonderful to see so many of you on Thursday, September 6, as our community came together to

Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757.965.6100 • fax 757.965.6102 email news@ujft.org

launch our 2019 Annual Campaign, our Patron of the J Campaign and the Lee & Bernard Jaffe* Family

Jewish Book Festival. Whether you were part of the standing-room only crowd, or had participated in another event that was held during our “Kickoff” week, I sincerely thank you for being among the first to step forward and help begin what I know will be a great year in our community.

Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Ronnie Jacobs Cohen, Account Exectutive Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus

A few days later, as we joined together with our congregations and families to commemorate the start of the New Year, we found ourselves anticipating the potential of Hurricane Florence severely impacting Tidewater.

Many of our synagogues, along with many of our homes, are in what is now a familiar and commonly used

Betty Ann Levin

term—“Zone A.” In fact, many congregants in the Ghent area of Norfolk, as well as those at the Oceanfront, encountered flooding as they traveled to and from Rosh Hashanah services.

While at this moment, the threat and potential impacts from Hurricane Florence have been downgraded for Hampton Roads, it has been a somewhat harrowing start of 5779. Hopefully, for some it has been an opportunity for enhanced reflection and family connections. For others, particularly those vulnerable members of our community, it may have been a challenging time and I hope that we have all been able to assist those who may have been in need in terms of storm preparations, evacuations, physical assistance, or emotional support.

It has been heartening to receive messages of support and offers of assistance from the Jewish Federations of North America, as well

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater John Strelitz, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Stephanie Calliott, Secretary Betty Ann Levin, Executive Vice-President www.jewishVA.org The appearance of advertising in the Jewish News does not constitute a kashrut, political, product or service endorsement.

The articles and letters appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper. © 2018 Jewish News. All rights reserved.

as from CEO’s of other Federations, such as in Houston, Texas. As Houston recently marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Harvey,

Subscription: $18 per year

the fact that they are stepping forward to offer assistance and resources reinforces the strength of our system and of our people.

As I said on September 6, we are all here to take care of and help each other in our times of need—locally and globally. Unexpectedly,

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that is how we have begun 5779.

L’shana tova tikatevu to all of you and your families and wishing us all a safe, sweet, and healthy new year.

Upcoming Deadlines for Editorial and Advertising

Betty Ann Levin Executive vice president United Jewish Federation of Tidewater *Of blessed memory

Up Front. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Torah Thought. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Israel: Paraguay embassy, Abbas, 9/11 memorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Israelis want American Jewish help promoting pluralism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Torah scroll safe in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Trump administration orders PLO office in DC to close . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 TJF: Alene and Ron Kaufman designate Legacy Gift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 UJFT launches 2019 Campaign. . . . . . . . . . . . 14 TJF: Simon Passport to Israel grant helps teen take trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

High Holidays Special Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Mark Zuckerberg blows the shofar. . . . . . . . . 25 Hebrew Academy of Tidewater thanks donors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Ohef Sholom gets new director of education and engagement. . . . . . . . . . . 29 HAT begins new school year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ohef Sholom to celebrate 100th anniversary of sanctuary . . . . . . . . . 35 Obituaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 What’s Happening . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 About the cover: Photograph of Izzy Ezagui at Campaign Kickoff by Mark Robbins.

Oct. 1 Oct. 22 Nov. 5 Nov. 26 Dec. 10 Dec. 24 Jan 21, ’19

Home Sept. 14 Mazel Tov Oct. 5 Military/Veterans Oct. 19 Hanukkah Nov. 6 Business Nov 23 Education Dec. 7 Investments/Giving Jan 4, ’19

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Friday, September 21/12 Tishrei Light candles at 6:45 pm

“I think it is important that children not only learn about Tikkun Olam, but actually see it being practiced by the adults they interact with on a regular basis.”

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BRIEFS Emmanuel Macron becomes first sitting French president to attend pre-Rosh Hashanah ceremony French President Emmanuel Macron attended a pre-Rosh Hashanah ceremony at the Great Synagogue of Paris, the first time that a sitting president has done so.

Macron, who was presented with several varieties of honey as a gift in honor of the Jewish New Year, did not speak at the program, since France has a strict separation between state and religion, the French news agency AFP reported.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, French Senate President Gerard Larcher and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo also attended the ceremony. Macron was greeted by France’s Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia; Joel Mergui, president of the Consistoire organization that provides religious services to French Jews; and the chief rabbi of Paris, Michel Gugenheim, according to AFP. Jewish community leaders who spoke at the program directed their concern about rising anti-Semitism in the country to the visiting president.

“Our children leave” because “France, the land of asylum, is becoming a land of exile for Jews,” Mergui said.

He also said that ritual slaughter, circumcision and vacation on religious holidays should “no longer be seen as concessions at the margins of the law… but obvious freedoms.” (JTA) Anti-Semitic online post says Jews are taking over Indiana University campus An online post said a “bunch of hairy stink rude obnoxious jews” are overtaking the Indiana University campus.

The existence of the anonymous post was first reported on Friday, August 31 by the alternative student publication The Tab on its Instagram account.

The Aug. 29 post had appeared on the Greekrank website about fraternities and sororities on campus. It has been deleted, but screenshots have circulated.

University officials denounced the post in a statement, the Indiana Daily Student reported.

“The language used by these anonymous posters is hurtful and offensive,” the

statement said. It also said that “Hoosiers are better than this.”

The post said: “OMG so first of all I don’t want to sound racist or anything… but like wtf why are there so many jews here at IU now wat happened?” the post said. “where being takin over by a bunch of hairy stink rude obnoxious jews… the girls acts so damn exclusive and if ur not jewish u can’t hang out with them or even talk to them… they give us looks like were below them and not worthy of talking too…this must end or this school is gonna go to ****!”

Responses included “UR not wrong but you can’t do anything about it” and “Don’t really have a problem with the guys or girls, just the JAPS,” and “seriously there everywhere.”

The editor of The Tab said on Instagram that “to hear that anti-Semitism is alive and well as a Jew on campus makes me mad.

We are better than this. Now show it.”

University officials also met with students at Hillel, the Indiana Daily Student reported, citing Hillel director Rabbi Sue Silberberg, who has worked at the university for 29 years.

“They’re very upset and take it very, very seriously, and that’s been very comforting for the students,” Silberberg said of the university officials.

There are about 4,000 Jewish undergraduates on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus, making up 11 percent of the undergraduate student population, according to the Hillel Guide to Colleges. (JTA)

Stephen Miller’s childhood rabbi bashes the Trump adviser in his New Year’s sermon The childhood rabbi of Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to President Donald Trump, said Miller learned nothing from his Jewish education and called him a purveyor of “negativity, violence, malice and brutality.”

Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels of Beth Shir Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Santa Monica, California, devoted his Rosh Hashanah sermon to denouncing Miller, the key architect of Trump’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policies, the Guardian reported.

4 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

“Honestly, Mr. Miller, you’ve set back the Jewish contribution to making the world spiritually whole through your arbitrary division of these desperate people,” Comess-Daniels said. “The actions that you now encourage President Trump to take make it obvious to me that you didn’t get my, or our, Jewish message.”

The rabbi continued: “This is the season of apology, and to get to an apology, shame over past actions is necessary.

Some shout at others when they are self-righteous enough: You should be ashamed of yourself! That’s not something I would ever shout or demand.”

The service was broadcast live on Facebook from the auditorium of Santa Monica High School, which Miller attended from 1999 to 2003.

Miller never had a bar mitzvah but attended Hebrew school, “where he was known as a provocateur unafraid to alienate his classmates,” according to the Guardian.

Comess-Daniels said during his sermon that some of his fellow rabbis had questioned whether he had educated Miller appropriately.

“I can assure you, as I can assure them, that what I taught is a Judaism that cherishes wisdom, values…wide horizons and an even wider embrace,” the rabbi said.

Comess-Daniels also said that separating families “is completely antithetical to everything I know about Judaism, Jewish law and Jewish values.” (JTA)

Kosher-keeping Orthodox teen wins ‘Chopped’ championship An Orthodox, kosher-keeping teen won a Chopped championship.

Rachel Goldzal, 13, of Staten Island, won the episode that aired on September 4, beating two 12-year-olds and a 10-yearold. She was 12 when she filmed the Food Network cooking reality show in the spring.

She is the first kosher champion in the show’s history, which includes more than 450 episodes. Her win earned her a check for $10,000. There have been other kosher-keeping contestants in the past.

Goldzal is in the eighth grade at the Jewish Foundation School of Staten Island.

The pre-teen chefs were required to create an appetizer, a main dish, and a

dessert in three 30-minute rounds and to include four random, pre-selected ingredients per course.

Producers worked with Goldzal and her parents to make sure that all the ingredients were kosher and gave her new pots, pans, and utensils to use, VIN reported. They also made sure that she would not have to mix meat and dairy products.

She was very open with the judges about being an Orthodox Jew and about keeping kosher. She told them that between Shabbat and all the holidays on the Jewish calendar she cooks “all the time.”

She said she learned how to cook by watching her grandmother and mother.

She also was enrolled in the culinary program at her summer camp, Camp Nesher in Pennsylvania. She worked with a private chef ahead of the competition as well.

The teen said that she wants one day to work as a private chef in a kosher kitchen, as opposed to opening a restaurant like many competition winners.

“Winning Chopped was like a dream come true for me,” she told VIN. She has her own website, www.

RachelInTheKidchen.com, and over one thousand followers on Instagram. (JTA)

The Cakemaker will be Israel’s entry into the foreign Oscar race The Cakemaker, a successful indie film involving a gay and straight love triangle, will be Israel’s entry into the 2019 Academy Awards.

The film, written and directed by Ofir Raul Graizer, won six awards at Israel’s version of the Oscars, the Ophir Awards, on Thursday, Sept. 6 including for best picture.

The best film winner at the Ophirs automatically becomes Israel’s Oscar entry. Despite having several films make it onto the best foreign language film shortlist, Israel has never won the award.

The rights for a U.S. remake of The Cakemaker have already been sold.

“I always wanted to do a story about people who don’t want to be defined by political, sexual and national identities,” Graizer told JTA in June. “These are people who say ‘I don’t care about these identities, I am who I am.’” (JTA)

torah thought

Not the neighbor’s Yom Kippur

The first Jews were part of the Ancient Near East. They knew the habits of thought, the default assumptions, of their society. But as Jews, they were revolutionaries, rejecting the depravity and the inhumane expressions of Bronze Age life, with its murderous despotism in the political realm and its debasement of human life in a slavery-based social system. This combination of indebtedness to, and protest against, the traditions of the neighbors characterizes Biblical religion in virtually every domain.

The holidays of ancient Israel are good illustrations of this. The neighbors of our biblical ancestors had the notion of High Holidays, comprising a half-month beginning with the New Year, continuing with rituals of Atonement, and concluding with a jamboree celebrating the harvest and the renewal of society’s lease on life.

This lays down the baseline of our own Autumn holidays. But beyond that borrowing, the distinctive Jewish message is made clear in the monotheist beliefs and ethical emphases of the Jewish festivals of Tishre.

The ancient Mesopotamians had two New Year festivals, one during the lead-up to the Full Moon nearest the Vernal Equinox, and the other—like our own Days of Awe—in the half-month leading up to the Full Moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox. There were local variations as to which was more important, but an ancient Sumerian myth, Enlil Chooses the Farmer God, expresses the opinion that the Autumn is when the New Year truly begins. Their high god adjudicated a quarrel between two of his sons, representing respectively the work of the farmer and the shepherd, standing in for Winter and Summer. The high god

gave the nod to the farmer, meaning that the New Year of the Autumn, leading into the winter, was deemed the more important. This corresponds to the physical geography of Mesopotamia, where the autumnal rains, after the parching heat of the summer, brings the landscape back to life and allows for the sowing of the coming year’s crop of winter barley.

An intriguing point of contact is found in the ritual of atonement, shared in broad outlines by our ancestors and their Mesopotamian neighbors. During the Akitu New Year’s festival, the pagans cleaned their Temple and enacted a predecessor of the biblical “Scapegoat” ritual: “On the fifth day the temple was sprinkled with water…then a sheep was beheaded and the walls of the chapel were rubbed with its body. This done, the head and the body were thrown into the river, while the officiating priest and slaughterer were sent into the desert…to observe a quarantine until the end of the festival. The ceremony was called kuppuru.…” Both word and concept are parallel to our own Yom Kippur.

But if the language of pagan myth and ritual provided the background to the details of our religion, the distinctiveness of Judaism emerges upon closer examination. The ritual of expelling one goat to the wilderness and of sacrificing another animal, sprinkling its blood upon the altar, was the first word, not the last word, in the Jewish notion of atonement. The Yom Kippur that developed in the course of our Jewish journey, and that is predominant today, in our Temple-less phase of existence, focuses on the ethical and the interpersonal. As the rabbis express it: “Yom Kippur secures atonement for sins committed against God. Yom Kippur does not secure atonement for sins committed against one’s neighbor, until one has conciliated his neighbor.”(Mishnah Yoma 8:9).

As Jews, we want to be able to learn good ideas from our neighbors, but also to insist on our distinctiveness. That is how we contribute to a better tomorrow.

Rabbi Michael Panitz, Temple Israel

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jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 5

Ruth’s Life Said a Lot About Her As a “pink lady” Ruth Goodman volunteered more hours than anyone else at the Norfolk hospital where she greeted visitors for years.

Before she died in 1995, Ruth arranged for a Hampton Roads Community Foundation bequest to forever give good health to the community she and her late husband Victor loved.

This year 15 students are studying to become physicians, physical therapists, nurses and other medical professionals thanks to scholarships generated by Ruth’s generosity. Many more Goodman Scholars will follow every year.

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Israel Paraguay’s embassy is leaving Jerusalem.

So Israel closed its embassy in Paraguay.

JERUSALEM ( JTA)—Israel closed its embassy in Paraguay following an announcement by the South American country that it was relocating its embassy back to Tel Aviv four months after moving to Jerusalem.

The move comes as Paraguay joins the effort to bring peace to the Middle East.

“Paraguay wants to contribute to an intensification of regional diplomatic efforts to achieve a broad, fair and lasting peace in the Middle East,” Foreign Minister Luis Alberto Castiglioni told reporters.

Shortly after the announcement of

the return to Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled his country’s ambassador to Paraguay and then ordered the Israeli embassy closed.

Netanyahu also holds the foreign minister’s portfolio.

“Israel views with great severity the unusual decision of Paraguay, which will cloud bilateral relations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Paraguay opened its new embassy in Jerusalem in May, a week after the United States moved its embassy to the capital from Tel Aviv and days after Guatemala.

A previous embassy in a Jerusalem suburb

Report: Abbas told Trump that if he wants a meeting, he should fire Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Trump administration has rejected as “untrue” an Israeli television report that President Donald Trump requested a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of this month’s United Nations General Assembly.

Channel 2 Hadashot news reported on the Trump overture through an unnamed third party to reestablish ties with the Palestinians.

Abbas reportedly responded that such a meeting could only take place if the United States made diplomatic overtures. He reportedly demanded that Trump fire special Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt and White House adviser Jared Kushner.

“The Channel 2 report that President Trump requested a meeting with President Abbas is untrue,” Garrett Marquis, the U.S. National Security Council spokesperson, said in a statement.

“Channel 2 unfortunately continues to publish misleading reports without checking their veracity.”

Hadashot news stood by its story despite the administration’s denials and noted that World Jewish Congress President Ronald Lauder has served as an indirect intermediary.

Marquis went on to say: “Rather than engage in personal attacks against Jason Greenblatt or other members of the administration, we continue to hope that the Palestinian Authority will engage with the U.S. positively and constructively to advance our mutual goal of a better future for the Palestinian people.”

Abbas stopped talking to the administration after the United States moved its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Trump angered the Palestinians recently with his decision to cut U.S. funding to the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

6 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

was closed in 2012 in retaliation for Israel shuttering its diplomatic mission in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion as part of a round of budget cuts. A new Paraguayan embassy opened a year later near Tel Aviv.

Then-President Horacio Cartes, who left office in mid-August when the government of Mario Abdo Benitez took over, announced in late April during an event in Asuncion marking Israel’s 70th Independence Day that he planned to move the embassy before the end of his term. It is not known if Cartes consulted with Benítez before announcing the move.

Memorial ceremony for victims of 9/11 held in Jerusalem JERUSALEM (JTA)— A memorial ceremony was held Thursday, Sept. 6 in Jerusalem for victims of the 9/11 attacks on the United States.

The annual ceremony is hosted by Keren Kayemet LeIsraelJewish National Fund, Jewish National Fund-USA and the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

The ceremony held at the 9/11 Living Memorial Monument in the Ramot neighborhood took place prior to Sept. 11 because this year the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks fell on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.

“In this beautiful plaza, at this inspiring location, we remind the families of those lost and we confirm to people everywhere, that we stand together—Americans and Israelis—and that together we continue to heal and to build, in a spirit of solidarity and commitment to the future,” U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said at the ceremony.

Among those on hand for the ceremony were United Airlines pilots, firefighters and police officers, and representatives from JNF-USA and Nefesh B’Nefesh, along with Israeli families who lost loved ones in the attack, ambassadors and other diplomats.

The 9/11 Living Memorial Monument is the only one outside of the United States to include all the names of the 9/11 victims. The 30-foot-high bronze sculpture created by Israeli artist Eliezer Weishoff and KKL-JNF landscape architect Yechiel Cohen shows the American flag folded into the shape of a memorial flame. A metal shard from the ruins of the Twin Towers is incorporated into the base of the monument.

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( JTA)—For years, American Jewish groups have agitated for more religious pluralism in Israel. And year after year, the Israeli government has acted as if the country’s demographic and political realities make any kind of substantial reform impossible.

The latest version of an annual survey disputes that claim: It shows that Jewish Israelis disapprove of how their government handles religious issues. It shows that they want more liberal religious policies. And it says they want American Jews to intervene in the debate.

The one wrinkle is that when Jewish Israelis talk about “religious freedom,” they are mostly talking about a different set of issues than their American counterparts. American Jewish institutions have poured their energy into changes at the Western Wall and blocking restrictions on Jewish conversion. But Jewish Israelis mostly care about quotidian issues like public transit on Saturdays and government funding of yeshivas.

Those are some of the takeaways from an annual survey of attitudes among Jewish Israelis on religion and state conducted by Hiddush, an Israeli organization that supports religious pluralism.

The survey questioned 800 Jewish Israelis in July and has a margin of error of 3.5 percent.

“The overwhelming majority views negatively the government’s policy on religion and state, opposes practically every aspect of any decision or any issue, whether it’s the [military] draft or marriage or public transit on Shabbat,” says Rabbi Uri Regev, the founder and CEO of Hiddush. “The public does want freedom, does oppose government decisions and policies. The public wants Diaspora Jewish involvement in promoting religious freedom.”

As it does every year, the survey found that Jewish Israelis are far more liberal on religious issues than their government. The government’s religious policies are largely administered by the haredi

Orthodox Chief Rabbinate, which only recognizes Orthodox rabbis, Orthodox weddings, Orthodox conversion and Orthodox kosher certification. Israel bans nearly all public transit on Shabbat. It does not recognize same-sex marriages performed in the country.

But two-thirds of Jewish Israelis support separation of religion and state, representing an increase of 10 percentage points since 2012. Seventy percent back government recognition of all forms

The overwhelming majority views negatively the government’s policy on religion and state, opposes practically every aspect of any decision or any issue, whether it’s the [military] draft or marriage or public transit on Shabbat.

of marriage, including civil marriage— an increase from 53 percent in 2009.

Sixty-six percent support the three major denominations of Judaism—Orthodox, Conservative and Reform—enjoying equal status in Israel.

Nearly half support recognition of all forms of Jewish conversion, while an additional 28 percent support a liberalization of current conversion regulations.

More than 70 percent want increased public transit on Shabbat.

“There is a consistent and continual decline in people’s preference for the Orthodox option,” Regev, a Reform rabbi,

israel you find in young people.” says regarding marriage. “The self-righAnd while only 22 percent of Israelis teous claim of the Rabbinate to be the identify as religious or haredi—and 13 authentic, authoritative, legitimate reprepercent self-identify as Conservative or sentative of halachic Judaism is not borne Reform—a greater part of the population out by the people.” has traditional religious The survey does tendencies. Nearly half have some good news for of Jewish Israelis observe fans of Israel’s religious Shabbat partially or fully. status quo. On issue after And given the choice issue—from conversion between different types to marriage to kosher Percent of Israelis of weddings, most would certification—younger support the three still opt to be married in respondents favored more major denominations an Orthodox ceremony— traditionalist policies of Judaism enjoying either under the Chief than their elders. While equal status in Israel Rabbinate’s auspices or more than 80 percent of outside of it. respondents over age 50 But while 76 percent support separation of reliof Jewish Israelis express gion and state in Israel, dissatisfaction with the for example, only 42 percurrent government’s religious policies, cent of those under 29 do. it may not make a difference. Israelis Regev says part of this divide is due have not historically voted on religious to high haredi birth rates. But he said it’s issues, prioritizing security and economic also due to “an element of contrarianism

66

concerns. Even so, the survey found that most Jewish Israelis are more likely to vote for a political party if it supports increasing religious freedom.

“If they waver between party A and party B, and party A took a strong stand on this issue, it’s going to win brownie points with the voters,” Regev says, adding, however, that “It will depend on what happens, to a great degree, shortly before the elections,” which are scheduled for next year.

Whether or not they vote on religious issues, Jewish Israelis say they want Diaspora Jewry’s help in advancing religious pluralism. Two-thirds expressed support for Diaspora groups “working to strengthen religious freedom and pluralism in Israel.” That includes 65 percent of those who voted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the 2015 election.

Netanyahu froze a compromise last year— backed by American Jewish groups—that would have expanded a non-Orthodox

prayer plaza at the Western Wall.

The Western Wall has been the top religious policy priority for American Jewish groups over the past several years, but it doesn’t register with non-haredi Jewish Israelis. They told Hiddush that their most important religious issues were, in order: reducing government funding of Orthodox yeshivas, instituting civil marriage and allowing public transit on Shabbat. American Jewish groups have also pushed for civil marriage, but have not spoken out significantly on the other two issues.

“It’s not about giving carte blanche to American Jewry,” Regev says. “It’s saying these are things we feel strongly about… and we welcome your help.”

“Clearly there is a disconnect over the wall. The wall, unlike marriage, is a symbol of what many American Jews feel so strongly about that in Israel is seen as a marginal issue at best.”

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world

Ancient Torah scroll is safe after fire engulfs an iconic museum in Brazil

A

n ancient Torah scroll once owned by a Brazilian emperor had been removed from Brazil’s National Museum for restoration prior to the massive fire that engulfed the building in Rio earlier this month.

Unlike other irreplaceable treasures, the 13th-century Yemenite Torah scroll once owned by emperor Pedro II is safe at another building that belongs to the National Museum. The Jewish federation in Rio is expected to make an announcement about the Jewish artifact soon.

“We deeply regret the loss of this colossal treasure in the history of Brazil,” Israel’s honorary consul in Rio, Osias Wurman, said of the building in an interview with JTA. “The only compensation was to know that the Torah of Pedro II is safe, since it was located in

another building of the museum. This Torah is evidence of the admiration that the Portuguese monarch had for the Jewish people and for their traditions.

This was so rare in Europe.”

The National Museum housed Latin America’s largest collection of historical artifacts with over 20 million items, including extensive paleontological, anthropological and biological specimens. It was home to a 13-yard-long dinosaur skeleton, an Egyptian mummy and a skull called Luzia that was among the oldest fossils ever found in the Americas, which were all burned in the fire. The largest meteorite ever discovered in Brazil survived the flames.

Established in 1818, the museum’s building was once the home of the Portuguese Royal Family after it fled Napoleon’s troops and sailed to Brazil. It

was later home to the Brazilian Imperial Family until 1889. Pedro II, the country’s last monarch, was born there in 1825.

For many in Brazil, the poor state of the 200-year-old natural history museum quickly became a metaphor for what they see as the gutting of Brazilian culture and life during years of corruption, economic collapse and poor governance.

The cause of the fire is still not known. Protesters and museum directors said years of government neglect had left the museum so underfunded that its staff had turned to crowdfunding sites to open exhibitions.

The institution had recently secured approval for nearly $5 million for a planned renovation, including an upgrade of the fire prevention system.

Firefighters used their trucks to collect water from a nearby lake because fire hydrants did not work.

Emperor Pedro II was the grandson of Portuguese King Dom Joao VI. He established a reputation as a vigorous sponsor of learning, culture and the sciences. A passion for linguistics prompted him throughout his life to study new languages, and he was able to speak and write not only Portuguese but also another 13 languages, including Hebrew.

In May, a sefer haftarah—or readings from the books of the prophets that are read on Shabbat following the Torah reading—was seized from criminals during a police raid of a Rio slum and returned to the Jewish community. ( JTA)

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nation Trump administration orders close of PLO offices in Washington ( JTA)—The Trump administration ordered the close of the Palestine Liberation Organization office in Washington D.C. “We have permitted the PLO office to conduct operations that support the objective of achieving a lasting, comprehensive peace between Israelis and the Palestinians since the expiration of a previous waiver in November 2017,” State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in the announcement Monday, Sept. 10. “However, the PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel.

“To the contrary, PLO leadership has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise. As such, and reflecting Congressional concerns, the Administration has decided that the PLO office in Washington will close at this point.”

The announcement also linked the closure to “Palestinian attempts to prompt an investigation of Israel by the International Criminal Court.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised what he called the “correct decision” by the U.S. at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, which was delayed by three days due to the Rosh Hashanah holiday.

“The Palestinians refuse to enter negotiations with Israel even as they attack Israel with false claims in international forums,” he said. “Israel very much appreciates the Trump administration decision and supports American actions that are designed to make it clear to the Palestinians that the refusal to enter into negotiations with Israel and the unbridled attacks against Israel will not only not advance peace but will certainly not make things better for the Palestinians.”

Ambassador Husam Zomlot, head of the PLO General Delegation to the United States, condemned the decision and said in a statement that “we are not surprised.”

“Such a reckless act confirms that the administration is blindly executing Israel’s

‘wish list,’ which starts with shutting down Palestinian diplomatic representation in the U.S.,” Zomlot said.

He went on to say: “This confirms to us that we are on the right track. We will step up our efforts to hold Israel accountable under international law, continue building international alliances for peace, double our efforts to reach out to the American people as we witness the transformational change in American public opinion in support of the Palestinian cause and our legitimate rights.”

The closure follows a month in which the United States announced that it would cut more than $200 million for humanitarian and development aid in the West Bank and Gaza; halt all funding to the UNRWA, United Nations refugee agency that aids Palestinians; and halt funding to the East Jerusalem Hospital Network, made up of six hospitals.

In a speech to the Federalist Society in Washington, White House National Security Adviser John Bolton confirmed the closure of the PLO office and called the International Criminal Court an “illegitimate court.”

“If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly,” he said.

Bolton added that “The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court.”

He called the ICC “ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed, outright dangerous,” and said that the court “is already dead to us.”

“While the court welcomes the membership of the so-called state of Palestine, it has threatened Israel, a liberal, democratic nation, with investigation into its actions in the West Bank and Gaza to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks,” Bolton also said, reiterating that the “United States will always stand with our friend and ally Israel.”

He also said that “Israel, too, has sharply criticized the ICC.”

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lthough they are actually transplants to the area, Alene and Ron Kaufman are such an integral part of the Tidewater Jewish community that it feels as if they have been here forever.

Ron’s parents arrived in the United States from Germany in 1937, meeting after World War II in 1948. Alene’s family has been in the U.S. much longer, with both of her parents born in the country.

“My grandfather fled the Czar on a piece of ice with a cousin on his back, coming to the U.S. from the Ukraine and leaving his family behind for many years,” she says.

Her great grandmother came from Poland in the late 1800s and her great, great grandfather ran a general store—what they called a “Jew store” in the tiny town of Mikado, Michigan.

When considering what influenced them Jewishly, Alene believes it was a sum of many parts of her life that make her who she is. “My grandfather actually started the Reform congregation in Elizabeth, New Jersey. We were very much a part of that congregation in shaping it and making it grow.”

At Hofstra University, where she double majored in Elementary Education and Judaica, Alene was influenced by Jewish intellectuals. Meeting as students

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12 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

Ron and Alene Kaufman celebrate Purim at KBH.

at Hofstra, Alene and Ron married, moved to Virginia, and she began her involvement with the Jewish community. First, it was with United Synagogue Youth, then as a teacher and Judaic Studies director at Hebrew Academy, followed by serving as director of the Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center. In these roles, Alene has impacted hundreds of area children and families.

“So when you take that and you put it all together, and you have a marriage, and you have friends and you have a community, those are the things that really made us who we have become,” says Alene.

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Ron Kaufman hiking down Masada with HAT students.

The Kaufmans are a family of doers.

“We didn’t have a lot, so we didn’t give a lot of money, but what my parents instilled in us was that we could give

“It’s important, especially in small communities, to have strong institutions.

time,” says Alene.

By giving their kids the gift of an education at Hebrew Academy, tzedakah became a core value, and as adults both of

their sons still understand the importance of tzedakah. Alene recalls, “A funny thing that we did was that if you found change in the pockets of your clothes, the change went into the tzedakah box, so that even doing the laundry was a Jewish thing.”

For their LIFE & LEGACY gifts, the Kaufmans decided on three organizations. Hebrew Academy is one of the recipients. “Our boys had the privilege of a wonderful Jewish and secular education and we wanted to make sure that exists so that other children will have that incredible opportunity,” says Alene.

They also felt it was important to leave a gift for Kehillat Bet Hamidrash (KBH) Kempsville Conservative Synagogue. Ron believes that “It’s important, especially in small communities, to have strong institutions. There is a place in the world for small synagogues. Some people feel overwhelmed in large synagogues. KBH is like a family.” They also chose to leave a gift for the Tidewater Jewish Foundation because it “helps special projects to be funded and secures the future in general.”

The Kaufmans say they hope their legacy gift will help them be remembered as part of the fabric of the community, as people who made an impact and had a purpose—people who contributed and made a difference.

To create a legacy gift or to learn more about the LIFE & LEGACYTM program, contact Barb Gelb, TJF director of Philanthropy, at 757.965.6105.

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jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 13

TidewAter

Federation launches 2019 Annual Campaign Amy Zelenka

T

he United Jewish Federation of Tidewater kicked-off its 2019 Annual Campaign to a standing room only crowd on Thursday, Sept. 6 at the Sandler Family Campus. Featured speaker Izzy Ezagui— IDF soldier and author—addressed the packed room, and kept the audience spellbound as he recounted the harrowing and heartening experiences of his life.

Laura Gross, Campaign chair, opened the program, thanking all for coming and for supporting the Federation’s Campaign, year in and year out. She also acknowledged the presence of many of the community’s agency board members. Gross briefly touched on some of last year’s campaign and programming highlights—particularly those surrounding the celebration of Israel at 70. Reminding all that donors make possible everything the Federation does— here, in Israel, and around the world, Gross described the Federation’s renewed emphasis on donor appreciation, referring to this year’s campaign theme: It starts with you.

Gross then acknowledged the Federation professionals and her 2019 Team of Volunteer Campaign leaders, including: Janet Mercadante, Women’s Division chair; Mona Flax, Women’s

Division vice chair; Eliot Weinstein, Young Leadership Campaign chair; Danny Rubin, Young Leadership co-chair; Art and Steve Sandler, Men’s Major Gifts co-chairs; John Strelitz and Jay Klebanoff; and her event co-chair for the evening, Jason Hoffman.

It’s a responsibility that we all share.

Betty Ann Levin, UJFT executive vice president, spoke about her excitement in assuming her new role, and her enthusiasm for working with the Federation volunteers and professionals, before turning over the microphone to Nathan Jaffe.

This year’s kick-off event represented not only the official launch of the UJFT Annual Campaign, but also the Patron of the J Campaign and the Lee

Charlene Cohen with Eric and Joan Joffe.

14 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival. On behalf of the Jaffe family, Jaffe spoke about the synergy of the evening, with three major community events taking place at once. “It brings together members of the community with various interSpeaker Izzy Ezagui. ests, but who share a common love for— and desire to—sustain Jewish culture and Jewish life,” he said. “My parents, Lee and Bernard Jaffe, would be so pleased to have been here tonight, not only to see close friends, but to celebrate those aspects of Jewish community which were most near and dear to them.”

Jaffe then introduced featured speaker, Izzy Ezagui, who came to Tidewater under the auspices of the (national) Jewish Book Council, referring to him as “a brave and tenacious soldier and a proud defender of Israel.”

Ezagui captivated the audience with the story of his young adult life—from his

Megan and Steve Zuckerman with Denise Hoffman.

family’s decision to make aliyah (move to Israel); to his joining the Israeli Defense Force (IDF), where he became an accomplished combat sniper; to the combat injury which took his dominant arm. And that was just the prologue! The real story began in the aftermath of what could have been a hope ending and career ending catastrophic injury. True to his warrior instincts, Ezagui fought his way back from weakness and despair…all the way back to active service as a combat soldier in the IDF. His story was, by turns: horrifying, sad, funny, and ultimately inspiring. Ezagui’s broader story is told in greater depth and detail in

Larry and Leslie Siegel with Beth and Nathan Jaffe.

TidewAter

Marc Moss with Izzy Ezagui.

Marcy and Paul Terkeltaub.

Susan Alper and Steve Harwood.

Malka and Rabbi Gavriel Rudin.

Annabel Sachs and Joan London.

Annie Sandler with Lawrence Steingold.

Ben Simon with Linda Spindel.

Amy and Jeff Brooke.

UJFT Women’s Cabinet Chair Janet Mercadante with Education Chair Barbara Dudley.

Britt Simon and John Strelitz, UJFT president.

Jody Wagner and UJFT Campaign Chair Laura Gross.

Jen Groves and Stacey Neuman.

his new book, Disarmed: Unconventional Lessons from the World’s Only One-Armed Special Forces Sharpshooter (Prometheus Books, March 20, 2018), which will be sold during the Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival at the Simon Family JCC, throughout the month of November.

Jason Hoffman, Kick-off co-chair, closed the evening by telling his own personal story. He described how he and his wife, Denise, and his entire family, were embraced by the Tidewater Jewish community. He also talked about their determination to be examples for their children. In his remarks, Hoffman discussed the many top-quality programs and services that Tidewater’s Jewish community offers, pointing out that it takes dollars to provide those programs, and it takes donors to provide those dollars. “It’s a responsibility that we all share.”

Hoffman recalled a conversation with Art Sandler, which took place just after

he’d joined the Federation’s board of directors. “I am responsible for the community that you live in,” Sandler had told him. And those words stayed with Hoffman. As he encouraged all in the room to make their Federation campaign gifts of support that night, Hoffman added that he too…he and Denise, and all who support the work of the Federation through the annual campaign—are responsible for the community that we live in.”

The evening closed with best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year.

To make a gift of support to the 2019 annual campaign of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, call the Federation office at 965-6115 or go to www.jewishva.org/donation.

Amy Zelenka is UJFT’s Women’s Campaign director. She may be reached at azelenka@ujft.org. of blessed memory

*

jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 15

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Audrey Peck with her tour group at the Syrian border.

Audrey Peck

T

his past summer I spent a month in Israel with 32 of my best friends, while meeting 52 new friends, on the most amazing trip of my life. We did all the typical activities you do when traveling to Israel, like floating in the Dead Sea and climbing Masada, but the fact that I was doing it with 84 other 16-year-olds, some whom I knew and others whom I was getting to know, made it all the more special and meaningful.

When people ask me where in Israel did we go, I say “where did we not go?”

We spent time in the blazing heat of Eilat, walked around Jerusalem like our predecessors did, hiked an enormous number of mountains, cooled off a bit in the north, and spent a day at the lovely beaches of Tel-Aviv—and that only covers about half of what we did. Throughout the trip we learned all about Israel’s history, its advancements in science and technology and the country’s modern-day conflicts.

One of the many things I can say about this trip is that I could now teach a class on Israel. This trip introduced me to people from Ohio, Indiana, and

Wisconsin, brought me closer to my camp friends whom I’ve known for years, and made me want to return to Israel as soon as possible.

I could now teach a class on Israel.

Audrey Peck traveled to Israel with funding from the Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s Simon Family Passport to Israel Program. The next round of applications is due on October 8, 2018. For more information, visit http:// jewishva.org/tjf-passport-to-israel​or contact Barb Gelb at bgelb@ujft.org.

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have often heard congregants remark at the end of a Rosh Hashanah service how worshiping with their temple family has given them a renewed sense of community and a strong desire to help others in the New Year.

One never knows when G-d may be listening to our Rosh Hashanah resolutions.

On a frigid, snowy day this past January, Temple Emanuel lost power for more than 24 hours. A pipe froze and burst in the back of the sanctuary, flooding the building. The water’s depth varied from three to six inches.

“A man who happened to be driving past Temple Emanuel, saw water pouring out of the roof and called the Temple,” says Jason Lovitz. “He got Gary Tabakin’s cell phone number from the recording.”

Tabakin, temple president at the time, called Lovitz, second vice-president, who is a firefighter and paramedic for Norfolk Fire-Rescue, for help.

Lovitz contacted a friend (the Deputy Fire Chief in Virginia Beach), who sent a firetruck for assistance.

At Tabakin’s request, Lovitz contacted several congregants to assist with the massive clean-up. Within minutes, the Temple had a minyan of volunteers.

Finding the water valve shut off was difficult, and inches of dense snow on the ground further complicated the search.

“Once the water was shut off, the firefighters decided to stay for an additional hour just to help out,” says Lovitz.

When the water ceased gushing in, everyone momentarily breathed a sigh of relief. It was followed by the sound of volunteers sloshing through the water to rescue the temple’s sacred books.

Gail Gogan, Temple Emanuel’s office manager and Lovitz coordinated the renovation project.

The Insurance Adjuster assessed the damage and guided the process, along with James Nottingham, who served as

Lovitz’s ‘right hand man.’ Four rooms were flooded or in need of repair.

“Gary was busy taking about 12 calls a day during the 10-month restoration,” says Lovitz. “And Rabbi Marc Kraus was always available when anyone needed to blow off a little steam.”

Temple Emanuel’s executive board and board of directors approved special committees to help keep the project moving. And, Temple volunteers united to work wherever needed.

A miracle find took place when a demo team cut two feet of sheetrock off the bottom of the walls around the “Memorial Room” (located at the back of the sanctuary). Looking to see if there was an electrical socket behind the walls, Lovitz got a huge surprise.

“I looked up and saw two, gorgeous stained-glass windows,” he says. “We don’t know why they were covered up, but they now make the room even more beautiful.”

The temple removed their 50-year-old wooden pews and replaced them with new seats that are comfortable and easy to arrange to accommodate various seating patterns.

“Our new sanctuary is reconfigurable, so it will allow us to use our space much more creatively,” says Rabbi Kraus.

The congregation really loves its multi-functional features.

“When I first saw the new sanctuary, I got a warm feeling that I was home again,” says Joy Kaps, a long-time temple member. “I’m also thrilled with the seating arrangement!”

Temple Emanuel celebrated its first Jewish New Year in their newly renovated spiritual home.

“There is a famous quote from Rav Kook, who was the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine,” says Rabbi Kraus. “The old will be made new and the new will be made holy.”

And so, it is.

High Holidays

On Yom Kippur, atoning for our online sins Edmon J. Rodman

(JTA)—If you’re like me, you blog, read, and share a lot of political stuff. But who really reads these posts and articles all the way through? Especially with the longer stories, who has time to look up the sources, or check if that odd photo was first posted on some sketchy partisan website?

Instead, we click and we skim; we copy and we paste.

But then comes Yom Kippur.

If we accept the accounting in the Talmud that says “Evil gossip kills three: the one who says it, the one who listens, and the subject of the gossip,” we may need to ante up for an awful lot of headstones come Atonement Day. The heart of the Yom Kippur liturgy is the Viddui, the two-part confessional composed of the shorter Ashamnu, an alphabetical acrostic of our wrongdoings, and the longer Al Chet, which explores, at length, the areas where we have fallen short.

When the Day of Atonement arrives, we will confess to both “unwillingly and willingly” acting out of arrogance, speaking ill of others and rashly judging others and gossiping. And in this time of extreme partisanship, that has me thinking: Has the season of politics gerrymandered our personal boundaries, reshaping the areas of shortcomings for which we need to ask forgiveness? Have we wittingly or unwittingly emailed unchecked “truths”—and sometimes checkered—to family, friends, and people we don’t even know?

The problem hit home when a friend forwarded me an email breathlessly purporting to show that by comparison to previous first ladies, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton each had an unprecedented high number of paid White House staff. Not passing my sniff test, I looked it up on Snopes.com, a fact-checking website. I discovered the story was filled with false comparisons and easily researchable errors. Yet it was forwarded to me as if the truth.

Nothing to beat our chests over, you say? Or is it? When we wittingly or

otherwise pass along something that damages the reputation of another—not that you have done it, but, um, somebody like you—is this something that we should confess, or make amends for, on Yom Kippur?

Many of us blindly (or with one eye open) resend or post links to all kinds of things. It seems harmless, makes us feel like we are with it, and our hearts (mine included) go all aflutter when our “friends” praise us even for the most outrageous stuff.

Posting or forwarding unchecked or unread articles may seem innocuous, but it’s not.

“The speed and ease with which utter personal destruction and irreparable social division—whether the result of malice, misinformation, or well-intentioned miscalculation—can be brought about through the transmission of words is staggering,” wrote Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman in his book, False Facts and True Rumors: Lashon HaRa in Contemporary Culture.

Speaking ill of others is known in Judaism as lashon hara—evil speech or, simply, gossip. It represents the understanding that words can do real damage—quite unlike the “but words will never hurt me” maxim we learned as children.

And once that damage is done, how do you repair it? The classic example is of breaking open a feather pillow in the wind and then trying to recover all the feathers. Now imagine the wind as the internet, spreading the “feathers” to an almost infinite number of unknown destinations. There is no way to get them all back.

Sometimes lashon hara is permitted— for instance, when it is necessary to give information to someone whom you feel will be harmed without it. However, people who are concerned about lashon hara are scrupulous with their speech about others. In places where traditional Jews do business, it’s not unusual to see a

sign that says “No Lashon Hara.”

While I don’t expect to see campaign signs dotting lawns with a similar message, perhaps a computer graphic saying “Stick to the Facts” would be useful at this time of year.

Being passive listeners or readers of gossip isn’t an excuse, either. According to Feldman, a person “who is on the receiving end of lashon hara must be careful not to act in a way that endorses or supports the offending speech. As such, we must evaluate to what degree clicking on websites, and all the more so linking to a website or distributing a link, acts as an extension and facilitation of the original message,” he wrote.

So how should we respond if we have fallen short online?

Feldman observes that lashon hara “causes greater spiritual corruption to the offender than a standard transgression causes,” since it registers “a dual effect”—harming the subject and the speaker at once.

In addition “to the appeal for forgiveness from the victim,” he offers that the three “basic steps of general repentance are called for: confession, regret and commitment to better behavior in the future.” In other words, Feldman contends that the traditional response to lashon hara is equally applicable in the digital world.

But how exactly are online amends accomplished? Once these digital “feathers” are released, how do we get them back?

When someone needs to make amends for something they have said, most experts suggest a face-to-face apology, where responsibility is taken with no excuses. For those who we know that we have hurt online, I believe a face-to-face “please forgive me”—or at least a phone

call—is very much in order.

Though a similar apology to our online minions seems a physical impossibility, I am wondering if, taking apologies into the digital age, amends could be made by posting a correction. And not just an “oops,” but a link to an analysis of the offending post that reveals its factual flaws, along with several sites useful for fact checking.

As election frenzy again is taking place during the High Holidays, chances are the shoddily sourced story you forwarded won’t cause personal damage to a candidate; some big-time politician is probably not going to be affected by your post. But what about your reputation, and your relationship with your community?

Attitudes, and possibly votes, may have changed as a result of your untrue post.

An online apology won’t get all the feathers back, but it is a start in sewing up the pillow. And providing your list with the tools to fact-check in the future would be a move toward a more aware online community.

For some, confessing our online mistakes to our friends may be the hardest part. For others, it is acknowledging our shortcomings as part of Yom Kippur’s acts of atonement. On the Day of Atonement, it is custom that with each word or phrase of the Ashamnu we strike our chests.

And this year I am going to apply the words from my prayer book to my own keyboard behavior: We transgress, we quarrel, we mock, we neglect, we gossip.

Indeed, we are probably all candidates for a keyboard confession.

Edmon J. Rodman is a JTA columnist who writes on Jewish life from Los Angeles.

Contact him atedmojace@gmail.com.

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High Holidays

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Nine things you didn’t know about Yom Kippur MJL Staff

(My Jewish Learning via JTA)—Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, starts at sundown on Tuesday, Sept. 18.

Traditionally one of the most somber days on the Jewish calendar, it’s known for fasting and repentance—not to mention killer caffeine withdrawal headaches.

However, the holiday has some lesser-known associations as well.

1. The word “scapegoat” originates in an ancient Yom Kippur ritual.

Jews historically have been popular scapegoats—blamed for an array of ills not of their creation. But, and we’re not kid-ding, they really do deserve blame (or credit) for the term scapegoat. In Leviticus 16:8 (in the Torah portion Achrei Mot), the High Priest is instructed on Yom Kippur to lay his hands upon a goat while confessing the sins of the entire community—and then to throw the animal off a cliff.

2. Another animal ritual, swinging a chicken around one’s head, has sparked considerable controversy, and not just from animal-rights activists.

In 2015, the kapparot ritual, in which a chicken is symbolically invested with a person’s sins and then slaughtered, spurred two lawsuits in the United States: one by traditional Jews claiming their right to perform it was being abridged by the government and another by animal-rights activists. Centuries earlier, the ritual drew criticism from notable sages like the Ramban (13th century) and Rabbi Joseph Caro (16th century), whose objections had less to do with animal welfare than with religious integrity.

3. Yom Kippur once was a big matchmaking day.

The Talmud states that both Yom Kippur and Tu b’Av (often described as the Jewish Valentine’s Day) were the most joyous

days of the year, when women would wear white gowns and dance in the vineyards chanting “Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself.

Do not set your eyes on beauty, but set your eyes on a good family.” Given the aforementioned caffeine headaches and the difficulty of making a decision on an empty stomach, we’re glad this particular tradition is no more.

4. Food and drink are not the only things Jews abstain from on Yom Kippur.

Other traditional no-nos on Yom Kippur include bathing, wearing perfume or lotions, having sexual relations and wearing leather shoes. The less-than-attractive aroma resulting from the first two restrictions (not to mention the romantic restrictions imposed by the third) may explain why the day ceased to be an occasion for finding true love.

5. In Israel, Yom Kippur is the most bike-friendly day of the year.

Although many Israelis are secular, and there is no law on the books forbidding driving on Yom Kippur, virtually all the country’s Jews avoid their cars on this day.

With only the occasional emergency vehicle on the road, bikers of all ages can be seen pedaling, even on major highways.

6. Eating a big meal before the holiday begins will make your fast harder rather than easier.

Traditionally, the meal eaten before beginning the fast is supposed to be large and festive, following the Talmudic dictum that it is a mitzvah (commandment) to eat on the eve of Yom Kippur, just as it is a mitzvah to fast on Yom Kippur itself.

However, eating extra food—particularly in one last-minute feast—does not help to keep you going for 24 hours, says Dr. Tzvi Dwolatzky of Israel’s Rambam Health

High Holidays Care Campus. He suggests eating small amounts of carbohydrates (bread, potato, rice, pasta), some protein (fish, chicken) and fruit.

7. On Yom Kippur in 1940, London’s Jews kept calm and carried on.

In the midst of the Battle of Britain, the relentless Nazi bombardment of London that began in September 1940, the city’s synagogues went on with their Yom Kippur services. According to JTA, while air raid warnings “twice disturbed” the morning services on Oct. 12, 1940, “most synagogues carried on regardless” and a “large proportion of the men attending services wore uniforms of the various forces.”

8. Yom Kippur’s Kol Nidre services are the only night of the entire Jewish

calendar when a prayer shawl is worn for evening prayers.

According to the late Rabbi Louis Jacobs, the tallit (prayer shawl) is worn during Kol Nidre as “a token of special reverence for the holy day.” It is traditional to wear a tallit or a white garment for the entire holiday, with the color white symbolizing both our spiritual purity and our removing ourselves from the vanities of the material world. Many people actually wear a white robe called a kittel.

9. A Virginia rabbi’s pro-civil rights movement sermon on Yom Kippur in 1958 riled up local segregationists and sparked fears of an anti-Semitic backlash.

JTA reported that Virginia’s Defenders of State Sovereignty group demanded that local Jews “move quickly to refute

and condemn” Rabbi Emmet Frank of Alexandria’s Temple Beth El for his sermon criticizing the state’s “massive resistance” to school desegregation and said that if he had intended to destroy Christian-Jewish relations, “he could not have been more effective.” While a “leading member” of the Reform temple reportedly said a “considerable” number of congregants worried

Frank’s stand “might result in increased anti-Semitism,” others “sided with the rabbi, holding that he held a spiritual and moral duty to speak out for social justice.”

The congregation stood by Frank, and the Washington Post published an editorial calling him a “courageous clergyman.”

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High Holidays

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(My Jewish Learning via JTA)—The central mitzvah of Sukkot is found in Leviticus 23:42, where Jews are commanded to dwell in a sukkah, a temporary hut, for seven days and nights. We do this in order to remember the experiences of our ancestors, both on the journey from Egypt to the Land of Israel and in a later era, when farmers brought offerings to the ancient Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the harvest.

But many people live in climates, neighborhoods, or buildings that preclude constructing and living in a sukkah. A local synagogue, campus Hillel, or even kosher restaurant will likely have one that you can use to fulfill the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah. Yet everyone, with or without a personal sukkah, can turn to creative interpretations of “dwelling” and focus on the aspects of Sukkot that are oriented toward other rituals and customs to enrich the holiday experience.

At home in a hut In the Torah, the children of Israel used sukkot (plural of sukkah) as their temporary homes while traveling through the desert. Instead of constructing your own temporary space—or in addition to it—you can help someone else acquire a permanent home. Habitat for Humanity runs building projects in many urban areas. There are also many Jewish organizations that address homelessness and poverty, such as the numerous groups that are part of the Jewish Social Justice Roundtable. (In Tidewater, for example, area congregations participate in NEST, housing the homeless during the winter months, as well as monthly soup kitchens as the one held at Ohef Sholom Temple.)

Other service programs in the community may help individuals transition from homeless shelters into homes by collecting housewares and other necessary items. The acknowledgement that there

are those in our communities who have no shelter at all can bring a meaningful awareness to your celebration.

A temporary dwelling A sukkah is a transitional shelter meant to provide only the basic structure of a building. In fact, Jewish law requires a minimum of 2½ walls, and the ceiling, covered in tree branches and leaves, must be open enough so that the stars are visible.

One alternative is to build a sukkah-like structure indoors. For children, the act of building forts and tents is the creation of a personal play space. Adults can build a canopy over the dining room table using a tablecloth, or even over the bed—perhaps to look like a huppah, or wedding canopy—to enjoy the temporary shelter and reminder of transition that it evokes.

Harvest holiday In the Bible, Sukkot marked the time of the fruit and grape harvests. It is also harvest time in North America, and the produce of the season is readily available.

You can visit a farmer’s market or even a farm to buy or help harvest seasonal fruits and vegetables. Go apple picking or just visit the park to collect fallen leaves and twigs to use as decorations. Create centerpieces for the home with fruits and vegetables and plan meals that incorporate a wide selection of local produce.

Look for the variety of produce imported from Israel during this time of year, as well.

The four species The lulav and etrog are comprised of four kinds of plants (citron/etrog, palm/ lulav, myrtle/hadas and palm/arava) and are often called the four species, or “arba minim.” They function as one unit, and we say one blessing over them together.

High Holidays Their purpose is to gather and enjoy the plants of the land.

Anyone can shake a lulav at home, in a synagogue, or wherever you find yourself, even out in the natural world. A lulav and etrog can be found online or in a local Judaica store. Chabad of Tidewater is another local source.

The four are often referred to under the inclusive term lulav, since the lulav is the largest and most prominent of the species. Thus, while the mitzvah is to wave the lulav, this actually refers to waving all four species: palm, willow, myrtle, and etrog. Also, when people refer to the lulav and etrog, they are referring to all four species, including the willow and myrtle.

Ushpizin Welcoming guests is a Jewish value expressed all year by the mitzvah of “hachnasat orhim” (welcoming guests). Invite guests to your home for a sukkah party or a meal and serve harvest-themed treats. You might also host a picnic in a local park.

At Sukkot we specifically welcome ushpizin, traditionally one of seven exalted men of Israel to take up residence in the sukkah with us: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Be creative and encourage your guests to welcome their own ushpizin — famous personalities and heroes, ancient or modern, Jewish or not Jewish, who lived exemplary

lives and continue to inspire.

The time of our joy In Jewish liturgy, Sukkot is referred to as the time of our joy, “z’man simchateinu.” Take time off to spend with family or friends, or make lots of phone calls to wish a “chag sameach,” a happy holiday, to loved ones who are too far to visit.

Make your home a joyful place with decorations in the spirit of the holiday.Decorate your front door with a harvest theme, hang paper chains from your ceilings or build a mini-sukkah out of graham crackers, pretzels, and icing to serve as a fun treat. Sukkahs (the Hebrew plural is sukkot) in Israel are often decorated with what Americans would refer to as “Christmas lights,” so grab a box and string them around your windows and walls to transform your home into a sukkah.

The space and financial investment needed to build a sukkah can be very real, but finding ways to celebrate the holiday only takes some creative thinking.

Sara Shapiro-Plevan serves as the coordinator of congregational education for New York City for the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York.

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nation

Mark Zuckerberg posts video of himself blowing shofar (JTA)—Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself blowing a several-foot-long shofar.

Zuckerberg executed a perfect tekiyah-teruah-shevarim combination on the

twisted ram’s horn as one of his daughters is heard crying in the background.

The video was posted on Monday, Sept.

10, the second night of Rosh Hashanah, under the heading “Shana tova and a

sweet new year!”

“I got a little carried away on my teruah,” he later quipped in the comments section.

Many of the comments wished the billionaire a shanah tova (happy new year) in return.

“It’s ok to toot your own horn once in a while,” read another comment.

Zuckerberg had the opportunity to educate some of his Facebook followers, after several asked about the shofar and what Rosh Hashanah is. One follower pointed out that it was also the New Year on the Muslim calendar, educating Zuckerberg as well.

The post has had some 1 million views and more than 8,200 comments.

Zuckerberg has posted snippets of his Jewish life in the past. In May he posted a photo of himself and his wife holding a tray of homemade hamantaschen. “Baking hamentashen. Chag sameach!—celebrating

Purim with Priscilla Chan,” read the post.

In a Facebook post in December 2016, Zuckerberg said he was once an atheist but now believes that “religion is very important.” The post came after he wished his followers a “Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah” on Dec. 25, 2016. Zuckerberg’s wife practices Buddhism.

In September 2017, Zuckerberg posted a photo on his social network of himself giving his baby daughter Max a kiddush cup that he said was a century-old family heirloom that belonged to her great-great-grandfather, also named Max. In October 2017, he posted an after-Yom Kippur message on his social network in which he asked forgiveness for the misuse of Facebook in the past year—a reference to criticism the social site received after the extent of how deeply Russian hackers used Facebook to manipulate the 2016 election was revealed.

(Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook)

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Mr. and Mrs. Michael P. Simon Mr. and Mrs. Sanford M. Simon Mr. and Mrs. James Slaughter Mrs. Dorothy Slone Ms. Alexandra Smith Mr. Mark Solberg Mr. Edward J. Soltz Dr. and Mrs. Adam W. Specht Mr. and Mrs. Gary Tabakin Ms. Maureen Tamares Ms. Chelsea Tarkington Ms. Joanne Teague Dr. and Mrs. Louis Tonelson Mr. and Mrs. Todd Waldman Dr. Paul Walker and Mrs. Renee S. Walker Ms. Beverly Ward Ms. Donikka White Ms. Judith White and Mr. John Young Ms. Chrystal Willis Ms. Becky Winstead-Roberts Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Wood Mr. and Mrs. Brian Wyatt Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zito ENDOWMENTS Harry & Sylvia Belkov* Memorial Scholarship Fund Leon & Florence Berlin* Memorial Fund William and Carole Bernstein Ezra Annuity Abraham and Malka Bornstein* Memorial Fund Julian Colby* Memorial Unrestricted Fund Bessie Dozoretz* Scholarship Fund Ronald Dozoretz Scholarship Fund Rosa K. Frieden* Memorial Unrestricted Fund Tavia and Freda Gordon* Scholarship Fund HAT Supporting Unrestricted Fund Hebrew Academy Scholarship Fund The Lester & Barbara Horwitz Restricted Fund Leola Banks Jaffe* Unrestricted Fund of HAT Carl J* & Juliet A. Katz Unrestricted Fund

Barry and Reatha Kantor Scholarship Fund of HAT Alene Jo Kaufman Endowment Fund Klebanoff Family Philanthropic Fund Kramer Family JFN/PEJE Fund Celia Krichman* Unrestricted Fund Leon Leach Ezra Annuity Selma* and Leon Leach Restricted Scholarship Fund The Lorna Legum Rising Star Award Fund Jeff & Elayne Littman Philanthropic Fund James London* Athletic and Outdoor Program Fund Marguerite Marx* Jewish History Collection Fund Ada R. Michaels* Faculty Development Restricted Endowment Fund Joseph and Barbara Patish* Ezra Annuity Reba and Samuel Sandler* Memorial Fund of HAT Lonny & Terri Sarfan Philanthropic Fund Segaloff Family JFN/PEJE Fund Sarah and Samuel Sonnenberg* Memorial Fund Harold and Reva Sprung* Technology Endowment Fund Celia Stern* Fund of HAT Solomon and Sylvia Yavner* Fund The Mel Bass*, Debbie Bass Sadoff* & Richard Bass* Memorial Restricted Fund The Teachers’ Endowment Fund The Zena Herod Endowment Fund GIFTS IN KIND Aldo’s Ristorante Balance Therapeutic Massage Babbi & Brad Bangel Charles Barker Automotive/Mr. Nathan Drory Cheri’s Skin & Nail Boutique Cobalt Grill Commodore Theatre CopyFax & Toshiba Cure Coffeehouse

Decorum Either Ore Jewelers Fellini’s Fink’s Jewelers Frances Kahn Freemason Abbey Restaurant Gary Allen Hair and Skin Care Golf Headquarters Hot House Yoga Il Giardino Inlet Fitness Jake’s Place Dr. Denny Jenkins and Dr. Leanelle Goldstein Jody G Jody’s Gourmet Popcorn Long Jewelers Lynnhaven Fish House Moe’s Southwest Grill Monkee’s of Virginia Beach Mary’s Nail-tique Janet Molofsky Mr. Shawarma Nauticus No Frill Bar & Grill Norfolk Tides NYFO Princess Anne Country Club Quality Shop Ruth’s Chris Steak House Saladworks Sandfiddler Café Steinhilber’s Studio Bamboo The Lemon Cabana The Norfolk Admirals The Route 58 Deli The Royal Chocolate The Sandler Center The Skin Ranch & Trade Company The Spa & Laser Center Tidewater Drive Storage Center LLC Todd Rosenlieb Dance Topgolf Total Wine & More Towne Insurance/ Mr. Brad Moses Trader Joe’s Trish Boutique United Jewish Federation of Tidewater Virginia Aquarium Virginia Stage Company Virginia Symphony Orchestra Virginia Zoo W.C. Goldberg & Company, PC Windsor Antiques Yorgo’s Zushi Japanese Bistro *of blessed memory

Todah Rabah!

Thank you for investing in the Jewish leaders of tomorrow!

jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 27

C H A N G E YO U R L I F E I N 1 6 W E E K S Introducing a New Healthy Lifestyle Program in Your Neighborhood

We are excited to let you know about a new healthy lifestyle program in your neighborhood.

It’s a 16-week program that can help you lose weight, adopt healthy habits and significantly reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The best part – if qualified your health insurance may cover the program at $0 cost to you.

Access to a personal health coach

Weekly lessons

A small group for support

A free Fitbit*

CLASSES START SOON!

JFIT Diabetes Prevention Program at the Simon Family JCC—Room 236 Tuesday, September 18th at 11:30 AM OR Thursday, September 20th at 5:30 PM For more information, contact Tom Purcell 757-321-2310 Once a week for 16 weeks + once a month for the balance of a year.

SPOTS ARE LIMITED! CALL 877-790-6720 TO SEE IF YOU QUALIFY AND SIGN UP TODAY!

Earn a free Fitbit after 4 weeks of active participation!

28 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

Simon Family JCC 5000 Corporate Woods Dr. Virginia Beach, VA 23462

© Solera Health Inc. All rights reserved.

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS

Tidewater

New director for education and engagement at Ohef Sholom

S

tephanie Ben Simon has joined Ohef Sholom Temple as director of Education and Engagement (DEE). As DEE, Ben Simon will develop and oversee a dynamic program of education and engagement for the entire congregation, creating educational opportunities in alignment with the temple’s values at every stage of the life cycle. In partnership with OST’s clergy and lay leadership, she says she is developing membership and programming plans with the goals of attracting prospective members, integrating new members into the Ohef Sholom community, as well as engaging existing members.

“Warm and welcoming are the two adjectives I use to describe my first months here at Ohef Sholom Temple, and that is how I intend to continue my work with this community,” says Ben Simon. “In choosing a title to reflect my role as director of Education and Engagement we chose a word in Hebrew that stems from the Jewish middah (value) of sayver panim yafot which translated to having a pleasant expression. We see this value in Pirkei Avot 1:15 when Shammai instructs us to receive every person with a sayver panim yafot—a smile. Smiles reduce stress and enhance immune response. Smiling is both contagious and good for us.”

When Ben Simon was a junior in high school, she wanted to study abroad and had her sights set on Spain. It wasn’t until her rabbi suggested Israel instead, and hinted that it was probably something her mother could get behind, that Ben Simon considered it as an option. It was that experience, through what is now known as the Union for Reform Judaism’s Heller High, that cemented her connection with Judaism. In Israel, she formed her own relationship with her faith “having been blessed,” as she says, with the right people to help guide her journey. That is what set her on a path to inspire others to experience Judaism the way she does.

“I saw that Judaism is cool and exciting and can enhance my life. A whole new world opened up to me,” Ben Simon says.

In Israel, Ben Simon experienced Jewish engagement and education while studying at Ben-Gurion University in Be’er Sheva and at an

archaeological dig at Tel Bethsaida. In the U.S., her experiences have included studying at the University of Hartford in Connecticut where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Judaic Studies, a summer internship in Washington, DC at Hadassah through the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (RAC), working at synagogues in Des Moines, Iowa and Atlanta, Georgia, then back to New Jersey.

While working in Jewish education, Ben Simon obtained her MA in Jewish Education from The Jewish Theological Seminary’s Davidson School of Education and was recently awarded her Reform Jewish Educator Certificate from the Association of Reform Jewish Educators.

During her travels throughout Israel and the U.S., she says she deeply valued and experienced the power of how an organized Jewish community can enrich one’s life. She believes that Judaism is magical and can enhance life, infusing each day with Jewish values—middot and mitzvot.

“Being Jewish does not exist in only going to Sunday school once a week,” she says. “Being Jewish is the way in which some people organize their kitchen and some people arrange their weekends for Shabbat and some people make business decisions based on the ethics Judaism provides for their lives. Everyone can connect with their Jewish values on an everyday basis, but teaching them how to is what a DEE is supposed to do.”

Recently married to Shay Ben Simon, a native Israeli, the couple is excited to begin married life together in Norfolk.

“What I love about OST is that we have 175 years of history,” Ben Simon says. “I can’t wait to learn more about our past.”

Joash Schulman, education committee chair, says, “When I first met Stephanie, I was certain that her warmth of character and her depth of experience were exactly what we were looking for. Now that she’s arrived, it’s exciting to see her interact with our congregants, religious school faculty, and our temple staff.

We have an exciting plan that’s being placed in motion and we’re lucky to have Stephanie at the helm!”

GREAT DINING, SUPERB SERVICE AND EXCELLENT VALUE! EVERYBODY LOVES AN ALDO’S GIFT CARD! Reserve our private dining room for your holiday parties and special events.

I N S P I R E D B Y I TA LY La Promenade Shoppes 1860 Laskin Rd., Virginia Beach, VA 757.491.1111 • AldosVB.com jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 29

30 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

TidewAter

New school year begins at Hebrew Academy of Tidewater Carin Simon

B

ack in full swing, Hebrew Academy of Tidewater (HAT) kicked off its new year with a back to school Meet and Greet accompanied by a Kona Ice Truck Treat on Monday, August 20. Students were excited to see their friends and new teachers, as were the parents.

Working hard to incorporate programs to promote HAT’s tight knit community is the Parent Volunteer Organization.

Among the many events planned for the 2018–2019 year are Family Nights, Shabbat Dinner Programs, and a Parents’ Night Out.

Instruction HAT’s teachers are learning how best to incorporate project-based learning in this year’s plans. This is an approach that encourages students to drive the learning process. In addition, the Hebrew Academy and Strelitz Early Childhood Center has been exploring the process of becoming an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program which would start with the Strelitz three-year-olds and continue through HAT’s fifth grade. This program’s mission is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through understanding and respect. “We were pleased to learn that our approach to education is closely aligned with the IB philosophy,” says Heather Moore, HAT’s Head of School.

New and returning HAT welcomed back two alumni and their families who moved back to the area. HAT alum Rabbi Yoni Warren was relocated to Norfolk with the Navy, along with his wife Leora and daughters fouryear-old Calanit and one-year-old Meirav.

The rabbi’s dad, Jay Warren, was HAT’s beloved science teacher for many years.

Also, HAT alum Nachama (Sternlicht) Haas relocated from Columbia, S.C. with her husband, Dave, and three children Eitan, Noam, and Yael. Both families say

LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS MATTER MEET:

Rabbi Roz Mandelberg

“Ohef Sholom has been here for 172 years, since 1844, but of course I haven’t been there since then. I’ve been here since 2005. The community is our extended family. We’re all responsible for one another. That’s what community means.

Personal relationships are important. We get better service from local businesses. They work with us and they care about us, we’re not just a name on a form.”

New preschool teacher Judith Warner with some of her students.

“Payday Payroll is an exemplar of being a good corporate citizen. Payday Payroll doesn’t do community service to get more clients or to look good. They do it because it’s the right thing to do. [And] I know that I always get my paycheck on time.”

Start a relationship that matters today, call 757-523-0605.

Comprehensive payroll solutions

HR support center

Time & attendance

Yael and Noam Haas pose for their back to school picture at HAT.

ACA compliance & reporting

Labor law poster compliance

Employee/applicant background checks

Accounting software interface

PD-adC-3 eighths V-Jewish News-Rabbi Roz-111617.indd 1

they are excited to have their children at HAT where they spent so many of their formative years.

Several teachers joined the HAT faculty this summer. Alicia Pahl-Cornelius teaches the fifth grade general studies class. With a master’s of art in teaching from the University of Louisville, PahlCornelius has taught middle school for the past seven years in Kentucky and then at Brandon Middle School in Virginia Beach last year when her family relocated to this area. She became National Board Certified in 2017 and was a 2018 NEA Foundation

Global Learning Fellow, which took her to South Africa this summer.

Strelitz added a new three-year-old class this year, and as a result, found an addition to the preschool staff, Judith Warner, as the three-year-old lead teacher.

Warner has been in education for many years and holds both a B.S and M.A. in Early Childhood Education. “I am excited to work with such positive people and give my students the opportunity to be curious and engaged in the process of learning,” she says.

Finfit employee loans Pay-as-you-go workers comp Payroll debit cards

11/16/17 3:42 PM

Creating leaders With so many connections to HAT’s rich history of more than 60 years and looking to an innovative and exciting future ahead, HAT’s administration challenged their community with the question: What is your “BE?” While everyone came up with their own unique description, they agreed that “BE THE FUTURE” reflects their collective investment in the Hebrew Academy and Strelitz Early Childhood Education Center’s community, education, and soul.

jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 31

what’s happening Super Sunday moves to October and makes plan to engage all ages Sunday, October 21, 10 am—1 pm, Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus Breakfast starts at 9:30 am for volunteer callers

Super

Sunday comes early this year, so mark calendars and get ready to “rise up.” Be the secret ingredient which makes a successful 2019 Annual Campaign—make the call, take the call, donate — and make a difference in the lives of Jews at home and around the Hanoch Piven. world.

Sponsored by Coastal Towne Mortgage, Super Sunday 2019 will bring together volunteers to raise funds for the Campaign. Those dollars will travel across the community and around the world—helping meet critical needs, including poverty and hunger, Jewish education and identity building, and assistance for new immigrants in Israel, for Holocaust survivors in Eastern Europe, and for Jews of all ages and backgrounds, no matter what or where the challenges exist.

“I am so excited to celebrate and raise money for this amazing community on October 21,” says Amie Harrell, Super Sunday vice chair. “We are planning a fun, family friendly event for everyone to enjoy while we join forces to sustain the future of our community.”

In addition to volunteer calling opportunities, this year’s Super Sunday event will feature a variety of activities for the entire family, including: a bounce house, community shuk (market), family portraits with Israeli caricature artist Hanoch Piven, and the Cookie Jar Project, where kids will put treats in cookies jars to be sent to local Jewish partners.

Hanoch Piven, Israel Today artist-in-residence, will inspire creativity with hands-on family workshops. He will also speak about the connection between the brain’s abilities to perceive faces as well as to adapt, evolve, and be creative. Piven has two workshops, at 10 am and 12 pm, which will allow everyone the opportunity to participate and volunteer.

Hosted by UJFT’s Young Adult Division, Super Sunday 2019 is taking place earlier than it has in previous years to accelerate this year’s campaign.

Jeremy Krupnick, Super Sunday chair is excited for both the event and the opportunity to show the next generation of Jewish leaders the importance of giving back to the community.

“I think it is important that children not only learn about Tikkun Olam, but actually see it being practiced by the adults they interact with on a regular basis,” Krupnick says.

Celebrated artist to conduct workshops Sunday, October 21, 10 am and 12 pm, Sandler Family Campus

I

srael Today’s first ever artist-in-residence, Hanoch Piven, will lead two workshops during Super Sunday. The hands-on family workshops encourage creativity, communication, and self-reflection through the creation of collages with common, everyday objects. Piven conveys the message that playfulness is an important tool to be used to generate a space in which individual self-reflection and growth are possible.

In order to have a workshop based on found objects,

32 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

a lot of random objects are required. Everything from buttons, labels, packaging, and keys to stickers, stamps, and small toys will come in handy as learners design portraits.

A collection box is located in the Cardo at the Simon Family JCC to drop off donations of “junk” to ensure that everyone finds what they need.

This workshop, a part of the Simon Family JCC and Communit y Re lations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Israel Today series and United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday, is free and open to all ages and artistic abilities. For more information or to RSVP, call 757.965.6107, or visit JewishVA.org/IsraelToday.

“I think it will be a positive influence on both them, and our community, to see Super Sunday in action.”

For more information, contact YAD director Jasmine Amitay at jamitay@ujft.org or 757.965.6138.

Collage workshop with Hanoch Piven for Seniors Wednesday, October 17, 12:30 pm

J

oin the senior community for a special workshop with Israel Today’s artist-in-residence Hanoch Piven.

Identities are composed of different values, experiences, and emotions with the collage of those elements combining to make the individual. A collage with objects, therefore, is an ideal tool to show the pieces that make each person who they are and tell personal stories.

The workshop is free and open to the entire senior community. For more information, contact nhorev@simonfamilyjcc. org. RSVP is required. Reserve a space by stopping by the JCC front desk or calling 757.321.2338.

what’s happening Celebrating 70 Years of Heroes and Hope FIDF and the IMPACT! Scholarship Program FIDF Virginia Gala: Thursday, November 29, Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront

For many Jews around the world, Israel remains central to their identity, inspiring the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people. Every single day, the brave men and women of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) risk their lives to protect those hopes and dreams. Friends of the Israel Defense Forces (FIDF) is devoted to supporting these defenders of Israel with educational and wellbeing programs and facilities.

Since 1981, FDIF has played an important role in ensuring that IDF soldiers are cared for while carrying out their crucial tasks.

This year, in honor of Israel’s 70th year of independence, FIDF is hosting its first-ever Virginia Gala. A celebration of heroes and hope, it will be an opportunity to interact with and hear incredible stories from IDF soldiers.

FIDF cares for Israel’s soldiers through its six pillars of support: education, financial relief, construction projects, fallen and wounded soldiers, Adopt a Brigade, and Lone Soldiers—those who leave their native countries to join the IDF and serve with no immediate family in Israel.

The flagship FIDF education program is

the IMPACT! Scholarship Program, which grants full, four-year academic scholarships to IDF combat veterans of modest means. Through this program, FIDF helps guarantee that Israel’s soldiers continue to grow as educated citizens and leaders.

Virginia has many families who support FIDF’s IMPACT! Scholarship Program, including Avraham and Patricia Ashkenazi.

The couple sponsors scholarships for several students, including for Roi Azarzar, who is studying engineering at the Technion in Israel.

“When my wife and I learned about IMPACT!, we realized how important it is and we knew that we had to help the soldiers get an education,” says Ashkenazi.

“This scholarship makes higher education possible for Israel’s best and finest.”

For the 2017–2018 academic year, FIDF granted 4,365 IMPACT! scholarships to IDF combat veterans who could not afford the cost of higher education, sponsoring students at more than 80 institutions throughout Israel. This program boasts an impressive 98.5% graduation rate, with 86% of the graduates currently employed.

When asked what it felt like to receive the scholarship, Azarzar says, “I was so incredibly happy and thankful—it felt like a huge weight had been lifted and I knew that I would be able to really focus on my studies and successfully finish my degree.”

IMPACT! students volunteer in the community for 130 hours each year of their studies, helping 20 different nonprofit organizations. Since its inception in 2002, IMPACT! students have volunteered more than five million hours, making it the top scholarship program in providing community service in Israel.

“I volunteer at The Foundation for the Benefit of Holocaust Survivors in Israel and I work with Shlomo, whose wife recently passed away,” says Azarzar. “At the time I met him, he was really lonely. At first, it was difficult to form a connection because he was really sad, but slowly he began to open up and now we have a great relationship. Someone helped me, and it feels good to be able to help someone else.”

So far, more than 8,000 IMPACT! graduates have entered the Israeli workforce, becoming engineers, doctors, lawyers,

Patricia and Avraham Ashkenazi.

architects, and accountants, among other advanced degrees. The 2017–2018 class is comprised of students from more than 22 different countries of origin and almost 300 of them are the first in their family to pursue an advanced degree.

“Creating a new generation of educated individuals is a small investment in comparison to what they will contribute to Israel,” says Ashkenazi. “A soldier can become a scientist or engineer, creating and developing the next generation of inventions and software for the benefit of Israel. But you need to give them the chance to get to that stage.”

Center for the study of Religious Freedom at Virginia Wesleyan University NEXUS Interfaith Dialogue Gender Roles and Religion

Wonder Woman On Her Flesh: Queer Jewish Women and Pride Tattoos

Monday, October 8, 7:30 pm

Thursday, October 4, 11 am–12 pm

Virginia Wesleyan’s Batten Student Center, Pearce Hospitality Suite

Virginia Wesleyan’s Blocker Hall Auditorium

Panelists Rev. Kim Hodges, Pastor of Lynnhaven Colony Congregational, United Church of

The pink triangle has gone from a stigmatizing Holocaust symbol to

Christ (Protestant); Rabbi Rosalin “Roz” Mandelberg, senior rabbi of Ohef Sholom Temple in Norfolk (Jewish); Saher Mirza, community volunteer (Muslim); and Teresa Stanley, coordinator of Interspiritual Empowerment Project (Catholic), will explore “What does my religion teach about the equality or differences between males and females? What women stand out in my religion’s scripture? How do specific scripture passages in my faith cause pain, misunderstanding, and confusion about gender roles? How do they bring support or joy?

How does my religion shape how gender is understood?”

an emblem of LGBTQ pride. Similarly, Jewish women using rainbow Stars of David have been accused of promoting political agendas and have been banned from certain LGBTQ pride events.

Dr. Amy Milligan, Batten Endowed Assistant Professor of Jewish Studies and Women’s Studies and director of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding, at Old Dominion University, Dr. Amy Milligan will discuss how these symbols and their use by women have taken on new meaning in their contemporary contexts. How are they used differently by women than men, by Jews than non-Jews, or by younger generations than old? And what are the implications when these symbols are tattooed on Jewish women’s bodies?

Contact 757.455.3129 or visit vwu.edu.

Contact 757.455.3129 or visit vwu.edu.

jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 33

CalEndar SEPTEMBER 26, WEDNESDAY Celebrate Sukkot with Seniors Art in the Sukkah. Open to the entire senior community. $6 includes lunch and art supplies. For more information or to RSVP, visit the JCC Front Desk or contact Naty Horev at 757.452.3186 or NHorev@simonfamilyjcc.org.

October 7, Sunday Brith Sholom general members meeting at 11 am preceded by a board meeting at 10 am. Dr. Jack Siegal will speak about joint replacements. Deluxe brunch follows. $3 per member; $5 at the door; and $10 for guest. Free for guests exploring membership. At Beth Sholom Village. Contact LeeAnne Mallory at 757-461-1150 or Brith.Sholom1@hrcoxmail.com.

ilbert Eyecare excellence in eyewear

OCTOBER 8, Monday Virginia Festival of Jewish Film presented by Alma and Howard Laderberg* and Avraham and Patricia Ashkenazi present Raid on Entebbe. Free and open to the community.

7:15 pm at the Naro Theater. For more information or to RSVP, contact Melissa Eichelbaum at 757.965.6107 or MEichelbaum@ujft.org.

Cool Fall Collections Full scope eyecare including Pediatric Optometry

Eyecare

www.GilbertEyecare.com

NORFOLK

VIRGINIA BEACH

220 W. Brambleton • 757-622-0200

October 13, Saturday Ohef Sholom Temple celebrates the 100th anniversary of its sanctuary with Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. Evening begins with Havdalah at 7 pm. Reception follows rededication ceremony. Free, but RSVPs requested at 757.625.4295.

OCTOBER 21, SUNDAY Israel Today Artist in Residence Hanoch Piven leads Family Portrait Workshops at 10 am and 12 pm. Free and open to all ages and experience levels as part of UJFT’s Super Sunday. For more information or to RSVP, contact Callah Terkeltaub at 757.321.2331 or CTerkeltaub@ujft.org.

1547 Laskin Road • 757-425-0200

United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Super Sunday. 10 am–1 pm. Sandler Family Campus. Contact YAD director Jasmine Amitay at jamitay@ ujft.org or 757.965.6138. See page 32.

BOOK YOUR BUSINESS MEETING NOW!

Brith Sholom’s Fall Comfort Dinner at 5:30 pm at Beth Sholom Village. Entertainment

by Steve Daley singer/musician. Cost is $10 per member and $20 per guest. Contact LeeAnne Mallory at 757.461.1150 or Brith.sholom1@hrcoxmail.com for information.

Private Dining Rooms to Accommodate 10 to 10 guests

OCTOBER 25, THURSDAY The 4th annual Great Big Challah Bake takes place at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus at 7 pm. For more information or to RSVP, contact Naty Horev at 757.452.3186 or NHorev@simonfamilyjcc.org.

OCTOBER 30—DECEMBER 2 The Lee and Bernard Jaffe* Family Jewish Book Festival. Books for sale will be displayed in the Cardo at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus. For more information, contact Callah Terkeltaub at 757.321.2331 or CTerkeltaub@ujft.org.

Send submissions for calendar to news@ujft.org. Be sure to note “calendar” in the subject.

Include date, event name, sponsor, address, time, cost and phone. *of blessed memory

Current Events with Seniors Thursdays 10:30 am–12 noon 237 Simon Family JCC

J

oin a stimulating discussion on local, international, and world-wide topics. It is always an interesting and fun time.

Town Center of Virginia Beach | 757.213.0747 | RuthsChris.com 34 | Jewish News | September 17, 2018 | jewishnewsva.org

For further information, call Bernice Greenberg at 757-497-0229.

what’s happening Ohef Sholom’s Sanctuary Rededication to feature Rabbi Rick Jacobs Saturday, October 13, 7 pm, Ohef Sholom Temple

O

ne hundred years ago, Ohef Sholom Temple moved to the corner of Stockley G a rd e ns and Raleigh Avenue, constructing the c o n g r e g a t i o n ’ s Rabbi Rick Jacobs magnificent sanctuary. While over the course of the century, nearly every other aspect of the synagogue’s structure has undergone renovations and additions, the sanctuary has remained a constant, with only minor adjustments made to assure its use in a contemporary world and restoration efforts rendered to preserve its beauty. It has been a place of worship, celebration, and mourning.

For generations, the sanctuary has been

home for Ohef Sholom’s congregants.

To celebrate this 100th anniversary milestone, the congregation will hold a rededication ceremony featuring Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism.

A sought-after speaker, Rabbi Jacobs regularly meets with world leaders on myriad topics—and never seems to shy from taking a stand. Rabbi Jacobs’ vision for Reform Judaism’s future is structured around three core priorities: Strengthening Congregations, Audacious Hospitality and Tikkun Olam (social justice).

The evening will begin with a Havdalah service, which will set the tone for a beautiful and meaningful program.

Rabbi Roz Mandelberg, Cantor Jennifer Rueben, and Music Director Charles Woodward have designed a service that will be at once celebratory and

inspiring. Ohef Sholom’s choir, of course, will also participate.

The evening will conclude with a reception fitting for such a celebration.

Sharon Nusbaum and June Saks, 100th Anniversary co-chairs, are making certain of that—from menu to décor, along with some surprises—it will be an event not to be missed.

The celebration of the Sanctuary’s 100th Anniversary will serve as the kickoff of a months-long series of events marking Ohef Sholom’s 175th Anniversary.

The Lillian and Marvin Davis Lecture Fund is helping to make this event possible.

RSVPs to this special evening will help the committee plan. Call the office at 757-625-4295 or email reservations@ohefsholom.org. The entire community is invited.

Seniors in the Sukkah Wednesday, September 26, 12:30 pm

J

oin the senior community to celebrate Sukkot this year with Senior Art in the Sukkah. Included with a ticket is lunch with drinks and dessert, music, an art project led by a community artist, friends, and lots of fun.

Tickets are $6 and the event is open to the entire senior community. For more information, contact nhorev@simonfamilyjcc.org. RSVP is required, and limited space is available. Reserve a space by stopping by the JCC front desk or calling 757-321-2338.

This program is made possible by the Joseph Fleischmann* Memorial Fund.

jewishnewsva.org | September 17, 2018 | Jewish News | 35

obituaries DONALD REA ECKERT, SCPO, USN (Ret.) Alamogordo, N.M.—Donald Rea Eckert, SCPO, US Navy, (Ret.) died Saturday, September 1, 2018 at his home in Alamogordo, N.M. A native of New Albany, Indiana, he was the son of Elizabeth and Robert F. Eckert. He joined the Navy in 1958 and served 26 years until his retirement in 1984. He was a Senior Chief Data Processor and throughout those years traveled around the world in several ships and even a submarine. His shore duty included various intelligent services in Norfolk and Washington, D.C. After 1984, he worked as a government contractor, an IT specialist at Kaufman and Canoles, LLC and finally at the global headquarters of the Navy Exchange in Virginia Beach. He and his wife, Kathy, moved to New Mexico in 2003.

He was a self-educated, voracious reader and could take apart and put back together most anything. Any subject you mentioned, he had knowledge of and was willing to help you understand it. He loved his family very much, despite the distances between them. He will always be a part of all of us.

He is survived by his wife, Kathy, of the home, his son, Rolf (Kimberly), of Virginia Beach; his sister Joyce (William) Arnold of Floyd Knobs, IN and his brother, Robert Lee (Rhonda) Eckert of New Albany, IN. Per his wishes, cremation has taken place and there will be no services. If desired, donations in his memory may be made to Beth Sholom

Home of Eastern Virginia, 6401 Auburn Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23464.

Hanna “Annette” Edwards Norfolk—Hanna “Annette” Edwards, 78, passed away on September 9, 2018.

Annette was born in Kenitra, Morocco to the late Abraham and Simha Benarroch on January 15, 1940.

Annette was an active and very involved member of Temple Israel.

Other than her parents, Hanna is preceded in death by her husband Robert Lee Edwards, Jr.; brothers Solomon Benarroch and Armand Benarroch; sisters Alice Dery and Suzanne Scheidegger.

Left to cherish her memory is her loving son Robert Lee Edwards, III and his fiancé Christy Galvin.

A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

A donation can be made in her name at www.tmcfunding.com for research regarding Scleroderma. Condolences may be left online for the family at www. altmeyerfh.com.

Julian Jacobs Virginia Beach—Julian Bernard, 94, of Richmond and Virginia Beach, passed away August 31, 2018.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 61 years, Bettie Joel Jacobs, whom he married in 1946.

He is survived by their daughter Martha Jacobs Goodman (Robert, Jr.) and son Paul W. Jacobs, II (Fredrika); five grandchildren, Robert Campe Goodman III (Amanda), Maria Goodman

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Hillebrandt (Douglas), Jessica Jacobs Roussanov (Nikolai), Marcus Gregg, and Emanuel Gregg; and five great grandchildren, Peter, Beata, Madeline, Julian and Natalie.

Born in Baltimore on August 24, 1924, Julian moved to Richmond at a young age and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute for one year in 1941–2. Drafted into the Army in 1942, he served as a military policeman.

As an MP in General Patton’s Third Army, Julian participated in the Normandy, Rhineland, and Central Europe campaigns. He was part of the early invasion force of France and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. He was later transferred to the Eighth Army and served in the Asiatic-Pacific Theater. He completed his military service with the American Occupation Force in Japan. He earned two Bronze Service Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, the European-AfricanMiddle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the Philippines Liberation Medal.

Julian returned to the U.S. in 1945 and received his B.S. degree from the University of Richmond in 1948. He worked with his father Paul W. Jacobs to establish Consolidated Sales Company, first an appliance wholesale business and later a land development company that created Richmond-area shopping centers.

As founder and president of Jason Construction Company, he developed housing subdivisions in Chesterfield and Henrico Counties. He loved his work and went to the office every day until shortly before his death.

Julian served as president of both Congregation Beth Ahabah and Lakeside Country Club. As a member of the West Richmond Rotary Club for 47 years and a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary International, he attended Rotary meetings all over the world, from London to Mumbai. He and Bettie were intrepid travelers, visiting over 100 countries, including China and the Soviet Union in the early 1980s. They connected with Russians over American blue jeans and with Israelis over a photograph they had

taken with Moshe Dayan.

While he had many passions, from work to philanthropy, from golf to international travel, Julian was most passionate about his family and friends. He will be sorely missed, particularly for his irrepressible humor and the wonderful stories that sometimes seemed beyond belief. Most famously he claimed as a WWII MP to have detained Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, under suspicion of being a German spy. His family did not believe him until he wrote a letter to Bernhard twenty years later, and received a reply that led to a friendship lasting decades.

A graveside ceremony was held at Hebrew Cemetery, Richmond. Donations may be made to the Bettie J. Jacobs Endowed Research Fund at the VCU Parkinson’s and Movement Disorder Center, the Congregation Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives, or a charity of the donor’s choice. A Memorial Service will be held at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay in October.

Harriet Shukow White Virginia Beach—Harriet Shukow White, daughter of Gertrude and Irving Shukow, was born in The Bronx, New York in 1929, and died September 7, 2018 in her home in Virginia Beach.

She was predeceased by her parents, her sister Shirley, and the love of her life, her husband Samuel I. White.

She married Sam in 1952 and joined him in Norfolk where he had begun his law career. A graduate of Hunter College and Old Dominion University in math and education, she was a career math teacher, enjoying the many years and students she taught at Ryan Private School and Tidewater Community College.

She and Sam were founding members of Temple Israel. She started her community involvement with the Temple Israel Sisterhood and the Jewish Community Center, teaching arts and crafts and serving as a camp counselor. She was an early supporter of women’s rights and their place in the working world, and started by selling ads for the United Jewish Federation newspaper. Sam and Harriet enjoyed the Norfolk/Virginia Symphony,

obituaries the Virginia Opera, ballet, the beach, the pool at the Lafayette Club, and, most of all, traveling the world. She loved getting together with her dear friends to play Mah Jong and bridge, and substantially increased the gross domestic product of Tidewater through her stock club.

Family gatherings brought her great pleasure. Her favorite trips were the annual gatherings at the Homestead and the Greenbrier with her children and grandchildren. A few weeks before her passing, most of her family gathered in her home where she enjoyed holding her new great granddaughter, Becca White. Less than two weeks before her passing, she and her daughter Phyllis spent five days in New York City, where Harriet was always at home, enjoying Bette Midler in Hello Dolly, Renee Fleming in Carousel, visits to museums, dinner with her grandson Mike and his partner David, and one of her favorite activities, shopping! Hobbies included knitting, needlepoint, playing the piano, dancing, reading, keeping up with politics on TV, watching Tiger Woods and Downton Abbey. Her intelligence, sense of humor, generosity, sense of style and resilience kept her in good stead. She was always a fiercely independent person, and was proud that she could live on her own in her own home.

She is survived by her four children, Eric White and his wife Vicki, Phyllis White, Matthew White and his wife Valerie, and Adam White and his wife Ashley; Grandchildren Alec and his wife Emily and daughter Becca; Mike and his partner David; Sara and Rachel, and Seth and Jillian.

Harriet and Sam were always passionate supporters of many community activities including WHRO, the Virginia Symphony Orchestra, The Virginia Opera, and The Tidewater Jewish Foundation.

Harriet would appreciate contributions to any of these organizations.

A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Sheldon Cohen, commissioner who computerized IRS ( JTA)—Sheldon Cohen, the Internal Revenue Service commissioner who computerized the tax agency in the 1960s, has died.

Cohen, a one-time tax lawyer and certified public accountant, died Tuesday, Sept. 4 from complications of congestive heart failure, his grandson Reuben Goetzl told the Washington Post. He was 91.

Cohen, who grew up in Washington, D.C., served as IRS commissioner under President Lyndon B. Johnson.

He first worked with Johnson shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Cohen also helped Johnson with his business affairs following a phone call from his mentor, lawyer Abe Fortas, as Cohen was heading to Shabbat services one Friday night, according to the Post.

Cohen created a blind trust for a radio station owned by the president in order to avoid a conflict of interest. Fortas would later serve as a Supreme Court justice.

In 1964, Cohen started working at the IRS as chief counsel and a year later took over as commissioner. The IRS was starting to use computers to aid with processing tax returns, and Cohen helped the agency become fully computerized, according to the Post.

Cohen also was mired in controversy over the tax agency’s use of wiretapping in criminal cases.

He had worked previously at the IRS, in 1952, the year he graduated from the George Washington University law school.

Cohen, the son of a shopkeeper from Lithuania, was involved in the Jewish community, serving as an honorary life trustee of the American Jewish Historical Society.

Following his nomination to be IRS commissioner, he said that his two “pet charities” were Washington’s Jewish social service agency and Jewish community center.

Jewish rapper Mac Miller found dead at 26 Rapper Mac Miller was found dead of an apparent drug overdose on Friday, Sept. 7 TMZ reported.

The 26-year-old struggled with substance abuse for years, including during a high-profile relationship with pop star Ariana Grande.

According to TMZ, Miller was found by police at his home in California’s San Fernando Valley, and pronounced dead at the scene. He was about to start a concert tour next month.

Miller was born to a Christian father and Jewish mother in Pittsburgh. He has talked about having a bar mitzvah and celebrating Jewish holidays growing up.

He also has a Star of David tattoo on his hand.

In his song S.D.S, he describes himself as a “Jewish Buddhist tryna consume the views of Christianity.” (JTA)

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what’s happening Screening of Raid on Entebbe Monday, October 8, 7:15 pm, Naro Theater, Free

I

n this 1977 film based on true events, members of the Revolutionary Cells and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, hijack an Air France flight, originating from Tel Aviv and destined for Paris, while on a layover in Athens, Greece. The airplane and it’s nearly 300 passengers are diverted to a Ugandan airport. After identifying the Israeli passengers, the non-Jewish passengers are freed, with the hijackers intending to use the Israelis as a bargaining tool in an effort to release Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. These events and the subsequent heroic rescue mission operated by the Israeli military and intelligence forces are the essence of the film.

Join the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, and the Alma and Howard Laderberg and Patricia and Avraham Ashkenazi Virginia Festival of Jewish Film for a Pre-Festival event with a free screening of the film at the Naro Theater in Norfolk. For m ore information or to RSVP, contact Melissa Eichelbaum at 757.965.6107 or MEichelbaum@ujft.org.

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