Norfolk —Shane Matthew Sandler, 45, passed away February 3, 2018.

He was born on August 11, 1972 to Ronald Sandler and Aesun Kim in Norfolk.

Left to cherish Shane’s memory are his parents Ronald Sandler, Aesun Kim, and step-father, Kwang Kim; daughter, Samantha Sandler; siblings, Sean Kim and Sonia Kim; and his longtime friend John J. Clinton.

A graveside service was held at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk with Rabbi Michael Panitz officiating.

Memorial contributions may be made to Temple Israel.

Online condolences can be directed to the family by visiting www.altmeyerfh.com.

(JTA)— Marty Allen, the veteran comedian who was part of the popular Allen and Rossi duo and was known for his catchphrase “Hello dere,” has died.

Allen died Monday, Feb. 12 in Las Vegas from complications of pneumonia at the age of 95. He is survived by his wife and performing partner of the last 30 years, Karon Kate Blackwell, who was with him when he died, his spokeswoman told The Associated Press.

His comedy career took off in the late 1950s and ’60s when he performed with Steve Rossi. The tandem appeared 44 times on The Ed Sullivan Show, including on the show with the second appearance by the Beatles on Feb. 16, 1964. They also appeared on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson and The Merv Griffin Show. After parting in 1968, Martin and Rossi reunited for shows into the 1990s.

Allen made hundreds of television appearances, including in a dramatic role on the series The Big Valley. He also was a regular on The Hollywood Squares and made guest appearances on numerous game shows.

Allen “relied on his physical appearance to help the comedy,” wrote Lawrence J. Epstein in his book The Haunted Smile: The Story of Jewish Comedians in America. “Allen’s wild mane of hair, his squinting eyes, and his sad voice nasally delivering his trademark introduction ‘Hello dere’ all were part of his act.”

He and his wife performed comedy routines in Las Vegas and in other venues throughout the country until at least 2016.

Allen was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pa. He served in Italy in the Army Air Corps during World War II , earning a Soldier’s Medal for bravery. He was predeceased by his first wife, Lorraine “Frenchy” Allen.

Sponsored By

Kempsville Conservative Synagogue

As you’ve probably heard by now, Israel turns 70 years old in April.

To commemorate this milestone, the April 9 issue of Jewish News will feature all things Israel, including articles about the tiny nation’s beginning, it’s technological, medical, agricultural, and art achievements and contributions to the world, as well as Tidewater’s role throughout its relatively young life.

Many of these articles we have or can source from the Hal Sacks Jewish News Archives. What we need from you, our readers, are your personal stories, memories, anecdotes, and photographs. Do you remember your or your family’s reaction to the declaration of Israel’s statehood? When was your first visit? What about any trip that was particularly impactful, inspiring, or just plain fun? What did you do, here, in Tidewater to help promote and preserve Israel, maybe during one of its difficult wars?

If you are willing to share, please email or mail your story (100–200 words) or photograph to: tdenison@ujft.org or Jewish News, 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Virginia Beach, VA, 23462 by Friday, March 23.

We will use as many stories as possible, and if the paper runs out of room, we’ll include some on our website.

Thank you in advance for sharing!

- Terri Denison, Editor

Note to readers

Jewish victims, survivors, and activists

The school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month has impacted and mobilized the Jewish community from Florida to Massachusetts and beyond. Consider:

• Five of the 17 killed were Jewish.
• The Sheriff leading the investigation is Jewish.
• The Congressman representing the district is Jewish.
• Youth groups from the Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform movements are signed onto the gun control campaign.
• Hillels are sending students to the March in Washington.
• Congregations in Washington are working to provide food and lodging for marchers.
• And finally, thousands upon thousands are grieving for the loss of all of the victims, including for the families, friends, and communities they were a part of. Life for the survivors will never be the same.

Following, are several pieces from various perspectives on the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

—Terri Denison

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Here’s why we report on the Jewish victims of general tragedies

(JTA)—In the many years between my first job at JTA and returning as its editor in 2016, I would joke about a headline it published in 1999: “Two Turkish Jews killed in quake.” Perhaps you’ll remember that 17,000 people died in the Turkish earthquake that year. That headline seemed to represent all that was strange and wrong about a narrowly ethnic news service. If they hadn’t identified those two Jewish victims, would the Jewish news service have covered the quake at all—unless to report that “Giant quake narrowly misses Israel”?

Of course, now I am in charge, and we do our version of “Two Turkish Jews” all the time. Last month, following the massacre of 17 students and staff at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, our reporters hit the phones, reporting on the victims and survivors who happened to be Jews. We wrote about the two first-year girls who were remembered as sweet and easy-going. The hero teacher who spent his summers at a Jewish camp and died while making sure the last of his students was safe inside a classroom. We wrote about one of those students, a Jewish boy who recalled being the last kid to make it inside before that same teacher was hit and fell bleeding in the doorway.

This practice of identifying the Jewish victims of a greater disaster makes a lot of people uncomfortable, including some of my colleagues. They worry it signals that tragedies only matter to the degree to which they involve a Jew. That it erodes empathy in a diverse world by suggesting that the only thing that matters is tribe. That it makes us look small, in more ways than one.

I share those misgivings but also can defend our search for the Jewish angles, to any general story. First, it is not only the Jews who look for a sectarian connection to any major news event. Maybe we do this more publicly and consistently than other groups, but I doubt it. (Broadway composer Dave Yazbek has a song that asks, “Is it good for baseball, is it good for the Jews?”—it neatly sums up the American Jewish experience in 11 words.) Every local newspaper and television station makes news decisions based on their definition of hometown news. If a plane crashes in Indiana, then it’s news in Chicago if a local person is among the dead. When 230,000 people died in the 2004 Asian tsunami, the BBC took note of the 149 Brits among them.

In a sense I view JTA as a hometown news service, and define the residents of that town not by geography but by their connections to and interest in all things Jewish.

Sometimes this localism lapses into chauvinism—like network Olympics coverage that lasers in on American athletes and ignores the compelling stories of all the other competitors. Or reductio ad absurdumism—like the article I found in an old Billboard magazine pondering the impact of the civil rights movement on pinball machine profits.

But if handled sensitively, localism can also tap into basic human instinct in order to foster a wider appreciation for humankind.

That’s the point of perhaps the best known saying of the first century C.E. sage Hillel: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”

Rabbi Yitz Greenberg suggests that Hillel’s first clause—“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”—is one of Judaism’s greatest teachings.

“Repair of the whole world starts with my country, my city, my neighborhood first,” writes Greenberg. “Self-interest is legitimate. People work harder and produce more in an economy built on private property. Loved ones or family first is the natural, more human way to operate

Thursday, March 22, 5:45 pm
The Westin, Virginia Beach Town Center

The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities has selected William L. Nusbaum to receive a prestigious Humanitarian Award at their 54th annual dinner this month.

The Tidewater chapter of VCIC will recognize Nusbaum for his longstanding commitment to promoting respect and understanding among people of all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. He is the third generation (and fourth member) of his family to receive this award.

“I am really humbled to receive such a meaningful recognition, and it wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated colleagues and in many cases, staff, of the various organizations that I’ve been privileged to work with over the years,” says Nusbaum. “I’ve just been fortunate to lead some really good teams at these organizations, and their work is what enabled the organizations to flourish and prosper.

“Personally, it’s gratifying to learn that my community involvements are viewed on a par with the great accomplishments of my grandmother, Justine and my uncle, Pooch (honored jointly with this award in 1968), and my father, Bob (honored in 2013). But I find it particularly humbling to read the inspiring achievements of the others being honored with me at the dinner, and yet to find myself privileged to share the evening’s recognition with them,” he says.

“We are very proud that Bill is being recognized by VCIC for his dedicated humanitarian work in both the Jewish and general communities,” says Harry Graber, executive vice president, UJFT.

“He is certainly deserving of the honor and his work as co-chair of the UJFT Community Relations Council was indicative of the values and leadership skills uniquely possessed by all the honorees.”

A partner at Williams Mullen, Nusbaum has held prominent positions with many civic and religious organizations in Tidewater, including serving as past president, honorary director, and trustee of Ohef Sholom Temple, past co-chair of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Community Relations Council’s legislative committee, past vice chair of the Virginia regional board of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, past board member of The Norfolk Forum, past president and honorary life director of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, past chair (2 terms) of the Harvard Schools Committee for Southeastern Virginia, past chair (2 terms) of the Norfolk City Democratic Committee, past vice-chair of the Third Congressional District Democratic Committee and member of the Democratic Party of Virginia State Central Committee. In addition, he is the immediate past chair of Opportunity Inc. (the Hampton Roads Workforce Development Board) and its related nonprofit, the Hampton Roads Workforce Development Corporation. He also serves on the Norfolk Airport Authority Board of Commissioners and as a board member of the Rumi Forum Hampton Roads Advisory Board.

Other Tidewater Humanitarian Award recipients this year are Kim W. & Valerie K. Brown, Cathy M. Lewis, Lemuel E. Lewis, and Angela D. Reddix. Eggleston will be presented with the Distinguished Merit Citation.

To attend the dinner or purchase a table for a business or organization, visit www.inclusiveva.org, or call 804-515-7950. To purchase a seat at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater/Tidewater Jewish Foundation table, contact Tammy Mujica at tmujica@ujft.org or 757-965-6124.

This post was originally published in Bossier Magazine, and on the Religious Action Center’s and Union for Reform Judaism’s blogs. It is republished here with the author’s permission.

To: G4A, G3B, the Tsofim unit, and all of URJ Camp Coleman:

After 17 people were murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14th, including one of your fellow campers, I haven’t been able to think of what to say except for “I am so sorry.” I am. I am so, so sorry.

I’m sorry that you lost a friend, and that two of you lost a sister. I’m sorry that some of you were in the school when it happened, and that one of you had to watch. I’m sorry that you do not feel safe. I’m sorry for all of the horrible things that you are feeling. I’m sorry that I can’t get in my car right now and go on a road trip to Charleston, and Atlanta, and Athens, and Tampa, and Miami, and Parkland, so that I can hug each and every one of you and tell you that it will be okay.

I also thought to myself: I’m sorry that we failed you. I’m sorry that at camp, for one or two months of the summer, we were unable to prepare you. I wrote programs for you about self-care, but I talked to you about eating healthy and managing stress, not about remembering to eat when you’re overwhelmed by grief or managing earth-shattering trauma. I’m sorry that I didn’t talk to you about writing letters to your Senators, or talk to you more about tikkun olam, repairing the world.

But you are seventh graders. You spent the summer worrying about who would be color war captain, or who your buddy would be at the water park. During your free time, you traded gum and worked on your friendship bracelets, not organizing a march on Washington or writing poetry in memory of one of your bunkmates. I wrote programs for seventh graders: I wanted to educate you on body image, and Jewish identity as you prepared for your Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I wanted you to learn how to meditate and see the natural world around you anew. I led all of you to a campfire in the woods so that you could write down your greatest insecurities on paper and then burn them to make them disappear. From the bottom of my heart, I prayed that your biggest fears could vanish as quickly and easily as paper burns in a campfire, providing kindling for s’mores.

I’m sorry, instead, for sending you back into this world. At camp, you are safe. You go to bed each night in a cabin surrounded by your closest friends, and you know that your counselors are sitting on the porch, helping you feel protected and loved and secure as you fall asleep. You get to try out new things in a supportive environment, whether it’s auditioning for the musical or playing roller hockey or hiking to a waterfall. I was starkly reminded this week that camp really is a bubble, an out-of-time reality that only exists for two months every summer. When we send you home, we don’t know what’s waiting for you when you get back, and it’s so hard to let you go. I could not have imagined this past August, though, that this is what we were returning you to. Your country has failed you. Adults have failed you. We have failed you. We didn’t make this world safe enough for you.

My hope for you is that your schools will feel as safe as your camp cabins. I want you to be able to run, laugh, play, learn, and grow as freely as you could at camp, where your biggest fear is falling and skinning your knee. I want you to not have to question whether or not the next time you talk to your friends will be the last time you’re able to. I want you to be active and engaged citizens, like we teach you to be at camp, but I want you to do this out of a desire for good, not out of trauma and necessity. Most importantly, I want you to just be kids. I want you to not have to worry. I want you to have a childhood that lasts as long as possible, free from fear, free from pain, and free to always be as happy as you are at 201 Camp Coleman Drive.

And I promise, that for the rest of my life, I will fight for your safety. I will fight for your freedom from fear. I will fight in memory of Alyssa Alhadeff, and in honor of all of you, her peers who are so precious, loving, and good. I will make make this world better for you.

Madeline Budman is a senior at Georgetown University, where she is majoring in English and double minoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and Jewish Civilization. This past summer, she was the programmer for the Tsofim unit at URJ Camp Coleman, where she designed a curriculum for more than 150 campers entering 7th grade surrounding self-care and Jewish identity. In the summer of 2016, she was a participant in the Religious Action Center’s Machon Kaplan program, where she interned at the National Council of Jewish Women.

- Madeline Budman

For Aaron David Miller, any opportunity to get out of Washington is appreciated, but on Monday, Feb. 12, the treat was for the Tidewater Jewish community. In a packed room, Miller, the vice president of New Initiatives at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, shared his view on the role of the U.S.A. in the Middle East and the lessons he learned while navigating the negotiators highway. Miller is also an author, columnist, and frequent commentator on CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and NPR, as well as a former analyst, negotiator, and advisor to the Middle East. He has served under both Republican and Democratic Secretaries of State.

One of the strong points that he emphasized was the importance of understanding location. “Where you stand in life has everything to do with where you sit,” says Miller, who went on to explain that while the U.S.A. and Israel have many shared values and goals, the two have dramatically different interests when it comes to the Middle East because of living in different worlds. Miller recounted a conversation he had while working on negotiations with an Israeli diplomat who turned to him and said, “Don’t lecture me about security. You live in Chevy Chase, Maryland. I live on top of a volcano.”

The United States has unprecedented security, explained Miller. To the north and south of the country are non-predatory neighbors, and to the east and west are “liquid assets.” This impacts the nation’s foreign policy tremendously and, in many cases, can taint it with naivety, idealism, and arrogance.

The other important point Miller made was the significance of understanding history. “Any time we’ve failed in diplomacy, it was because we acted on the belief of what the world should be, and didn’t look at what it was,” says Miller, “It is a balance to appreciate where we stand and mesh that with what we want it to be. We need to be idealistic without illusion. It is okay to aspire, but it is important do it with eyes wide open to reality. The line between being dumb and being smart is defined by our understanding of history and our gauge of reality. Without this, foreign policy is almost guaranteed to fail. If forcing peace is ineffective, what does Miller suggest the U.S. foreign policy should be in the Middle East? To transact, not transform. This is how the only other peace deals with Egypt and Jordan have succeeded, and, according to Miller, it is the only way for the U.S. to succeed in the future.

The Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater and Simon Family JCC, along with community partners, present Israel Today @ 70. For more information and to RSVP for upcoming events, visit JewishVA.org/IsraelToday.

- Raizy Cook

Sunday, April 22, 11 am–4 pm

Israel only turns 70 once.

That’s why organizers of Israel Fest at the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus are working to make this year’s event one of the most memorable ever—and they need help!

How? With authentic Israeli food and music, shopping, family activities, and more, along with a community-wide project that will demand everyone’s attendance.

At Israel Fest, on a field behind the Simon Family JCC, the community plans to create perhaps the largest human flag of Israel in the area, if not the nation’s, history.

Dimensions and other details are being worked out now, but the most important element is YOU. Bring everyone and be ready to stand together with family, friends, and neighbors of all faiths, to hold up your share of blue and white (which will be provided) to be a part of a large community photo and video sharing with the world, just how much Israel means to Tidewater.

What happens to the image? It becomes Tidewater’s signature salute to the Jewish State on its 70th Anniversary.

For more information about Israel Fest, including volunteer opportunities, vendor applications, or other ways to get involved with this big celebration of Israel’s 70th anniversary, contact Melissa Eichelbaum, Simon Family JCC program associate, at 321-2304 or MEichelbaum@ujft.org.

- Joel Rubin

March 9–March 16

For more than 20 years, Richmond Ballet’s Minds In Motion program has brought students from across Virginia and from all walks of life, to perform together on stage and share the joy of dance.

Nearly a decade ago, the program traveled to Israel, and since then, Jewish-Israeli and Arab-Israeli students have performed a Minds In Motion experience for their families and schools. The result is inspiring.

More than 70 artists and guests from Israel will travel to Virginia for Art For Understanding this month. This collaboration and cultural exchange connects students from Minds In Motion in Virginia with Matter of Color, a group of artists from Israel.

As part of this exchange, Matter of Color artists created a special exhibition of more than 100 paintings tied to the theme of empathy and understanding. The paintings are now available for bid. Through March 15, the artwork view may be viewed online or at several locations throughout Virginia. Four pieces of art are currently on display in the Cardo of the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus.

To learn more about Art For Understanding and its related events or to explore and bid on a painting, visit richmondballet.com/a4u. All proceeds from the auction and related events will support the Minds In Motion programs throughout Virginia, as well as the Jewish and Arab communities in Israel.

Art For Understanding is sponsored by Binns of Williamsburg and the Virginia Israel Advisory Board.

About Matter of Color

Headed up by their instructor and curator, Bruria Hassner of Tel Aviv, Matter of Color artists have been painting together for more than two decades. The group comprises approximately 120 women and a few men who paint together several times a week and explore a variety of themes through their art. The painters have traveled on A Matter of Colors missions throughout the world, benefitting children in places such as China and Bulgaria.

About Minds In Motion

Bringing the joy of movement and performance to students since 1995, Minds In Motion is the cornerstone of Richmond Ballet’s Outreach programming. Nearly 2,000 students annually are rapidly transported into the world of dance through the curriculum brought to them through professional teaching artists and musicians. The program in Israel is supported through the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater’s Israel and Overseas allocation, through the annual campaign.

Tuesday, March 13–Sunday March 18, Chrysler Hall

Beautiful, The Carole King Musical, tells the inspiring true story of Carole King’s (Carol Joan Klein) amazing rise to stardom… from being part of a hit songwriting team with her first husband Gerry Goffin, to her relationship with fellow writers and best friends Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history.

I saw the show a few months ago on Broadway. Starting in the opening scene with King as a shy young Jewish teen in her home in Brooklyn—Beautiful chronicles not only King’s life, but also the world of pop songwriting in Manhattan in the 1960s. While the storyline has some stressful and uncomfortable moments, watching King’s evolution—as a musician, young woman, wife, and mother—and , of course, hearing her music, is as Entertainment Weekly noted, “a joyous celebration.”

Featuring myriad beloved songs written by Gerry Goffin/Carole King and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil, including I Feel The Earth Move, One Fine Day, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, You’ve Got A Friend and the title song, Beautiful, the show earned two 2014 Tony® Awards and a 2015 Grammy® Award.

Carole King made more than beautiful music, she wrote the soundtrack to a generation. You’ll leave the theater singing, for sure. At least, I did!

- Terri Denison

Wednesday, March 21, 12 pm

Simon Family JCC and Joseph Fleishmann Memorial Fund of the Tidewater Jewish Foundation present Seniors Seder. Rabbi Israel Zoberman and Cantor Elihu Flax will lead the senior community in a traditional Passover Mini Seder at the Simon Family JCC.

The event is open to the entire senior community.

Tickets are $10. For more information, contact Naty Horev, senior program director, at NHorev@simonfamilyjcc.org or 757-452-3186.

Thursday, March 29, 12:30 pm
Sandler Family Campus

Based on an installation of 1,000 umbrellas adorning Yoel Moshe Solomon Street in the historic Nachalat Shiva district of Jerusalem during the summer of 2015, UJFT’s Community Relations Council is launching a similar installation in the Simon Family JCC’s Cardo to delight attendees of Israel Fest, Tidewater’s Jewish community celebration of Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day.

Join the seniors at the Simon Family JCC to decorate an umbrella to be included in the installation. Coffee and desserts from Custom Cake will be served. RSVP (required) by March 26 at JCC Front Desk. For more information, contact Naty Horev, senior program director, at NHorev@simonfamilyjcc.org or 757-452-3186.

Wednesday, April 18, 12:30 pm, Simon Family JCC

Seniors are celebrating Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, with DJ Eyal Rob of Tel Aviv. As a young thriving nation, Israel has been through radical social transformations in its 70 years. The changes in Israeli culture will be explored. Following Israel’s timeline from 1948 until the present, Rob will examine 10 milestones songs that reflect the young Jewish nation through wars, peace, struggle, and hope.

This event is open to the entire senior community. Lunch is $6. RSVP (required) by April 13 at JCC Front Desk. For more information, contact Naty Horev, senior program director, at NHorev@simonfamilyjcc.org or 757-452-3186.

Rabbi Dr. Israel Zoberman, founding rabbi of Congregation Beth Chaverim, whose article God’s Divinity and Human Dignity Are Indivisible, is included in a newly published book, Sacred Journeys: Ecumenical Perspectives on Spiritual Care. Edited by Dr. Michael J. Kurtz, the book is published by WestBow Press in both hard and soft cover. Zoberman is the only rabbi to earn a doctoral degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, which is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, USA.

Norfolk —Judith Stiefel Schapiro died Saturday, February 24, 2018.

Judith, who was born on May 19, 1928, was the daughter of Adolph and Laura Stiefel. She was predeceased by her loving husband, Herbert Schapiro.

Judith received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from Hunter College, her Master’s in Education from the University of Florida, and when she received her Doctor of Education from Memphis State University in 1969, she was the first woman at the university to obtain a doctorate degree.

Judith was a lifelong educator. She retired as a professor emeritus from Old Dominion University having been full professor of special education. She was a member of Congregation Beth El in Norfolk.

Those left to cherish her memory are her sister, Corine Gold; her son, Mark Schapiro (Susan); and her daughter, Mona (Jeffrey); and her fiercely loved grandchildren, Andrew Schapiro, Adam Schapiro, Laura Schapiro, Harris Flax and Jeremy Flax.

A funeral service was conducted at the Norfolk Chapel of H.D. Oliver Funeral Apartments. Rabbi Jeffrey Arnowitz and Cantor Wendi Fried officiated. Interment followed at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The family suggests that memorial donations be made to either Eastern Virginia Medical School or Congregation Beth El in Norfolk.

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

Norfolk —Monte Z. Rosenberg died Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at home after a long illness at the age of 89.

Monte met the love of his life, Carole, and they were happily married in 1954 for 63 years. He was a long time resident of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

He was predeceased by his parents, Bess and Alan Rosenberg, his brother Ira Rosenberg, and his lifelong friend, Joe Goodstein.

He is survived by his loving wife Carole, his devoted children Jo (Shari), Paul (Stefan), Lesley and his adored and adoring grandchildren Elizabeth and Jacob and several nieces, nephews, sisters- in-law, and many friends who are like family.

Monte graduated pharmacy school in 1957 and owned the first discount pharmacy, King’s Pharmacy, in the area. Throughout his career, he was known for his integrity and professionalism. He trained many new pharmacy graduates to do the job “properly” who went on to manage their own pharmacies.

Monte was a snazzy dresser and his grandchildren knew him for his unusual taste in socks. He was known for his love of children, basketball, fast cars, golf, and sailboats. For years he went to the NCAA tournament with multi-generational family members. Monte looked forward to his Wednesday lunches with the “Romeos.”

Funeral services were held at Altmeyer Funeral Home, followed by a graveside service at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Norfolk. Donations can be made to the Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia or Temple Israel.

Condolences can be left for the family at www.altmeyerfh.com.

WASHINGTON (JTA)—Billy Graham, the giant of American evangelism who was exalted by Jews for his championing of Israel at its hour of need and then condemned when a nasty anti-Semitic streak was revealed, died Wednesday, Feb. 21.

Graham, 99, died at his home in Montreat, North Carolina. He was a counselor to Democratic and Republican presidents and, with his massive arena appearances, was a precursor of the Protestant televangelism that helped reshape the American religious and political landscapes. His son, Franklin, is one of President Donald Trump’s highest-profile religious supporters.

The elder Graham was an early and avid backer of Israel. A tour of the country in 1960 raised the country’s profile among American evangelicals, establishing the seeds of strong pro-Israel support that persist in that community until now. In 1967, he urged Israeli leaders not to yield to diplomatic pressures that could endanger the country’s security; such entreaties, commonplace now on the American right, were unusual at the time. He made a film, His Land, about Israel that continues to be screened among pro-Israel evangelicals. Graham also was a champion for the Jews persecuted in the former Soviet Union and counseled his evangelical brethren not to proselytize Jews.

“Just as Judaism frowns on proselytizing that is coercive, or that seeks to commit men against their will, so do I,” Graham told an American Jewish Committee delegation that met with him in 1973.

He received awards from the organized Jewish community and was so beloved in its precincts that in 1994, when H. R. Haldeman, a former top aide to President Richard Nixon, revealed Graham’s lacerating anti-Semitism expressed in private talks with Nixon, the Jewish community dismissed Haldeman’s account out of hand.

Tapes from the Nixon Library released in 2002 validated Haldeman’s account, however.

“A lot of Jews are great friends of mine,” Graham told Nixon in 1972. “They swarm around me and are friendly to me. Because they know that I am friendly to Israel and so forth. But they don’t know how I really feel about what they’re doing to this country, and I have no power and no way to handle them.”

Graham also said that the Jewish “stranglehold” on the media “has got to be broken or this country’s going down the drain.”

In 2002, Graham apologized for the remarks, and Jewish community leaders accepted his apology—but the relationship would never again be the same.

“We knew that Nixon was an anti-Semite,” Abraham Foxman, then the Anti-Defamation League’s national director, told JTA at the time, whereas Graham is “a guy we all felt comfortable with. And he was so infected with this virulent anti-Semitism.”

Rabbi A. James Rudin, the AJC’s senior interreligious adviser, wrote in a statement that Graham regretted his remarks about Jews and Judaism.

“He publicly apologized for them and asked for forgiveness during his 2002 ‘Crusade’ in New York City,” Rudin wrote. “I had a private conversation with him at that time, where he expressed deep personal remorse and asked me to convey his sincere apologies to the entire Jewish community.”

- Ron Kampeas

Thursday, April 19, 6:30 pm, Congregation Beth El

Celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut with a free and open to the community event. From Holy Land to Club Land: The Evolution of Israel through Music, Rob will bring the Tel Aviv music scene to Tidewater, reflecting the young Jewish nation’s songs through war, peace, struggle, and hope for an interactive celebration for all ages.

As part of Congregation Beth El’s Celebrating Judaism Through the Arts series, the evening includes dinner, PJ Library activities, arts and crafts for all ages, wine tasting (minimal charge) a silent auction, and more.

For more information or to RSVP (required) call 321-2304 or visit JewishVA.org/Eyal-Rob.

Sunday, April 15, 10 am, Temple Israel

Norman Soroko is being honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Seaboard Region, Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, at it’s annual recognition breakfast.

Soroko became involved in Men’s Club in the late 1980s at B’nai Israel Congregation where he was president of the club for four years. After joining Congregation Beth El with his parents in November 1988, he immediately became involved with the Men’s Club and became president in 1990, holding the office for a total of 18 years.

Soroko was selected Blue Yarmulke man of the year in 1994. In June of 1999, he became the first person from Tidewater to become president of the Seaboard Region of Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. He held that office for two years and then was asked to fill in as president for a few more years. In July 13, 2011, he received the Ma’asim Tovim Award for doing outstanding deeds in the community and region.

Involved in community and religious affairs, Soroko served on the board of directors at Beth El for 12 years and serves on the board of directors of the Men’s Club. He volunteers for Relay for Life to help find the cure for cancer and has single handedly raised $200,000. He also serves as chairman of the Shomrim Committee, a committee that sits with departed members. Soroko is also vice president of the Jewish Museum and Cultural Center in Portsmouth. Retired from banking, he substitute teaches in Norfolk Public Schools, teaches Sunday School at Beth El and works for Graham Funeral Home.