Our Town

Business briefs 10.13.20

Allison-WexlerAllison Wexler

The Free Loan at the Jewish Federation received a $10,000 grant from the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona last month. Allison Wexler, executive director of the Free Loan, said the organization has made four Covid-19 Relief Loans since being notified of the award on Sept. 8. For more… Read more »

Business briefs 9.11.20

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Laura McKee has been hired as executive assistant to the CEO of the Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. McKee began her career with an associate’s degree as a legal assistant from Pima Community College and worked as a legal secretary while earning her bachelor’s degree… Read more »

People in the news 9.11.20

Mary Jo Pollack won the Phoenix Moth Story Slam in July. Pollack has told stories live in Tucson for Odyssey Storytelling, FST! Female Storytellers, and Tellers of Tales Tucson, where she is second vice president. Rabbi Baruch J. Cohon, vice president of the Tucson-based Rabbi Samuel S. and A.… Read more »

JAC raises funds with Walk to Israel challenge

Jewish Arizonans on Campus, which provides classes, trips, Shabbat meals, and other programs at both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, has raised $24,154 through Olami’s Walk to Israel pedometer fundraising challenge. Registration ends Aug. 15. JAC was founded in 2005 to provide Jewish students of all… Read more »

Business briefs 6.26.20

The Tucson Jewish Community Center appointed Sarah Singer as chair of its 31st board of directors in May. An associate at Gadarian & Cacy, PLLC, Singer has served on the J’s board for seven years. She is a longtime Tucson resident who previously worked in investment banking and proprietary… Read more »

People in the news 6.26.20

The Arizona Board of Regents confirmed University of Arizona Professor of Psychology Jeff Greenberg as a Regents Professor along with four other UArizona faculty members, Roberta Diaz Brinton, Judith Brown, Peter Chesson, and Connie Woodhouse. Regents Professor appointments are reserved for full professors whose exceptional achievements merit national and… Read more »

People in the news 6.12.20

A new book by Bonnie J. Golden, M.Ed, E-RYT, “Yoga for Holistic Healing: Poses and Sequences for Pain and Stress Relief” (Callisto Media) is available for preorder on Amazon. Golden is the owner of Yoga in Balance, LLC, and www.yogawithbonnie.com.… Read more »

Business briefs 6.12.20

Arizona Theatre Company and Artistic Director Sean Daniels will partner with Florida Studio Theatre in developing a new play, “Tampa,” as part of The Playwrights Project, FST’s newly launched artistic initiative featuring 32 of the nation’s top playwrights, sketch comedy writers, and musical theatre developers. For more information about… Read more »

People in the news 5.29.20

Nancy Mellan

A fiber-arts poetry chapbook by Nancy Mellan, “Threadbare,” is on virtual display as part of Foundry Art Centre’s exhibit, Context III. View the exhibit, including Mellan’s video of her piece, at www.foundryartcentre.org/context-iii. Social Lite Creative named state Rep. Alma Hernandez of Tucson one of “The Top 50 Zionist Influencers… Read more »

Business briefs 5.29.20

The Tucson Board of Rabbis has elected the following officers to two-year terms for 2020-2022: Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, president; Rabbi Sandy Seltzer, vice president; Rabbi Helen Cohn, secretary; Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, acting treasurer. Tucson shoe retailer and owner of Alan’s Shoes, Alan Miklofsky, and his longtime advertising agent, Rob… Read more »

Staying connected at Handmaker

Handmaker resident Lois Waldman follows along with Facebook live Passover Festival services from Temple Emanu-El, April 9. (Photo: Angela Salmon/Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging)

Digital apps and dedicated staff have been helping Handmaker residents stay connected during the coronavirus pandemic. For Passover, Handmaker provided all interested Jewish residents with dinner, seder plates, wine or grape juice, battery operated candles, and Haggadot for one or two seders, depending on their request. Some residents joined… Read more »

Holocaust survivors flock to JFCS group Zoom meetings

Top row (L-R): Sharon Glassberg; Daniel, Alma, and Consuelo Hernandez; Theresa Dulgov. Middle: Raisa Moroz, JFCS Holocaust survivors services program manager; Barbara Agee; John Kessler. Bottom:  Sidney Finkel, Pawel and Sara Lichter (not pictured). Also on the call, by phone, were Walter Feiger, Yulia Genina, and Wanda Wolosky. (Photo courtesy Jewish Family & Children’s Services)

Jewish Family & Children’s Services weekly Holocaust survivors group meetings have been taking place over Zoom, sometimes with special guests, such as a recent meeting with State Reps. Alma Hernandez and Daniel Hernandez Jr. and their sister, Consuelo Hernandez, a member of the governing board for Sunnyside Unified School… Read more »

THA plans online commencement

Standing (L-R): Jack Scrimer, Jared Matheson, Aidan Goldberg, Eidan Schachter-Brooks, Liam Parnaby, Ben Gerber, and Anisa Rutherford; seated: Lariella Citron, Abigail Ruskin, Alex Farbrook, Halle Hirshman, Matias Naiman-Molina, Yileana Pasillas, and Mielle Griver. (Standing (L-R): Jack Scrimer, Jared Matheson, Aidan Goldberg, Eidan Schachter-Brooks, Liam Parnaby, Ben Gerber, and Anisa Rutherford; seated: Lariella Citron, Abigail Ruskin, Alex Farbrook, Halle Hirshman, Matias Naiman-Molina, Yileana Pasillas, and Mielle Griver. (Photo courtesy Tucson Hebrew Academy)

Due to restrictions on large gatherings during the coronavirus pandemic, Tucson Hebrew Academy will hold an online eighth-grade graduation ceremony on Monday, May 18.  The 14 graduates will attend the following high schools in the fall: Catalina Foothills High School, The Gregory School, Tucson High Magnet School, and University High… Read more »

People in the news 5.1.20

Amir Eden

Amir Eden has started teaching “Israeli Spirit” classes for middle school students from all over the U.S. through the Israeli-American Council’s new Ofek Learning Hub — Looking Beyond the Horizon. For more information, visit www.ofekhub.org. Eden holds a B.A in political science and international relations from Florida Atlantic University and… Read more »

Business briefs 5.1.20

The Jewish History Museum will receive a CORE grant of $15,000 from the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona, which has granted over $2.1 million to nonprofit organizations providing immediate relief during the coronavirus crisis. The most recent round of grants includes $120,000 from CFSA’s COVID-19 Response Funds, $720,000 in general… Read more »

People in the news 4.17.20

Kacie Bauer won third place for English speakers in a worldwide Passover trivia contest hosted Monday, April 6 by Olami, the parent organization of Jewish Arizonans on Campus and many other organizations for Jewish young adults in 31 countries. Bauer, a junior at the University of Arizona, participated on… Read more »

Firefighters hold Passover seder

Matt Gordon (foreground) and fellow Golder Ranch firefighters held a Passover seder at fire station 377 in Oro Valley on April 8. Family friend Hedy Feuer provided the matzah ball soup, kippot, and Haggadahs, and the firefighters prepared the rest of the meal. Gordon’s father is Jewish, Feuer explains,… Read more »

Connections postponement prompts impromptu brunch

(L-R) Lynn Rae Lowe, Fay Roos, Linda Wahl, Dana Adler, Laurie Kassman, and Lenore Ballen at Adler’s home on March 8. (Courtesy Lynn Rae Lowe)

Six members of Congregation Or Chadash who had planned to attend the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on March 8, which was postponed due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), gathered that morning at the home of Dana Adler. They watched the Federation’s exclusive interview… Read more »