Comedy writer will bring ‘tribal’ humor to Connections brunch

Carol Leifer
February 8, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Award-winning writer and producer, best-selling author, and stand-up comedian Carol Leifer will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy 26th annual Connections brunch next month. Her topic will be “Judaism is in My DNA.” “I speak about how the Jewish values imparted to me growing up in a middle-class family on Long Island… Read more »

Allison Feldman observance, scholarship fundraiser to be held at UA Centennial Hall Feb. 15
February 14, 2019 /
Alison Feldman

Friends and family of Allison Feldman will gather on the University of Aizona campus at 10:30 a.m. on Friday to celebrate her life and launch the second annual campaign to raise funds for study abroad scholarships in her memory. Feldman was murdered in her Scottsdale home on Feb. 17,… Read more »

Ilhan Omar said AIPAC pays lawmakers to be pro-Israel. Here’s how the lobbying group really operates.

Sen. Robert Menendez speaks at the AIPAC conference at the Washington Convention Center, March 6, 2018. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
February 12, 2019 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar started a firestorm by saying on Twitter that AIPAC pays lawmakers to support Israel. Both Democrats and Republicans have offered sharp rebukes, accusing the Minnesota Democrat of insinuating that Jews use money to get what they want. (On Monday afternoon, she said… Read more »

Brandeis to spotlight mystery, crime fiction, memoir authors

Elizabeth George
February 8, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter presents its 23rd Annual Book & Author events on Feb. 27 and 28 with four acclaimed authors: internationally bestselling mystery writer Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley series; Reed Farrel Coleman, called the “noir poet laureate” by the Huffington Post; Tucsonan Lauren… Read more »

Leadership, community volunteerism set teen apart as choice for mitzvot award

Erika Spivack (Courtesy Erika Spivack)
February 8, 2019 /

Erika Spivack, a University High School senior, will receive the 12th annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on Sunday, March 10. The Women’s Philanthropy advisory council, which includes past Women’s Philanthropy chairs and campaign chairs, created the award in… Read more »

Newcomer Lepow brings wealth of community experience to partnership role
February 8, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor
Dan Lepow

With one eye to retirement and the other to community involvement, Dan Lepow and his wife, Susie, arrived in Tucson last April from St. Paul, Minnesota. They had frequented Tucson over the years, as his sister Rebecca Crow relocated to the Old Pueblo in 1968 and his late mother… Read more »

Finding Grace: A lifelong journey to discovering what is meant to be

Interfaith minister Grace Hartman blesses pets (Courtesy Grace Hartman)
February 8, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Growing up in a Conservative Jewish home in Newton, Massachusetts, with her parents and brother, Lois Gail Esterman did all the right things. She attended Hebrew school through eighth grade, became a bat mitzvah, went to Hebrew high school and a Hebrew teacher’s college. She started her career as… Read more »

Find hidden treasures in synagogue gift shops

Tammy Strobel stands before colorful gift items on display at Congregation Anshei Israel’s gift shop. (Yvonne Ethier)
February 8, 2019 / Barbara Russek, Special to the AJP

A few years back, my good friend Fran was giving me details on her upcoming adult bat mitzvah. “No gifts,” she said emphatically. As I smiled and nodded, inwardly my mind was abuzz — where could I find the perfect present? I didn’t have to look far. In what… Read more »

Tucson groom enlists support of Toby, the cat, for proposal to his bride

(L-R): Bruce and Donna Beyer, Amy and Thomas Allen Brannock, and Billie and Thomas Brannock at Skyline Country Club, Oct. 20, 2018 (Steven Palm Photography)
February 8, 2019 /

Amy Rebecca Beyer, daughter of Bruce and Donna Beyer of Tucson, and Thomas Allen Brannock, son of Thomas and Billie Brannock of St. David, Arizona, were married on Oct. 20, 2018, at Skyline Country Club with Rabbi Batsheva Appel officiating. Attendants included Lisa Beyer of San Francisco, sister of… Read more »


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