A group of teens poses before a painted wall in the courtyard of a museum.BBYO held a “Global Shabbat” event at the Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center in December 2025, its third annual event at the museum. (Photo courtesy Davis Hubbell)

Youth Group Scene Thriving in Tucson

August 20, 2026 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Feature Writer

Jewish youth groups foster a sense of belonging, giving teens a safe place to explore their identity through shared cultural traditions, social activities, and leadership opportunities. Teens in the Tucson area have several youth group options. Long-established groups such as BBYO and USY have local roots going back to the 1950s, while new groups such as Chabad’s CTeen have been added to the mix in the last few years.  BBYO is the largest pluralistic Jewish youth group in the United States.  Tucson’s BBYO chapters, Abba Gadol AZA for boys and Kadimah BBG for girls, meet Monday evenings… Read more »

Remembering Marcia*
August 20, 2026 / Judith Manelis, Special to the AJP
A woman dressed in jeans and a light blue top stands next to green plants in a garden plot.Marcia in the community garden on Manhattan’s West Side where she had a plot. (Photo: Judith Manelis)

Can sadness and relief coexist in mourning? I asked myself this question last month after receiving the following message from my friend Marcia’s husband. “Marcia left us this morning. She was not in pain.” My friend Marcia and I met over 30 years ago. At the time,… Read more »

Local Eighth Grader Shines at Invention Convention
August 11, 2026 /

Mazel tov to Eithan Moss, who recently took third place in the eighth-grade category at the RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals for his invention, The Cooling Box, a device that cools rooms and runs on sunlight alone. Eithan’s invention was inspired by termite mounds in Central Africa and solar… Read more »

Bar Mitzvah: Amrit Levi Gibbons
August 11, 2026 /

Amrit Levi Gibbons will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Aug. 22, 2026, at Kol Ami. He is the son of Gabriel and Rakhi Gibbons and a big brother to Avi Gibbons. He’s the grandson of Michael and Glenna Gibbons of Tucson and Kanwal and Amartjeet Juneja of Santa… Read more »

Birth: Luca Isaac Blitzer
July 27, 2026 /

A son, Luca Isaac Blitzer, was born June 2, 2026, in Laussane, Switzerland, to Bianca and Eric Blitzer. Grandparents are Marsha and Charles Blitzer of Tucson and Patricia and Fabio Beggiato of Washington, D.C.… Read more »

TJMHC Gives Educators the Tools to Teach the Holocaust and Other Genocides
July 22, 2026 / Jessica Mattix, TJMHC Director of Operations
Kim Klett speaks at the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center educators’ conference on July 21, 2026. Klett was TJMHC’s 2021 Educator of the Year.

The way a teacher introduces the Holocaust can stay with students long after the unit ends, shaping how they understand prejudice and hatred for years to come. That responsibility, and the skill it takes to carry it into a classroom, brought educators, TJMHC board members, docents, and staff to… Read more »

How the Sheva Framework Shapes Early Childhood at the Tucson J
July 22, 2026 / Rachael Mitchell, Senior Director of Marketing, Communications + PR, Tucson J
Tucson J Early Childhood Education students plant seeds in the Shay-Shay Community Garden with teacher Demaris Weitzel (Photo: Tucson J)

This article is part of a series around Jewish early childhood education at the Tucson J. Throughout each day, babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s Early Childhood Education program discover the world around them through play, curiosity, and connection — studying a painting in… Read more »

Reimagined Hebrew High Returns to Southern Arizona This Fall
July 21, 2026 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Feature Writer

Hebrew High is returning to Southern Arizona this fall. Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona is relaunching Hebrew High as “a community-built, student-shaped weekly Jewish learning and belonging initiative for grades 8–12,” according to organizers. Sessions will be held on Tuesday evenings, beginning Aug. 18. Molly Dunn,… Read more »

Local Author Featured in Collection, ‘Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture & Heritage’
July 21, 2026 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Feature Writer

Tucsonan Seth Schindler has pursued diverse occupations, including street peddler, strawberry picker, clam digger, lumberjack, organic farmer, anthropologist, museum curator, sculptor, real estate developer, and stockbroker. But at 79, a title he savors goes back to one of his earliest dreams: writer. When Schindler was a junior in… Read more »