An older woman lights a candle on a candelabra. To her left and right are a teenage girl and boy. A woman stands at a podium behind the candlelighting scene.Theresa Dulgov, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, lights a candle with her great-grandchildren Fabian Ybarra (left) and Adacelia Figueroa at the Southern Arizona community Yom HaShoah commemoration on April 12, 2026. Raisa Moroz, JFCS director for Holocaust services, looks on from the podium. (Photo: Tucson J)

Southern Arizona’s Yom HaShoah Commemoration Focuses on Survivors’ Legacies

April 21, 2026 / Sharon Glassberg, JFCS Coordinator of Holocaust Survivor Services & Jewish Inclusion

Community members, clergy, and other local leaders came together with Holocaust survivors and members of the second and third generations on Sunday, April 12, in the Paul and Alice Baker Ballroom at the Tucson Jewish Community Center to honor the survivors, the flickers of light that came out of the darkness of the Shoah, and to remember the six million Jews who were murdered for nothing more than being Jewish.  This year’s Yom HaShoah commemoration focused on the legacy of the survivors… Read more »

High School Baseball Star Looking Forward to Future at UA
May 7, 2026 / Michael Murra, Special to the AJP

Benjamin Ball, an 18-year-old senior outfielder at Hamilton High School in Chandler, starts each day by wrapping tefillin with his father. He wears his Star of David necklace on and off the baseball diamond and says the Shema before each game. Ball, the fifth-rated Arizona high school senior baseball… Read more »

Bat Mitzvah: Rosalind Kose
April 30, 2026 /

Rosalind Kose will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on May 2, 2026, at Kol Ami Synagogue. She is the daughter of Frank Kose and Dara Oseran. Rosalind attends Emily Gray Middle School. Her hobbies include dancing, cooking, artistic design, and creating art projects. She also likes to explore nature… Read more »

Bat Mitzvah: Vivian Hanley
April 30, 2026 /

Vivian Hanley will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on May 2, 2026, at Kol Ami Synagogue. She is the daughter of Todd and Rebecca Hanley. Vivian attends Dodge Middle School. She is an athlete who plays soccer year-round and recently helped her Dodge Middle School team win the… Read more »

Birth: Ari Dean Tobin
April 30, 2026 /

A son, Ari Dean Tobin, was born April 28, 2026, to Tracy and Scott Tobin. Ari joins his big sister, Shayla. Grandparents are Debra Jacobs, Eric Tobin, and Nancy and Bob (of blessed memory) Ammann, all of Tucson.… Read more »

Of Blessed Memory: Holly Kitay
April 23, 2026 /

Holly Kitay transitioned peacefully out of this life on January 22, 2026, from complications due to Parkinson’s disease. She was a Tucson resident for over 40 years, almost half of that living with Parkinson’s. Through her journey of 73 years, first as a teacher, then as a nurse, and… Read more »

TJMHC’s Lakin Lecture Series Will Present ‘Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel’s Classroom’
April 20, 2026 / Lori Shepherd, TJMHC Executive Director
A headshot of a man with a book cover inset.Ariel Burger with his book, "Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom"

Every student who tours Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center will hear the words of Elie Wiesel, “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” On Thursday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the Paul & Alice Baker Ballroom at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the Lakin… Read more »

Celebrating Four Years of Better Together
April 20, 2026 / Nanci Levy, Handmaker Community Outreach Coordinator
An older woman seated holds up a card. Behind and to her left are two teenagers.Handmaker resident Karen Green with Better Together participants Avey Hanshaw and Oliver Sheinbein (Photo: Nanci Levy/Handmaker)

On Friday, April 10, Handmaker residents gathered in the Great Room alongside BBYO teens, Tucson Hebrew Academy students, and family members for a truly special evening — celebrating Shabbat, marking the conclusion of Passover, and honoring four remarkable years of the Better Together intergenerational program. More than four… Read more »

‘All You Need is Love: A Tikkun Leil Shavuot Experience’ Communal Gathering Planned
April 20, 2026 / Jennifer Lorch Selco, Tucson J Senior Director of Jewish Life + Engagement
shavuot book only

Each year, as the holiday of Shavuot approaches, Jewish communities around the world prepare to revisit a defining moment in their collective story: The receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Traditionally understood as a spiritual marriage between God and the Jewish people, Shavuot has also come to be… Read more »