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, Ph.D., JPSA education associate, is spearheading the program with input from a wide range of community members, including local Jewish scholars, Israeli educators, rabbis, youth-engagement professionals, alumni, teens, and families across Southern Arizona.  Dunn explains that the new Hebrew High model begins with a central concern: many young… 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 »

88 Years Old and Counting
July 22, 2026 / Judith Manelis, Special to the AJP
Judith Manelis blesses the Shabbat candles at Kol Ami Synagogue on Friday, July 10, 2026. (Photo: Stephen Shawl)

On July 9, I turned 88 years old. I told friends that I felt like a girl in an old woman’s body. I have always been youthful, but the aches and pains that often accompany old age have begun to bother me … back, neck, knees. My eyes don’t… Read more »

Birth: Charles Douglas Smith
July 21, 2026 /

A son, Charles Douglas Smith, was born June 5, 2026, to Mary and Matthew Smith of Tempe, Arizona. Grandparents are Joyce and Michael Smith of Tucson and Kathy Haywood of Ahwatukee, Arizona.… 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 »

Handmaker to Host Red Cross Blood Drive on Aug. 11
July 20, 2026 / Nanci Levy, Handmaker Community Outreach Coordinator
Handmaker activity assistant Shania Sponaas, left, and former activity assistant Gracie Soto participate in a Red Cross Blood Drive at Handmaker in June 2025.

A single blood donation can save up to three lives by providing red blood cells, platelets, and plasma to trauma victims, surgery patients, and individuals battling chronic illnesses such as cancer and sickle cell disease. According to the Red Cross, someone in the U.S. needs blood every two… Read more »

Person-Centered, Trauma-Informed Care Central to JFCS
July 17, 2026 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Feature Writer
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona staff members, clockwise from top left: Sophie German, Sharon Glassberg, Ginger Doran, and Raisa Moroz

“Trauma-informed care isn’t just for clinicians,” says Sophie German, BSW, CFSW, director of the older adult and community services departments at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona. These include several financial wellness programs and Jewish holiday programs like Mitzvah Magic. “Most of the people that we… Read more »

Arizona Jewish Leaders and Elected Officials Condemn Antisemitism in the Campaign Season
July 8, 2026 /

In Tucson, campaign signs for a Jewish candidate for the Arizona Senate were defaced with hand-lettered placards bearing an antisemitic and misogynistic slur. The vandalism was crude, but it did not come from nowhere.… Read more »

Incoming UA Hillel Director is Arizona Native and Alum
June 23, 2026 /

The University of Arizona Hillel has appointed a new executive director, Shoshi Lipschultz, who will start in July. Eric Natter, president of the UA Hillel board of directors, announced the appointment last month. An Arizona native and University of Arizona alum, Lipschultz returns to Tucson… Read more »