Rabbi Elia Richetti, the president of the Italian Rabbinical Assembly, mingles with tourists outside the Jewish Museum in Venice (Ruth Ellen Gruber/JTA Photo Service) ROME (JTA) — The years-long battle that ended recently with the dismissal of the chief rabbi of Turin, Italy, highlights a 21st-century identity crisis afflicting the oldest Jewish community in the Diaspora. Rabbi Alberto Somekh, who like all recognized rabbis in Italy is Orthodox, had served as chief rabbi… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — The last time American Jews took to the streets in significant numbers to make the case for Israel’s right to defend itself, during Israel’s war with Hamas in early 2009, rockets were raining down on southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. This time it’s a… Read more »
The factory in which Oskar Schindler used Jewish slave labor during World War II has been turned into a Holocaust museum. (Patti McCracken/JTA Photo Service) KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — In January 1994, an American tourist stepped out of a taxi into a cold, drizzling rain and entered the Jarden Jewish Bookshop at the far end of the square in the Jewish quarter of Krakow. On the counter he splayed a weeks-old copy of The… Read more »
Zach Emanuel, the son of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, celebrated his Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem. The ceremony took place May 30 at the Davidson Center, located near the Western Wall. About 50 people, mostly family members, participated. Security was heavy for the family and guests; there… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Despite the international outcry following last week’s lethal confrontation between Israeli commandos and militant pro-Palestinian activists aboard a Turkish vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, Israel insists its naval blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory is justified and will continue. But even Israel’s closest allies backing the… Read more »
HILARY LYONS was named a recipient of the 24th Annual Hadassah National Leadership Award. Lyons is Young Judaea Chair for Hadassah Southern Arizona and is the education director of Congregation Chaverim. RUTH OSOBOW was named Hadassah Southern Arizona’s Woman of the Year. Osobow is currently chapter membership co-vice president… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Spurred by a major grant from one of the largest Jewish foundations, the rabbinical seminaries of three major synagogue movements are forging a groundbreaking partnership to train Jewish educators. The Jim Joseph Foundation announced May 24 that it was giving a combined $33 million to the… Read more »
WASHINGTON (Forward) — It was a feather in the cap of pro-boycott activists, but for Israelis a major setback. With battle lines drawn across concert halls and stadiums hosting rock bands, the decision by mega-star Elvis Costello to cancel his planned concerts in Israel is being viewed as a… Read more »
CONGREGATION M’KOR HAYIM has named EMILY ELLENTUCK as its Cantorial Soloist. Ellentuck has led the musical part of several of M’kor Hayim’s Shabbat services as well as last year’s High Holy Days. Her new role will include Friday evening services twice a month, festival services and the High Holy… Read more »
Linda and David Schiesel will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends with a weekend getaway and dinner celebration at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Chandler, Arizona. Linda and David were married on June 5, 1960 at Temple Emanu-El in Tucson. The couple… Read more »
ELLIE MACKIE, daughter of Elysa and Jim Mackie, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, June 19 at Congregation Chaverim. She is the granddaughter of Sheila and Joe Dobrzynski of Sea Girt, N.J., Nancy and the late Albert Mackie of Amelia Island, Fla., and Kathy and the late… Read more »
MATTHEW ARLEN REIN, son of Laurie Rein, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, June 12 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Min Rein of Tucson. Matthew attends Esperero Middle School where he plays clarinet in the band, as well as basketball and tennis. He… Read more »
(L-R) Tamara Novak, Holly Harper, Ann Markewitz, Nan Rubin, Linda Horowitz Five women will become B’not Mitzvah at Congregation M’kor Hayim on Friday, June 4 at 7 p.m.… Read more »
Rabbi Helen T. Cohn I remember clearly the first time I was called by my newly acquired Hebrew name to say the Torah blessings on Rosh Hashanah. I was in my early 40s and just beginning to discover my own heritage. Who knew that Judaism could be so complex, so compelling, so enriching?… Read more »
(StatePoint) — Swimming and lounging by the pool are some of the great joys of summer, but homeowners need to take precautions to ensure that children, grandchildren and visitors are safe. Drowning is the second-leading cause of accidental death for children under five in the United States, and each… Read more »
Sunflower in Deborah Maayan's Tucson garden When I think of snacks in Israel, along with the ubiquitious Bamba (peanut butter-flavored corn puffs), something healthy comes to mind— sunflower seeds. While I didn’t quite get the hang of splitting shells easily with my teeth like a sabra, I did acquire a taste that I fulfill not… Read more »
This scene in the Oberamergau Passion Play, showing Jesus' crucifixion, perpetuates the charge against the Jews of deicide, some Jewish critics say. (Passion Play/Obergammergau 2010/JTA Photo Service) Berlin (JTA) — It’s a tradition that goes back hundreds of years in the Bavarian village of Oberammergau, nestled in the German Alps. After witnessing it in the 1930s, Hitler reportedly proclaimed, “Never has the menace of Jewry been so convincingly portrayed as in this presentation of what happened… Read more »
Istanbul — While Turkey and Israel have seen their once-close relationship deteriorate steadily for the past few years, the Israeli commando raid of a Turkish-led flotilla heading for Gaza, in which several Turks were killed, marks a dangerous new low in the two countries’ relations. “Turkey is now involved… Read more »
Washington — President Obama’s Cairo speech and its equivalent invocations of Palestinian and Jewish sufferings. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s call for an unequivocal freeze: “Not some settlements, not outposts, not natural growth exceptions.” The Joe Biden fiasco. And now the Obama administration’s venture into a nuclear-free Middle… Read more »
Singer/songwriter Sam Glaser will be in Tucson to celebrate a local friend, his own father, and fathers everywhere this Father’s Day. The acclaimed Jewish pop musician will perform at a fundraiser suggested by his friend Michael Deitch on Sunday, June 20 at 1 p.m. at Congregation Anshei Israel. Deitch,… Read more »
