Yearly Archives 2010

 PETIT-GOAVE, Haiti (JTA) — Not a single Jew lives among the 170,000 inhabitants of Petit-Goâve, nor among the 20,000 refugees from Port-au-Prince who have crowded into this town since a magnitude-7.0 earthquake leveled Haiti’s capital in January.  But Jews are among those helping bring Petit-Goâve back to life.  “After… Read more »

Israeli choreographer Shlomi Elimelech, center, rehearses with Tzuza Dance Troupe members

Israeli choreographer Shlomi Elimelech, 21, started Tzuza Dance Troupe, which performed to a standing-room-only crowd at Tucson’s Israel Festival on April 25, when he was just 16. Tzuza now has schools in two cities with more than 500 students and recently took second place in an Israeli dance competition… Read more »

BIL’IN, West Bank (JTA) – Rami Burnat sits in his wheelchair toward the back of a sprawling courtyard where Palestinian speakers take turns championing the cause of nonviolent resistance. Burnat, 29, has been disabled ever since a bullet pierced his neck in clashes in late 2000, shortly after the… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Passions are high in the wake of Arizona’s adoption of the strongest anti-immigrant bill in the land. Demonstrations, calls to action, threatened boycotts and legal challenges have been some of the reactions since Gov. Jan Brewer signed the controversial legislation, which among other troubling provisions… Read more »

We Jews of all people know how horrific it is to be singled out for harassment and worse because of our ethnicity. That’s why every Jew, whether Republican, Democrat or Independent, must stand up against SB 1070, the anti-Latino bill that will lead to racial profiling and racist attacks.… Read more »

I was happy to read Rabbi Cohon’s “Support for Arizona public education a must” in the April 9, 2010 Arizona Jewish Post. Rabbi’s historical perspective on Jews inventing public education provides an interesting perspective on the “inherently Jewish” value of education. I couldn’t agree more. All students deserve the… Read more »

I had never heard of Christians United for Israel until a new Christian friend, with a deep love of and connection to Israel, told me about it. She said a CUFI event would be held in Tucson and enthusiastically advised that Dennis Prager, a true friend of Jews, Christians… Read more »

Herb Cohn reads from Or Chadash's new Czech Torah scroll.

When Congregation Or Chadash formally received a Czechoslovakian Holocaust Scroll in December 2009, a once vital Czech Jewish community “was brought back to life,” says Rabbi Thomas Louchheim. Scroll MST-1408, an orphan scroll that survived World War II, is on long-term loan to Or Chadash from the Memorial Scrolls… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer and those of us who believe in compassionate and fair immigration laws are in complete agreement on one thing: The Draconian bill she signed into law on April 23 is the result of the federal government failing to pass comprehensive immigration… Read more »

 JERUSALEM (JTA) — Although Israeli and Palestinian leaders are pessimistic about the chances of a breakthrough in the U.S.-mediated proximity talks that begin this week, the Americans hope the process itself will generate a new peacemaking dynamic.  Whether or not the parties make headway, Israeli analysts anticipate a major… Read more »

Wounded Israeli soldier Aharon Karov lights the memorial torch at the Israel Center's Yom Hazikaron (Israeli Memorial Day) ceremony April 18.

The morning after his wedding on Dec. 25, 2008, Aharon Karov, a 2nd Lt. in the Israel Defense Forces Paratroopers Brigade, was called up for service in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. Twelve days later, the 22-year-old platoon leader was critically wounded as his unit entered a booby-trapped building.… Read more »

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed Senate Bill 1070, the Safe Neighborhoods; Immigration; Law Enforcement Act on April 23, opening the floodgates to torrents of criticism and discussion of state vs. federal immigration policy. The debate has ranged from outrage about potential racial profiling, to legal opinions about the new… Read more »

“We want to have SMART boards in every classroom,” says Ronnie Sebold, director of admissions at Tucson Hebrew Academy, which currently has two such devices. The big whiteboard in front of the 6th grade literature class, taught by Jordan Hill, takes the place of a traditional blackboard. But its… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jewish groups are slamming Arizona’s stringent new immigration-enforcement law, but hope outrage over the measure will reignite efforts to push comprehensive immigration reform on a national level. “I believe that it has absolutely ignited a movement across this country for comprehensive immigration reform,” said U.S. Rep.… Read more »

NEW YORK (New York Jewish Week) — As the rain came down and a crowd estimated at about 1,000 listened to speeches, the organizers of a rally opposed to President Obama’s policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fielded a request from U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner. Weiner (D-N.Y.), who represents a… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Walking along the dimly lit corridors of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the liberators peered at black-and-white photographs and listened to tour guides detail events that many had witnessed as young men in the armed forces.  The relative quiet was a sharp contrast to the flurry… Read more »

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (JTA) — Amir Kashi, a 34-year-old social worker from Ma’ale Adumim, and Yehonatan Abraham, a 30-year-old medic from Beersheva, knew nothing about Haiti before the earthquake in January.  But both Israelis felt compelled to act after the disaster struck.  “I felt impotent in Israel, sitting in front… Read more »

Even by the high standards set by Israeli films in the last few years, “Ajami” is a knockout. A crackling urban drama shot with unblinking realism and steeped in astringent Middle East irony, ”Ajami” sinks its hooks in the first minute and never lets up. Written, directed and edited… Read more »

    Restaurants come and go, as do food trends. This spring, Tucson restaurants are extolling their use of the freshest ingredients, locally grown produce — and their place in Tucson “dining out” history.     Papagayo Mexican Restaurant and Cantina, says owner Bryan Mazon, is a family affair that… Read more »

By Toby Axelrod BERLIN (JTA) — Israeli filmmaker Tomer Heymann almost never stops shooting. He shoots his mother. He shoots his relatives. And, most of all, he shoots his German boyfriend. Heymann’s latest documentary, “I Shot My Love,” tells the sometimes painful story about how his love affair with… Read more »