Asher Susser Professor Asher Susser, a visiting Israeli scholar at the University of Arizona, will present “The Middle East in the 21st Century: The Decline of the Arabs” at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division Kickoff Event next month. The kickoff will be held Thursday, Dec. 9, from 5… Read more »
Mark S. Smith, a professor at New York University, will present the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ Raphael Patai Memorial Lecture, “The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1,” on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The first words of creation have inspired and intrigued people… Read more »
Lori Sumberg When Lori Sumberg sings her original composition of “Esa Eynai” at the Fourth International Jewish Music Festival on Dec. 5 in New York City, she will take a bit of Tucson with her. Out of more than 350 pieces submitted by composers around the world, Sumberg’s piece was one… Read more »
Barbara Ribakove Gordon with some of the Ethiopian children she has helped. Barbara Ribakove Gordon, founder of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, will receive the Rabbi Samuel S. and Irma Cohon Foundation Award for 2010. Rabbis Baruch J. Cohon and Samuel M. Cohon will present the award, which includes a cash prize of $25,000, at Temple Emanu-El’s Shabbat Chanukah… Read more »
Rabbi Harold Kushner Everyone knows people who are less happy than they might be. Rabbi Harold Kushner doesn’t have the all-purpose antidote, but “Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World,” his new book, suggests ways to live more fully. Kushner, author of the international best-seller “When Bad Things Happen to Good… Read more »
(L-R) UA students Meryl Press, Rachel Pergamit and Karin Finkelstein study ‘shmirat haguf’ (protecting the body) with Hillel Program Director Laura Etter. In classrooms, auditoriums, restaurants, libraries and conference rooms, more than 600 Tucsonans marked the first Global Week of Jewish Learning as they studied a variety of Jewish texts on everything from miracles to Kristallnacht. This community-wide program, held Nov. 4-11, was based around the Global Day of Jewish Learning… Read more »
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin More than 600 people attended Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s talk — and laughed at his perfectly delivered jokes — at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s 2011 Campaign kickoff at Congregation Anshei Israel on Wednesday, Nov. 17. Not only is Telushkin an Orthodox, observant Jew, said JFSA Vice Chair Larry… Read more »
There is something about small lights glowing in the vast darkness that renews our childlike wonder: sparklers, flashlights, birthday candles. And we all remember “Lite-Brite,” the little black box of our childhood with the multicolored plastic pegs that, once plugged in, illuminated our designs. For Jews, there are the… Read more »
Gila Silverman’s husband, David, created this 10-foot dreidel the third year that the family lived in Winterhaven. I live in a neighborhood known for its Christmas displays. No one is more surprised about this than I am. And, to my even greater surprise, I have found living here to be a moving experience. The one thing I have known for certain my entire life is that… Read more »
Cantor Lauren Bandman of Temple Beth Am in Los Altos, Calif., introduces the first piece in the cantorial concert in Rome -- "Shalom Aleichem," by William Sharlin, Nov. 16, 2010. (Ruth Ellen Gruber) ROME (JTA) — Can Jewish sacred music sung in a Roman Catholic basilica help relations between Christians and Jews? For the Reform movement’s American Conference of Cantors, the answer is a resounding yes. Twenty Reform cantors from across the United States traveled to Rome this month for just that… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A combination of timing, diplomatic considerations and, above all, good old-fashioned noodging has culminated in the biggest push in years to free Jonathan Pollard. Insiders associated with the push, which resulted last week in a congressional letter to President Obama asking for clemency for the American… Read more »
Hillel members from several New York City universities interacting with the homeless community during a resource fair in New York, Oct. 17, 2010. (JCPA) WASHINGTON (JTA) — The framers of an interfaith effort with the grand goal of halving American poverty in the next decade had a small but focused message this week: Keep those school lunches coming. At a meeting Monday on Capitol Hill at an event attended by congressional staffers, the… Read more »
One of the "lions" at the International Lion of Judah conference helps a young New Orleans reader during the event's community service literacy project. (Bernie Saul for Jewish Federations of North America) NEW ORLEANS, La. (JTA) — Just down the road from where the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America had concluded a day earlier, more than a thousand of the federation system’s most generous women found a philanthropic sanctuary of their own. At the Hilton Hotel here,… Read more »
Fifty percent of affiliated American Jews are Baby Boomers, like these participants at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North Americain New Orleans, Nov. 9, 2010. (Courtesy JFNA) NEW ORLEANS, La. (JTA) — As America’s 77 million baby boomers retire, they will place an unprecedented burden on the Jewish community’s infrastructure. They will need more services, and many will want to become involved in a community that isn’t making room for them. The federation system in particular… Read more »
Some Jewish groups are saying that Glenn beck, above, went too far with his criticism of George Soros. (Gage Skidmore) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Fox News provocateur Glenn Beck spent several days taking aim at billionaire businessman and philanthropist George Soros, but so far — at least within Jewish circles — the barrage appears to be backfiring. On his radio and TV shows earlier this month, Beck portrayed Soros as… Read more »
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Kosher — it’s the first word in the book. And tackling the “k” word head-on is part of what makes the first Reform guide to Jewish dietary practice so significant. “The Sacred Table: Creating a Jewish Food Ethic,” to be published next month by the… Read more »
Barbra Streisand, left, Jerry Seinfeld and Bette Midler were among the stars who gathered for a gala celebrating the new National Museum of American Jewish hisotry, Nov. 13, 2010. (Mike Coppola/Getty Images) PHILADELPHIA (Jewish Exponent) — Her granddaughter at her elbow, 89-year-old Ruth Sarner-Libros walked slowly through the fourth floor of the National Museum of American Jewish History, drinking in every display. Flashing a broad smile, Sarner-Libros said it was beyond anything she had imagined when she hosted the museum’s first… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — The best thing about Thanksgiving is that it invites Americans of all religions and ethnic backgrounds. On the same autumn Thursday, most American families eat turkey and a cornucopia of side dishes. No country has been more welcoming to the Jews than the United States.… Read more »
Julie Ruth Abrahams, 67, died Nov. 3, 2010 . Mrs. Abrahams graduated cum laude from California State University, Northridge with a B.A. in 1980, specializing in graphic design, while raising two young children. Her husband Barry’s career with Hughes Aircraft, and later Raytheon, had them move to Tucson on… Read more »
Gabrielle and Arthur Schneider Gabrielle Schneider, 87, died Oct. 31, 2010. Mrs. Schneider was a Holocaust survivor and was active in Holocaust education at public schools. She was a published author, avid tennis player, swimmer and taught piano for over 40 years. She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur J. Schneider.… Read more »
