Rabbi Steven Burg (OU) NEW YORK — I was saddened to hear of the death of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old college student driven to suicide by bullying over his sexual orientation. While Clementi’s case has grabbed national headlines, it sadly is far from unique. Last September alone, no fewer than six boys in… Read more »
BERLIN (JTA) — Geert Wilders, the rock star of European politics, is riding the crest of a populist tsunami. As the pro-Israel founder of Holland’s Party of Freedom lets loose recently in Berlin, shouting that Islam is a threat to Germany’s identity, democracy and prosperity, his audience of 500… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — On Halloween, the anniversary of his death, Harry Houdini will be back on stage. The Jewish Museum in New York is opening a new exhibition, “Houdini: Art and Magic,” on Oct. 29, and curator Brooke Kamin Rapaport says the entrance gallery will feature a replica… Read more »
DAYTON, Ohio (Dayton Jewish Observer) — Hagit Limor says a key reason she became a journalist was her family history. Her father is a Holocaust survivor from Poland. “My father is the victim of a crime that went unreported by the media for seven years,” she says. “No one… Read more »
Activist Ed Rosenthal, shown in an undated photo in a marijuana greenhouse, says "Jews have a special affinity to marijuana." photo courtesy of Ed Rosenthal) OAKLAND, Calif. (JTA) — Ed Rosenthal has been working to legalize marijuana in California since he moved to the state in 1972. Vindication may finally be at hand for the Bronx-born former yippie. On Nov. 2, California voters will consider Proposition 19, a ballot initiative to legalize the cultivation… Read more »
Torah scribes Linda Coppleson, Rabbi Chana Klebansky and Rachel Reichhardt, l-r, discuss the placement of text on a panel before it is sewn onto the rest of the scroll, Oc.t 13, 2010 in Seattle. (Joel Magalnick/JT news) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — It took seven years to write and just a few days to sew together, but on Oct. 15 the first Torah scroll written entirely by a group of women was attached to its wooden poles and declared complete. The ceremony was held at Seattle’s Kadima… Read more »
Members of an aliyah group from the Hashomer Hatzair youth movement from Toronto, Montreal and Detroit at a summer camp in 1949, not long before many of them would immigrate to Israel. (Courtesy of Ted Friedgut) KIBBUTZ GALON, Israel (JTA) – In 1952, a 20-year-old with bright blue eyes who had never seen much of life outside of the Bronx, N.Y., mounted a kibbutz tractor armed with a rifle to plow wheat and sorghum fields bordering the Gaza Strip. Saul Adelson would live in Israel… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) – The likely prospect of Republican control of at least one chamber of Congress has triggered broad speculation about the remainder of President Obama’s time in the White House, Republican bids for the presidency in 2012 — and the very course of the nation, if not the… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs are launching a multimillion-dollar joint initiative to combat anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions campaigns. The JFNA and the rest of the Jewish federation system have agreed to invest $6 million over the… Read more »
Folk singer Pete Seeger, in green, records a song at his home in Beacon, N.Y., in May 2010 for an Israeli-organized peace rally. He is accompanied by Walker Rumpf on guitar and Rava Institute for Environmental alumni Zack Korenstein and Sarah Schuldenfrei. (Michael Hardgrove) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — No one tells Pete Seeger what to do. At 91, the iconic folk singer has penned hundreds of protest songs, railing against everything from the Vietnam War to global warming. He was blacklisted in the 1950s, he slept under the stars with striking farmers and… Read more »
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is facing Tea-Party challenger Sharron Angle. (Brian Finifter) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Talk to veteran campaign watchers about this year’s congressional races, and within seconds they will tell you that they’ve never before seen elections quite like these. “We’ve never seen a cycle where there’s been this many races this close to an election and you don’t know… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Across the United States, Jewish community professionals are honing their skills of suasion, preparing to deal with a new crop of lawmakers who are unfamiliar with Jewish organizational priorities — and who are likely to be unenthusiastic once they’re in the know. This season of anti-incumbent… Read more »
Triplet sons, Alexander Daniel, Ethan Simon and Jacob Immanuel Kozolchyk were born June 22, 2010 to Raphael Kozolchyk and Diana Rubin of Washington, D.C. Grandparents are Billie and Boris Kozolchyk of Tucson and Eben Rubin of Connecticut.… Read more »
GREEN FIELDS COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL presented each of its 50 high school students an Apple MacBook last month complete with the Google Apps suite, and added five iMacs for its media arts program, five SMART Boards and two webcams. JLAB AUDIO, a headphones company owned by Tucsonan Josh Rosenfield,… Read more »
MELISSA TRUELOVE, a teacher at Congregation Or Chadash and Tucson Hebrew Academy and winner of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Outstanding Judaic Teacher Award for 2010, will receive a Grinspoon-Steinhardt Award for Excellence in Jewish Education at the Jewish Federations of North America general assembly in November. JASON… Read more »
TYLER JOSEPH WEINSTEIN, son of Joann and Steven Weinstein, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 23 at Congregation Anshei Israel. Tyler attends Emily Gray Middle School. He enjoys tennis, skiing and soccer. For his mitzvah project, he will volunteer at Congregation Anshei Israel’s child-care program.… Read more »
The family of the late Richard Rampell will celebrate his life at a gathering on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. All friends of the family are invited to attend.… Read more »
Elsa Leibovitz, 100, died Oct. 3, 2010. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Leibowitz was a member of Temple Emanu-El and HABBJACH Dollars for Scholars. She was preceded in death by her husband, Col. Albert Leibovitz. Survivors include her children, Ethel Bernstein Sidney (Andy Bernstein) of West Orange, N.J., Jeffrey… Read more »
I’m interested in interviewing children of Holocaust survivors (2nd G) for a research project for a class I’m taking at Prescott College, working towards my B.A. degree. Anyone interested may reach me at asolutions2005@yahoo. com. —Patricia Bischof… Read more »
Regarding “Emotional journey for Tucsonans on mission to Hungary, Israel” (AJP 10/1/10): For a comprehensive review of Jewish life in pre-World War 11 Hungary and the incredibly important role played by Jews who escaped from that country and made huge contributions to the worlds of science, art and literature… Read more »
