Yearly Archives 2011

On Wednesday, Dec. 28, I was one of the 500-plus people who attended the U.S. Postal Service’s meeting about the proposed closure of Tucson’s mail-processing center. I was proud of our community spirit, with so many turning out at 6 p.m. during a holiday week that the Leo Rich… Read more »

Shlomo Fuchs, a haredi Israeli accused of harassing a female soldier for her refusal to move to the back of a bus, is released on bail in Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2011. (Miriam Alster/Flash 90/JTA)

(JTA) — The cascade of condemnations started pouring in almost as soon as the Israeli TV report aired. It’s subject was  an 8-year-old girl harassed by haredi men on the way to her Modern Orthodox girls’ school in the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh. The Israeli prime minister and… Read more »

(JUF News) — “Jewish Jordan” — that’s the nickname Sports Illustrated gave Tamir Goodman when he was merely 17 years old and a high school junior at the Talmudical Academy of Baltimore. Ranked among the best 25 high school basketball players in America, Goodman seemed set to become the… Read more »

An Israeli crowd throngs the H&M store in Tel Aviv's Azrieli mall for a special sale, Nov. 17, 2011. (Meir Partush/Flash 90/JTA)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — It’s a question many a shopper in Israel has pondered, particularly if they’ve spent time overseas. Why does this fill-in-the-blank cost more in Israel? Whether it’s a box of Cheerios, a supply of Ziploc bags or a shirt from H&M, Israelis are paying more for many… Read more »

Despite years of being a Jew in a Jewish family, Jewish tradition and, more specifically, Jewish practice often feel very alien to me. Shabbat meals, Shabbat services, Jewish prayers and rituals.  And despite being a bat mitzvah and many years a student in Hebrew school, there is little that… Read more »

Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican candidate for president whose views on Israel have unsettled some Jewish conservatives, speaking at the Western Republican Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Oct. 19, 2011. (Gage Skidmore/Creative Commons) /

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ron Paul’s unlikely rise in the Republican presidential race has Jewish conservatives on edge. The Texas congressman had been regarded as a fringe figure whose views, especially on foreign policy — including his opposition to the U.S.-Israel alliance — put him far outside the Republican mainstream.… Read more »

Haredi Orthodox men clash with police in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh, Dec. 26, 2011. (Kobi Gideon/Flash 90/JTA)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — For several years now, the Jerusalem suburb of Beit Shemesh has been the site of on-again, off-again religious violence. But it wasn’t until the plight of a fearful 8-year-old girl from a Modern Orthodox immigrant family from America was broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 over the… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A man arrives at an airport for a flight, and as he goes through security the agent asks some questions. Did anyone help him pack his suitcase? What is the purpose of his trip? Is anyone accompanying him? During the conversation, the agent enters answers… Read more »

Ernie Blake, founder of Taos Ski Valley, with his wife, Rhoda, in an undated photo. (Courtesy Taos Ski Valley)

TAOS, N.M. (JTA) – One of the most wonderful things about skiing is the sense of seclusion, the incomparable quietude and serenity of standing atop a 12,000-foot peak surveying miles and miles of snow-covered emptiness. Somehow the prosaic concerns of the everyday world don’t seem to reach there. So… Read more »

Jack Rosen, second from left, the chairman of the American Council for World Jewry, in Pyongyang with a top North Korean official and other members of an ACWJ delegation in this undated 2009 photo. (Courtesy ACWJ)

  WASHINGTON (JTA) – When a delegation from the American Council for World Jewry went to North Korea, its agenda was typical of visits by Jewish organizations to developing nations: promote outreach to Israel, offer to broker assistance and training, gently raise problematic defense relations with Israel’s enemies. Pyongyang’s… Read more »

ASHER SUSSER, former visiting scholar in modern Israel studies at the University of Arizona, has a new book, “Israel, Jordan, and Palestine: The Two-State Imperative,” which will be published this month by Crown Books/Brandeis University Press. DAVID MONTEFIORE has posted several YouTube videos in honor of Chanukah, featuring selections… Read more »

Dr. Joshua Langert, son of Dr. Richard and Peggy Langert of Tucson, and Leah Friedman, daughter of Geoffrey and Sharon Friedman of Leawood, Kan., were married on Sept. 4 at Oakwood Country Club in Kansas City, Mo. Joshua is the grandson of Sally Julian and the late Cantor Charles… Read more »

A daughter, ELIZA LILLY FRIEDMAN, was born Sept. 30, 2011, to Marcy and Jacob Friedman of Tucson. Grandparents are Barbara and Larry Subrin of Tucson and Joan Friedman of Phillips Ranch, Calif.  … Read more »

GAVIN STARR COHEN, son of Lori and Russell Cohen, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 7 at Temple Emanu-El. He is the grandson of Janice and Jerry Hungerford of Tucson, and Desmond Cohen of Irvine, Calif. Gavin attends Esperero Canyon Middle School, where he is an… Read more »

EMILY MORGAN PETERS, daughter of Karen and Eric Peters, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 31 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center with Congregation Chaverim. She is the granddaughter of Ron and Richard Wagner of Albuquerque, N.M. and Eleanor and Daniel Peters of Brookville, N.Y. Emily… Read more »

Joan Elder in front of one of the Blessing Project exhibits

And all that jazz Jeff Lewis, past president of the Tucson Jazz Society, was responsible for bringing world-renowned Israeli jazz pianist Tamir Hendelman to Tucson on Nov. 19. The previous month, Jeff was watching a PBS airing of Barbra Streisand’s “One Night Only at the Village Vanguard” and knew… Read more »

Lillian Kaplan Hameroff, 95, died Dec. 16, 2011. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Hameroff worked in offices through the Great Depression, and helped her family rescue relatives from Europe prior to the Holocaust. After World War II, she met U.S. Army soldier Harry Hameroff. They married, moved to Buffalo,… Read more »

Josephine Lightman

Josephine Lightman, 89, died Dec. 13, 2011. Mrs. Lightman was born in Chicago and raised in New York City. Survivors include her husband of 64 years, Al; children, Steven (Megan) Lightman and Lori Lightman, both of Tucson; and three grandchildren. Services were held at Congregation Or Chadash. Graveside services… Read more »

Henry Eason, 92, died Dec. 12, 2011. Mr. Eason served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He taught math for many years at John F. Kennedy High School in Plainview, N.Y. and at Pima Community College in Tucson. Mr. Eason volunteered at Jewish Family &… Read more »

After I offered parenting advice to Jewish mothers in these pages a while back, a couple of readers asked if I had advice for Jewish fathers. One asked whether there was a stereotypical “Jewish Father.” I dislike all stereotypes whether based on gender or religion so I prefer to… Read more »