Yearly Archives 2011

This letter comes in response to the article in the May 20 issue, “A growing number of Jewish atheists look for their place in Jewish life.” There is already a group in Southern Arizona, based in Tucson, that offers a place for committed Jewish atheists as well as those… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

In the last few weeks I attended, along with several members of the Jewish community, a series of talks that was supposed to focus on a just peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. The series, “Steadfast Hope: Perspectives on Peace and Justice for Palestine and Israel,” organized in… Read more »

Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart, pictured here addressing a Republican Jewish Coalition event in June 2011, has become a star in Republican circles after exposing Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner's lewd tweets. (RJC)

(Los Angeles) The TV cameras at the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s ballroom were there to cover a foreign policy speech by Newt Gingrich, but during the cocktail hour, all eyes at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Bash were on Andrew Breitbart. While Gingrich was mingling privately at the June 12… Read more »

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (P.K.Weis/southwest photobank.com)

Photos of a smiling Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in January, were released on her Facebook page. The photos show Giffords with close-cropped hair. According to a statement on the Facebook page, they were taken May 17, the day after her husband, Mark… Read more »

The Tzofim (Israel Scouts) Friendship Caravan national tour will stop in Tucson with a free concert of song and dance on Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The Weintraub Israel Center is seeking host families to house the Israeli teens for one night.… Read more »

Retired pediatrician Marilyn Heins serves on the board of the University of Arizona Humanities Seminar Program. (Sheila Wilensky/AJP)

Lifelong learning is often touted as an essential ingredient for aging gracefully, but for some Jewish Tucsonans the appeal goes far beyond that notion. The University of Arizona Humanities Seminars Program has filled a need “for something that gets into my brain and grabs me,” says Marilyn Heins, 80,… Read more »

Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin [Britta Van Vranken)

Congregation Young Israel appointed Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin as associate rabbi as of May 2011. He will work alongside CYI’s spiritual leader of 27 years, Rabbi Yossie Shemtov.   Ceitlin grew up in Montreal, where his parents are both educators. He studied in yeshivot in Bnei Brak and Kfar Chabad… Read more »

Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon of Temple Emanu-El in front of the Knesset, where 30 American rabbis were briefed during a ‘Rabbis Engaging with Israel’ mission last month

It’s not unusual for rabbis to frequently visit Israel, but last month Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon of Temple Emanu-El enjoyed the rare opportunity of traveling to the Holy Land as part of a select group from around the United States and Canada that included 10 Reform, 10 Conservative and… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — In its first partnership with a faith-based community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working with Jewish organizations to expand awareness of suspicious behavior. The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign will distribute posters and customized announcements in synagogues, Jewish community centers and related… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Did Yale’s program on anti-Semitism die a natural death from lack of academic vigor, as the university says? Should it have been saved, as two major Jewish groups are arguing? Or was it killed for being politically incorrect about Muslim anti-Semitism, as alleged by others? The… Read more »

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — There’s a scene in the 1991 film “L.A. Story” where a waiter in a trendy eatery takes increasingly complex coffee orders from a table of Hollywood types, ending with the sublimely ridiculous “half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon.” What caused a guffaw… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — AIPAC photo-ops? Check. Initiate and pass Iran divestment bill? Check. Pheasant-hunt fundraisers, sandbagging for flood protection and running a bail bonds business… Check. Could Dan Lederman, an energetic and peripatetic 38-year-old Republican state senator in South Dakota, set a new template for Jewish politicians? “He’s somebody… Read more »

A son, BENJAMIN WILLIAM ELLENTUCK, was born April 26 to Emily and Max Ellentuck of Tucson. Grandparents are Heidi and Wayne Brent of Tucson and Marty and Elliot Ellentuck of Tempe, Ariz. Great-grandparents are Helen and Louis Rib of Tucson and Shirley and Philip Brent of Encino, Calif. Benjamin… Read more »

AMY HIRSHBERG LEDERMAN won an Arizona Press Club 2010 first place award for “Best Column Writing” for her columns in the ARIZONA JEWISH POST. The judge commented, “Consistent voice, thoughtful pieces that begin with small situations that she turns to universal truths. It’s rare to see this kind of… Read more »

Alayne and Bruce Greenberg announce the engagement of their son, Isaac Adam Greenberg, to Felicia Gail Bernstein, daughter of Heddy and Michael Bernstein of Altamonte Springs, Fla. Isaac is the grandson of the late William and Adeline Greenberg of Tucson and the late William and Ruth Rosenberg of Phoenix.… Read more »

NOAH FIST BEDNAR, son of Rebecca and Jim Bednar, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, June 18 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Phyllis and the late David Lesem Fist of Tucson, and the late Mary and Jack Bednar of Oklahoma City, Okla. Noah… Read more »

Ethel Timan, 96, died May 21, 2011. Born in New York, Mrs. Timan graduated from New York University with a degree in biology. She moved to Tucson in 1957 and worked as a substitute teacher. She later became a real estate agent. In 1978, when her husband, Jerry, was… Read more »

Frank J. Longo, 78, died May 19, 2011. Survivors includes his wife of 46 years, Barbara; children,  Joshua Longo of East Brunswick, N.J., and Paul Magee of Indianapolis, Ind.; brother, Joseph Longo of Berkeley, N.J.; and five grandchildren. Graveside services were held in the Congregation Chaverim section of Evergreen… Read more »

Bernard “Bernie” Silverberg, 76, died May 13, 2011. Mr. Silverberg was the owner of Silverberg & Sons Jewelers. Survivors include his wife of 54 years, Cynthia; children, Edward (Sherri) Silverberg and David (Kana) Silverberg, both of Tucson, and Lisa (Grey) Silverberg Staples of St. Paul, Minn.; sister, Roslyn Cooper… Read more »

Robert Irving Epstein, 81, died May 12, 2011. Mr. Epstein served in the U.S. Marine Corps and, during the Korean conflict, he served in the U.S. Air Force. He was a member of Jewish War Veterans of America Friedman-Paul Post 201. Survivors include his wife, Shirley; brother, David (Lana)… Read more »