Yearly Archives 2011

HILLEL LEVY has been appointed vice president of leadership and principal giving at the United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona. He was previously the senior vice president for campaign at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and most recently executive director of Handmaker Foundation. Levy moved to Tucson… Read more »

JACOB MARSHALL MEYER, son of Deborah Baker and Matthew Meyer, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 12 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Alice and Paul Baker of Tucson, and Lynn and Henry Meyer of Yuma, Ariz. Jacob attends Tucson Hebrew Academy where… Read more »

GABRIEL ALGAZI LEHRER, son of Mimi Algazi and Matt Lehrer, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 5 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of Sheila and Cy Lehrer of Tucson, and Liliane and Albert Algazi of La Jolla, Calif. Gabriel attends Esperero Canyon Middle… Read more »

NOAH AARON PENSAK, son of Michael Pensak and Catherine Pensak, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 5 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Ruth and the late Aaron Pensak of Fairfield, Conn., and Betty Henning and the late Leo Churchfield of Scottsdale, Ariz.… Read more »

Jerry Sorkin, 77, died Feb. 10, 2011. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mr. Sorkin grew up in Passaic, N.J. , where he met and married his high school sweetheart, Phyllis Cohen. Mr. Sorkin was a captain in the U.S. Air Force before beginning his career in engineering and aerospace… Read more »

Marcia Burstein, 86, died Feb. 10, 2011. Born in Newark, N.J., she lived in Tucson since 1952. Mrs. Burstein was preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Joel. Survivors include her children, Barbara Burstein of Tucson, and Larry (Linda) Burstein of St. Paul, Minn.; brother, David (Bryna)… Read more »

Sara G. Blumenthal, 91, died Feb. 10, 2011. Mrs. Blumenthal was preceded in death by her husband, Benjamin Blumenthal; sister, Bertha Korn and brother, Jacob Schachter. Survivors include her daugher, Sharon (Richard) Walton of Tucson; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Mrs. Blumenthal was an active member of Congregation Anshei… Read more »

Daniel Haiken, 92, died Jan. 19, 2011. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. Haiken attended City College of New York before entering the military. As a first lieutenant, he completed 50 combat missions (including the raid on Ploesti) as a B-24 pilot during World War II. His awards included a… Read more »

Mary Johannessen, 85, died December 22, 2010. Born in New York City, Mrs. Johannessen graduated from the High School of Fashion Design in Manhattan. Mrs. Johannessen was preceded in death by her husband, Bernard “Bunny” Johannessen. Survivors include her daughters, Koreen (Ted Seger) Johannessen and Robyn Anyaeji Johannessen, both… Read more »

Handmaker, which operates a memory care assisted living unit and adult day programs, has launched the Adventure Bus, an outreach program for people with early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive memory impairment. Made possible through a compelling needs grant from the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

Susanne Bier, director of "In a Better World" [Sony Picture Classics]

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Film director Susanne Bier, whose Danish movie, “In a Better World,” won the Oscar on Feb. 27 for best documentary, is an anomaly. She is a woman director in an overwhelmingly male profession, and she is emphatically Jewish in a country and industry in which… Read more »

Guy Gelbart

A wind of change has been blowing through the Middle East. What this wind will bring us is yet to be seen. Will it bring democracy to the Arab world? Will it push the Arab world into the hands of dark fundamentalist Islamic movements? Will extreme ideological regimes like… Read more »

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

I grew up in a house where words were the currency by which my brother and I gained recognition. Unlike most of our peers’ parents, whose approval was dished out for making the varsity team or getting straight A’s, my dad’s highest form of praise came as a result… Read more »

Tel Aviv — Scientists today agree that there are five molecules that are known to affect or cause Alzheimer’s disease, which plagues an estimated five million Americans. The potency of these molecules is linked to environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. Professor Daniel Michaelson of Tel Aviv University’s… Read more »

A growing number of Jews in Wisconsin are joining the protests in Madison against a budget-cutting proposal by the governor to eliminate most collective-bargaining rights for public-sector employees. “Judaism has long stood for the rights of the worker, beginning with the biblical injunction of Deuteronomy: ‘Do not take advantage… Read more »

In just two years the Tucson Festival of Books has been astonishingly successful: It ranks fourth among book festivals around the United States, with 80,000 book lovers attending last year. The 2011 festival will take place March 12 and 13 on the University of Arizona campus. “What’s unique is… Read more »

Maxx Carlisle-King, Judy Kaye and Ryan DeLuca in Arizona Theatre Company's Lost in Yonkers. (Photo:Tim Fuller/Arizona Theatre Company)

Arizona Theatre Company will bring the Kurnitz family to life in Neil Simon’s Pulitzer and Tony-winning “Lost in Yonkers” Feb. 26 through March 19. Called “the best play Simon ever wrote” by the New York Post, “Lost in Yonkers” chronicles the Kurnitz family’s efforts to stay together during World… Read more »

The rapid changes in the Middle East are leading many in the American Jewish community to suffer from “analysis paralysis.” We have become so mesmerized by events in Cairo that we have stopped doing vitally important work to advance American interests and stability in the Middle East, as well… Read more »

The Eighth Annual Jewish–Muslim PeaceWalk Tucson will be held Sunday, March 6. The theme of this year’s walk is “Weaving Peace.” The organizers invite all who share a vision of coexistence and mutual understanding to take part in all or part of the event. Participants will gather at 1:15… Read more »

The advisory council of Women’s Philanthropy at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will award its fifth annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, which recognizes an outstanding Jewish teenage girl, ­to Alyssa Silva. The council created the award in partnership with many of Zehngut’s friends to honor the late community… Read more »