GLORY BETH WOOD-ISENBERG, daughter of Drs. Rick Isenberg of Tucson and Eve Wood of Boulder, Colo., will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 5, at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of the late Glory Ann and Leonard Wood of Tucson, and the late Helene and… Read more »
Mark Rubin MARK RUBIN has joined Mesch, Clark & Rothschild, P.C. His practice areas include business, real estate, probate and fiduciary law. Rubin, who has practiced law in Tucson since 1981, was a sole practitioner for 10 years. He also practiced with the firm of Slutes, Sakrison, Grant, Hill & Rubin,… Read more »
A son, BRACH WILLIAM BLANEY KOEN, was born Dec. 25, 2010 to Daniel and Lisa Blaney Koen of Chicago. Grandparents are Mike and Gerri Koen of Oracle, Ariz., and Howard and Marie Blaney of Boulder, Colo.… Read more »
Was it an act of political self-preservation, a feat of political destruction or a bid to stabilize Israel’s government ahead of some dramatic move? And for Israel’s Labor Party, was it another sign of the once-leading party’s demise, or a precursor to a revival and the ideals for which… Read more »
Guy Gelbart On Jan. 13, Israeli Minister of Education Gideon Saar awarded Kiryat Malachi the Israel Education Prize for this year. Kiryat Malachi, a town of 23,000 residents linked to the Jewish Federations of Tucson, Phoenix, and Seattle, was one of 14 municipalities considered in the final selection for the prize.… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El will host a Jewish camp night on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 5:30 pm at Reid Park Ramada #20 and a Jewish camp fair on Sunday, Jan. 30 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the synagogue. Representatives from Jewish overnight camps from across the country will be… Read more »
Joseph Regenstein You are what you eat. So what does that mean for your morality? Do the choices you make about food affect your ethics? And can food standards unite Jews and Muslims as nothing else does? These and other questions will be answered by scholar-in-residence Joseph Regenstein, who will explore… Read more »
Rabbi David Golinkin “Israel: From Dream to Reality” is the theme for Congregation Anshei Israel’s scholar-in-residence, Rabbi David Golinkin, who will give talks on Feb. 11 and 12. Golinkin is president and professor of Jewish Law at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. On Friday, Feb. 11 at 8 p.m.,… Read more »
William Link The Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee will hold two Book and Author events next month, an evening soiree on Feb. 9 and a lunch program on Feb. 10. Featured authors — all with a mystery or history bent — are William Link, Douglas Starr, Rhys Bowen and… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona approved the Jewish History Museum as a Federation community partner at its Nov. 3 board meeting. Founded in 1947, the Tucson Jewish Community Council became the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona in 1989. The agencies of the Council were given new autonomy with… Read more »
Paulette Gootter [Photos by Martha Lochert] “If you want something done, your best bet is to ask a Jewish woman to do it,” Rep. Gabrielle Giffords said during her 2004 campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives. On Sunday, Jan. 9, the day after Giffords, 40, was gravely wounded in a Tucson shooting rampage, a… Read more »
YEHUD, Israel (JTA) — The young would-be convert to Judaism with a gold Star of David pendant peeking through a buttoned shirt is still baffled by the summer afternoon he says he was called in and dismissed from an Israeli army conversion course for being gay. The 23-year old… Read more »
President Obama delivers the State of the Union address, Jan. 25, 2011. (The White House) WASHINGTON (JTA) – Civility? Check. Clean energy? Check. Health care? Check. Immigration? Check. Education? You bet. Isolating Iran? That’s in there. Poverty, guns, reproductive rights? Israel? Ummm … President Obama’s State of the Union speech Tuesday night was as notable for what it excluded as what made it in.… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — This time there are maps — not that they necessarily will help. After the collapse of the Camp David talks in 2000, the Israeli and Palestinian sides bickered about who had offered what, and the competing historical narratives were adopted by either side and around the… Read more »
WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — As a Conservative rabbi and a member of the movement’s Rabbinical Assembly, I cannot officially consider Jewish descent to be determined patrilineally — from the father. In fact, in its Code of Professional Conduct, the section detailing the responsibilities for membership in the Rabbinical… Read more »
Sen. Joe Lieberman, right, talks to Gen. David Petraeus at the International Security Assistance Force Headquarters in Afghanistan during a congressional delegation tour, Nov. 10, 2010. (Joshua Treadwell) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Joe Lieberman ascended to national prominence by building one bridge at a time. Then, having reached the pinnacle by becoming the Democratic nominee for vice president in 2000, he spent 10 years burning bridges. Ultimately, Lieberman’s most celebrated bridge — between America’s non-Christian, non-establishment minorities and… Read more »
Amy Chua has drawn a firestorm of criticism over her book "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" and its synopsis in The Wall Street Journal. (Penguin Press HC) NEW YORK (JTA) — With her take-no-prisoners approach in “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” author Amy Chua has drawn the ire of mothers across America who take exception to the draconian measures she recommends to ensure successful, prodigious offspring. So it’s little surprise that prominent among her critics… Read more »
William Daroff WASHINGTON (JTA) — In the days President Obama was preparing to deliver his State of the Union address, everyone knew the economy would play a major role. What remains unknown is what will result for millions of vulnerable Americans once the applause dies down and the political maneuvering picks… Read more »
BERLIN (Forward) — Muslim teenagers in Hanover attack an Israeli dance troupe, reportedly yelling “Juden raus” as they hurl stones. German leftists march in Berlin with Muslims to protest the 2008–2009 Gaza military conflict. “Death to the Jews!” the marchers chant. At a soccer game between teams from the… Read more »
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — What should a Jewish teacher say to a child who talks about helping grandma decorate the Christmas tree? “What the teacher should not say is, ‘You’re not supposed to do that — you’re Jewish,’ ” says Rachel Glaser, education director of the religious school at… Read more »
