Hebrew High student Alyssa Silva with tzedekah box Students from Tucson Hebrew High and six religious schools are participating in the “613 Coins and Counting!” campaign to raise funds for LEAF, the Local Emergency Assistance Fund, which helps local Jewish families in need with housing costs, food, job placement and more. Their efforts, which began Jan. 9,… Read more »
Tucsonans Evan and Michelle Glazer were screened through Scottsdale’s Jewish Genetic Diseases Center. When Ted Glenn heard that his chances of being a carrier of a life-threatening genetic disease were one in six, he knew what he had to do: get tested. Like all Ashkenazi Jews (with origins in Eastern Europe), Glenn has a high probability of carrying one of 11 genetic… Read more »
JFCS LEAH program coordinator Ilana Markowitz (Sheila Wilensky) Domestic abuse is still “a big secret” in the Jewish community, says Carol Sack, Jewish Family & Children’s Services vice president of financial resource development. Too many people still believe that “it’s such a shanda, or shame, for Jewish women to walk through our door,” she says, “and the… Read more »
Howard Silverman, M.D., M.S. Howard Silverman, M.D., M.S., will speak on “Judaism, Clinicians and Healing” at the next Tucson Maimonides Society dinner event, Monday, Jan. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Westward Look Resort. His book, “Healing Ceremonies: Creating Personal Rituals for Spiritual, Emotional, Physical and Mental Health” describes his experiences using ceremonies… Read more »
When Evie Pozez died last month, I had the sense that this was another major milestone in the passing of what Tom Brokaw coined “The Greatest Generation.” Evie, who was dynamic in her own right, was, in the context of our Jewish community, “joined at the hip” with her… Read more »
Dr. Mordechai Popovtzer will speak at Hadassah lunch. Hadassah Southern Arizona will hold a gala celebration in honor of long- time Tucson resident and Hadassah member Beverly Goldberg on Sunday, Jan. 23 at 12:30 p.m. at the Skyline Country Club. Goldberg was born in New York to a family deeply rooted in Zionism and moved with her… Read more »
Shalom Tucson will sponsor a free bagel brunch, “Gateway to Adult Education,” on Sunday, Jan. 23 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Attendees will be able to chat with representatives from Tucson’s congregations, Jewish organizations and agencies about adult education opportunities, such as lectures,… Read more »
A Jewish community blood drive will be held Friday, Jan. 14, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Advance appointments to donate are required. To make an appointment contact Jane Scott at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, 577-9393, ext. 114. In addition, an interfaith community conversation,… Read more »
Congregation Anshei Israel will celebrate its 80th anniversary on Sunday, Feb. 13, with a “White House” dinner event (a tongue-in-cheek play on the synagogue being a large white building). CAI received its charter in April 1930. It was originally located in a small adobe building at 526 South Stone… Read more »
The Southwest Torah Institute, the educational and outreach arm of Congregation Chofetz Chayim, will lead its first Israel Experience with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker from May 1 to 15. Limited to 20 participants, the trip will be designed for those “seeking a spiritually uplifting yet physically challenging experience,”… Read more »
In response the shootings on Jan. 8, the University of Arizona Religious Council will hold a memorial and prayer service on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at noon on the UA Mall. Participants include the Newman Center, the Lutheran Campus Ministry, Hillel and Jewish Arizonans on Campus. UA President Robert Shelton… Read more »
Debbie Friedman, Jewish songwriter and performer, dies. SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Over the weekend, as singer-songwriter Debbie Friedman lay dying in a hospital bed in Southern California, the call went out to Jewish congregations around the world to pray for the popular musician. But early Sunday morning Friedman, who composed “Mi Shebeirach,” a popular version of… Read more »
Venezuelan Jews celebrate the opening of a new synagogue in Caracas, December 2010. (Jasmina Kelemen) CARACAS, Venezuela (JTA) — On a balmy tropical evening in early December, a few hundred families, mostly of Moroccan descent, gathered to inaugurate the first phase of what eventually will be a grand, two-story marble shul located in a wealthy Caracas neighborhood. Among them, Claudio Benaim’s family beamed as… Read more »
Israeli ex-pats were among those who showed up in Los Angeles for an Israel Independence Day celebration. (Courtesy Israeli Leadership Council) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — The number of Israelis living in the United States grew by about 30 percent over the past decade, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau figures. Some 140,323 people living in the United States today were born in Israel, up from 109,720 in 2000. Of… Read more »
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was gravely wounded on Jan. 8, 2011 in Tucson Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was holding her first “Congress on Your Corner”event since being re-elected in November. It was a typical sunny Saturday morning in Tucson in front of the Safeway market at Ina and Oracle, where some 25 to 30 people stood in line to have a word with… Read more »
Congregation Chofetz Chayim has announced that “in response to yesterday’s shocking events,” it will hold a prayer and perspective gathering tonight from 5 to 6 p.m. Rabbi Becker will speak and special Psalms will be incorporated into a special service. The gathering is open to men and women of… Read more »
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Unless you’re a reader of Islamist websites, you’d probably be surprised to learn that the WikiLeaks trove of U.S. diplomatic cables is an Israeli conspiracy. Wonder why there was so much material about Arab regimes petitioning the United States to contain Iran’s nuclear program? How… Read more »
The album cover of Shlock Rock's "Shabbat in Liverpool," which features Beatles' songs set to Sabbath prayers and replicates the Fab Four's famed "Abbey Road" album, was released in December 2010. (Shlock Road) STAMFORD, Conn. (JTA) — When is it kosher to listen to the Beatles on the Sabbath? When your chazan adapts the Kabbalat Shabbat Friday night service to the melodies of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Lenny Solomon, the founder of the song-parody group Shlock Rock, employed “nusach Liverpool” for… Read more »
Women demonstrating outside the Tel Aviv courtroom where former Israeli President Moshe Katsav was convicted of rape and other sex crimes, Dec. 30, 2010. (Roni Schutzer/Flash 90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — For years it was considered an open secret in Israeli political and media circles that Moshe Katsav had a habit of sexually harassing women who worked for him. In a nation at arms with a decidedly machismo bent, sexual encounters between powerful male politicians and… Read more »
