Yearly Archives 2011

Leo Bretholz, a Holocaust survivor, testifying at a House Foreign Relations Committee hearing on allowing lawsuits to go ahead against SNCF, the French national railroad, for its role in deporting Jews to death camps, Nov. 16, 2011. Bretholz fled from such a transport. (Foreign Affairs Committee Republicans)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. House of Representatives again is considering Holocaust compensation legislation that has pit survivors against some leading Jewish organizations. The House Foreign Affairs Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a bill that would make it easier for claimants to make their case against Holocaust-era insurers in… Read more »

Tel Aviv – Pictures of unarmed demonstrators clashing with police and security forces have become the defining images of the Arab Spring. The wave of mass protests and demonstrations has led to the collapse of despotic regimes including those led by Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Tunisia’s… Read more »

Philadelphia (Jewish Exponent) — Rabbi David Ostrich, who leads the lone congregation in State College, Pa., couldn’t bring himself to sermonize last Shabbat on the scandal that’s on everyone’s mind. For one thing, it’s all too raw and too much remains unknown, said the religious leader of Congregation Brit… Read more »

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, shown campaigning in Iowas on Nov. 14, 2011, has raised concerns among pro-Israel officials for proposing a policy on foreign aid that would have recipients make their case every year. (IowaPolitics via Creative Commons)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — “Starting from zero,” the foreign assistance plan touted by leading Republican candidates at a debate, is getting low marks, and not just from Democrats and the foreign policy community. Pro-Israel activists and fellow Republicans also have concerns. Texas Gov. Rick Perry introduced the plan during the… Read more »

Neal Pollack (Laura Sartois/Anthology Photography)

(Tablet) — In the 1930s, Hank Greenberg chased Babe Ruth’s records and won the 1934 World Series with the Detroit Tigers. The national pastime wasn’t friendly territory for a Jewish athlete then, but by proudly staking out a claim, Greenberg proved that Jews could play the game as well… Read more »

A derogatory exchange about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu between French President Nicolas Sarkozy, left, and President Obama, shown during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, has sparked debate, Sept. 21, 2011. (Official White House photo by Samantha Appleton, via Creative Commons)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Does Nicolas Sarkozy really hate Benjamin Netanyahu? Does President Obama really sympathize? And does it really matter? The fleeting, private exchange between the French and U.S. presidents at a summit in Cannes, France, made international headlines, and its meaning is still being parsed by political pundits… Read more »

ELIANA BOLING, daughter of Kim and Tim Boling, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 19 with Congregation Chaverim at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. She is the granddaughter of Marcia and Ken Light of Tucson, Carmen and John Boling of Bloomington, Ind., and the late Judy… Read more »

KAYLA JOY TILICKI, daughter of Niki and Phil Tilicki, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Sandie and Joe Bolze of Sayville, N.Y., Carol and Roger Tilicki, and Mary Jo Grebeck, all of Cleveland, Ohio. Kayla attends… Read more »

SYDNIE ELANA GRABELL, daughter of Ellen Eichler-Grabell and Law­rence Grabell, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Lisa and the late Allan Grabell of Tucson, and Bernard and the late Molly Eichler of Milburn, N.J., and Tucson.… Read more »

JYLIAN EMAN GRABELL, daughter of Ellen Eichler-Grabell and Law­rence Grabell, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Lisa and the late Allan Grabell of Tucson, and Bernard and the late Molly Eichler of Milburn, N.J., and Tucson.… Read more »

DILYN REESE GRABELL, daughter of Ellen Eichler-Grabell and Lawrence Grabell, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Nov. 19 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Lisa and the late Allan Grabell of Tucson, and Bernard and the late Molly Eichler of Milburn, N.J., and Tucson.… Read more »

JOSHUA EVAN SKRILL, son of Judith and Richard Skrill, celebrated becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 29 with Congregation Or Chadash at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. He is the grandson of Stanley and the late Muriel Mintz of Boynton Beach, Fla., Wilma Weisbuch of Woodside, N.Y., and… Read more »

Tucson natives REBECCA GOLD (left in photo) and SHANA CUTLER have created LOVE JAY GIRLS, a collection of flower girl and special occasion dresses for girls sold through bridal boutiques and high-end children’s stores. Gold earned a bachelor’s degree in retailing and consumer sciences from the University of Arizona,… Read more »

Tucson resident JOHN NEWPORT, Ph.D., has written “The Tucson Tragedy: Lessons from the Senseless Shooting of Gabrielle Giffords” (Outskirts Press). RABBI STEPHANIE AARON of Congregation Chaverim, a longtime spiritual advisor and friend of Giffords, wrote the forward. Drawing on media accounts, the book summarizes the events and aftermath of… Read more »

Dennis Ross, shown speaking at a Washington Institute for Near East Policy conference, and the White House cited his desire to spend more time with his family as the reason for stepping down as President Obama's top Middle East strategist. (Stan Barouh, courtesy of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Dennis Ross got back in the driver’s seat, yet three years later the peace is still missing. Ross, a veteran of four failed presidential pushes for Middle East peace, announced Nov. 10 that he would be leaving his post as President Obama’s top Middle East strategist… Read more »

BALTIMORE (JTA) — Stare at the boy’s picture and be utterly charmed by that winning smirk. What a handsome child he is, so nattily dressed in a pinstriped suit, striking a perfect Bar Mitzvah portrait pose. Such dark eyes, such perfectly combed straight-back locks. His thumb tilts against his… Read more »

The Bregmans — Phil, Charlotte, Breanna, Emily, Lady and Dani — in their family sukkah

Sukkot 5772 Sukkot, Judaism’s weeklong season of rejoicing, celebrates life, community and autumn’s bounty. Originally an agricultural holiday, this festival also commemorates the 40-year trek of the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. One builds a sukkah (plural, sukkot) — a temporary dwelling with a roof made… Read more »

Ari Zivotofsky and his son Menachem speak to the press outside the U.S. Supreme Court Nov. 8. (Richard Greenberg)

The U.S. Supreme Court convened Monday to ponder the implications of a single word that is conspicuously missing from the passport of a 9-year-old boy who was born in Jerusalem. His name is Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky, the son of Ari and Naomi Siegman Zivotofsky, Americans who made aliyah in… Read more »

One of my favorite books of the last decade is Daniel Tammet’s memoir “Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant,” so I was eager to read “Following Ezra: What One Father Learned About Gumby, Otters, Autism, and Love from His Extraordinary Son” by… Read more »

Arizona Public Media will air two shows dealing with the Nazi era and its aftermath on Tuesday, Nov. 15 on PBS channel 6. “Inside the Mind of Adolf Hitler” starts at 8 p.m., followed at 9 p.m. by “Elusive Justice: The Search for Nazi War Criminals.” “Making ‘Inside the… Read more »