Shlomo Bar Aba as Eliezer Shkolnik in ‘Footnote’ Footnote,” the marvelous fourth feature by Israeli director Joseph Cedar and his wittiest and most accomplished, begins with music reminiscent of melodramatic Hollywood thrillers of the 1940s. The absurdly ominous score is so over the top that it’s funny. Indeed, the director is winking at us, acknowledging from… Read more »
Shuler Hensley and Eugene Brancoveanu in “The Thomashefskys” “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome! Tonight we’re here to tell you a story. It’s the story of Boris and Bessie Thomashefsky, two kids from little shtetls in the middle of the Ukrainian nowhere who came to America and became the founders and pioneers of the American Yiddish Theater … they… Read more »
Comments by the head of a Texas school association at the center of a controversy over Sabbath accommodations is fueling a drive by its members to be more open to the needs of Jewish and Muslim schools. Edd Burleson, the director of the The Texas Association of Private and… Read more »
It's Seder time in Utah in the Passover in the Desert of Moab program. (Jeff Finkelstein) MOAB, Utah (JTA) — How do you open the door for Elijah when your Seder is outdoors in the middle of the Utah desert? That was one of the challenges facing the 260 people who came from all parts of the country to participate in the fifth annual Adventure… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Obama administration has its Iran ducks in a row: Tehran is coming to the table, Israel is sitting still, most of the world’s major oil buyers and sellers are on board with the sanctions effort, and Congress is in an agreeable mood. Ducks, though, have… Read more »
Bryna E. Hellman, 82, died March 27, 2012, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mrs. Hellman graduated from Taft High School. She moved to Tucson in 1966. Mrs. Hellman was a life member of Hadassah and a member of AIPAC. She volunteered at… Read more »
Hazel Virginia Schoenberg, 91, died March 15, 2012. Raised in Tennessee, Mrs. Schoenberg lived in Brooklyn and the Bronx, N.Y. with her husband. She lived in Tucson for 23 years. Mrs. Schoenberg was preceded in death by her husband, Harry Fred Schoenberg and granddaughter Erin Schoenberg. Survivors include her… Read more »
Shelley and Steve Singer announce the engagement of their daughter, Emily, to Yaron Hurvitz of Tel Aviv. Yaron is the son of Mickey and Udi Hurvitz of Ramat HaSharon, Israel. The wedding is planned for June 2012 in Tel Aviv.… Read more »
IRINA RUDNITSKY, owner of CN BISTRO & DELI BY CAFFENATION on Valencia Road, has opened a new site in the Crossroads Festival shopping center at 4951 E. Grant Road, featuring cream cheeses and other menu items from old family recipes. CaffeNation was voted best coffee in Tucson in 2009… Read more »
DAVID A. RUBEN, M.D., MBA, a psychiatrist and pain management physician, is a candidate for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. His website is drrubenforussenate.com.… Read more »
SOLAINE ALICE CARTER, daughter of Beth Mitchneck and Paul Carter, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, April 21 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Bunny and Marvin Mitchneck of New Rochelle, N.Y. Solaine attends St. Gregory College Preparatory School, where she is an honor… Read more »
Michael Ginsberg, played by Ben Feldman, is the new Jewish copyeditor on the AMC award-winning show "Mad Men." (Michael Yarish/AMC) NEW YORK (JTA) — “Mad Men” is like the Jews — it gets a lot of attention for a show watched by less than 2 percent of the population. To kick off its fifth season, the 1960s period program, winner of four straight Emmys for best drama, has a new Jewish… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Emotional. Raw. Frustrating. That’s how Oz Fishman describes his reaction to “Bully,” a documentary that follows five students who face bullying daily. The movie also focuses on two victims of bullying who killed themselves. “I think every single person who wants to be a member of… Read more »
Artist Lori Loebelsohn paints what she calls 'life-cycle portraits.' (Courtesy Lori Loebelsohn) NEW YORK (JTA) — Lori Loebelsohn enters other people’s lives at pivotal moments: a marriage, a milestone birthday, a Bar Mitzvah. Armed with a pen and a notebook, she discusses intimate details about the inner lives of those she has just met: their passions, their most significant memories, their… Read more »
(JTA) — A well-known D.C. maxim advises that any economic stimulus must be timely, targeted and temporary. So as legislators begin drafting the 2012 Farm Bill, why are some proposing to cut a program that responds in direct relation to need, supports recipients for an average of just nine… Read more »
A wax likeness of Anne Frank has been installed at Madame Tussauds in Berlin — in the room next to the Hitler figure. (Photo: Christian Kielmann) Is the image of Anne Frank heading in the same commercial direction as Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”? Munch’s Expressionist painting, once an iconic representation of horror, for years has been available as a party inflatable, an action figure mask, even a bobblehead. With the installation of a lifelike wax… Read more »
For many years, Moti Amir tried to block out any memory of the horrors that she witnessed on the night of the 2002 Seder terrorist attack in this seaside city. But on the 10th anniversary of what is considered the deadliest terror attack of the second intifada, Amir remembers… Read more »
Mimuna is a traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover, marking the start of spring and the return to eating chametz ( leavened goods). Temple Emanu-El and the Weintraub Israel Center will hold a Mimuna celebration on Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El.… Read more »
David Brog Christians United for Israel at the University of Arizona will host “A Night to Honor Israel: Arizona Stands with Israel” featuring David Brog, CUFI executive director, on Thursday, April 19 at 6 p.m. Before CUFI, Brog worked in the U.S. Senate for seven years, rising to be chief of… Read more »
Congregation Or Chadash will dedicate its new library on Sunday, April 22 at 9:45 a.m. Robert Klein, author of “Being First: An Informal History of the Early Peace Corps,” will sign copies of his book and answer questions about the Peace Corps. The event will honor library creators Roberta… Read more »
