Use a brush to rub the applied metal into the surface and remove bits of unadhered leaf. December is the time to sparkle, and your thrift store finds can shine too. Gilding is a surprisingly easy way to get a luxurious look from the most inexpensive items. Traditionally, we’ve seen silver or gold leaf decorating ornate picture frames, applied to the domes of public buildings or… Read more »
Allowing cilantro to flower results in coriander seeds to use as a spice or for planting. (Deborah Mayaan) As my friends and I say the motzi (blessing over bread), I have a new appreciation for the effort our ancestors put into growing wheat, thanks to the Pima County Public Library, which now “lends” seeds at several branches. People may choose from a wide variety of seeds, grow… Read more »
Guy Gelbart Imagine the following horrible scenario: an armed group of 100 snipers takes over a main building in downtown Tucson; they shoot people walking on the streets. The entire downtown area is shut down; people are locked in their offices across the city and can’t go home. Assume that you… Read more »
For many Jewish nonprofits, fundraising often can seem like an art — a process of educated guesswork based largely on intuition, word of mouth and experience. So when David Gad-Harf, the chief development officer of the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey, saw a way to introduce more science… Read more »
Members of the B’nai Tzedek Teen Advisory Council take a break at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona on Nov. 18 after working with B’nai Tzedek’s newest teens to pack Thanksgiving food bags for 62 students at Homer Davis Elementary School as part of this year’s New Teen Social Action Sunday. (L-R) Belle Soyfer, Madeline Levy, Allison Whitehill, Sarah Cassius, Abigail Herz. In front: Eli Soyfer. “Something magical began to happen among the villagers. As each person opened their heart to give, the next person gave even more. And as this happened, the soup grew richer and smelled more delicious.” — from “Stone Soup” by Jon J. Muth The B’nai Tzedek Tucson Jewish teen philanthropy… Read more »
Afshin Ellian Among his many talents, Afshin Ellian has a knack for making people want to kill him. It’s a trait he demonstrated as a fugitive in his native Iran after the Islamic Revolution; then as a refugee in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where he angered secular Stalinists; and finally in Holland,… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Palestinian state will emerge by 2030, not through negotiations but incrementally, according to a group of intelligence advisers to President Obama. The office of the director of national intelligence this week published the annual “Global Trends” report compiled by the National Intelligence Council, a group… Read more »
Sandra Toro Sandra Toro, author of several historical novels including the recently published “Secrets Behind Adobe Walls” (Gaon Books), will shed light on the little known activities of the Spanish Inquisition in America in a lecture on Thursday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. The talk, hosted by Chabad of Tucson, will… Read more »
Mike Reiss, writer/producer of ‘The Simpsons,’ as he would look in the cartoon world he helped create. The 22nd annual Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, featuring almost two dozen comedies, dramas and documentaries about everything from music to bagels to the healing power of dolphins, will be held Jan. 10-20. A pre-festival kick-off will be held Sunday, Jan. 6 at 2:15 p.m. and 7 p.m. at… Read more »
A new video biography, “The Black Shawl — Chana Fels’ Journey Remembered,” provides chilling details of Jewish life in Poland during the Nazi occupation. The story, narrated by Chana’s son, Moses Sterngast, follows the journey of two Jewish women, Chana Fels and her mother, Sara Fels, as they experience… Read more »
Sheilah Wagner Hadassah Southern Arizona will install its 2013 slate of officers, including co-presidents Iris Sapovits of Green Valley and Corinne Forti of Tucson, at a luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 20 at noon at Skyline Country Club. The installing officer will be Sheilah Wagner of Phoenix. Wagner joined Hadassah in the… Read more »
Pictured (L-R) in front of the Holocaust History Center space under renovation: Lily Brull, Holocaust survivor; Rosie Eilat-Kahn, chair, Holocaust Education & Commemoration Project/HHC advisory board; Barry A. Friedman, president, Jewish History Museum/HHC; Howard Schneider, vice president, JHM/HHC; Stuart Mellan, president and CEO, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona; Bryan Davis, director, HECP (Photo: Athol Cline/JHM) The Holocaust Education & Commemoration Project of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish History Museum are opening a new exhibit space at the museum dedicated to Holocaust history. The newly renovated space will be located in an 1880s Arizona Territorial house directly north of the museum… Read more »
Tucsonans Alan Dankwerth, left, and Mike Jacobson at an Israel Defense Forces base in northern Israel (Courtesy Mike Jacobson) Longtime Tucson friends Alan Dankwerth and Mike Jacobson had both been to Israel before. But their trip in October was different. Leaving their wives behind, they spent a couple of weeks working at an Israel Defense Forces base in northern Israel, not far from the Golan Heights, through the… Read more »
The sages of the Talmud had a debate about how we are to light the Chanukah menorah: Should we begin with eight candles and remove one each night, or begin with one and add through the holiday? After hearing different views, it was resolved that we must add a… Read more »
William C. Daroff of the Jewish Federations of North America with Tucson’s freedom quilt, marking the 25th anniversary of the Freedom Sunday March on Washington to support Soviet Jewry, at a Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona campaign summit on Dec. 5. When TV cameras have already left scenes of tragedy at home and in Israel, the Jewish Federations of North America is still on the scene. That’s what William C. Daroff, vice president for public policy and director of JFNA’s Washington office, emphasized at a Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona… Read more »
(Jewish Ideas Daily) — Hamas was quick to declare victory in the latest conflict with Israel. A closer look at the price it paid in terms of personnel and equipment shows that its bravado was false. But the fact that Israel was able to destroy so many installations, weapons teams, smuggling… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — With public acceptance of same-sex marriage growing, liberal Jewish groups are hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will strike down the Defense of Marriage Act that they have long opposed. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases related to same-sex marriage: an appeal of a… Read more »
Interior of the restored synagogue in Jicin, Czech Republic, one of the 10 Stars locations. (Ruth Ellen Gruber) PRAGUE (JTA) — A large Jewish museum set to open in the Czech Republic in October will be a far cry from any Jewish museum in Europe. Instead of one building or a complex of exhibition halls in one city, it will be a nationwide museum comprising 10 linked… Read more »
Rep. Gary Ackerman, shown addressing the Israel Policy Forum on Dec. 3, is one of a number of veteran pro-Israel lawmakers leaving Congress. (Courtesy IPF) WASHINGTON (JTA) — When the new Congress convenes in January, it will be missing several longtime pillars of support for Israel on Capitol Hill. Gone from the House of Representatives will be veteran Jewish Reps. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Gary Ackerman… Read more »
PRAGUE (JTA) — The following is a rundown of some Eastern European countries and where they stand on restitution: Poland: Has not enacted any form of private restitution or compensation for an estimated $30.5 billion worth of property confiscated by the Nazis, then the communists. The Jewish share of… Read more »
