Yearly Archives 2012

After filing to go public on the 1st of this month, Facebook’s highly anticipated offering is expected to be the largest in history, as the company is valued at up to $100 billion. The largest tech IPO since Google, market and technology focused outlets have been buzzing with comparisons… Read more »

NEW YORK (N.Y. Jewish Week) — Today the British noble with possible Jewish background is Cora Grantham, lady of the manor on the blockbuster PBS import “Downton Abbey.” We latter-day peasants lust so much for a connection to our betters that we don’t even care if they’re fictional. The… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — During February, Jewish communities across North America observe Jewish Disability Awareness Month. It is an opportunity for us to raise awareness of the needs, strengths, opportunities and challenges of individuals with disabilities in our communities, and to ensure we are building more inclusive communities that celebrate… Read more »

Hundreds of Israelis protesting against the country's soaring cost of living in front of the Knesset in Jerusalem, Aug. 2, 2011. (Yossi Zamir/Flash 90/JTA)

JERUSALEM (JTA) – “It’s the economy stupid” was how American political strategist James Carville once summed up the defining issue in U.S. presidential elections. But in Israel, besieged by enemy nations and locked into an ongoing conflict with the Palestinians, security has traditionally trumped all other political agendas. Until… Read more »

ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — In a colorful room at the Tikva Children’s Home here, 30 young boys stand in two straight lines and wait for the cue signaling that they are to start singing. The children, students in a music class, are performing “Mind Your Manners” by the Philadelphia-based… Read more »

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi presents Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a plaque, August 2011. (The Israel Project)

NEW YORK (JTA) — Here’s what the international Jewish media conspiracy looks like: Two men and four women, all clad in dark suits, sitting around a table in a windowless conference room in a nondescript office in midtown Manhattan. Together they run a global organization stretching from Washington to… Read more »

French President Nicholas Sarkozy addressing guests at the CRIF dinner, Feb. 8, 2012. (Erez Lichtfeld courtesy of CRIF)

PARIS (JTA) – Trailing in the polls and with elections just 10 weeks away, French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to one of his most reliable bases of support — French Jews — to drum up enthusiasm. On the morning of Feb. 8, Sarkozy met at Elysees Palace with released… Read more »

Protesters in the aftermath of deadly riots march in Cairo on Feb. 3, 2012. The increasing chaos in Egypt, including the recent arrest of U.S. democracy activists, has raised questions about it factors into U.S. and Israel security considerations in the region. (Gigi Ibrahim via CC)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The future of a key pillar of Israeli security could rest with the fate of a few dozen pro-democracy activists in Egypt. After Egyptian authorities filed charges on Feb. 6 against 43 American and other foreign pro-democracy activists who worked in the country, leading members of… Read more »

Sen. Lindsey Graham, shown attending Independence Day celebrations at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in July 2011, has authored a resolution that would make an Iranian nuclear capability a "red line." (Courtesy U.S. Embassy, Kabul)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Is America’s red line on Iran moving? A new bipartisan resolution introduced Thursday on Capitol Hill is part of a growing effort to shift the longstanding U.S. red line from Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon to having the capability to build one. Such a shift would… Read more »

Evan Kaufmann, a U.S.-born hockey player whose great-grandparents were killed in the Holocaust, is now representing the German national team. (Courtesy Eishockey Magazin)

WEST BLOOMFIELD, Mich. (JTA) — More than 65 years ago, Evan Kaufmann’s great-grandparents were murdered in the Auschwitz death camp. Now he is taking the ice for the German national hockey team. Following a successful hockey career at the University of Minnesota, Kaufmann tried out for several professional clubs in… Read more »

Zidan Badran, mayor of the Israeli portion of the Arab town of Barta'a, stands on the seam that separates the Israeli part of town from its West Bank portion. (Linda Gradstein)

BARTA’A, West Bank (JTA) — In these days of frozen peace negotiations, most Israelis and Palestinians have little contact. Palestinians need a special permit to enter Israel, and Israelis need army permission to enter the parts of the West Bank controlled by the Palestinian Authority. In fact, just a… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — What were the Jews doing becoming so involved in a debate over contraception? It was a question that more than one Jewish official asked themselves over recent months as tensions between the Obama administration and leaders of the Catholic Church rose to the boiling point over… Read more »

FRAN KATZ, associate publisher of Tucson Lifestyle, will be honored by the American Advertising Federation Tucson at its ADDY awards dinner on Feb. 18 as the winner of the Phyllis Ehlinger Women of Excellence Award. The award recognizes women business owners or executives who have demonstrated success within their… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran and Israel appear to be locked in an assassination contest. Israeli leaders blamed Iran for two assassination attempts late Sunday and early Monday — in Tbilisi, Georgia, and in New Delhi, India. The bomb in Tbilisi was disabled before it could be activated, and the… Read more »

DALYA ELENA PARKER, daughter of Pamela Workman-Parker and Charles Parker, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Temple Emanu-El. She is the granddaughter of Vivian and the late Martin Workman of Denver, Colo., and Sandy and Chuck Parker of Las Vegas, Nev. Dalya attends Tortolita… Read more »

SARAH KINSEY JONES, daughter of Elena and Robert Jones, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Temple Emanu-El. She is the granddaughter of Judy Shepard Gomez and Marjorie Hochberg of Tucson and Patty and Darryl Jones of Portland, Ore. Sarah attends Tortolita Middle School, where… Read more »

Robert (Bob) Steven Polinsky, 66, died Jan. 11, 2012, after a year-long struggle with esophageal cancer. Born in St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Polinsky was a graduate of Webster University, where he studied art and sculpture. He lived and taught in Canada after finishing his art degree, completing a number… Read more »

Beverly Goldberg

Beverly Goldberg, 89, died Jan. 26, 2012. Mrs. Goldberg was born in New York City. She was involved with Tucson Hadassah chapter since the 1960s and was a member of the national board of Hadassah for more than 30 years. Mrs. Goldberg was preceded in death by her husband,… Read more »

Romayne Eisenstadt, 95, died Jan. 27, 2012. Mrs. Eisenstadt was born in Scranton, Pa., She and her husband raised their family and resided there until retiring in Tucson in 1984. Mrs. Eisenstat was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Albert Eisenstadt. Survivors include her sons; Mark… Read more »

Helen Becker

Helen M. Becker, 99, died Jan. 31, 2012. Born in Chicago, Ill., Mrs. Becker was educated in the Chicago school system. She was married to Morris Becker for over 56 years. During World War II, she knitted sweaters and socks for the soldiers. In 1945, the family moved to… Read more »