Yearly Archives 2013

Donna Zee, 64, died July 5, 2013. Survivors include her sons, Lonny Sternberg and Samuel Sternberg of Paradise Valley, Ariz.; sisters, Linda Devor of Stevenson Ranch, Calif., and Dorothy Jean Lanier of Tucson; and three grandchildren. Graveside services were held in the Temple Emanu-El section of Evergreen Cemetery with… Read more »

Harold Kitay, 84, died June 26, 2013. A Tucson entrepreneur for 54 years, Mr. Kitay founded a chain of building supply stores in California and Arizona and was involved in the manufacturing of home products. He was active in real estate in Southern Arizona as a founding partner of… Read more »

Rita M. Golding, 81, died June 22, 2013. Mrs. Golding was preceded in death by her husband of almost 45 years, Melville Golding, and son, Jeffrey Golding. Survivors include her children, Matthew (Allison) Golding of California, Lance (Debbi) Golding of Nevada, Gary (Jani) Golding of Connecticut and Stacy Golding… Read more »

Sally Eisenberg, 71, of Oro Valley, died June 21, 2013. Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Eisenberg was a teacher. Mrs. Eisenberg was preceded in death by her first husband, Vincent Amato, daughter Gay Amato, and sons, Eric and Michael Eisenberg. Survivors include her husband, Merrill; children, Bill (Ana) Amato,… Read more »

ALAN D. BEDRICK, M.D., professor and chief of neonatology and developmental biology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine department of pediatrics, has received a Distinguished Alumnus Award from Pennsylvania State University. It is the highest honor Penn State bestows upon an alumnus. Bedrick has volunteered for the… Read more »

JEFF BRIDGE, immediate past president of Congregation Bet Shalom, and his long-time business partner, Chef James Pastore, are the new owners of IT’S GREEK TO ME restaurant, located in Catalina, Ariz.  Bridge is also starting his 30th year of employment at Raytheon in Tucson.   ITZIK BECHER, founder of… Read more »

HANNAH GRACE WEISMAN, daughter of Jennifer Weisman and Scott Weisman, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Aug. 10 at Congregation Chaverim. She is the granddaughter of Judy and Jerry Layne of Goodyear, Ariz., Asher Weisman of Santa Clarita, Calif., and the late Ferne Greenberg of Beverly Hills,… Read more »

Nathan Michael Ballen Brown, son of Lenore Ballen and Howard Brown, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Aug. 10 at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the grandson of the late Ethel and Samuel Ballen, of Santa Fe, N.M. and Frances and the late Sheldon Brown of Pinebrook Pines,… Read more »

In your June 14 issue you feature an interview with the WWII veteran Nathan Shapiro (“Nathan Shapiro: Boy cantor at 10, active senior and ‘lucky guy’ at 95”). Mr. Shapiro is quoted as saying that the U.S. “would have lost hundreds of thousands of men” more in the war… Read more »

I have just read the Shout Out column written by Michaela Davenport (“For Tucson teen, March of the Living trip is heartwrenching, empowering,” AJP 6/28/13) and was incredibly moved. I had to re-read the brief notice about Michaela as I found it hard to believe that she is only… Read more »

I read with interest the article on Tucsonans bound for the Maccabiah Games (AJP, 6/14/13) and thought you might be interested in the fact that my son Jimmy Grabb, a native Tucsonan and former professional tennis player, is going to be inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of… Read more »

Romance blooms for Andrew West and Sophia Kerdoon in the Negev Desert.

Ask almost anyone who has been on Birthright Israel and they will tell you that the 10-day trip is a life-changing experience. This might sound cliché, but for many Tucsonans on the trip from June 10-20 — sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, local donors and the… Read more »

May 2013 Spirit orientation at the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens, N.Y., with Rabbi Israel Becker (right) and three members of this year’s Spirit team (left to right): Nosson Yeshaya Schwartz, Yaakov Tokayer, Shlomo Zalman Minkowitz

The Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program returns to Tucson Sunday, July 28 through Friday, Aug. 9, at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. The Spirit program offers two weeks of Jewish learning for Jewish men and boys, ages 8 and up. Participants may study virtually any topic… Read more »

Congregation Anshei Israel has announced its sixth year of “Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” The program uses Jewish teachings to help pre-teen and teenage girls make healthy life choices. Keys to the program are an informal setting, small group size and activities designed to strengthen girls’ Jewish identity,… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El will once again offer Taste of Judaism, a free introductory class on Jewish spirituality, values and community, with four sessions beginning next month and one beginning in late September. More than 4,500 people have completed the course offered by Temple Emanu-El, now in its 14th year. Rabbis… Read more »

The Claims Conference recently negotiated an agreement under which the German government committed to providing approximately $1 billion over a four-year period for homecare for Jewish Holocaust victims, with the annual amount increasing every year through 2017. In Tucson, the Holocaust Survivor Program is part of Jewish Family &… Read more »

Rabbi Sandra Wortzel

It was easy for Sandra Wortzel to identify as Jewish growing up in New York City. It took years for her spiritual journey to sway her into becoming a rabbi. “I grew up completely secular,” Wortzel, 58, told the AJP. “My brother became a Bar Mitzvah but that’s it”… Read more »

Egyptian protesters hold an anti-Morsi poster in Tahrir Square in Cairo shortly before the military's ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, July 3, 2013. (Spencer Platt/Getty)

TEL AVIV (JTA) – For the second time in less than three years, Egypt is erupting in chaos, with a popular protest movement leading to a swift change in the country’s leadership. For Israelis, the Egyptian military’s removal of Mohamed Morsi from the presidency last week is a cause… Read more »

BALTIMORE (JTA) — The first arrows Roxana and Rafael Gonzalez launch at the upcoming 19th Maccabiah Games will take flight from their fingertips, but also from Jeffrey Sudikoff’s imagination. Roxana, 25, and Rafael, 24, are part of the first Cuban delegation to participate in the Maccabiah, a quadrennial sports… Read more »

A plaque engraved with names of the 19 fallen firefighters from the Granite Mountain Interagency Hotshot Crew is mounted on a fence outside Station 7, their home base in Prescott, Ariz., July 3, 2013. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — On Yom Kippur, we ask “Who by fire?” Sadly, this year at Tisha b’Av we already know who — the 19 firefighters who perished in Arizona. “This is as dark a day as I can remember,” Gov. Jan Brewer said in a statement. Unknowingly, the… Read more »