Julie Feldman The love of learning has been a powerful motivator for Julie Feldman, Ph.D. From spending her formative years in Geneva, Switzerland, with her family, to revamping a desire to become a physician, Feldman, 46, finds joy in expanding her world. Now a clinical assistant professor in psychology at the… Read more »
Chabad of Oro Valley and the Jewish Federation-Northwest will hold a challah-making event, “Loaves of Love,” on Thursday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Federation-Northwest office, 190 W. Magee Road, #162. The event will include a hands-on challah demonstration, lessons about Jewish women’s traditions, and a challah and… Read more »
Grammy-nominated musician Matisyahu, on tour to promote “Akeda,” his fifth studio album, will perform at the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 28. “Akeda” is the Hebrew word for “binding” and often refers to the biblical story of the binding of Isaac. “Akeda is the kind of album an artist… Read more »
A new Jewish Community Foundation Israel Discovery Fund will provide funds to 501(c)(3) organizations in Southern Arizona that in turn select Jewish and non-Jewish participants for organized trips to Israel. The fund is managed through the JCF’s competitive grants process. The application deadline is Nov. 17; funding will be… Read more »
The Tucson Association of Jewish Libraries will hold its annual book sale in conjunction with the Jewish Culture Shuk on Sunday, Nov. 16 at the Tucson Hebrew Academy. The sale will begin at 6:15 p.m. in the auditorium. The sale will be unique because there will be no prices… Read more »
The 10th annual CHAI Circle Retreat, “A Day for Healing and Spirituality,” will take place on Sunday, Nov. 2 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Canyon Ranch Health Resort, 8600 E. Rockcliff Road. CHAI, which stands for Cancer, Healing and Inspiration, is a support group for Jewish… Read more »
Trainer David Thorpe is flanked by two of his pupils -- Israelis Gal Mekel, left, and Omri Casspi, both playing in the NBA. Courtesy David Thorpe) BALTIMORE (JTA) – Rodney Glasgow catches a pass, pivots, takes one dribble and lays the ball in the basket. David Thorpe, Glasgow’s coach and trainer for a couple of weeks this summer, steps in to offer some pointers, instructing the former Virginia Military Institute guard to look up after… Read more »
MODIIN, Israel (JTA) — With the news that Rabbi Barry Freundel, a prominent Orthodox rabbi, has been arrested for peeping at the naked bodies of his female congregants through a secret camera in the mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, many disturbing questions are being raised about the implications of… Read more »
Protesters demonstrating against "The Death of Klinghoffer" outside the Metropolitan Opera House in New York city, Oct. 20, 2014. (Raffi Wineburg) NEW YORK (JTA) — “See it. You Decide,” the Metropolitan Opera of New York exhorts in a promotional push capitalizing on the controversy over its new production of “The Death of Klinghoffer.” Well, I saw it. And I’m not sure which was more of a letdown, the hubbub over… Read more »
BOSTON (JTA) — Four rabbis are engaged in an animated debate about Jewish law. Three of them agree, but the dissenter is adamant that he’s got it right. He cries out: “A sign, God, I beg You, a sign!” It begins to rain, but the three in the majority… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Once again the love affair between the Jewish people and higher education is back in full bloom. The start of a new school year, and the Jewish New Year, marked the beginning of robust programming for Jewish college students across the globe. As students dig into… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) – When Rabbi Barry Freundel asked Bethany Mandel to take a “really long shower” before a “practice dunk” in the mikvah prior to her formal conversion to Judaism, the whole request seemed a bit odd, she says. For one thing, Freundel instructed her to skip the… Read more »
Miami has seen ans increase in Jewish population to 123,000 -- up 9 percent sicne 2004 and reversing a decline begun in 1975 -- according to a survey released on Oct. 13, 2014. (Shutterstock) (JTA) – For the first time in four decades, Miami Jewry is growing. That’s the official finding of the new Miami Jewish population study released Monday by the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. The Jewish population of Miami-Dade County increased 9 percent over the last decade, to 123,000 from 113,000… Read more »
David Broza Israeli folk star David Broza returns to Tucson on Oct. 30 for a solo performance — with a few special guests — at the Fox Tucson Theatre. With a career spanning almost four decades, Broza’s eclectic musicianship ranges from flamenco rhythms to lightning fast guitar picking to his own… Read more »
A representative of Jewish Voice for Peace speaking with a student at the Open Hillel conference at Harvard University, Oct. 12, 2014. (Gili Getz) CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (JTA) — Harvard senior Rachel Sandalow-Ash scanned the exuberant crowd that packed a campus auditorium on Saturday night. “Wow,” she said, speaking to an audience of some 350 composed primarily of American college students. “This is amazing. This is really cool.” Sandalow-Ash, 21, went on to discuss… Read more »
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (JTA) — Loading a newly released video of a beheading in Syria on his smartphone, Nabil Abuznaid, the Palestinians’ ambassador here, shakes his head in disbelief. “Look at those animals,” he says, referring to the fighters from the ISIS jihadist group who carried out the decapitation.… Read more »
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Having coffee with Stav Shaffir is little different from meeting up with other 20-somethings in Tel Aviv. She rushes into the cafe a few minutes late, glances repeatedly at her phone and complains about high rents and an out-of-touch government. It’s hard, she says, being… Read more »
Demonstrators in new York protesting the Metropolitan Opera's decision to produce "The Death of Klinghoffer," Sept. 22, 2014. (Raffi Wineburg) NEW YORK (JTA) — On Oct. 8, 1985, our 69-year-old wheelchair-bound father, Leon Klinghoffer, was shot in the head by Palestinian hijackers on the Achille Lauro cruise ship. The terrorists brutally and unceremoniously threw his body and wheelchair overboard into the Mediterranean. His body washed up on the Syrian… Read more »
Ibrahim Barzak with his sons before leaving Gaza. (Courtesy Ibrahim Barzak) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ibrahim Barzak spent his childhood counting the days to weekends, when he would travel with his father to see friends in Tel Aviv, Herzliya, Ashdod and Jerusalem. For Barzak’s young sons, by contrast, the names of those cities conjure malevolent exotica. Barzak, 38, has worked for… Read more »
Andrew Romanoff (JTA) — With midterm elections just around the corner, four races for the House of Representatives in particular are catching our Jewish eyes. In California, succeeding Waxman: Ted Lieu vs. Elan Carr California’s 33rd Congressional District, stretching along the Pacific Coast and extending into the west side of Los… Read more »
