Yearly Archives 2014

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In the circumcision wars, circumcision has been winning some big battles. A new survey of medical data going back more than two decades has found that the health benefits of circumcision far outweigh the risks. The publication of the article on April 4 by the… Read more »

Pope John Paul II places a letter between the stones of Jerusalem's Western Wall on March 26, 2000. (Amos Ben Gershom/Israel Government Press Office via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Popes John XXIII and John Paul II are being declared saints of the Roman Catholic church on April 27, the day that is also the eve of Yom Hashoah.  It’s a coincidence but a notable one.  These two post-Holocaust pontiffs revolutionized relations between Catholics and Jews, fostering… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A pox on both your houses, but when you want a cure, we’re still here. That’s the message the Obama administration is sending Israel and the Palestinians amid the deepening crisis in peace efforts. “What we haven’t seen is, frankly, the kind of political will to… Read more »

CHICAGO — It is a familiar mantra following a hate crime: Representatives of both the targeted and other minority groups decry the attack as being not just against the victims, but “against all Americans.” At a moment when a particular community feels vulnerable, that principle affirms our nation’s noblest… Read more »

Haley Alexis Dveirin, daughter of Julie Feldman and Keith Dveirin, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, May 3 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Annique Dveirin of Tucson and Fred and Claire Feldman of Newport Beach, Calif. Haley attends Esperero Canyon Middle School. She… Read more »

Thomas Hunter Ramirez, son of Michael Ramirez and Arianne Ramirez, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 26 at Temple Emanu-El. He is the grandson of Robert and Judith Schoenburg of Tustin, Calif., and Abel and Lee Ramirez of Tucson. Tommy attends Basis Tucson North, where he… Read more »

COREY MICHAEL KARP, son of Iris Bernstein and David Karp, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, April 26 at Congregation An­shei Israel. He is the grandson of Norma and Ron Karp of Tucson, and the late Jeanysse Bernstein and Dorel Bernstein. Corey attends Tucson Hebrew Academy. He… Read more »

Bob Elliott, former All-American University of Arizona basketball player, will sign copies of his book, “Tucson: A Basketball Town” on Saturday, April 26, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at IT’S GREEK TO ME restaurant in Catalina, located at 15920 N. Oracle Road, Suite 120 (in the Catalina Pointe Shopping Center). INVISIBLE… Read more »

Phyllis and Burton Becker of Tucson announce the engagement of their daughter, Amy A. Becker, to Adam S. Platizky, son of Barbara and Gary Platizky of Phoenix. Amy works in human resources for Accenture, in Phoenix. Adam works at Pueblo Norte, a senior living community in Scottsdale. The couple… Read more »

Melissa Suzanne Klein and Matthew Loren Landau were married on March 23, 2014 at Reflections at the Buttes in Tucson, with Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash officiating. Melissa is the daughter of Cindy Klein of Grass Lake, Mich., and Steve Klein of Tucson, and the granddaughter of… Read more »

Arthur E. Gordon, 85, died April 2, 2014. Born in the Bronx, N.Y., Mr. Gordon was raised and educated in New York City. He joined the U.S. Army in 1949 and served in the Korean conflict. He married in 1956 and moved to Phoenix. Following his wife’s death, he… Read more »

Margaret H. Collin, 98, died April 2, 2014. Born in Germany, Mrs. Collin fled to England, where she lived during World War II. She subsequently moved to the United States, residing in Massachusetts, California and Tucson. She dedicated her life to helping Holocaust victims. She traveled the world as… Read more »

Esther Reines, 88, died March 25, 2014. Born in Paris, Mrs. Reines was a Holocaust survivor. After the war, she moved to New York, married and raised her children in Pearl River, N.Y. She and her husband retired to Florida. Mrs. Reines moved to Tucson in 2009. She was… Read more »

A medical worker at a field hospital on the Golan Heights treats an individual wounded in Syria’s civil war, February 2014. (Kobi Gideon/GPO/FLASH90)

When an Israeli army ambulance brought an injured Syrian man to Ziv Medical Center in this northern Israeli city two months ago, the doctors didn’t know where exactly he was from. They saw that his leg had been amputated, and based on his own fragmented account and the physical… Read more »

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Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild talks with Bishop Gerald Kicanis of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson Rothschild at the Jewish Community Relations Council breakfast on April 11. (Simon Rosenblatt)

“We must work together” was the mantra at the “Border Communities: Issues, Ideas and Initiatives” breakfast and panel discussion on April 11. “No mayor, no rabbi, no priest can address border issues alone,” said Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson, as an introduction to… Read more »

Jacob Carmi, far left, with three of the American engineers who helped his team restore C-97 cargo planes in Tucson for the Israel Air Force.

Could a salvaged airplane from Tucson have played a part in the Six Day War? Improbable, yet true. In 1967, three Israeli engineers, with a handful of American mechanics and help from the Tucson Jewish community, secretly put together four Boeing C-97 planes from scraps in a Tucson junkyard,… Read more »

From Commemoration to Celebration The uniqueness and in a way, also the beauty, of Israel’s Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaut) is that it doesn’t stand on its own. Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah) and the Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror (Yom Hazikaron) serve as the buildup,… Read more »

Sarah Chen

As a young mom, the biggest single change I’ve noticed, Jewishly, is that I’ve gone from the happy-go-lucky Receiver of the Experience to the all-encompassing, ever-busy Provider. I used to sit around the Seder as a middle schooler rolling my eyes, sighing, wishing we could move faster. Then as… Read more »

The patio at Bodega Kitchen & Wine

Tucson isn’t the left bank of Paris, but elegant ambiance, lovingly prepared Southwest and ethnic dishes, and spring outdoor dining all contribute to the tasty local restaurant scene. “Spring creativity came to me in a dream last week about drinks,” says Chef Coralie Satta, owner of Ghini’s French Café.… Read more »