Yearly Archives 2015

WORCESTER, Mass. (JTA) – In the 70 years since the fall of the Third Reich, the trappings of Nazi power have become infamous icons of evil — think of the swastika flag, the yellow badge or the striped concentration camp uniform. But have you ever heard of “Holocaust money,” the currencies that the… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — This recipe needs very little introduction because it is just so decadent and delicious. Pumpkin challah. Cinnamon rolls. Sweet glaze. This is the autumn comfort food of your dreams. Or at least mine. You can use this method to make cinnamon rolls using any… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — “No pepper spray, no tear gas, no nightsticks,” sighed Itzhak Mizrahi to three disappointed men, as if it were a mantra he’d recited dozens of times. The glass-topped display case in Magnum, the central Jerusalem gun shop that Mizrahi has owned for three decades, featured a… Read more »

Rabbi Bob Alper

The Pope has a new comedic advisor… and he’s a rabbi. Rabbi Robert Alper, who prefers to go by Bob, is 70 years old and lives with his wife in the rural town East Dorset, Vermont. “It used to be Alpert, but we dropped the T at a party… Read more »

  (JTA) — It’s been a busy couple of weeks for breast cancer. Of course, breast cancer is always busy, exerting its sneaky destruction through abnormal cell growth. But now it’s October and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the scary fact is everywhere again: One in eight women will… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – “Do I know this person?” has been a common refrain in the Washington offices of national Jewish organizations since Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, resigned as House speaker last month and his chosen successor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, flamed out last week. Every day sees a new… Read more »

(JTA) — At an Israeli bus station, several uniformed officers surround an Arab woman before opening fire on her, dropping her to the ground. Standing over her motionless body, a Border Police officer toting an automatic rifle speaks into a radio while another officer chases away a bystander documenting… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – For the past 10 years, Rabbi Steve Gutow has been trying to get American Jews to be more civil to each other, especially in debates about political issues. But a decade on, as he prepares to step down from the helm of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the community seems… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Last week, I opened The New York Times to Rick Gladstone’s article, “Historical Certainty Proves Elusive at Jerusalem’s Holiest Place,” happy that the newspaper of record would explain to its audience the historical context of this embattled piece of real estate. As I read on, I… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israelis have become accustomed to dismal news in the past few weeks – mornings and evenings punctuated by stabbings, car attacks and rock throwing. The cycle of random violence has left dozens of Israelis and Palestinians dead, and many fearing the worst: The start of a third… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least three Israelis have been killed and more than 20 wounded in a rash of terrorist attacks throughout the country. In the wake of two of the attacks on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem, roads into eastern Jerusalem were closed. Three people were killed in two… Read more »

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaking at an event at the University of Chicago, Sept. 28, 2015. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

  (JTA) — I interviewed Bernie Sanders a couple years ago when word first circulated that the Vermont senator might seek the presidency. Though he knew about JTA going in — and must have known questions about his Jewish background were coming — he didn’t want to get into it. I wrote at… Read more »

(JTA) — “In the United States, ‘Conservative Judaism’ is a synonym for failure.” So writes the Israeli journalist Yair Ettinger after interviewing a spectrum of American Jewish religious leaders. If, as it seems, this judgment has become the new conventional wisdom, we reject it as both inaccurate and destructive.… Read more »

(JTA) — As a defiant Russia again flexes military muscles in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Cold War analogies are, perhaps, unavoidable. The deployment last month of Russian warplanes in Syria laid bare Moscow’s readiness to use force to punish leaders who would challenge its authority — as in… Read more »

BREANNA LEAH YALEN, daughter of Ilene and Allen Yalen, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 24 at Temple Emanu-El. She is the granddaughter of Joan and Stuart Brodsky, and Sandra and William Yalen, all of Tucson. Breanna attends Tucson Hebrew Academy. She enjoys playing guitar and… Read more »

Dillon Gabriel Simmers, son of Leah and Steve Simmers, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Congregation Or Chadash. He is the great grandson of the late Thelma “Teddi” Barlin. Dillon attends Emily Gray Junior High School. He enjoys soccer, reading and board games. For… Read more »

Jayden Yalen, son of Wendy Yalen, will celebrate becoming a bar bitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 17, at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Sandra and William Yalen of Tucson. Jayden attends Tucson Hebrew Academy. He enjoys tae kwon do, Boy Scouts and reading. For his mitzvah project… Read more »

David Jurkowitz, son of Dan and Lisa Jurkowitz, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 10, at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Chaya and Harvey Jurkowitz of Tucson and Joan and Andre Klein of Phoenix. David attends BASIS Tucson North where he volunteers as… Read more »

MARILYN PESKIN-KAUFMAN, owner of ADOBE TRANSPORTATION, was appointed to Gov. Doug Ducey’s new statewide marketing initiative, the Arizona Zanjeros. This group of business leaders who will focus on promoting Arizona as a prime place for business takes its name from the traditional zanjeros who control water flow through Arizona’s… Read more »

DAVID ALBERTS, M.D., was one of three finalists for the Lifetime Achievement in Health Care award presented at Tucson Local Media’s Influential Health and Medical Leaders Awards on Sept. 23. Alberts is the director emeritus of the University of Arizona Cancer Center and a regent’s professor of medicine, pharmacology,… Read more »