A Boy Scout saluting the American flag at Camp Maple Dell outside Payson, Utah, July 31, 2015. (George Frey/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week via JTA) — With the Boy Scouts of America’s ban on gay employees lifted this summer, it’s a good time to be pitching scouting to the liberal American Jewish streams. So says Bruce Chudacoff, the chair of the National Jewish Committee on Scouting. A representative… Read more »
Indian-Spiced Cauliflower Latkes with Cilantro Chutney (Samantha Ferraro)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Growing up, my mom always made the best latkes. And while I know everyone probably says this about their mom, I maintain her latkes really were the best. She would stand over the sink shredding and shredding potatoes until night’s end. Then she would insist… Read more »
Tucson Jewish Comunity Center staff members and Israeli chefs prepare a communal meal Nov. 16. Guests include the staffs of the Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon community centers and members of the Partnership2Gether steering committe. (L-R) Todd Rockoff, Abby Gettinger, Lisa Delyria, Stacy Ramsower, Christina Pugh, Denise Wolf, Chef Yael Shamir, Chef Maya Klein, Travis Fischer, Chef Sahar Rafael, Lynn Davis, Sue DeBenedette, Oshrat Barel. The Israeli chefs, joined by Chef Orly Varon Shushan, will visit Tucson in May for the Israel Festival.
Jewish culture and connection were the focus of a recent Tucson Jewish Community Center staff trip to Israel. The group of 10 returned to Tucson from their 12-day trip on Nov. 19 with a renewed sense of purpose. The Tucson J staff joined with delegations from the Shimon and… Read more »
THA gets AED The Steven M. Gootter Foundation presented Tucson Hebrew Academy with an automated external defibrillator on Friday, Nov. 13. The Gootter foundation’s mission is to save lives by defeating sudden cardiac death. Allen Yalen, a THA parent and Rincon Valley Fire District battalion chief, trained and certified… Read more »
Shira Hannah Dubin, daughter of Pamela Heiman and Matthew Dubin, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 19 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Sandy and Elliott Heiman of Tucson and Barbara Dubin and Henry Dubin of Maryland. Shira attends Tucson Hebrew Academy, where… Read more »
ELLAH STEELE BEN-ASHER, daughter of Jon Ben-Asher and Jeni Steele, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Dec. 12 at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of David Ben-Asher of Tucson and the late Bryna Ben-Asher, and Susan Charles of Tucson and the late Jim Steele. Ellah… Read more »
Bob and Jere Moskovitz, newcomers to Tucson, toast the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Jewish Culture Shuk at Tucson Hebrew Academy on Nov. 15. (Korene Charnofsky Cohen)
The Jewish Culture Shuk, a one night smorgasbord of adult education classes, brings the community together through learning. Teaching from a Jewish perspective, instructors strive to help us understand and respect ourselves and others, and to deal with difficult situations at home and in the world. On Sunday, Nov.… Read more »
(L-R): Aaron Green, Nathan Shapiro, Peggy Simon and Haley Dveirin share lunch at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Nov. 8. (Courtesy Tucson Hebrew High)
Tucson Hebrew High students are creating relationships with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, aided by a recent “Better Together” grant from an anonymous donor. The grant supports programs for young Jewish students to engage with the elderly in a hands-on fashion, encouraging the students to live out Jewish… Read more »
PHOENIX — The Internal Revenue Service reminds individuals and businesses making year-end gifts to charity that several important tax law provisions have taken effect in recent years. Some of the changes taxpayers should keep in mind include: Rules for charitable contributions of clothing and household items Household items include… Read more »
Tucsonan Danny Levkowitz finished his steel menorah in time to celebrate Chanukah 2015.
Tucsonan Danny Levkowitz recently finished building this 15-foot tall menorah, his first attempt at sculpture, at his east side home. Made of steel rebar with LED lights, the menorah took over two months to create, but it is something Levkowitz, the owner of Sun Lighting, has been dreaming about… Read more »
Families with special needs children of any age (infant to adult) are invited to a “no-shush” Shabbat service and potluck lunch hosted by Congregation Or Chadash on Saturday, Dec. 12 at 10 a.m. The event is organized by the Jewish Special Needs Moms group. The Dec. 12 gathering “is… Read more »
Jacob Ezra Schwartz Last week, I celebrated Thanksgiving in Israel in the most unusual yet meaningful way. We had a regular day filled with Gemara and Torah learning, but in the evening, I had the honor of attending both an azkara (memorial service) for American yeshiva student Ezra Schwartz (no relation) and… Read more »
I disagree with those of my fellow Jews who think Jews should assist Middle Eastern Muslims in immigrating to the USA. Those Europeans who advocated subverting legal, orderly immigration policies and welcoming a mass invasion of Middle Eastern strangers — ignoring the plain announcements of ISIS that they were… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz I’ve often told people how honored I am to have my job. “You’re kidding,” they say. “Don’t you just talk about death?” In point of fact, we rarely talk about death. We talk about life! We at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona are the “pause doctors,” if… Read more »
Rabbi Charles Simon There’s a lot to celebrate in the Conservative movement, despite the news about our shrinking numbers. Our rabbis are finding new ways to connect with congregants. Our movement remains committed to kashrut, daily prayer, Shabbat and holiday observance. Our synagogues have become energetic, vibrant places that welcome people of… Read more »
Sharon Megdal, director of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center, and Abraham Tenne, retired Israel Water Authority director of desalination, tour a desalination facility in Hadera, Israel. (Cody Sheehy)
I just returned from an exciting visit to Israel, my 10th since 2010. Each time I visit the region I learn new things about their efforts to manage water resources. At the WATEC 2015 conference in Tel Aviv, where I was an invited speaker, I had the opportunity to… Read more »
Dennis Ross speaks at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona “Together” event Nov. 18 at Congregation Anshei Israel. (Martha Lochert Photography)
“I was a political appointee for two Republican presidents and two Democratic presidents. … What that makes me is an extinct species,” Ambassador Dennis Ross told a crowd of more than 850 at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s “Together” campaign kickoff on Nov. 18 at Congregation Anshei Israel.… Read more »
Susan Katz Miller (Kveller via JTA) — “We get twice the presents!” Most interfaith kids will utter this classic, and rather obnoxious, boast at some point during childhood. And I have to admit, it makes me wince and grit my teeth a little. As an interfaith child myself, I understand all too… Read more »
Migrants wait to be processed at the increasingly overwhelmed Moria camp on the island of Lesbos in Greece, Oct. 21, 2015. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – American Jewish organizations don’t see the Syrian refugees as a threat; they see them as a reminder. With rare unanimity on an issue that has stirred partisan passion, a cross-section of the community has defended the Obama administration’s refugee policy in terms recalling the plight of Jews fleeing… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with President Xi Jinping of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, May 9, 2013. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, sat kiddy-corner in armchairs at this week’s international climate summit near Paris, talking and laughing. “We have the best of relations, and they can be made even better,” Netanyahu told Modi at the meeting. To which Modi… Read more »
