Yearly Archives 2015

  TEL AVIV (JTA) — His best friend remembered him starting up a children’s game on their senior school trip. His teacher retold the time he made Hebrew jokes on a whiteboard during class. His rabbi recalled him committing to study the entire Bible this year. His parents wrote… Read more »

PJ Library & THA celebrate Chanukah PJ library held a pre-Chanukah celebration at Tucson Hebrew Academy on Sunday, Nov. 8. Children listened to “Gracie’s Night: A Hanukkah Story” by Lynn Taylor Gordon, illustrated by Laura Brown; built sparkly menorahs; ate latkes and desserts created by THA’s chef; and filled… Read more »

Helene (Levkowitz) Goodman with niece Ella Levkowitz at Beit Shmuel in Jerusalem

Israeli mitzvah project From Sept. 22 through Oct. 2, Bertie Levkowitz and Tom Herz were in Israel for Bertie’s youngest granddaughter’s bat mitzvah. Ella Levkowitz, the celebrant, is the daughter of Howard and Elaine Levkowitz, of Los Angeles. The Levkowitz clan with native Tucson ties included Howard’s sister, Helene… Read more »

David Mordecai Steinborn, 79, died Nov. 10, 2015, in Dallas, Texas. Born in Detroit, Mich., Mr. Steinborn moved to Tucson at age 7 with his mother and brother Michael. In 1953, he moved back to Detroit to live with his father, stepmother and three of his siblings. He attended… Read more »

Theodore “Ted” Karnofsky, 93. died Oct. 24, 2015. Mr. Karnofsky loved sports. He played in the Arizona Jewish Post bowling league for over 20 years and never missed a University of Arizona home football game in over 60 years. Survivors include his wife, Shirley; children, Ilene Scannel and Shelby… Read more »

Cooler weather isn’t the only thing Tucsonans can look forward to this fall. Local kitchens are heating up with all new menus and pumpkin-flavored treats galore. Gourmet Girls’ Susan Fulton says she and co-owner Mary Steiger “are in our full pumpkin mode.” The gluten free bakery is offering pumpkin… Read more »

Teen drivers are involved in more crashes than any other demographic, primarily due to poor decision making, Officer William Honomichl of the Tucson Police Department Traffic Division told a group of about 35 teens and parents on Nov. 1 at Congregation Or Chadash. “You’re Driving Me Nuts,” a driver’s… Read more »

Itamar Rabinovich

Political and social ideological conflicts among Arab nations have fostered continued instability in the Middle East. Israel’s 1948 founding as a Jewish state, and the only democracy in the region, forever changed the landscape and interaction among regional interests. The University of Arizona will host “Israel in the Changing… Read more »

The U.S. Passport Control agent greeted me with uncustomary warmth as I returned to Newark Liberty Airport on Nov. 2. “Was your trip business or vacation?” he asked. For a split second I hesitated, but answered firmly “vacation.” How could I tell him that the time I had just… Read more »

The Jewish Community Foundation is seeking applications from nonprofit organizations in Southern Arizona for a grant from the JCF Israel Discovery Fund, made possible by the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund and the Beren Family Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the JCF Israel Discovery Fund is to send… Read more »

The Tucson Jewish Community Center will return from a three-year hiatus at the JCC Maccabi Games, sending a delegation of teen athletes to the games that will be held July 24-29 in Columbus, Ohio. Over the past few years, the games conflicted with Tucson school schedules, although a few… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy introduced its new brand identity to the community on Tuesday, Nov. 3, celebrating with morning coffee, cocoa and refreshments. THA is the only school in Tucson providing K-8 education that combines a strong secular program, integrated Jewish education, and a warm sense of community celebrating Jewish… Read more »

Beverly King Pollock

The Invisible Theatre will hold a reading of “Looking for Magic,” a semi-autobiographical play by Tucsonan Beverly King Pollock, on Tuesday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. in observance of World AIDS Day. Pollock and her husband, Mel, lost both of their sons to AIDS in the 1990s. In 1990,… Read more »

“Penina Levine Is a Potato Pancake” is one of the PJ Our Way selections for November.

The PJ Library program in Southern Arizona is expanding to include kids ages 9-11 with PJ Our Way. Offering free, age-appropriate monthly books with Jewish content, PJ Our Way puts kids in control of their book choices via a protected, regulated website, pjourway.org. Kids can also contribute book reviews,… Read more »

Hadassah Southern Arizona will hold a Chanukah party brunch on Dec. 6 at 10 a.m. at the Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way. The Woman of the Year Award will be announced and Cathy Olswing, president of the Desert-Mountain Region of Hadassah, will install the following as… Read more »

Native Tucsonan Patricia Zarin, owner of Classy Sweets, owes both her entrepreneurial spirit and her strong Jewish identity to her parents, Bill and Roselyn Dumes. “I was bat mitzvahed at Anshei Israel,” she says, noting that this was in “the old shul” on Sixth Street, where she and her… Read more »

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

The bumper sticker on the car in front of me read “my loved one was murdered.” I automatically fill in “by gun violence.” I know the statistics. I want to jump out of my car and say to this person, “I am so sorry.” We are weeping in my… Read more »

“When we train for mass casualty incidents, we know that the blood isn’t real and when the training is over, everyone is going to stand up and walk away. How does Israel deal with real mass casualty incidents that can happen every day?” That question by Tucson Fire Department… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Thanksgiving is about smells. Of course, it has a lot to do with taste as well, but for the most part I find that the most striking elements of Turkey Day arrive through the nose. In terms of these smells, there are the classics:… Read more »

SECAUCUS, N.J. (JTA) – Walking around the exhibitors’ hall at Kosherfest, the annual kosher food trade show, is like finding yourself at the most intense synagogue kiddush reception you could ever imagine. There’s plenty of food of every kind, from blintzes to hot dogs to nutritional supplements. There are… Read more »