Yearly Archives 2017

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Supreme Court is back in session with a full bench of nine justices, so expect more momentous decisions after nearly a year of caution. Now that the high court is back to its previous equilibrium — four solid liberals, four solid conservatives and one… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will present a major foreign policy speech this week on the Iran nuclear deal, reportedly decertifying its compliance with the 2015 agreement. His words, ostensibly, will have consequences. Or perhaps not because of the type of decertification Trump reportedly is choosing. Or everything… Read more »

Carlos A. Hernández

CARLOS A. HERNÁNDEZ, CEO and president of JEWISH FAMILY & CHILDREN’S SERVICES OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA, received a 2017 Influential Health and Medical Leader Award in the category of Mental Health & Psychiatric Services from Tucson Local Media. The awards event was held Sept. 27 at Casino del Sol Resort. … Read more »

Carol Sack at her retirement party on Sept. 25 (Courtesy Tracy Salkowitz)

Celebrating a philanthropic career On Monday, Sept. 25, more than 70 people gathered for a party celebrating the retirement of Carol Sack, who spent more than 30 years working in the Tucson nonprofit community with the last 15 years in the Jewish community, most recently as a senior philanthropic… Read more »

A daughter, EVE BERNICE KOVACH, was born Sept. 7 to Naomi Gray and Josh Kovach of Philadelphia. Grandparents are Margo and Ron Gray of Tucson and Jackie and Brian Kovach of Philadelphia.… Read more »

Editor’s note: We accidentally omitted Sharon Klein’s byline and photograph in the Sept. 8 P.S. column, a two-page spread highlighting Israel summer travel (see azjewishpost.com/category/columns/ps/). Our sincere apologies. Sailing, sailing From July 5-16, Terri and David Polan and Holly and Steve Shenitzer embarked on Oceania’s Iberian Tapestries cruise from… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Community Foundation will hold a ribbon-cutting celebration of their new home, the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718 E. River Road, on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. The open-house event will include food, music, remarks by Tucson… Read more »

Active remembrance can provide an alternative to warfare, and taking pause to acknowledge as well as consider human tragedies may force us to search for peaceful means, says Bertie Levkowitz-Herz.    “You only have losers with war, and killing makes no sense,” she says. “There’s got to be another… Read more »

The Jewish History Museum & Holocaust History Center’s annual fall benefit, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught,” will honor Holocaust education pioneer Ray Davies. It will be held Sunday, Oct. 29 at noon at the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Richard T. Hanson, professor emeritus of the School… Read more »

“Courage to Sparkle: Creating a Life That Lights You Up” is the theme for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy annual welcome event, which will be held Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Philanthropy, the new home of the Federation and Jewish… Read more »

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona kicks off its annual “Shalom in Every Home” lecture series featuring guest speaker Adena Bank Lees, LCSW, on Sunday Oct. 22. The two-day event, which continues Oct. 29, will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.… Read more »

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will present a lecture by Max Strassfeld, Ph.D., “(Cis)gendering Religion: Rabbinic Literature, Anti-trans Bills, and Trans Jewish Cosmology,” on Oct. 9 at 4 p.m. at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St. Strassfeld is a professor in the UA department… Read more »

Music takes center stage this month at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, ranging from Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn to the Jewish-jazz connection. The fall Celebration of Heritage concert series begins Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. with “Celebrating Felix Mendelssohn and Fanny Mendelssohn,” German Jewish composers of the Romantic… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) – In this tiny country, there are only so many places to have a wedding. Or so you would think. But a growing number of Israelis are creating one-of-a-kind outdoor weddings from the ground up. In some cases, they even start with the ground. “We brought in bulldozers for one couple,” said Ori Fuks, an Israeli… Read more »

  (JTA) — The 2013 Pew survey “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” shows that Orthodox Judaism, while currently attracting the allegiance of only about 10 percent of all American Jews, is the fastest growing sector of the community. The high birthrate and retention rate confirmed by the survey have led some observers to predict that within a generation, American Jewry will… Read more »

  LAS VEGAS (JTA) — We just got into our car and drove. Going to Las Vegas after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history felt like the right thing to do. As Americans and as Jews, we wanted to be a source of support and love in the face… Read more »

For Jewish teens, a bar or bat mitzvah project is an opportunity to learn more about their responsibilities as Jewish adults. It’s a  hands-on way to learn the meaning of tikkun olam (repairing the world), and serve the community in personally meaningful ways. Several Tucson Jewish teens shared with… Read more »

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

Congressman John Lewis shared this story about his childhood. He called it a little story that has nothing to do with a national stage or historic figures or monumental events. It’s just a simple true story, about a group of young children, a wood frame house and a windstorm.… Read more »

Congregation Bet Shalom will celebrate the recent ordination of Rabbi Hazzan Avraham “Avi” Alpert next month at a gala event. Alpert says he’s both humbled by the attention and excited because the event supports his mission of reaching out to the entire Jewish community. Alpert’s personal journey began when… Read more »

Irena Sendler

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division will host a community gathering and screening of the documentary “Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project” on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. at Splendido at Rancho Vistoso, 13500 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. The event also will feature Tucson… Read more »