Jewish youths dancing at the Hebraica in Rio de Janeiro. (Courtesy of Hebraica Rio)
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Three leftist Jewish youth movements have refused to attend Brazil’s longest running Israeli dance festival in retaliation for a lecture given by a right-wing politician at a mainstream Jewish center five months ago. Chazit Hanoar, Habonim Dror and Hashomer Hatzair say their unprecedented boycott… Read more »
Pilgrims to Uman praying at the grave of Rebbe Nachman, Sept. 7, 2013. (Yaakov Naumi/Flash90)
UMAN, Ukraine (JTA) — By selling coffee to Jewish tourists, 18-year-old Yuri Breskov can earn in a week more than his teachers from high school make annually in this provincial city. His revenues peak at $3,000 on the week of Rosh Hashanah, when some 30,000 Israelis and other Jews visit… Read more »
Ralph Friedman stars in "Street Justice: The Bronx" on the Discovery Channel. (Courtesy of the Discovery Channel)
(JTA) — There are almost as many reality cop shows on television as there are Real Housewives. “Cops” is the granddaddy of them all, in its 30th season, plus there’s “Night Watch” and “Live PD,” to name just a few. The newest is “Street Justice: The Bronx,” which premieres… Read more »
(JTA) — This Jewish year was not a quiet one, to say the least. From the tumultuous first eight months of Donald Trump’s presidency, to a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers, to a neo-Nazi protest in Charlottesville that turned violent, to the twin weather catastrophes of… Read more »
(JTA) — It’s always difficult to whittle down the list of influential Jews who died in a given year, but this year the task seemed to be especially tough. The number of Jews who left historic marks on their fields — and, more broadly, on Jewish culture — was… Read more »
President Trump and first lady Melania Trump observing a moment of silence for the victims of Sept. 11, 2001 on the South Lawn of the White House, Sept. 11, 2017. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — American Jews overwhelmingly disapprove of President Donald Trump in just about every area, scoring him lower than his predecessor even on topics like Israel, where Jewish approval of Barack Obama was relatively low, according to an American Jewish Committee poll. The survey also shows a sharp… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Was your father a rabbi? When I tell people that I wanted to be a rabbi from the time I was 4 years old, they always ask me that same question. No, my father made women’s clothing, but he was my rabbi. When I was… Read more »
Marrek Pearce Parker, son of Pamela Workman-Parker and Charles Parker Jr., will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Temple Emanu-El. He is the grandson of Vivian Workman of Denver and Sandy Parker and Lt. Col. Charles Parker (retired) of Henderson, Nevada. Marrek attends Tortolita Middle… Read more »
A daughter, MARIELLE, was born July 14 to Daniel and Lisa Blaney-Koen of Chicago. Marielle joins her brothers, Brach William and Gray Oliver. Grandparents are Mike and Gerri Koen of Oracle, Arizona, and Howard and Marie Blaney of Colorado.… Read more »
Ann Annette (Annie) Stein, 90, died Aug. 25, 2017. Mrs. Stein was born in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. In 1946 she married Leo Stein and they moved to Tucson. In addition to raising three sons, Mrs. Stein served as a volunteer at Tucson… Read more »
Richard “Rickey” H. Eisen, 28, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Aug. 23, 2017. Survivors include his parents, Rabbi Robert and Debby Eisen; and brother, Alex Eisen. A private service was held. Arrangements were made by Evergreen Mortuary and Cemetery.… Read more »
Gila (Gail) Ben-Jamin credits her many years on the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Partnership2Gether committee for having made lifelong friends in Israel. She has hosted people from the P2G region at her home in Tucson and has been hosted by those folks in Israel. She stays in touch… Read more »
Rabbi Helen T. Cohn Tucked away in two places in the Book of Proverbs is a brief, cryptic statement: “tzedakah saves from death” (tzedakah tatzel mimavet) (Proverbs 10:2 and 11:4). Surely this can’t mean if we give tzedakah (that is, charitable contributions) we will be immortal! After all, those who give generous amounts… Read more »
Social action, community service, acts of loving kindness, humanitarianism … no matter what you call it, engaging in tikkun olam (repairing or healing the world) is an expression of a core Jewish value. One idea behind the concept of tikkun olam is that we must act as partners with… Read more »
Bob Feinman In 1967, Bob Feinman, an 18-year-old Jewish kid from New York City found himself in Tucson, enrolled in college, knowing no one. He could speak Spanish, but had never heard of a taco. He ended up with a 40-year career in Spanish language radio and became an advocate for… Read more »
Tucson's Kenneth Iserson, M.D., MBA, FACEP, an expert on emergency medicine, films an episode of ABC's '20/20' in the University of Arizona Simulation Lab (Courtesy Kenneth Iserson)
Medical dramas are among TV’s most popular entertainment shows. But how realistic are those life-saving scenarios? ABC’s news program “20/20” will turn that question over to a group of medical experts to explore “The Good Doctor,” a series starting Sept. 25 from David Shore, the creator of “House.” The… Read more »
Billy Jonas
Renowned Jewish singer Billy Jonas will present a Sukkot concert at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, cosponsored by PJ Library, on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 4-6 p.m. in the Sculpture Garden. The event will include a story from PJ Library and a light, breakfast-themed dinner. For 25 years, Jonas… Read more »
Participants learn to make caponata as part of the Tucson Jewish Community Center's 'Around The World: Adult Summer Camp' spotlight on Italy on June 14.
Cooking and culture will blend together in a variety of classes at the Tucson Jewish Community Center starting this month. The classes will emphasize healthy eating and the importance of cooking together as a family, as well as sharing food and culture from around the world. All dishes will… Read more »
Daniel Asia
Tucson composer Daniel Asia’s latest CD attempts to contextualize the human experience via a Jewish sacred text, plus the poems of a New York Jewish poet and an Israeli Jewish poet. “To Open in Praise” contains 12 tracks in three sections, written over a 25-year period. The opening composition,… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz at a hotel in Dublin, Ireland, adorned with mysterious Jewish stars
Remember “Where’s Waldo?” It’s a fun time looking at maps and pictures and finding funny looking Waldo. Well, I do my own version whenever I travel and I call it “Seeking Seymour.” My default is to always look out for links to Jewish history, culture and people. When we… Read more »
