Yearly Archives 2017

A choir started over 20 years ago by the late Karla Ember at Congregation Ner Tamid continues to perform at concerts and Shabbat and holiday services. “There have been many changes in content and personnel over the years, but Congregation Kol Simchah, successor to Congregation Ner Tamid, carries on,”… Read more »

Grammy-award winning violinist Gil Shaham will perform Tchaikovsky’s “Concerto in D major, Op. 35,” considered one of the best known and yet most difficult of all violin concertos, with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Friday, Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. The concert also will include Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet… Read more »

Laura Green

Laura Green, Zionist affairs chair of the Desert-Mountain Region of Hadassah, will present an Israel update for Hadassah Southern Arizona on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 10:30 a.m., during a brunch at Skyline Country Club. Green, who last spoke in Tucson in October 2014, grew up on Long Island, New… Read more »

Getting injured in an accident can impact everyday life for individuals and their families, and personal injury lawyers help people through these difficult situations. Four local personal injury lawyers weighed in on why they like this field of law, and also provided advice on what do do if injured… Read more »

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Lyla Maymon and Jane Shvartzman went to interview officials last year at the Larkin Street Youth, a San Francisco organization fighting homelessness among young people, to see if their programs were worthy of a philanthropic grant. Maymon and Shvartzman asked all the right questions, like… Read more »

World-renowned Russian-American violinist Yevgeny Kutik was only 5 when his family immigrated to the United States, so he doesn’t clearly remember the anti-Semitism they faced in Belarus. But he’s heard his parents’ and grandparents’ stories. Kutik, who was born in Minsk in 1985, told the AJP the discrimination was… Read more »

The first yahrtzeit of Harvey Zeligman, M.D., will be observed on Jan. 1, 2018. Dr. Zeligman was a beloved father, grandfather, husband, and physician serving the community for over 40 years. The family will hold an unveiling ceremony at East Lawn Cemetery on Jan. 1 at 10 a.m. with… Read more »

Bernice Saffer, 99, died Dec. 3, 2017. Mrs. Saffer was a longtime member of Temple Emanu-El. Mrs. Saffer was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Rudy, and daughter-in-law, Susan Saffer. Survivors include her children, Donald Saffer and Shirley (Joe) Hanold of Tucson, and William (Sandy) Saffer, of Las… Read more »

Martin Morris, 92, died Nov. 24, 2017. Born in the Bronx, Mr. Morris attended the N.Y. State Maritime Academy and served as a naval officer in World War II and the Korean War.  He lived in Livingston, N.J., with his family where he owned a home improvement business and… Read more »

Paula Karchmer, 95, died Nov. 23, 2017. Mrs. Karchmer was born in Springfield, Ill., and spent much of her childhood in Utica, N.Y. Her father’s career as a manager of department stores moved the family to Wilmington, Del., for her last year of high school. She graduated with a… Read more »

Intergenerational Thanksgiving lunch On Tuesday, Nov.  21, Temple Emanu-El’s Olga and Bob Strauss Early Childhood Center celebrated with residents from Handmaker at the Temple’s second annual intergenerational Thanksgiving Lunch. The ECE’s children presented a short program of Thanksgiving blessings and songs on the themes of friendship, community and gratitude.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Lawmakers finalizing the proposed tax overhaul reportedly have removed a provision that had sent shivers through the graduate student and Jewish day school communities. The House version of the reform bill, which was drafted by the Republican leadership, had removed the qualified tuition credit. The credit… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — After experiencing a yearlong medical crisis due to complications with ulcerative colitis, my daughter, Nava, made a complete recovery. Miraculously, after a tremendous amount of hard work, she resumed her life and was able to live it exactly as she had in the past. Now… Read more »

  TEL AVIV (JTA) – The sufganiyah is the plump, shining star of Hanukkah in Israel. During the holiday season, the famed jelly doughnut poses in the windows of cafés and bakeries across the country. It sparkles with oil and sugar, and shows just enough filling to keep fans… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Amid the global controversy over President Donald Trump’s recognition last week of Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish state, Israeli and Palestinian leaders actually found rare consensus: They agreed that the development was a win for Israel and a loss for the Palestinians. To be… Read more »

DES MOINES, Iowa (JTA) — A Jewish woman walks into the post office to buy Hanukkah stamps for her holiday cards. The person behind the counter asks, “What denominations?” The Jewish woman responds, “Oy! Are we so polarized? Some Orthodox, some Conservative and some Reform.” Yes, we are so… Read more »

  (JTA) — E.B. White famously wrote that there are “roughly three New Yorks”: the one of the native New Yorker, the one of the commuter, and the New York of the “person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something.” To which… Read more »

  NEW YORK (JTA) — In a recent talk at Temple Emanuel here, former first lady Michelle Obama spoke about how women live with tiny cuts that build up over time, cuts that we endure without noticing, even as we bleed. That is what it is to be a girl… Read more »

PALO ALTO, Calif. (JTA) — With a foot in the tech world and another in Jewish culture, the JCC in Palo Alto has transformed itself into a hub for local Israeli expatriates. Located on a sprawling 8.5-acre campus, the place known formally as the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — As someone who runs her life a million miles per minute, but still values the fruits of a home-cooked meal, the slow cooker is certainly a mainstay in my kitchen. Because of this favorite small appliance, my family gets to enjoy rich, hearty meals… Read more »