Yearly Archives 2017

NEW YORK (JTA) — American Orthodox leaders have a message for their non-Orthodox friends: Take a deep breath. When Israel’s cabinet voted twice to further empower the country’s haredi Orthodox religious establishment last month, Reform, Conservative and non-Orthodox Zionist leaders were outraged. They cancelled meetings with Israel’s prime minister.… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — I took a poll of my friends when I was pregnant. We run in an observant crowd in Manhattan, and most of our friends have the kinds of names you’d find multiple times over at your Jewish summer camp: Adams and Davids, Elianas and Yaels. My… Read more »

MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. (JTA) – When Michael Steinhardt strolls around his 55-acre backyard for 90 minutes every morning, one of his favorite animals to see is the scimitar-horned oryx, whose antlers sweep back from its head like the swords for which they are named. But Steinhardt didn’t much like… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Avocado toast has been “trendy” for several years throughout the U.S. In fact, avocados have been so trendy, an entire avocado restaurant opened earlier this year in Brooklyn. And people are putting avocados in everything lately: brownies, salad dressing, even ice cream. After all,… Read more »

(JTA) — Not much could have prepared Molly Yeh for moving from New York City to Grand Forks, North Dakota — a city of a little over 50,000 residents near the state’s eastern border with Minnesota. At the time of her move in 2013, Yeh (pronounced “yay,” as her… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Liberal American Jews are feeling thwarted in their years-long campaign for the right to pray as they wish at the Western Wall. Long frustrated that the plaza in front of the wall is run as an Orthodox synagogue, they were doubly incensed when Israel’s political establishment scrapped an… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Over the weekend, JTA and others reported on a “blacklist of rabbis” maintained by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. The list contains the names of more than 160 rabbis whom the rabbinate does not trust to confirm the Jewish identity of immigrants to Israel. The list, obtained by… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Keeping a stocked pantry is a deep love of mine; it must run in my blood. My mother also was obsessed with having backups of her favorite products in the basement. There were always boxes of pasta, cans of beans, soup and tons of stuff… Read more »

  AMSTERDAM (JTA) —  Livraria Ets Haim is the world’s oldest functioning Jewish library. As such, it is no stranger to the prospect of imminent destruction. Founded in 1616 by Jews who fled Catholic persecution in Spain and Portugal, the three-room library is adjacent to Amsterdam’s majestic Portuguese Synagogue… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — Kveller often writes about trending Jewish baby names — but what about more retro names that are due to come back in style? Parents-to-be may not want to go with what’s popular right now and instead choose something ahead of the curve — by which… Read more »

David Caplan, 71, died June 17, 2017. Mr. Caplan was born in Pittsburgh. He graduated from Penn State University and received his law degree from American University Law School in Washington, D.C. After law school, he spent the next 30 years in Malibu, Calif., until 2002 when he and… Read more »

Frances Braslawsky, nee Harlow, 92, died June 28, 2017. Mrs. Braslawsky was preceded in death by her husband, Louis, and brother, George. Survivors include her children, Gary (Leslie), Fred, Leslie (Steven) Pansky, and Marlene (Larry) Harris of Tucson; eight grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.  Services were held at Westlawn Cemetery… Read more »

Zellman Steinberg, 100, died June 16, 2017. Mr. Steinberg held a degree in engineering and was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1943 to 1946, building bridges and other structures. He owned Federal Planning Mill & Architectural Manufacturing Plant in Denver. Mr. Steinberg retired to… Read more »

Tova Ellie Fink, daughter of Jennifer and Andrew Fink of Plano, Texas, celebrated her bat mitzvah on June 10 at Adat Chaverim. She is the granddaughter of Wendy and William Fishkind of Tucson, Donna Fink of New York and the great-granddaughter of Yeta Weston of Tucson. Tova attends Renner… Read more »

Kimleigh Danielle Fredman, daughter of Daniel Fredman and Katheryn Fredman, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Thursday, July 20 on Masada in Israel. She is the granddaughter of Frank and Kathy Chrzanowski of Tucson and the late Avery and Henrietta Fredman. Kimleigh attends Emily Gray Junior High where… Read more »

STEVEN MECKLER won a national Silver ADDY Award from the American Advertising Federation for color photography for his “School Lunch Trays” entry, published in Edible Baja Magazine. The competition included entries from 180 AAF clubs throughout the United States. The AAF announced the awards at its annual gala, held… Read more »

Leah Avuno has spent the last year in Tucson as one of Tucson’s first pair of shinshinim, teen emissaries from Israel. Three years ago, Avuno was a 15-year-old immigrant to Israel from Ethiopia living with her mother, aunt and siblings in Kiryat Malachi, a city known for its diversity.… Read more »

Koreen Johannessen, 70, had some difficulty retiring. She first announced that she would step down from her clinical social worker position at the University of Arizona Campus Health Service in 2000. Johannessen had been working with U A students with mental health issues throughout the 1990s. “It became clear… Read more »

From “Painting the World Jewish” to “Senior Shimmy Belly Dancing” to kosher cooking, the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s Arts & Culture, Fitness & Wellness, and Jewish Life & Learning departments will offer a wide array of programs for seniors this fall. The Tucson J will partner with Ballet Tucson… Read more »

On the run from Nazis, three Italian Jewish brothers spent months during their childhood hiding in a cave in the Tuscan countryside. Nearly 70 years later, after immigrating to Israel, the three reunite in the country they were forced to abandon and rediscover their hiding place. “For years I’ve… Read more »