Yearly Archives 2017

Local chefs dish on dream dinners for mom and the vegetable joys of spring

Ah, asparagus! As Mother’s Day approaches, local chefs and restaurateurs are turning their thoughts to burgeoning spring produce — and time spent in the kitchen with their mothers and grandmothers. “I’m excited to cook with artichokes, asparagus and peas,” says Tyler Fenton, chef/co-owner at Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink.… Read more »

In focus 4.28.17

(L-R): Joline Riddle, Sue DeBenedette, Amy Dowe, Denise Wolf and Mike Gadarian at the JCCs of North American Professional Conference

Tucson J professional development The Tucson Jewish Community Center sent five staff members to the JCCs of North America Professional Conference 2017, held in Orlando, Fla., March 19-22. Denise Wolf, chief operating officer; Mike Gadarian, chief financial officer; Joline Riddle, early childhood education director; Amy Dowe, fitness director; and… Read more »

People in the news

STEVEN MECKLER won a District Gold ADDY Award for color photography for “School Lunch Trays” published in Edible Baja Magazine, in the American Advertising Federation’s District 12 competition. The district includes advertising federation clubs in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and El Paso. Two “aluminations” by LYNN RAE… Read more »

Business briefs 4.28.17

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA has hired MELISSA HALL as office and facilities manager. She will transition from her current position as executive assistant at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, where she has worked for the past 16 years, and will support both JFSA and JCF… Read more »

In Tucson talk, journalist will examine media bias on Israel

Matti Friedman is a former AP reporter and author of "The Aleppo Codex" and "Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story"

It’s very important to understand who is feeding you information and why they are doing so, says Matti Friedman, an award-winning author and former reporter for the Associated Press’ Jerusalem bureau. “We all need to be critical consumers of media, not just where Israel is concerned,” says Friedman. “The… Read more »

Dale Levy

Dale Carol Levy, 74, of Tucson, died April 12, 2017. Mrs. Levy was born in New York City. At the age of 12, she met her future husband, Martin, at a youth group event at the Queens Village Jewish Center. Mrs. Levy was predeceased by her brother Kenneth Handler.… Read more »

Robert Hirsch

Robert Stephen Hirsch, M.D., 86, died April 8, 2017. Born in New York, Dr. Hirsch attended Lawrence Woodmere Academy; Harvard University, where he graduated cum laude; and Columbia Medical School. In 1962, he moved to Tucson, where he was a physician. Survivors include his wife, Harriet; children, Julie (Brian)… Read more »

Jewish History Museum explores ‘Fluid Identities’ of Crypto Jews

The “Cruz de los Sepharditos de Nuestra Tierra Sagrada” by artist Carlie Sánchez illustrates the confluence of cultures. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum)

“Fluid Identities:  New Mexican Crypto Jews in the Late 20th Century” is currently on display at Tucson’s Jewish History Museum. On loan from the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, “Fluid Identities” is part of a larger exhibition entitled “Fractured Faiths.” The Tucson exhibit offers an opportunity to… Read more »

Federation 70th anniversary mitzvah project will continue at Sister Jose Women’s Center

(L-R) Tom Warne, JFSA chair; Len Kronman, Sister Jose volunteer; Stuart Mellan, JFSA president and CEO; Shelly Silverman, JFSA board chair nominee; Bruce Ash, JFSA Sister Jose project co-chair; Ori Parnaby, Jewish community concierge; Fran Katz, JFSA senior vice president; and Jane Ash, JFSA Sister Jose project co-chair, at the April 20 ribbon-cutting celebration at Sister Jose Women’s Center. (Danielle Larcom/JFSA)

Sister Jose Women’s Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new location on Park Avenue South on Thursday, April 20. The nonprofit center is a haven for homeless women. Its new location, a remodeled 9,000-square foot warehouse, will enable the center to serve far more women than it… Read more »

Tucson Pops free concerts to start Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor… Read more »

Jewish Latino Teen Coalition marks 13 years of advocacy, diversity

The Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition at the Newseum, a museum that promotes free expression and five freedoms of the First Amendment, in Washington, D.C., during their annual trip to Congress, April 2, 2017. Standing (L-R): Megan Ramirez, Ellie Friedman, Aliya Markowitz, Chloe Goorman, Lisa Kondrat, Aaron Green, Max Silverman, Nicolas Rios, Hannah Weisman, Lew Hamburger; kneeling: Shari Gootter with Indy, Francisco Lopez (Facebook)

Lobbying in Washington, D.C., for an increase in protections for immigrant families was an invigorating experience, says Nicolas Rios, a high school student and member of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition.  Rios, 16, a junior at BASIS Tucson North, heard about the JLTC from his college preparatory counselor. Growing up… Read more »

New program focuses on leadership through a Jewish lens

Amy Hirshberg Lederman (Courtesy Lederman)

A group of leaders from the local Jewish community recently received a unique opportunity to study 21st-century leadership issues from a Jewish perspective. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona sponsored the flagship LEAD 2017 leadership program, held Jan. 4-March 22 at Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Jewish Federation. A… Read more »

JFSA proposes amendments to its constitution

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona proposes amendments to its constitution, which will be voted upon by its membership at its annual meeting, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. As required by the constitution, these changes are available for review at jfsa.org/constitutionamendments. It is… Read more »

Green Valley ethical will class planned

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

In conjunction with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present a free ethical will workshop for the Jewish community, led by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, on Tuesday, May 9, 10 a.m.-noon. Unlike a medical directive or living will, or a will detailing bequests… Read more »

Hillel awards Shirley Curson Medical Scholarship

Sophie Loeb

Sophie Loeb, a second-year medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, has a strong commitment to care for those in her own backyard. Loeb is the 2017 recipient of the Shirley Curson Medical Scholarship from the UA Hillel Foundation. The scholarship recognizes the commitment… Read more »

Anti-Semitic incidents in US surging in ’17, rose by a third in ’16

Vandalized gravestones at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y., March 3, 2017. (Gretchen Stumme/AFP/Getty Images)

  (JTA) – Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States soared 86 percent in the first three months of 2017 after rising by more than one-third in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. There has been a massive increase in harassment of American Jews, largely since November, and at least… Read more »