Yearly Archives 2017

Drowning is still a leading cause of death for children under 12 years of age. The authors of the Talmud recognized the importance of learning to swim when they specified it as one of the three things parents must teach their children (Kiddushin 29a), along with Torah and how… Read more »

Eunice Morris, 91, died Feb. 11, 2017. Mrs. Morris is survived by her husband, Leo Morris; children, Lynne (Steve) Miller and Robert (May) Morris, both of Tucson; sister, Diane (Ron); five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Graveside services were held at Evergreen Cemetery with Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon of Temple… Read more »

Martin Harry Bacal, 84, died Feb. 14, 2017. Mr. Bacal was born in New York City but lived in Tucson since 1934. He was a graduate of Tucson High School and Columbia University. He was the longtime president and owner of Pioneer Paint and Varnish Co. Mr. Bacal was… Read more »

Tucsonans march in D.C. On Jan. 21, Tucson was represented among the half a million people at the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. Attendees marched in solidarity, supporting a spectrum of issues. Here is a sampling of their impressions: Eleanor Jeck: “I traveled to Washington to join thousands of… Read more »

I was immensely saddened to learn of recent bomb threats to JCCs in the United States and Canada and of the malicious destruction of headstones at the Chesed Shel Emeth cemetery in my hometown of University City, Mo.  I hope our country will soon know who committed these heinous… Read more »

I’d like to thank David Kohn for his detailed and illuminating response (“Letter on two-state solution got the facts all wrong,” AJP 2/3/17) to Joel Heller’s original letter on the “two state solution” (“Two-state solution could have happened decades ago,” AJP 1/20/17). Educational as it was, I don’t think… Read more »

Peter Hayes

The Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum will explore “The Holocaust: What Do We Need to Know Now?” with a free lecture on Monday, March 13 at 10 a.m. Peter Hayes, chair of the academic committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will identify the central questions… Read more »

Doctors should be more like gardeners than mechanics, says physician, author and historian Victoria Sweet, M.D., Ph.D. An advocate of “slow medicine,” she believes patients’ well-being can become a casualty of today’s emphasis on high-tech, high-pressure medical care. Sweet will be the keynote speaker at the Eighth Annual Cindy… Read more »

The Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center hosted its first naturalization ceremony on Friday, Feb. 17. Barbara Brumer, board president of the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center, was one of the 26 people who became a United States citizen that day.  The setting was perfect for this type of ceremony,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump reportedly said that a wave of threats against Jewish communal institutions may be a false flag. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish and a Democrat, described a meeting of state attorney generals and Trump on Tuesday to BuzzFeed. Trump called the… Read more »

The kosher consumer is both blessed and inundated by the multitude of kosher certification labels and symbols available today, says Rabbi Israel Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute. Even more intriguing, there are hundreds of food products that are kosher even without a kosher label.… Read more »

Dina Gold grew up hearing her grandmother’s tales of the glamorous life in Berlin she led before the Nazis came to power, and her dreams of recovering a huge building she claimed belonged to the family, though she had no papers to prove ownership. Gold will speak about her… Read more »

The advisory council of the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will present the 11th annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl, to Zoe Holtzman on March 5 at the Women’s Philanthropy “Connections” brunch. The council, which includes past Women’s Philanthropy chairs… Read more »

Matza & More, a project of Jewish Family & Children’s Services, will again serve more than 200 families in need. On March 31, volunteers will pack Passover bags for Tucson-area families who otherwise could not afford food and other items for a seder. The bags will be filled with… Read more »

Jewish Family & Children’s Services will highlight its book, “To Tell Our Stories: Holocaust Survivors of Southern Arizona” at the Tucson Festival of Books on March 11 and 12. Visitors to the JFCS  booth (#244) also can create Passover greeting cards for Holocaust survivors and Matza & More recipients.… Read more »

  MILWAUKEE (JTA) — I was privileged recently to participate as the sole Jewish voice at a news conference with Latino leaders, community activists and faith groups at which we spoke loudly and clearly in support of compassionate immigration policies. I told the people gathered about a piece of… Read more »

CHOICE GREENS The Choice Green “design-your-own chopped salad” concept was in response to people’s desire for fresh and healthy food prepared just for them. Customers can choose from over 50 ingredients and 20 dressings, and have their customized salad chopped and tossed right before their eyes.  They strive to… Read more »

Raised in a kosher household, vegan Sunny Anne Holliday enjoys all of the dishes served in her restaurant, Lovin’ Spoonfuls — including country fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs and cheeseburgers. Huh? Everything on the menu is meat- and dairy-free, says Holliday, but her savory dishes and decadent bakery items,… Read more »

“Life has a way of pulling us from our essence, our center. Sometimes it is simply everyday routines and distractions that grind us down, taking us on a path we do not want to travel. When this happens, we may feel a bit lost, aimless, overwhelmed or even ‘burned… Read more »

Local businessman and community leader Bill Holmes, who died on June 18, 2016 at age 58 of a brain aneurysm,  often credited his success and his volunteer spirit to his early experience traveling with Up With People, a global nonprofit music and service education organization. Up With People has… Read more »