(JTA) — Robert Bowers, the man held in the shooting deaths of 11 people at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, belonged to an online community where he frequently railed against Jews and immigrants. That social media site, Gab, came under closer scrutiny last week. Created two years… Read more »
Yearly Archives 2018
Ruth Mallinger, oldest victim of Pittsburgh shooting, remembered as ‘pillar of Jewish community’
Rose Mallinger was a member of the Tree of Life Congregation for more than 60 years. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Rose Mallinger, the oldest victim in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, was remembered Friday at her funeral as a loving and sharp-witted woman who was a fixture in the Jewish community. Hundreds of mourners attended the service at the Rodef Shalom synagogue. Mallinger was the final of the… Read more »
This Pittsburgh rabbi lost 3 congregants in the shooting. Here’s how he is observing Shabbat.
Rabbi Jonathan Perlman speaks to thousands at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh during a service to honor and mourn the victims of the mass shooting at the Tree Of Life synagogue, Oct. 28, 2018. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Six days ago, on Shabbat, Rabbi Jonathan Perlman was hiding in a pitch-black storage closet as one of his congregants was shot dead in front of him. The time since has been filled with funerals, counseling congregants and figuring out how to move forward as a community,… Read more »
More than 1,200 attend Tucson vigil for victims of Pittsburgh synagogue attack
A crowd of more than 1,200 turned out for the vigil at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Monday, Oct. 29. Eleven candles on the stage were lit to honor the people killed in the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday, Oct. 27. Standing on the stage, from left, are Rabbis Robert Eisen, Samuel M. Cohon, Avraham Alpert, Ruven Barkan, Helen Cohn and Batsheva Appel, and cantorial soloists Marjorie Hochberg, Diana Povolotskaya and Nichole Chorny. (Steven Braun)
Prayers for peace, kindness and love, for a better world for ourselves and our children, rang out at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Monday night, as more than 1,200 people of all faiths came together for a candlelight vigil in memory of the 11 Jews killed in an attack… Read more »
HIAS, immigrant aid group vilified by Pittsburgh gunman, vows not to back down
Activist Michele Freed, center, and other young professionals protest with HIAS in front of the White House, March 1, 2017. (Katie Jett Walls)
(JTA) — Before he shot dead 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue, Robert Bowers blamed one Jewish organization: HIAS, an immigrant aid group that has been helping refugees since the 1880s. “HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people,” he wrote on his website. “I can’t sit… Read more »
Pittsburgh shooting victims David and Cecil Rosenthal remembered as thoughtful and kind
Caskets are carried out of Rodef Shalom Temple following the funeral of brothers Cecil and David Rosenthal in Pittsburgh, Oct. 30, 2018. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Cecil Rosenthal would always ask after your sick mother or inquire about your marriage — or divorce. His brother, David, a jokester, loved the police and every year would buy the same sunglasses with mirrored lenses. At a moving ceremony Tuesday, relatives stood before… Read more »
Israeli lawmakers see Pittsburgh shooting as a time to talk about pluralism
Michael Oren speaks at a conference in the Israeli parliament in 2016. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The deadly shooting at a Conservative synagogue in Pittsburgh has underlined tensions in Israel over the haredi Orthodox rabbinic establishment’s disenfranchisement of the Diaspora’s non-Orthodox Jewish streams. Following Saturday’s rampage by a gunman that left 11 worshippers dead, an Israeli government minister and the country’s opposition… Read more »
Tucson candlelight vigil to be held today for Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh
In the wake of the shootings at the Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh on Saturday, the Jewish Federation of the Southern Arizona, local synagogues and Jewish agencies are holding a multifaith vigil tonight at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Sculpture Garden. An email announcement from… Read more »
Here are the names of the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
This is a developing story. (JTA) — The chief medical examiner of Pittsburgh’s Allegheny County released the names of the 11 victims of the synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh Saturday. The victims include two brothers, as well as a husband and wife. The youngest victim was 59 and the… Read more »
After a mass synagogue shooting, a post-Shabbat service draws thousands
A havdalah vigil organized by high school students after the shooting drew thousands of people, Oct. 27, 2018. (Ron Kampeas)
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — It is after all, as any local will tell you, Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood. People here look out for one another. So when a group of students from Alderdice, a high school in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, emerged from their synagogues, their homes, their cafes… Read more »
Pittsburgh shooting may be ‘turning point’ for US Jewish security, says European leader
(JTA) — The Pittsburgh synagogue shooting should be a turning point for the security of American Jewish institutions, a former leader of Belgian Jewry said. Joel Rubinfeld, a former president of the CCOJB umbrella group of Belgian Jewish communities and the current president of the Belgian League Against Anti-Semitism,… Read more »
‘Our hearts are broken’: The Jewish world reacts to the Pittsburgh synagogue attack
(JTA) — The shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue that has left 11 people dead has been described as “horrific,” “heinous” and “devastating” by Jewish leaders, politicians and Israeli leaders. “Our hearts are broken,” the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh posted on Facebook, saying it was making an exception and… Read more »
11 dead, 6 injured in Pittsburgh synagogue shooting
(JTA) — The alleged gunman who killed 11 people and injured six at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Saturday assailed the Jewish resettlement agency HIAS on his web page and said “I’m going in.” The shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. during a bris circumcision ceremony at The… Read more »
Florida man arrested in connection with mail bombs sent to Trump critics
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Federal authorities arrested a man on Friday in Florida in connection with a series of mail bombs sent to figures who have been the target of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric. The media reported that the man was in his 50s. At least 12 explosive devices have… Read more »
Jazz piano to open JFSA Northwest campaign
Jon Simon Jazz composer and performer Jon Simon will headline an evening of music and dining on Tuesday, Nov. 27 to launch the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Northwest Division’s annual campaign. Simon tours North America performing selections from his ninth and latest album, “SOAR,” as well as five highly successful… Read more »
Tucson J, partners to mark Kristallnacht anniversary
"Kristallnacht: Shattered, Yet Unbroken" mandala by Robert Wertz Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, refers to the windows broken at synagogues, homes, and Jewish-owned businesses that were plundered and destroyed during a wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938 throughout Germany, Austria, and the Czech Sudetenland. The event is commonly thought to… Read more »
JFSA groups to discuss Tucson’s opioid crisis
Nancy Johnson, left, and Tim Hartin Two Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona affinity groups will hold a joint event next month to discuss America’s growing opioid crisis and its effects on the local community. The Tucson Maimonides Society and Tucson Cardozo Society will host two local experts on the subject. Nancy Johnson, R.N., Ph.D., the… Read more »
For artist, writer and community volunteer Anne Lowe, there is no off season
Anne Lowe (Micheal Romero)
Between heading local organizations or sitting on boards, volunteering with humanitarian efforts or creating art, Anne Lowe, 70, finds time for everything and shows no sign of stopping. For nine years, she served as Northwest Jewish Connections coordinator (later Northwest Division director) and outreach director for the Jewish… Read more »
Caring for others gives Honey her sweetness
Honey Manson
Honey Manson loves the people of Tucson. Along with the warm weather, they are her favorite thing about the city. Unfortunately, the hard water of Arizona has been less kind to her. A plumbing leak caused by corrosion recently left her and her husband without water for five hours.… Read more »
AJP wins Arizona Newspapers Association award
The Arizona Jewish Post received an award in the Arizona Newspapers Association 2018 Better Newspapers Contest. The AJP won second place for Departmental News and Copy Editing Excellence in its division, non-dailies with a circulation of 3,500 to 10,000. The ANA presented the awards Oct. 6 at its annual… Read more »



