Rabbi Israel Becker A new musical program, Music, Memories, and Mitzvot, will weave song, stories, and learning about Jewish celebrations with the mitzvah of bringing joy to the elderly, says Rabbi Israel Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim. The program, for children ages 5-11, includes three Sunday classes in preparation for each of… Read more »
Ellen Saltonstall
A middle school, elementary and special education teacher for 42 years in rural Vermont, Ellen Saltonstall pioneered Holocaust studies in her school district. “There aren’t many Jewish people in Vermont,” she notes. She won a scholarship for an educators’ tour to Israel in 2009 where she had a chance… Read more »
David Syme Internationally renowned concert pianist David Syme will perform at Temple Emanu-El, Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. Syme is a distinguished soloist, an alumnus of Juilliard, and has over 20 CDs to his name. He makes regular appearances with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphony,… Read more »
The Trump Administration recently proposed an unprecedented expansion in our country’s public charge rules for applicants for citizenship. For the first time, a legal immigrant to the United States can be considered ineligible for citizenship simply because they utilize SNAP — our nation’s food stamp program. These new public… Read more »
Amir Eden Some of our community members and lay leaders are involved in the Nov. 6 elections. As an American citizen, I plan to cast my ballot, as voting, in my eyes, is one of our important civic duties. I had my first political experience in the Israeli general elections campaign… Read more »
Jennifer Rowley
I don’t know if I want to do it anymore,” I said to my friend Darren. And by “it” I meant live. Three weeks later, I was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and given a 40 percent chance of surviving more than five years. At 34 years old, I… Read more »
An Israeli firefighter views a wildfire that broke out near Jerusalem, Nov. 25, 2016. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Six firefighters from Tucson will head to Israel next month to share their expertise in handling wildland fires. Since spring, incendiary kites and balloons launched from Gaza have burned thousands of acres of Israeli land. The trip is part of the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation’s Firefighters Beyond Borders program.… Read more »
A night view of the Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley and its new labyrinth (Courtesy Lenny Friedman) Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley will host a weekend of events with Rabbi Norman T. Roman, Nov. 2-4. Roman has been the rabbi emeritus at Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield, Michigan, since 2016, after serving as senior rabbi for 30 years. The weekend marks a significant… Read more »
Last year, AARP Arizona conducted a telephone survey of adults 45 and older across Tucson in efforts to help make the city more age-friendly. AARP accepted the City of Tucson into its Network of Age Friendly Communities in October 2016 as the 122nd community. Tucson is the first Arizona… Read more »
The Women’s Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is seeking nominations for the 12th annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl. The award honors Zehngut, a community leader who died in 2005. Nominees should be high school juniors or seniors who… Read more »
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Beth Nakhai, Ph.D, an associate professor at The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, recently published an article, “How to Avoid Gender-Based Hostility During Fieldwork” in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The article relates to Nakhai’s ongoing work as head of the American Schools of… Read more »
Debra S. Jacobs, an occupational therapist for more than 30 years, published her second book, “Safety and Consent for Kids and Teens with Autism or Special Needs: A Parent’s Guide” (Jessica Kingsley Publishers). She previously co-authored “Everyday Activities to Help Your Young Child with Autism Live Life to the… Read more »
Lola Lipsitz Grabb died peacefully at her home in Tucson on Sept. 29, 2018 due to complications related to cancer. Lolita (as she became known to friends) was born on March 20, 1929, in Santiago de Cuba to Julio and Emma Lipsitz, immigrants to Cuba from Lithuania. Lolita first… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Among the 36 Jewish Democrats running for the U.S. House of Representatives in November, 18 are incumbents and an equal number are challengers. Three Jewish Democrats are leaving the House: Sandy Levin of Michigan is retiring, Jacky Rosen of Nevada is running for the Senate and… Read more »
Rep. Lee Zeldin speaks at an event hosted by the Zionist Organization of America on Capitol Hill, May 9, 2018. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — There are 16 Jewish Republican candidates running in U.S. House of Representatives races this fall. Two are incumbents and 14 are challengers. JTA is breaking down the races, assessing where the candidates stand on the political spectrum, noting their Jewish involvement and… Read more »
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, Oct. 22, 2018. (Amos Ben-Gershom/Israeli Government Press Office)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, touring Israel on one of her final overseas trips as a congresswoman, is being feted as one of the Jewish state’s best friends in Congress. Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1989, met… Read more »
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz
WASHINGTON (JTA) — An unknown assailant sent bombs to at least four prominent targets this week, each with a notable return address: Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Jewish congresswoman from South Florida. The question arises: Why would the assailant want to implicate her in attacks on George Soros, the Jewish… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, is interviewed onstage by Jewish Federations of North America Chairman Richard Sandler at the General Assembly in Tel Aviv, Oct. 24, 2018. (Kobi Gideon/Israeli Government Press Office)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signaled that he supported a Palestinian “state-minus,” wherein Israel would maintain a military presence across Israel and the West Bank. Netanyahu also said in a question-and-answer session Wednesday at the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America that… Read more »
Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, speaks at its General Assembly in Tel Aviv, Oct. 23, 2018. (Eyal Warshavsky/JFNA)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — On Sunday, a day before thousands of American Jews descended on this Israeli city to air their differences with the nation’s government, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin had a listening session. Rivlin invited a select group of about 100 American Jews to his official residence in… Read more »
(Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)
(JTA) — The Conservative movement’s rabbinical association will allow its rabbis to attend intermarriages. The policy change, which reverses a ban of four decades, was made last week in a vote of the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which determines the centrist movement’s Jewish legal rulings.… Read more »
