Norma Lena Rappeport-Salonic, 90, died Nov. 28, 2018. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dr. Joseph Rappeport and Anna Neuman Rappeport, she graduated from Phoenix Union High School in Phoenix, Arizona. She was a longtime resident of Tucson. Mrs. Salonic was a life member of Hadassah, a Girl… Read more »
Elliot Frank, 46, died Nov. 30, 2018. A native of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Mr. Frank attended Bucknell University and graduated with a B.S. in electrical engineering. He later earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree at American University while working at the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. In late… Read more »
Janice Hedeman Lahr, 95, died Nov. 18, 2018. Mrs. Lahr was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1945 she married Larry Sakin and moved to Tucson. They opened Town and Sports, a woman’s apparel shop. After their divorce in 1955, she enrolled at the University of Arizona, receiving a degree… Read more »
Rabbi Shai Held, Ph. D. Rabbi Shai Held, Ph.D. — one of the 50 most influential rabbis in America, according to Newsweek — will be the scholar-in-residence at Congregation Anshei Israel on Jan. 11 and 12. His overall theme for the weekend will be “The Heart of Jewish Spirituality.” A theologian, scholar and educator,… Read more »
One of the most important responses in the wake of a traumatic incident like the Oct. 27 Pittsburgh shooting is for the community to come together, experts say. (Jeff Swensen/Getty Images)
This article is sponsored by Hadassah. Within 24 hours of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Judith Cohen’s cellphone was ringing incessantly with offers of help from around the world. A psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of trauma and grief in children and adolescents,… Read more »
Réka Tenki in a scene from ‘Budapest Noir.’ (Pioneer Pictures)
This year’s Tucson International Jewish Film Festival will bring 15 full-length films, one TV show, and three shorts from around the world to local screens. TIJFF is one of the country’s longest-running Jewish film festivals, one of Arizona’s longest running film fests, and one of Tucson’s most popular cultural… Read more »
German journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder will hold a discussion after a free screening of Randall Christopher’s ‘The Driver is Red’ animated
short film on Jan. 8.
An exclusive, free screening of the documentary film “The Driver is Red” is set for Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The award-winning, animated short by Randall Christopher depicts the Mossad raid that brought Adolf Eichmann to justice. It was shown at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and almost… Read more »
Joan-e Rapine, MS, LAC, NCC, a clinical therapist at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, will present “Self-Discovery Through Clay” at the Jan. 13 meeting of CHAI Circle, a support group for women with cancer in the Jewish community. “One of my favorite things about modeling clay is its… Read more »
Join the Young Women’s Cabinet of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona for an evening of mah jongg, mojitos and mitzvahs to benefit Jewish Family & Children’s Services. There will be teachers on site to teach or help you refine your game. First-timers, mah jongg mavens and non-players are… Read more »
Sara Lopez Sara Lopez, a local wife, mother and opera singer, is curating a Jewish women’s performance showcase, by and for women, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, Jan. 6 at 6 p.m. Having an all-female audience “allows women across the spectrum of Jewish practice and belief to participate,”… Read more »
Partnership2Gether fellows celebrate the last night of Hanukkah with Jewish Federation of the Southwest staff at the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest. Back (L-R): Ariel Miklofsky, Adi Shacham, Ravit Gedanken, Alan Kendal, Phyllis Gold, Nili Cohen Hammer, Daniealla Cohen, Nesia Regev Livne. Front (L-R): Rotem Rappaport, Amir Eden, Ron Benecort. Not pictured: Avi Hadad and Ofra Gueta. (Courtesy Olson Center) Visiting Tucson during the week of Hanukkah, four Israeli teachers and three school principals from the Partnership2Gether region were most surprised by the effort local community members invest in maintaining their Jewish identity. “It was a very powerful experience,” says Ravit Gedanken, a principal at Netzach Israel school in… Read more »
Daniel Breen, Ph.D., J.D. Brandeis University lecturer Daniel Breen, Ph.D., J.D., will present “Stories of Privacy: The Legal Boundaries of Public and Private Life” on Wednesday, Jan. 9 as the Tucson Chapter of Brandeis National Committee’s annual University on Wheels program, in partnership with the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The talk will take… Read more »
Richard Hallick explores a graveyard in Chester County, Pennsylvania, in fall 2018. Hallick’s sixth great-grandfather is buried there. (Courtesy Hallick)
The Southern Arizona Jewish Genealogy Society will host Richard Hallick, Sunday, Jan. 13, offering a comprehensive look at DNA testing and how it applies to genealogy today. Hallick will discuss how to understand and interpret DNA test results, including those with Jewish ancestors. Hallick is a retired University of… Read more »
Sam Hoffman’s resoundingly funny debut feature, “Humor Me,” could be marketed thusly: Come for Elliott Gould, stay for Jemaine Clement. The New Zealand actor displays a nimble gift for wit and pathos in this smart, grown-up comedy about mid-career stumbles, aging parents, and intergenerational acceptance. An under-the-radar treat, “Humor… Read more »
Michal Uziyahu Jewish National Fund will host a panel in Tucson, “The Magic of the Negev Desert: From East to West and Everything in Between” on Monday, Jan. 14 (registration at 11 a.m.; event at 11:30 a.m.) at a private residence. The panelists are Michal Uziyahu, JNF’s liaison for the Gaza… Read more »
Jewish Tucson’s Shalom Baby program now is accessible online. The Shalom Baby box has gifts for mother and baby, resources, and information about Jewish Tucson. It includes gifts from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, area synagogues and agencies. If you have had or adopted a new baby or… Read more »
A view from the lobby of the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, home of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (Martha Lochert)
Editor’s Note: This is the last in a series of four articles on how the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona allocates funds. The first, in the Oct. 12 issue, focused on youth and family education programs at synagogues. The second, in the Nov. 23 issue, looked at national and… Read more »
Carlos Galindo-Elvira In the first 10 days of December, a series of six swastika incidents across Arizona were reported to ADL Arizona. The latest incident involved an elderly woman in Scottsdale who found a swastika drawing at her doorstep the morning after displaying her menorah during Hanukkah. This was the second… Read more »
International journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder will share their experience in addressing hate, discrimination and intolerance Jan. 7 as part of a two-day symposium hosted by the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest. (Courtesy Dagmar and Peter Schroeder)
Anti-Semitism past and present will be the focus of a two-day symposium hosted by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest next month. “Anti-Semitism from the Spanish Inquisition On: Educating for Social Justice,” which will be held Jan. 6-7… Read more »
Congregation Beit Simcha has an interim location on the Northeast corner of Skyline and Campbell, across from La Encantada Shopping Center. The address is 3001 E. Skyline Drive, Suite 117, and the first Shabbat service will be held there today at 6:30 p.m. “We have confirmed Congregation Beit Simcha’s… Read more »
