Yearly Archives 2018

Shai Feldman of Brandeis University will present “A Year into the Trump Presidency: The U.S. & the Middle East” on Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson J. The free talk is part of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series.… Read more »

Those entering Tucson’s Holocaust History Center or the Tucson Jewish Community Center will notice a black and white film portraying life in turn of the 20th century Eastern Europe. In fact, it depicts life in the small western Lithuanian town today known as Jurbarkas. The majority of the population… Read more »

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona has received a new commitment of $1.5 million from Bettina B. and Kenneth A. Plevan, which will be combined with a previous gift of $500,000 to endow a chair in memory of their son Jeffrey B. Plevan. Plevan,… Read more »

Lorenzo Romar.

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will host its annual alumni and friends basketball event on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 5:15 p.m. The pre-game dinner will feature Lorenzo Romar, UA associate head basketball coach under Coach Sean Miller, who will brief attendees on this year’s Wildcat team. A silent… Read more »

The art gallery at Beth Shalom Temple Center is presenting an exhibit by award-winning Tucson artist Lynn Rae Lowe, “Ancient and Contemporary Symbolism of the Hebrew Alphabet,” through March 4. Lowe uses a variety of materials, two- and three-dimensional methods and the techniques of 20th century master artists to… Read more »

Works by Tucson artist Andy Burgess will be on display at the Tucson Museum of Art beginning next month. The exhibit, “Mid-Century Perspectives: Paintings by Andy Burgess and Objects of Modern Design,” will run through April 22. Burgess, who grew up in a Jewish family in North London’s Golders… Read more »

At the age of 90, Henry Koffler, Ph.D., former University of Arizona president, embarked on a new career. Becoming an artist represented something good coming out of emergency surgery followed by a long recovery. That was five years ago. His exhibit, “95!,” celebrating his age and artwork, is now… Read more »

Tu B’Shevat is almost here, the “Jewish New Year for the Trees,” also called “Jewish Arbor Day.” Last year I discussed planting almond trees, and this year I’d like to suggest a fig tree. Figs are one of the easiest fruit trees to grow in our area (far easier… Read more »

A passion for history that began with her father’s stories of his childhood in pre-war Poland has led Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett to play a large part in piecing together the scattered, thousand-year history of the Polish Jews. Now she is bringing this history to Tucson. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, chief curator of the… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — I’m pretty good at having uncomfortable conversations. I’m a therapist. I’ve been talking with people for years about consent, misogyny and patriarchy. My great-grandmother, who immigrated from Eastern Europe to New York City and managed to become her high school’s valedictorian, marched for women’s suffrage… Read more »

ALLIE LONDON is the TUCSON JEWISH COMMUNITY CENTER’S new director of marketing. A native New Yorker who received her B.A. in politics and journalism from New York University, London relocated to Tucson from Chicago in 2014. She has since served as the program officer for The Jewish Community Foundation… Read more »

Evan Benton Gilmore, son of Dana and Jeff Gilmore, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 3 at Congregation Chaverim. He is the grandson of Karen and Bill Goldberg, Sally and Bill Middleton and Glenn Gilmore, all of Tucson. Evan attends Marana Middle School, where he is… Read more »

Faye Mincer, age 84, died Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. Mrs. Mincer was born in Chicago. She was the owner of Southern Arizona Glassworks for almost four decades. Mrs. Mincer was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Fred. Survivors include her children, Marty (Joy) Mincer, Anita (Terry)… Read more »

Former Jewish Community Center Executives Ken Light (Tucson) and Jay Roth (Milwaukee and Miami) have formed a partnership to serve the nonprofit community, L/R STRATEGIES. Key services offered include executive coaching and training; board governance, structure, and development; communication, conflict management; planning and organizational change; fund development; and… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — You might say I am a tad obsessed with harissa these days. Harissa roasted chicken. Harissa Bloody Mary. And now these harissa lamb meatballs. Sorry, not sorry. To take a step back for just a second, harissa is a North African condiment made from… Read more »

CARLOS CHAVEZ and ALLAN MENDELSBERG are among the 40 Under 40 honorees chosen by the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Congress. Chavez is the mentor match specialist for the Arizona’s Children Association Thrive Mentor Program in Pima County and Southeastern Arizona. The program provides volunteer mentors for youth aging out… Read more »

THA students earn spot in state math competition Tucson Hebrew Academy sixth grade students participated in a MathLeague.org competition held at University High School on Tuesday, Nov. 29 and won big. The team won second place school, and one student won third place overall. The students will go on… Read more »

(JTA) — If one thing jumps out about the nominations for the 90th annual Academy Awards, it’s the lack of big Jewish headlines to be plucked from them. “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s latest fantasy-tinted film, about an amphibian creature housed in a government laboratory, led the… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s better here: That was the message of a panel of experts considering the rise of the extreme right and of anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe. That was the good news at the forum Monday sponsored by Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. No… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Holocaust survivors and rabbis, as well as doctors and some airline pilots, are among the Israelis who say they will try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport thousands of African migrants, even if it means taking them into their own homes. The latest group to come… Read more »