JFNA chief updates JFSA leaders
Jewish Federations of North America President and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Silverman briefed the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s national and overseas planning and allocation committee at a working lunch Wednesday, Jan. 9. Silverman highlighted JFNA’s activities as a convener and supporter of 147 federations and more than 300 communities across the United States and Canada. He discussed ways that federations and their partners through JFNA support organizations in Israel and more than 70 countries around the world, including disaster relief efforts for Jews and non-Jews alike. Silverman noted that one of the most critical things on the horizon is engaging the next generation of Jewish leadership.
president), Deborah Oseran, Shelley Pozez. Back row: Leslie Glaze, Liz Weiner Schulman, Judy Berman, Karen Katz, Ellen Goldstein, Shelly Silverman, Angie Goorman, Deanna Evenchik-Brav, Jody Gross
Local Lions attend international conference
Thirteen members of the Tucson community attended the International Lion of Judah Conference in Hollywood, Florida, Jan. 13-15. Representing the Women’s Philanthropy division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, the Tucson delegates joined more than 1,400 philanthropic women from all around the world including Israel. They participated in forums on myriad topics such as security in the wake of the Pittsburgh shooting; the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement on college campuses; Jewish innovation; social impact investing; engaging millennials; and grandparents as a Jewish resource.
Tucsonan Deanna Evenchik-Brav was honored with a Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award at the conference. The award recognizes women who have set a high standard for philanthropy and volunteerism. Winners are chosen by their peers. Evenchik-Brav is the current ILOJC co-chair for Southern Arizona and represents JFSA on the Jewish Federations of North America National Women’s Philanthropy Board. She has been a Lion of Judah since 2004 and established a Lion of Judah endowment in 2008. Her past leadership positions for JFSA include Women’s Philanthropy chair, Women’s Philanthropy Campaign chair, board vice chair, and Campaign chair. JFSA named her Woman of the Year in 2010. She has served on many other local boards, including University of Arizona Judaic Studies, UA Hillel Foundation, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging Foundation, Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, and the Tucson Symphony Orchestra.
THA and PJ celebrate birthday of the trees
Some 80 people, children and adults, attended “Rockin’ with the Trees,” a Tu B’Shevat celebration at Tucson Hebrew Academy on Sunday, Jan. 13, co-sponsored by PJ Library and PJ Our Way. Carol Sack, the Jewish Tucson concierge, read PJ Library books and Jordan Wiley-Hill was the guest storyteller. The children wrote messages of tikkun olam (repair of the world), such as “recycle” or “peace, love and unity” on rocks to hide around Tucson. They also decorated paper plates made of recycled materials, and they walked on the THA grounds to find leaves, flowers and sticks to decorate a Tu B’Shevat banner.
Schroeders of ‘Paper Clips’ fame make most of Tucson visit
International journalists Dagmar and Peter Schroeder were the keynote speakers at a two-day symposium on anti-Semitism Jan. 6-7, sponsored by the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest, a division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. The Schroeders, German nationals who are now Canadian citizens, collaborated on the award-winning documentary “Paper Clips,” about a Tennessee middle school’s project to memorialize the Holocaust. They co-founded the Children’s Holocaust Memorial in Tennessee. The pair also spoke at a private screening Jan. 8 of “The Driver is Red,” an animated documentary about the 1960 capture of Adolf Eichmann in Brazil. Cosponsors of the screening were the Olson Center, the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, Tucson Jewish Community Center, Tucson Hebrew High and Tucson Hebrew Academy. On Jan. 8, the Schroeders also visited THA, the Jewish History Museum, and the Tucson J.
