Yearly Archives 2019

(JTA) — Israeli Education Minister Rafi Peretz walked back his recent statement that intermarriage is “like a second Holocaust,” writing that the phrase was “probably not an appropriate term to use.” Jewish leaders in Israel and the United States had criticized the analogy made at a July 1 Cabinet… Read more »

(JTA) — It’s Emmy season again and Jews in the TV industry have plenty of reason to celebrate. Out of all the nominees announced Tuesday, here’s a roundup of the Jewish picks on the list. Winners will be announced on Sept. 22 at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater. “The Marvelous… Read more »

Dearest Friends of the Tucson Jewish community, It seems to me that many of you have forgotten the training we all received when we were children. Remember the nurse at school who taught you two important rules: 1) Wash your hands, and 2) Don’t put something in your mouth… Read more »

Josie Shapiro

Josie Shapiro will join the staff at the Jewish History Museum as the 2019-2020 Zuckerman Fellow. Shapiro will serve as curator of community engagement, which includes program development work. Shapiro has been active in social movements for more than 15 years. They studied Women’s Studies and Chicana/o Studies at… Read more »

Danielle Levy and Shay Friedwald, both 18, are Tucson’s teen Israeli ambassadors, or shinshinim, for the new year. They have just graduated high school and are among the 10 percent of students accepted out of about 2,000 who apply for this Jewish Agency for Israel global outreach program. “I… Read more »

PJ Library is a national program that encourages local Jewish families with young children to explore Jewish values and culture through books. Coordinated by Mary Ellen Loebl at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, the free program sends an age-appropriate Jewish-content book monthly to 740 children between the ages… Read more »

Linda Tumarkin, 79, has been an active volunteer in the Tucson Jewish community since shortly after moving to town in 1971, including three terms as chair of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and four terms as chair of the Federation’s Jewish Community Relations Council. She was on the… Read more »

Tucson High School for Jewish Studies, better known at Tucson Hebrew High, will undergo an evolution as it launches its 41st year in August. Still in development, the Jewish teen network will unfold as the year progresses, says Rabbi Ruven Barkan, THH director. “The success of this past year… Read more »

Shelley Ann Lipowich, Ph.D., says she’s taught “for 150 years … everything from pre-kindergarten to post-doctoral, and I’ve had a ball.” She got her first taste of the Old Pueblo when it truly was a little village. She attended Sam Hughes Elementary as a child, “when Plumer Avenue was… Read more »

The 2019 Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, a free Jewish learning opportunity for men and boys from the Southwest Torah Institute’s Naomi Adir Center for Torah Education, begins July 28 and runs through Aug. 11. In morning or evening sessions, individuals or groups can study the topic of… Read more »

Lee Chutkow accepts an award certificate from Elder Rehab coordinator Sharon Arkin, recognizing his nine semesters of continuous participation. (Courtesy Arkin)

Lee Chutkow, M.D., 92, has a goal: To reach his 100th birthday. In pursuit of that goal, Chutkow, a retired psychiatrist, classical music maven, and Shakespeare and poetry buff, keeps his mind and body active through the Elder Rehab program at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Five years ago,… Read more »

Local Jewish educators are gearing up for the new school year, which starts next month. Here are some of the new programs awaiting students. Congregation Anshei Israel is introducing a new, integrated youth education program, B’Yahad (Together). B’Yahad will provide experiential learning opportunities for students of CAI’s religious school… Read more »

This summer, Jewish Family & Children’s Services conducted a series of workshops on advance directives and ethical wills for the 40 Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors in the Tucson community. Nearly half attended. “It is not in Russian culture to talk about final days or what would happen with a person… Read more »

Mad magazine is on life support, and I can’t say I’m either surprised or all that sad about it. DC Entertainment announced last week that the satirical magazine will stop publishing new content. It was like hearing about a beloved old relative who passed away: I hadn’t had any… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli society has been gripped over the past week by the killing of Solomon Tekah, an unarmed 19-year-old Ethiopian Israeli. On June 30, an off-duty Israeli police officer shot and killed Tekah under highly contested circumstances. While emerging evidence seems to indicate that the policeman was not… Read more »

(JTA) — A prosthetic leg that belonged to a Russian Jewish immigrant to Lake Providence, Louisiana. An 8-foot neon sign from a hotel that advertised itself as the only establishment with an “up to date kosher kitchen” in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Two synagogue organs from the now-shuttered Temple B’nai… Read more »

With summer barbecue season finally here, Americans everywhere will be firing up their grills and feasting on their favorite foods. But many of our culinary indulgences come with a cost. We’re not just talking about foods that are overly salty, fatty and sugary. There are foods that actually raise… Read more »

World leaders and celebrities praised the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on the 25th anniversary of his death. Rabbi Menachem Schneerson led the Chabad-Lubavitcher Hasidic movement through a period of revival and spread its influence through Jewish outreach centers in dozens of cities and countries. An estimated 50,000 people… Read more »

I remember when I first met Fred Fruchthendler. It was my first interview with the board of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona for the position of president and CEO. After an hour or so of many tough and thoughtful questions, a voice that had not yet… Read more »

On Saturday, June 15, Tucson Jews for Justice hosted the Tucson Jewish Summer Arts Festival at the Jewish History Museum. The event raised over $500 for local migrant shelters, which will be matched by Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. About 75 people attended, enjoying music from Joyce Luna with… Read more »