Arizona Republican National Committeeman Bruce Ash was named to the committee on arrangements for the 2020 RNC National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ash will serve on the transportation and lodging sub committee, assisting the chair of the convention. More than 20,000 delegates and participants are expected to attend.… Read more »
Yearly Archives 2019
Logan Daniel Lazarus
Logan Daniel Lazarus, son of Emily and Adam Lazarus, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on April 6, at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Ellen Yasmer and the late Larry Yasmer of Tucson and Sandra and Joel Lazarus of Davie, Florida. Logan attends Orange Grove Middle… Read more »
Leaders explore similarities in religious values
The Rev. Debra Asis of the Episcopal Church of the Apostles (left) and Rabbi Helen Cohn of Congregation M’kor Hayim discuss Christian and Jewish values at a forum held Jan. 26 at Tucson Hebrew Academy. (Photo courtesy Congregation M’kor Hayim)
If you were asked to name the “top 5” Jewish values, what would you say? Tikkun olam? Education? Tzedakah? Community? What if you were Christian? What would your “top 5” be? Are Jewish and Christian values essentially the same, or are they different? Rabbi Helen Cohn of Congregation M’kor… Read more »
THA’s Kutler finds his personal grit in Ultraman Israel endurance challenge
Laurence Kutler competes in the 171-mile bicycling leg of the March 6-8 Ultraman Israel endurance challenge. (Courtesy Laurence Kutler)
As if completing a 320-mile race in three days isn’t enough, doing it in 36 hours is an enormous challenge. Included in that are a 6.2-mile swim through chilly mountain waters and cycling 171 miles across a desert at the lowest point on earth, not to mention running a… Read more »
Teens, seniors will launch life stories book at reception
Gianna Lampert and partner Ruth Cooper at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging (Photo: Angela Salmon)
Tracing Roots 2.0 paired Tucson’s Jewish teens with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging to build meaningful relationships. The program encourages participants to learn together, share their stories, trace their ancestry and bring memories to life through technology and personal interaction. Tucson Hebrew High students met regularly… Read more »
Repertory choir to bring its rich sound back to Emanu-El
Elliot Jones conducts the Arizona Repertory Singers in the ‘King David’ oratorio at Temple Emanu-El on April 29, 2018. (Photo: Celesteal Photography)
Arizona Repertory Singers will present a concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, April 28, “Psalms of David and Songs of Solomon.” “The Arizona Repertory Singers are one of this city’s choral treasures,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, music director at Temple Emanu-El. “They always bring a beautiful, rich sound to the… Read more »
‘Nearing Ninety,’ Viorst still writing with the same sass
Judith Viorst (Photo: Debbie
wagner)
As a mother of three active boys, bestselling author Judith Viorst never had the luxury of waiting for the muse to strike. “I just put my tushy on the chair and wrote” when the kids were napping or at preschool, she told the AJP recently. “If every once in… Read more »
Millennial’s only Passover tradition is to have no Passover tradition
My family doesn’t have a seder. I have zero memories of shoving my brother out of the way for the afikomen. I asked a lot of questions as a kid, but none of them were “Why is this night different than all the other nights?” My Jewish upbringing was… Read more »
Federation transportation service takes seniors from isolation into action
Driver Mark Contreras has worked for HandiCar, Inc. for 11 years. Jeanne Fischer is one of his regular passengers. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s free transportation service is available for seniors and disabled passengers traveling to Jewish cultural, religious and community activities around Tucson. (Photo: Debe Campbell/AJP)
For some local Jewish seniors and the disabled, transportation can’t be taken for granted. Without a vehicle, a driver’s license, friends or family to take them places, or the ability to afford a ride service, life can be confining. Isolation can lead to depression and affect general well-being. When… Read more »
Pesach-friendly rainbow cookies infuse color, flavor into holiday
(Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) – I love rainbow cookies. Love. And they are a serious obsession for my entire family. So when I made this recipe Passover-friendly last year, it was a wonderful, delicious game-changer for our Passover celebrations. Simply replace the regular flour with 1/2 cup matzah cake… Read more »
Montoya to moderate local leaders forum on immigration
Immigration 2019 is the focus for the annual local leaders forum, presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and the Jewish History Museum. The event will be held Friday, April 12, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718… Read more »
New wave: The changing face of Jewish philanthropy
Graham Hoffman We live at a turning point in the history of Jewish philanthropy. Over the next few decades, more than $30 trillion will be passed down from the baby boomer generation to their children. As these considerable assets change hands, so too will the power to shape the philanthropic sector.… Read more »
‘Sesame Street’ seder leads new kids’ books
Four questions. Four cups of wine. Four types of children. At Passover, the number four figures prominently in the rituals of the seder, the ceremonial holiday meal that can be mesmerizing and mystifying. Four new delightful and brightly illustrated books for young kids will enliven — and help explain… Read more »
Creative hacks can make seder more memorable and fun for young, old
The Maccabeats sing ‘Dayenu.’ (Screenshot from YouTube)
No joke: I love hosting the Passover seder. I love feeding people — I’m both Jewish and Southern, so this is deeply ingrained in me. I love educating people, and I love being Jewish, so the seder is a perfect opportunity to gather the ones I love for a… Read more »
Workshop aims to take ‘awkward’ out of gender conversations
Amy Lederman, left, and Ariel Vegosen More than 60 people gathered at the Jewish History Museum on Sunday, March 17 for “Gender Speak: Understanding the Trans and Gender-Evolving World.” Amy Hirshberg Lederman, a Tucson educator, writer and attorney, and Ariel Vegosen, a California-based gender inclusivity trainer, led the workshop, which looked at gender from a… Read more »
Photographer captures experience of Palestinians at Israeli checkpoints
Not every Palestinian crossing into Israel is going for work. Some 15 percent cross the border for medical, educational or other purposes. (Photo: Laura Ben-David/JTA)
I believe in the Jewish people’s right to live in our homeland. That profound belief has no bearing on the rights of others to live here as well. There are Palestinians who live and work in the land of Israel, and while I may seldom agree with the positions… Read more »
Tucson philanthropist and developer Don Diamond dies at 91
Donald R. Diamond The Tucson Jewish community mourns the loss of local philanthropist, businessman, and real estate developer Donald R. Diamond, who died March 25 at the age of 91. His daughter Rabbi Jennifer Diamond and Cantor Janece E. Cohen conducted funeral services March 27 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Rabbi… Read more »
Allowing Michael Steinhardt’s bad behavior is not our biggest mistake. Obsessing over Jewish continuity and megadonors is.
Rokhl Kafrissen (Courtesy of Kafrissen) (JTA) — The high-profile allegations of sexual harassment against Michael Steinhardt are an opportunity for us to deconstruct how money, power and sexism have warped the nonprofit world in the shape of its largest donors. Take, for example, the case of Sheila Katz, a vice president at Hillel International who… Read more »
Jewish ‘Good Samaritan’ stops man from jumping off a New York bridge
(JTA) — A Jewish man was in the right place at the right time when an elderly man attempted to jump off a New York bridge. Tuli Abraham, 30, told the Gifter in Gotham news website that he and his wife were driving over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, which connects the boroughs… Read more »
Want something decadent? Try this Red Wine Braised Short Ribs with Prunes recipe
(Leanne Shor)
This article originally appeared on The Nosher. Braised short ribs are a decadent and delicious alternative to brisket for Passover, or anytime you want to serve up a very special meal. They are so tender from cooking low and slow, they literally fall off the bone. Adding dried fruit to… Read more »




