Thomas Abrams, M.D., 67, died Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019. Dr. Abrams was a family practice doctor in Tucson for more than 30 years. His love of the arts included photographing flora and natural parks and writing poetry, as well as supporting many local cultural organizations. He is survived by… Read more »
Lynn Saul, 73, died Feb. 22, 2019. Ms. Saul was the daughter of the late Samuel and Ruth Saul. Her passions included writing and teaching poetry. Survivors include her partner, Joseph Antone; son, Kevin (Nicole) Koch of Tucson; daughter, Erica (Carol Anderson) Moore of Minneapolis; siblings, Wendy Saul of… Read more »
Pearl Kitay, 88, died Feb. 14, 2019. Mrs. Kitay was preceded in death by her husband of 64 years, Harold. Survivors include her son, Barry (Holly) Kitay, and daughter, Nancy Galdi, all of Tucson; four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A celebration of life will be held at a future… Read more »
Janice Muriel Yost, 82, died Jan. 31, 2019. Ms. Yost was born and raised in Kansas City, the only child of Max and Toby Joffee. Her family moved to Los Angeles in 1957, where she attended the Pasadena Playhouse School of Dramatic Arts (now the State Theater of California).… Read more »
Harold Langer, age 67, died Jan. 9, 2019, in Los Angeles. Mr. Langer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Rubin and Esther Langer. The Langer family moved to Tucson in 1968. There Mr. Langer became a successful financial advisor with RBC Wealth Management. Survivors include his wife of almost… Read more »
Bryan Davis, executive director of the Jewish History Museum and Holocaust History Center, co-chaired the Council of American Jewish Museums 2019 conference in Los Angeles March 3-5. Davis’ co-chair for the conference, “The Creative Challenge: Museums for the Next Generation,” was Gravity Goldberg, director of public programs and visitor… Read more »
Jared Bernard Matheson, son of Teresa and Brandon Matheson, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on March 16, at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Darlene and Robert Moen of Sartell, Minnesota; Susan Matheson of Tucson; and Debra and Landon Matheson of Chicago. Jared attends Tucson Hebrew… Read more »
Skylar Naomi Dehnert, daughter of John and LeeAat Dehnert, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on March 9 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of George and Tamar Mednick of Saratoga, California, and Janet Dehnert of Tucson. Skylar attends The Gregory School, where she achieves high honor… Read more »
Rain Pryor, center, with event chair Dana Narter, right, and Narter’s husband, Ed Baruch. (Martha Lochert) Pryor’s show is a hit for Hillel The multi-talented Rain Pryor performed “Fried Chicken and Latkes,” her one-woman show about growing up biracial in the 1970s, to a near sellout crowd on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Leo Rich Theatre. The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation fundraiser exceeded… Read more »
(Collage by Alma; photo of T Kira Madden courtesy of Madden)
This article originally appeared on Alma. T Kira Madden’s gorgeous and remarkable debut memoir, “Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls,” chronicles her childhood in Boca Raton, Florida, as the daughter of parents who struggled with addictions. “I wrote the book kind of accidentally,” Madden tells Alma. “But, I… Read more »
A parade float at the Aalst Carnaval in Belgium features caricatures of Orthodox Jews atop money bags, March 3, 2019. (Courtesy of FJO)
(JTA) — I initially had some sympathy for the creators of an anti-Semitic carnival float in Belgium. Studying their CVs and past creations for the annual carnival of Aalst, I saw that they were a group of some 20 upstanding citizens — a fireman, a technician, an Education Ministry… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democrats reportedly are working on a new resolution condemning anti-Semitism after members of the party’s black and progressive House caucuses complained that it appeared to single out Rep. Ilhan Omar. Multiple reports said there were emotional exchanges Wednesday at a closed caucus meeting, with Jewish members… Read more »
(Collage by Lior Zaltzman/JTA)
This article originally appeared on Alma. When “Green Book” won the Academy Award for best movie on Feb. 24, arguably the most coveted prize of the ceremony, “BlacKkKlansman” and “Do The Right Thing” director Spike Lee stormed to the back of the auditorium and kept his back turned for… Read more »
The video-based learning program for European Jewish students is supplemented by in-person encounters like this Shabbaton in Berlin in March 2018. (Lauder Foundation)
When Jewish physicist Vladimir Osipov emigrated from his native Moscow 13 years ago, he first moved to Holon, a city in central Israel. But it wasn’t until Osipov relocated with his family three years later to a mid-size city in Germany that they felt part of a vibrant Jewish… Read more »
Rabbi Herschel Gluck shakes hands with a member of the Finsbury Park Mosque the day after a man drove a white van into a group of people on their way home from prayers, June 19, 2017. One person died and 10 were injured. (Claire Doherty/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(JTA) — Jeremy Corbyn was hit with an egg while visiting a London mosque, an incident that brought little sympathy from critics of the embattled British Labour Party leader — but an unlikely assist from an Orthodox Jewish first responder. A 31-year-old man named John Murphy was charged with… Read more »
(JTA) — Thousands of givers have opened their hearts to those affected by the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, donating more than $6.3 million to a fund for their benefit set up by the local Jewish federation. The bulk of the money, nearly $4.4 million, from the Victims of Terror Fund… Read more »
Meir Kahane in 1985 (Bettmann/Getty Images) (JTA) — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brokered a partnership between the extreme right-wing party Jewish Power, or Otzma Yehudit, and the more moderate right-wing Jewish Home, the late American-born Rabbi Meir Kahane was suddenly all over the news. Kahane, whose extremist Kach party was outlawed in Israel… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The chairman of the far-right Jewish Power party, or Otzma Yehudit, can run in April’s elections, the Israeli Central Elections Commission ruled. The commission approved the candidacy of Michael Ben-Ari, who is in the realistic fifth spot on the candidates’ list of the Union of Right… Read more »
(JTA) — A majority of Americans still sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians in the ongoing conflict, but the percentage of support has dropped to its lowest since 2009. Some 59 percent of Americans said they sympathize more with the Israelis, a new Gallup poll found, down from… Read more »
Jordana Horn, left, and Shannon Sarna are the hosts of a new podcast about Jewish parenting. (Marissa Roer)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish mothers have been the punch lines of one too many jokes — from the waiter who asks a table of Jewish women if anything is alright, to the one about how many Jewish mothers it takes to change a light bulb (answer: “Don’t bother.… Read more »
