Kathy Hamel lifts weights at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)
Whether you want to stay fit, learn a new artistic skill or enjoy concerts and lectures, the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s jam-packed schedule has you covered. Some classes are designed specifically for seniors; others are “open to everyone ages 18-100.” Here are some options for those with a yen… Read more »
Carol Leifer
Award-winning writer and producer, best-selling author, and stand-up comedian Carol Leifer will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy 26th annual Connections brunch next month. Her topic will be “Judaism is in My DNA.” “I speak about how the Jewish values imparted to… Read more »
Jessica Reese The Tucson Jewish Community Center Special Needs Initiative in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, with support from the David and Lura Lovell Foundation, will hold a professional development summit, “Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health: The Intersection of Treatment” on Thursday, Feb. 28, 8:15-3 p.m. The keynote speaker… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four lawmakers who have clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the top spots in the Likud party primary. Netanyahu was given a pass in Tuesday’s voting by party members and will still lead the Likud ticket in national elections scheduled for April 9. The top… Read more »
BRUSSELS (JTA) — Growing up, Joel Rubinfeld was always up for going with his parents to their downtown synagogue here. The sermons were OK, he said, but the real clincher was the full-size ping-pong table at the Sephardic Synagogue on Pavillion Street. “Placing that table was a stroke of… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Senate approved in a 77-23 vote a bill that codifies $38 billion in defense assistance to Israel and which provides legal cover to states that target the boycott Israel movement. The bill, sponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., had… Read more »
Elan Carr in his new post has met or planned meetings with predecessors from Republican and Democratic administrations. (Collage by Laura Adkins/JTA; Carr photo from Elan for Congress campaign: Capitol photo: Creative Commons)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Elan Carr’s career until now has been equal parts prosecutor, policy wonk, politico and performance artist. That makes him perfect for his new job as the State Department’s special envoy to monitor anti-Semitism, according to people most familiar with his appointment, which was made public on… Read more »
(JTA) — The United States will buy at least two batteries of the Iron Dome short-range missile defense systems from Israel. Israel’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that the U.S. military will purchase the system from its developer, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems Ltd., under an agreement between the ministry and the U.S.… Read more »
An aerial view shows the Muslim enclave of Islamberg, N.Y. (Google Maps)
(JTA) – Police in Rochester, New York, arrested four young men last month before they could commit a terror attack against the small Muslim town of Islamberg. The men were armed with dozens of guns and several explosives. Preventing the assault, however, hardly alleviated the fears of residents, who have… Read more »
A memorial for the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh. (Hane Grace Yagel)
This article originally appeared on Alma. A typical Friday night for me used to consist of cooking myself a nicer than usual dinner and lighting the Shabbat candles alone before proceeding on as if it were any other night. Maybe I would relax by re-watching “Broad City” or going out… Read more »
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein arriving in Israel with the first group of immigrants brought by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, Dec. 22, 2014. (International Fellowship of Christians and Jews)
(JTA) — To the many colleagues and supporters of Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who died Wednesday at the age of 67, he was a man of vision whose enormous drive to succeed both facilitated and complicated his relentless efforts on behalf of the Jewish people. As head of the International Fellowship… Read more »
(JTA) — Swastikas were spray-painted on the inside and outside of a suburban Atlanta public high school. The blue swastikas were painted on the outside of the Centennial High in Roswell, Georgia, the Atlanta Jewish Times and other local publications reported. School employees discovered the vandalism when they arrived… Read more »
(JTA) — A yeshiva in upstate New York was set on fire and swastikas were spray painted on the building. The incident at the Yeshiva Deah Yoreh, located on a former farm in White Sulphur Springs, occurred on Jan. 28 but was first reported by the Rockland/Westchester Journal News… Read more »
Amy Klobuchar speaks at the 2018 DGA Honors Show in New York City, Oct. 18, 2018. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for DGA)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is starting to look like a CNN panel — more people fit than you think possible. Up next is Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She’s committed to bipartisanship, close to Republicans like her late Senate colleague John McCain from Arizona… Read more »
Rachel Polsky and Alex Brown
Rachel Ashley Polsky, daughter of David and Tricia Polsky of Tucson, and Alex Thomas Brown, son of Thomas and Karla Brown and Mark and Lynne Gomez, all of Tucson, were married Nov. 4, 2018 at Stillwell House with Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash officiating. The matron of… Read more »
Martin M. Fogel, Ph.D., 98, died Jan. 6, 2019. Mr. Fogel was born in the Bronx, his father a Polish Catholic tailor, his mother a Russian Jew. Upon graduation from James Monroe High School, Mr. Fogel moved to California, where his father had sought a better livelihood as a… Read more »
Sam Zales, 53, died Jan. 15, 2019. Mr. Zales was an avid reader and writer. He taught Russian and American literature at the University of Arizona Osher Lifelong Learning Institute with his stepfather, Kenneth Greenfield. Survivors include his mother, Ruth Zales of Tucson; sister, Melissa (Tim) Zales Koller of… Read more »
Marilyn Ann Berg, 75, died Dec. 24, 2018. Born in New York City, Ms. Berg moved to Tucson with her family at age 12 because she suffered from juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. She attended Tucson High School and the University of Arizona, and was a lifelong poet. A participant in… Read more »
The Shalva Band had a shot at becoming Israel's representative at the Eurovision contest. (Screenshot from YouTube)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Shalva Band, a group of musicians with various disabilities, didn’t expect to advance so far in the competition to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. But they made it all the way to the finals — and won’t find out if they… Read more »
Many states have passed laws that permit taxpayer-funded child welfare agencies to exclude prospective foster and adoptive parents based on religious criteria. (Pixabay)
GREENVILLE, S.C. (JTA) — When my father was 7 years old, he was placed in an orphanage. His own father had died and his mother’s mental illness prevented her from caring for him. Growing up, I heard his stories of “kid prison,” as he called it, and I dreamed… Read more »
