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Tucson rabbi hosts dinner for Jewish educators visiting border

(L-R): Rabbi Emeritus Ed Stafman of Congregation Beth Shalom in Bozeman, Montana; Rabbi Ethan Seidel of Tifereth Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C.; Olivia Rocamora, dean of Spanish at The Weber School in Atlanta, Georgia; Rabbi Julia Andelman, director of community engagement at Jewish Theological Seminary in New York; Rabbi Pamela Jay Gottfried, dean of Jewish studies at The Weber School; Stella Stanway, direct of education at Temple Beth Miriam in Elberon, New Jersey; Rabbi Charles Arian of Kehilat Shalom in Gaithersburg, Maryland; and Rabbi Michael Bernstein of Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, Georgia. Ruven Barkan)

Rabbi Ruven Barkan and his wife, Adina Weber, hosted a dinner at their home on Wednesday, Dec. 19 for rabbis and educators who participated in a three-day border immersion program in Nogales, sponsored by the Kino Border Initiative. Rabbi Thomas

Louchheim of Tucson’s Congregation Or Chadash called in to describe what the community is doing on a local level. “It was inspiring to learn from the group of Jewish educators and rabbis as they reflected upon their mission to witness, comfort, and advocate on behalf of some of the most vulnerable people in our society,” says Barkan, director of Tucson Hebrew High, a program of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona with partner synagogues and agencies. Barkan is also education and youth director at Congregation Anshei Israel.