Claire Amigo, 86, died Aug. 17, 2020. Claire was born Feb. 14, 1934, to Meyer and Dora Bergman. She had two sisters, Cecile and Helen. She spent her childhood in the Bronx and moved to Queens when Lois, her daughter, was born. Claire and her husband, Al, later moved… Read more »
Yearly Archives 2020
CAI to hold drive-up Shofar blast
Congregation Anshei Israel will give Tucsonans an opportunity to hear the Rabbi Sara Metz sound the Shofar live on Friday, Aug. 21 at 8:30 a.m., in the northwest parking lot (facing the sanctuary doors). Members also can pick up thei High Holy Days packages. Other LIVE Shofar blast opportunities… Read more »
Author Alexander Boxer to discuss astronomy with Vail’s David Levy
The Tucson Festival of Books Authors In Conversation series will present Tucson native Alexander Boxer, now a data scientist in Washington, D.C., and author of “A Scheme of Heaven: The History of Astrology and the Search for our Destiny in Data” (W.W. Norton & Company, 2020), in an exclusive… Read more »
Jewish gun control activists, including Gabby Giffords, take center stage at Democratic convention
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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Gabby Giffords, the Jewish former congresswoman who became a leader in the gun control movement after being shot by an assailant in the head in 2011, opened the third night of the Democratic convention with an appeal to elect Joe Biden president. “We can let the… Read more »
They thought a Jewish school in Oakland would be able to accommodate their gender-fluid child. It wasn’t that simple.
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(JTA) — A Jewish day school in Oakland, California, is committing to making changes this week after a local family said the school had declined to accept their gender-fluid child. Meg Keene, an Oakland mother who runs a prominent wedding planning website, encouraged her thousands of Instagram followers to… Read more »
Kamala Harris’ nickname shows how close she is with her Jewish family
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(JTA) — In the middle of her first speech as Joe Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris disclosed her favorite nickname. “My family means everything to me. And I’ve had a lot of titles over my career, and certainly, vice president will be great, but ‘momala’ will always be… Read more »
Reform movement gets $600,000 grant to support racial justice and improve diversity
(JTA) — The Reform movement has received a $600,000 multi-year grant to support racial equity, inclusion and diversity work. The Union for Reform Judaism said Wednesday that it had received funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fight racism and back inclusion across its institutions. Reform is the largest… Read more »
5 winners and 4 losers from the historic treaty between Israel and the UAE
(JTA) — The treaty between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is a big deal. The agreement, announced Thursday in a joint statement from the White House and called the Abraham Accord, means that Israel will now have diplomatic and economic relations with a country that had not recognized… Read more »
Non-Jewish assemblywoman in NY targeted in anti-Semitic attack
(JTA) – The fact that New York state Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright isn’t Jewish didn’t stop a vandal from leaving behind an anti-Semitic note after defacing her office. Seawright, a Democrat whose district includes part of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, called for a police investigation into the incident at a… Read more »
Doing this daily Jewish ritual has helped me cope with coronavirus
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This story originally appeared on Kveller. On March 8, in a bustling and noisy bagel shop in Lawrence, New York, I stood alongside nearly 30 women to recite a prayer called the Hadran. This is a prayer said upon completion of a Talmud tractate, a feat most women never achieve.… Read more »
What I wish they taught us in Hebrew school
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This story originally appeared on Alma. I received what I believe to be an average Jewish American Conservative synagogue education. I attended Jewish preschool, the full run of weekly, then biweekly Hebrew school, and completed “Hebrew high school” all the way through the rabbi’s confirmation class. This was all… Read more »
Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s VP pick — here’s what Jewish voters should know
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(JTA) — It’s official: Kamala Harris is Joe Biden’s choice for vice president. The California senator, who made history Tuesday as the first Black woman to join a major party presidential ticket, is still in her first term. But during several years in public office, the 55-year-old lawmaker’s outspoken… Read more »
JAC raises funds with Walk to Israel challenge
Jewish Arizonans on Campus, which provides classes, trips, Shabbat meals, and other programs at both the University of Arizona and Arizona State University, has raised $24,154 through Olami’s Walk to Israel pedometer fundraising challenge. Registration ends Aug. 15. JAC was founded in 2005 to provide Jewish students of all… Read more »
ChaiFlicks, the ‘Jewish Netflix,’ is here
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(JTA) — It was only a matter of time: A Jewish Netflix has arrived. That moniker is probably the best description of ChaiFlicks, a film and TV streaming platform focused on Jewish-themed movies that launches Wednesday. It helps that its creators were once in business with the real Netflix.… Read more »
‘Services, but not shul’: How Orthodox communities are preparing for a pandemic High Holiday season
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(JTA) – Less than two miles away from the Center for Disease Control’s campus in Atlanta, where doctors and researchers prepare guidance for the nation’s coronavirus response, an Orthodox rabbi is preparing a different set of plans. Rabbi Adam Starr’s task: how to accommodate hundreds of people for in-person… Read more »
Former Major League player Cody Decker says anti-Semitism is ‘rampant’ in pro baseball
(JTA) – Former pro baseball player Cody Decker said that anti-Semitism is “rampant throughout baseball” and that an Oakland Athletics coach should be suspended for making a Nazi salute after a game. Decker, who played briefly for the San Diego Padres and for Israel’s national team in the World… Read more »
Arthur Rotstein
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Arthur H. Rotstein, 74, a longtime journalist who was passionate about the pursuit of truth and freedom of the press, died July 20, 2020 of COVID-19. Mr. Rotstein was a Chicago native who earned his undergraduate degree in journalism at the University of Missouri and his master’s in journalism… Read more »
A Jewish guide to Joe Biden’s VP short list
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WASHINGTON (JTA) — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is expected to name his running mate in the next two weeks, and while the list of contenders has changed constantly for months, most reports have now whittled the group of front-runners down to Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Susan Rice, Karen… Read more »
Jewish educator’s ‘Yo Semite’ T-shirt back in spotlight following Trump gaffe
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(J. the Jewish News of Northern California via JTA) — When Berkeley resident Sarah Lefton awoke on Tuesday morning, her phone was lit up with notifications. While she was sleeping, President Trump had signed the Great American Outdoors Act, a piece of legislation that will protect the nation’s parks… Read more »
Myles Levine
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Myles Elliott Levine, 72, died May 7, 2020. Mr. Levine was born in Milwaukee. He received a doctorate in business ethics from the University of Chicago, and taught business ethics to car dealers. Survivors include his wife of 25 years, Karen Suzanne Levine, children, Michael Levine of North Carolina… Read more »