Yearly Archives 2025

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN: Ian Kinsler #3 of Team Israel throws to first base in the fifth inning during the baseball Opening Round Group B game between Team Israel and Team Republic of Korea on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on July 29, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Two years after he retired from a 14-year Major League Baseball career as a second baseman, Tucson native Ian Kinsler’s time with Team Israel began. “My Jewish heritage means a lot to me — it’s part of who I am,” said the 42-year-old Kinsler, who graduated from Oro Valley’s… Read more »

We’ve just come out of the Seders on Passover — the festival of freedom. We sat at the Seder table, retold the story, tasted the bitter and the sweet, and declared once again, “In every generation, a person must see themselves as if they personally left Egypt.” But if… Read more »

(L-R): E. Lee Bernick, professor of public policy at University of Nevada Las Vegas; Jessica Mehlman, associate vice president of impact and planning at Jewish Federations of North America; Sen. Ruben Gallego; Carlos A. Hernández, president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona; Andrew Gale, legacy officer at Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona; and Sophie German, director of older adult and community services at JFCS.

Three Tucsonans traveled to Washington, D.C., last week for a “Financial Vulnerability Fly-In” sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America. Fifty participants from across the country, including Carlos A. Hernández, president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona; Sophie German, director of older adult and… Read more »

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses have increased dramatically.  “But it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to everybody, and it doesn’t mean that’s going to be your whole college experience. Definitely not,” Robin Friedman, co-founder of TribeTalk, assured local Jewish… Read more »

Chaim Grade

On Wednesday, Feb. 26, The New York Times ran a front-page article by Joseph Berger entitled “A Discovery of Lost Pages Brings to Light a ‘Last Great Yiddish Novel.’” The article detailed the search for a missing manuscript by a giant of 20th century Yiddish literature, Chaim Grade, its… Read more »

​The Tucson J International Film Festival is rapidly approaching its 35th year! Established over three decades ago, the festival has become a cornerstone cultural event for Tucson’s Jewish community as well as for the community’s seasonal snowbird residents. This remarkable longevity is a testament to our commitment to presenting… Read more »

As a parent, a Tucson Hebrew Academy board member, and a proud member of this community, I’ve seen firsthand how Jewish education shapes not only our children’s minds but also their hearts. When my husband and I enrolled our son at THA, we were initially drawn by the small… Read more »

As Arizona families face increasing economic pressures, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) is reinforcing its commitment to providing essential mental health and community support services to vulnerable populations across the region. JFCS is committed to responding to the growing economic crisis in our community by… Read more »

This year, Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) is incredibly proud to see our 8th-grade class embarking on exciting high school journeys. Our graduates are heading to top schools like Catalina Foothills High School, the Arts Magnet Program at Tucson High School, The Gregory School, and five have been accepted to… Read more »

Chazal, our sages, teach that often after having celebrated a holiday, we want to linger a few days, remaining in the essence of the holy day. Our days in Shushan have ended for this year, yet there is a way of staying here a bit longer because Purim is… Read more »

Daniella Ironi is Tucson’s newest shlicha, or Israeli emissary, here to support this summer’s JCC Maccabi Games & Access® at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Ironi is helping design fun yet educational programs for the “Hang Time” space, where athletes will spend time socializing when they are not competing.… Read more »

Scarlett Van Damme and Jacob Meyer were married on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at Wild Horse Ranch in Tucson, Arizona. Rabbi Malcolm Cohen of Kol Ami Synagogue officiated the ceremony beautifully following sunset. The happy couple did not host a traditional wedding party, but were honored by the attendance… Read more »

International chef and author Debbie Matzkin says she was born “in a palace of shadows.” “My family lived in a world of elegance and affluence,” she told almost 300 women gathered March 2 at Tanque Verde Ranch for Connections, the signature program of Women’s Philanthropy at Jewish Philanthropies of… Read more »

He was standing at a busy intersection when I drove by.  What caught my attention was the small dog wrapped in a blanket that he pushed in a stroller. Also, his sign had a name on it: Leo. It seemed every major intersection had people with signs, pleading for… Read more »

When David Wien’s wife, Fran, died of cancer in 2020, he found it hard to cope. But after 18 months, he says, “All of a sudden, I got this, maybe message from HaShem, I don’t know, but I got this thought in my head that said, ‘Take the focus… Read more »

“Israel is forever changed after the attacks on October 7, 2023. What does the future hold for Israel and the Jewish people throughout the world?” asks Rabbi Sara Metz of Congregation Anshei Israel. Join Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Dr. Yizhar Hess to discuss the roles American… Read more »

The Arizona Jewish Post issue of September 27, 2019, has a wonderful article on Willy Halpert, a nonagenarian living in Southern Arizona who had escaped the Holocaust as a young boy. I happened to be looking up names from my past and came upon the story.  I didn’t know… Read more »

In January, I traveled with thirty-five of my colleagues in Holocaust education to Poland for the 80th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. This trip was arranged for members of the Association of Holocaust Organizations and led by renowned Holocaust scholar and professor, Rabbi Michael Berenbaum. This was a… Read more »

Arizona legislators from both sides of the aisle participated in a forum on ending antisemitism on Feb. 20 at the University of Arizona Hillel, cosponsored by the nonpartisan international grassroots movement #EndJewHatred. The panel included State Rep. Justin Wilmeth, a Republican representing north Phoenix, and the three Hernandez siblings,… Read more »

For the final event in the 2024-2025 Beth and Mike Kasser Patron of the Arts Signature Events Series, the Tucson J in partnership with Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra (SASO), is proud to present Peter Boyer’s Ellis Island: The Dream of America on Sunday, May 11 at 3pm and Monday,… Read more »