The ultra-Orthodox make up some 13% of Israel’s population. The main cities in which this largely secluded population lives are Jerusalem and Bnei Brak, with large ultra-Orthodox communities in Elad, Betar Illit, and Modi’in Illit. There also are ultra-Orthodox communities in mixed cities such as Sefad, Ashdod, and Tiberius.… Read more »
Susan Claassen will star in the Invisible Theatre’s production of “Becoming Dr. Ruth,” a one-woman show by Mark St. Germain, which will run Feb. 11-23. “It is a privilege and awesome responsibility to portray this amazing and iconic woman who has been a Jewish ‘She-ro’ to so many including… Read more »
Leslie Glaze, co-chair of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Campaign for 2019, talks to Super Sunday volunteer Barbara Selznick, Jan. 27. (Photo: Debe Campbell/AJP)
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is planning its annual Super Sunday phone-a-thon this year for Jan. 26. The event, which raises funds for the 2020 Community Campaign, will be held 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in a new venue: the Deanna and Harvey Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy at 3718… Read more »
Did you know … that in addition to the programs, synagogues, and agencies the Federation helps fund in Southern Arizona, it supports Jewish communities in Israel, the former Soviet Union, and more than 70 countries around the world? Did you know … that the Free Loan, a non-sectarian program… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman It began as a typical Jewish Christmas Eve. To borrow a quote from Elana Kagan: “Like most Jews, I was at a Chinese restaurant.” As I walked through the restaurant, I passed table after table of Jewish friends and acquaintances happily sharing fried rice and eggrolls with family and… Read more »
Rabbi Sam Cohon The emergence of violent anti-Semitism as a widespread American scourge can leave no Jews with warm thoughts about the year that just passed. Until October 2018, just 15 months ago, there had never been a fatal attack on a synagogue in the United States. Now there have been two… Read more »
Michael Beller, left, and Josh Kay Only 12 states currently require schools to teach students about the Holocaust. Michael Beller and Josh Kay, the founders of Arizona Teaching the Holocaust, want to make Arizona state number 13. “It’s important to me that Holocaust education stay at the forefront,” Beller said. “We want to ensure that… Read more »
Paul Patterson Continued attacks on Jewish targets are a reminder that individual organizations clearly need to be more attentive, and they are stepping up to that,” says Stuart Mellan, CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. “We see a higher level of vigilance than ever before.” “The Jewish… Read more »
Adam Scott Bellos
On a recent return visit to Tucson, Adam Scott Bellos, founder of The Israel Innovation Fund, told the AJP it felt like “coming full circle for me.” Bellos says the unique Zionist nonprofit has its roots at the University of Arizona, where he spent three years in Judaic studies… Read more »
Michael Aloni stars in "Shtisel."
Award-winning writer and director Yehonatan Indursky, co-creator of Israel’s award-winning TV series “Shtisel,” will speak on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. as part of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series. The free lecture will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center,… Read more »
Marc Tanne and Bryce Megdal head back from the chuppah. (Photos: Chris Jorda Photography)
Cantor Bryce Megdal and Marc Tanne were married on Sept. 1, 2019, at Maple Country Club in Maplewood, New Jersey, with Rabbi Matthew Gewirtz officiating. Megdal is the daughter of Ronald and Sharon Megdal, Ph.D., of Tucson. Tanne is the son of Robert Tanne, D.M.D., of Scotch Plains, New… Read more »
The Israel Innovation Fund’s Wine on the Vine initiative allows people to plant a grapevine in Israel in the name of a loved one for $18. The Tucson Jewish Community Center is one of the first five JCCs in the United States to partner with Wine on the Vine.… Read more »
Shlomit Norman was only 42 when doctors diagnosed her with multiple myeloma — a bone marrow cancer with no known cure that rarely strikes people under the age of 65. At the time, the youngest of her three boys was 10, and few patients with the disease survived for… Read more »
Third-year medical students at the University of Arizona (Photo: Kris Hanning)
The University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix began providing free tuition in the spring semester to students who agree to practice primary care in a federally designated underserved community in Arizona for at least two years after completing their residency. This is a move to… Read more »
Esther Sternberg, M.D. A new study suggests that relative humidity levels in the office can affect stress and potentially sleep quality, and cost employers in terms of productivity and sick leave. The study is by Esther Sternberg, M.D., director of the University of Arizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing and Performance and research… Read more »
The Capitol Steps perform. (Photo courtesy Capitol Steps)
It’s another election year, and that’s a bonanza for the Capitol Steps, the singing satirists from D.C. who will take the stage at the Fox Tucson Theatre next month in a benefit performance for the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation. “That will be a fun time because that will… Read more »
Photo courtesy Temple Emanu-El
Members of Congregation Or Chadash and Temple Emanu-El joined for a 100 Menorah Celebration, an Or Chadash tradition, at Temple Emanu-El on Friday, Dec. 27. After a light supper, participants lit menorahs in the sanctuary, lending their glow to the holiday Shabbat service led by clergy from both congregations.… Read more »
About 150 people attended Temple Emanu-El’s Hanukkah Spectacular on Sunday, Dec. 15, with students from the Kurn Religious School and Strauss ECE singing, dancing, acting, and playing music. Here, Kurn teacher Sarah Fire leads children in “I’m a Little Latke” and “Hanukkah is Here.”… Read more »
About 100 people attended Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s dinner party on Sunday, Dec. 29, celebrating both the final night of Hanukkah and Rabbi and Esther Becker’s 40th year in Tucson.… Read more »
Tucsonans Bruce Ash (right) and Gary Kippur attended the White House Hanukkah reception Dec. 11, and witnessed President Donald Trump signing the Executive Order on Combating Anti-Semitism. (Photo Courtesy Gary Kippur)
