Winston Churchill was so impressed by Uganda during his 1907 safari that he wrote a book about it titled “My African Journey.” Published in 1908, Churchill wrote of the then-British Protectorate: “For magnificence, for variety of form and color, for profusion of brilliant life — bird, insect, reptile, beast —… Read more »
Posts By Debe Campbell
ID system for asylum seekers in Mexico recalls Holocaust tattoos
(JTA) — Asylum-seeking migrants waiting in Mexico to gain entrance to the United States are having tracking numbers written on their arms in permanent marker, recalling the Holocaust when concentration camp inmates were tattooed with numbers. Accounts vary on when and who started the numbers-tracking practice in Mexico, but… Read more »
Update from JFSA Partnership regions: Kiryat Malachi & Hof Ashkelon
Chanukah Cantata will bring together voices from across the Jewish community
The Tucson Jewish Community Center is hosting a Chanukah Cantata on Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. that will feature cantors and other vocalists from multiple congregations across Tucson and the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra in a special telling of the Hanukkah story. Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, musical director at Temple Emanu-El,… Read more »
THA fourth-graders, Tucson J preschoolers bond in Madrichim program
A new program coordinated by the Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Tucson Jewish Community Center is crafting leaders out of fourth- grade students. In the Madrichim (leaders) program, the THA students visit the Tucson J to teach preschoolers about the importance of upcoming holidays. Gabby Erbst, THA director of admissions… Read more »
Tucsonans grow Path to Peace on Gaza border
Netiv Ha’asara, a moshav (cooperative farming community) northwest of Israel’s Negev, in the Hof Ashkelon region, is part of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona partnership area. With pastoral charm and fragrant lemon trees, lush gardens hug its 250 cozy homes near the Mediterranean coast. In the shadow of… Read more »
At Hanukkah, don’t take message for granted
Many years ago, after serving in the Israel Defense Forces, I moved to live on a kibbutz in the beautiful Israel Valley. My father, who lived as a teen in the 1950s in Hulata, a kibbutz in the shadow of the Golan Heights, inspired me (a city boy) to… Read more »
The Hanukkah connection: In modern times, sharing the light with family near and far
For generations, lighting the Hanukkah candles together has been the fodder for lifelong memories. But today’s far-flung families are increasingly challenged to share the sight of the candles aglow, the sound of the blessings and traditional songs sung by old and young alike, the feel of a perfect dreidel… Read more »
Partnership2Gether strengthens local, overseas community programs
Each year, Art City provides more than 200 youth in Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon, Israel, an opportunity for professional development in the performing arts. The program contributes to the community and region with cultural and social activities, empowering youth with a sense of belonging, and using creativity to… Read more »
WIC Israel trip sparks family reunion
The recent Weintraub Israel Center annual mission to Israel did not only build community bridges; it also mended a bridge between a local family and long-lost family members with origins in Russia. Bonnie Shore-Dombrowski, a Tucson attorney, was joined on the October trip by her two sisters, Debby Shore… Read more »
When America doubted my grandmother’s loyalty
After my grandmother Jeannette died in December 1996, the process of settling her estate worked in the same way it does in most families: There was a house to be sold and possessions to be distributed. The surviving family members were left with a few souvenirs of my grandparents’… Read more »
Unsung Heroes: New kids’ book honors Polish woman who saved children in WWII
The story of Irena Sendler, the Polish social worker who hid 2,500 Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II, is now a children’s book. “Mommy, Who Was Irena Sendler?” by Cathy Werling is the third volume in the Unsung Heroes children’s book series, published by the Lowell… Read more »
New books for kids include a fresh take on trailblazing ‘All-of-a-Kind Family’
Ella, Henny, Sarah, Charlotte and Gertie. The names of the five fictional sisters bring a smile to generations of Jewish Americans who grew up reading “All-of-a-Kind Family,” the classic mid-century chapter book series by Sydney Taylor that followed the day-to-day doings and adventures of a Jewish-American immigrant family on… Read more »
Jewish thrift store plans ‘Best Of’ sales event
The 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, Southern Arizona’s only Jewish thrift store, will hold its “Best Of” event on Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-8 p.m. The event will feature select merchandise, snacks and wine, and music by Birks Works. Held twice a year, the “Best Of” events are a… Read more »
When chocolate babka meets doughnuts, the result is doubly delicious
Babka is nearly a weekly occurrence in my house, and I can think of few things better. But it’s not just me: Babka has really been getting the recognition it deserves all over the country, making appearances everywhere from artisanal bakeries to Jewish delis and even high-end restaurants. My… Read more »
Hadassah to host regional speaker at installation lunch
Hadassah Southern Arizona will honor its 2018 Woman of the Year, install officers for 2019 and recognize its annual supporters at a luncheon on Dec. 9. Ian Merles, the annual giving officer for Hadassah West Coast Region, will be the guest speaker. Honey Manson will install the new slate… Read more »
Vivian Workman
Vivian Mae Workman, age 78, died Sept. 12, 2018, in Evergreen, Colorado, after a battle with lymphoma. Mrs. Workman was born in Brooklyn, New York, to David and Pauline Brande. She was a 1957 graduate of East Rockaway High School and a 1961 graduate of the University of Rochester… Read more »
In Focus 11.23.18
50th-anniversary celebration Marshall and Susan Rubin celebrated their 50th anniversary, which was officially on Aug. 11, with a party Oct. 21 for family and friends. About 55 people attended the party, held at Culinary Dropout, including the Rubin’s adult sons and their families, who live in Tucson, and Susan’s… Read more »
Abigail Claire Cherkis
Abigail Claire Cherkis, daughter of Brenda Frye and Sergey Cherkis, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Congregation Anshei Israel. She is the granddaughter of Norma Frye of Maricopa, Scott Frye of Gilbert, Margarita Lazereva of Tucson, and Alexander Cherkis of Brooklyn, NY. Abigail attends… Read more »
Donald Simon
Donald Simon, 88, of Delray Beach, Florida, died Sept. 16, 2018. Mr. Simon’s first career was in the garment center of New York, selling children’s wear. Upon moving to Tucson in 1989, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in psychology from Prescott College, and worked for Jewish Family &… Read more »