NEW YORK (JTA) — Growing up in the Orthodox community of Monsey, New York, as the son of an African-American mother who converted to Judaism and a white Ashkenazi father who became religious later in life, Isaiah Rothstein knows what it’s like not to fit in. The New York hamlet… Read more »
Posts By Debe Campbell
Meet the national security expert who is leading the charge to keep Jews voting Democratic
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Halie Soifer says her transition from national security expert to political operative started with a crisis of violence: the deadly neo-Nazi march last summer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Soifer says the march, which culminated in a car-ramming attack on counterprotesters that killed one and injured at least 20,… Read more »
A day after honoring Jeff Sessions, Orthodox Union questions family separations at border
By Ben Sales NEW YORK (JTA) — The Orthodox Union released a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s policy of separating the families of illegal immigrants after they cross the U.S. border. The statement came one day after the O.U., an umbrella Orthodox group, hosted a speech by Attorney General… Read more »
OP-ED Any volunteers? You are tomorrow’s Jewish doers and leaders
(JTA) — “Ethics of the Fathers” includes this bold advice from Rabbi Yishmael: “When we learn in order to act, we become learners, teachers, preservers and doers.” So many Jewish institutions are asking how they might engage younger people, raise a new generation of leaders and appeal across age groups.… Read more »
Jews should protest separating of families
We have a special responsibility as Jews to stand up and stop the Administration policy of separating families of undocumented immigrants at the border. When I see the horrible pictures of children in detention centers, it brings to mind the powerful Arizona Theatre Company production of “Diary of Anne… Read more »
‘Radical inclusion’ of interfaith families is best response to Michael Chabon
In an essay for JTA on Michael Chabon’s intermarriage views, Sylvia Barack Fishman, Steven M. Cohen and Jack Wertheimer describe a “left camp” that argues for greater acceptance, welcoming and inclusion of the intermarried and their family members, and a “Jewish right” that argues for holding on to distinctions… Read more »
Bourdain used food to bridge divides — even between Arabs and Jews
Anthony Bourdain was quick — and often willing — to publicly offer his own flaws. “Until 44 years of age, I never had any kind of savings account,” Bourdain said in 2017. “ always owed money. I’d always been selfish and completely irresponsible.” Despite or maybe because of such… Read more »
People in the news 6.15.18
Tucson photographer STEVEN MECKLER will receive the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award at the Tucson Advertising Hall of Achievement event on Sept. 6 at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. The Silver Medal is a nationally recognized award that honors men and women who have made significant contributions… Read more »
CCC program aims to bolster ‘The Connection’
Two rabbis and 12 yeshiva students from New Jersey will join forces with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute later this month for a multifaceted program called “The Connection.” The goal of the free, three-week program is “to help the Jewish… Read more »
Honored with renaming of law center, Kozolchyk discusses trade, identity
There is hope for better international trade relations if leaders will adhere to basic ideas of fairness, good faith and honesty, says Boris Kozolchyk, S.J.D., a world-renowned expert on international banking and commercial law. He is the founder of the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, a nonprofit… Read more »
Aphasia Center of Tucson helps patients regain talk, laughter, life
Former U.S. congressional representative and Tucson resident Gabrielle Giffords brought aphasia into the public eye during recovery from the 2011 mass shooting at her “Congress on Your Corner” event in northwest Tucson. Two million people in the United States have aphasia, a communication disorder, but 84.5 percent of Americans… Read more »
Tucson Jewish community has long, proud history of embracing refugees
“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well. No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” — Refugee poet Warsan Shire Each… Read more »
Museum honorees have deep roots in Tucson
This is the final part of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2018 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Community Awards Celebration, held May 10. The Jewish History Museum recognized a pair of volunteers, Lynda Rogoff and Linda Tumarkin, for outstanding service, because they are such… Read more »
UA hosts talks by Israeli water, energy experts
As part of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s ongoing efforts to compare water management experiences of Israel and Arizona, the WRRC has scheduled two lectures this spring and summer. On May 21, Uri Shani, Ph.D., a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presented “The Red-Dead… Read more »
THA grads blend fun, spirituality on Israel trip
Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth graders enjoyed the annual graduation trip to Israel, May 6-17. Highlights included an archeological dig at Beit Guvrin and Bar Kochva Caves, and a Bedouin experience with a drum circle and desert tent sleepover in Kfar HaNokdim, along with the requisite camel ride. Unique on… Read more »
Business briefs 6.15.18
TEMPLE EMANU-EL’s board of directors has announced that RABBI BATSHEVA APPEL will continue as the congregation’s sole rabbi. Her title will be “rabbi” rather than “rabbi educator,” and she will provide oversight of the Kurn Religious School and the Jewish Lifelong Learning program (formerly the Adult Education Academy), rather… Read more »