Photo: AJP Phyllis Braun
Inbal Shtivi, director of the Weintraub Israel Center and one of Tucson’s shlichim (Israeli emissaries), and her family hosted a Hanukkah open house on Thursday, Dec. 26, the fifth night of the holiday, with food, fellowship, and song. Here, Shtivi (left) and Cantorial Soloist Sara Golan Mussman prepare to… Read more »
Back row (L-R): Scott Casey (grandfather), Jacob White (father); middle row: Rachel Casey White (mother) with baby Eli, Kim Ronkin Casey (grandmother), Pam Weston (great-grandmother), Sandy Ostroff (great-grandfather), Sarah Casey (aunt); front row: Yeta Bart Weston (great-great-grandmother)
Yeta Weston, 104, one of the earlier members of Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley, recently became a great-great-grandmother. She returned to BSTC to celebrate the naming of Eli White. The baby and parents were in town for the special service on Friday, Dec. 27, conducted by Rabbi… Read more »
J Street founder and President Jeremy Ben Ami (right) honored Larry Gellman Dec. 16 at the first major event the pro-Israel group hosted in Tucson. More than 110 people, including a broad range of political leaders, rabbis, and Jewish professional and community leaders, attended. The event featured a timely… Read more »
State Rep. Alma Hernandez was named to The Forward’s list of 50 “Machers and Shakers Who Influenced, Intrigued and Inspired Us This Year.” Hernandez also was appointed this month to be the Young Democrats of America Jewish Caucus Southwest regional director. Steve Brass, a Tucson-based “stun and run” self-defense… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, area synagogues, and community members recently conducted the annual Project Isaiah food drive, collecting more than 3,636 pounds of food and $512 in donations for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona. Many other donations were collected directly from local synagogues.… Read more »
A son, Asher Evan Cogan, was born Nov. 30, 2019 to Scott and Laura (Heisler) Cogan, in New York City. Grandparents are Michael and Barbara Heisler of Tucson and Jesse and Sandy Cogan of Livingston, New Jersey. Asher Evan is the younger brother of Leo Grayson.… Read more »
Conner Belakovsky Connor Belakovsky, son of Anjelina Belakovskaia and Lawrence Bernstein, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 18, at Congregation Beit Simcha. He is the grandson of Liliya Belakovskaya of Tucson. Connor attends Esperero Canyon Middle School, where he plays clarinet in the band and is a member… Read more »
The fresh feeling of possibilities at the dawn of a new secular year (and decade) will no doubt be accompanied by business as usual in the political arena — loud bickering, mud-slinging and more regarding presidential candidates — not only in the House and Senate but in the homes… Read more »
Michael Elsner Michael Elsner, 65, died Dec. 9, 2019 of pancreatic cancer. Mr. Elsner was born to Sidney and Jean Elsner in Cleveland, Ohio, where he grew up. He graduated from the University of Arizona and earned a master’s degree and doctorate from American University. He taught sociology, criminology, and criminal… Read more »
Harold Feig Harold “Leroy” Feig, 83, died Nov. 25, 2019. Mr. Feig was born in the Bronx, New York, to Rose and Herbert Feig. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Mimi (Richard). Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Bobbie; children, Betsy (Fred) of Scottsdale, Marc (Aleda) of Phoenix,… Read more »
There are scores of reasons and occasions that may require legal advice or action. When it’s time to find an attorney, making a choice can seem complicated. Take methodical steps to research, seek recommendations, and prepare before you make a selection. Specialty The law is complex and changes rapidly.… Read more »
Soon it will be 2020. For some, the thrill of a New Year starting is tempered by concerns for what may be: an increase in hate incidents and/or crimes and an increase in hate speech both online and on the streets. Since the start of 2019, ADL Arizona has… Read more »
‘David Broza & Friends’ will perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Dec. 21. Photo courtesy Fox Tucson Theatre
Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza is considered one of the world’s most dynamic and vibrant performers. From his whirlwind finger picking to flamenco percussion and rhythms, to a signature rock and roll sound, his charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world. Broza recently told the AJP that… Read more »
Hanukkah’s proximity to Christmas can complicate the holiday. For those who try to make Hanukkah more like Christmas, it inevitably seems to fall short. Yet while Hanukkah traditionally was not one of the most central holidays of the Jewish calendar, it can offer many opportunities for fun and joyous… Read more »
Esther and Rabbi Israel Becker Photo: Britta Van Vankren
Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim will celebrate “40 Years of Torah Growth Together” with an on-line fund-raising campaign on Sunday and Monday, Dec. 8 and 9, and a 40th-anniversary dinner on the last night of Chanukah, Sunday, Dec. 29, at 5 p.m. at the synagogue.… Read more »
Sacha Baron Cohen speaks at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now conference in New York, Nov. 21, 2019. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of playing absurd comedic characters, from the dopey Brit Ali G to the Kazakh journalist Borat to the Israeli veteran Erran Morad. He rarely gives interviews and stays relatively far from the movie star limelight. But on Nov. 21, Cohen tossed… Read more »
Robin Bessier Jazz vocalist and songwriter Robin Bessier and her jazz trio will bring the rich history of jazz alive at the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life’s 2020 Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Campaign Kickoff dinner, “An Evening of Jewish Jazz Throughout the Ages”… Read more »
The Old Well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Fall. Photo: Getty Images
Those who care about Jewish college students should be celebrating a landmark legal victory in the fight against campus anti-Semitism. The victory stems from a civil rights complaint filed against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill by our organization, the Zionist Organization of America. Triggered by the… Read more »
Sean Patrick Doyle (center) and the company of Arizona Theatre Company’s ‘Cabaret’ in rehearsal. Photo courtesy Arizona Theatre Company
“Cabaret,” on stage at the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson through Dec. 29, “has toe-tapping, show-stopping musical numbers,” says Sara Bruner, who is directing the ATC production. “It’s wildly entertaining … but it also has real meaning.” It’s such a famous show — there’s Bob Fosse’s 1973 film, the… Read more »
Susan Kasle of Jewish Family & Children’s Services presents Yad Vashem docent Robert Eden with books of stories by Southern Arizona Holocaust survivors, Nov. 3. Photo: Jon Kasle
Susan Kasle is vice president of community services at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, which coordinates services for Holocaust survivors living in Southern Arizona. For Kasle, a highlight of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s recent interfaith mission was representing JFCS during the mission’s Nov. 3… Read more »
