Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

Recently JTA reported a story about an alternative students’ guide published by student activists at Tufts University that labels Israel a white supremacist state. The so-called “disorientation guide” also reduced the university’s Hillel to a “Zionist” organization that offers nothing of value to the private campus’s diversity or culture.… Read more »

Regarding “New Israeli shinshinim bring youthful energy to Tucson” (AJP 8/11/17),å how lucky we are that Tucson is one of the cities participating in the shinshinim (Israeli teen volunteers) program, the goal of which is to make connections between Israel and worldwide communities. Our first shinshinim, Leah Avuno and… Read more »

Maccabi USA is seeking Jewish athletes, coaches, and volunteers to represent the United States at the inaugural Maccabi Youth Games in Israel, July 22-Aug. 1, 2018. There will be six days of competition, followed by three days of touring based in Jerusalem. The games will include U.S. teams for… Read more »

MINSK, Belarus (JTA) — At the age of 36, Yishai Malkin and his family are leading what millions of people in the former Soviet Union would consider a charmed life. A web designer, Malkin and his wife, an event manager, earn a combined monthly salary of $2,000. That’s comfortable… Read more »

(JTA) — He was just 24, but speechwriter David Litt had already become President Barack Obama’s go-to guy for anything considered “kishke-related.” In Litt’s parlance, that meant he wrote the president’s speeches aiming to connect with Jewish Americans on a gut level — things like holiday and anniversary commemorations,… Read more »

I know something about most Jewish holidays. I can tell you that Hanukkah is about miracles, Passover is about slavery and freedom, and Shavuot is about cheesecake. (I have no idea why, but when it comes to matters of cheesecake, it is not mine to question.) The one holiday… Read more »

  (JTA) — Around the picnic tables at Whitefish City Beach on the final Shabbat eve of last month, the Montana town’s tiny Jewish community shared kosher hot dogs, veggie burgers and memories of terror. In a year when white supremacists have been ascendant, at least in their public… Read more »

  {JTA) — A few weeks ago, Holly Davies was getting ready to homeschool her kids and preparing the family for the High Holidays. When Hurricane Harvey hit, she helped evacuate 150 people from her neighborhood by airboat and shelter nearly 100 people in a local church. Then came… Read more »

  LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Was your father a rabbi? When I tell people that I wanted to be a rabbi from the time I was 4 years old, they always ask me that same question. No, my father made women’s clothing, but he was my rabbi. When I was… Read more »

Marrek Pearce Parker, son of Pamela Workman-Parker and Charles Parker Jr., will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Saturday, Sept. 16 at Temple Emanu-El. He is the grandson of Vivian Workman of Denver and Sandy Parker and Lt. Col. Charles Parker (retired) of Henderson, Nevada. Marrek attends Tortolita Middle… Read more »

A daughter, MARIELLE, was born July 14 to Daniel and Lisa Blaney-Koen of Chicago. Marielle joins her brothers, Brach William and Gray Oliver. Grandparents are Mike and Gerri Koen of Oracle, Arizona, and Howard and Marie Blaney of Colorado.… Read more »

Ann Annette (Annie) Stein, 90, died Aug. 25, 2017. Mrs. Stein was born in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School. In 1946 she married Leo Stein and they moved to Tucson. In addition to raising three sons, Mrs. Stein served as a volunteer at Tucson… Read more »

Richard “Rickey” H. Eisen, 28, died suddenly and unexpectedly on Aug. 23, 2017. Survivors include his parents, Rabbi Robert and Debby Eisen; and brother, Alex Eisen. A private service was held. Arrangements were made by Evergreen Mortuary and Cemetery.… Read more »

Gila (Gail) Ben-Jamin credits her many years on the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Partnership2Gether committee for having made lifelong friends in Israel. She has hosted people from the P2G region at her home in Tucson and has been hosted by those folks in Israel. She stays in touch… Read more »

Rabbi Helen T. Cohn

Tucked away in two places in the Book of Proverbs is a brief, cryptic statement: “tzedakah saves from death” (tzedakah tatzel mimavet) (Proverbs 10:2 and 11:4). Surely this can’t mean if we give tzedakah (that is, charitable contributions) we will be immortal! After all, those who give generous amounts… Read more »

Social action, community service, acts of loving kindness, humanitarianism … no matter what you call it, engaging in tikkun olam (repairing or healing the world) is an expression of a core Jewish value.  One idea behind the concept of tikkun olam is that we must act as partners with… Read more »

Bob Feinman

In 1967, Bob Feinman, an 18-year-old Jewish kid from New York City found himself in Tucson, enrolled in college, knowing no one. He could speak Spanish, but had never heard of a taco. He ended up with a 40-year career in Spanish language radio and became an advocate for… Read more »

Medical dramas are among TV’s most popular entertainment shows. But how realistic are those life-saving scenarios? ABC’s news program “20/20” will turn that question over to a group of medical experts to explore “The Good Doctor,” a series starting Sept. 25 from David Shore, the creator of “House.” The… Read more »

Renowned Jewish singer Billy Jonas will present a Sukkot concert at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, cosponsored by PJ Library, on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 4-6 p.m. in the Sculpture Garden. The event will include a story from PJ Library and a light, breakfast-themed dinner. For 25 years, Jonas… Read more »

Cooking and culture will blend together in a variety of classes at the Tucson Jewish Community Center starting this month. The classes will emphasize healthy eating and the importance of cooking together as a family, as well as sharing food and culture from around the world. All dishes will… Read more »