Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

A U.S. government body on religious freedom is accused of going easy on Israel

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Dr. James Zogby participates in a panel discussion about the Muslim experience in America at the Washington National Cathedral October 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
May 1, 2017 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. State Department’s most recent religious freedoms report includes more than 1,400 words on access to holy sites in Israel. The most recent report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has zero words on access – or on anything to do with Israel.… Read more »

Labor protest says Conservative seminary violating its own ethical standards with building project

Marchers protesting labor arrangements at the Jewish Theological Seminary's construction site in New York City say the building contractor violates workers' rights, May 1, 2017. (Ben Sales)
May 1, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

NEW YORK (JTA) — The labor rights march, held on the unofficial workers’ holiday of May 1 and embarking from the steps of the Jewish Theological Seminary here, featured signs in Yiddish and Hebrew — and included some of the seminary’s own students. But the march wasn’t celebrating the long… Read more »

5 reasons why Sebastian Gorka may be on his way out of the White House

Sebastian Gorka participating in a discussion during the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Feb. 24, 2017. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
May 1, 2017 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

  WASHINGTON (JTA) – Sebastian Gorka, who advises President Donald Trump on counterterrorism, reportedly is leaving the White House for a role elsewhere in the administration. Gorka has been an object of Jewish attention since he was photographed at an inaugural ball sporting a medal of the Vitez Rend, a movement founded… Read more »

Why this Filipina is fighting for Israel

Staff Sgt. Joana Chris Arpon on Israeli soldiers saving her grandmother in the Philippines: “I was like, “Whoa, that’s what I want to do.” (Courtesy of IDF Spokesperson)
May 1, 2017 / Andrew Tobin, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Staff. Sgt. Joana Chris Arpon isn’t Israeli, or even Jewish. Her service in the Israel Defense Forces is personal. Arpon, 20, is the daughter of Filipino parents who came to the Israel to find work. She said she enlisted as a combat soldier because an Israeli army  team rescued her… Read more »

A New Yorker editor picks 7 of his favorite Jewish cartoons

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 09: Cartoonist Bob Mankoff attends New York screening for NEW YORKER PRESENTS at Crosby Hotel on February 9, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Amazon Studios)
May 1, 2017 / Gabe Friedman, JTA

(JTA) — Bob Mankoff has been the cartoon editor at The New Yorker for 20 years. But he’s been a Jew for 72. The celebrated cartoonist, who is stepping down from his prestigious perch in May, has therefore had a long time to formulate his thoughts on Judaism and Jewish… Read more »

P.S. – 4.28.17
April 28, 2017 / Sharon Klein, Special to the AJP
Lauren Brewer (left) and Shelby Roseman before picking up their Hollywood Half-Marathon race packets

Hollywood Half-Marathon On April 8 at 6 a.m., Shelby Roseman and her daughter, Lauren Brewer (Phoenix), ran in the Hollywood Half-Marathon. The race started in front of the Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, and continued down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the finish line near Hollywood… Read more »

Elanna Franklin
April 28, 2017 /

Elanna Franklin, daughter of Caren Franklin and the late Tony Franklin, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on April 29, 2017 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Beverly and Bernard Elzweig of Tucson. Elanna attends Emily Gray Junior High School. She enjoys karate and rock climbing.… Read more »

Graesyn Parrish
April 28, 2017 /

Graesyn Parrish, daughter of Gail and Tim Parrish, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on April 29, 2017 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Beverly and Bernard Elzweig of Tucson. Graesyn attends Vail Academy & High School. She enjoys playing volleyball and soccer with her teams… Read more »

In focus 4.28.17
April 28, 2017 /
(L-R): Joline Riddle, Sue DeBenedette, Amy Dowe, Denise Wolf and Mike Gadarian at the JCCs of North American Professional Conference

Tucson J professional development The Tucson Jewish Community Center sent five staff members to the JCCs of North America Professional Conference 2017, held in Orlando, Fla., March 19-22. Denise Wolf, chief operating officer; Mike Gadarian, chief financial officer; Joline Riddle, early childhood education director; Amy Dowe, fitness director; and… Read more »

People in the news
April 28, 2017 /

STEVEN MECKLER won a District Gold ADDY Award for color photography for “School Lunch Trays” published in Edible Baja Magazine, in the American Advertising Federation’s District 12 competition. The district includes advertising federation clubs in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and El Paso. Two “aluminations” by LYNN RAE… Read more »

Business briefs 4.28.17
April 28, 2017 /

THE JEWISH FEDERATION OF SOUTHERN ARIZONA has hired MELISSA HALL as office and facilities manager. She will transition from her current position as executive assistant at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, where she has worked for the past 16 years, and will support both JFSA and JCF… Read more »

In Tucson talk, journalist will examine media bias on Israel

Matti Friedman is a former AP reporter and author of "The Aleppo Codex" and "Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story"
April 28, 2017 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Staff Writer

It’s very important to understand who is feeding you information and why they are doing so, says Matti Friedman, an award-winning author and former reporter for the Associated Press’ Jerusalem bureau. “We all need to be critical consumers of media, not just where Israel is concerned,” says Friedman. “The… Read more »

Jewish History Museum explores ‘Fluid Identities’ of Crypto Jews
April 27, 2017 / Renee Claire, Special to the AJP
The “Cruz de los Sepharditos de Nuestra Tierra Sagrada” by artist Carlie Sánchez illustrates the confluence of cultures. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum)

“Fluid Identities:  New Mexican Crypto Jews in the Late 20th Century” is currently on display at Tucson’s Jewish History Museum. On loan from the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, “Fluid Identities” is part of a larger exhibition entitled “Fractured Faiths.” The Tucson exhibit offers an opportunity to… Read more »

Federation 70th anniversary mitzvah project will continue at Sister Jose Women’s Center

(L-R) Tom Warne, JFSA chair; Len Kronman, Sister Jose volunteer; Stuart Mellan, JFSA president and CEO; Shelly Silverman, JFSA board chair nominee; Bruce Ash, JFSA Sister Jose project co-chair; Ori Parnaby, Jewish community concierge; Fran Katz, JFSA senior vice president; and Jane Ash, JFSA Sister Jose project co-chair, at the April 20 ribbon-cutting celebration at Sister Jose Women’s Center. (Danielle Larcom/JFSA)
April 27, 2017 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Sister Jose Women’s Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new location on Park Avenue South on Thursday, April 20. The nonprofit center is a haven for homeless women. Its new location, a remodeled 9,000-square foot warehouse, will enable the center to serve far more women than it… Read more »

Tucson Pops free concerts to start Mother’s Day
April 27, 2017 /

Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor… Read more »