Egyptian amulet found in Temple Mount soil April 19, 2016 (Zachi Dvira)
Jerusalem (TPS) – Neshama Spielman, a 12-year-old Israeli girl, made a rare archaeological discovery while sifting earth illegally discarded from the Temple Mount. She found an ancient amulet, more than 3,200 years old, bearing the name of the Egyptian ruler Thutmose III, Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty who reigned from… Read more »
Millions of Jews throughout the U.S. and around the world face a challenge each year at Passover: how to connect the biblical story of their liberation from slavery to the daily experience of life today. Free the Slaves and a distinguished group of rabbis and Jewish educators have created… Read more »
Donald Trump attending the New York State Republican Gala in New York City, April 14, 2016. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)
(JTA) — I am executive vice president and chief legal officer of The Trump Organization. I have been working with Donald Trump for over 19 years. I am an observant, committed Jew. What comes to my mind when I think of Donald Trump? Inspiration. He inspires people of… Read more »
Hillary Clinton campaigning at a Bronx organizing event in New York City, April 13, 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Today, Israel is surrounded by more turmoil than ever, and the world also presents great challenges to the United States. Iran is developing missile technology that can reach Israel, and providing ever-more-sophisticated rockets to Hezbollah and Hamas. Russia is making aggressive military movement from Ukraine… Read more »
Bernie Sanders at a campaign rally at Bronx Community College in New York City, April 9, 2016. (Eric Thayer/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — On Nov. 8, 2016, if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee, I expect to be voting enthusiastically for Clinton for president. One reason is that she’s so competent. Another is that the Republicans are so awful. In fact, I can’t think of a modern-day… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an unprecedented weekly Cabinet meeting held on the Golan Heights, April 17, 2016. (Effi Sharir/Pool/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — During the five-plus years of Syria’s civil war, Israel has striven to stay neutral — supporting neither the government of President Bashar Assad nor the rebels, and certainly not the Islamic State. But on one issue, senior Israeli politicians have gladly taken sides: Israel keeping the… Read more »
Firefighters and rescue personnel at the scene of a bus bombing in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem, April 18, 2016. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least 21 people were injured in a bus bombing in Jerusalem, police said, in the first such attack in Israel in years. A city bus exploded and went up in flames Monday evening on a major thoroughfare in the southern end of the capital. The blast… Read more »
After seeking in vain for a holiday menu that inspired her and was healthy for her family, Kenden Alfond, founder of the Jewish Food Hero blog, created one instead. “The Jewish Food Hero Cookbook: 50 Simple PlantBased Recipes for Your Holiday Meals” is organized around the 10 major Jewish holidays. This Passover version of shepherd’s pie… Read more »
Martin Elliot Sodomsky, M.D. (Marty), 79, a resident of Chandler, Arizona, passed away on Thursday, March 31, 2016 at Dignity Health Chandler Regional Medical Center after a long battle with complications of lung disease. He was born to Gloria and Arthur Sodomsky on January 23, 1937 in Winnipeg, Manitoba,… Read more »
Herman Grunstein, 93, died March 30, 2016. Born in Paterson, N.J., Mr. Grunstein served in the U.S. Air Force medical corps from 1942-45. Following the war, he opened a fabric store with his father in Paterson. In 1954 he married Claire Weiss and they worked together at fabric stores… Read more »
Murray Leonard, 93, died March 27, 2016. Born in Scranton, Pa., Mr. Leonard grew up in the Bronx, N.Y. During World War II, he was a PFC in the US Army (83rd Reconnaissance Troop, 83rd Division), participating in the Battle of the Bulge, sustaining injuries and awarded a Purple… Read more »
Joan Elder (left) and Esta Goldstein on the bus to Patagonia. Jewish Patagonia Patagonia, Ariz., that is, not Argentina/Chile. On Tuesday, March 29, a busload of 54 Tucsonans traveled to Patagonia. The trip was co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Northwest Division and the Hadassah Southern Arizona chapter. The tour group learned that there are between 8 and… Read more »
“The Good Jew” explored at conference A meeting of the western branch of the American Academy of Religion was held at the University of Arizona April 1-3. A panel presentation April 3, “The Good Jew: Rabbinic Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives” was moderated by Max Strassfeld, assistant professor of religious… Read more »
Simone Zimmerman (Facebook)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders’ campaign suspended its new Jewish outreach director over the tone of her past criticism of Israel. “She has been suspended while we investigate the matter further,” Michael Briggs, a campaign spokesman, said Thursday, referring to Simone Zimmerman. Zimmerman, a former J Street student activist,… Read more »
Broccoli and Parmesan Soup (Megan Wolf)
(JTA) — Even during Jewish holidays, when food is so abundant, it is possible to eat healthfully. My cookbook, “Great Meals with Greens and Grains,” highlights many of my favorite plant-based, vegetarian recipes that not only are healthy but delicious. And many of its recipes are kosher for… Read more »
CLAIRE’S CAFÉ, owned by CLAIRE JOHNSON, is a finalist for the Good Neighbor Award, one of the 2016 Torch Awards to be awarded by the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona. The award recognizes a company “that has shown a commitment to making southern Arizona a better place through… Read more »
Bella Ruth Wexler, daughter of Allison and Michael Wexler, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on April 16 at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Charlene and Samuel Wexler of Chicago and Susan and Jerry Zandman of New York. Bella attends Esperero Canyon Middle School and is… Read more »
SHARON MEGDAL, Ph.D., was awarded the Women of Influence Lifetime Achievement Award for 2016. The award was presented by Tucson Local Media/Inside Tucson Business at the culmination of its gala Women of Influence awards dinner on March 22. The award recognizes Megdal for her efforts in Arizona and… Read more »
Rabbi Thomas Louchheim Back in March, I had two possible meetings to attend, occurring at the same time. One was a Jewish Federation meeting and the other was a zoning hearing at City Hall. I told representatives from both that I would be out of town visiting family. Both times I hung… Read more »
(Copyright Anne Lowe)
Tucsonan Anne Lowe created “Miriam Dancing With Her Timbrel” for the AJP, illustrating a poem she wrote some years ago. … Read more »
