Participants in the San Francisco Pride Parade showing their Jewish and Israeli pride, too, June 30, 2014. (Wikimedia Commons)
NEW YORK (JTA) – Here’s a riddle: If a transgender Jew shows up at an Orthodox synagogue, on which side of the mechitzah barrier separating the sexes should the person be seated? That’s an easy one compared to more complex Jewish legal questions raised by people who don’t identify… Read more »
Zehava and Herzl Shaul have no definitive proof that their son Oron died after he was captured by Hamas on July 20, 2014 in Gaza City. (Ben Sales)
KFAR SABA, Israel (JTA) — One family lost their son in late July 2014. The other lost theirs on the first of August in the same year. One family has lobbied the United Nations and crossed an ocean in hopes of bringing their son’s remains back. The other mostly stays… Read more »
Seymour Rosenbloom ELKINS PARK, Pa. (JTA) — The Conservative movement’s leadership must drop its ban on Conservative rabbis officiating at interfaith weddings — before it’s too late. The Rabbinical Assembly’s unequivocal rule is that a Conservative rabbi may not officiate at an intermarriage. But after 42 years as an active rabbi, during which… Read more »
Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's deputy transportation minister, marrying Or Alon in central Israel, May 27, 2013. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash 90)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Israeli Supreme Court decision on Jewish conversion changes almost nothing. But down the line, it could change a lot. Under the March 31 ruling, the state of Israel must recognize Jewish conversions performed in private Orthodox conversion courts not run by its Chief Rabbinate.… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division will co-host a family outreach event, “Northwest Fun in the Sun Day,” on Sunday, April 10, from 1 p.m. to 4 , at Canada Del Oro Riverfront Park, 551 W. Lambert Lane in Oro Valley. The event will include… Read more »
Clockwise, starting from top left, Benjamin Netanyahu, HAIM, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Lena Dunham. (Getty Images)
(JTA) — Ten years ago this week, Twitter was born. Never ones to miss a good conversation, Jews quickly adopted the social network, and they haven’t stopped kibitzing since. To celebrate the birth of this post-modern Talmud, we’ve updated JTA’s 2009 list of the “100 Most Influential Jewish Twitterers” (which helped a young woman… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — It might appear churlish to criticize the teaching of Islamic studies in America. After all, “Between Sharia and Democracy: Islamic Education in North America,” a just-released study by Impact-SE, finds that the most widely used Islamic textbooks published in the United States are generally free of imagery and… Read more »
The Edwards Twins, identical twin celebrity impressionists, will return to Tucson, their childhood home, for a charity performance at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Sunday, April 10 at 6:30 p.m. Anthony and Eddie Edwards, who are Jewish, are alumni of Rincon High School. They have toured the globe for… Read more »
Marilyn Heins, M.D. The Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee will hold a high tea and installation of officers at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6 at Skyline Country Club, 5200 E. St. Andrews Drive. Dr. Marilyn Heins will speak on “The Joy of Aging,” humorously addressing the disadvantages of growing… Read more »
Amy Ernst’s “In the Shadow of the Dreamers” featuring members of the UA Dance Ensemble. (Ed Flores)
“In the Shadows of the Dreamers,” a dance commemorating the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, will be part of a University of Arizona School of Dance concert later this month to benefit the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum. The concert and reception will be… Read more »
Talya Simha Fanger-Vexler Talya Simha Fanger-Vexler will be the featured speaker at a Hadassah Southern Arizona luncheon on Sunday, April 17, 11:30 a.m. at the Country Club of La Cholla. Fanger-Vexler will relate the story of courage and fortitude that took her from being injured as a passenger in a motorcycle crash… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Men’s Group will host its sixth annual Men’s Poker Tournament on Sunday, April 17 from 5:30-8 p.m. at Reilly Craft Pizza and Drink, 101 E. Pennington St. Proceeds will benefit PJ Our Way in Southern Arizona, an extension of the PJ Library… Read more »
Cherry Tomatoes And Salad Leaves ,Close Up The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present a three-part Nutrition for Seniors series on Tuesdays, April 5, 12 and 19, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the demonstration kitchen. Led by Mary Atkinson, R.D., director of wellness at Tucson Medical Center and Laurie Ledford, M.S., R.D., wellness dietician at TMC, each… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Community Center and Tucson Medical Center will host their second annual family triathlon on Sunday, April 17, starting at 8 a.m. The noncompetitive triathlon is designed for children and their adult mentors or families to enjoy together. Parents or other adult mentors can register to swim,… Read more »
(L-R) Rabbi Yossie Shemtov, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim and Rabbi Robert Eisen
Three Tucson rabbis representing three streams of Judaism will participate in “This I Believe,” part of the rabbi lecture series at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, on Sunday, April 10, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the great room at Handmaker. Rabbi Yossi Shemtov of Congregation Young Israel-Chabad, Rabbi Thomas… Read more »
Sam Morril
When comedian Sam Morril encounters a heckler, something that happens when he performs on the road, he knows he has to tread carefully at first. He wants to make sure the crowd knows there’s a problem. “We notice the problem in the room way before the room does,” Morril… Read more »
Dennis Ross As a former U.S. Middle East peace negotiator, Dennis Ross understands why ISIS continues to get recruits, even though those recruits know they will die soon and violently. “It appeals to those who feel completely disaffected; it appeals to those who are alienated, who feel left out. They create… Read more »
L-R) Gail Ben-Jamin, Ben Siegel and Ester Siegel pack Passover bags at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona in 2014.
The Matza & More program sponsored by Jewish Family & Children’s Services brings Passover bags to Tucson-area residents who otherwise could not afford food and other items for a seder. From children to seniors, volunteers find significant connections in this longstanding program. Gary Cohen’s two sons, Grant, 11, and… Read more »
Vida and Eliot Barron outside the Jewish Federation Northwest office (Anne Lowe)
Vida and Eliot Barron have not wasted a minute since they started coming to Tucson 19 winters ago in 1998. Motivated by all of the blessings they have had in their 57 years of marriage, the bottom line for them is to share good things with people who need… Read more »
Mel Cohen Volunteering to lead Shabbat and holiday services for the residents of Handmaker began as a way for Mel Cohen to give back to the assisted living facility where his father was a resident, but 22 years later, Cohen continues to lead services as a way to connect to Jewish… Read more »
