Monica Barker of Tiger Lily Table (Facebook)
While sheltering in place due to the coronavirus, we may not be able to dine at our favorite restaurants, but we can still make our meals, whether they are home-cooked or takeout, look special, says Monica Barker of Tiger Lily Table Rentals in Tucson. “Don’t save Granny’s china for… Read more »
Rabbi Robert Eisen
Rabbi Robert Eisen, who will retire at the end of June after 21 years as Congregation Anshei Israel’s spiritual leader, “doesn’t like to toot his own horn,” says Dan Jurkowitz, president of the CAI board of trustees and a lifelong member of the congregation. Quietly, however, the rabbi does much,… Read more »
A fourth-grade student at Tucson Hebrew Academy displays a Lego® tower he created after the school switched to remote learning in mid-March. The structure, which demonstrates engineering principles, can hold a ball for longer than two minutes. (Courtesy Stephanie Buchler/Tucson Hebrew Academy)
Gov. Doug Ducey announced the closure of Arizona schools on Sunday, March 15 to mitigate the spread of coronavirus. On March 16, Tucson Hebrew Academy was ready with online learning, says Head of School Laurence Kutler, Ph.D. ”We were prepared two weeks before it happened,” Kutler says, explaining that THA… Read more »
Jennifer Selco
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present a virtual Yom Limmud, a day that celebrates Jewish learning, on Sunday, May 17. “While we cannot be together in person due to the current health crisis, we must create opportunities to gather virtually as a Jewish community,” says Jennifer Selco, the J’s… Read more »
Lisa Friedman
For students, the University of Arizona experience has been turned upside down during this COVID-19 era. The university has switched to online classes and all in-person activities have been canceled or postponed until further notice. Many students have felt the impact of social distancing and have been struggling with school… Read more »
Liz Kanter Groskind As Jews, we are commanded to be just, to aid and care for those most vulnerable among us. The word “tzedakah” itself translates to “justice,” not simply “charity,” as many believe. This is a value Jews have internalized and acted upon over the centuries. Social justice is not merely a… Read more »
Rabbi Israel Becker As I was praying alone in my study this Passover, words I had been saying my entire life suddenly popped out of the siddur: “We have been exiled from our land. We are unable to serve you in your Holy House.” We also are experiencing an exile, from our… Read more »
The state of Arizona has suspended all in-person worship services, classes, and other programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with many local synagogues halting live events in advance of the governor’s March 30 stay-at-home order. Local congregations have migrated programs to digital spaces, including Shabbat services for non-Orthodox congregations.… Read more »
Jay Zucker is ready to serve guests in the new wine tasting room. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
Imagine you are planning to open a wine bar in Arizona on April 1 and the day before, the government shut down all of the state’s bars and restaurants, due to the coronavirus pandemic. It sounds like a really bad April Fool’s Day joke. But it was no joke… Read more »
Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona together with local families created a pandemic relief fund to provide resources to help the community during these challenging times. To date, more than $300,000 has been raised for pandemic relief efforts. The… Read more »
A man taking part in a protest to reopen Pennsylvania in Harrisburg, April 20, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
(JTA) — The road to reopening for houses of worship has been paved in a handful of states, even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to kill more than 1,500 Americans a day. But synagogues in the Republican-led states that are relaxing some restrictions — including Georgia, Texas and South… Read more »
(JTA) — Joe Biden told supporters that he would leave the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem if he is elected president. Speaking to New England supporters at a virtual fundraiser from his Delaware home, the presumptive Democratic nominee responded to a reporter’s question that the embassy “should not have been… Read more »
(JTA) — President Donald Trump reiterated his rejection of anti-Semitic bigotry and hate attacks in a proclamation for Jewish American Heritage Month. “Tragically, Jewish men, women, and children continue to face anti-Semitic discrimination, persecution, and violence today, and Jewish institutions and places of worship remain targets of vandalism and… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Palestine is a state and the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction involving its cases, the ICC prosecutor ruled Thursday, which could pave the way for a war crimes investigation against Israel. A three-judge panel of the ICC Pretrial Chamber must now affirm the decision by Fatou… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The parents of Rina Shnerb, 17, Israel’s only terrorism fatality in the last year, named their new baby daughter eight months after her sister’s death. Rabbi Eitan and Shira Shnerb of Lod, in central Israel, named their newborn Tiferet, which means “glory,” on Wednesday in an… Read more »
(JTA) — Dozens of Jewish organizations and Jewish leaders are unhappy with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and they let him know about it in an open letter. The letter released Wednesday accused de Blasio of “scapegoating” the Jewish community in response to a large Hasidic funeral… Read more »
(JTA) — The state of Utah has suspended the use of a service to help first responders and law enforcement after learning that the founder of the company providing the technology has a white supremacist past and was involved in a 1990 synagogue shooting. Damien Patton, CEO of Banjo,… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Legislation to enshrine into law the rotation of prime minister under the new unity government in Israel is two parliament votes away from passage. On Thursday, the Knesset’s first reading to amend the quasi-constitutional Basic Law passed in a 72-40 vote. The bill must go through… Read more »
Eisner Camp in Massachusetts, a view of its lake seen here, is among 16 Reform movement overnight camps that will not open this summer. (Wikimedia Commons)
This is a developing story. (JTA) — Nearly all Reform Jewish summer camps, and at least one Conservative camp, will remain closed for the 2020 summer due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency has learned. The landmark decision, made Thursday afternoon, will affect 15 Reform overnight… Read more »
(JTA) — The financially strapped National Museum of American Jewish History has furloughed about two-thirds of its staff without pay. The Philadelphia museum, which is affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution, closed on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The staff had already taken pay cuts in an effort… Read more »
