Elaine Lois Rapoport, 82, died April 23, 2015. Mrs. Rapoport attended Syracuse University and Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in speech and drama. Throughout high school and college, she sang with orchestras and was cast in many different lead roles as a singer and actress. Mrs. Rapoport was… Read more »
Harriet Shirley Robbins, 84, died April 20, 2015. Mrs. Robbins was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years, Harold. Survivors include her children, Jeffery (Becky) Robbins, Randy (Richard) Druitt, Dean Robbins, Eric (Kimberly) Robbins, and Matthew (Sylvia) Robbins; sister, Jean Weisman; and 12 grandchildren. Graveside services were… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition meet with Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) at his office in Washington, D.C. (L-R) Zakkai Markowitz, Josh McKenna, Ryan Green, Alan Parra, Jared Friedman, Flake, Aida Flores, Itzel Herrera, Audrey Powers, Dominick Montes (Lisa Kondrat)
When a group of nine Jewish and Latino teens traveled to Washington, D.C. last month it wasn’t just to see the sights — unless that included visiting congressional offices. Members of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition made the trip cross-country to lobby for immigration reform,… Read more »
Itzak Zvi Zamir, 92, died April 9, 2015. Born in Tel Aviv, Mr. Zamir spent many years in Cleveland. He graduated from Wayne State University and was a retired biomedical engineer. He earned advanced degrees from the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies, where he specialized in musical instruments of… Read more »
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Board Chair Kathryn L. Unger and Jewish Agency for Israel President and CEO for International Development Misha Galperin at a JFSA council meeting April 22 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center
For the last five years, Misha Galperin, Ph.D., has traveled the world on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Israel, where he has been president and CEO for international development. Even before that, while pursuing a career as a psychologist in New York City, he volunteered with the New… Read more »
Rabbi Yossie Shemtov (left) and Tucson Police detective Scott Ahlskog examine ritual items police recovered after a robbery at Congregation Young Israel-Chabad.
Congregation Young Israel-Chabad will be donating body armor to the Tucson Police Department in appreciation of detectives’ retrieval of some of the silver ornaments stolen from the synagogue on the night of Feb. 22. The gift will be made through the Tucson Police Foundation’s “Adopt-a-Cop” program, using funds that… Read more »
A quake emergency team member walks through debris from one of the UNESCO World Heritage site temples in Basantapur Durbar Square on April 28, 2015 in Kathmandu, Nepal. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
When the ground began to shake, Inbar Irron was among a dozen Israelis in Nepal who ran outside the building where they had been sitting — and straight into a cloud of dust. When their vision cleared, they saw a devastating scene: Much of the village of Manegau, where… Read more »
Eyal Fruchter Eyal Fruchter, M.D., a retired Israel Defense Forces colonel who served as a military doctor, flight surgeon and military psychiatrist, will lead the keynote session of a conference on “Cause and Effect of Post-Traumatic Stress” on Thursday, May 14 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, presented by the Greater… Read more »
Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon at the last stop on his world tour, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru (Courtesy photo)
An intense interest in the world’s sacred places would be natural for any clergy. But Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El, took it to the next level. He purchased an around-the- world plane ticket and embarked on a whirlwind trip to more than 120 sacred places… Read more »
Two days ago a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. The latest numbers suggest over 4,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured. According to the United Nations, the death toll is likely to rise to the tens of thousands in Nepal, India and China. The Jewish Federations of North… Read more »
Dan Naturman
It’s hard to catch up with Dan Naturman these days. The New York comic is bouncing around the world performing everywhere, including a stop in the Old Pueblo for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s “Men’s Night Out” event on April 30 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Just… Read more »
Native Tucsonan JOSH LEDERMAN, an AP White House reporter, will receive the Merriman Smith Memorial Award from the White House Correspondents’ Association at its annual dinner on April 25. The award honors Lederman’s on-the-spot reporting of the Sept. 19 incident when an intruder jumped the White House fence. Lederman… Read more »
BROADWAY IN TUCSON is launching the local edition of the National High School Music Theatre Awards. The Ben Vereen Awards Tucson Sing Off will be held Sunday, May 3 at the Fox Tucson Theatre. The 2015 Ben Vereen Awards Southwest Region Competition (with San Diego) will be held Sunday,… Read more »
Hillel honors Holocaust From Wednesday, March 25 at noon through Thursday, March 26 at noon, the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation sponsored its 24th annual Holocaust vigil. The 24-hour student-led program provides an opportunity to educate all students and community participants on the UA campus. One highlight of this… Read more »
Jack Greenman, 96, died April 15, 2015 in Boynton Beach, Fla. Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Greenman attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania before serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. After the war, he worked in the garment industry in… Read more »
Dr. Harold “Harry” Kaye, 98, died March 30, 2015. Born in Bayonne, N.J., Dr. Kaye graduated from Bayonne High School and received his B.S. and D.D.S. degrees from the University of Michigan. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army from 1941 to 1945 at the 57th Field… Read more »
Frances Nancy Wendel, 76, died March 14, 2015. Mrs. Wendel, known as “Nancy” to all, grew up in Whitestone, N.Y. She married Henry Wendel in 1961 and they had two children. Mrs. Wendel obtained a master’s degree in counseling and served as a mental health/drug prevention counselor with the… Read more »
Ed Harris’ suspenders celebrate his British heritage. (Sarah Chen/AJP) Edward Harris still celebrates the day he arrived in New York from London with only $28 in his pocket: Feb. 8, 1954. A dual citizen of the United States and Britain, he feels fortunate to have slowed his globetrotting days here in Tucson. Harris was born in 1934, just… Read more »
Adam Fox, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation engagement associate, visits with Handmaker resident Brayton Person on April 9. (Andrea Ramirez/Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging)
“Cool,” says a student with the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation. “Lovely,” says a Handmaker resident. “Vital,” says another. They’re talking about a program that has been bringing Hillel students together with Handmaker residents, started by Adam Fox, Hillel’s engagement associate, with the help of Andrea Ramirez, Handmaker’s administrative and… Read more »
Marc Mezvinsky and Chelsea Clinton during their wedding ceremony, July 31, 2010 (Genevieve de Manio) Millennia ago, before rabbis existed or conversion was invented, thousands who were not born Jewish became part of the Jewish community through a very simple act: They married a Jew. Sarah was the first, followed in turn by Rebecca, Leah and Rachel. Thousands more followed — both biblical characters… Read more »
