Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

Mary Peachin, self-described ‘adrenalin junkie,’ has deep Tucson roots

Mary Peachin, right, with fishing boat captain, Adolpho, and a rooster fish she caught in Zihuatenejo, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. (Courtesy Mary Peachin)

Mary Peachin is proud to be a third-generation Tucsonan, a granddaughter of the pioneer Jewish Levy family. She’s also forged her own path. At 72, she can count flying her own plane, sky diving, bungee jumping and swimming with sharks among her experiences. Her life of adventure traveling began… Read more »

JFSA’s Freedman, ‘a true role model,’ retiring after 11 years

Marlyne Freedman

For more than a decade, Marlyne Freedman has been there for members of the Tucson Jewish community. Not just through her job as senior vice president at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, but as a compassionate supporter of all things Jewish — both people and causes. At 66,… Read more »

People in the news 4.5.13

Lori Laska Sumberg

LARRY DALKOFF won third place in the 60-70 age category in a bodybuilding competition held at Utterback Middle School in March 16. The competition was sponsored by the Amateur Bodybuilding Association. Singer/songwriter and cantorial soloist LORI LASKA SUMBERG will perform songs from her new album, “Tales of the Road,”… Read more »

Israel at 65: Remembering the price of Israel’s freedom

Guy Gelbart

During the recent Passover holiday, we celebrated the ending of our slavery and becoming a free people. After fleeing Egypt, we were liberated but not yet free. Even after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, we were not yet free. It took more than 40 years, a full generation,… Read more »

Jews should work to reduce fossil fuels, not ally with gas and oil companies

JTA recently reported on a new alliance between Jewish leaders and domestic gas and oil companies (see https://azjewishpost.com/?p=21879). Called the Council for a Secure America, the alliance is based on a “common interest” between American Jews and domestic energy companies to “increase domestic oil and gas production and to… Read more »

Community must speak out on behalf of WIC

One act, more than any other, is indispensible from the Passover story: If God had not intervened, we would still be slaves. There would have been no Exodus, no Sinai, no bright future for the Jewish people. For the sake of a future nation, God intervened to save 600,000… Read more »

Israel at 65: Tel Aviv bike scene exploding

Bicycle rental vending machine and bikes in Tel Aviv. (Sheila Wilensky/AJP)

A short ride on a luxury wooden bicycle can take much longer than expected in south Tel Aviv. The roads are fine, Maxime van Gelder says, “but people keep asking you to stop and take their picture with the bike.” Van Gelder, the 22-year-old marketing director for the 2-year-old… Read more »

Israel at 65: Yad Sarah provides lifeline to elderly, disabled

A Yad Sarah volunteer prepares a wheelchair to be loaned to a client.

AJP Associate Editor Sheila Wilensky was in Israel in January with the American Jewish Press Association. From inhalers and humidifiers to walkers and wheelchairs, Israel’s Yad Sarah provides homecare services to thousands of people — all for free. Founded in 1976 in one room, Yad Sarah now has 100… Read more »

Rabbi to probe nexus of healthy aging, Judaism

Rabbi Richard Address

Rabbi Richard F. Address, author of “Seekers of Meaning: Baby Boomers, Judaism, and the Pursuit of Healthy Aging,” will bring his quest to Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Tuesday, April 23. In a free public lecture at 7 p.m., Address — a baby boomer himself — will… Read more »

Handmaker to host ‘Mind Games 2’ reception

Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will present Denise Camille Frye, the author of “Into the Fog,” for a talk and book-signing at “Mind Games 2” on Thursday, April 11 at 7 p.m. The event will serve as a virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the Paul and Lydia Kalmanovitz Elder-Care… Read more »

Hillel to seek bone marrow, stem cell donors

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will host a registration drive for potential bone marrow or stem cell donors on Wednesday, April 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., on the UA Mall. The drive is being held on behalf of the Gift of Life Bone Marrow Foundation, a nonprofit… Read more »

Cindy Wool Seminar will focus on ‘Mindsight’

Dan Siegel, M.D.

Dan Siegel, M.D., clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, exemplifies the mission of the Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar on Humanism in Medicine. Siegel is the author of “Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation,” an in-depth exploration of the power of the mind to integrate… Read more »

PCC Theatre Arts to produce ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’

David Zinke as Otto Frank and Gabriella De Brequet as Anne Frank in Pima Community College Theatre Arts’ production of “The Diary of Anne Frank” (Carol Carder)

Pima Community College Theatre Arts will stage “The Diary of Anne Frank” by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, April 11-21. In 1943 Holland, 13-year-old Anne Frank and her family were forced into hiding to escape deportation to concentration camps by the Nazis. During two years in hiding in a… Read more »

‘New Eyes’ one-woman show returns

Yafit Josephson in 'New Eyes'

Back by popular demand, the critically acclaimed one-woman show “New Eyes” will return to Tucson for a single performance on Monday, April 22. “New Eyes” tells the story of Yafit Josephson, a young woman living in Israel who joins the army as part of her mandatory service to her… Read more »

JFCS to host lunch, dramatization of services

Jewish Family & Children’s Services will hold its Celebration of Caring luncheon on Thursday, April 18 at 11:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel, 445 S. Alvernon Way. The event will include an overview of JFCS’s social and behavioral health programs. Stories about people the agency serves will be portrayed… Read more »

Yom Hazikaron event to honor fallen soldiers

The Tucson Jewish community and friends will come together to commemorate Israel’s Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron, on Sunday, April 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “Yom Hazikaron is the day for us to respect those who gave their lives for the security of Israel and… Read more »

JFSA announces proposed officers for 2013-14

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s nominating committee, chaired by Jeff Katz, has recommended the following slate of officers for the 2013-2014 program year: Kathryn L. Unger, chair of the board; Madeline Friedman, vice chair; Terry Perl,  vice chair; James A. Whitehill, vice chair; James Wezelman, treasurer; Shelly Silverman,… Read more »

Or Chadash students make an Israel connection

Israeli soldiers with Purim packages donated through Connections Israel (Courtesy Connections Israel)

Congregation Or Chadash religious school students in grades 1-6 partnered with Connections Israel, a nonprofit organization based in Jerusalem, to send mishloach manot (Purim baskets) to soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces. Along with donating money for the holiday treats, the students wrote letters that were added to the… Read more »

Ex-Yankee slugger Ron Blomberg on deck for Men’s Night Out

Ron Blomberg

Former New York Yankee first baseman Ron Blomberg made history as the first designated hitter in the major leagues. “In 1973 I screwed up the game of baseball and I’m very proud of it, and having a Jew to do it is great,” he told the AJP in a… Read more »