Tucsonan Nina Straw is a proponent of the ‘Blessings in a Backpack’ program to feed schoolkids on weekends. Nina Straw grew up in a Conservative Jewish home in Milford, Conn. The concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) was part of her daily life. “My father lived Judaism,” she told the AJP. “He was a gentle, quiet man who walked the talk. He taught us to live… Read more »
The Butwin family of Tempe, Ariz., shown in a photo from May 2009 (Yafit Butwin's Facebook page) The Phoenix-area Jewish community is grieving after hearing of the suspected murder-suicide of a local Jewish family that was active in Jewish life. The Butwin family of Tempe was found burned to death in the family’s SUV on June 2. Police believe that James Butwin died of a gunshot… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz It’s a given that the new executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona would be smart and dedicated, with a long, impressive resume. Tracy Salkowitz is also funny. Phrases like “delightfully witty and warm,” “levity, humility, and humor” and “with laughter and a clear vision”… Read more »
I’m still belching out mild nausea, but compared to how I felt last night, I am grateful to be able to sit up and type. Last night, my husband and I went to a nearby Middle Eastern restaurant for a quick dinner before heading to a parents’ meeting at… Read more »
(Originally posted as “Kibbutz girl in the city” on the Times of Israel) Long ago and far way, before I got married and had kids, I worked in Manhattan for five years, almost three of which I spent living downtown in what is now chic NoHo. I’d say (and… Read more »
When I’ve had enough coffee in the morning, I choose to listen to the Israeli news on my drive to work instead of the latest self help guru I am following. Truth is, I am not fluent in Hebrew enough yet to understand exactly what the newscaster reports, but… Read more »
He lived, he loved, he had a good life. He was loved by his wife, children and grandchildren. “Lieutenant” Gary G. Anderson travelled to his mountaintop to watch over his family on May 8, 2012 in Tucson, Ariz. He was born June 25,1933, the son of Vera A. McCarthy… Read more »
Gertrude (Goldie) Rubin died April 12, 2012. Born in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mrs. Rubin lived with her husband in Brooklyn before they moved to Tucson in 1981. Mrs. Rubin was preceded in death by her husband of 67 years, David Rubin. Survivors include her children, Norman… Read more »
(L-R) Alan Levenson, M.D., chair of the Pima Council on Aging; Marian Lupu, PCOA founding director; Barbara Levy and Martin R. Levy, Ph.D., Generations Gala co-chairs 2012 Generations Gala Barbara Levy, speaker, author and volunteer, has worn many hats in our community. Currently, she is chair of the Tucson Symphony Board of Trustees and the Association of Fundraising Professionals International Ethics Committee. On April 14 at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, Barbara and her husband, Martin… Read more »
Guy Gelbart As I entered Kiryat Malachi last week, I was shocked at the slumlike appearance of the city: dirty old walls, peeling paint, broken signs. The last several weeks had not been easy for Kiryat Malachi. The city’s mayor, Moti Malka, was arrested on the severe charge of rape. I… Read more »
Nathan Citri At 91, professor Nathan Citri offers no advice on how to achieve longevity. That he’s made it this far — with a mind so sharp he is still inventing innovative medical diagnostic kits — may be thanks to long walks or good genes. He cannot know for sure, since… Read more »
Brian Litwak Brian Litwak, 75, has gone through life coping with poor health. Nine years ago, following quadruple bypass surgery and suffering from diabetes, he came from Los Angeles to Handmaker Services for the Aging, brought here by his younger brother. “No one told me I was supposed to die,” says… Read more »
To the outside observer, the haredi Orthodox anti-Internet rally at New York’s Citi Field may have looked uniform: a single mass of black hats, white shirts and brown beards. But the 40,000-strong crowd at the May 20 event was far from homogeneous. Yiddish speakers sat next to Anglophones. Chasidim… Read more »
The White House expressed its regrets about President Obama’s use of the term “Polish death camp.” In a statement Wednesday morning, Tommy Vietor, the spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, said the president “misspoke” during his presentation of a posthumous Medal of Freedom a day earlier to Jan… Read more »
Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black was among the justices who agreed with the decision on the 1962 Engel v. Vitale case, which banned prayer in public schools. (Photo courtesy United States Library of Congress) When President Obama publicly endorsed same-sex marriage last month, most secular Jewish leaders applauded while some religious ones disagreed — the latter group joining their Catholic counterparts. In doing so, these representatives echoed sentiments thrust into the public sphere five decades earlier, ones that simultaneously symbolized a new Jewish… Read more »
Alzheimer’s disease is a dreaded brain disease that afflicts an estimated 5 million Americans — mostly people over 65 — and half of people over 85. Feared more than cancer by most people, Alzheimer’s disease is expected to increase exponentially as the baby boomer generation swells the ranks of… Read more »
Daniel Pipes The fetid, dark heart of the Arab war on Israel, I have long argued, lies not in disputes over Jerusalem, checkpoints, or “settlements.” Rather, it concerns the so-called Palestine refugees. So-called because of the nearly 5 million official refugees served by UNRWA (short for the “United Nations Relief and… Read more »
When a family member behaves self-destructively, what do you do? Do you become an apologist, an enabler, or do you call him out? Do you blame everyone else but him, or do you intervene? Do you sit back and just hope things will improve on their own, or do… Read more »
Pressure is growing on the Brooklyn district attorney and the country’s major haredi Orthodox umbrella organization to change the ways they handle allegations of sexual abuse and molestation in the Orthodox community. A series of recent reports by The New York Jewish Week, the Forward and The New York… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona held a community discussion, Think Tank 2020, on May 2. Nearly 100 community members representing diverse ages and backgrounds met at the Tucson Jewish Community Center to begin framing the issues to be explored as part of the Federation’s strategic planning process. The… Read more »
