Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

(JTA) — Police have arrested a suspect in the shooting of an elderly man outside a synagogue in Miami, Florida. Miami-Dade Police took Carlints St. Louis, 30, into custody a day after he filled out a report with a nearby police department claiming that a firearm had been stolen… Read more »

The Union for Reform Judaism’s Taste of Judaism classes, taught by Temple Emanu-El’s Rabbi Batsheva Appel, will be offered in Sierra Vista on Thursdays, Aug. 22 and 29 and Sept. 5; at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sundays, Sept. 8, 15 and 22; and at Temple Emanu-El on… Read more »

Tucson’s team for the annual JCC Maccabi Games for Jewish teens, held July 28-Aug. 2 in Atlanta, was “small but mighty” with four athletes, says Josh Shenker, delegation head and director of children, youth and camping services at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “Though we were the smallest delegation… Read more »

Cody Blumenthal brought home a gold medal from his participation on the age 18 and under Team USA basketball team at the 14th Pan American Maccabi Games in Mexico City, July 5-15. “Winning gold with my new best friends was the best feeling in the world,” he says. Every… Read more »

David Tannenbaum of Hereford, Arizona, was the sole bicycling competitor in Team USA’s Master Division at the 2019 Maccabi Pan American Games in Mexico City, July 5-15.  He finished in eighth-place in the 55-59 year age group, receiving a medal for completing all three races. “That makes me the… Read more »

At least one anti-Semitic flier recently was sighted, posted on a pole in downtown Tucson. Tucson Police Department Sgt. Ben Frie told the AJP on Aug. 7 that “they started showing up about a week ago … at a couple of different locations.” Paul Patterson, Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

In the decades since the Holocaust, “‘never again’ has been the language spoken as an unattainable aspiration,” Bryan Davis told a group gathered Monday at Tucson’s Holocaust History Center. “But now, in this moment, people all over the country are demanding that never again is now and that never… Read more »

Bethany Neumann

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy board has partnered with Youth On Their Own, a local non-profit that has been helping homeless or unaccompanied students become high school graduates since 1986. Each year, the WP board chooses a social action focus to foster community engagement. “We’re creating… Read more »

More than 50 Jewish demonstrations were held across the country last weekend in opposition to U.S. immigration policy and to mark Tisha b’Av, the traditional Jewish day of mourning. The call to action came from T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights and other organizations, including the refugee aid… Read more »

Introducing Greg Gadarian, who was honored at a recent Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona Summer Series seminar for his 30 years of service as co-founder of JCF’s Professional Advisory Group, Sarah Singer said, “Greg is honest, ethical, smart, and some might even say brilliant — but he will… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El’s Jewish heritage tour of Israel this summer was Rabbi Batsheva Appel’s first turn at tour leading. “It was wonderful to be back in Israel and to lead a trip for the first time,” she says. Joining her on the June 20-July 1 journey were Marcy Tigerman, Janet… Read more »

I  am proud to be Jewish, Latina and bilingual. I have the honor of representing the state House of Representatives district where I was born and raised in Arizona. My home in Tucson is less than one hour away from the U.S.-Mexico border. Tucson and El Paso in many… Read more »

This article originally appeared on Alma. In the sixth episode of the newly released third season of “GLOW,” there’s an unconventional seder in the Nevada desert. It’s led by Melrose — played by Jackie Tohn — the Jewish party girl who talks the group through the 10 plagues, the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Twenty-one right-wing Israeli lawmakers rebuffed a House bill that endorsed a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while rejecting efforts to boycott the Jewish state. In a letter addressed to U.S. Reps. Brad Schneider, Lee Zeldin, Jerry Nadler and Ann Wagner, the co-sponsors of the bill… Read more »

(JTA) — One of the most befuddling questions surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein saga is why Leslie Wexner, a billionaire entrepreneur, entrusted all of his money to Epstein, a secretive financier with no college degree. For those immersed in the Jewish world, there’s an added question: How did Wexner —… Read more »

(JTA) — The Immigration and Customs Enforcement official who drove a pickup truck into a row of Jewish protesters in Rhode Island has been placed on leave, and police have announced that they will investigate the incident. Five of the protesters were hospitalized, according to Tal Frieden, an organizer… Read more »

(JTA) — Israel’s ambassador to the United States said the decision to ban Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar from entering the country had nothing to do with President Donald Trump. In a conference call with Jewish groups Thursday afternoon, Ron Dermer said reports implying that Israel had caved… Read more »

(JTA) — Rep. Ilhan Omar likened Israel’s decision to deny entry to her and Rep. Rashida Tlaib to President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., tweeted that the decision is “a sign of weakness.” In a statement Thursday, the Minnesota Democrat called Israel’s decision “an affront.” “Trump’s… Read more »

BUDAPEST (JTA) — In 2011, Hungary’s largest Jewish group called on the Justice Ministry to ban the far-right Jobbik party, describing it as “anti-Semitic” and “fascist.” Now some in the Jewish community, and even inside Mazsihisz, see Jobbik as a legitimate partner for effecting democratic change, despite its blunt… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Orthodox yeshivas, Catholic schools and elite private schools in New York are coming together to oppose a government initiative that would more clearly define what they are required to teach. The proposal, a set of regulations from the state Department of Education, aims to ensure… Read more »