Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

(JTA) — The New York Times devoted much of its front page and three inside pages Sunday to a reconstruction of the circumstances surrounding the June death of a Palestinian medic during riots at the Israeli fence with Gaza. The newspaper concludes that the shooting of 20-year-old Rouzan al-Najjar by an Israeli soldier “appears… Read more »

(JTA) — The end of every year brings the grim task of rounding up the prominent Jews who passed away over the previous 12 months. But in doing so, we are able to pay tribute to their incredible lives and accomplishments, and revel once again in the talents and… Read more »

(JTA) — Amos Oz would often speak in the kind of tossed-off epigrams that come only with a lot of practice. But just when you wanted to smack him for his breezy erudition, he would redeem himself with a flash of spot-on — and hilarious — self-awareness. In 2011,… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — An unnamed Israeli official confirmed that Israel carried out airstrikes in Syria, hitting several Iranian targets. The airstrikes late on Tuesday night hit Iranian arms storage facilities and arms depots, used to ship weapons to the terrorist Hezbollah organization in neighboring Lebanon. The Israeli official also… Read more »

(JTA) — A University of Massachusetts student was asked to remove a sign from her dorm window saying “F*** Nazis, you are not welcome”  because it did not foster a sense of inclusion. Nicole Parsons, a junior, said she put up the sign following an incident in which a… Read more »

(JTA) — Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was released from the hospital after cancer surgery and will continue to recuperate at home. Ginsburg, 85, who was released on Tuesday, had surgery to remove a cancerous growth from her left lung. The growth was discovered during tests after she… Read more »

(JTA) — The young attorney seems unsure of herself. As a law professor, she is unaccustomed to appearing in court, so she hesitates at first, unable to begin her summation. But once she gets going, there is no stopping her. It is the climactic scene of “On the Basis… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Sitting side by side in an open office in the tech giant Cisco’s headquarters here, Roni Ashkenazi and Ayelet Ganot sat staring at lines of code on a flat screen monitor checking their work before launching a demo of their latest project — a tablet app they… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s attorney general likely will wait until after national elections to announce whether or not he will indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in three corruption investigations, but the allegations could be central to the early elections. Sources reported to be close to Avichai Mandelblit told Hebrew… Read more »

(JTA) — A U.S. court ordered North Korea to pay $501 million to the family of Otto Warmbier, a Jewish student who died in 2016 after being imprisoned there. A District Court judge in Washington, D.C., on Monday awarded the Warmbiers approximately half the $1.05 billion they requested in… Read more »

(JTA) — Jewish groups are offering assistance in the wake of a tsunami in Indonesia that has left more than 400 dead and thousands homeless. The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is providing emergency relief and assessing emerging needs in the Kalianda and Rajabasa subdistricts of Lampung, a province… Read more »

In response to the deadly tsunami that struck Indonesia’s Sunda Strait region on Saturday evening killing hundreds, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is providing emergency relief and assessing emerging needs through its local partner in the Kalianda and Rajabasa subdistricts in Lampung. The aid provision includes health services, clean water, and critical supplies… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bipartisan legislation named for the late Elie Wiesel that aims to improve the U.S. response to emerging or potential genocides is expected to be signed into law by President Donald Trump. The Elie Wiesel Genocide and Atrocities Prevention Act passed final votes last week in the… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel will hold new elections in April after the heads of all six coalition parties announced Monday that they were dissolving the government. The current government’s term was set to end in November. “Out of national and budgetary responsibility, the leaders of the coalition parties decided,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — James Mattis is quitting as defense secretary and his extraordinary resignation letter has brought into the open an argument among conservatives on whether to cut and run in the Middle East or whether to stay with no clear outcome. The argument also touches on two subjects… Read more »

Anyone who owns property — personal or commercial — may find themselves in need of legal services. A personal property attorney can represent you in a dispute over transfer of moveable property, such as a car, a piece of furniture, or even stocks and bonds. This differs from real… Read more »

Norma Lena Rappeport-Salonic, 90, died Nov.  28, 2018. Born in Brooklyn, New York, to Dr. Joseph Rappeport and Anna Neuman Rappeport, she graduated from Phoenix Union High School in Phoenix, Arizona. She was a longtime resident of Tucson. Mrs. Salonic was a life member of Hadassah, a Girl Scout… Read more »

This article is sponsored by Hadassah. Within 24 hours of the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Judith Cohen’s cellphone was ringing incessantly with offers of help from around the world. A psychiatrist who specializes in the treatment of trauma and grief in children and adolescents, Cohen is one… Read more »

This year’s Tucson International Jewish Film Festival will bring 15 full-length films, one TV show, and three shorts from around the world to local screens. TIJFF is one of the country’s longest-running Jewish film festivals, one of Arizona’s longest running film fests, and one of Tucson’s most popular cultural… Read more »

Partnership2Gether fellows celebrate the last night of Hanukkah with Jewish Federation of the Southwest staff at the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest. Back (L-R): Ariel Miklofsky, Adi Shacham, Ravit Gedanken, Alan Kendal, Phyllis Gold, Nili Cohen Hammer, Daniealla Cohen, Nesia Regev Livne. Front (L-R): Rotem Rappaport, Amir Eden, Ron Benecort. Not pictured: Avi Hadad and Ofra Gueta. (Courtesy Olson Center)

Visiting Tucson during the week of Hanukkah, four Israeli teachers and three school principals from the Partnership2Gether region were most surprised by the effort local community members invest in maintaining their Jewish identity. “It was a very powerful experience,” says Ravit Gedanken, a principal at Netzach Israel school in… Read more »