Nathan Shapiro, 100, died Sept. 4, 2018. Mr. Shapiro was born in New York City, the youngest child of Aaron and Gussie Shapiro. The first in his family to attend college, he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s in elementary education. While at City College of… Read more »
Those who knew Tucson philanthropist and community activist Joan Kaye Cauthorn, who died on Sept. 3, 2018 at age 75, describe her as one-of-a-kind. “Joan was a one-of-a-kind, kind-hearted force of nature who spent much of her energy making the world a better place. She cared deeply about the… Read more »
Meg Sivitz, Brandeis National Committee Tucson chapter co-vice president of the book business and former chapter president, was honored by National Board President Madalyn Friedberg with a presidential citation. Paintings by Tucson artist Devy Wolff are part of an exhibit at Tucson International Airport, “Space Connections,” which also includes… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Community Center is holding a September promotion, “State of the Heart Community.” All new members who join in September can direct half of their first month’s dues to one of three charities: Ben’s Bells, Literacy Connects, and Youth on Their Own. For more information, visit www.tucsonjcc.org/heart.… Read more »
Young Women’s Cabinet members celebrate Shabbat at the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, Aug. 17. (L-R) Simone Krame, Jenny Rothschild, Laura Kravec, Karen Sadow, Rachel Jarrett, Melissa Landau (YWC alum), Lindsay Berkman, Katie Stellitano, Meg Knight, Jennifer Bell (YWC alum), Jennifer Selco, Bronwyn Sternberg, Nicole Zuckerman-Morris (YWC co-chair), and Kathy Gerst (YWC co-chair) (Not pictured: Rachel Haimowitz, Aimee Katz, Jamie Kippur, Ally Ross) Alumnae, new members mingle at Young Women’s Cabinet retreat The members of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s 2018-2019 Young Women’s Cabinet held their annual retreat last month. They spent 24 hours celebrating Shabbat, getting to know each other, learning about the Tucson Jewish community and the mission of… Read more »
A man in Kishinev, Moldova, receives honey from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. (Courtesy of the JDC)
NEW YORK (JTA) — In business, an effective planning process is essential for success. During the High Holidays, Jews are urged to engage in this sort of process for our own lives. We reflect on the past year, seeking lessons to help us in the coming year.… Read more »
This SodaStream display was set up in New York City to raise awareness of the negative consequences of one-use plastic bottles, Sept. 5, 2018. (Josefin Dolsten)
By Josefin Dolsten NEW YORK (JTA) — Tourists and locals wandering around Flatiron Plaza in downtown Manhattan were met with an unusual sight: a 20-foot replica of the Statue of Liberty standing in a steel cage filled with empty plastic bottles and metal cans. On the other side of… Read more »
Yoram Sztykgold examines the unpublished registry from 1939 that helped him locate his family's assets at a military library in Warsaw, Sept. 4, 2018. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
WARSAW (JTA) — In the small park behind the only synagogue in this city to have survived World War II, Yoram Sztykgold looks around with a perplexed expression. An 82-year-old retired architect, Sztykgold immigrated to Israel after surviving the Holocaust in Poland. He tries in vain to recognize something… Read more »
Marwan Kenzari, left, and Hannah Ware in "The Angel." Kenzari plays Egyptian spy Ashraf Marwan. (Nick Briggs/Netflix)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In 1993, filmmaker Ariel Vromen was part of an Israeli air force rescue unit sent in to Lebanon to evacuate both Jewish and Arab soldiers wounded during a battle. During the fighting, two of Vromen’s closest friends died in front of his eyes. For several months… Read more »
Babka French Toast (Kate Sears)
(The Nosher via JTA) — This is one of those recipes that sounds super complicated but is actually so simple. Using store-bought babka will make this Babka French Toast Loaf as easy as 1-2-3, but if you happen to bake your own babka, definitely use it! Instead of serving… Read more »
The Old Queens building at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. (Wikimedia Commons)
NEW YORK (JTA) — An investigation into an allegedly anti-Semitic incident at Rutgers University is being reopened by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Kenneth Marcus, the department’s new assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote in a letter last week that a pro-Palestinian event at the… Read more »
Cnaan Liphshiz and wife Iris celebrate their wedding in the Netherlands, July 2, 2013. (Courtesy of Liphshiz)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — My wife and I were married roughly 5,000 diapers ago, and she’s still waiting for me to propose. I know this because she reminds me every anniversary. To be clear, ours was no shotgun wedding. Iris and I were hitched in a civil marriage in Holland… Read more »
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, with wife Amy, announces that he will not seek a third term at a City Hall news conference, Sept. 4, 2018. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
(JTA) — As Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel prepares to exit City Hall after eight years in office, his Jewish supporters tout his commitment to helping people and his record of economic development in the city. His Jewish detractors, meanwhile, call out his closing of dozens of Chicago public schools… Read more »
Rabbi David S. Wolfman Rabbi David S. Wolfman will help officiate High Holy Day services this year at Temple Emanu-El, along with Rabbi Batsheva Appel, Cantorial Soloist Marjorie Hochberg, and the High Holy Days Choir under the direction of RobertLopez-Hanshaw. Currently, Wolfman is the founder and principal of David S. Wolfman Consulting, LLC:… Read more »
2015 was the last year that Temple B'nai Brith families were allowed to use bread at the traditional tashlich ceremony at the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse in Somerville, Mass. (Sharona Jacobs)
SOMERVILLE, Mass. (JTA) — On the first afternoon of Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Eliana Jacobowitz will lead her congregation on a walk to the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse on the Mystic River for tashlich, a centuries-old ritual when Jews symbolically discard their sins from the past year into a… Read more »
(Illustration by Michelle Shapiro/AJP) Whether making a name for themselves in front of the bright lights or behind the scenes, whether they still call Southern Arizona home or have moved to far-flung cities, the 12 young people profiled here bring a wide array of talents to the fields of arts and entertainment. Some… Read more »
A couple of years ago I was standing in the lobby of a Jewish Community Center in California, admiring the artwork of Shlomo Katz. The JCC had just opened an unusual display of hand-knotted Persian rugs featuring Jewish and biblical themes, and I found myself entirely lost in the rug… Read more »
Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, left, conducts members of the Temple Emanu-El Teen Choir. (Courtesy Temple Emanu-El)
Robert Lopez-Hanshaw’s passion is writing music. He has been involved with music in one way or another since childhood. Along with being a composer and conductor, he is the choir director for Temple Emanu-El, and a sound designer for Winding Road Theater Company. He has had choral and instrumental… Read more »
Two things that ground Danielle Faitelson are her love for theater and her connection to her Jewish heritage. “It’s part of some bigger purpose,” she says of her Jewish roots. “It feels like a responsibility for generations past, not just two generations ago. I’d be ungrateful to drop Judaism,… Read more »
Grant Henry, right, performs a yoga pose with his girlfriend, Erica Chen. (Courtesy Grant Henry)
Video, photography, early childhood education and yoga all figure into the art of Grant Henry. Currently a resident of Brooklyn, New York, Henry, 35, grew up in Tucson. He gained a love of working with children through 10 years of teaching preschool at Temple Emanu-El, and his primary career… Read more »
