Posts By PHYLLIS BRAUN - AJP Executive Editor

It’s time to celebrate national pollinator week

The author planted Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) in her yard for the monarchs, but it is also popular with native bees. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
May 31, 2018 / Jacqueline A. Soule, Ph.D., Special to the AJP

Modern life has sped up and now not only must we humans multi-task, but so must our landscapes and gardens. We aren’t just growing a vegetable or flower garden anymore. Now gardens have multiple purposes like supporting pollinators, engaging children, providing supplies to create beauty products, or decorating our… Read more »

Tucson’s Lions of Judah explore the Jewish side of Italy

Tucson ‘Lions’ visit the Synagogue of Sienna. Back row (L-R): Deanna Evenchik-Brav, Leslie Glaze, Jane Ash, Ellen Goldstein; third row: Shelly Silverman, Deborah Oseran, Liz Weiner- Schulman, Carol Sears; second row: Fran Katz, Karen Katz, Wendy Sandweiss, Melissa Goldfinger; front row: Karen Faitelson, Judy Berman, Shelley Pozez. Not pictured: Jody Gross. (Courtesy Fran Katz)
May 31, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Editorial Assistant

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Lion of Judah women’s group spent an action-packed nine days visiting the highlights of Italy on a recent tour. Tandy Kippur was instrumental in planning the late-April trip. “Italy was chosen because of the welcoming atmosphere, the beautiful people . . . and… Read more »

Business briefs 6.1.18
May 31, 2018 /

DR. JANIS WOLFE GASCH, founder and director of ARIZONA HEARING SPECIALISTS, is retiring after more than 35 years in private practice. She will transition the practice, which she founded in 1981, to two of her longtime staff, Greg Swingle, Au.D., and Kristi Hesse (Swingle), Au.D. Gasch has been active… Read more »

In focus 6.1.18
May 31, 2018 /

Temple Emanu-El confirmation Temple Emanu-El celebrated the confirmation of nine students at Shabbat services on Friday, May 18. The confirmands are, alphabetically, Rachel Borrego, Javier Dittmar, Carter Mann, Samuel Ramirez, Bela Rein, Samir Rein, Sydney Ruskin, Eve Spiegel, and Katherine Zinn.… Read more »

Herschel Kreloff, musician, conductor and educator, dies at 86
May 31, 2018 /

Herschel Kreloff, Ph.D., 86, was music director of the Civic Orchestra of Tucson for 38 years until his death on April 25, 2018. He brought years of experience as both educator and performer to his position as long-time conductor of the all-volunteer orchestra. Violinist Lori Fitzsimmons recalls, “The first… Read more »

Willard Gold
May 31, 2018 /

Willard “Bill” S. Gold, M.D. 86, died April 22, 2018. Born in Chicago, Dr. Gold graduated from the University of Chicago and later from the College of Medicine at Northwestern University. He practiced psychiatry for 55 years, mostly in Texas, until 2017, when he moved to Tucson to retire… Read more »

Who killed a Polish Holocaust hero? His family may be close to finding out.

Lea Hirsch, left, in eastern Poland meets a man who knew her uncle before he was murdered in 1944, June 2017. (Courtesy of Lea Hirsch)
May 29, 2018 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

  (JTA) — Josef Kopf survived Sobibor by killing a guard and staging the first successful escape from that death camp in Poland, where the Nazis murdered 250,000 Jews. But Kopf, whose unlikely escape in 1943 preceded by several months a full-scale uprising at Sobibor, did not live to see Nazi… Read more »

NY hospital says Hasidic group sought inappropriate role in health care decisions

A view of the NYU Medical Center on First Avenue in New York City in 2014. (Kenneth Wilsey/Wikimedia Commons)
May 29, 2018 / Debra Nussbaum Cohen, JTA

  NEW YORK (JTA) — One of this city’s largest hospitals has accused a Hasidic group that visits sick patients of lying about the hospital’s policy to limit access by volunteers to patient floors and rooms. Dr. Andrew Brotman, senior vice president and vice dean for clinical affairs at… Read more »

Congress wants to define anti-Semitism for you. Here’s how that can get messy.

Demonstrators protest against Israel in New York City, June 2016. (Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
May 25, 2018 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Republican and Democratic lawmakers are lining up behind a bill that would define anti-Semitism. The measure introduced Thursday by Reps. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., who is Jewish, and Pete Roskam,  R-Ill., a leader on pro-Israel issues in the U.S. House of Representatives, at first looks like a… Read more »

As night falls, Jerusalem’s old-school Jewish market transforms into a hipster hangout

Employees of Sus Ye'or, a Mexican restaurant in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, pose behind the counter. Small eateries have taken the place of many traditional food shops in the market. (Ben Sales)
May 23, 2018 / Ben Sales, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — In another life, Kobi Frig would have been sitting behind vats of spices in Jerusalem’s bustling, labyrinthine Mahane Yehuda market, hawking paprika, zaatar and cinnamon like his grandfather and father did before him. Instead, Frig obeyed his father’s wishes, went to college, and started a chain… Read more »

Philip Roth, enfant terrible turned peerless chronicler of American Jewish life, is dead at 85

Philip Roth at the National Humanities Medal ceremony at the White House, March 2, 2011. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)
May 23, 2018 / JTA Staff

(JTA) — Philip Roth, whose notorious novels about the sex drives of American men gave way to some of the most probing examinations of the American Jewish condition in the 20th and 21st centuries, has died. He was 85. His death was confirmed to The New York Times by… Read more »

Tucson BNC honors Lisberg
May 18, 2018 /

The Tucson Brandeis National Committee mourns the loss of a special friend and mentor, Elaine Lisberg, who passed away April 29. Elaine had a long-lasting love of Brandeis University and was a good friend of its founding president, Abram Sacher. She was a national president of Brandeis National Women’s… Read more »

USHMM exhibit misses mark
May 18, 2018 /

According to your May 4 news report, “Exhibit shows ordinary Americans knew a lot about Shoah as it was happening,” the new “Americans and the Holocaust” exhibit at the United States. Holocaust Memorial Museum claims that President Franklin D. Roosevelt was unable to grant haven to Jewish refugees because… Read more »

‘Mr. Lacrosse’ puts sport on Western map

Mickey-Miles Felton has been active in lacrosse in both Tucson and Israel. (Debe Campbell)
May 18, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Editorial Assistant

Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Felton is being inducted into the University of Arizona Men’s Lacrosse Club Team Hall of Fame in October. The name of the association in which the UA plays has also been corrected; it is the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association.… Read more »

Skip the treadmill and head for the hills

Splendido resident John Hemann attributes his good health to a daily walk around the community. (Courtesy Splendido)
May 18, 2018 /

Research shows that taking your exercise outdoors compared to working out in a gym offers unique benefits for physical, cognitive, and emotional health. There are plenty of natural places around Tucson for hiking, biking, golfing, and other pastimes — or simply taking a stroll. Many locals enjoy regular outdoor… Read more »

At senior communities, residents play part in maintaining Jewish connections

At Villa Hermosa, a Tucson senior living community, Bill Kugelman listens as Cantor Janece Cohen of Congregation Or Chadash plays Hanukkah songs on Dec. 13. (Courtesy Congregation Or Chadash)
May 18, 2018 / Korene Charnofsky Cohen, Special to the AJP

Sharing ideas and family recipes enables Jewish residents of senior living communities to keep up family connections and traditions. Staff members appreciate their input, saying that coordinating Shabbat and other Jewish holiday celebrations is part of how they help residents to be happier and healthier. Villa Hermosa Aimee Pichardo,… Read more »

Local woman’s pet proves its dedication as Handi-Dog

Talya Fanger-Vexler trained Sapphire to be a service dog with the help of Handi-Dogs, a Tucson nonprofit organization. (Debe Campbell)
May 18, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Editorial Assistant

Talya Simha Fanger-Vexler fell in love one day with a fluffy puppy in a pet shop window. It had sparkling blue eyes and a calm, composed demeanor. Talya pictured long hikes and active adventures with the bouncy sable Sheltie at her side. Five years later, the lovable fur ball… Read more »

Community volunteers recognized for outstanding work
May 18, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Editorial Assistant

This is part one of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2018 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Jewish Community Awards Celebration held May 10. Max Cohen, Jewish Family & Children’s Services President and CEO Carlos Hernandez attributes much of Jewish Family… Read more »