Arts and Culture

The Shul of Rock band, part of the Shirei Simcha project started by Kol Ami Cantor Jen Benrey, rehearses on Feb. 12, 2026, led by Benrey (standing, with guitar) and Chris Tackett (seated, in red shirt). (Photo courtesy Kol Ami)

Cantor Jen Benrey of Kol Ami Synagogue has started a teen band, the “Shul of Rock,” for students in grades 7-12, and a junior youth choir, “Sabra Singers,” for students in grades 2-6. Both are open to Jewish kids from across Southern Arizona. The band and choir are the… Read more »

A chance encounter with Tucsonans Dana Narter and Ed Baruch inspired bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s latest book, “Kiss Her Goodbye,” which is set mainly in Tucson. Gardner met the couple in 2023 on a whale-watching trip in California. They told her about serving as companions to a family of… Read more »

The Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) will host the grand opening of its newest exhibition, ”Media Matters: Cutting Through the Noise,” on Thursday, March 12, at 6 p.m. This year’s installment of the Allen & Marianne Langer Contemporary Human Rights Exhibit explores the evolution of media literacy and… Read more »

Gustav Mahler, left, and Ernest Bloch

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona will present “An Evening of Jewish Chamber Music: Mahler and Bloch” as part of the Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Lecture Series.   The concert will be held on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. in the… Read more »

Antonia Lassar

If you spend any time online, chances are you’ve stumbled across Antonia Lassar’s very funny — and very Jewish — comedy clips on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, or caught her co-hosting the “Yenta!” podcast. And even if you haven’t, now is your chance to catch this young, fresh Internet sensation live in her first Arizona appearance on Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at Congregation Anshei Israel.  Lassar describes her Jewish comedy as much more than stereotypical Borscht… Read more »

For more than a decade, the Mitch Dorson Scholar-in-Residence Fund has stood as a living expression of the belief that Jewish learning should be engaging, accessible, and meaningful. Established in 2012, the fund brings a visiting scholar or artist to Tucson to offer a popular exploration of Jewish life… Read more »

The Tucson J International Film Festival began in 1991, making it one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country.   Celebrating Jewish history, culture, storytelling, and humor, the 2026 festival will kick off on January 8 with a glamorous, Hollywood-inspired screening of The Property, a dramedy that follows a grandmother and granddaughter on a quest to reclaim family property… Read more »

Last month, the Tucson Jewish History Museum & Holocaust Center unveiled a new way for visitors to hear from Holocaust survivors: “Intimate Histories in 3D.” The project uses volumetric capture technology to create three-dimensional recordings of survivors that can be viewed on tablets and personal devices.TJMHC created the project… Read more »

Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center kicks off the 2026 Lakin Lecture Series on Antisemitism on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. The series, now in its third year, is dedicated to exploring the nature of antisemitism, fostering dialogue, and promoting social justice and human rights. The series educates both Jewish and non-Jewish communities about… Read more »

Maternal mental health matters.  That’s the main message of “You’ve Got This: A Pocket Guide for Maternal Mental Health,” a slim, easy-to-read volume by two local Jewish health care professionals, Robin Giles, a nurse practitioner, and Joy Subrin, a doctor of behavioral health.    “During your pregnancy so much attention is given… Read more »

Julian Schwarz

Cellist Julian Schwarz made his performance debut at the age of nine, playing composer Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei at the synagogue his family attended in Seattle, Washington. For the next 11 years, he played the Kol Nidrei on Yom Kippur at Temple De Hirsh Sinai. “The cantor at my… Read more »

Daniel Kraft

Early next month, as part of our Kristallnacht programming, Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center welcomes poet, educator, and Yiddish translator, Danny Kraft. Kraft’s presentation, “Facing the Holocaust Through Yiddish Poetry,” will explore how Yiddish poets expressed their grief and anger through words, both during and after the Shoah.… Read more »

Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford in her Tucson home with her bilingual children’s books. (Courtesy Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford)

  Tucson resident and author Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford originally wrote “What Color is Your Hand?/ De qué color es tu mano?” 24 years ago, after a poignant moment with her 4-year-old grandson, Jordan. She and her husband, Daniel, had taken Jordan to Legoland in California on vacation. When Rivera-Ashford… Read more »

Sarah Tolar

Acclaimed jazz singer Sarah Tolar will lend her signature smooth vocals and heartfelt style to Rhapsody in Hope, a special benefit concert for Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS). The performance will be held Sunday, Nov. 9, at 4 p.m. at the Berger Theater. Joined by… Read more »

Klezmerkaba

Following a successful 30th-anniversary gala last November, Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley is planning a new event, “Uniting the Community Through Music.” “We are living in a time of terrible anger and a great divide of ideas that separate us from each other. Kindness seems to have… Read more »

From left, Tucson Jewish Community Center President and CEO Todd Rockoff, Tucson J Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Public Relations Rachael Mitchell, and Tucson J Board Member Tamar Kugler at the 2024 Z3 Conference in Palo Alto, California.

The Z3 Conference, an initiative of the Oshman Family JCC, brings Jews from across the political and religious spectrum together to explore Israel, Zionism, identity, and the future of Jewish life. The conference will celebrate 10 years this fall. For several years, Todd Rockoff, Tucson J President and CEO,… Read more »

The J is thrilled to be part of the rolling world premiere of theatre dybbuk’s “Dracula (Annotated).” This production, with its blend of artistry, history, and provocation, offers a rare opportunity to engage audiences on multiple levels. From the outset, our goal has been to create a month of… Read more »

Robert G. Varady’s father, László Weisz (“Laci,” pronounced “Lutzee,” to family and friends), cultivated a reputation as a raconteur. Varady grew up on Laci’s stories of business prowess in pre-war Budapest and survival during World War II – all of which Laci attributed to his quick wit, connections, and… Read more »

Holocaust survivor Andrew Schot, left, with his son Andy, speaks to members of the Southern Arizona Jewish Genealogical Society at the Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center, July 13, 2025.

About 40 people gathered on Sunday, July 13, 2025, for the first field trip ever sponsored by the Southern Arizona Jewish Genealogical Society. The event featured a private tour of the Tucson Jewish Museum and Holocaust Center led by Davya Cohen, a museum docent and SAJGS board member.  Following… Read more »

Teens dance to music from Artifex at the Tucson JCC Maccabi Games & Access Opening Ceremony, July 28, 2025. (Photo: Tom Spitz)

Mariachis played in the lobby of the Tucson Convention Center arena Monday night, welcoming participants and spectators to the Opening Ceremony of the Tucson JCC Maccabi Games® & Access. The Maccabi Games are a weeklong Olympic-style athletic competition for teens, celebrating Jewish identity and connection. Tucson last hosted the… Read more »