Sarah Silverman with "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates Jr. (PBS)
(JTA) — “I was the hairy Jewish monkey in a sea of blond kids.” That’s not Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill — it’s Sarah Silverman talking about her upbringing in Bedford, New Hampshire, on an upcoming episode of “Finding Your Roots,” the celebrity genealogy show on PBS. Bedford, the… Read more »
(JTA) — “The Band’s Visit,” the Tony Award-winning musical set in an Israeli village, added a Grammy Award to its list of accolades and Jewish rapper Drake also won a Grammy for best rap song. The musical, which is based on a 2007 Israeli film, won for best musical… Read more »
Elizabeth George
The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter presents its 23rd Annual Book & Author events on Feb. 27 and 28 with four acclaimed authors: internationally bestselling mystery writer Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley series; Reed Farrel Coleman, called the “noir poet laureate” by the Huffington Post; Tucsonan Lauren… Read more »
Carol Leifer
Award-winning writer and producer, best-selling author, and stand-up comedian Carol Leifer will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy 26th annual Connections brunch next month. Her topic will be “Judaism is in My DNA.” “I speak about how the Jewish values imparted to… Read more »
The Shalva Band had a shot at becoming Israel's representative at the Eurovision contest. (Screenshot from YouTube)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Shalva Band, a group of musicians with various disabilities, didn’t expect to advance so far in the competition to represent Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest in May. But they made it all the way to the finals — and won’t find out if they… Read more »
Susan Miller Invisible Theatre will bring Jewish playwright Susan Miller’s latest off-Broadway play, “20th Century Blues,” to Tucson to round out its 48th anniversary season, April 23-May 5. Miller has won two Obies, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and countless other awards. The play, which debuted off-Broadway in November 2017, centers on four… Read more »
Andrew Schulz (University of Arizona)
In concert with the University of Arizona strategic plan, Andrew Schulz, dean of the College of Fine Arts, last week was named the inaugural vice president for the arts to carry out a re-imagined vision of the UA and Tucson as an international destination for fine arts. “Arts, culture… Read more »
Myriam Moscona
The Jewish History Museum will co-sponsor a poetry reading on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in Spanish, English and Ladino with acclaimed Mexican poet Myriam Moscona. Joining her on stage will be the translators of her book, “Tela de Sevoya” (“Onioncloth”), Jen Hofer and John Pluecker. They are co-founders of Antena,… Read more »
George Hanson The Tucson Jewish Community Center, in partnership with Tucson Desert Song Festival, will present a panel discussion, “What Is Latin Style?” on Monday, Jan. 28, 7-8:30 p.m. Desert Song Festival Director George Hanson will lead a discussion with guests including Tucson Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jose Luis Gomez, local… Read more »
Israeli Amnon Weinstein, who has restored more than 60 violins that survived the Holocaust, will be in Tucson for Violins of Hope Feb. 17. (Daniel Levin)
Israeli violin maker Amnon Weinstein and his son Avshi have spent the last two decades locating and restoring violins from the Holocaust as a tribute to those who were lost, including 400 of their own relatives. Amnon calls these the Violins of Hope. Violins of Hope will be at… Read more »
‘Mazal Tov’ by Marlene Burns. ‘Most often used when offering congratulations or wishing good luck, Mazal Tov has a deeper message. Mazal means an alignment of the stars. Our tradition sees our mazal as the influence of the stars trickling down on us,’ says Burns. (Marlene Burns)
The Beth Shalom Temple Center Art Gallery will present “Sacred Intention” by Tucson artist and educator Marlene Burns, Feb. 1-April 1. A reception with the artist will be held at 11 a.m. on Sunday, March 3, following the temple’s monthly bagel breakfast. Burns has been a professional artist… Read more »
Julia Lewenfisz-Gorka, Wojciech Zielinski, and Marta Ormaniec portray Ora, Abraham and Luba Lewin in ‘Who Will Write Our History.’ (Anna Wolch)
The Jewish History Museum and Holocaust History Center will join hundreds of partners on Sunday, Jan. 27, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, for a global screening event of “Who Will Write Our History.” The film will be shown at 200 venues in 40 countries; U.S. locations include the United States… Read more »
Uptown Cheapskate owner Heather Martinez’ love for resale fashion started as a hobby. Now, five years later, her dream became a reality. “I always had an interest in fashion and wanted somewhere to express it. I now run Uptown Cheapskate. It’s been such an exciting journey so far,” says… Read more »
The composer Julia Wolfe, shown in 2011, dedicates her new work "Fire in My Mouth" to "women who rose up to demand a more human existence." (Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Was it coincidence or fate that the New York Philharmonic commissioned Julia Wolfe to compose a new piece about the deadly fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory? For years she has passed the site on New York’s Greene Street and Washington Place where 146 young women, all Eastern… Read more »
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 07: Actress Tovah Feldshuh attends the "Queen Of The Mean: The Rise And Fall Of Leona Helmsley" Play Reading at the Actors Temple Theatre on April 7, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Steven A Henry/Getty Images)
BERLIN (JTA) — For Sigmount Koenigsberg, the most searing scene in the U.S.-made “Holocaust” miniseries broadcast here 40 years ago was when a German child throws photos of a Jewish family into a fireplace. The pictures curl up and melt in the flames. The moment “somehow burned into me,” recalls… Read more »
Newsboys for the Forward wait for their copies in the early morning hours, March 1913. (Lewis Hine/Wikimedia Commons)
NEW YORK (JTA) — My dad, who grew up in a time and place where his Judaism only marked him as an outsider, never really got my professional fascination with all things Jewish. That all changed when nearly 20 years ago I got a job with the Forward, the… Read more »
UNSPECIFIED - MARCH 13: "Leaders of the protest, holding flags, from left Bishop James Shannon, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, Dr. Martin Luther King and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath." Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Arlington Cemetery, February 6, 1968. Published February 7, 1968. (Photo by Charles Del Vecchio/Washington Post/Getty Images)
(JTA) — For many Jewish organizations, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a time to talk about the current state of black-Jewish relations. There’s a lot to talk about this year, from the controversy over ties between Women’s March organizer Tamika Mallory and Louis Farrakhan, to common cause over… Read more »
Aaron Altaras plays Eugen Friede in "The Invisibles." (Courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
(JTA) — In May 1943, after years of killings and deportations, the Nazis declared Berlin “judenfrei,” or free of Jews. What they didn’t know was that approximately 7,000 Jews remained in hiding in the city, and not only in attics and basements — often in plain sight. “The Invisibles,”… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum and Holocaust History Center will hold a free screening of “Who Will Write Our History” on Sunday, Jan. 27 at noon at The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., joining hundreds of partners in a global screening event for International Hololocaust Remembrance Day. The 90-minute… Read more »
Adam del Monte (Courtesy del Monte)
One of the world’s leading flamenco and classical guitarists and composers, Adam del Monte, will present scenes from the flamenco opera “Llantos 1492” during the 2019 Tucson Desert Song Festival, Jan. 15-Feb. 5. “Llantos 1492,” the world’s first flamenco opera, is in keeping with this year’s festival theme of Latin… Read more »
