(Kveller via JTA) — I’m going to start with a confession: I am generally not a crier. I am a yeller whose operatic yawp can be heard for suburban blocks. I am also an amazingly targeted vomiter, and I can hit a trash can while running through an airport… Read more »
Arts and Culture
Strawberry and Cream Rugelach Recipe
Strawberry and Cream Rugelach (Chaya Rappoport)
(The Nosher via JTA) — I had never been much of a rugelach baker until this recipe. While I gravitated toward challah and babka, I always found store-bought rugelach to be a bit bland and disappointing. But to my great delight, rugelach are supremely easy to make. Most recipes… Read more »
‘Disobedience’ is an accurate portrayal of lesbian love — and the Orthodox Jewish community
From left: Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams and Alessandro Nivola in "Disobedience." (Agatha A. Nitecka/Bleecker Street)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — Sebastian Lelio, the director who recently won the Academy Award for best foreign film for “A Fantastic Woman,” grew up Catholic in Chile knowing almost nothing about observant Jews. So when the Jewish actress Rachel Weisz approached him a couple of years ago and suggested… Read more »
A Montreal pilgrimage in the footsteps of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen's grave, next to three generations of his family, in the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim cemetery in Montreal. (Ben Harris)
MONTREAL (JTA) — Just inside the gate of the Shaar Hashomayim synagogue off Boulevard du Mont Royal, a gravestone bears an unusual Star of David, the sharp angles of its two opposing triangles — one reaching heavenward, the other aimed at the earth — softened into the shape of… Read more »
In Krakow, Jews celebrate their community’s ‘revival’ amid rising xenophobia
A participant at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Jewish Community Center in Krakow blows a shofar, April 22, 2018. (Jakub Wlodek)
KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — At one of Poland’s plushest synagogues, leaders of this city’s small but vibrant Jewish community welcomed visitors from around the world to a celebration of what the hosts call their minority’s “revival” in this country. The occasion for the party Sunday at Tempel Synagogue was… Read more »
New sculpture honors Federation donors, symbolizes mission
‘Flame’ by local artist Tidhar Ozeri overlooks the Jane and Rabbi Lee Kivel Promenade between the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Ronen More)
A new glass and metal sculpture, “Flame” by Tidhar Ozeri, was installed late last month outside the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy. The new work is part of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s intention to use architectural elements and art in the new building to… Read more »
Film will honor Brazilian who saved Jews
Luiz Martins de
Souza Dantas The Latin American Studies department at the University of Arizona, in collaboration with the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the Jewish History Museum, will present a free screening of “Dear Ambassador” at the UA Center for Creative Photography, 1030 N. Olive Road, on Sunday, April 22, at 2… Read more »
Saffron rice with raisins and pine nuts gives meals Middle Eastern zest
Saffron rice with pine nuts is made all over the Middle East. Sometimes it is spiced with a little ground coriander, cinnamon and cumin, or flaked almonds are used instead of the pine nuts. Saffron rice is often served for Rosh Hashanah as the addition of raisins is said… Read more »
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Tomato Salsa Recipe
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Tomato Salsa (Elisa Watson)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Cauliflower is probably my favorite vegetable, and I could eat it cooked like this every day. One of my chefs, Matthew Wihongi, created this recipe for our catering business and it really wows. If you don’t have time to slow roast the cauliflower, parboil… Read more »
Jewish Currents, a 72-year-old left-wing magazine, wants to appeal to millennials
(JTA collage)
NEW YORK (JTA) — This won’t be the first time Jewish Currents, a 72-year-old magazine for the secular left, undergoes a transformation. It was founded in 1946 as a communist magazine, clashing with other Jewish institutions such as the socialist Workmen’s Circle. The magazine later abandoned communism as its… Read more »
How to Make a Georgian Cheese Boat (Khatchapuri)
Khatchapuri (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) — I first fell in love with adjaruli khatchapuri, also known as Georgian cheese bread or cheese boat, at Marani Restaurant in Queens, New York. This cheesy-carby deliciousness is basically all the comfort food you could possibly crave in one single dish: cheese, runny egg… Read more »
Tucson J film screening to raise awareness, funds for special abilities initiative
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present a screening of the independent film, “Keep the Change,” on Thursday, April 19 at 7 p.m. A performance by the Sparks Cheerleaders will be the opening act for the film, a romantic comedy about two young adults on the autism spectrum. All… Read more »
‘Diary of Anne Frank,’ coming to ATC, never more relevant
Naama Potok as Edith Frank and Anna Lentz as Anne Frank in Arizona Theatre Company’s upcoming production of ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ (Goat Factory Media Entertainment)
David Ira Goldstein spent a week in Amsterdam this October as he prepared to direct “The Diary of Anne Frank,” which opens at Arizona Theatre Company later this month. Along with the Anne Frank House, the former ATC artistic director visited the National Holocaust Museum, The Resistance Museum, synagogues… Read more »
Local genealogist to reveal how shtetl film helped him discover family history
Joel Alpert with the English translation of a Yizkor book memorializing a lost Jewish community in Ukraine Local publisher and genealogist Joel Alpert has expanded his credentials to include sleuth. On Friday, April 13, in a Jewish History Museum gallery chat at 11:30 a.m., he will reveal how he unraveled family mysteries, reconnecting people and events, through research. Focusing on a 70-year-old black and white film… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El to present ‘Music of the Shoah,’ Arizona Repertory Singers’ ‘King David’ oratorio
Arizona Repertory Singer member Betty Sproul rehearses her ‘King David’ role, the off-stage voice of the Witch of Endor, with music director Elliot Jones.
(Eleonore Rowe)
Temple Emanu-El continues its concert series with two notable performances later this month, “Music of the Shoah” and the “King David” oratorio. On Wednesday, April 11 at 7 p.m., the eve of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Temple Emanu-El will present a concert of Jewish music either composed during… Read more »
Author will discuss historical novel at brunch
Author Paul Boorstin will discuss his novel, “David and the Philistine Woman,” at a brunch on Sunday, April 29 at 10 a.m. at Congregation Bet Shalom. Critics compare the novel, which reimagines the Biblical story of David and Goliath, to Anita Diamant’s “The Red Tent.” The program is co-sponsored… Read more »
Homemade Kreplach That Are Actually Worth the Work
Kreplach (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Kreplach seem like the kind of dish only your bubbe would make. Especially from scratch. And I always felt intimidated to even try it. You have to make the dough, make the filling and shape it just right. (Turns out, actually you don’t.) But… Read more »
Israel’s Beit Hatfutsot museum gets serious about Jewish humor
An approximation of the Jerry Seinfeld character's apartment from his eponymous sitcom at Beit Hatfutsot: The Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. (Courtesy of Beit Hatfusot)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Like Holocaust museums the world over, the Amud Aish Memorial Museum in Brooklyn focuses on European Jewish communities that thrived before the Nazis came to power, the killing machine that led to millions of deaths, and the resilience of survivors both during the war and… Read more »
A Holocaust museum in Brooklyn tells the story through the eyes of Orthodox Jews
A set of tefillin and diary pages belonging to Isaac Avigdor, a young Polish rabbi imprisoned at Mauthausen, are on display at the Amud Aish Memorial Museum. Avigdor shared the smuggled tefillin with other inmates during his imprisonment. (Courtesy of Amud Aish)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Like Holocaust museums the world over, the Amud Aish Memorial Museum in Brooklyn focuses on European Jewish communities that thrived before the Nazis came to power, the killing machine that led to millions of deaths, and the resilience of survivors both during the war and… Read more »
An exhibit on soccer during the Holocaust is on display at one of Buenos Aires’ biggest stadiums
The exhibition at River Plate's museum includes six illustrated soccer balls. This one was done by Diego Rodríguez, Augusto Costhanzo, Sergio Langer, Rica Núñez and Gustavo Nemirovsky. (Tabare da Ponte/Courtesy of "No Fue un Juego")
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — One of Argentina’s most popular soccer clubs is hosting an exhibition of harrowing stories about the sport from the Holocaust era. “It Wasn’t a Game” (or “No Fue un Juego”) opened last week at the River Plate museum in the team’s stadium building complex… Read more »



