Neta Riskin (left) and Golshifteh Farahani in ‘Shelter’ (Beta Cinema)
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace.” These words of Jimi Hendrix could well be the introduction to the 27th annual Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run Jan. 11-21 with 20 films, says Anne Lowe, film festival committee member.… Read more »
Flam Chen’s performances merge daredevil acrobatics and pyrotechnics. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)
The Sculpture Garden at the Tucson Jewish Community Center will take on a “Big Top” atmosphere for the Tucson J early childhood education program’s new winter fundraiser, Cirque D’Arte. The event, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 2 at 6:30 p.m., will begin in the Sculpture Garden with characters… Read more »
Leonard Bernstein was renowned worldwide for his flamboyant conducting style as well as his talent as a composer, pianist and educator. (Paul de Hueck, courtesy of the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc.)
Tucson will be marking the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein in a very big way. “Bernstein at 100 — A Celebration of the Life and Music of Leonard Bernstein” will take place from Jan. 16 through Feb. 4, 2018. The Tucson Desert Song Festival, under the direction of George… Read more »
Art by students of Tucson Hebrew Academy is on display at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley. (Courtesy Amy Pozez)
The art gallery at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present “A Visual Exploration of Jewish Values: The Art of Jewish Youth,” featuring art by students at Tucson Hebrew Academy, through Dec. 21. “Values are the mainstay of our belief. Thoughts often swim in my head about… Read more »
‘Picasso Revisited,’ stained glass by Bob Samson
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present “Spiritual Voices,” a juried art show, Nov. 30-Jan. 10. The exhibit will include 20 Jewish artists from Southern Arizona. Local artists Aimee Smythe and Lisa Mishler are the curators of “Spiritual Voices.” Both women have participated in numerous art shows throughout the… Read more »
Ari'el Stachel, right, plays matchmaker to two shy Israelis, played by Rachel Prather and Etai Benson, in "The Band's Visit." (Matt Murphy)
(JTA) — There’s a long and poignant story behind the T-shirt that Ari’el Stachel often wears these days. It says, in Hebrew letters, “Totzeret Teman” — “Product of Yemen.” The unexpected juxtaposition of two cultures, Israeli and Arab, is as fascinating and complex as Stachel himself. Stachel, 26, is an… Read more »
Morrissey performing at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Del., June 19, 2015. (Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for Firefly)
(JTA) — The British rocker and former Smiths frontman Morrissey has not one but two Jewish-themed songs on his forthcoming album, “Low in High School.” Perhaps the more notable one is simply called “Israel” and offers a blunt rebuke of critics of the Jewish state. “In other climes they… Read more »
Benny (David Alexander Johnston) and Norma (Julianna Grantham) speak about his past in Invisible Theater’s production of ‘The Value of Names.’
Invisible Theatre will present the Arizona premiere of “The Value of Names” by Jeffrey Sweet from Nov. 7-19. The play introduces Benny Silverman, a celebrated comic who has revived his career via television after many years of forced inactivity that resulted from being named on the Hollywood blacklist of… Read more »
Irena Sendler More than 80 participants attended the “Life in a Jar” community gathering sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division on Tuesday, Oct. 24, hosted by Splendido. “Life in a Jar” is the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who rescued over 2,500 children… Read more »
Tova Du Plessis opened Essen in South Philadelphia last year. (Ellen Scolnic)
PHILADELPHIA (JTA) — Opening a Jewish bakery with a Yiddish name in an Italian neighborhood sounds crazy, but it didn’t take long before Essen had a line of regular customers lining up for its fresh-baked challah on Fridays. Tova du Plessis opened Essen, which means “to eat,” in South… Read more »
Chicken Soup in an Instant Pot (Jennifer Stempel)
(The Nosher via JTA) — For generations, Jewish grandmothers have spent hours and hours chained to their stoves perfecting their family chicken soup recipes. The prevailing thought was that the longer the soup simmered, the more flavorful the result. Fortunately for the current generation, technology has created new ways… Read more »
A scene from the film "1945" (Courtesy of Menemsha Films)
(JTA) — The time is just after the defeat of Nazi Germany. Two Orthodox Jews disembark from a train at a rural station in Soviet-occupied Hungary and, after offloading a heavy bag, they begin a silent, hour-long walk to a nearby village. The purpose of their journey is not… Read more »
“The doctor went into the examining room and, leaning over my father, who was still lying on a gurney, he asked in a condescending way, ‘What do you want me to do, Mr. Wyner, make you younger?’ And my father responded with words that will always… Read more »
“Unrest,” a Sundance-award-winning documentary, will be screened at the Loft Cinema on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. Jennifer Brea, a Harvard Ph.D. student, was about to marry the love of her life when she was derailed by strange symptoms. Hoping to find answers, she grabbed a camera and… Read more »
The Ballet Tucson company for the 2017-18 season (Ed Flores)
The Tucson Jewish Community Center and Ballet Tucson will present “Sole Impressions: New Works Performance” at the J on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. The performance will feature original choreography by Ballet Tucson’s professional dancers. Along with background and insights from each choreographer, a question and answer session… Read more »
(L-R) Karen and Myles Levine with co-author Dan Baldwin [Courtesy Dan Baldwin)
During the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2009, Myles Levine was jolted out of bed by the screams of his wife, Karen. Their front and garage doors were sealed shut. Globs of motor oil, paint, and foam peanuts were strewn along their walkway and driveway. A putrid chemical… Read more »
Irving Silverman, left, and George Youngerman at Maya Levy’s bat mitzvah celebration in Tucson on Feb. 15, 2014. (Courtesy Doug Levy)
If Irving I. Silverman had not been born legally blind 97 years ago, he probably wouldn’t be making news today. Silverman recently published “Aging Wisely … Wisdom of Our Elders,” a nearly 500-page anthology of essays by more than 75 seniors and experts in aging. This is just the… Read more »
Nicolae Botezatu, sitting, with the rest of the cast of Romania's Jewish State Theater last year. (Courtesy of Jewish State Theater)
BUCHAREST, Romania (JTA) — When the roof of the Jewish State Theater collapsed during a 2014 snowstorm, its director reluctantly knew it was finally time to abandon the century-old building in this capital city. Maia Morgenstern did not take the decision lightly. Following years of neglect by authorities, the Bucharest Jewish… Read more »
Ray Davies
The Jewish History Museum & Holocaust History Center’s annual fall benefit, “You’ve Got to be Carefully Taught,” will honor Holocaust education pioneer Ray Davies. It will be held Sunday, Oct. 29 at noon at the Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Richard T. Hanson, professor emeritus of the School… Read more »
Irena Sendler The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division will host a community gathering and screening of the documentary “Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project” on Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. at Splendido at Rancho Vistoso, 13500 N. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. The event also will feature Tucson… Read more »
