Bob Dylan onstage at the 17th Annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Jan. 12, 2012. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)
(JTA) — As a fan who runs the “Bob Dylan: Tangled Up in Jews” website, I should be ecstatic at the Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to the writer whose words have been the soundtrack to my life since I first sang them at a Jewish summer camp… Read more »
(Illustration from 'Shanghai Sukkah')
A family Sukkot celebration, “Shake It Up in Shanghai!,” sponsored by the Tucson Jewish Community Center and PJ Library, will be held in the sculpture garden at the J on Thursday, Oct. 20, from 5-6:30 p.m. The organizations invite families to be their ushpizin (Hebrew for “guests”) in the… Read more »
“Patagonia Moebius” by Merlin Cohen
Tucson Handweavers & Spinners Guild will present more than 60 juried fiber artists for its show, “A Palette of Fiber Arts” on Saturday, Oct. 29, from 1-6 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The event will be a stop on the Heart of Tucson Arts Open Studios Tour.… Read more »
Hans Winterberg “Forbidden Composers” is the theme for the 9th annual Music + Festival which will be presented by the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music later this month. The festival will focus on the music, lives and cultural impact of three Jews whose music was banned by the… Read more »
The Cavatina Duo, Eugenia Moliner and Denis Azabagic, will present “Sephardic Journey” as part of the UA Presents series on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. at Crowder Hall, 1017 Olive Road (in the music building). Moliner, a flutist from Spain, and Azabagic, a guitarist from Bosnia, together have… Read more »
Art Almquist as Aryeh Lev, Carrie Hill as Rivkeh Lev and Steve Wood as Asher Lev in Live Theatre Workshop’s production of ‘My Name Is Asher Lev’
Live Theatre Workshop will present “My Name Is Asher Lev” by Aaron Posner, adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok, through Nov. 12, with a preview performance Oct. 7. Set in post-war Brooklyn, “My Name Is Asher Lev” is the story of a boy’s passionate desire to follow his… Read more »
Vaybertaytsh is a Yiddish-language podcast created by Sandy Fox, a millennial American graduate student. (Shifra Whiteman)
(JTA) — If you’re a Yiddish-speaking woman, Sandy Fox wants you on her podcast. Fox is the millennial “balaboosta,” or host, of Vaybertaytsh, a new feminist, Yiddish-language podcast that aired its first episode on Tuesday. She hopes to interview women and feature their music, writing and other creative work… Read more »
Danny Fields, center, without black jacket, with the members of the Ramones. (Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
(JTA) — If you’re a rock fan, no matter your age, you’ve probably heard of bands like the Doors, the Ramones and the Stooges. But chances are you haven’t heard of Danny Fields. Fields, a Jewish guy from Forest Hills, Queens, deftly made the punk scene happen. He helped… Read more »
Mexico City’s Benjamin Shwartz y Los Jreins will perform at the second annual Stone Avenue Block Party on Sept. 29.
As the sun goes down on Thursday, Sept. 29, live music by Mexico City’s Benjamin Shwartz y Los Jreins will heat up the night at the second annual Stone Avenue Block Party, presented by the Jewish History Museum and the Consulate of Mexico in Tucson. The party, which starts… Read more »
(JTA) — Here we are in September/Elul, preparing to welcome a new Jewish year and a new fall season of Jewishy books, including the first novel since 5766 (by now almost 40-year-old) wunderkind Jonathan Safran Foer — perhaps you’ve heard the buzz. Presented below is JSF’s latest, plus nine… Read more »
Martha and Watistill Sharp departing New York Harbor for Prague in 1939. (Courtesy of Sharp Family Archives)
(JTA) — In 1940, as he was being transported to safety in the lower deck of a ship, the Jewish author Lion Feuchtwanger asked Waitstill Sharp why the American Unitarian minister had bothered to rescue him from the Nazis. Sharp and his wife, Martha, had spent much of the previous… Read more »
From left: Sarah Jessica Parker, Woody Allen, Rachel Bloom and Jeffrey Tambor all star in fall premieres that Jewish viewers should watch. (Lior Zaltzman)
(JTA) — Fall is here, and with it comes cooler weather, earlier sunsets and an end to whatever magical spell or temporary insanity that possessed us to spend our free time outdoors rather than in front of our screens. But now it’s time to bring out those snuggies, brew… Read more »
Broadway in Tucson Centennial Hall, 1020 E. University Blvd. 903-2929 broadwayintucson.com The 13th season begins in September with a revival of the Tony-award winning masterpiece “Cabaret.” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s family classic “The Sound of Music” will thrill audiences with its Tony®, Grammy® and Academy Award® winning score, including “My… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — A Tel Aviv University graduate has won a top Student Academy Award and her documentary will be automatically entered in the Academy Awards competition. Maya Sarfaty will also receive a gold medal for her film, “The Most Beautiful Woman,” it was announced Monday by the Academy of… Read more »
Gene Wilder, right, in a scene with Cleavon Little from the 1974 comedy "Blazing Saddles." (Warner Bros./Courtesy of Getty Images)
(JTA) — Gene Wilder, 83, a comedic actor known for playing wild-eyed eccentrics such as the titular characters in “Young Frankenstein” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” died Aug. 28 from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Born Jerome Silberman in Milwaukee, Wis., in 1933, Wilder later adopted his stage… Read more »
Cantor Avraham Alpert at the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum Sept. 2 (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
Driving one of Tucson’s new Israeli teen emissaries, Leah Avuno, from a lunch and learn on the University of Arizona campus to her next destination, Cantor Avraham Alpert found his talking point. Avuno, originally from Ethiopia, told him Ethiopian Jews would never have made it to Israel if it… Read more »
David Ira Goldstein (Chris Alonis)
The Arizona Theatre Company pulled off a fundraising feat this summer, raising $2 million in pledges from Tucson and Phoenix supporters in less than three weeks. That effort staved off concerns that ATC would have to suspend operations, despite the success of its past three seasons. In the wake… Read more »
Dill Pickle Challah (Shannon Sarna)
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Aug. 29, thanks to a sharp-eyed reader who noticed inconsistencies between the ingredients list and the directions. (The Nosher via JTA) — Have you noticed that dill pickle-flavored dishes are everywhere lately? There’s dill pickle-brined chicken fingers and dill pickle bread from… Read more »
Jalil Dabit, left, an Arab Christian from Ramle, and Oz Ben David, who grew up Jewish in Beersheba, opened the restaurant together. (Toby Axelrod)
BERLIN (JTA) – In a corner of former East Berlin, where shabby, red brick buildings meet cobblestone streets, lies a new Promised Land. Kanaan — a casual, vegetarian Middle Eastern restaurant named for the biblical lands before they were conquered by the Israelites — is something of a dream come true. And that’s not just… Read more »
Natalie Portman stars as Amos Oz's mother in her adaptation of "A Tale of Love and Darkness." (Ran Mendelson/Courtesy of Focus World)
NEW YORK (JTA) — While making the film “A Tale of Love and Darkness,” Natalie Portman had to put her palm in front of her mouth, repeat Hebrew words and feel how the air hit her skin. If Portman felt her breath, it meant she was saying the… Read more »
