For more than two decades, Lynn Rae Lowe, an awarding-winning local artist, has strived to empower people through her symbolic work. “Ancient symbols give us access into the collective unconscious, and through that we can raise up ourselves,” says Lowe. And the arts can help communities make sense of… Read more »
Arts and Culture
Jewish UA students in cast of ATC’s ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
As Arizona Theatre Company celebrates its 50th anniversary with its largest production ever, “Fiddler on the Roof,” two Jewish University of Arizona seniors are making their ATC debuts in the iconic musical, under the direction of ATC artistic director David Ira Goldstein. For Shira Elena Maas (Rivka) and Taylor… Read more »
Orthodox lesbian character — and other reasons to watch ‘Younger’
On “Younger,” Maggie (Debi Mazar), left, hosts a Shabbat dinner for her love interest, Malkie (Sally Pressman), and her friends. (Courtesy of TV Land)
(JTA) — TV Land’s “Younger” is a fun sitcom about Liza (Sutton Foster), a recently divorced 40-year-old mother who passes herself off as 26 after having a tough time landing a job in the publishing industry. The show — created by Darren Star, of “Sex and the… Read more »
At first Jewish Comic Con, artists and geeks revel in tradition
A man examining a comic book for sale at the inaugural Jewish Comic Con, held at Congregation Kol Israel, a Brooklyn synagogue, Nov. 13, 2016. (Ben Sales)
NEW YORK (JTA) — After Brett Parker’s great-grandfather fled the pogroms in Europe and came to the United States, he opened a drug store where he sold comic books. Each week he would give his grandson, Parker’s father, five comic books to take home. Growing up during the early… Read more »
Broadway in Tucson to stage ‘The Sound of Music’
Evening of shorts to herald film festival lineup
A scene from 'A Children's Song'
The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival will hold a FAST (First Annual Short Topics) & Fun! evening to announce the schedule for the festival on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The festival, which will run from Jan. 12-22, will feature more than… Read more »
FIRST PERSON Leonard Cohen, my father and me
cohen in 1973.jpg
Leonard Cohen, center, performing with Matti Caspi, on guitar, for Ariel Sharon, with arms crossed, and other Israeli troops in the Sinai in 1973. (Courtesy of Maariv)
(JTA) — Using his M-16 assault rifle as a pillow, my father awoke abruptly from a dreamless sleep by the pleading voice of a young woman outside his tent in the Sinai. The woman, a uniformed volunteer, was urging reservists like him to forego shuteye to hear a musician… Read more »
Leonard Cohen, whose Jewish-infused poetry and songs inspired generations, is dead at 82
Leonard Cohen during a concert in Ramat Gan, Israel, Sept. 24, 2009. (Marko/Flash90)
(JTA) — Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose Jewish-infused work became a soundtrack for melancholy, has died. He was 82. “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has passed away,” his Facebook page said late Thursday. “We have lost… Read more »
How a bat mitzvah helped inspire a ‘Good Girls Revolt’
The stars of "Good Girls Revolt," a new series on Amazon inspired by Lynn Povich's memoir. (Courtesy of Amazon Studios)
(JTA) — Men were writers and women were researchers. That’s the way it was when Lynn Povich and 45 of her colleagues at Newsweek decided to take a stand. In 1970, the women banded together and became the first women in the media to file a lawsuit… Read more »
Pretentious, hackneyed ‘Denial’ clumsily buries echoes of the Holocaust
Actor Rachel Weisz and author Deborah Lipstadt on the set of ‘Denial.’
For many Jews, there is no higher calling nor more sacred cow than a film that reminds the public — that is, non-Jews — of the manifestation of anti-Semitism taken to its ultimate extreme: The Nazis’ extermination of the Jews of Europe. So the British film “Denial” will be… Read more »
‘Jewish soul’ singer returning to Tucson stage
Neshama Carlebach
Neshama Carlebach’s albums have sold 1 million-plus copies — but she views her success as a way to help others through the pain of life transitions toward inner strength and spiritual growth. “Music brings healing to our souls,” says Carlebach, who will perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre on… Read more »
Report: Bob Dylan still has not mentioned Nobel Prize
Bob Dylan onstage during the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards at The Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California, on Jan. 12, 2012. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images for VH1)
(JTA) — American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan has not been in contact with the Swedish Academy since it awarded him the Nobel Prize for Literature last week. Dylan also has not made a public statement about the honor, the New York Times reported Tuesday. Sara Danius, the permanent… Read more »
In Jerusalem, a chance encounter with my deceased mother
The Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem. (Yoninah/Wikimedia Commons)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — When I moved from the U.S. to Israel, I expected to feel closer to my Jewish roots. But I didn’t expect to feel closer to my mother. This is not a place I associate with her — at least it wasn’t until I had a chance… Read more »
OP-ED Bob Dylan and Philip Roth bring it all back home
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… Read more »
PJ Library, Tucson J plan Shanghai Sukkot event
(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 »
Open studios tour brings fiber artists, sculptor to Tucson J
“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 »
UA’s ‘Forbidden Composers’ festival to explore work of Nazi-banned musicians
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 »
Musical duo to present ‘Sephardic Journey’
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 »
‘My Name Is Asher Lev’ coming to Tucson stage
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 »
If you’re a feminist, Yiddish speaker — this millennial’s podcast is for you
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 »




