Arts and Culture

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies and the University of Arizona School of Dance will present “An Evening with Yaniv Abraham & Guy Shomroni” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 31 at the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, 1737 E. University Blvd. The event is free and open… Read more »

(JTA) — When the highly anticipated movie “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” opens nationally on Friday, several burning questions will finally be answered. Among them: Which superhero is tougher? Does Wonder Woman hold her own? And does actor Jesse Eisenberg, who often plays characters of a more sensitive… Read more »

An exhibition of small sculpture and works on paper by international artist and sculptor Rotraut (Rotraut Klein Moquay) is on display at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Fine Art Gallery through April 13. Born in East Germany in 1938, Rotraut spent much of her life and career in France.… Read more »

Editor and translator Ann Goldstein seated in the Conde Nast cafeteria at One World Trade Center in New York City. (Erica Brody)

NEW YORK (JTA) — It was back in the fall, at an event at BookCourt in Brooklyn, when translator Ann Goldstein was first asked for her autograph by an eager reader. Goldstein was caught by surprise. After all, this was before her work appeared on The New York Times… Read more »

History, Holocaust museums reopen Hundreds of people turned out Sunday, Feb. 21 for the reopening of the Rose and Maurice Silverman Jewish History Museum Campus. The Friedman Family Jewish History Museum and the newly expanded Gould Family Holocaust History Center opened to the public after remarks by Tucson Mayor… Read more »

When local Jewish writer Joni Rubinstein’s children were babies, she began a birthday practice that became a cherished family tradition. “When my first daughter, who is 35 now, was born, I found this tiny little poem that was about birthdays,” says Rubinstein, an elementary school counselor in the Marana… Read more »

BERLIN (JTA) — When the Hungarian-Jewish poet Geza Rohrig agreed to play the lead role in the Oscar-nominated Holocaust drama “Son of Saul,” he knew he was taking on a daunting challenge. With very little acting experience, Rohrig, 48, agreed to portray the complex lead in a shoestring production… Read more »

Lenny Abrahamson at The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night in Beverly Hills, California, Feb. 8, 2016. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter)

NEW YORK (JTA) — It’s the biggest night of the year in Hollywood, so it’s not surprising that Jews are typically well-represented among the annual list of Oscar nominations. But this year, in the absence a major Jewish-themed film, the Jewiness of this year’s Oscars is of the quieter… Read more »

(JTA via The Nosher) — Two years ago, my husband and I went on a food tour across Istanbul, and our guide was boasting about lahmacun, Turkish-style pizza, and how we can’t leave Turkey without trying it. I remember watching the Turks walk around the cobbled old streets, bustling… Read more »

Tess Gerritsen

When international best selling writer Tess Gerritsen writes a mystery, she is sometimes as surprised as her readers and the characters in her story at who did the dirty deed.… Read more »

PARK CITY, Utah (JTA) – Laurent Masliah likes wine as much as the next Frenchman. But that’s not why he bought up every last bottle of kosher wine in the state of Utah and is desperately angling for more. Masliah is the general manager of Prime at Canyons, the… Read more »

HANOI, Vietnam (JTA) — Shahar Lubin earned his culinary chops in Israel and, later the United States, cooking his way through more than 20 restaurants, starting at the age of 16. Still, it was a leap when he moved to Vietnam and opened a restaurant of his own. “I… Read more »

(Kveller via JTA) — I looked at myself in the mirror and I liked the way I looked – no easy feat for a 17-year-old girl. My long skirt dangled around my ankles, and my turtleneck sweater coiled itself around my arms and neck. The provocation and sexual charge… Read more »

SEEKING KIN The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. (JTA) – As a librarian, Oren Kaplan researches obscure facts and utilizes databases to track down information. So when the Haifa resident read a recent “Seeking Kin” column about someone in his city, Menahem Orenstein,… Read more »

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In December, around the time my wife and I were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary, we received an invitation to an outdoor Jewish wedding to be held on Valentine’s Day 2016. Printed on a red postcard affixed with a heart postage stamp, the couple, Lena… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Dafina is an iconic, slow-cooked Moroccan stew served especially on Shabbat. It has a long history and no two are the same. For centuries, Jewish women around the world have prepared some kind of similar dish each week, usually prepping the ingredients Friday to… Read more »

The musical group Simply Tsfat will give a concert on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m. at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. Simply Tsfat features Israeli musicians Elyahu Reiter, Yehonasan Lipshutz and Yonatan Tzarum playing classic Hasidic and klezmer music on guitars and violin. “Our aim is to spreat the joy… Read more »

Invisible Theatre will stage the world premier of Tucson playwright Warren Bodow’s “Deelmayker” Feb. 9-21. “Deelmayker” (the spelling refers to an Internet account) tells the story of Bernie Harris, a charismatic 65-year-old wheeler-dealer living in Palm Springs with a wife he adores. Harris realizes that as he’s been getting… Read more »

When the performers of the Capitol Steps take the stage at the Fox Tucson Theater, there’s a good chance Barack Obama will sing a rock song, Joe Biden will sing a show tune and Chris Christie will dance. Even Vladimir Putin, shirtless, of course, cannot stay off the stage.… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — Much as every culture showcases its individual form of the dumpling (um, matzah balls), arroz con pollo, or chicken and rice, is a dish for which every Latin country has its own unique spin. Some use beer vs. wine, or crushed annatto rather than… Read more »