Sammy Miller, center, in yellow, and his band the Congregation. (Lauren Desberg)
(JTA) — Sammy Miller and his girlfriend Misha grew up in vastly different cultures: Sammy was raised Jewish in suburban Los Angeles, while Misha was raised Muslim in Karachi, Pakistan, moving to the United States when she was 12. Miller also happens to be a musician — he leads… Read more »
Olivier Lapidus; Dress; Fall 1994; Silk velvet and gold lame with wrapped thread appliqué; Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Olivier Lapidus in honor of the exhibition Extending the Runway: Tatiana Sorroko Style
Phoenix Art Museum will present “India: Fashion’s Muse” Feb. 29- June 21, 2020. The exhibition examines the ways in which Indian dress, aesthetic, and artwork have inspired Western fashion designs from streetwear to couture. Spanning the 19th to the 21st centuries, the exhibition showcases nearly 40 garments and more… Read more »
The Midbar Project located at Congregation Bet Shalom will host a Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival on Sunday, Feb. 9. This festival will include the garden’s first plantings, painting the fence and chicken coop, clearing and pruning space for the mindfulness area, along with face-painting, music, PJ Library books, and… Read more »
Guila Benchimol, Ph.D., will lead Safety Respect Equity workshops in Tucson Feb. 16-17 for the Jewish community.
The national Safety Respect Equity coalition examines issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Jewish community. The movement addresses privilege and power inequity, and devises solutions to ensure that existing structures no longer negatively influence how community business is done. The focus is on the values and… Read more »
Former British Parliament member Luciana Berger will headline the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies international conference on anti-Semitism Feb. 23 in Tucson.
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona will host a two-day international conference, “Contradictions and Tropes of Anti-Semitism,” Feb. 23-24. “The conference will address the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in this country,” says Gil Ribak, Ph.D., organizing committee co-chair with Ed Wright, Ph.D., and Günther… Read more »
Andrew Marantz speaks at an April 2019 TED talk.
Extremism has hijacked the global social media conversation. Most of our lives — not just social life but news and entertainment that form our worldview — is online. The once-beautiful dream of a free internet — now a huge, irredeemable dumpster fire — is increasingly corrupted by conspiracy and… Read more »
Rabbi Nate Crane (center) says the blessing over children during Saturday morning Shabbat services at a family camp at Camp Daisy and Harry Stein in 2018.
PJ Library will partner with Camp Daisy and Harry Stein in Prescott, Arizona, for a family weekend getaway April 17-19. The first five families from Southern Arizona to register will get $100 off the event. “We are having family camp to give families the opportunity to spend the weekend… Read more »
Todd Purdum The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter 24th Annual Book and Author Events will take place March 4 and 5, with four nationally recognized authors: journalists Todd S. Purdum and Hank Phillippi Ryan, each with a departure from their usual beats; biographer James McGrath Morris; and park ranger turned mystery… Read more »
Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom cofounders Sheryl Olitzky and Atiya Aftab speak to members at a dinner hosted by The Tucson Islamic center Jan. 26.
The Tucson chapter of the national non-profit Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom recently hosted 52 international and local members for a fact-finding mission in Southern Arizona. The group of 26 Jewish and 26 Muslim members focused on southern border issues Jan. 26-30. The apolitical Sisterhood strives to build bridges between… Read more »
Swimming is one of the many offerings for children at Camp J each summer.
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will offer its Camp J this summer from May 26-Aug. 27, with a variety of programs for kids of all ages. Camp activities include arts and crafts, archery, STEM, swimming, field trips, and a variety of electives. Christy Ball has been sending her sons,… Read more »
Isaac and Simone Figueroa at the 1920s-themed Hava Tequila party on Feb. 2, 2019.
Hava Tequila, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s annual Young Leadership benefit party, will be held Saturday, Feb. 29, 8-11 p.m. at a new location, the Sonoran Rooftop at the Westward Look, 245 E. Ina Road. The theme will be “A Night on the Red Carpet.” “We checked out… Read more »
Zucchini, potato and Manchego pashtida (Leanne Shor)
This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher. Americans don’t have nearly the appreciation that Israelis do for quiche. In the States, it’s an unimaginative brunch addition that never really shines. But in Israel, it’s the star of many lunch tables and an incredible dairy dinner. Not to mention Shavuot,… Read more »
Kirk Douglas poses in 1950. (PhotoQuest/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) – Kirk Douglas, the legendary actor who portrayed legions of tough guys and embraced his Jewish heritage later in life, died at his home in Beverly Hills on Wednesday. He was 103. Over a career that spanned 87 films — including 73 big screen features and… Read more »
(JTA) — Tom Stoppard, the winner of multiple Tony Awards and an Oscar, and the author of plays such as “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” and “Travesties,” is often described as one of the best living playwrights. He’s not often described as Jewish, which he is, perhaps in part… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Get ready with the “yada yada” references, Jerry Seinfeld is coming out with another book about comedy. More than 25 years after he sold a million copies with “Seinlanguage,” the star of the megahit “Seinfeld” and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” will present the best… Read more »
(JTA) — The first trailer for HBO’s adaptation of the Philip Roth novel “The Plot Against America” was released on Thursday. The series, co-created by David Simon and based on Roth’s 2004 novel of the same name, premieres on March 16. It stars John Turturro (as a rabbi), Winona… Read more »
(JTA) — Fran Drescher, the star of the 1990s sitcom “The Nanny,” says she loves her gay former husband, but some of her needs are met by a “friend with benefits.” The twice-divorced Jewish actress spilt with Peter Marc Jacobson in 1999 after more than 20 years of marriage.… Read more »
(JTA) — Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli named her son David. Refaeli’s third child and first son joins sisters Liv and Elle. The boy’s name was announced Tuesday. Refaeli is married to Israeli businessman Adi Ezra. David, who was born on Jan. 14, was named after Ezra’s father, Mako reported.… Read more »
Gil Landau, left, and Yael Cohen make up Lola Marsh. (Michael Topyol)
(JTA) — Gil Landau and Yael Cohen, the two core members of Lola Marsh, don’t seem to care much about any of it — the pressure of being Israel’s biggest indie band, the baggage that comes with being labeled as Israeli occupiers in some of the places they perform,… Read more »
Artist Lisa Amie Sturz manipulates a puppet representing Cantor Izo Glickstein as she narrates ‘My Grandfather’s Prayers.’ Photo courtesy Red Herring Puppets
Relocating her well established Red Herring Puppets studio from North Carolina to Tucson last year was a big move for Lisa Amie Sturz. She brings to the Old Pueblo 40 years of experience in building, performing, and directing puppetry for film and television, theater, museums, educational institutions, and special… Read more »
