Healing the World

Tucsonans on Israel Missions Witness Devastation and Unity

Sadness, anger, hope, and resilience. Todd Rockoff, president and CEO of the Tucson Jewish Community Center (JCC), felt all these emotions and more on a JCC Association Board Solidarity Mission (JCCA) to Israel in January. “I felt a great pull to be there,” he says, to bear witness and… Read more »

It’s Human to Want to Give

Arizona. California. Israel. Peru. Boston. No matter what state, country, time zone or zip code, I call my mother every day. And at 97, she still answers the phone with energy and excitement. Calling home was a decision I made over two decades ago to intentionally stay connected to… Read more »

The Sharif Family Arrives in Tucson: A Refugee’s Story

The JFCS Refugee Resettlement Team

Note: The names in the story have been changed. The Sharif family arrived to Jewish Family & Children’s Services (JFCS) in early January of 2022 after months of upheaval and uncertainty. JFCS’s Reception & Placement Case Manager, Omed, met them at the airport upon their arrival. He helped the… Read more »

On the Ground in Krakow: Assisting Ukrainian Refugees in Poland

Dr. Jacobson in front of the Krakow JCC

I recently returned from two weeks in Krakow, Poland, volunteering with the team at the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Krakow in their terrific effort to assist Ukrainian refugees. I traveled to Poland with my brother, Bruce Jacobson, who lives in South Carolina. Our contact was Jonathan Ornstein, Executive… Read more »

Doctors, pilots and Holocaust survivors try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport African migrants

Students and teachers from Seminar Ha'kibuzim protest against the deportation of African asylum seekers, in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2018. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/ FLASH90

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Holocaust survivors and rabbis, as well as doctors and some airline pilots, are among the Israelis who say they will try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport thousands of African migrants, even if it means taking them into their own homes. The latest group to come… Read more »