Marian Lupu A new nonagenarian Guess who just turned 90? Her birthday invitation, using the numbers “9” and “90,” gave some clues: 1) She advised 9 U.S. presidents on how to improve aging services. 2) She has collected more than 90 giraffes. 3) 9 is associated with the Chinese dragon, a… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Ethiopian protest in Israel It’s been more than 30 years since the first immigrants came from Ethiopia to Israel. As a young teenager I remember the new immigrants coming to the merkaz klita (absorption center) in Revaya next to my hometown. My mother volunteered as the chair of the… Read more »
Edmon J. Rodman shared his mother's taste for Impressionist art, thus the purchase of this umbrella as a Mother's Day gift. (Edmon J. Rodman)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — What gifts do our mothers give us? Not the kind we see in the mirror. Like me, you’ve probably already accounted for where your eye color, nose shape and eyebrows that seem too close to each other come from. I’m talking inner gifts, those money… Read more »
Dear Jewish Community Concierge, I’ve always felt fairly connected to my Jewish heritage. Now that I’m a mom, how do I get my kids involved and bring Judaism into our family? Thank you, Rebecca Dear Rebecca, Mazel tov on this exciting new chapter in your life! There are many… Read more »
Lola Maas (left) and Lindsay Migdal at the Flo Rida, Aer and Kap Slap concert at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta during the BBYO International Convention. BBYO International Convention Over Presidents Day weekend, more than 2,200 Jewish teens from across the globe gathered in Atlanta for the largest BBYO International Convention ever. Lola Maas, a freshman at Tucson High Magnet School and member of Kadimah BBG, and Lindsay Migdal, Tucson BBYO city director, participated in… Read more »
Ori Parnaby Dear Jewish Community Concierge, I just found out about you and I was wondering what is it exactly that you do? Sincerely, Jonathan Dear Jonathan, Great question! The Jewish Concierge is a brand new position created by Tucson’s Jewish Community Roundtable, a group of representatives from the Board… Read more »
Even if a donkey will be at the head of the Likud, you will vote Likud,” I laughed with my father, and he said, “Yes,” smiling, “because I am a man of ideology.” I was raised in a pluralistic home in terms of political approach. My beloved late father… Read more »
Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin on Feb. 19. “The photo,” he says, “does not even begin to capture the power of walking through and finding the pillars dwarfing you as they grow to 15 feet in the center of the installation.”
I sat between Grandmother and Aunt Etta. I never had a chance. Grandmother would point to her forearm, the numbers tattooed there … and that’s how I learned to count. I sat between Grandmother and Aunt Etta. Between spoonfuls of regret they fed me: “From this you… Read more »
Michael Goldman and actress Gwyneth Paltrow at the White House Chanukah Party A coveted invitation Tucsonans Gloria and Michael Goldman were among the approximately 500 guests at the White House Chanukah party on the evening of Dec. 17, the same day Alan Gross was released from a Cuban prison. The Goldmans secured the email invitation through a friend’s son, Matthew Nosanchuk,… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Elections in Israel — why now? During my recent visit to Israel, many of the conversations I had with family and friends were about the upcoming elections in Israel. The fact that the elections are being held prematurely did not come as a surprise, especially given that Israel has… Read more »
Tucsonans Elyse Pincus (currently a Masa Israel teaching fellow in Rehovot) and Birthright participants Tanya Hetlinger and Adam Knox at the Path to Peace mosaic wall
Birthright update The Birthright Israel Foundation asks: “What has four wheels and takes 40 young Jewish adults on the experience of a lifetime?” Answer: A Taglit-Birthright Israel bus. During this winter season, Birthright brought more than 14,000 young Jews, ages 18-26, from 21 countries to our homeland for the… Read more »
Actress Mayim bialik reflects on what it means to be Jewish today and is grateful for the existence of Israel. (Shutterstock) (KVELLER/JTA) — I grew up in a public school that had enough Jewish kids that I felt represented. I went to Hebrew school twice a week and had a chavurah, or fellowship, through my Reform synagogue with kids my age. A portion of my family was Orthodox. I was… Read more »
President Obama speaking at the first of two White House Chanukah parties in Washington, D.C., dec. 17, 2014. (Steve Sheffey) WASHINGTON (JTA) — I’ve been JTA’s Washington bureau chief for 11 years, but this was the first time I scored a coveted invitation to the annual White House Chanukah party. A Washington tradition started by President George W. Bush, the party has actually expanded (to meet demand) to… Read more »
Jewish travel abroad In their travels, Marcia and Michael Zaccaria seek out Jewish venues, observances and connections. In 2010, it was Turkey; in 2011, India; and 2013, Morocco. From Aug. 26-Oct. 14, the couple flew to South Asia to visit Ladakh (India), Bhutan, Nepal, and Tibet (China). The Zaccarias… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Israeli culture Every year there is an Israeli book or two that tries to shed new light on the complicated situation in Israel. I found two recent books very interesting and in a way even complementary. “The Industry of Lies” by Ben-Dror Yemini explores the mechanism… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman Chanukah is a holiday with many names. Some call it the Festival of Lights, while others refer to it as the Feast of Rededication or the Holiday of Miracles. Its multiplicity of names suggests a variety meanings. The historical version of Chanukah, recorded in the Book of Maccabees, chronicles… Read more »
Bill and Wendy Fishkind with the Cessna 182 at Lanseria Airport in South Africa Bucket list check-off For Bill and Wendy Fishkind, African travel has always been on their radar; however, for two weeks in September, they traveled on the African continent without radar. Bill and Wendy are both licensed pilots. They flew commercially from the United States to Johannesburg. Once there, they… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Terror in Israel, again Since the recent escalation of terror in Israel, I have been asked about one of the latest incidents in which a young Israeli Arab from Kafr Kana ran toward an Israeli police car and stabbed at the car. Several policemen stepped out of the car… Read more »
Cindy Sher CHICAGO (JTA) — Last year, for a month before Thanksgiving I jotted down one thing for which I was grateful every night before I went to bed. Here are some of the 30 blessings I recorded: • A warm bed. • Airplanes that fly me to visit my family… Read more »
LOS ANGELES (JTA) — As we prepare for our Thanksgiving feasts, a 90-year-old Jewish man named Arnold Abbott is stirring the pot in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., about hunger and homelessness in America. Or is it that Abbott, who in defiance of a controversial new city ordinance has been cited… Read more »
