“Be Strong and of Good Courage” (Deuteronomy 31:7) is the title for the Jewish History Museum’s 10th annual fall benefit, which will be held virtually on Sunday, Nov. 1. This year’s benefit honors Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim. “I think of Rabbi Aaron as my primary partner in… Read more »
Events
Tucson J plans physically distant Sculpture Garden opening
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold a physically distanced opening for its Sculpture Garden on Sunday, Oct. 25, from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. The Sculpture Garden, created in 2009, includes new and established artists and is a cornerstone of the J’s arts programming. The opening will feature nine new… Read more »
Amplifying Voices series to examine junction of Black and Jewish identity, community
This month, the Tucson Jewish Community Center will launch Amplifying Voices, a six-part virtual series designed to help explore the intersectional relationship between Black and Jewish identity and community. The series will begin Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. with Professors Marc Dollinger of San Francisco State University and Jerome… Read more »
JFCS virtual workshop to explore how living with violence affects children, families
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona will present a free Zoom workshop, “The Impact of Violence on Young Children and Their Families: We Can All Make a Difference,” on Tuesday, Oct. 20, from noon to 1:15 p.m. All children who have lived with interpersonal violence are affected… Read more »
Chabad Oro Valley Sukkah Mobile bringing holiday celebration to Northwest residents
The Chabad Oro Valley Sukkah Mobile arrived at the Dove Mountain Walgreens on Tuesday morning, Oct. 6. “When you are inside the sukkah, the walls surround you like a hug from G-d, reminding us of G-d’s love, protection, and the themes of Sukkot – joy and Jewish unity,” says… Read more »
UArizona Poetry Center, with support of Hurand Connection Fund, to launch virtual Institute for Inquiry and Poetics with U.S. poet laureate
The University of Arizona Poetry Center, part of the College of Humanities, is launching a new, virtual Institute for Inquiry and Poetics. The inaugural convening, offered in partnership with the Hurand Connection Fund, will feature U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo and poets Jennifer Foerster and LeAnne Howe, editors of… Read more »
UA Music+Festival focuses on artists who bridge classical and popular music
The Fred Fox School of Music at the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts will present its 13th annual Music+Festival, featuring the music of George Gershwin (1898-1937), Steve Reich (b. 1936), and William Bolcom (b. 1938), from Oct. 9-12. All festival events will be online, with free admission.… Read more »
Taika Waititi adapting anti-Semite Roald Dahl’s work is exactly what we need
This story originally appeared on Alma. Netflix just announced that the Academy Award-winning Maori-Jewish filmmaker Taika Waititi will write, direct and executive produce two series based on the work of author Roald Dahl for the streaming platform. The first is based on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” focusing specifically… Read more »
Bus tour will examine Douglas history
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center are sponsoring a bus tour, “Preserving Jewish History in Southern Arizona: An Experiential and Mobile Day of Learning,” on Wednesday, March 11, led by Stuart Mellan, JFSA president and CEO, and Bryan Davis, JHM executive director.… Read more »
Congregation M’kor Hayim will focus on refugees for special Shabbat service
Editor’s note: Due to the spread of coronavirus, Congregation M’kor Hayim has postponed this event. HIAS’ National Refugee Shabbat is a call to congregations across the country to dedicate sacred time on the March 20-21 Shabbat to honor refugees and asylum seekers. Congregation M’kor Hayim will hold a special Friday,… Read more »
Rugelach, Syrian pepper dip on menu for Tucson Festival of Books demo
Leah Koenig will be representing Jewish cuisine at the Tucson Festival of Books with her new cookbook, “The Jewish Cookbook,” which includes recipes from around the globe. Koenig’s recipes have been featured in the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine’s Grub Street, and other popular… Read more »
Hear balalaikas ringing out at orchestra’s annual concert of music and dance
The Arizona Balalaika Orchestra’s 40th Anniversary Concert of traditional music and dance of Russia, Poland, Ukraine, and other Slavic countries is Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m. at Pima Community College Center for the Arts. The 25-member orchestra, founded in 1980 by Mia Bulgarin Gay, presents a wide spectrum… Read more »
Solomon returns to IT with new comedy
Editor’s note: Due to precautions against the spread of COVID-19 announced by Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, the performances of “From Brooklyn to Broadway in Only 50 Years!” have been postponed to Saturday, May 16 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. For more information visit www.invisibletheatre.com. Invisible Theatre will present… Read more »
Trump to speak at Republican Jewish Coalition conference for second straight year
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will speak at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual conference for the second consecutive year. The venue for the March 14 appearance, the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas, is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a major benefactor of the RJC and Republican campaigns, including Trump’s.… Read more »
A 4th-generation Vermont Orthodox Jew is starting the state’s first Jewish day school
(JTA) — Draizy Junik is well acquainted with the challenges of living a Jewish life in Vermont, a state that while home to a well-known Jewish Democratic presidential candidate has a total Jewish population of about 20,000 people. As a kid, Junik was homeschooled until the age of 13… Read more »
Simon Wiesenthal’s granddaughter leads march marking 75 years since Mauthausen’s liberation
MAUTHAUSEN, Austria (JTA) — Under a bright blue sky, with Austria’s snow-capped Alps in the distance, Racheli Kreisberg set foot for the first time in her life inside Mauthausen — the sprawling Nazi concentration camp that held nearly 200,000 prisoners between 1938 and 1945. Fewer than half of the… Read more »
Bat mitzvah: Josephine Elyse Hanley
Josephine Elyse Hanley, daughter of Rebecca and Todd Hanley, will celebrate becoming a bat mitzvah on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Congregation Or Chadash. She is the granddaughter of Shana and Richard Oseran and Pat Dale, all of Tucson. Josephine attends Miles Exploratory Learning Center where she is an honor… Read more »
Israeli violinist Perlman to perform at UA
Itzhak Perlman, arguably the world’s most famous living violinist, will perform for UA Presents on Sunday, March 1, 6:30 p.m. He will be accompanied by pianist Rohan De Silva. The subject of a 2018 PBS documentary, “Itzhak,” Perlman spoke that year to JTA reporter Curt Schleier. “I’m a violinist.… Read more »
Improv to raise security funds for BSTC
Unscrewed Theater and Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will partner for a BSTC fund-raiser next month, “Dine and Laugh!” Comedy troops from Unscrewed Theater, an improv club based in Tucson, will perform while attendees enjoy a three-course dinner on Saturday, March 21, at the Madera Crystal Ballroom… Read more »
County launches garden emissions voucher program
To cut down on pollution created by gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has created the “Cut Down Pollution” program. “Our region exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health standard for ground-level ozone on… Read more »