Rotem Rapaport (L) and Ron Benacot cherish their year as Israeli emissaries to Tucson. (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)
Weintraub Israel Center’s shinshiniyot (Israeli teen emissaries), Ron Benacot and Rotem Rapaport, will be called to the Torah as b’not mitzvah Saturday, June 15 at Temple Emanu-El. “I had my bat mitzvah when I was 12,” said Benacot, “but where I grew up in Israel, it’s not common for… Read more »
Tohono Chul is holding its fourth annual Adopt-A-Bee program. The whimsical program, which allows participants to “adopt” and name a native bee, helps Tohono Chul communicate its passion for preservation and conservation. Adopt-A-Bee aims to increase awareness of the various native bee species in Southern Arizona, and to promote… Read more »
Local First Arizona will celebrate its annual “Independents Week” June 29-July 7. During Independents Week, LFA encourages Arizonans to “go local” by supporting as many locally owned businesses as possible. For the entire week, consumers can use LFA’s Golden Coupon for 20 percent discounts at hundreds of participating businesses… Read more »
Marking this Memorial Day, you’ll find members of the Friedman-Paul Post 201 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America offering traditional red poppy flowers for donations at Safeway supermarkets across Tucson. The post uses funds raised from twice-annual poppy sales to host monthly bingo sessions… Read more »
Nancy and Stuart Mellan and their blended family at their 1992 wedding. (Photo courtesy Nancy Mellan)
The Father’s Day Council Tucson is holding its 25th Annual Fathers of Year Awards Gala next month, and the Jewish Federation’s Stuart Mellan is among the honorees. Mellan, JFSA president and CEO, is one of seven men who will be celebrated on June 1 for their success in combining… Read more »
Kate Stewart, the lead archivist at the Arizona Historical Society in Tucson, profiles the life of librarian Ruth Rappaport in her first biography, “A Well-Read Woman: The Life, Loves, and Legacy of Ruth Rappaport,” released this spring by Little A Publishing. Rappaport grew up in Nazi Germany, reading banned… Read more »
Ari Slater, left, and Sean Cronin after a Reveille Men’s Chorus outreach performance in November. (Photo courtesy Ari Slater)
Ari Slater will be lifting his voice as part of the Reveille Men’s Chorus when they present “Bless Our Show(tunes)” this weekend. Slater, office assistant at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, says he started out singing for fun at the Thursday night piano bar at the Dusty Monk,… Read more »
Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s official Memorial Day dedicated to fallen soldiers and victims of terror, will be observed in Tucson on Tuesday, May 7 with song and remembrances at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, 6:30-8 p.m. Enacted into Israeli law in 1963, Yom Hazikaron traditionally is observed by the sounding… Read more »
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona serves the whole community and all ages. (Photo courtesy Jewish Family & Children’s Services)
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona is hosting a free, family-friendly event, “Celebration of Caring for Tucson’s Children” on Sunday, May 19, from 12-3 p.m. at the Scottish Rite, 160 S. Scott Ave. Children of all ages are welcome. There will be food and music for parents… Read more »
Rabbi Menachem Nissel Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute will host author, educator and historian Rabbi Menachem Nissel at a fundraiser Sunday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m. Nissel will present “Messiah: What We Believe, Why We Believe.” “This topic holds so much meaning for me,” says Rabbi Israel Becker, explaining… Read more »
Amelia Bande, Jeanne Vaccaro
In the past year, the Jewish History Museum has continued conversations started by its “Invisibility & Resistance: Violence Against LGBTQIA+ People” exhibit, which was on display in the Holocaust History Center’s Contemporary Human Rights space from September 2017 through May 2018. Along with continuing to highlight violence, JHM programs… Read more »
Invisible Theatre Managing Artistic Director Susan Claassen, left (in hat) and Pastime Players students and teachers at their 2018 performance at Doolen Middle School. (Photo courtesy Invisible Theatre)
The Invisible Theatre’s Pastime Players, an award-winning, multi-disciplinary arts education program for mentally and physically challenged students, will present a free performance of “The Me Inside of Me” on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. at Doolen Middle School, 2400 N. Country Club Road. Pastime Players started as a… Read more »
The Szabason family in Kozienice, Poland, in 1937. (Photo courtesy Jewish History Museum)
This year’s community Yom HaShoah commemoration will mark 80 years since the outbreak of World War II by reflecting on the vibrant and diverse Jewish life that existed in Europe and North Africa before the Holocaust. “On the Eve: Jewish Life Before the Third Reich” will be held Sunday,… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s board governance committee has recommended the following slate of officers for the 2019-20 program year: Deborah Oseran, chair of the board; Jeff Artzi, vice chair; Ben Silverman, treasurer/secretary; Shelly Silverman, immediate past chair. Also nominated are Elena Boskoff, Avi Erbst and Scott Sheftel… Read more »
Anne Lowe, left, and Elizabeth L. Fox Anne Lowe of Tucson and Elizabeth L. Fox of Boulder, Colorado, will present their recently published books at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s brunch on Sunday, May 5. In “A Touch of Torah,” Lowe shares reflections on being Jewish as she tries to grasp the intricacies of Torah. Inspired by the… Read more »
Orit Bashkin In the 1950s, 123,000 Iraqi Jews arrived in Israel. Harsh conditions and a shared background united them. Orit Bashkin, Ph.D., a University of Chicago associate professor of modern Middle Eastern history, will highlight this era in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ 2019 Jeffrey Plevan Memorial Lecture, “Israeli Babylonians:… Read more »
Gianna Lampert and partner Ruth Cooper at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging (Photo: Angela Salmon)
Tracing Roots 2.0 paired Tucson’s Jewish teens with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging to build meaningful relationships. The program encourages participants to learn together, share their stories, trace their ancestry and bring memories to life through technology and personal interaction. Tucson Hebrew High students met regularly… Read more »
Elliot Jones conducts the Arizona Repertory Singers in the ‘King David’ oratorio at Temple Emanu-El on April 29, 2018. (Photo: Celesteal Photography)
Arizona Repertory Singers will present a concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, April 28, “Psalms of David and Songs of Solomon.” “The Arizona Repertory Singers are one of this city’s choral treasures,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, music director at Temple Emanu-El. “They always bring a beautiful, rich sound to the… Read more »
Immigration 2019 is the focus for the annual local leaders forum, presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and the Jewish History Museum. The event will be held Friday, April 12, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718… Read more »
Magda Havas, Ph.D., is an expert on environmental toxicology. (Courtesy Electromagnetic Safety Alliance Inc.) Fourteen years ago, Jenny Baldwin, wife of Tucson neurosurgeon Hillel Baldwin, was having sleep problems and was diagnosed with restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder, making it almost impossible for her to get deep, restorative sleep. But over the past three years, she says, her symptoms “became… Read more »
