Upcoming

Montoya to moderate local leaders forum on immigration

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 »

Tucson talk to explore health risks of Wi-Fi technology

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 »

JFCS Matza & More sees local needs increase

Volunteers unload groceries for Jewish Family & Children’s Services’s 2018 Matza & More campaign. (Jewish Family & Children's Services)

For more than 40 years, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona’s Matza & More project has packed and delivered Passover bags to Tucson area families who otherwise could not afford food and items for a Seder. Volunteers and staff fill the bags with fresh vegetables, gefilte fish,… Read more »

Tucson’s Markzon to bring Thunderbirds, lightning over Arizona

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Markzon on point of his Thunderbirds Demonstration squad (USAF)

There’s always excitement when the elite Thunderbirds Demonstration Squad roars into Tucson’s Davis-Monthan U.S. Air Force Base for an air show. But this year’s “Thunder and Lightning Over Arizona,” March 23-24, brings a hometown pilot soaring into town for the performance. Maj. Jason Markzon, flying the #8 slot and… Read more »

Northwest bus trip to examine border status

Learn more about what’s happening along the Arizona border with an informative trip south. The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest and Hadassah Southern Arizona will sponsor a bus journey to the border Tuesday, March 12. Stops will include Humane Border’s water station in… Read more »

Inclusion topic for professional training at J

The Special Abilities and Inclusion Initiative, in partnership with the Tucson Jewish Community Center, is offering a free daylong professional development opportunity next month through Matan, a New York-based organization. Matan advocates for the inclusion of diverse learners and educates Jewish leaders, educators, and communities, empowering them to create… Read more »

Lecture, photo display to spotlight Israeli humanitarians

An IsraAid volunteer helps Syrian refugees come ashore on the island of Lesbos, Greece. IIsraAID)

Rachel Wallace will present “Humanitarian Heroes Around the World” as the Weintraub Israel Center’s Gertrude and Fred Rosen Memorial Lecture next month. The free lecture marks the launch of a month-long photo exhibit at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, “Stories of Courage and Resilience.” The Tucson J will host… Read more »

Storyteller to perform ‘A Land Twice Promised’

Noa Baum

Storyteller Noa Baum is an Israeli who began a heartfelt dialogue with a Palestinian woman she met while living in the United States. Baum grew up in Jerusalem under the generational shadow of the Holocaust and ongoing wars. Past stories and fear of wars from the ’60s through the… Read more »

World’s first privately funded, Israeli lunar mission to launch today at 8:45 p.m. from Cape Canaveral

Beresheet payload (at the top, in gold), the first Israeli lunar spacecraft. (Photo credit: Courtesy of SSL)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Feb. 18 – Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) today announced that Israel’s inaugural voyage to the moon – the world’s first privately funded lunar mission – will begin on Feb. 21 at approximately 8:45 p.m. EST, when the lunar lander “Beresheet” (“In the Beginning”)… Read more »

Brandeis to spotlight mystery, crime fiction, memoir authors

Elizabeth George

The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter presents its 23rd Annual Book & Author events on Feb. 27 and 28 with four acclaimed authors: internationally bestselling mystery writer Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley series; Reed Farrel Coleman, called the “noir poet laureate” by the Huffington Post; Tucsonan Lauren… Read more »

Comedy writer will bring ‘tribal’ humor to Connections brunch

Carol Leifer

Award-winning writer and producer, best-selling author, and stand-up comedian Carol Leifer will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy 26th annual Connections brunch next month. Her topic will be “Judaism is in My DNA.” “I speak about how the Jewish values imparted to… Read more »

Nexus of disabilities, mental health is summit topic

Jessica Reese

The Tucson Jewish Community Center Special Needs Initiative in partnership with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, with support from the David and Lura Lovell Foundation, will hold a professional development summit, “Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health: The Intersection of Treatment” on Thursday, Feb. 28, 8:15-3 p.m. The keynote speaker… Read more »

Three Cohon awards on tap

The Rabbi Samuel S. and A. Irma Cohon Memorial Foundation will present three awards at its 2018 award ceremony, which will take place at Congregation Beit Simcha’s Shabbat service on Friday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. The award recipients, who will describe their work at the ceremony, are Phyllis… Read more »

Miller’s ‘Blues’ coming to Invisible Theatre

Susan Miller

Invisible Theatre will bring Jewish playwright Susan Miller’s latest off-Broadway play, “20th Century Blues,” to Tucson to round out its 48th anniversary season, April 23-May 5. Miller has won two Obies, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and countless other awards. The play, which debuted off-Broadway in November 2017, centers on four… Read more »

Trilingual reading to feature award-winning Mexican poet

Myriam Moscona

The Jewish History Museum will co-sponsor a poetry reading on Wednesday, Feb. 27 in Spanish, English and Ladino with acclaimed Mexican poet Myriam Moscona. Joining her on stage will be the translators of her book, “Tela de Sevoya” (“Onioncloth”), Jen Hofer and John Pluecker. They are co-founders of Antena,… Read more »

CAI gala to celebrate 50 years on 5th Street

Rabbi Marcus Breger (left) and Morris ‘Mac’ Benisch at Anshei Israel’s 1968 groundbreaking (Congregation Anshei Israel)

Congregation Anshei Israel will hold a “L’Door V’Dor: 50 years on 5th Street” gala next month. Organizers dubbed the event the “L’Door V’Dor,”  a play on l’dor v’dor, the Hebrew phrase for “from generation to generation,” because it is a chance to honor those who helped open the doors… Read more »