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Jewish thrift store plans ‘Best Of’ sales event
November 20, 2018 /

The 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, Southern Arizona’s only Jewish thrift store, will hold its “Best Of” event on Thursday, Nov. 29, 6-8 p.m. The event will feature select merchandise, snacks and wine, and music by Birks Works. Held twice a year, the “Best Of” events are a… Read more »

Hadassah to host regional speaker at installation lunch
November 20, 2018 /
Ian Merles

Hadassah Southern Arizona will honor its 2018 Woman of the Year, install officers for 2019 and recognize its annual supporters at a luncheon on Dec. 9. Ian Merles, the annual giving officer for Hadassah West Coast Region, will be the guest speaker. Honey Manson will install the new slate… Read more »

Tucson’s two oldest synagogues plan Kristallnacht anniversary pulpit exchange
November 9, 2018 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor
Rabbi Robert Eisen, left, and Rabbi Batsheva Appel

Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel and Rabbi Batsheva Appel of Temple Emanu-El will exchange pulpits this weekend for “Unity in the Faceof Brokenness,” a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht, which is German for “Crystal Night,” is also known as “The Night of Broken Glass.”… Read more »

Hadassah brunch to focus on nursing history
November 9, 2018 /

Hadassah Southern Arizona will present “Glimpses from 100 years of the Henrietta Szold – Hadassah School of Nursing Through the Eyes of Nursing Graduates” at a brunch on Sunday, Nov. 11. Gilat Yihye, a graduate of the Henrietta Szold Hadassah Hebrew University School of Nursing, will speak and screen… Read more »

JFSA women plan Mystery Mitzvah Morning
November 9, 2018 /

Updated 11.12.18: This event has been cancelled. Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will host a Mystery Mitzvah Morning for newcomers and longtime residents on Sunday, Nov. 18, from 9:30-11:30 a.m. The event will begin with a light breakfast at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish… Read more »

Brandeis plans luncheon, new book sale venue
September 28, 2018 /

Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter kicks off its new year with a fall luncheon and annual book sale in October. The lunch features speaker Billy Russo, managing director of the Arizona Theatre Company. The event, Sunday, Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m. at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, is $39… Read more »

Former Eagle to share journey from football to faith

Calvin ‘Yosef’ Murray and his wife, Emunah, on a Judean Desert Jeep tour in Israel December 2017.
August 30, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Legendary all-star Rose Bowl running back Calvin Murray played football for the Philadelphia Eagles in the early ’80s. Yet he says his greatest touchdown was converting to Orthodox Judaism five years ago, and with his wife, Emunah, preparing to make aliyah. Murray, who now goes by the name Yosef,… Read more »

Mitzvah Magic celebrating 10th anniversary

Mitzvah Magic circle captains and co-chairs celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary, Aug. 5. Standing (L-R): Fran Katz (Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona senior vice president), Andra Karnofsky (co-chair), Linda Tumarkin, Wendy Weiss, Claudia Oreck-Teplitsky, Donna Moser, Iris Posin (co-chair); seated, Elena Boskoff, Trudy Haggard, Anne Lowe (JFSA)
August 16, 2018 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Mitzvah Magic, a program that provides baskets of Jewish holiday goods and everyday basics three times a year for local Jewish families in need, is a win-win, says longtime volunteer Iris Posin, who is co-chairing the program this year with Andra Karnofsky. Not only do families receive items that… Read more »

People in the news 6.15.18
June 14, 2018 /
Steven Meckler

Tucson photographer STEVEN MECKLER will receive the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award at the Tucson Advertising Hall of Achievement event on Sept. 6 at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. The Silver Medal is a nationally recognized award that honors men and women who have made significant contributions… Read more »

CCC program aims to bolster ‘The Connection’

Students at the Bais Medrash of the Foxman Torah Institute in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, study with Rabbi Shimon Max. (Foxman Torah Institute)
June 14, 2018 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Two rabbis and 12 yeshiva students from New Jersey will join forces with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute later this month for a multifaceted program called “The Connection.” The goal of the free, three-week program is “to help the Jewish… Read more »

Tucson Jewish community has long, proud history of embracing refugees

Factory owner Bruce Beyer (rear, in green) with newly hired refugees and other employees, June 1. (Debe Campbell)
June 14, 2018 / Debe Campbell, AJP Editorial Assistant

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well. No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” — Refugee poet Warsan Shire Each… Read more »

‘Chava’ actress from ‘Fiddler’ to host sing-along at Loft

Neva Small, right, as Chava in 'Fiddler on the Roof,' with, from left, Rosalind Harris, as Tzeitel and Michele Marsh as Hodel.
February 8, 2018 / Sara Harelson, AJP Intern

“Tradition, tradition, tradition!” sings out the cast in the opening number of “Fiddler on the Roof.” Neva Small, the woman who played Tevye’s third daughter, Chava, in the film version of the beloved musical, has always taken this entreaty to heart. Now Small, who has created her own traditions… Read more »