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News
Torah scroll makes its way from Iowa to Paraguay, telling story about modern Judaism
Most of Paraguay’s 1,000 Jews live in Asuncion, where B’nai Jacob’s Torah has found a new home. (Erin Jones-Avni)
One family after another hurried through Erin Jones-Avni’s front door, anxious to get their first glimpse of the new arrival — to admire its ornate silver breastplate and touch its satiny mantle. “People just kept coming, and they’d make a beeline for the Torah,” she told JTA from her… Read more »
Alma Hernandez, millennial Mexican-American Jewish woman, wins in Arizona primary
Alma Hernandez’s second-place finish in the Democratic primary for the Arizona House of Representatives paves her way to election in November. (Courtesy of Hernandez)
(JTA) — Alma Hernandez, a 25-year-old Mexican-American Jew, finished in the top two in her Democratic primary for the Arizona statehouse, paving her way to be elected in November. Hernandez was second in her district Tuesday — there are two open spots for state representative — allowing her to… Read more »
40 Isn’t Just a Milestone Birthday. It’s an Important Jewish Number
(Kveller via JTA) — I’m a congregational rabbi, so the month of August is always a bit anxiety-provoking. Whether the holidays are “early” or “late,” they are coming, and my mental checklist goes into overdrive planning sermons, services and more. And this is to say nothing of the spiritual work.… Read more »
Amid controversy, NY State Senate candidate aims to clarify her Jewish identity
Supporters of Julia Salazar back the New York State Senate candidate at a news conference in Brooklyn, N.Y., Aug. 6, 2018. (Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
NEW YORK (JTA) — New York State Senate candidate Julia Salazar is pushing back against an article on a Jewish website describing discrepancies in her Jewish and family biography. Salazar, 27, a democratic socialist running for a seat in Brooklyn’s 18th district, has been profiled in various Jewish and… Read more »
Unique museum tells story of Polish family murdered for hiding Jews during Holocaust
The six Ulma children, seen here with their mother during their last summer alive, were killed in 1944 after watching their parents' execution for harboring Jews. (Courtesy of the Ulma Museum)
MARKOWA, Poland — Memorial plaques bearing the names of Poles killed for rescuing Jews line the pathway leading to a small, austere structure built into a hillside in this rural village in southeastern Poland. In the center courtyard, a large slab is inscribed to the memory of Jewish victims… Read more »
JDC, Indian Jewish community provide food, clothing to Kerala flood survivors
Mumbai, India – The Jewish community of India, together with American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, is responding to the destructive floods in Kerala, providing food and clothing to hundreds of families hard-hit by the disaster. With a presence in India since 1950, JDC and its partners in the Jewish community will provide… Read more »
Azerbaijan’s Mountain Jews museum is part of a dying community’s rescue plan
Women mourn their relatives at the cemetery overlooking the Jewish town of Krasnaiya Sloboda in northern Azerbaijan, July 21, 2018. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
KRASNAIYA SLOBODA, Azerbaijan (JTA) — For one day each summer, the hills overlooking this centuries-old Jewish town echo with the sound of wailing women. The women ascend up a narrow path from this town of several hundred residents in northern Azerbaijan to its vast cemetery. It’s an annual procession on Tisha… Read more »
This Seattle singer wrote an entire folk rock album on the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Ben Fisher lived for three years across from Jerusalem's Old City, or what he calls the "seam" between Arab eastern Jerusalem and Jewish western Jerusalem. (Kendall Rock)
(JTA) — In 2014, early on in a three-year stint spent living in Israel, songwriter Ben Fisher took a vacation to Japan. Sitting in a hotel room in Tokyo, he spontaneously wrote a song about the founding of Tel Aviv — in about 15 minutes. The story goes that… Read more »
Nazi camp guard Jakiw Palij deported from U.S. to Germany
The view down an alley off the street where Nazi camp guard Jakiw Palij lived in Queens, N.Y., Dec. 4, 2017. (Celeste Sloman for the Washington Post)
(JTA) — A former guard at a Nazi concentration camp was deported to Germany overnight from the United States, where he had lived for decades. Jakiw Palij, 95, had lived in Queens, New York. He served as a guard at the Trawniki concentration camp near Lublin, Poland, during World… Read more »
Hadassah, Loft to show film on women’s ambulance corps
Rachel Freier, center, is the protagonist of ‘93Queen.’
Like many heavily Orthodox sections of Brooklyn, Borough Park has been served for decades by an all-male volunteer ambulance corps called Hatzalah. The corps caters to a religious Jewish community with particular needs and customs — including one custom that can increase the tension for some patients in already… 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)
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 »
Dynamic duo to expand arts, culture, film at Tucson Jewish Community Center
Katie Spector and Jeremy Thompson, the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s new arts and culture managers, in the J’s Sculpture Garden (Debe Ca
Look for some new directions in arts and culture programming at the Tucson Jewish Community Center with the addition of a dynamic duo of new managers, Katie Spector and Jeremy Thompson. Together they will focus on enriching community development, using innovative and creative ways to bring more people and… Read more »
From darkness to light: Berlin-Budapest trip reveals a new Jewish generation
(L-R) Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Board Chair Shelly Silverman, JFSA 2019 Campaign Chair Melissa Goldfinger, JFSA Senior Vice President Fran Katz, and JFSA Women’s Philanthropy Campaign Chair Leslie Glaze visit the Berlin Wall, July 15. (Melissa Goldfinger)
Each year, the Jewish Federations of North America invites professionals and lay leaders to participate in a mission that highlights the unique challenges, programs and impact of federations’ overseas funding. In mid-July, Melissa Goldfinger, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 2019 Campaign chair; Leslie Glaze, JFSA Women’s Philanthropy Campaign chair;… Read more »
Jewish History Museum’s new interactive core exhibit prioritizes local voices
The Jewish History Museum, open by appointment only during the summer, will reopen Friday, Aug. 31, with a new core exhibition, “Meanings Not Yet Imagined.” “Meanings Not Yet Imagined” is the final stage of a curatorial project that began with the installation of the Holocaust History Center’s “Intimate Histories”… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El plans eclectic fall concerts
Some of Anarchestra’s unique instruments
Three concerts at Temple Emanu-El this fall offer a mix of jazz, classical and what can only be described as “an instrument petting zoo.” “First, we’re bringing in two really genre-bending jazz bands on Aug. 25,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, choir director at Temple Emanu-El. The headliner is Resurrecting Id,… Read more »
Hebrew High sends off 40th class, welcomes new students
Members of Tucson Hebrew High’s 40th graduating class: front row, from left, Nathan Rix, Emily Jones, Julia Braun, Michael Artzi, Emily Youngerman, Hannah Weisman, Sarah Artzi (teacher); back row, Yonatan Weiner, Benjamin Manninen, Andrew Gross, Rafe Centuori
“I just need to know, just what makes you glow.” —Jacob Spike Kraus, What Makes You Glow Tucson High School for Jewish Studies (Hebrew High) graduated 10 students at its 40th commencement in May. The seniors planned their own Glow-themed celebration, facilitated by Hebrew High Co-chair Sarah Artzi. “Throughout… Read more »
High Holy Days food drive will help Tucsonans in need
The Tucson Jewish community will hold its annual Project Isaiah food drive benefiting the Community Food Bank from Aug. 24-Sept.20. The project, timed to coincide with the High Holy Days, is named for the Prophet Isaiah. When asked why we fast on Yom Kippur, he responded, “Is it not… Read more »
Jewish artists to present ‘Simcha’ at the J
Thirteen members of the Tucson Jewish Artists will present a group show, “Simcha,” in the Fine Art Gallery at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Aug. 26-Oct. 3. The group, which numbers around 25 visual artists, meets several times a year under the auspices of the Tucson Jewish concierge.… Read more »
Balancing charity, risk topic for food bank CEO
Michael McDonald Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona CEO and President Michael McDonald will be the guest speaker during the annual Taste of Or Chadash, which starts next week. On Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m., McDonald will discuss how nonprofits navigate paradoxes to accomplish charitable missions. “Feeding Tzedakah: Charity and… Read more »
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