News

  WASHINGTON (JTA) – Sebastian Gorka, who advises President Donald Trump on counterterrorism, reportedly is leaving the White House for a role elsewhere in the administration. Gorka has been an object of Jewish attention since he was photographed at an inaugural ball sporting a medal of the Vitez Rend, a movement founded… Read more »

 For the 25th consecutive year, the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona will team up to collect donations on Saturday, May 13 for the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive. This is Southern Arizona’s largest single-day food drive. “With our community’s help,… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Staff. Sgt. Joana Chris Arpon isn’t Israeli, or even Jewish. Her service in the Israel Defense Forces is personal. Arpon, 20, is the daughter of Filipino parents who came to the Israel to find work. She said she enlisted as a combat soldier because an Israeli army  team rescued her… Read more »

(JTA) — Bob Mankoff has been the cartoon editor at The New Yorker for 20 years. But he’s been a Jew for 72. The celebrated cartoonist, who is stepping down from his prestigious perch in May, has therefore had a long time to formulate his thoughts on Judaism and Jewish… Read more »

(L-R): Joline Riddle, Sue DeBenedette, Amy Dowe, Denise Wolf and Mike Gadarian at the JCCs of North American Professional Conference

Tucson J professional development The Tucson Jewish Community Center sent five staff members to the JCCs of North America Professional Conference 2017, held in Orlando, Fla., March 19-22. Denise Wolf, chief operating officer; Mike Gadarian, chief financial officer; Joline Riddle, early childhood education director; Amy Dowe, fitness director; and… Read more »

It’s very important to understand who is feeding you information and why they are doing so, says Matti Friedman, an award-winning author and former reporter for the Associated Press’ Jerusalem bureau. “We all need to be critical consumers of media, not just where Israel is concerned,” says Friedman. “The… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will wrap up its 70th anniversary year at its annual meeting and awards celebration. The salute to “The Next 70” will be held Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Jeff Artzi  and Joyce Stuehringer will be honored… Read more »

The “Cruz de los Sepharditos de Nuestra Tierra Sagrada” by artist Carlie Sánchez illustrates the confluence of cultures. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum)

“Fluid Identities:  New Mexican Crypto Jews in the Late 20th Century” is currently on display at Tucson’s Jewish History Museum. On loan from the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, “Fluid Identities” is part of a larger exhibition entitled “Fractured Faiths.” The Tucson exhibit offers an opportunity to… Read more »

Sister Jose Women’s Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony at its new location on Park Avenue South on Thursday, April 20. The nonprofit center is a haven for homeless women. Its new location, a remodeled 9,000-square foot warehouse, will enable the center to serve far more women than it… Read more »

Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor… Read more »

Lobbying in Washington, D.C., for an increase in protections for immigrant families was an invigorating experience, says Nicolas Rios, a high school student and member of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition.  Rios, 16, a junior at BASIS Tucson North, heard about the JLTC from his college preparatory counselor. Growing up… Read more »

Amy Hirshberg Lederman (Courtesy Lederman)

A group of leaders from the local Jewish community recently received a unique opportunity to study 21st-century leadership issues from a Jewish perspective. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona sponsored the flagship LEAD 2017 leadership program, held Jan. 4-March 22 at Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Jewish Federation. A… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona proposes amendments to its constitution, which will be voted upon by its membership at its annual meeting, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. As required by the constitution, these changes are available for review at jfsa.org/constitutionamendments. It is… Read more »

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

In conjunction with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present a free ethical will workshop for the Jewish community, led by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, on Tuesday, May 9, 10 a.m.-noon. Unlike a medical directive or living will, or a will detailing bequests… Read more »

Sophie Loeb

Sophie Loeb, a second-year medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, has a strong commitment to care for those in her own backyard. Loeb is the 2017 recipient of the Shirley Curson Medical Scholarship from the UA Hillel Foundation. The scholarship recognizes the commitment… Read more »

  (JTA) – Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States soared 86 percent in the first three months of 2017 after rising by more than one-third in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. There has been a massive increase in harassment of American Jews, largely since November, and at least… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Donald Trump got the memo on the Holocaust and the Jews. In a barrage of statements this week from the president and his aides, the Trump administration wants you to know, he gets it, he really gets it: The Holocaust describes a genocide committed only… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) – To build a Jewish state in the Middle East, Israelis had to be innovators. Some of what they’ve come up with has been used mostly by their fellow citizens — think Hebrew slang, Bamba snacks and the Iron Dome missile defense system — at least so far.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Trump administration last week endorsed a narrative long promoted by critics of the Iran nuclear deal: It’s North Korea all over again. “An unchecked Iran has the potential to travel the same path as North Korea, and take the world along with it,” Secretary of State Rex… Read more »

(JTA) — Supporters of Emmanuel Macron were not alone in cheering his victory Sunday in the first round of France’s presidential elections. Far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who finished second in the voting, saw it as excellent news. The two will face off in the final round next month after… Read more »