Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon at the last stop on his world tour, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru (Courtesy photo)
An intense interest in the world’s sacred places would be natural for any clergy. But Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El, took it to the next level. He purchased an around-the- world plane ticket and embarked on a whirlwind trip to more than 120 sacred places… Read more »
Volunteers cleaning up in Baltimore following disturbances the previous evening, April 28, 2015. (Melissa Gerr/Baltimore Jewish Times)
(JTA) — The April 19 death of an African-American resident of Baltimore, Freddie Gray, while in police custody triggered a wave of protests in the city and shined a light on its history of police brutality and racial and economic disparities. On Monday, the protests turned violent, giving way to… Read more »
German President Joachim Gauck, right, participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on the 70th anniversary of its liberation, April 26, 2015. (Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)
LOHHEIDE, Germany (JTA) — At the former Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, hundreds of survivors, along with their children and grandchildren, stood together last weekend under gray skies on a ground alive with memories doing their part for the future. “I ask young people to please take the right decisions in… Read more »
LAS VEGAS (JTA) – “It’s so noisy,” Kenny says. Yes, it’s noisy. This is Vegas. The Venetian. The casino floor. The bikinis, the brides-to-be, the blonde with the “I’m 21, bitches” T-shirt. The whoops, the hissing, the groans, the bells. This is Las Vegas, where Sheldon Adelson, who owns… Read more »
HANOVER, Germany (JTA) — Seventy years after the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British troops, some 100 people personally touched by the history returned to the site to share their memories and warn against forgetting. Among them were children born at a displaced persons camp for survivors less than two miles… Read more »
Women of the "Women of the Wall" organization dance with a Torah scroll as they attend their montly prayer services at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, April 20, 2015. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
TEL AVIV (JTA) —A man was trampled. A raucous protest broke out, restrained only by police. The Western Wall’s mechitza — a partition between men and women considered sacrosanct — was breached by those who ostensibly care about it most. The brouhaha that erupted last week at Women of the Wall’s monthly service… Read more »
A statue of the Buddha surrounded by debris from a collapsed temple in Bhaktapur, Nepal, April 26, 2015. (Omar Havana/Getty Images)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — When the ground began to shake, Inbar Irron was among a dozen Israelis in Nepal who ran outside the building where they had been sitting — and straight into a cloud of dust. When their vision cleared, they saw a devastating scene: Much of the village of Manegau,… Read more »
Two days ago a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal. The latest numbers suggest over 4,000 people have been killed and thousands more injured. According to the United Nations, the death toll is likely to rise to the tens of thousands in Nepal, India and China. The Jewish Federations of North… Read more »
Dan Naturman
It’s hard to catch up with Dan Naturman these days. The New York comic is bouncing around the world performing everywhere, including a stop in the Old Pueblo for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s “Men’s Night Out” event on April 30 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Just… Read more »
A faucet and toilets are seen in a classroom in the ecological village in Nitzana, Israel. Students there learn about desalination and how to save water. (Chen Leopold/Flash 90)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — For help facing its worst drought in centuries, California should look to a country that beat its own chronic water shortage: Israel. Until a few years ago, Israel’s wells seemed like they were always running dry. TV commercials urged Israelis to conserve water. Newspapers tracked… Read more »
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, being greeted by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, June 25, 2012. (Israel Government Press Office/ Kobi Gideon)
(JTA) — After Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2014, Israel resisted pressure to join the United States and its European allies in condemning the move — citing in particular its concern not to antagonize Russia for fear it could provide Syria with a powerful anti-aircraft missile called the S-300.… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Election Day is 19 months away, but the campaign already has begun. Aside from Democrat Hillary Clinton, three Republican candidates with reasonable chances at the nomination have declared and several others are on the cusp. The Republican Party says it’s been making inroads with Jewish voters, who… Read more »
Ed Harris’ suspenders celebrate his British heritage. (Sarah Chen/AJP) Edward Harris still celebrates the day he arrived in New York from London with only $28 in his pocket: Feb. 8, 1954. A dual citizen of the United States and Britain, he feels fortunate to have slowed his globetrotting days here in Tucson. Harris was born in 1934, just… Read more »
Adam Fox, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation engagement associate, visits with Handmaker resident Brayton Person on April 9. (Andrea Ramirez/Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging)
“Cool,” says a student with the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation. “Lovely,” says a Handmaker resident. “Vital,” says another. They’re talking about a program that has been bringing Hillel students together with Handmaker residents, started by Adam Fox, Hillel’s engagement associate, with the help of Andrea Ramirez, Handmaker’s administrative and… Read more »
(L-R): Stuart Shatken, president of the Jewish Community Foundation board of trustees, Andy Shatken and author Chris Farrell at the JCF funders forum on March 16.
For many aging Americans, traditional ideas of retirement are changing. On March 16, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona hosted a funders forum with Chris Farrell, author of “Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing the Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life” (Bloomsbury Press). Speaking… Read more »
This week, the Tucson Jewish Community Center launched a new 12-week series, the BEST Protocol for Osteoporosis, with instructor Mary T. Maher, M.S., A.C.S.M.-C.P.T. The three-day-a-week program is based on the Bone Estrogen Strength Training study conducted by the University of Arizona between 1995 and 2001. The protocol’s goals… Read more »
Participants at Tucson Hebrew Academy’s STEM festival on Sunday, May 3 can drive award-winning robots, investigate a mock crime scene or play a giant video game with their feet. Presented by THA’s STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program, the family-oriented festival will run 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.… Read more »
Donna Moser and Audrey Brooks Women of the Year Audrey Brooks and Donna Moser and Man of the Year Steve Kippur head the list of 2015 award winners the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will honor at its annual meeting and awards celebration, which will be held Thursday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at… Read more »
Cantor Janece Cohen To mark Cantor Janece Cohen’s 25 years of service as a congregational cantor, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is granting her a Doctorate of Sacred Music, Honoris Causa. On Saturday, May 9, Congregation Or Chadash will honor Cohen for this achievement with a gala dinner. Cohen has been… Read more »
American weightlifter David Berger was one of 11 members of the Israeli team killed by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. (Courtesy Barbara Berger)
Security was lax entering and leaving the 1972 Olympic Village in Munich. Barbara Berger knows this firsthand, because she was there on Sept. 3, 1972 to watch her 28-year-old brother, David Berger, an American, lift weights as a member of the Israeli Olympic team. The next morning, Berger and… Read more »
