News

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Should Republicans win the Senate and maintain control of the House of Representatives on Nov. 4 — as many observers expect them to do — the political gridlock that has characterized much of President Obama’s term is poised to intensify. Jewish strategies, however, will remain the… Read more »

Paul and Hedy Strnad were rejected in their efforts to seek safe haven in the United States from Czehchoslovakia on the eve of the Holocaust. (Courtesy Jewish Museum Milwaukee)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Was the Jewish “lady tailor” who ran a Prague dressmaking shop a potential Nazi spy? The Roosevelt administration apparently thought so. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee recently opened a remarkable exhibit about the late Hedy Strnad, a Jewish-Czech dressmaker who with her husband, Paul, attempted to immigrate… Read more »

While none of the Jewish denominations sanction quickie conversions, there are ways to cheat the system using corrupt rabbis. This humorously labeled breath spray, however, probably won't do the trick. (carloscappaticci/ Creative Commons)

(This is part of a special JTA report on conversion in America. Read our other pieces about who’s converting to Judaism, and about the denomination-by-denomination breakdown of how the different denominations do conversion.) Must coverts pass a test to become a Jew? Generally, no. Across all the denominations, rabbis… Read more »

Rabbi Israel Becker claps to the music as Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild carries Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s newly written Torah scroll to be welcomed by men holding the congregation’s existing Torah scrolls. (Rogelio Garcia)

“We are all here today to witness the birth of a new sefer Torah,” said scribe Rabbi Zvi Chaim Pincus of New York, to 150 men, women and children gathered in the courtyard of Congregation Chofetz Chayim on Sunday, Sept. 14 to celebrate the completion and dedication of the… Read more »

The New Israel Fund says it is getting more aggressive in combating xenophobia and ultrantionalism. This anti-Arab graffiti reads "Arabs=Thieves. No Coexistence" is seen spray-painted on a stone wall surrounding a house in the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sharafat, Feb. 18, 2014. (FLASH90)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – In a strategic shift, the New Israel Fund is arming itself with a set of sharp political tools and picking a fight. Its target: Israel’s political right. Its weapons: Opposition research, media monitoring, and staking its claims to patriotism and Zionism. If NIF’s dramatic language, outlined… Read more »

"Tel Aviv Noir" exposes through short fiction the seamier sides of the Israeli city known as "the bubble." (Courtesy of Akashic Books)

(JTA) — Asked by a literary magazine to name an Israeli author deserving of English translation, Etgar Keret — the Tel Aviv-based writer whose short stories have been published to worldwide acclaim — named novelist Gadi Taub. A year later, Keret has been instrumental in bringing Taub’s prose to… Read more »

A rendering of the Menorah Center in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, which is said to be the largest Jewish community center in Europe. (Jewish Community of Dneproperovsk)

DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA) — Five months into the war that turned him into a refugee in his own country, Jacob Virin has already attended 20 Jewish weddings — including those of his son and two other relatives — at the $100 million JCC of Dnepropetrovsk. Towering over the skyline… Read more »

LeBron James, shown at the Cleveland Cavaliers' media day in suburban Cleveland on Sept. 26, 2014, will make his return to his hometown team with a preseason game against Maccabi Tel Aviv. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)

TEL AVIV (JTA) – The carnival’s coming to Cleveland, and the Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team has a front-row seat. In fact, the 2014 Euroleague and Israel Super Basketball League champions will be participating. On Sunday, Tel Aviv will present the inaugural challenge for NBA superstar LeBron James as… Read more »

A view of the reactor at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant in southern Iran as the first fuel is loaded, Aug. 21, 2010. (Iran International Photo Agency via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Obama administration officials and Iran skeptics, chief among them Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, are presenting starkly different outlooks of what the world would look like should negotiators meet a Nov. 24 deadline and strike a nuclear deal. The topic is likely to dominate the meeting… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — For approximately a half hour at the beginning of her El Al Israel Airlines flight last week from New York to Tel Aviv, Elana Sztokman watched as the haredi Orthodox man seated next to her rushed up and down the aisle searching for someone willing… Read more »

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his address at the U.N. General Assembly shows a photo of a rocket launcher in a civilian area of Gaza with children nearby, Sept. 29, 2014. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) – In the end, there was much to talk about at the U.N. General Assembly but few genuine surprises. With an eye on the jihadist group ISIS, President Obama focused on the need for the international community to counter the dangers of violent extremism. Israeli Prime… Read more »

President Obama speaks before the U.N. General Assembly, Sept. 24, 2014. (Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) – A year ago, when President Barack Obama took the dais at the U.N. General Assembly, his speech focused on Iran’s nuclear program, Syria’s chemical weapons and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He talked about Egypt’s messy transition to democracy and defended America’s actions in Libya. A year… Read more »

Michael Hewitt, Ph.D.

What we can do to “live younger longer” will be discussed in “Optimal Aging, Rewinding the Clock,” a University of Arizona Arthritis Center presentation by Michael Hewitt, Ph.D., Canyon Ranch Health Resort research director for exercise science, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 6 to 7:15 p.m., at  the University of… Read more »

Penelope Starr

Odyssey Storytelling, a monthly array of six Tucsonans each telling a true life story, began 10 years ago. “It’s all about the stories, the unique ways people figure out how to do life,” says founder and artist Penelope Starr. “It’s fascinating and so complicated.” Complexity has never stopped Starr… Read more »

Sheila Rothenberg

As “author wrangler” for the annual Book and Author event benefitting the Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter, Sheila Rothenberg translates her three decades of publishing experience into a meaningful volunteer activity. “I’m very pleased to be able to do it,” Rothenberg says. “For me, participating in Tucson’s Brandeis chap­ter… Read more »

Sabrina Plattner

Sabrina Plattner has been promoting better health in children for the past nine years. Her last professional position, with Healthy Children Arizona at the University of Arizona, introduced positive health, nutrition and sun safety concepts to children, putting her in contact with 25,000 local kids. In June, Plattner began… Read more »

Simon Rosenblatt

Simon Rosenblatt is emphatic as he speaks about volunteering with the Tucson Jewish community: “Make no mistake, Jewish Tucson is our family.” Rosenblatt spreads his energy and time across a trifecta of local and national Jewish efforts: Temple Emanu-El, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Union for Reform… Read more »

Laura Green

Laura Green of Ha­dassah’s Desert Mountain Region will present “Israel’s Ups and Downs, Ins and Outs: The Whole Lowdown,” at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s opening luncheon meeting Sunday, Oct. 12 at noon at Skyline Country Club, 5200 E. St. Andrews Drive. Green made her first visit to Israel, as well… Read more »

Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold its annual welcome and board installations on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, 6200 N. Clubhouse Lane. The event will focus on challenging sex trafficking in Arizona, as the state gears up… Read more »

Brandeis National Committee, Tucson Chapter, will host local author John Maley at its fall opening lunch Monday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at Reid Park. Maley has been a soldier, peace officer, corrections officer, probation officer and has worked as a private investigator in… Read more »