News

Michael Bloomberg preparing to run for president

NEW YORK (JTA) — Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire media mogul, appears to be preparing to run for president. Bloomberg, 77, flirted with presidential runs in past election cycles before declining to run. As recently as March, he ruled out a presidential campaign this… Read more »

Nita Lowey, retiring after 32 years in Congress, gets teary recalling her Jewish legacy

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., in the Capitol, Oct. 16, 2019. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Nita Lowey, who is retiring after 32 years in Congress, fields a question about her legacy as a Jewish lawmaker. No trouble there — she talks about Israel and her Jewish pride all the time. Then there’s one about her legacy as one of the pioneering… Read more »

JHM learning trip digs deep into southern border migration issues

Eduardo “Lalo” Garcia of the Alliance for Global Justice, left, speaks at the border wall between Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, on the Oct. 24 Jewish History Museum learning day trip. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum)

“Migration is not beautiful, it is a result of violence and poverty and influences that make it impossible for people to stay in their homes. The task is to reflect on how to impact governments from intervening in countries.” — Eduardo “Lalo” Garcia, Alliance for Global Justice Prison Imperialism… Read more »

JFSA’s new Olson Center open in Northwest

(L-R) Todd Rockoff, Tucson Jewish Community Center president and CEO; Fran Katz, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona senior vice president; Phyllis Gold, director of the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life; Stuart Mellan, JFSA president and CEO; and Nancy Mellan at the Olson Center opening brunch, Oct. 27. (JFSA)

The Oct. 27 dedication for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life in the Northwest received high marks from approximately 100 attendees at the brunch and open house event, says Alan Kendal, Olson Center advisory committee chair. By that day, the center’s… Read more »

Museum to honor Eilat-Kahn, second generation Holocaust survivor

Rosie Eilat-Kahn, left, with brother Phillip and parents, Holocaust survivors Meyer and Susan Neuman, upon the family’s arrival in Tucson in 1956. (Courtesy Rosie Eilat Kahn)

The Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center will honor Rosie Eilat-Kahn on Sunday at its 2019 Fall Benefit, “A Call to Courage.” “Rosie has been a leader among the second generation of Holocaust survivors in this community for decades,” says Bryan Davis, executive director of the museum. “She has coordinated… Read more »

Happy with legacy, Tucson mayor looks forward to practicing, teaching law

From his office on the top floor of city hall, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild pauses to take stock. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

When Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild walks out of City Hall on Dec. 2, turning his gavel over to Regina Romero, he will walk a few short blocks to his new desk at Mesch Clark and Rothschild, attorneys at law. He told the AJP he looks forward to returning to… Read more »

Stone Avenue Block Party to host four Arizona bands

Sonido Tambó is among the bands entertaining at the fifth annual Stone Avenue Block Party on Nov. 16. (Courtesy photo)

This year’s free Stone Avenue Block Party will be the best yet, says Bryan Davis, Jewish History Museum executive director and host of the fifth annual event. The event is set for Saturday, Nov. 16, in front of the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center, 564 S. Stone Ave. The… Read more »

When he’s not repairing books, local retiree turns them into works of art

Tucsonan Marty Getraer has entered these examples of folded book art in a local Judaica contest.

Tucsonan Marty Getraer taught himself bookbinding years ago when he lived in Baldwin, New York, repairing more than 600 prayer books for his synagogue in gratitude to the daily minyan where he said Kaddish for his father. He revived the hobby a decade ago after moving to Tucson, where… Read more »

Archaeology, wine intersect in upcoming UA lecture

Jennie Ebeling, Ph.D.

Update: This article was corrected 11.8.19 to show that the lecture is taking place on Monday, Nov. 18 (not Sunday). University of Arizona alumna Jennie Ebeling, Ph.D., now an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Evansville in Indiana, will present the next lecture in the Shaol and… Read more »

Series will blend Torah insights, modern psychology

A new Chabad adult education course will explore what Judaism has to say about common negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger, guilt, and shame. “Worrier to Warrior: Jewish Secrets to Feeling Good However You Feel” will be presented by Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin at the Tucson Jewish Community Center,… Read more »

Garden of Hope expands J outdoor exhibits

(L-R) Garden of Hope founder Randy Emerson, London Emerson, Bonnie-Sedlmayr Emerson, Jordan Emerson, Sasha Emerson, Miriam Emerson, and Jane Sedlmayr with artwork by Lynn Rae Lowe at the dedication of the Garden of Hope at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Nov. 3. (Damion Alexander)

Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, was officially dedicated Nov. 3 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Cancer survivor Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson was the inspiration for the garden. Her husband, Randy Emerson, oversaw the project. “The garden celebrates the arts, which is important to the JCC spiritually, emotionally, and cognitively,”… Read more »

Tucson collector goes nuts for nutcrackers

Tucsonan Bertí Brodsky began collecting nutcrackers 34 years ago in Germany. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

With a collector’s heart, Arizona Jewish Post advertising manager Bertí Brodsky surrounds herself with things that have meaning. A collection of crystal balls that began when her mother gave her an antique glass paperweight; charming David Winter cottages; teddy bears from the early ’80s; shoes in every color, to… Read more »

‘Greetings’ and mazel tov — why a nice Jewish boy enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969

Bob Kovitz during his U.S. Army basic training at Fort Ord in Monterey, California, in 1969. Courtesy Bob Kovitz

Fifty years ago, I reported to the U.S. Army induction center in Los Angeles. My father, who was a World War II veteran, later described the experience of driving me to the center as the worst day of his life. Why was a Jewish graduate student from the University… Read more »

Tucson J seeks applications for pilot Women InPower leadership program

(L-R) Deb Krivoy, Springfield JCC (Massachusetts); Sarah Siegel, Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC (Milwaukee); Kendall Sisisky Valliere, Jewish Community Alliance of Jacksonville; Allison Wexler, Tucson Jewish Community Center; Leslie Sholl Jaffee, Leslie Jaffe Consulting; and Jessica Schneider, Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92nd Street Y, at a Women InPower training session at the JCC Association in New York, Oct. 30. (Amy Wexler)

In August, a coalition of women leaders in the Jewish community, including Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women; Idit Klein, CEO of Keshet; and Shifra Broznick, founder of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community, authored a piece for eJewishphilanthropy about their experiences as highly… Read more »

PJ book inspires a baking party

Jenny Davenport, a PJ Library mother, reports that her daughter, Charlotte, age 9, received PJ’s “Once Upon an Apple Cake: A Rosh Hashanah Story,” and read it in one sitting. She then chose it as her book club selection for the next month. Seven girls in the book club… Read more »

JFSA women launch year with Sukkot party

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Fall Kickoff Co-Chair Judy Berman introduces Youth On Their Own Ambassador Hope Sherise (JFSA)

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy held its fall kickoff event, “Salsa in the Sukkah,” on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Youth On Their Own Development Director Bethany Neumann and Youth Ambassador Hope Sherise spoke about YOTO, Women’s Philanthropy social action beneficiary, which helps homeless or unaccompanied students graduate high… Read more »