News

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)
November 8, 2019 / Khylie Gardner and Allison Wexler, Tucson Jewish Community Center

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
November 8, 2019 /

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)
November 8, 2019 /

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 »

Business Briefs: 11.8.19
November 8, 2019 /

Andrew Pawlicki-Sinclair has joined the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona as the assistant director for leadership development and engagement. He has worked for Arizona Serve and the Arizona Conservation Corps managing AmeriCorps national service grants. Before that, Pawlicki-Sinclair served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Santa Rita High School… Read more »

Ryan Aaron Rudner
November 8, 2019 /

Ryan Aaron Rudner, son of Eric and Monica Rudner, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Nov. 9 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Calman and Gail Rudner and Alberto and Sara Mirta Bien-Willner, all of Tucson, and the great-grandson of Lidia Esses of Buenos Aires,… Read more »

A Jewish photographer has been capturing Alexander Vindman and his twin for nearly 4 decades

Carol Kitman first started photographing Yevgeny, left, and Alexander Vindman in 1980. (Carol Kitman)
November 6, 2019 / Josefin Dolsten, JTA

(JTA) — Carol Kitman remembers meeting Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman nearly 40 years ago in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The brothers were about 4 1/2 years old and dressed in matching blue sailor outfits with navy caps. Kitman was instantly taken with the twins and asked to take their photo.… Read more »

For Ukrainian Jews, having a Jewish president is a source of pride — and fear

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky smiles after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the General Assembly in New York, Sept. 26, 2019. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
November 6, 2019 /

ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — Arkady Kesselman, a 20-year-old Jewish student, was set on leaving his native Ukraine for the West last winter. In a war-torn nation losing about 1.2 million citizens each year, where the average monthly salary is about $300, it’s not an unusual decision. But Kesselman has… Read more »

German city of Dresden declares it has a ‘Nazi emergency’
November 5, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — The eastern German city of Dresden has passed a resolution declaring a “Nazi emergency.” The Dresden City Council passed the motion last week saying that the city needed more support from state and federal sources to deal with rising far-right sentiment. Dresden is the headquarters of the… Read more »

Iran will again enrich uranium at Fordow plan, another nuclear deal violation
November 5, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — Iran will inject uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges at its underground Fordow nuclear enrichment plant. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made the announcement during a speech Tuesday broadcast live on national television, the state-owned PressTV reported. The centrifuges had been spinning without the gas to produce stable isotopes… Read more »

Israel Police arrest man who allegedly threatened Netanyahu on Facebook
November 5, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked the country’s police commissioner to investigate a murder threat against him on social media, police arrested a suspect. The Israel Police’s Lahav 433 cyber unit launched an investigation on Monday after this Facebook post: “Israel Police, prepare… Read more »

White supremacist arrested in plot to blow up Colorado synagogue

Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, Colo., was the target of a possible bombing plot, according to court documents. (Screenshot from Google Maps Street View)
November 5, 2019 / Ben Sales, JTA

(JTA) — A white supremacist has been arrested for plotting to blow up a synagogue in Colorado. Richard Holzer, 27, was charged for planning to attack Temple Emanuel, a congregation in Pueblo of 35 families whose building dates to 1900. According to an affidavit describing the charges, Holzer is… Read more »