High school seniors Bella Wexler of Tucson and Amber Juang of Taiwan have been friends since they were fifth-grade students together at Ventana Vista Elementary School in Tucson’s Catalina Foothills School District. They’ve maintained that friendship across 7,000 miles since Amber’s family returned to Taiwan during the girls’ first… Read more »
As a way to connect Jews during the pandemic’s second wave, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee will unite on Facebook with different Jewish communities worldwide through a Hanukkah candle-lighting video each night of the holiday at 5 p.m. EST. The holiday begins on the night of Dec. 10.… Read more »
T. Marie King Amplifying Voices, a six-part virtual series, provides an opportunity to explore the intersectional relationship between the Black and Jewish communities. Launched in October by the Tucson Jewish Community Center and a group of community partners, it will continue on Sunday, Jan. 31 at 4 p.m. with session five, “Learning the Land,… Read more »
The Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards are now accepting applications. Up to 15 Jewish teens will be awarded $36,000 each. The Diller Family Foundation, which presents the awards, seeks teens who show “significant initiative and leadership in creating and leading a new initiative – or have considerably deepened or… Read more »
The Red Cross is in critical need of blood donations. The Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold a blood drive in it is north parking lot (next to Tucson Hebrew Academy) on Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 8-2 p.m. Blood donations help patients of all ages: accident and burn victims,… Read more »
Updated 12.7: The Dec. 13 concert planned by Congregation Or Chadash, Temple Emanu-El and the Tucson Jewish Community Center has been canceled. An email from Temple Emanu-el read, in part, “Due to the rise in Covid cases in Pima County, and new county restrictions for gatherings, we have made… Read more »
(LOS ANGELES) – UCLA has opened North America’s first permanent academic home for the study of American Jewish music. Housed in the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, which seeks to foster artistic creativity, scholarship, performance, and other cultural… Read more »
It doesn’t matter if you spell it Hanukkah, Chanukah, or some other variation – The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life is celebrating the holiday this year. The Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is bringing its annual Hanukkah party online, on Monday, Dec.… Read more »
Members of the Tucson Maccabees semi-pro soccer team pause during a recent practice for a team meeting. (Courtesy Tucson Maccabees)
A new local semi-professional soccer team has its roots not only in the Old Pueblo, but also in “the old country.” “My first experience with soccer was as a young child in Romania when my father took me to a game,” recalls Meir Segal, the team’s founder and coach.… Read more »
Todd Rockoff will lead a Z3 lunch and learn on Dec. 13. This year’s Z3 event won’t be what people might expect. Now in its sixth year, Z3, which originally was dubbed Zionism 3.0, is an opportunity to talk about a wide range of issues in Israel and the Diaspora. But this is definitely not going to be your typical conference, and not… Read more »
Vinyl Tap performs at The Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley Nov. 4. Last month, on Nov. 4, Northwest residents joined The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life/Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona for a drive-in concert at The Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley. More than 50 people enjoyed a night of music under the stars… Read more »
Ben Schwartz (left) and Billy Crystal in a scene from 'Standing Up, Falling Down'
The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary with an abundance of films to stream. “While many things have changed, the power of film to bring us together has not,” Film Festival Co-chairs Cookie Little and Donna Dennison write on the festival’s welcome page. Using the… Read more »
A visit to the Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery on March 11, 2020 revealed toppled tombstones and graves in need of repair. Volunteers made efforts to clean up the site in 2016, but the cemetery was not secure from vandals. (Photo: Virgil Hancock)
The recent restoration of the Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery, established in 1904, allows the Jewish pioneers buried there to “rest in dignity,” as Stuart Mellan, former president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, told the audience at the Federation’s “Celebrating Our Past, Creating Our Future” event on… Read more »
Paula Shoyer
Chabad of Oro Valley and Chabad Tucson will host renowned cookbook author Paula Shoyer, aka “The Kosher Baker,” for a Hanukkah cooking demonstration on Zoom on Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 7 p.m. “When I spoke to Paula last week, I told her I was looking for a recipe that… Read more »
This year is all about comfort food and with Hanukkah on the horizon, there’s no better indulgence than golden, crispy latkes (potato pancakes). For tips on how to make this holiday staple, check out these links: The Kitchn.com promises the simplest method for classic potato pancakes. Their secret? Use… Read more »
This year is all about comfort food and with Hanukkah on the horizon, there’s no better indulgence than golden, crispy latkes (potato pancakes). For tips on how to make this holiday staple, local cooking school Flying Aprons Tucson is holding a “Celebrating Hanukkah — Latkes and Applesauce” class on… Read more »
Manischewitz, an iconic name in traditional kosher products, will be offering a do-it-yourself Chanukah House cookie decorating kit, complete with a candy menorah, through national retailers including Amazon and Walmart. The kit is at the center of a promotion by Manischewitz to drive consumer sales and raise awareness for… Read more »
Honorees Nancy and Stu Mellan (Damion Alexander)
On Nov. 17, the Jewish Federation of Arizona/Jewish Community Foundation held its most ambitious event of the program year, bringing the community together for a drive-in event at Park Place Mall and online to celebrate Stuart Mellan, former JFSA president and CEO, and his wife, Nancy, for 25 years… Read more »
The Amplifying Voices virtual series is an opportunity to explore the intersectional relationship between the Black and Jewish communities, presented by the Tucson Jewish Community Center and a group of community partners. It will continue Sunday, Dec. 6 at 10:30 a.m. (MST) with a panel discussion, “Stories of Exclusion,… Read more »
The Baskin Blue Marbled Glass Arch Menorah is one of the items featured on the Temple Emanu-El WRJ Gift Shop's new website.
With their usual Hanukkah bazaar curtailed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Women of Reform Judaism at Temple Emanu-El have created an online gift shop and will be holding a 20% sale on Hanukkah items Nov. 23-Dec. 1. Items can be browsed here, including newly arrived menorahs, menorah drip trays,… Read more »
