At a Jewish Agency for Israel training this April for American Jewish summer camp directors and prospective Israeli counselors, also known as summer shlichim (emissaries), the slogan was “Now More Than Ever.” JAFI staff joked that the catchphrase is used for everything, even insurance companies, says Robin Kelley, director… Read more »
News
United Against Hate Takeaway: Reporting Key to Combating Hate Crimes
If you experience or witness antisemitism or an incident that might be a hate crime, don’t hesitate to report it. That message was repeated over and over at a United Against Hate event that drew about 150 people to the Tucson Jewish Community Center on June 18. United States… Read more »
Tucson Bike Trip Benefits Israeli Amputees
A group of elite bike riders from all over the United States and Israel descended on Tucson from May 30 to June 3. The 100-plus riders were here for more than an epic cycling adventure. They were participants in The Next Ride, an annual fundraiser for The Next Step,… Read more »
Shlicha’s View: Shavuot in the Moshav
Many know that I was born and raised in a moshav in the Golan Heights, northern Israel. But what does a moshav actually mean? According to Wikipedia, a moshav is “a type of Israeli village or town or Jewish settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of… Read more »
Master Gardener Lev Metz Helps Students, Community Cultivate Sonoran Desert
Growing up in Los Angeles, Lev Metz preferred hands-on activities such as building the family sukkah to sitting in synagogue. Always a good student, he came to appreciate traditional text study alongside experiential education. He earned master’s degrees in Jewish education and Jewish communal service from Hebrew Union College-Jewish… Read more »
For JFCS Clients, Abortion Restrictions Can Add to Trauma
Reproductive rights have been a key topic of discussion for clients of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) since June 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion that had been law since the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, says Lily Hanscom,… Read more »
Shlicha’s View: My Week in Israel
After October 7, we were all overwhelmed, in pain. It was a moment in time that changed everything that we knew, reminding us of the fragility of life and the importance of standing together in times of crisis. I was so moved by the solidarity, love and concern I… Read more »
Arizona Legislators Take a Quick Trip to Israel ‘to Make up their own Minds’
This story first appeared in Jewish News (greater Phoenix). Last month, 17 Arizona state representatives, seven Democrats and 10 Republicans, went to Israel to meet with Israeli business, military and political leaders; learn about Israeli society; and speak with witnesses of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including… Read more »
Tucson City Council to Discuss Ceasefire Resolution
The Tucson City Council will discuss a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at its Tuesday, April 9 study session. Study sessions precede the council’s formal meetings. At the March 19 study session, council member Lane Santa Cruz requested a 20-minute discussion of the topic be added to… Read more »
Tucson Doctors Lend Their Skills, Support to Israel
“Resilience” is the word Dr. David Siegel, a Tucson neurologist, heard most often from Israelis during a solidarity mission last month with the American Healthcare Professionals and Friends for Medicine in Israel, or APF. “The absolute resilience of the many Israelis I had the privilege to talk and interact… Read more »
Memories of Tucson’s Brandes School Preserved at Arizona Historical Society
Alumni of the Brandes School, their children, and their grandchildren will find a treasure trove of photos and other memorabilia at the Arizona Historical Society’s archive in Tucson. Raphael “Ray” Brandes, an early leader of Tucson’s Jewish community, and his wife, Elsie, started the boarding school for children with… Read more »
‘With Water, We’re all in it Together,’ says Arizona’s Jewish Water Expert
This story first appeared in Jewish News (greater Phoenix). During a Gilbert Town Council meeting this month, a few citizens shouted their displeasure when council members voted unanimously to raise the city’s water rates by about 50%, a measure that will take effect in April. The increase was necessary… Read more »
Tucsonans on Israel Missions Witness Devastation and Unity
Sadness, anger, hope, and resilience. Todd Rockoff, president and CEO of the Tucson Jewish Community Center (JCC), felt all these emotions and more on a JCC Association Board Solidarity Mission (JCCA) to Israel in January. “I felt a great pull to be there,” he says, to bear witness and… Read more »
Volunteer Power Keeps Northwest Tucson Jewish Community Going
The Northwest Tucson Jewish Community, a nonprofit organization, aims “to enrich the educational, cultural, and social life primarily of Jewish residents in Northwest Tucson,” according to its mission statement. “Primarily” is a clue that despite its name, the NWTJC does not impose strict geographical limits: The mission statement goes… Read more »
Tucson Jewish Free Loan Helps Provide $3.3 Million Loan for Humanitarian Needs in Israel
The International Association of Jewish Free Loans and 17 member agencies in the U.S. have provided over $3.3 million in an interest-free loan for emergency financial assistance to Israeli individuals and families. The Tucson Jewish Free Loan raised funds to contribute $36,000 to the effort, says Allison Wexler, executive… Read more »
Art Students, Residents Collaborate on Mural at Covenant House
Residents of Tucson’s B’nai B’rith Covenant House longed for a mural to enhance the back wall of the facility’s patio, says Abbie Stone, president of the board of Covenant House, an affordable housing community for older adults funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “We try… Read more »
Local Firefighter Who Witnessed Hamas Devastation Eager to Help Israel
Capt. Jeff Hamblen of Northwest Fire recently signed up to train with Israel’s Emergency Volunteer Project. He expected to help his Israeli counterparts put out fires. He didn’t expect to be flying into a country at war. Hamblen’s travel date was Oct. 7, 2023, the day Hamas launched a… Read more »
Murdered Israeli Soldier Had Ties to Tucson
Tucsonan Lindsey Baker wasn’t sure of the exact term for her family relationship with Rose Lubin, a 20-year-old Israel Defense Forces soldier who was killed by a knife-wielding terrorist in Jerusalem on Nov. 6, one month into Israel’s war against Hamas. Lubin was the granddaughter of Baker’s father’s first… Read more »
Oro Valley Family Celebrates Sponsorship of Intensive Care Ambulance for Israel at Two Local Events
Thanks to Sandy and Maureen Salz of Oro Valley, a new MICU (mobile intensive care unit) for Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical service, has arrived in Israel to help care for those dealing with increased violence, in response to Hamas attacks. Two events marking the sponsorship took place… Read more »
JPSA Light in the Darkness Event Is Spark of Hope for Israel
Some 200 people gathered at Congregation Anshei Israel at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 3, for Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona’s “A Light in the Darkness” Israel solidarity event, which provided an update on the situation in Israel since the horrific Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks and the subsequent… Read more »