Israel

“Jewish mothers are the heart of the household. We are the connectors, the planners, the tradition-keepers. When moms return inspired, connected, and confident, the ripple effect touches their children, their schools, their synagogues, and their friends. It creates a stronger, more resilient community,” says Jennifer Bell, left, enjoying schwarma with Emily Richman on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem in November 2025.

Emily Richman was thrilled when two local women, Emily Yasmer Lazarus and Shelley Kippur, approached her shortly after she moved to Tucson in 2022 about bringing the MOMentum Journey of Growth program to Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona.  Richman, JPSA’s chief development officer, had staffed the program in Pittsburgh and knew that in addition to a weeklong trip to Israel, it included pre- and post-trip meetings… Read more »

The Six Dome Synagogue in Quba, Azerbaijan (Photo: Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon)

I returned Nov. 20 from a whirlwind 10-day rabbinic visit to Azerbaijan and Israel with the Zionist Rabbinical Coalition. Discounting the two days it took to travel to Baku, and one day flying home from Tel Aviv, we had four incredible days in Azerbaijan, followed by two spectacularly full days in… Read more »

Rachel Fish, Ph.D.

Scholar/activist Dr. Rachel Fish is a renowned expert on antisemitism in America. She will be in Tucson on Sunday, October 26, to lead Southwest Institute 2025, a program from the Center for Jewish Resilience at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona designed to help educators and administrators identify and address… Read more »

Hiking throughout Israel helped Gabe Melson connect with the land. (Courtesy Gabe Melson)

This summer, local teen Gabe Melson went on a meaningful and inspiring journey to Israel through the Ramah Israel Seminar, supported by the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund held at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona. Before his departure, Gabe met with Yuval Malka, Southern Arizona’s Senior… Read more »

From left, Tucsonans Jessica E. Mattix, Sophie German, Ital Ironstone, and Nate Weisband in Tel Aviv during a Jewish Federations of North America LGBTQ+ Pride Mission, June 12, 2025. (Photo courtesy Nate Weisband/JPSA)

Four Tucson Jewish community professionals, Ital Ironstone and Nate Weisband of Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona, and Sophie German and Jessica E. Mattix of Jewish Family & Children’s Services, traveled to Israel for a Jewish Federations of North America LGBTQ+ Pride Mission June 8-12, joining almost 100 leaders from… Read more »

The Loft Cinema will show the film ‘October 8’ on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m.   “‘October 8’ offers a look at the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, social media and in the streets of America beginning the day after the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas,”… Read more »

Wearing a “Bring Them Home Now” T-shirt, Eli Hayut crosses the finish line of the Arizona Monster Race on April 11, 2025. (Photo courtesy Eli Hayut)

Eli Hayut, Israel’s ultramarathon national champion, made history last month in Arizona. Hayut, 47, ran the 304-mile Arizona Monster Race, setting the record for the longest distance run by an Israeli. The race follows the Arizona Trail from Superior to Patagonia through rugged Sonoran Desert terrain and up Mt.… Read more »

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN: Ian Kinsler #3 of Team Israel throws to first base in the fifth inning during the baseball Opening Round Group B game between Team Israel and Team Republic of Korea on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on July 29, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Two years after he retired from a 14-year Major League Baseball career as a second baseman, Tucson native Ian Kinsler’s time with Team Israel began. “My Jewish heritage means a lot to me — it’s part of who I am,” said the 42-year-old Kinsler, who graduated from Oro Valley’s… Read more »

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses have increased dramatically.  “But it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to everybody, and it doesn’t mean that’s going to be your whole college experience. Definitely not,” Robin Friedman, co-founder of TribeTalk, assured local Jewish… Read more »

“Israel is forever changed after the attacks on October 7, 2023. What does the future hold for Israel and the Jewish people throughout the world?” asks Rabbi Sara Metz of Congregation Anshei Israel. Join Vice Chairman of the World Zionist Organization Dr. Yizhar Hess to discuss the roles American… Read more »

“Israel is held to a uniquely harsh standard by the world, facing relentless criticism and misinformation in the media. When other nations take military action for their security, they are met with understanding — yet when Israel does the same, it is vilified”, says Rabbi Sara Metz of Congregation… Read more »

One of the most incredible things about the Tucson J is that it does not stand out here in the Sonoran Desert alone – it is part of global network of community centers united in shared mission and vision, each of them serving the unique needs of their local… Read more »

“There is a dire and urgent need to get as many hostages out of Gaza as swiftly as humanly possible,” says Avi Mayer, a top pro-Israel commentator. “The majority of Israelis feel at this point there is almost no cost too high to bring back those hostages who are… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Rabbi Malcolm Cohen speaks during the “call to the audience” at the March 19 Tucson City Council meeting. (Photo courtesy Hava Leipzig Holzhauer)

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 »

“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 »

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 »