Dr. Bryan Shumaker and his wife, Linda, were winter residents in Southern Arizona for six or seven years before becoming full-time residents in November. They sold their house in northern Michigan and settled into a home in Dove Mountain. Southern Arizona’s dark skies and its astronomy community are a… Read more »
Chip Rosenfeld says Oct. 7, 2023, was “a watershed moment” that inspired him to get more involved in Tucson’s Jewish community. The retired physician was surprised by how deeply he felt “that was my people” under attack. Rosenfeld and his wife, Sara, attended a community Shabbat gathering at the… Read more »
Hosting the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games and Access in Tucson this summer will be a true community effort. More than 1,000 volunteers, 350 host families, and up to 100 local athletes ages 12-17 will be recruited to join staff members of the Tucson Jewish Community Center in creating a… Read more »
Earlier this fall, Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA), in partnership with the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, launched a new exhibit, Tucson Hebrew Academy: The First 50 Years. Serving Tucson families for more than fifty years, THA was founded by the Levkowitz and Leonard families in response to Rabbi… Read more »
On Wednesday, October 23, Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) hosted an opening reception of the Allen & Marianne Langer Contemporary Human Rights Exhibit. The new exhibit is titled Witnessing Violence: Help or Harm? Witnessing Violence examines the uses and abuses of images from violent atrocities, particularly as… Read more »
Birds are wild animals that are accessible to everyone, everywhere,” says Dan Weisz. The Tucson native rediscovered his love of birding, or birdwatching, when he retired eleven years ago from a career as a public school administrator. Exploring new or bygone pursuits in retirement reminds Weisz of being in… Read more »
As anti-Israel protests heat up again on college campuses across the U.S., Jewish groups at the University of Arizona are focused on helping students take pride in their Jewish identities. Classes began at the UA on Aug. 26, and the first week of the semester was peaceful. “The administration… 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arizona Jewish Post or its publisher, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona. At a Pima County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors meeting in early June, an attendee made a straight-arm… Read more »
Community leaders from 16 different Jewish community agencies across Southern Arizona met Thursday, October 27, at the second Jewish Ecosystem of Southern Arizona meeting in an effort to “build an infrastructure to promote collective decision making and learning,” according to Todd Rockoff, Tucson J. President and CEO. The Ecosystem… Read more »
This past Yom Kippur, tragedy struck the University of Arizona campus when beloved professor Thomas Meixner was senselessly murdered by a former graduate student. The shooting occurred very near the UArizona Hillel building, while 25 students, six staff, and a guest rabbi were participating in Hillel’s afternoon Yom Kippur… Read more »
