Mary Levy Peachin visits the Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery March 11, 2020. (Courtesy Mary Peachin)
As a third-generation Arizonan with pioneer roots dating back to 1903, the year Phelps Dodge opened its Douglas smelter, it is difficult to match the historical pride I feel. The stories gleaned over the years are incredible. During two major 1911 Mexico Revolution battles in Agua Prieta, residents climbed… Read more »
Have you ever been engrossed in your phone, and then your phone dies, leaving you feeling at a loss? The office we run out of the door to in the mornings no longer needs us there. The big dinner we are getting a babysitter for has been postponed. The vacation… Read more »
The Banner Health Foundation is collecting donated medical supplies and personal protective equipment, or PPE. Tucson donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Banner Home Health Office, 575 E. River Road. Donated supplies will be deployed in Banner Health’s Arizona hospitals and medical centers. The following items… Read more »
On April 1, Inbal Shtivi posted this photo of kosher for Passover items she purchased at the Al Basha grocery store on the Kosher in Tucson Facebook group page. Shtivi is the director of Tucson’s Weintraub Israel Center. (Inbal Shtivi)
Al Basha’s Grant Road grocery store is like a mom and pop corner shop. The neatly stacked shelves are brimming with a variety of global goodies, in these days when finding well-stocked market shelves is a challenge. And, there’s no price gouging here — the prices are extremely reasonable.… Read more »
The University of Arizona will present webinars on the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, April 3 and Tuesday, April 7, 9:30-11 a.m. at https://global.arizona.edu/covid-19-resources. Today’s webinar, hosted by the College of Medicine, will feature Dr. Monica Kraft, Robert and Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine and Department of Medicine chair, and… Read more »
Sol Dog Lodge and Training Center provides obedience, behavior, K9, Good Citizenship, and service and therapy dog training. Keeping pets and their people together is the ultimate goal.
A group of women with passion and compassion for dogs is at the heart of Tucson’s Sol Dog Lodge and Training Center, a nonprofit organization. The community has recognized their dedication: they have garnered the annual Arizona Daily Star’s Readers’ Choice Award for best dog daycare/boarding for the past… Read more »
A man was furious at his partner for leaving the house to run errands without his permission. Knowing she was 30 minutes away, he called her and said if she did not return home within the next 10 minutes, he would put her beloved cat in the microwave. The… Read more »
As a precaution against the spread of COVID-19, aka the coronavirus, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging has canceled all outside programs and events at least through the end of March. Handmaker is also limiting visitation, as per recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and the Center for… Read more »
A joint Congregation Or Chadash-Temple Emanu-El ‘100 Menorah Celebration’ Shabbat on
Dec. 27 filled the sanctuary at Temple Emanu-El. (Simon Rosenblatt - Facebook)
In an era when non-Orthodox synagogues throughout the country have seen membership decline, two Reform synagogues in Tucson, Temple Emanu-El and Congregation Or Chadash, are considering joining forces. Temple Emanu-El, established in 1910, is the oldest synagogue in Arizona, while Or Chadash is celebrating its 25th year. After more… Read more »
An Arizona man associated with a neo-Nazi group was among four arrested on Feb. 26 and charged with conspiracy to threaten and intimidate Mala Blomquist, the editor of Arizona Jewish Life, and an unnamed member of the Arizona Association of Black Journalists. All four charged are affiliated with Atomwaffen… Read more »
A view from the lobby of the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, home of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona (Martha Lochert)
UPDATE: The Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona have created a web page at www.jewishtucson.org/pandemic containing community resources, volunteer opportunities, and a link to donate to the newly created Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund, which provides emergency financial assistance and meets critical needs for individuals, families, and… Read more »
'Der Rebbe' by David Montefiore
Longtime Tucson resident Jennifer Schneider donated “Der Rebbe,” a painting by local artist David Montefiore of the late Chabad-Lubavich leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, to Chabad of Oro Valley on Monday, March 9, the eve of Purim. Schneider, who was born in Israel, is a physician certified in internal… Read more »
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA These are troubling times. Anti-Semitic threats and messages are escalating all around us. Three weeks ago, the words “Hail Hitler” (sic) were found scrawled on an exhibit inside our Holocaust History Center. March 5, a man brazenly unfurled a Nazi flag as Senator Bernie Sanders took the stage at… Read more »
Beverly Sandock Community volunteer Beverly Sandock will be recognized in April by the Congregation Or Chadash Sisterhood with its second annual Eshet Or (Woman of Light) award. In addition to 20 years of volunteer service at the synagogue, Sandock contributes to the community through daily professional and personal outreach. “Bev’s name… Read more »
Letters of appreciation from military Matza and More recipients.
Tucsonan Alayne Greenberg is a military mom with a big vision. Since 2006, Greenberg has contributed to the Matza & More program sponsored by Jewish Family & Children’s Services, sending care packages to military members serving abroad. It all began with her son Isaac, who was deployed in Afghanistan.… Read more »
At her Green Valley home, Shura Wallin shows drawings created by migrant children sheltering in Nogales, Sonora. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
A grey, three-footed Mexican rescue cat named Tiny bats innocently at the frayed end of a dirty white rope. At the other end of the rope is a noose. The rope is one of many artifacts Shura Wallin has recovered from the Sonoran Desert between Green Valley and the… Read more »
The Tucson Festival of Books board of directors canceled the 2020 festival, which was scheduled for this weekend, March 14 and 15, after more than 100 authors withdrew due to fears of coronavirus (COVID-19). “We know the festival brings much joy to many in our community,” an announcement from… Read more »
Dr. Ruth Westheimer
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections 2020 event with Dr. Ruth Westheimer, scheduled for Sunday, March 8, has been postponed due to concerns about COVID-19, aka coronavirus. “Like many of you and all of us here at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, Dr. Ruth is concerned… Read more »
Rabbi Yossie Shemtov Two thousand five hundred years ago, Haman — then prime minister of the Persian Empire — succeeded in convincing King Ahasuerus to issue a decree to destroy the Jews throughout the land. Following the issuance of this decree, Haman and his comrades went strolling with jovial hearts and encountered the… Read more »
It’s no surprise to us who live in the Sonoran Desert that, on average, we enjoy 286 sunny days a year in Tucson — while the U.S. average is 205. Old Pueblo residents can get ample doses of vitamin D while those in the Pacific Northwest are depleted. We… Read more »
