Emily Bazelon (Nina Subin) Emily Bazelon doesn’t hesitate to take on big social issues. “I was raised to see Judaism in terms of ethical precepts,” Bazelon told the AJP. The author of “Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy” will speak in Tucson on… Read more »
(L-R): Tayvien Williams, Vianney Careaga, Marissa Pena and Rachel Mayer at the Tucson Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on Aug. 28. (Frank Youdelman) Armory Park was the scene of the Tucson Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on Aug. 28. Around 150 people listened as four young people, representing African American, Native American, Hispanic and Anglo societal groups, read segments of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I… Read more »
Southwest Torah Institute’s Women’s Academy for Jewish Studies will hold a free brunch and presentation, “Where is G-d leading me?” with Esther Becker on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. Becker’s talk is based on “The Map Seeker: One Woman’s Quest” by Leah Kotkes, the… Read more »
“The Last Bully: Stopping Epidemics of Violence” is the 2013-14 theme of the first Media Making a Difference film series, sponsored by the Aurora Foundation, Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, Loft Cinema and the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding. “Submit the Documentary: The Virtual Reality of Cyberbullying” will… Read more »
Tucson Jewish educators at a statewide conference in Phoenix Aug. 11. Bottom row (L-R): Teena Serlachini (Congregation Or Chadash), Rina Liebeskind (Or Chadash education director/Hebrew High); second row: Deborah Witchey and Ashley Hall (Or Chadash), Maya Collier, Hila Lamdan, Michaela Davenport and Page Confino (Congregation Chaverim), Justin Iaconis (Or Chadash); third row: David Weintraub (Or Chadash), Jason Moore (Chaverim), Cantor Janece Cohen and Cindy Weintraub (Or Chadash), Nancy Auslander (Congregation Anshei Israel), MeMe Aguila (Anshei Israel/Chaverim), Naomi Present (Chaverim education director), Daniella Bardack (Anshei Israel), Julie Unger Zorn and Scott Zorn (Or Chadash); fourth row: Oren Riback, Lily Peters, Rebecca Groff, Jared Erman and Caleb Groff (Or Chadash), Renee Hulsey (Anshei Israel), Noga Panai (Or Chadash/Hebrew High), Rabbi Ben Herman (Anshei Israel education director), Bryan Gordon (Anshei Israel); fifth row: Ariel Nadler (Or Chadash), Devin Hulsey (Anshei Israel) On Sunday, Aug. 11, 34 Jewish educators and directors from the religious schools of Congregation Anshei Israel, Congregation Chaverim, Congregation Or Chadash and Tucson Hebrew High boarded a chartered bus for the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus in Scottsdale to join educators from around the state for the first… Read more »
Project Isaiah, the Jewish community’s annual High Holidays food drive benefiting the Community Food Bank, begins today and runs through Sept. 30. The project is named for the Prophet Isaiah, who when asked why we fast on Yom Kippur, responded, “Is it not to share your bread with the… Read more »
Humane Borders will hold its second annual multi-faith “Blessing of the Fleet,” giving thanks for the trucks that service its desert water stations, on Sunday, Sept. 8, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the House of Neighborly Services, 243 W. 33rd St. in Tucson. Participants will include Rabbi Ben… Read more »
Tucsonans will have the chance to see Tucson born-and-bred Rabbi Jen E. Krause, who lives in New York City, lead High Holiday services at the 92nd Street Y. Services will be webcast live via www.92Y.org/HHLive and will also be available to military personnel at Davis Monthan Air Force Base… Read more »
Positive Jewish experiences in college may predict greater future involvement with Judaism. And if that’s the case, the new director of student life at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, Ryan Woloshin, says he’s raring to go. Woloshin arrived on campus from Virginia in mid-July. He will focus on… Read more »
Hadassah Southern Arizona will form a young women’s special interest group this fall for women 45 and under. “There are a lot of younger people who are members but don’t really use their memberships. We’d like to get them to come out, get involved and make some positive changes… Read more »
(L-R) Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona; Capt. Mark Lytle, Green Valley Fire District; Capt. Rich Johnson, Tucson Fire Department; Lt. Thomas Tucker, Tucson Airport Fire District; Mike McKendrick, chairman, Greater Tucson Fire Foundation; Capt. Kyle Canty, Northwest Fire District; and Battalion Chief Kelly McCoy, Northwest Fire District, outside the JFSA office (Phyllis Braun/AJP) The Greater Tucson Fire Foundation has announced Firefighters Without Borders, a two-week mission that will send local Arizona firefighters to Israel in October to learn from their Israeli counterparts. The firefighters will travel as private citizens, but their resumes reflect expertise with nearly a dozen local fire departments and… Read more »
The Arizona Jewish Post asked Tucson’s congregational rabbis for a few words on how they hope to inspire their congregants for the new year. Here are their diverse and enlightening responses:… Read more »
Although Israel is 7,500 miles from Tucson, for some in the Jewish community it may seem like a hop, skip and a jump away. During the High Holidays, we’re particularly conscious of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people. For some Tucsonans affiliated with the University of Arizona,… Read more »
Stephen Ost could win “College Entrepreneur of the Year” for his Ufree app. (Courtesy Stephen Ost) The bold letters “Ufree?” emblazon the T-shirt Stephen Ost wears and the license plate on his car. Ironically, these days he rarely is free as he speeds from one appointment to the next, working to determine the valuation of his company Ufree, LLC. Ost has spent the last three… Read more »
Tucson author Jillian Cantor’s spare, elegant new novel, “Margot,” begins with a startling premise: What if Anne Frank’s sister had survived the Holocaust and was living under an assumed name in Philadelphia? Cantor, 35, says the first time she read “The Diary of a Young Girl” at age 13,… Read more »
Oshrat Barel and her husband, Eli, with daughters (L-R) Ronnie, Shira, and Yuval Earlier this month, Oshrat Avitan Barel arrived in Tucson as the sixth director of the Weintraub Israel Center. The five shlichim (emissaries from Israel) who preceded her were men, making Barel the community’s first shlicha (female emissary). “Oshrat has an outstanding background and we thought she’d do wonders for… Read more »
Rabbi Jason Holtz When I arrived in Tucson three years ago, I found synagogues filled with learning, service and community. I found Jewish agencies and nonprofits devoted to turning Jewish values into Jewish action. I found a compelling Federation centered on tzedakah, righteous giving, and tikkun olam, repairing the world. And… Read more »
Handball hall-of-famer Fred Lewis, second from right, with his brother, Jack Lewis, sister-in-law, Ilene Lewis, and son, David Lewis, at the memorial to the 11 athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972, at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel, site of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
(Courtesy Fred Lewis) Israel hosted the world’s largest sporting event of the year this summer, the 19th Maccabiah Games, held July 17-30. Three Tucsonans participated as athletes in the Olympic-style games, which included Jewish athletes from 70 countries, while one current and one former Tucsonan were inducted into the International Jewish… Read more »
Ella Vaturi and Noa Berman On August 2, Noa Berman and Ella Vaturi wrapped up two months as shlichot (Israeli emissaries) with the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s day camp. Every year, the Jewish Agency for Israel sends two Israelis in their early 20s to share knowledge and love for Israel and Jewish culture with… Read more »
Rabbi Batsheva Appel Temple Emanu-El has appointed Rabbi Batsheva Appel as associate rabbi. “I’m looking forward to working with a rabbi who I know is very talented,” Appel told the AJP, referring to Temple’s senior rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, “and a community that seems to be doing wonderful things here in Tucson.… Read more »
