Local

Rides to synagogue programs and services – including High Holy Days celebrations – are available for seniors and adults with disabilities through a special grant program. The program, “Tucson Community Shared Transportation for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities,” has a new phone number: 465-4323. The Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

Congressman Ron Barber with children at a fortified indoor playground in Sderot, Israel, built with contributions from American groups and individuals. It can withstand a direct hit from a Gaza rocket. The area, under constant threat, is protected by the Iron Dome rocket interceptor. (Office of Congressman Ron Barber)

Israel and Southern Arizona have ties that bind — in both the economic and national security realms. U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who describes himself as “a strong supporter of Israel,” participated in a fact-finding trip to Israel from Aug. 5 to 11. Barber is a Tucson Democrat and a… Read more »

A new school year is beginning and innovative plans are on the agenda for Tucson’s Jewish schools. Congregation Bet Shalom’s religious school is adding a seventh and eighth grade Sunday program that will combine text study with “inspirational informal learning.” It will include a class on the Mishnah, which… Read more »

Essie Nadler and Stu Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, sign an endowment agreement for the Message of Hope Fund at the home of Ruthann Pozez.

“We will never forget.” These words have become a staple for Jewish people around the globe. On the surface, they remind us of the millions of innocent lives lost in a world of blind hatred, blatant egotism and unimaginable fear, in the hope that such horrendous acts never happen… Read more »

(L-R) Becky Monroy, Heather Rich and Hayley Flanigan won bronze medals with the Team Austin girls basketball team.

Thirteen teen basketball players from Tucson — 10 boys and three girls —participated in the JCC Maccabi Games in Austin, Texas, July 28-Aug. 2. The annual games for Jewish teens ages 13 to 16 are like a mini-Olympics, but with the emphasis on camaraderie and enhancing Jewish identity more… Read more »

September is National Preparedness Month. It’s a great time to plan for an emergency or disaster. It is a myth that “nothing ever happens in Tucson!” We are fortunate to live where few natural disasters occur. Earthquakes are very rare, hurricanes don’t come our way and a tsunami just… Read more »

Arlene Barth with a few of the thousands of dolls in her collection (Renee Claire)

Walk around Arlene Barth’s eastside Tucson home and you will find over 2,300 pairs of eyes looking your way. Barth, RN, MSN and captain (retired) from the U.S. Public Health Service began collecting dolls in 1996. They are present in every room of her home; organized on tables, spilling… Read more »

Friends of the Israel Defense Forces has closed its Arizona chapter, which was based in Phoenix. Administrative duties will be handled by the national office in New York, which will be in touch directly with FIDF supporters in Arizona. “We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the… Read more »

In an effort to combat the national obesity epidemic that also afflicts children and families locally, the Tucson Jewish Community Center is implementing Discover: CATCH® Early Childhood — a new wellness initiative. The program has already been instituted in 19 JCCs across the country. Starting this month, children enrolled… Read more »

Todd Rockoff

Todd Rockoff, the new president and CEO of the Tucson Jewish Community Center, has worked for JCCs from Akron, Ohio, to Calgary, Alberta. He started out at age 16 as a camp counselor in his hometown of Rochester, N.Y. “I’m honored to never have received a paycheck from anyone… Read more »

Bruce and Alayne Greenberg, parents of Anna Greenberg, who died May 28, 2013 after a valiant struggle with cancer, met with songwriter and actress Bette Midler last month in New York, where Midler is starring in “I’ll Eat You Last.” “Alayne and I had a heartfelt discussion with Bette… Read more »

Romance blooms for Andrew West and Sophia Kerdoon in the Negev Desert.

Ask almost anyone who has been on Birthright Israel and they will tell you that the 10-day trip is a life-changing experience. This might sound cliché, but for many Tucsonans on the trip from June 10-20 — sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, local donors and the… Read more »

May 2013 Spirit orientation at the Rabbinical Seminary of America in Queens, N.Y., with Rabbi Israel Becker (right) and three members of this year’s Spirit team (left to right): Nosson Yeshaya Schwartz, Yaakov Tokayer, Shlomo Zalman Minkowitz

The Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program returns to Tucson Sunday, July 28 through Friday, Aug. 9, at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. The Spirit program offers two weeks of Jewish learning for Jewish men and boys, ages 8 and up. Participants may study virtually any topic… Read more »

Congregation Anshei Israel has announced its sixth year of “Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” The program uses Jewish teachings to help pre-teen and teenage girls make healthy life choices. Keys to the program are an informal setting, small group size and activities designed to strengthen girls’ Jewish identity,… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El will once again offer Taste of Judaism, a free introductory class on Jewish spirituality, values and community, with four sessions beginning next month and one beginning in late September. More than 4,500 people have completed the course offered by Temple Emanu-El, now in its 14th year. Rabbis… Read more »

The Claims Conference recently negotiated an agreement under which the German government committed to providing approximately $1 billion over a four-year period for homecare for Jewish Holocaust victims, with the annual amount increasing every year through 2017. In Tucson, the Holocaust Survivor Program is part of Jewish Family &… Read more »

Rabbi Sandra Wortzel

It was easy for Sandra Wortzel to identify as Jewish growing up in New York City. It took years for her spiritual journey to sway her into becoming a rabbi. “I grew up completely secular,” Wortzel, 58, told the AJP. “My brother became a Bar Mitzvah but that’s it”… Read more »

Rabbi Joseph Weizenbaum

Rabbi Joseph Weizenbaum, who retired in 2002 after 44 years in the rabbinate — more than 30 of them in Tucson — died July 1, 2013. He was 80. Weizenbaum, who was senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El for 21 years beginning in 1972, and founded the now-defunct Congregation Ner Tamid… Read more »

Margot and Gunther Marx

Over the past 18 years in Tucson, Gunther Marx and his wife, Margot, have racked up more than 10,000 volunteer hours with organizations ranging from Tucson Medical Center to the Tucson Botanical Gardens to Project Linus. The Marxes began spending winters in Tucson in 1995 and moved here full-time… Read more »

Emberly Davis

Emberly Davis, 11, has been volunteering at the Forever Wild wildlife animal rehabilitation center for three years. “I’m mostly in charge of the night birds and creatures,” she says, explaining that she feeds the hawks, falcons and owls on her weekly visits to the center with her mother, Shanna… Read more »