Local

TIPS to bring Israeli children’s book expert

Adina Bar-El, Ph.D.

The TIPS (Tucson, Israel, Seattle, Phoenix) Partnership 2Gether program (previously known as Partnership 2000) and the Weintraub Israel Center will host Adina Bar-El, Ph.D., author and expert on Hebrew and Yiddish children’s literature, in Tucson Nov. 5 through Nov. 9. Bar-El is the author of 19 books for children… Read more »

Friedman to receive museum heritage award

Barry Friedman

The Jewish History Museum will honor Barry Friedman with the 2012 Jewish Heritage Award at its annual luncheon later this month. Designed to honor an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the museum’s mission and to the larger Southern Arizona community, the award recognizes Friedman’s contribution to preserving… Read more »

Chaverim class promotes healing from fear

C. Diane Ealy, Ph.D.

“From Fear to Excitement: Your Personal Journey of Empowerment” will be the focus of a fundraising workshop for Congregation Chaverim on Sunday, Nov. 11 from 9 a.m. till noon. “Chaverim has been through extremely difficult times these past two years with the death of Karla Ember and Gabby’s shooting,… Read more »

Music museum target of bus trip planned by JFSA NW Division

The Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold its second annual bus trip on Wednesday, Nov. 28. This year’s trip will be to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix. On the bus, Cantor Avi Alpert of Congregation Bet Shalom will provide a Jewish musical appetizer.… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El plans Wii tournament

Temple Emanu-El will hold a “Wii Against the Stars” fundraiser on Saturday, Nov. 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. Former University of Arizona basketball players Matt Muehlebach and Corey Williams, along with other former pro and collegiate athletes will be at the event to challenge guests in their sports… Read more »

JHM lecture to highlight musical testimony of Shoah survivors

Joseph Toltz, Ph.D. (Courtesy United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)

Musical memories have helped Holocaust survivors deal with their trauma, a connection Joseph Toltz, Ph.D., has researched for the past 14 years. Toltz will lecture on “The Accidental Pioneer: Music from David Broder’s 1946 Work in the Displaced Persons Camps of Europe” at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on… Read more »

Former Israeli Ambassador Rabinovich examines Iran policy in Tucson talk

Former Israeli Ambassador to the United States Itamar Rabinovich and Guy Gelbart, director of the Weintraub Israel Center, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Oct 29. Rabinovich’s lecture drew a crowd of more than 400. (Sheila Wilensky/AJP)

Whether or not President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are the leaders of the United States and Israel come January, Iran’s nuclear program will still be on the table. Itamar Rabinovich, Israeli ambassador to the United States from 1993 to 1996, presented “The U.S., Israel and the… Read more »

Comic magician takes act to Temple Emanu-El

Eric Buss

Eric Buss will perform a family friendly comedy show on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. A Tucson native, Buss combines crazy inventions and high energy into an award-winning act, which he has performed on the David Letterman show, on five continents and on television in… Read more »

Event to honor Tucson’s oldest Jewish residents

Phyllis Broad

Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will present its fourth annual “Celebration of Tucson’s Oldest Jewish Residents”on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 11 a.m. The lunch will honor Jewish Tucsonans who are 88 or older. Phyllis Broad will be recognized for her commitment to Handmaker and the greater Tucson Jewish… Read more »

Israeli diplomat Itamar Rabinovich will speak on Iran challenge

Itamar Rabinovich

Itamar Rabinovich, Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 1993 to 1996, will present “The U.S., Israel and the Challenge of Iran: Options and Constraints,” on Monday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. A Weintraub Israel Center Heartbeat of Israel program, the free lecture… Read more »

Polish high school students taste Jewish life in Tucson

Tucsonan Bill Kugelman, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, talks with Polish students Michal Kochanowski, Maciej Baranowski and Milena Adelt at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Oct. 9. (Sharon Glassberg/JFSA)

Polish high school teacher Barbara (Basia) Matusiak wears a Star of David around her neck, although she isn’t Jewish. Matusiak was part of a non-Jewish Polish group that included 10 teens, two teachers and the principal of High School 15 in Lodz, Poland, who visited Tucson from Oct. 4… Read more »

JFCS NW office expands counseling outreach

Stephanie Neidermyer, LMFT, in the lobby of the new northwest office of Jewish Family & Children’s Services

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, a nonprofit agency that offers social and behavioral health services to the Jewish and greater Tucson community, recently opened an office on the Northwest side, at the corner of Oracle and Magee Roads. Shoshana Elkins, vice president of programs and services… Read more »

Multi-faith Pride Service planned

The LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, Wingspan Multi-faith Working Group and Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will hold the 4th Annual Multi-faith Pride Service, “Love Wins,” on Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E.… Read more »

Tucson Meet Yourself extends shalom and respect to all

Tucson Meet Yourself: A Folklife Festival will take place downtown from Oct. 12-14. This is the 39th annual TMY festival, whose mission is to present the living traditional arts of the ethnic communities of the Arizona-Sonora region. The festival now draws more than 100,000 people over three days. The… Read more »

Business/education connections highlighted in local candidates forum

Traditional political issues of taxes and business growth arose at a local candidates forum on Monday, Sept. 24 at the Arizona Inn. However, many of the 15 candidates vying for seats in Legislative Districts 9, 10 and 11 and on the Pima County Board of Supervisors repeatedly harked back… Read more »

Temple series to explore ‘Constitutional Controversies’

“We the People of the United States …” So begins the United States Constitution, laying out the blueprint for a nation. Along with its 27 amendments, the Constitution is the roadmap to our rights as citizens. Today, many significant issues are being challenged on constitutional grounds. But just what… Read more »

JFSA to highlight ‘13 Extraordinary Women’

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will celebrate local women with “13 Extraordinary Women Share Their Secrets” on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at Skyline Country Club. The 13 women will have three minutes each to share their formulas for success in their personal, professional and… Read more »

Anshei Israel launching adult, youth choirs

Congregation Anshei Israel’s cantorial soloist Nichole Chorny is forming two new choirs: one for adults and another for children. An interest meeting for the adult choir will be held Sunday, Oct. 14, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the synagogue’s sanctuary. Open to all adults, the choir’s repertoire will include a full… Read more »

JFSA ‘Pink Shabbat’ focuses on breast cancer

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy and CHAI Circle will hold a Sharsheret ink Shabbat Weekend Oct. 25-28. The events will kick off Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. with a “Think Pink” challah baking program and panel discussion at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, “What’s Jewish about Breast… Read more »

Comedian/author will speak at THA Tikkun Olam event honoring Warne

Joel Chasnoff

Tucson Hebrew Academy will honor Tom Warne with its 2012 Tikkun Olam Award at a gala dinner featuring entertainment by comedian Joel Chasnoff on Oct. 28. Warne is known in the Jewish community as a lay leader and philanthropist. He is chair of the Tucson Jewish Community Center board… Read more »