Congregation Anshei Israel’s ‘Wall of History’ details milestones in the synagogue’s history. Congregation Anshei Israel will hold a “Wall of History” dedication on Saturday, Oct. 13. Three panels recounting milestones in the history of the synagogue will be dedicated after years of work to produce them, an effort spearheaded by CAI’s art committee chairperson, Eleanor Jeck. The panels were donated by… Read more »
Michelle Levine, outreach director for the American Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Michelle Levine had long dreamed of influencing environmental issues in Israel. When the perfect job – as the English spokesperson and marketing manager for the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel — materialized in 2004, she made aliyah from Tucson. She will speak about “Environmental Victories in… Read more »
The Jewish Federation-Northwest will celebrate its grand opening with an open house Sunday, Oct. 7 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., featuring a ribbon-cutting and mezuzah ceremony. The Hanukat HaíBayit (mezuzah ceremony) will be held at 11 a.m. with a D’var Torah by Rabbi Jason Holtz of Temple Emanu-El… Read more »
In light of the upcoming presidential election, the Tucson Jewish Community Library, the Black Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will host a workshop, “How Minorities Vote in America,” on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. We are a nation… Read more »
Handmaker Youth Leadership Team participants will begin a Farm to Table project on Sunday, Sept. 30. The group will meet at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging at 9 a.m., then carpool to Phire Heart Farms, a local cooperative farm where they will plant vegetable seeds and seedlings. Participants… Read more »
Meryl Press Volunteers — defined as those “who perform a service willingly and without pay” — are the backbone of many organizations, helping them fulfill and sometimes expand upon their core missions. In this special “Volunteer Salute,” the AJP presents brief snapshots of volunteers from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona… Read more »
Marjorie Hochberg Some are native Tucsonans, one grew up in Moscow, all dreamed of singing — and Tucson’s cantorial soloists also all are women. A few of the younger soloists began singing at local congregations following their B’not Mitzvah, connecting them more deeply to their Judaism. During this High Holiday season,… Read more »
In these heated months before the presidential election, we step back to pray during the High Holidays and hope for the best for our country, Israel and the world. Throughout the year, many Jewish Tucsonans are engaged in social activism and involved in politics on a local or national… Read more »
Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are our holiest days of prayer and personal reflection — and a time to remember people in need. Each year, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona works with synagogues and local Jewish agencies on Project Isaiah, a food… Read more »
A Holocaust education teacher in-service, “Digital Literacies and Holocaust Education: Teaching the Holocaust with Video Testimonial,” will be held Thursday, Sept. 20 at the University of Arizona College of Education,1430 E. 2nd St., in the Kiva Auditorium. The program, which will feature Sheila Hansen, the lead trainer of the… Read more »
The 2012-2013 Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra season will feature five local composers, including two world premieres by Tucson artists, “Running the Rim” by Jay Vosk, which opens the series in October, and “Landscapes” by Peter Fine, which will conclude the series in May. The Vosk premiere will be… Read more »
Rabbi Miriam S. Jerris Rabbi Miriam S. Jerris of the Society for Humanistic Judaism will lead the Secular Humanist Jewish Circle’s third annual High Holiday “Celebration of Community and Connection” on Saturday, Sept. 22 at 9:30 a.m. The service will include moral and ethical teachings related to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, as… Read more »
Rachel Meyer demonstrates an axe kick The thrills of the summer Olympics are behind us, but Tucsonan Rachel Meyer, a 16-year-old Taekwondo champion, has a new international competition to look forward to: the 19th World Maccabiah Games in Israel next July. Meyer will turn 17 at the games in Jerusalem and will compete in the… Read more »
Yafit Josephson as an Israeli army officer in "New Eyes" (Courtesy Invisible Theatre) As a struggling young actress in Los Angeles, Yafit Josephson should have been glad to get parts — any parts. Yet Josephson, 30, who was born in L.A. but raised in Israel from age 2, who served proudly in the Israel Defense Forces before moving to California to study… Read more »
Give a little … Change a lot. That is the motto of the B’nai Tzdek Tucson teen philanthropy program, which will have its annual kickoff event Sunday, Sept. 9, 1-3 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Teens contribute $180 to a B’nai Tzedek Fund at the Jewish Community… Read more »
Rev. Dr. John Kitagawa, Jake Gordon and Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon celebrate Jake’s Bar Mitzvah in Jerusalem. ( Photo: Bruno Charbit Photography) Instead of a traditional Jewish mission to Israel, Temple Emanu-El and St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church joined forces to expand their congregants’ understanding of the Holy Land. Twelve Jews and 11 Christians participated in the interfaith mission led by Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon and Rev. Dr. John… Read more »
Barbara Shore and her daughter Deborah Shore participate in a project at Handmaker during the Israeli Artists Exchange in February. (Photo: Lori Riegel) Coming from a Jewish family that valued education propelled Barbara Shore, now 91, into academia. Becoming a feminist happened along the way. Her husband, Jack Shore, whom she married in 1942, was instrumental in that progression. “We didn’t call it then,” Shore told the AJP in her apartment… Read more »
Tucson Jewish Community Center President and CEO Ken Light Twenty-six years ago, when Ken Light took the helm of the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the landmark edifice on River Road hadn’t even been built. Light had come to town with the understanding that financing and permits were all in place, but it would take three more years of… Read more »
New mom (Susan Kovitz) shares the joys and woes of parenting in a scene from ‘Motherhood Out Loud’ coming to the Invisible Theatre. (Susan Claassen) The Invisible Theatre will begin its 2012-2013 “Season of Love” with the Southwest premiere of “Motherhood Out Loud.” A series of vignettes covering every aspect of motherhood — from stepmoms to single mothers, immigrant moms to grandmothers, new moms to empty nesters, — “Motherhood Out Loud” was written by… Read more »
Following the early start of Tucson’s schools, Tucson Hebrew High will begin on Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2012 at its host synagogue, Congregation Anshei Israel. The first session will include a welcome back pizza and last minute registration party, classes, a storytelling slam by Hebrew High faculty, and an ice… Read more »
