Local

Jewish Family & Children’s Services is seeking volunteers and donations for its Matza and More project,, which it started in 1970. Local businesses, synagogues and Jewish organizations join JFCS in collecting and delivering a variety of food items to more than 200 individuals and families to help them celebrate… Read more »

Ipara Bolan (right) and Georgia Trester take part in an eyes-closed get-to-know-you exercise at the University of Arizona Hillel’s Avi Shabbat on Feb. 8. (Courtesy UA Hillel Foundation)

If a college student told you that as a child she studied violin with a strict Russian Jewish teacher, would you think that she’s Jewish … or Muslim? Participants at the University of Arizona’s second interfaith Avi Shabbat were surprised to discover that this childhood experience belonged to Ipara… Read more »

Dylan J. Williams, J Street director of government affairs (left) and Tucsonan Larry Gellman, J Street National Advisory Committee member, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Feb 13 (Sheila Wilensky/AJP)

Israel’s current situation vis-a-vis the West Bank is untenable, and it’s even worse with Gaza, making movement toward a two-state solution ever more urgent. That was the message Dylan J. Williams, J Street’s director of government affairs, delivered in Tucson on Feb. 13 at a luncheon sponsored by Jewish… Read more »

Stained glass window representing Rachel, the wife of Rabbi Akiva, by Ami Shamir

Perach Yisroel, the Flower of Israel Mikveh at Congregation Chofetz Chayim, will dedicate new stained glass windows and unveil a metal logo sculpture on Sunday, March 17. “Since its opening in 2004, the Perach Yisroel Mikveh has proudly served all members of the Tucson Jewish community … regardless of… Read more »

Pope Benedict XVI greets Esther Sternberg, M.D., of the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, at the 27th International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers in November 2012. (Photo courtesy of Fotografia Felici)

When Tucsonan Esther Sternberg, M.D., gave a talk on healing spaces in Lourdes, France, in June, little did she suspect it would lead to a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI or the opportunity to speak at the Vatican. Sternberg, director of research for the University of Arizona Center for… Read more »

This year’s Israel Festival, an all-out extravaganza celebrating Israel’s 65th anniversary of independence, will be held Sunday, April 21, from noon to 6 p.m., on the Tucson Jewish Community Center/Tucson Hebrew Academy campus. Along with games, food and an Israel-inspired shuk (marketplace), the event will include a performance by… Read more »

Jim Belushi

Most family men spend weekends mowing the lawn or tinkering in the garage. Not Jim Belushi. He’s out almost every weekend, making audiences around the country laugh, performing with his improv troupe, the Chicago Board of Comedy. “Most guys, they golf on the weekend,” said Belushi, 58. “I go… Read more »

Author and journalist Iris Krasnow has written about women’s relationships and personal growth for 30 years. She will speak about “The Power of Passion in a Woman’s Life” at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy “Connections” brunch on March 3. The event will start at 10 a.m.… Read more »

Ann Kirschner, author of the acclaimed “Sala’s Gift” and the upcoming “Lady at the OK Corral: The True Story of Josephine Marcus Earp,” will be the keynote speaker in the Jewish History Museum’s Jewish Storytelling Festival. She will give a free lecture about her new book on Thursday, March… Read more »

Terri Freed, a local Brandeis National Committee volunteer, interacts with children during an after-school literacy enrichment project at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Courtesy Terri Freed)

About a year ago, the Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee began discussing ways to bring more parents of young children into their fold. “We were told that the way to reach this age group was through their children,” says Roz Kraft, a co-leader of the Brandeis study… Read more »

Sarah (Sue) Raizes, a resident of The Fountains who will turn 100 in May, rolls dough for hamantaschen at the Saddlebrooke home of her daughter, Sharon Triester. Raizes, whose mother was also a prolific baker, favors traditional fillings such as lekvar (prune) but also “branched out to cherry,” says Triester.

… Read more »

Despite living in an area under constant rocket fire from Gaza, Israeli Roni Keidar helps Palestinians from Gaza get emergency health care in Israel. Keidar will present “Nurturing Peace on the Gaza Border” on Thursday, March 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The free Heartbeat… Read more »

In response to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) joined with the Union for Reform Judaism and several other Jewish organizations to create one coordinated campaign to raise relief funds for Israel. To date, the JFNA Terror Relief Fund has… Read more »

Operation Elijah, a community effort to ensure that every Jew in Southern Arizona has a seat at a Seder table for Pass­over, is seeking participants, both guest and hosts. If you are new to the community, single, a student, have no family in the area or are alone for… Read more »

Naomi Benaron

An acclaimed first-time novelist, an award-winning mystery writer, an internationally best-selling author and the reporter who wrote “A Safeway in Arizona: What the Gabrielle Giffords Shooting Tells Us About the Grand Canyon State” will highlight the Brandeis National Committee’s 17th Annual Book & Author Events. The committee’s Tucson chapter… Read more »

Irving Olson, 99, with one of his water drop photographs (Renee Claire)

Irving Olson has been capturing photographic images for nearly 90 years. He continues to create pictures in a dark room, just not the “dark room” one typically associates with photo development. In a specially outfitted kitchenette in his Oro Valley home, Olson shuts out all light and digitally captures… Read more »

Arik Lubovsky

Before I left for Israel, friends and family asked if I was afraid. “Not really,” I replied. It wasn’t until I was actually there, relaxing on the patio of the Mizpe Hayamim health farm … Read more »

Joshua Bell with the Gibson ex Huberman Stradivarius (Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco)

Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell will play with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. at the Tucson Music Hall. The program of romantic classics will include the overture to Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro,” Grieg’s “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen,” the “Wedding March” from Men­delssohn’s “A… Read more »

Bullying is an issue of concern nationally; in a 2011 study, 44 percent of 10- to 17-year-olds reported being bullied. Awareness of this problem is on the rise in response to recent violent incidents, including school shootings and highly publicized cyberbullying. To address parents’ concerns, two local Jewish organizations,… Read more »

A support group for Jewish mothers of children of any age with disabilities will hold its inaugural meeting later this month. In a letter to prospective participants, organizer Joyce Stuehringer, who has an adult son born with a disability, wrote of her hope that in discussing common experiences, “we… Read more »