Tucsonan Nina Straw is a proponent of the ‘Blessings in a Backpack’ program to feed schoolkids on weekends. Nina Straw grew up in a Conservative Jewish home in Milford, Conn. The concept of tikkun olam (repairing the world) was part of her daily life. “My father lived Judaism,” she told the AJP. “He was a gentle, quiet man who walked the talk. He taught us to live… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz It’s a given that the new executive director of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona would be smart and dedicated, with a long, impressive resume. Tracy Salkowitz is also funny. Phrases like “delightfully witty and warm,” “levity, humility, and humor” and “with laughter and a clear vision”… Read more »
Brian Litwak Brian Litwak, 75, has gone through life coping with poor health. Nine years ago, following quadruple bypass surgery and suffering from diabetes, he came from Los Angeles to Handmaker Services for the Aging, brought here by his younger brother. “No one told me I was supposed to die,” says… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona held a community discussion, Think Tank 2020, on May 2. Nearly 100 community members representing diverse ages and backgrounds met at the Tucson Jewish Community Center to begin framing the issues to be explored as part of the Federation’s strategic planning process. The… Read more »
Congressional candidates for the upcoming special CD8 election, Democrat Ron Barber, Republican Jesse Kelly and Green candidate Charlie Manolakis, debate at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on May 23, 2012. (Marty Johnston/TJCC) Democrat Ron Barber, Republican Jesse Kelly and Green candidate Charlie Manolakis sparred politely at their last debate before a Congressional District 8 special election on June 12. But the three candidates, vying to complete the term of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, clearly delineated their battle lines before an audience… Read more »
(L-R) Mayor Jonathan Rothschild, Solar Celebration Co-Chair Scott Arden, Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, Temple Emanu-El President John Judin and Solar Project Coordinator Steve Tofel at Temple Emanu-El’s Earth Day Solar Celebration April 22. When Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon and Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild flipped the switch on Temple Emanu-El’s solar energy array during its Earth Day celebration on April 22, it was the culmination of a long process. “It started last summer,” said Cohon, spurred by “a lot more incentives from the… Read more »
Afikomen bag Photographs can’t do justice to the exquisite stitchery on the table linens, wall hangings and other objects Tucsonan Barbara Esmond has created over the years as a member of The Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework. The group is named for the fruit that is one of the “seven species”… Read more »
Edna Feldman San Miguel Edna Feldman San Miguel is a sixth generation Tucsonan who has spent more than two decades discovering her Jewish ancestry. In February, the artist and illustrator led a tour for visiting Israeli artists of the San Xavier Mission, where she’d worked as a conservationist, which was followed later that… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum has begun cataloging and archiving artifacts in its permanent collection, thanks to partial funding from the Arizona Humanities Council. Photographs of many of the artifacts may be viewed on the museumís website, jewishhistorymuseum.org (click on the artifacts tab). Among the artifacts are over 40,000 paper… Read more »
The Weintraub Israel Center is seeking host families for two Israelis who will serve as camp counselors at the Tucson Jewish Community Center this summer. Daniel Saban, 21, completed his military service with the Israeli Air Force. He is fluent in English and Spanish, enjoys horseback riding, jazz dance… Read more »
Tucsonan Bill Kugelman and teens from the Western region of the United States lead the March of the Living from Auschwitz to Birkenau in Poland on April 19. (Courtesy CJE) Holocaust survivor Bill Kugelman has been to Birkenau before, once on a previous March of the Living trip in 2006, and as a prisoner of the Nazis. From 1939 to 1945, Kugelman, 88, spent three and a half years in concentration camps, including Birkenau, and two and a half… Read more »
Kristopher Carson “KC” Rosburg and Carol Galper, assistant dean for medical student education at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, with the letter announcing his award from the Dr. Sam Goldfein Memorial Fund The Dr. Sam Goldfein Memorial Fund of the Jewish Community Foundation will honor Kristopher Carson “KC” Rosburg with its second annual award of $2,500. Rosburg is a graduating senior at the University of Arizona College of Medicine who will become a pediatrician. He will do his residency at St.… Read more »
David Graizbord, associate professor of Judaic studies at the University of Arizona, will be the guest speaker at the Tucson Jewish Genealogy and Oral History Group meeting on Sunday, May 13. Graizbord will discuss how Sephardic Jews from the “golden age” of medieval Spanish Jewry, through the Inquisition, to… Read more »
Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging is partnering with Youth Volunteer Corps, a program of Volunteer Southern Arizona, to create an intergenerational program for youth. Participants will engage with the elderly at Handmaker at quarterly events that they will help plan. Handmaker Youth Leadership Team participants who complete the… Read more »
Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll Cooperation was on the agenda at the annual legislative breakfast that took place at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on April 20. Republican and Democratic Pima County supervisors and Tucson City Council members started out by voicing opposition to the proposed Rosemont Mine, drawing repeated applause from the audience… Read more »
Tucsonan Paul Rubin with journals written by his mother, Roz Kaufmann, and a copy of his compilation, “In Her Own Words: A Life Well Lived” (Photo: Brenda Stosberg-Rubin) Imagine Paul Rubin’s surprise when he found a suitcase full of journals penned by his mother, Roz Kaufmann, dating back to 1944. Kaufmann was 79 and suffered from dementia when her son found the journals in 2004. She died two years later at age 81. “All of a sudden… Read more »
Micha Bar-Am Congregation Anshei Israel’s 10th annual observance of Yom Yerushalayim — celebrating the 45th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem — will feature an exhibition of 10 works by Micha Bar-Am, a renowned Israeli photojournalist. Bar-Am, who is best known for his coverage of the Six-Day War in 1967, has… Read more »
Rabbi Miri Fleiming The Secular Humanist Jewish Circle will sponsor a lecture, “Torah as Mythology,” by Rabbi Miri Fleming, Ph.D., on Saturday, May 19, from 2-4:30 p.m. at the Dusenberry-River Library, 5605 E. River Road (at Craycroft). Fleming will address the question of what the Torah, or five books of Moses, is… Read more »
Abraham Verghese, M.D. In this age of high-tech medicine compassion can often be neglected, but the annual Cindy Wool Memorial Seminar helps provide a remedy for healthcare professionals in Tucson. The third seminar and dinner on humanism in medicine, held March 28 at the Marriott University Park Hotel, sought to support physicians… Read more »
Interfaith Community Services will host a conference, “Faith Communities and Mental Illness: Tools for Response and Care,” on Friday, April 27, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Philips in the Hills Episcopal Church. Created in response to the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting tragedy in Tucson, this “first… Read more »
