Local

Charles Moses Strauss, the first Jewish mayor of Tucson, Arizona Territory (elected 1883), with his son, Charles junior. Eileen Warshaw, executive director of the Jewish History Museum, explains that Strauss was actually a very dapper gentleman. The Western “duds” he and his son are wearing in this photo were photographer’s props. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum)

Tucson has a rich Jewish history, which the Jewish community will celebrate during the city’s Arizona Centennial Weekend from Feb. 10 to 12. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Eileen Warshaw, executive director of the Jewish History Museum and one of the co-chairs of the Downtown Centennial Celebration Committee.… Read more »

Vered Otmy

Four Israeli artists will spend almost two weeks in Tucson this month, giving workshops and talking about their experiences as artists living in Israel. “This amazing ‘partnership 2gether’ project, sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Federations of North America and our local TIPS (Tucson, Israel, Phoenix, Seattle)… Read more »

(L-R): Nina Isaac, Randi Levin, Cheryl Wortzel, Shaun Kozolchyk and David Plotkin at JFSA’s Hava Tequila Young Leadership Bash last year.

The 2nd Annual Hava Tequila Bash, sponsored by the Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership Cabinet and the Tucson Jewish Community Center, will take place Feb. 4, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the JCC. Co-chaired by Andrew and Nina Isaac and Phil and Dani Bregman, Hava Tequila offers a… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords hugs Daniel Hernandez, the former congressional intern who helped save her life, at a private gathering Jan. 23. (Facebook.com)

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was wounded in an assassination attempt on Jan. 8, 2011, announced Sunday that she would resign from Congress. In a dramatic two-minute video posted on her congressional website, Giffords said she will step down as she continues her recovery. “I have more work… Read more »

The memorial stone to be dedicated Jan. 29 reads ‘Remembering the Victims of the Holocaust’

Beth Shalom Temple Center of Green Valley will host a free community gathering in honor of International Holocaust Remem­brance Day on Sunday, Jan. 29 at 10 a.m. in the chapel of Green Valley Mortuary and Cemetery, 18751 S. La Canada Dr. The program will feature historical perspectives, readings, poetry,… Read more »

Rabbi Shalom Hammer

Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will host Rabbi Shalom Hammer, who will speak on “Finding Inner Peace,” on Friday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. The presentation will include a video about Alice Herz-Sommer, the oldest living Holocaust survivor. Hammer will explore Jewish perspectives on maintaining a positive emotional… Read more »

Temple Emanu-El will host a Jewish Camp Fair on Sunday, Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Representatives from at least 16 Jewish overnight camps from across the country will be available to meet with children and parents. Overnight camps from as close as Prescott, Ariz., and California,… Read more »

Shaol and Evie Pozez

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona announced last week that the Shaol & Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund has received a multi-million dollar bequest from the Pozez estate. Thirty-six nonprofit organizations have been named as beneficiaries and will receive an initial distribution in early 2013. These beneficiaries, which provide… Read more »

Elliott Abrams, former deputy national security adviser under President George W. Bush, will be the keynote speaker at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s 2012 Tucson Annual Dinner, which will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Abrams is senior fellow for Middle Eastern… Read more »

Carol Karsch

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will honor Executive Director Carol Karsch at its 20th anniversary celebration of the Endowment Book of Life signing event, which will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 7 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Karsch is retiring after 23 years at the Foundation,… Read more »

Meryl Press represented the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation at Super Sunday in 2011.

Make a few phone calls in the annual Jewish Federation phone-a-thon to support the 2012 Community Campaign. Donate blood. Swab your cheek for the Gift of Life bone marrow registry. Make a card for a military service member. These are a few of the ways volunteers will help change… Read more »

David Sattinger

What are the origins of our seven-day week? Why do the Jewish holidays move around from year to year? Why are there 12 tribes of Israel, as well as 12 apostles and 12 stations of the cross? David Sattinger will offer answers to these questions in a presentation on… Read more »

Rabbi Shais Taub

Chabad of Tucson is launching its 2012 lecture series with Rabbi Shais Taub, a scholar, author and blogger on Jewish mysticism, on Sunday, Jan. 15, 7 p.m. at the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. Dubbed “an expert in Jewish mysticism and the 12 steps” by National Public Radio… Read more »

The Weintraub Israel Center will screen “Faces of Israel: A Discussion about Marriage, State & Religion in the Jewish Homeland,” a documentary film by director Amy Beth Oppenheimer, on Wednesday, Jan. 25 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Oppenheimer will facilitate the interactive program, which includes presentations and dynamic… Read more »

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik may be known as the brainy Amy Farrah Fowler on the popular TV sitcom “The Big Bang Theory,” but she’s also an observant Jewish mother, writer and neuroscientist. Bialik will be the speaker at this year’s Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on Feb.… Read more »

On Wednesday, Dec. 28, I was one of the 500-plus people who attended the U.S. Postal Service’s meeting about the proposed closure of Tucson’s mail-processing center. I was proud of our community spirit, with so many turning out at 6 p.m. during a holiday week that the Leo Rich… Read more »

The Tucson chapter of Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual book sale at the Foothills Mall from Jan. 13 to 22. The sale will feature more than 50,000 books, including collectibles and first editions. “Someone said it takes a village,” says Meg Sivitz, Brandeis book sale chair, “but… Read more »

It’s not just the free popcorn that draws hundreds of moviegoers to the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run for its 21st year at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Jan. 12-22. It’s the lineup of films, from dramas to comedies to animated shorts, with themes that are… Read more »

The Jewish History Museum will hold the grand opening of its fourth annual ketubah exhibit on Sunday, Jan. 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. The exhibit will be on display Jan. 4 through Feb. 5 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. and Fridays from… Read more »

Transportation programs for local Jewish seniors are increasing, thanks to grants from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Senior Task Force. This grant program is a major expansion of services for the Jewish elderly that began last year when the Federation funded Jewish Elder Access, which is administered by… Read more »