Melissa Zimmerman
After the findings from a national Adverse Childhood Experience Study recognized that a third of the population of the United States suffers from trauma, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona worked to make the organization a more trauma-informed space. Melissa Zimmerman, vice president of clinical services at… Read more »
Bella Wexler Editor’s note: The March 8 Connections event has been postponed to the fall due to concerns about the spread of coronavirus. Bella Wexler, a junior at Catalina Foothills High School, will receive the Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award March 8. The Women’s Philanthropy advisory council created the award, which recognizes… Read more »
From left, Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida, Ph.D., Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona vice president; Graham Hoffman, Jewish Community Foundation president and CEO; and JCF Project Manager Maya Horowitz, review a community planning timeline at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, Jan. 28.
Last spring, community leaders from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation began a community visioning project that was soon dubbed “2020 and Beyond: Reimagining Jewish Life in Southern Arizona.” After initial stages that included hiring an outside consultant and holding meetings with stakeholder groups… Read more »
Siblings Sara and Josh Hurand in Tucson in fall 2017
Sara Hurand says she’s never known anyone like her brother, Josh Hurand, a psychotherapist in Tucson who has a gift for connecting people. “He makes business connections, creative connections, light and fun connections, and deep and enduring connections. He is meaningfully close with family members both near and far,… Read more »
The cast of Unscrewed Theater’s Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed comedy troop
Unscrewed Theater and Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will partner for a BSTC fund-raiser next month, “Dine and Laugh!” Comedy troops from Unscrewed Theater, an improv club based in Tucson, will perform while attendees enjoy a three-course dinner on Saturday, March 21, at the Madera Crystal Ballroom… Read more »
To cut down on pollution created by gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has created the “Cut Down Pollution” program. “Our region exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health standard for ground-level ozone on… Read more »
Kenny Mirman and Marlene Burns celebrate Purim at Chabad Oro Valley. (Photo courtesy Chabad Oro Valley)
A full array of Southern Arizona Purim parties will ensure that this most fun holiday of the Jewish calendar is action-packed. Take your pick from a string of family-friendly events, submitted by area synagogues and agencies. Friday, March 6 6 p.m.: Purim Shabbat Early Shabbat tot and child-friendly service;… Read more »
Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging continues its annual Three Rabbis Lecture Panel next month, exploring “The Future of the Tucson Jewish Community.” Rabbi Yossie Shemtov of Orthodox Congregation Young Israel, Rabbi Robert Eisen of Conservative Congregation Anshei Israel, and Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Reform Congregation Or Chadash will… Read more »
Girl Scout Troop 613 meets at Congregation Anshei Israel. (Photo courtesy Nichole Chorny)
There is a nationally recognized Girl Scout program for Jewish troops across the United States and Tucson has its own troop. Girl Scout Troop 613, which includes girls in second to fourth grades, is led by one of the girls’ mothers, Nichole Chorny, who is the cantorial soloist at… Read more »
Volunteers pitch in with chores at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival Feb. 9. (Courtesy Cong. Bet Shalom)
Congregation Bet Shalom’s first Tu B’shevat Farm Festival brought about 80 community members of all ages together, including congregants, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation students, youngsters, and young adults connected to local farms and outdoor education programs. “The Midbar Project is a way for our people to connect with… Read more »
Leafy greens being grown under red and blue light wavelengths, which supports efficient chlorophyll absorption.
(Photo courtesy University of Arizona)
A rapidly growing global population, ecosystem degradation, changing climate conditions, and water and land scarcity all contribute to the need for integrated and innovative food production technologies. Researchers at the University of Arizona are testing a vertical farming approach. Fueled in part by a $2.7 million grant from the… Read more »
John Schiro John “Jack” Schiro died Dec. 29, 2019. A graduate of Cincinnati Country Day School, University of Cincinnati and attendee at Tulane University, Mr. Schiro pursued a career in marketing and sales for several well-known companies, obtaining top honors in his profession. Survivors include his sister, Caren Schiro of Tucson;… Read more »
Marla Edelstein Marla Beth Edelstein, 70, died Jan. 30, 2020 after a battle with cancer. Mrs. Edelstein was born in Philadelphia on March 28, 1949 to Shirley and Jules Mechanic. She graduated from Northeast High School and Temple University, where she received her bachelor of science and master’s degrees in education… Read more »
Olivier Lapidus; Dress; Fall 1994; Silk velvet and gold lame with wrapped thread appliqué; Collection of Phoenix Art Museum, gift of Olivier Lapidus in honor of the exhibition Extending the Runway: Tatiana Sorroko Style
Phoenix Art Museum will present “India: Fashion’s Muse” Feb. 29- June 21, 2020. The exhibition examines the ways in which Indian dress, aesthetic, and artwork have inspired Western fashion designs from streetwear to couture. Spanning the 19th to the 21st centuries, the exhibition showcases nearly 40 garments and more… Read more »
Guila Benchimol, Ph.D., will lead Safety Respect Equity workshops in Tucson Feb. 16-17 for the Jewish community.
The national Safety Respect Equity coalition examines issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Jewish community. The movement addresses privilege and power inequity, and devises solutions to ensure that existing structures no longer negatively influence how community business is done. The focus is on the values and… Read more »
Former British Parliament member Luciana Berger will headline the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies international conference on anti-Semitism Feb. 23 in Tucson.
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona will host a two-day international conference, “Contradictions and Tropes of Anti-Semitism,” Feb. 23-24. “The conference will address the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in this country,” says Gil Ribak, Ph.D., organizing committee co-chair with Ed Wright, Ph.D., and Günther… Read more »
Andrew Marantz speaks at an April 2019 TED talk.
Extremism has hijacked the global social media conversation. Most of our lives — not just social life but news and entertainment that form our worldview — is online. The once-beautiful dream of a free internet — now a huge, irredeemable dumpster fire — is increasingly corrupted by conspiracy and… Read more »
The Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is accepting applications for scholarships to Jewish overnight summer camps for the summer of 2020. Funded by the Mo and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Loebl Scholarship… Read more »
Rabbi Nate Crane (center) says the blessing over children during Saturday morning Shabbat services at a family camp at Camp Daisy and Harry Stein in 2018.
PJ Library will partner with Camp Daisy and Harry Stein in Prescott, Arizona, for a family weekend getaway April 17-19. The first five families from Southern Arizona to register will get $100 off the event. “We are having family camp to give families the opportunity to spend the weekend… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El Men’s Club will hold a free health awareness seminar, “The Great Prostate Hoax,” with Richard J. Ablin, Ph.D., D.Sc. (Hon.), on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 9:30 a.m. Ablin is a research scientist and educator who serves as president of the Robert Benjamin Ablin Foundation for Cancer Research.… Read more »
