Local

Bet Shalom’s midbar (desert) farm project goes to the chickens

Volunteers pitch in with chores at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival Feb. 9. (Courtesy Cong. Bet Shalom)
February 21, 2020 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

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 »

UArizona researchers join team studying viability of vertical farming

Leafy greens being grown under red and blue light wavelengths, which supports efficient chlorophyll absorption. (Photo courtesy University of Arizona)
February 21, 2020 /

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 »

Obituary: John Schiro
February 19, 2020 /
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 »

Obituary: Marla Edelstein
February 19, 2020 /
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 »

Exhibit at Phoenix Art Museum explores India’s influence on fashion

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
February 7, 2020 /

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 »

Local workshops will guide unity against harassment, bias

Guila Benchimol, Ph.D., will lead Safety Respect Equity workshops in Tucson Feb. 16-17 for the Jewish community.
February 7, 2020 / Debe Campbell

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 »

UA international conference to broach global anti-Semitism

Former British Parliament member Luciana Berger will headline the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies international conference on anti-Semitism Feb. 23 in Tucson.
February 7, 2020 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

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 »

At Jewish History Museum, author to share ideas for combating ‘anti-social’ media

Andrew Marantz speaks at an April 2019 TED talk.
February 7, 2020 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

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 »

JFSA seeks camp scholarship applications
February 7, 2020 /

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 »

Mountain camp experience in April set to bond PJ Library families

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.
February 7, 2020 / Lauren Bookwalter, Intern

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 »

‘Prostate Hoax’ topic at health seminar
February 7, 2020 /

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 »

Biographies, mysteries on tap for Brandeis
February 7, 2020 / Lauren Bookwalter, intern
Todd Purdum

The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter 24th Annual Book and Author Events will take place March 4 and 5, with four nationally recognized authors: journalists Todd S. Purdum and Hank Phillippi Ryan, each with a departure from their usual beats; biographer James McGrath Morris; and park ranger turned mystery… Read more »

Matching funds sought for historic borderlands Jewish cemetery restoration

The Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery after a 2016 cleanup effort.
February 7, 2020 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

There is an inspirational feeling when you walk onto the site of the Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery, says Richard Rosen, who likens it to the emotional uplift of stepping off a plane in Israel. “There’s a feeling of positive spirituality,” he says. Established in 1904, the cemetery, just 100 yards… Read more »

Jewish, Muslim sisters explore border issues

Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom cofounders Sheryl Olitzky and Atiya Aftab speak to members at a dinner hosted by The Tucson Islamic center Jan. 26.
February 7, 2020 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

The Tucson chapter of the national non-profit Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom recently hosted 52 international and local members for a fact-finding mission in Southern Arizona. The group of 26 Jewish and 26 Muslim members focused on southern border issues Jan. 26-30. The apolitical Sisterhood strives to build bridges between… Read more »

Or Chadash to honor retiring Federation CEO
February 7, 2020 /
Stuart Mellan

Congregation Or Chadash will host “Celebrating 25 Years of Gratitude,” a dinner honoring Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 21. Mellan will retire in May, after more than 25 years at the Federation. Or Chadash also got its start 25… Read more »

Music is local Hebrew choir leader’s lifeblood

Rina Paz, right, leads members of Tucson’s Shirat HaShirim Hebrew choir in a rehearsal. From left, Norma Torres, Norma Edgerton, Lorena Caspar, Armando Garcia, Ruby Rodarte and Crystal Rodarte
February 7, 2020 / Lauren Bookwalter, Intern

Rina Paz leads Tucson’s Shirat HaShirim Hebrew choir and does other volunteer work within the Jewish community. She grew up in Haifa, Israel, in a large family that was always singing and dancing. Ever since she was a little girl, she says, she has been living life as the… Read more »

1st Rate 2nd Hand, Tucson’s Jewish thrift store, to close by end of month

An acrylic Torah stand was among Judaica recently at 1st Rate 2nd Hand.
February 7, 2020 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

The 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, which was started in 2007 as a way to earn extra funds for Jewish organizations while helping budget-conscious consumers and keeping cast-off items out of the waste stream, will close its doors this month. 1st Rate 2nd Hand’s original concept included having… Read more »

Renowned therapist to headline annual Connections brunch

Dr. Ruth Westheimer
January 24, 2020 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Ruth Westheimer promises she won’t talk about sexual satisfaction in her March 8 presentation at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy annual Connections brunch. Best known as “Dr. Ruth,” Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, author, radio and television talk show host, and Holocaust survivor.… Read more »

Jewish History Museum, AME church reach out to community

(L-R) Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Congregation Or Chadash, Bryan Davis of Tucson’s Jewish History Museum, and Pastor Margaret Redmond McFaddin of Prince Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church speak at the ‘No Hate No Fear’ solidarity rally Jan. 12 in Barrio Viejo. Photo Courtesy JHM
January 24, 2020 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

About 160 people filled the forecourt of Tucson’s Jewish History Museum on Sunday, Jan. 12, for a “No Hate. No Fear” solidarity rally organized by the museum and its next-door neighbor, the Prince Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church. The rally was a response to rising anti-Semitism in the United… Read more »