Local

Relocating her well established Red Herring Puppets studio from North Carolina to Tucson last year was a big move for Lisa Amie Sturz. She brings to the Old Pueblo 40 years of experience in building, performing, and directing puppetry for film and television, theater, museums, educational institutions, and special… Read more »

Chabad of Oro Valley will host a community-wide event addressing safety and security on Sunday, Feb. 9, at 2 p.m.. The Oro Valley Police Department will present an “active shooter response” class to provide attendees with strategies for dangerous situations. Since the recent violent attacks against Jewish communities, including… Read more »

The Jewish History Museum is sponsoring “In Diaspora We Are Many,” a festival that explores the Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish cultures. The festival will take place Friday, Jan. 31 through Sunday, Feb. 2.  This is the museum’s first Sephardic and Mizrahi festival.    “We are holding a Sephardic and… Read more »

A multi-generational group of more than 100 women gathered Jan. 8 at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy for an evening of food and drink, mah jongg — with many newcomers learning the game— and giving, hosted by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Women’s… Read more »

Esther Sherberg, a longtime Tucson resident and Jewish community volunteer, died Jan. 9, 2020, at the age of 86. Services were held Jan. 10 at Evergreen Mortuary, with Rabbi Robert Eisen of Congregation Anshei Israel officiating. Interment was in St. Louis, Missouri. Ms. Sherberg was born Oct. 1, 1933… Read more »

Susan Claassen will star in the Invisible Theatre’s production of “Becoming Dr. Ruth,” a one-woman show by Mark St. Germain, which will run Feb. 11-23. “It is a privilege and awesome responsibility to portray this amazing and iconic woman who has been a Jewish ‘She-ro’ to so many including… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is planning its annual Super Sunday phone-a-thon this year for Jan. 26. The event, which raises funds for the 2020 Community Campaign, will be held 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in a new venue: the Deanna and Harvey Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy at 3718… Read more »

Did you know … that in addition to the programs, synagogues, and agencies the Federation helps fund in Southern Arizona, it supports Jewish communities in Israel, the former Soviet Union, and more than 70 countries around the world? Did you know … that the Free Loan, a non-sectarian program… Read more »

Michael Beller, left, and Josh Kay

Only 12 states currently require schools to teach students about the Holocaust. Michael Beller and Josh Kay, the founders of Arizona Teaching the Holocaust, want to make Arizona state number 13. “It’s important to me that Holocaust education stay at the forefront,” Beller said. “We want to ensure that… Read more »

Paul Patterson

Continued attacks on Jewish targets are a reminder that individual organizations clearly need to be more attentive, and they are stepping up to that,” says Stuart Mellan, CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. “We see a higher level of vigilance than ever before.” “The Jewish… Read more »

On a recent return visit to Tucson, Adam Scott Bellos, founder of The Israel Innovation Fund, told the AJP it felt like “coming full circle for me.” Bellos says the unique Zionist nonprofit has its roots at the University of Arizona, where he spent three years in Judaic studies… Read more »

Award-winning writer and director Yehonatan Indursky, co-creator of Israel’s award-winning TV series “Shtisel,” will speak on Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. as part of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series. The free lecture will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community Center,… Read more »

The Israel Innovation Fund’s Wine on the Vine initiative allows people to plant a grapevine in Israel in the name of a loved one for $18. The Tucson Jewish Community Center is one of the first five JCCs in the United States to partner with Wine on the Vine.… Read more »

The University of Arizona Colleges of Medicine in Tucson and Phoenix began providing free tuition in the spring semester to students who agree to practice primary care in a federally designated underserved community in Arizona for at least two years after completing their residency. This is a move to… Read more »

Esther Sternberg, M.D.

A new study suggests that relative humidity levels in the office can affect stress and potentially sleep quality, and cost employers in terms of productivity and sick leave. The study is by Esther Sternberg, M.D., director of the University of Arizona Institute on Place, Wellbeing and Performance and research… Read more »

It’s another election year, and that’s a bonanza for the Capitol Steps, the singing satirists from D.C. who will take the stage at the Fox Tucson Theatre next month in a benefit performance for the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation. “That will be a fun time because that will… Read more »

Members of Congregation Or Chadash and Temple Emanu-El joined for a 100 Menorah Celebration, an Or Chadash tradition, at Temple Emanu-El on Friday, Dec. 27. After a light supper, participants lit menorahs in the sanctuary, lending their glow to the holiday Shabbat service led by clergy from both congregations.… Read more »

About 100 people attended Congregation Chofetz Chayim’s dinner party on Sunday, Dec. 29, celebrating both the final night of Hanukkah and Rabbi and Esther Becker’s 40th year in Tucson.… Read more »

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Inbal Shtivi, director of the Weintraub Israel Center and one of Tucson’s shlichim (Israeli emissaries), and her family hosted a Hanukkah open house on Thursday, Dec. 26, the fifth night of the holiday, with food, fellowship, and song. Here, Shtivi (left) and Cantorial Soloist Sara Golan Mussman prepare to… Read more »