Local

Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will present “13 Extraordinary Women Tell Their Secrets” at a brunch on Sunday, Jan. 9, 10 a.m. at the Marriott University Park Hotel. The 13 women, who will have three minutes each to share their formulas for success in their… Read more »

Evie Pozez

Evelyn Shirley Whitebook Pozez was “always gracious and grateful to people around her,” says Stuart Mellan, CEO and president of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. “First and foremost, I’ll remember her shining spirit and ever-present smile.” Mrs. Pozez, 84, died on Friday, Dec. 17, 2010. Born in Iowa… Read more »

Inspired by the Reshet network, Congregation Chaverim began a mentoring program in which established families invite new ones to family-friendly events, such as this Simchat Torah celebration.

Last year, Tucson was chosen as one of four pilot communities to participate in the National Reshet Network, a synagogue-strengthening program funded by the Covenant Foundation and coordinated locally by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. Reshet means “network” in Hebrew. In May, Rabbi Philip Warmflash, executive director of… Read more »

The 20th Annual Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which will run Jan. 20-30, will open with “Who Do You Love,” a behind-the-scenes look at the brothers who started the legendary Chess Records, launching the careers of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Etta James, Churck Berry and others. It will be… Read more »

Steve Solomon

Sometimes being Jewish is not enough. Sometimes, you have to be Italian too, to really send you over the edge. To find out more, the AJP interviewed playwright Steve Solomon, author and star of the award-winning show “My Mother’s Italian, My Father’s Jewish, and I’m in Therapy.” The show… Read more »

Dan Terris

Professor Dan Terris, director of the International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life at Brandeis University, will speak at the Brandeis National Committee Tucson chapter’s annual University on Wheels program on Wednesday, Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, which is co-sponsoring the program.… Read more »

Susan Gaeta

The Shaol Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series will present a unique event on Monday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Susan Gaeta will meld a talk and performance in “A Sephardic Musical Journey.” Gaeta’s first solo CD, “From Her Nona’s Drawer” (2009), features traditional Sephardic… Read more »

The Jewish History Museum is seeking ketubot (marriage contracts), wedding attire and wedding photos to be loaned to the museum for its third annual Ketubah Exhibit, which will be held in January 2011. The ketubot may be from any state or country and ‘need not be fancy’ to be… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Young Leadership Cabinet will hold its inaugural party — the Hava Tequila Bash — on Saturday, Dec. 18, from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The JCC will cosponsor the event. Hava Tequila will offer a nightclub atmosphere… Read more »

Cirque Dreams founder Neil Goldberg

How did a nice Jewish boy — and Orthodox at that — create a theatrical circus? “Cirque Dreams: Illumination,” featuring swirling acrobatics, dazzling costumes and choreography, will run at UApresents for five shows at Centennial Hall Dec. 10-12. It all started on Broadway for Cirque Dreams creator and director… Read more »

Natasha Mozgovaya

International journalist Natasha Mozgovaya will deliver a lecture, “Israeli-Jewish Snapshot: Trends and Challenges in a Multi-Cultural Society,” on Thursday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The event is part of the Israel Center’s “Heartbeat of Israel” series. Mozgovaya was born in the Soviet Union… Read more »

Cantor Janece Cohen leads members of the Kol Shirah choir at the Tucson Jewish Food Festival on Nov. 7, 2010. (Photo courtesey of Linda Levine)

Cantor Janece Cohen of Congregation Or Chadash, started a new adult Jewish choir in August with her friend Karla Ember, cantorial soloist at Congregation Chaverim. A month later Ember was brutally murdered. Recently, Cohen was considering a name for the new choir. “I thought of Kol Shirah, which means… Read more »

Jewish Addiction Support Services will present “Addiction: A Story of Recovery” with Dan Stone, LCSW, LISAC, CT, on Sunday, Dec. 12, 2-3:15 p.m.at the Dusenberry-River Library, 5605 E. River Road, Suite 105. Stone, a licensed social worker and substance abuse counselor, will share his personal journey of recovery. Like… Read more »

The Tucson Maimonides Society will hold a dinner next month highlighting “Emergency and Disaster Medicine in Israel and the American Physicians Fellowship for Medicine in Israel,” with APF president Norton Greenberger, M.D. The APF was founded in 1950; twice yearly emergency and disaster preparedness conferences with hands-on training are… Read more »

Asher Susser

Professor Asher Susser, a visiting Israeli scholar at the University of Arizona, will present “The Middle East in the 21st Century: The Decline of the Arabs” at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division Kickoff Event next month. The kickoff will be held Thursday, Dec. 9, from 5… Read more »

Mark S. Smith, a professor at New York University, will present the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ Raphael Patai Memorial Lecture, “The Priestly Vision of Genesis 1,” on Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The first words of creation have inspired and intrigued people… Read more »

Lori Sumberg

When Lori Sumberg sings her original composition of “Esa Eynai” at the Fourth International Jewish Music Festival on Dec. 5 in New York City, she will take a bit of Tucson with her. Out of more than 350 pieces submitted by composers around the world, Sumberg’s piece was one… Read more »

Barbara Ribakove Gordon with some of the Ethiopian children she has helped.

Barbara Ribakove Gordon, founder of the North American Conference on Ethiopian Jewry, will receive the Rabbi Samuel S. and Irma Cohon Foundation Award for 2010. Rabbis Baruch J. Cohon and Samuel M. Cohon will present the award, which includes a cash prize of $25,000, at Temple Emanu-El’s Shabbat Chanukah… Read more »

Rabbi Harold Kushner

Everyone knows people who are less happy than they might be. Rabbi Harold Kushner doesn’t have the all-purpose antidote, but “Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World,” his new book, suggests ways to live more fully. Kushner, author of the international best-seller “When Bad Things Happen to Good… Read more »

(L-R) UA students Meryl Press, Rachel Pergamit and Karin Finkelstein study ‘shmirat haguf’ (protecting the body) with Hillel Program Director Laura Etter.

In classrooms, auditoriums, restaurants, libraries and conference rooms, more than 600 Tucsonans marked the first Global Week of Jewish Learning as they studied a variety of Jewish texts on everything from miracles to Kristallnacht. This community-wide program, held Nov. 4-11, was based around the Global Day of Jewish Learning… Read more »