Local

When it comes to hiring a lawyer, a little homework goes a long way

There are scores of reasons and occasions that may require legal advice or action. When it’s time to find an attorney, making a choice can seem complicated. Take methodical steps to research, seek recommendations, and prepare before you make a selection. Specialty The law is complex and changes rapidly.… Read more »

WIC, Fox to bring Israeli superstar David Broza back to Tucson

‘David Broza & Friends’ will perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Dec. 21. Photo courtesy Fox Tucson Theatre

Israeli singer/songwriter David Broza is considered one of the world’s most dynamic and vibrant performers. From his whirlwind finger picking to flamenco percussion and rhythms, to a signature rock and roll sound, his charismatic and energetic performances have delighted audiences throughout the world. Broza recently told the AJP that… Read more »

Baron Cohen calls social media ‘propaganda machine’

Sacha Baron Cohen speaks at the Anti-Defamation League’s Never Is Now conference in New York, Nov. 21, 2019. Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Sacha Baron Cohen has made a career out of playing absurd comedic characters, from the dopey Brit Ali G to the Kazakh journalist Borat to the Israeli veteran Erran Morad. He rarely gives interviews and stays relatively far from the movie star limelight. But on Nov. 21, Cohen tossed… Read more »

Olson Center for Jewish Life jazz event to launch JFSA NW 2020 campaign

Robin Bessier

Jazz vocalist and songwriter Robin Bessier and her jazz trio will bring the rich history of jazz alive at the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life’s 2020 Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Campaign Kickoff dinner, “An Evening of Jewish Jazz Throughout the Ages”… Read more »

ATC’s ‘Cabaret’ hits contemporary notes

Sean Patrick Doyle (center) and the company of Arizona Theatre Company’s ‘Cabaret’ in rehearsal. Photo courtesy Arizona Theatre Company

“Cabaret,” on stage at the Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson through Dec. 29, “has toe-tapping, show-stopping musical numbers,” says Sara Bruner, who is directing the ATC production. “It’s wildly entertaining … but it also has real meaning.” It’s such a famous show — there’s Bob Fosse’s 1973 film, the… Read more »

JFCS donates local survivors’ stories to Yad Vashem

Susan Kasle of Jewish Family & Children’s Services presents Yad Vashem docent Robert Eden with books of stories by Southern Arizona Holocaust survivors, Nov. 3. Photo: Jon Kasle

Susan Kasle is vice president of community services at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, which coordinates services for Holocaust survivors living in Southern Arizona. For Kasle, a highlight of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s recent interfaith mission was representing JFCS during the mission’s Nov. 3… Read more »

Author to share insider look at widowhood in local talks

Sula Miller

Tucson resident Sula Miller will discuss her recent book “Welcome to … The Widows Club” (CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017) at two local venues next week. Tucson is the last stop on Miller’s seven-state book tour that began in Florida. The novel was inspired by her mother-in-law, Bernyce, who became… Read more »

Amb. Wendy Sherman to speak as J Street honors Gellman

Larry Gellman

J Street will honor Larry Gellman at a Tucson reception on Monday, Dec. 16, at 6 p.m., with guest speakers Ambassador Wendy R. Sherman and J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami. Sherman led the U.S. negotiating team that reached the Iran nuclear agreement in 2015. Gellman has chaired the boards… Read more »

On border issues, Jewish values spur community work

Jewish community members rally in support of humanitarian Scott Warren on Nov. 12, the opening day of his retrial at the federal courthouse in Tucson. Those in attendance included Rabbi Avi Alpert, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim, Jewish Community Relations Council Chair Mo Goldman, Jewish History Museum Executive Director Bryan Davis, and JHM board member Eric Schindler. Photo: Stephen Shawl

A collaborative Jewish community initiative that sprang from the Oct. 24 day of a learning journey to the U.S.-Mexico border at Nogales, Arizona, continues to move forward. “There are clearly two tracks of interest that emerged from the initial education event,” Jewish History Museum Director Bryan Davis told the… Read more »

Hallmark Channel to broadcast its first Hanukkah movies

Brittany Bristow, center, plays Brooke in the first of two new Hallmark Channel Hanukkah-themed features, ‘Holiday Date.’ Photo courtesy Crown Media

The Hallmark Channel will premiere its first two Hanukkah-themed movies this month in honor of the holiday, which starts this year on Dec. 22. “Our audience is very vocal, and they tell us when they’d like to see more of something,” says Michelle Vicary, Crown Media’s executive vice president… Read more »

M’kor Hayim joins URJ

(L-R): Carol Weinstein; Janice Brumer, a member of the Union for Reform Judaism national board; and Rabbi Helen Cohn Photo courtesy Congregation M’kor Hayim

Congregation M’kor Hayim has joined the Union for Reform Judaism, the association of nearly 900 Reform congregations in North America.  “Our congregation began in 2008. Now that we are fully established locally, we felt it was time to connect with the wider Jewish community,” Rabbi Helen Cohn said. She… Read more »

JFSA interfaith trip took Tucsonans into Israeli homes, hearts

Graham Hoffman holds a challah for Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona interfaith mission participants celebrating their arrival in Jerusalem on Oct. 30. Photo courtesy Graham Hoffman

On a Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona interfaith mission Oct. 27-Nov. 5, dubbed “Connecting Cultures, Communities, and Hearts,” 28 participants got a taste of Israel’s diversity and complexity, coming away with a new appreciation for the nation’s challenges, but no easy answers. Members of the group “were touched so… Read more »

Border trip enlightens NW/Hadassah group

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About 85 community members joined a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border wall in Nogales, Arizona, on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The bus trip, hosted by the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life and Hadassah Southern Arizona, included several speakers along the journey: immigration attorneys Alexandra Miller from Humane… Read more »

TE death penalty forum to probe shul shooting

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman killed 10 congregants and injured six more at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The gunman himself was shot but survived. On Aug. 26, 2019, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh announced that federal prosecutors would be seeking the death penalty in the… Read more »

Maximizing philanthropic impact: Why capacity building and unrestricted giving matter most

Graham Hoffman

Philanthropy is increasingly a hands-on endeavor. Donors, particularly in making sizeable philanthropic investments, want to understand the impact of their donations on the causes they support. This approach has influenced the philanthropic landscape, resulting in many nonprofits soliciting program-designated or restricted donations rather than unrestricted support in an attempt… Read more »

Fast facts about the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona

Did you know … that the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is a 501c3 charitable organization? Did you know … that the Federation, in turn, supports six local community agencies that also are nonprofits?  They are the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, Jewish… Read more »

Tucson J and Arts for All will integrate, expand programs

Taglit participants, friends, and Tucson Jewish Community Center staff gather for a semi-formal dance at the J on April 19, 2019. (Photo JCC)

The Tucson Jewish Community Center will expand its capacity to serve people with disabilities by integrating Arts for All, a Tucson-based organization founded in 1985, into its programming early next year. Arts for All provides opportunities for adults and children with and without disabilities to participate in performing and… Read more »

CAI scholar-in-residence to animate Shabbat with song, story

Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny, left, and Cantorial Soloist Nichole Chorny

Update 11.22.19: This scholar-in-residence weekend is supported by The Rabbi Marcus Breger Fund at Congregation Anshei Israel. Rabbi Cantor Hillary Chorny of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles will bring new music and innovative, interactive Shabbat services to Tucson as Congregation Anshei Israel’s scholar-in-residence, Dec. 13 and 14. Her… Read more »