Local

Homer Davis 10th anniversary celebration includes Maizlish gift

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMEJody Gross speaks to supporters at the “Making a Difference Every Day: The Homer Davis Project” 10th anniversary celebration event March 31. She presented a $12,000 Maizlish Foundation check for computer equipment to Principal Lyle Dunbar, left. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
April 19, 2019 /

A $12,000 donation will fund computers for additional classrooms at Homer Davis Elementary School. Jody Gross presented a check, on behalf of the 12 grandchildren who are part of the Maizlish Family Foundation, to the school’s principal, Lyle Dunbar, at the 10th anniversary celebration of “Making a Difference Every… Read more »

Jewish Latino Teen Coalition lobbies in D.C. for immigration reform

Members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition with U.S. Representative Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, April 3, (L-R): Elliot Baruch, Katie Kantor. Lily Molina, Derek Contreras, Mia Martinez, Amari Lampert, Kirkpatrick, Sofia Lyon, Bella Wexler, Shira Dubin, Noah Richter, Gavin Carmichael Photos courtesy Jewish Latino Teen Coalition)
April 19, 2019 /

Eleven members of the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Jewish Community Relations Council and the Office of U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva, visited Washington, D.C., March 31-April 5 to lobby lawmakers on immigration reform. In addition to meeting with a dozen… Read more »

JCRC volunteers provide lunch, supplies for TIHAN’s Poz Café

(L-R): Jewish Community Relations Council volunteers Jim Rich, Steve Shawl, Ruth Tepper, Jill Rich, Jeanette Shawl, Sharon Geiger, and Leslie Kahn at TIHAN’s Poz Café March 21. (Photo courtesy Jill Rich)
April 19, 2019 /

Members of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Jewish Community Relations Council volunteered March 21 at Tucson Interfaith HIV/Aids Network’s Poz Café, along with other faith-based organizations. The café serves a monthly catered meal to those living with HIV. Organizations supply the food, cooked by the TIHAN chef with… Read more »

Leaders explore similarities in religious values

The Rev. Debra Asis of the Episcopal Church of the Apostles (left) and Rabbi Helen Cohn of Congregation M’kor Hayim discuss Christian and Jewish values at a forum held Jan. 26 at Tucson Hebrew Academy. (Photo courtesy Congregation M’kor Hayim)
April 5, 2019 /

If you were asked to name the “top 5” Jewish values, what would you say? Tikkun olam? Education? Tzedakah?  Community? What if you were Christian?  What would your “top 5” be? Are Jewish and Christian values essentially the same, or are they different? Rabbi Helen Cohn of Congregation M’kor… Read more »

THA’s Kutler finds his personal grit in Ultraman Israel endurance challenge

Laurence Kutler competes in the 171-mile bicycling leg of the March 6-8 Ultraman Israel endurance challenge. (Courtesy Laurence Kutler)
April 5, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

As if completing a 320-mile race in three days isn’t enough, doing it in 36 hours is an enormous challenge. Included in that are a 6.2-mile swim through chilly mountain waters and cycling 171 miles across a desert at the lowest point on earth, not to mention running a… Read more »

Teens, seniors will launch life stories book at reception

Gianna Lampert and partner Ruth Cooper at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging (Photo: Angela Salmon)
April 5, 2019 /

Tracing Roots 2.0 paired Tucson’s Jewish teens with residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging to build meaningful relationships. The program encourages participants to learn together, share their stories, trace their ancestry and bring memories to life through technology and personal interaction. Tucson Hebrew High students met regularly… Read more »

Repertory choir to bring its rich sound back to Emanu-El

Elliot Jones conducts the Arizona Repertory Singers in the ‘King David’ oratorio at Temple Emanu-El on April 29, 2018. (Photo: Celesteal Photography)
April 5, 2019 /

Arizona Repertory Singers will present a concert at Temple Emanu-El on Sunday, April 28, “Psalms of David and Songs of Solomon.” “The Arizona Repertory Singers are one of this city’s choral treasures,” says Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, music director at Temple Emanu-El. “They always bring a beautiful, rich sound to the… Read more »

Federation transportation service takes seniors from isolation into action

Driver Mark Contreras has worked for HandiCar, Inc. for 11 years. Jeanne Fischer is one of his regular passengers. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s free transportation service is available for seniors and disabled passengers traveling to Jewish cultural, religious and community activities around Tucson. (Photo: Debe Campbell/AJP)Driver Mark Contreras has worked for HandiCar, Inc. for 11 years. Jeanne Fischer is one of his regular passengers. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s free transportation service is available for seniors and disabled passengers traveling to Jewish cultural, religious and community activities around Tucson. (Photo: Debe Campbell/AJP)
April 5, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

For some local Jewish seniors and the disabled, transportation can’t be taken for granted. Without a vehicle, a driver’s license, friends or family to take them places, or the ability to afford a ride service, life can be confining. Isolation can lead to depression and affect general well-being. When… Read more »

Montoya to moderate local leaders forum on immigration
April 5, 2019 /

Immigration 2019 is the focus for the annual local leaders forum, presented by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, and the Jewish History Museum. The event will be held Friday, April 12, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718… Read more »

Workshop aims to take ‘awkward’ out of gender conversations
April 5, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor
Amy Lederman, left, and Ariel VegosenAmy Lederman, left, and Ariel Vegosen

More than 60 people gathered at the Jewish History Museum on Sunday, March 17 for “Gender Speak: Understanding the Trans and Gender-Evolving World.” Amy Hirshberg Lederman, a Tucson educator, writer and attorney, and Ariel Vegosen, a California-based gender inclusivity trainer, led the workshop, which looked at gender from a… Read more »

Tucson philanthropist and developer Don Diamond dies at 91
April 4, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor
Donald R. DiamondDonald R. Diamond

The Tucson Jewish community mourns the loss of local philanthropist, businessman, and real estate developer Donald R. Diamond, who died March 25 at the age of 91. His daughter Rabbi Jennifer Diamond and Cantor Janece E. Cohen conducted funeral services March 27 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Rabbi… Read more »

Tucson pilot stars at annual local air show over weekend

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Markzon, center, with his Tucson family, (L-R) brother, Seth; mother, Andrea; father, David; and sister, Heide. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
March 25, 2019 / Debe Campbell, Assistant Editor

This year’s “Thunder and Lightning Over Arizona,” at Davis-Monthan U.S. Air Force Base, March 23-24, brought a hometown pilot soaring into town for the performance. Maj. Jason Markzon, flying the #8 slot, is the only Jewish pilot in the Thunderbirds Air Combat Command unit. The advance squadron’s advance pilot,… Read more »

SculptureTucson promoting art with annual festival

SculptureTucson founders from left, Jeff Timan, Steve Kimble, and Barbara Grygutis (Courtesy SculptureTucson)
March 24, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

The SculptureTucson Festival Show and Sale, the largest outdoor juried show in Arizona, will be held Saturday, April 6, 9:30-6 p.m., and Sunday, April 7, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road. Now in its second year, the free festival will showcase more than… Read more »

Talk to focus on domestic violence survivors
March 24, 2019 /
Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D.

LEAH (Let’s End Abusive Households), a program of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, with community partner Hadassah Nurses Council, will present, “Freeing Survivors of Domestic Violence from Stigma and Self-Blame” with Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D., on Sunday, April 7, 10 a.m. to noon at Congregation Bet… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy’s fifth STEM Festival in the works
March 24, 2019 /
At a past Tucson Hebrew Academy STEM festival, a visitor plays an electrical fruit piano. ( www.thastem.com )

“How Things Work” is the theme for Tucson Hebrew Academy’s fifth annual free community STEM Festival on Sunday, April 7. Many exhibitors from previous years will be returning, along with some exciting new organizations, says Jennifer Lehrfeld, THA’s upper school science/STEM teacher. Vector Launch will invite students to send… Read more »

Winter resident active in Tucson, East Coast communities

Nancy Lefkowitz
March 22, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

Nancy Lefkowitz is a “winter resident.” But the six months of the year she lives in Tucson, “we really live here,” she says, and her community engagement certainly proves it. “Having worked with Nancy over the last several years, I know she is always ready to take on responsibilities… Read more »

Beit Simcha to host rabbi/comedian Bob Alper

Rabbi Bob Alper
March 22, 2019 /

Congregation Beit Simcha will present a Jewish Comedy Night starring Rabbi Bob Alper on Sunday, March 31 at 7 p.m. Alper, “the world’s only practicing clergyman doing stand-upcomedy…intentionally,” holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary and served congregations for 14 years prior to his more than 30-year comedy career.… Read more »

Peace Corps veterans keep giving service where needed

Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Katy Cremer and David Thalenberg at the University of Arizona Campus Women’s Plaza of Honor. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
March 22, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

The Peace Corps takes a unique approach to making a difference. The altruistic, hands-on, volunteer program, founded in 1961, provides social and economic development abroad. Through technical assistance, it promotes mutual understanding between Americans and foreign populations. Many U.S. college undergrads complete two-year assignments in developing nations, often working… Read more »

Tucson talk to explore health risks of Wi-Fi technology
March 22, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor
Magda Havas, Ph.D., is an expert on environmental toxicology. (Courtesy Electromagnetic Safety Alliance Inc.)

Fourteen years ago, Jenny Baldwin, wife of Tucson neurosurgeon Hillel Baldwin, was having sleep problems and was diagnosed with restless leg syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder, making it almost impossible for her to get deep, restorative sleep. But over the past three years, she says, her symptoms “became… Read more »

UA Cancer Center optimistic on new research
March 22, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor
Andrew S. Kraft, M.D.

The University of Arizona Cancer Center performed experiments indicating that a triple-combination therapy might significantly boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer and improve patient survival. Collaborating with researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, the team published its results online in “Clinical Cancer Research” in October… Read more »