The Tucson Jewish Community Center is proud to host former UA Women’s Basketball & Phoenix Mercury star, Sam Thomas, for the 4th Annual Sam Thomas Hoop Group basketball clinic for children and teenagers on Sunday, August 10. This year, the clinic will be co-led by Dominique McBryde, a former… Read more »
Delegates to the Association of Holocaust Organizations conference in Toronto, Ontario June 7-10 included Lori Shepherd, executive director of the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, middle row, seventh from left. (Courtesty Lori Shepherd) Each year, the Association of Holocaust Organizations, an international network of more than 130 organizations, hosts a summer conference devoted to the advancement of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center is a proud member of this amazing group of educators, scholars, and institutional leaders.… Read more »
University of Arizona senior left-handed pitcher Eric Orloff, shown pitching against Cincinnati in March, helped lead the Wildcats to their 19th College World Series appearance this month. (Photo by Carson Mayeux / Arizona Athletics)
Eric Orloff looks to his Jewish faith to carry him through challenging and uncertain times. “When times are tough, I know it’s all going to work out in the end,” said Orloff, who completed his time as a University of Arizona left-handed relief pitcher on June 15. “You have… Read more »
Judith Manelis On a recent Friday night, I arrived at my synagogue to discover something had been added to its architectural design. There were large round cement balls in a line across the front of the building and doorway. So now, in addition to having a security guard at the building… Read more »
University of Arizona Professor David Graizbord speaks on "Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?" on May 18 at Congregation Anshei Israel. On May 18, Congregation Ashei Israel volunteers scrambled to bring in extra chairs for Professor David Graizbord’s workshop, “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?” The interest from the 100-plus attendees prompted a second workshop, scheduled for June 22 from 3-4:30 p.m., also at Anshei Israel. “The first part of the presentation evidently… Read more »
Jean Helene Glassberg died May 29, 2025, three weeks after her 88th birthday. She was born in the Bronx, New York. Her family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for a healthier life for her brother, who suffered from asthma. She arrived in Phoenix in time to begin high school, but… Read more »
Barbara and Larry Subrin will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on June 20. They were married in Chicago on June 20, 1965. They met as teenagers at a BBYO dance in Chicago. They now have three children, Brian, Marcy (Jacob), and Joy (Derek), and “are the best Bubbie and… Read more »
Rabbi Helen Cohn, spiritual leader of Tucson’s Congregation M’kor Hayim, speaks at her retirement party on May 4, 2025. Cohn will officially retire at the end of June. (Courtesy Congregation M'kor Hayim)
One of Rabbi Helen Cohn’s goals when she started Congregation M’kor Hayim in 2008 was to have a personal relationship with every member. On the cusp of her retirement from the pulpit at the end of June, it’s a goal she can say she’s met. Her congregants and friends… Read more »
Did you know that every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood? It’s vital for surgeries, cancer treatments, chronic conditions, and emergency care. Whether it’s whole blood, red cells, platelets, or plasma, each lifesaving donation begins with one generous donor. Because blood and platelets cannot be manufactured, volunteer… Read more »
JPSA young leadership volunteers and Handmaker residents with the boxes of school supplies they packed for Homer Davis Elementary School, June 1, 2025 (Photo courtesy JPSA)
Volunteering is rejuvenating and “good for the soul,” said David DiCosola, one of 18 volunteers from Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona’s Young Leadership Division who joined Handmaker residents on Sunday, June 1, for a service and learning program. Nate Weisband, JPSA Young Leadership Manager, created the pre-Shavuot program to… Read more »
Students attend the April 15, 2025, Jewish Student Union meeting at University High School. (Photo: Joseph Goodman)
You don’t have to be Jewish to attend Jewish Student Union meetings at University High School. JSU board members offer snacks to entice Jewish and non-Jewish classmates to their Tuesday lunchtime gatherings, held in the AP U.S. history classroom. “The vast majority of people at our meetings aren’t Jewish,… Read more »
The 2025 Jewish Latino Teen Coallition in Washington, D.C., in the spring of 2025 There is no room for courage if we’ve already lost the battle in our minds. Through the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, courageous young leaders from numerous high schools throughout Tucson, Arizona, were able to further develop their awareness of other cultures from Latino backgrounds and Jewish heritage. In addition,… Read more »
The Greens — from left, Gabe, Ryan, Rachel, Jonathan, and Aaron — were hosts for the 2000 JCC Maccabi Games in Tucson, sparking a love of the Games that continues to this day, with Jonathan and Rachel co-chairing the 2025 athletics committee. (Photo courtesy Tucson J) In a little over two months, more than 1,500 Jewish teen athletes, coaches, and delegation heads will visit Tucson for the 2025 JCC Maccabi Games® & Access, which will be held July 27-Aug. 1. Many community members have answered the call to serve as hosts for the athletes, but… Read more »
Last month, I went to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona on South Country Club Road to drop off several bags of food. When I arrived, I realized that I had entered the wrong parking lot; it was for those seeking food. But before turning around, I sat… Read more »
{L-R): Seton, Torin, Amity, and Debbie Claggett For the Claggett family, the Tucson J has always felt like home. Amity Claggett, a former ECE student and J-Care participant, represented Team Tucson at the 2024 JCC Maccabi Games® in Detroit. Her mother, Debbie, previously worked on staff. This year, in addition to Amity’s return as an athlete… Read more »
Johanna Shlomovich loves giving tours of Tucson Hebrew Academy. “I invite anybody and everybody to come for a tour. I will give a personal tour to anybody to come see the great work that we’re doing,” says Shlomovich, who became Head of School at THA in July 2021. She… Read more »
Congratulations to Lynn Davis, director of the Rabbi Joseph H. Gumbiner Community Action Project at the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, for earning her Master of Arts in Jewish Professional Studies from the Spertus Institute. Davis completed the 18-month program along with a cohort of other Jewish professionals… Read more »
Lindsey Baker, left, and Allyson Israel Congratulations to Lindsey Baker, nonprofit consultant, founder & principal of LR Baker Consulting, and Allyson Israel, entrepreneurship program manager, Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, on their May 16 graduation from Greater Tucson Leadership’s Lead Tucson Class of 2025. Israel was selected as the 2025 class speaker. Both women are… Read more »
Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona has launched a significant new partnership with Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Arizona. The partnership will combine resources to better serve local families affected by childhood cancer and blood disorders. The collaboration has already begun making an impact through emergency… Read more »
In the spirit of honoring their elders, engaging in hiddur p’nai zaken, teens from Tucson Hebrew Academy and BBYO have been meeting monthly with Handmaker residents since September as part of the Better Together intergenerational program. One Wednesday morning each month, residents eagerly waited in the Grand Foyer or… Read more »
