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Language classes at J can keep brain sharp

There are many benefits to learning a foreign language, such as boosting brain power, enhanced memory, and even stalling the onset of dementia and Alzheimer’s. A 2012 study by Swedish and German researchers shows that the language centers of the brain actually grow as a result of learning a… Read more »

Handmaker, Brandeis to team on art talks

Handmaker will host a series of six art talks by docents from the Tucson Museum of Art beginning this fall. The talks, organized by Ellie Eigen and the Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee, are open to those who have signed up for the series through the BNC,… Read more »

Bet Shalom trip accents lives of those of other faiths in Israel

Congregation Bet Shalom trip participants at the Haas Promenade in Jerusalem (L-R): Morrie Shoob, Alvin Juntiff, Alan Burke, Salley Juntiff, Louise Good, Bruce Dawson, Linda Kunsberg, Vickie Dawson, Andy Kunsberg, Geoff Winston, Sharna Shoob, Bernie Engelhard, Elinor Engelhard, Carol Richelson, Gary Richelson, Rachel Snyder, Ezra Alpert, Maiella Alpert, Sandra Snyder, Allan Schwartz, Anne Kobritz, Stewart Kobritz, Rabbi Avi Alpert

Each time we put together a Congregation Bet Shalom tour, we focus on a different aspect of life in the Holy Land. This time we concentrated on the idea of living as a non-Jew in the Jewish State. This two-week tour was aimed at proving the theory that non-Jews… Read more »

Holocaust survivor tells story to thousands of children via global talks, book

Sidney Finkel, a Holocaust survivor who lives in Tucson, with his memoir, ‘Sevek and the Holocaust: The Boy Who Refused to Die.’ (Debe Campbell)

Sidney Finkel ended his self-imposed silence in 1993 about Holocaust survival as a child. At the insistence of his daughter, Ruth, he shared the story with his family of the young boy born Sevek Finkelstein. Born in Poland to a well-to-do family of seven, he lived an idyllic childhood… Read more »

Tucson Jews for Justice meet migrant crisis at southern border with action

Tucson Jews for Justice members and supporters ready to take donations to the Kino Border Initiative shelter in Nogales, Sonora, from left: Tony Zinman, Marty Johnston, Daniel Hernandez, Alma Hernandez, and Consuelo Hernandez. (Courtesy Tucson Jews for Justice)

What started as a 24-hour community drive on social media last week turned into a tikkun olam (repairing the world) mission for Tucson Jews for Justice, coinciding with World Refugee Day, June 20. “It’s difficult to hear the news of what’s going on,” says Alma Hernandez, referring to the… Read more »

Tucson J to let adults in on summer camp fun

Summer camp is not just for kids anymore. Summer camps targeted for adults are popping up throughout the country, and Tucson is embracing the trend. The Tucson Jewish Community Center will launch its first One Day Adult Summer Camp on Sunday, July 29. The Foundation for Jewish Camping says,… Read more »

JHM seeks family photos for exhibit on Jewish arrival in Southern Arizona

The Jewish History Museum will stage a digital exhibit, “Mapping Migration,” that documents the trajectory of Jewish community migration to Southern Arizona through triptychs comprising historical to contemporary family photos. The exhibit will open Sept. 1. “Two things I particularly love about this concept are that it is inclusive… Read more »

Meet the millennial Mexican-American Jewish woman running for office on the southern border

Alma Hernandez, a Mexican-American Jew and daughter of immigrants, is running for the Arizona House of Representatives and founded a progressive Jewish group in Tucson. (Courtesy of Hernandez)

(JTA) — Less than one day after Alma Hernandez began a Jewish fundraiser for migrants on the southern border, she had an SUV full of food, diapers and hygienic products ready to donate. Hernandez loaded the vehicle with goods bought with donations on Wednesday afternoon. The following day she… Read more »

These Jewish Arizona activists are fighting against family separation on the border

Alma Hernandez, a Mexican-American Jew and daughter of immigrants, is running for the Arizona House of Representatives and founded a progressive Jewish group in Tucson. (Courtesy of Hernandez)

(JTA) — When Mary McCabe explains America’s immigration courts to children who have been separated from their parents, she tries to make it interactive. She draws a sketch of a courtroom and asks kids to identify the figures in the room — like the judge or the lawyers —… Read more »

People in the news 6.15.18

Steven Meckler

Tucson photographer STEVEN MECKLER will receive the American Advertising Federation Silver Medal Award at the Tucson Advertising Hall of Achievement event on Sept. 6 at Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort. The Silver Medal is a nationally recognized award that honors men and women who have made significant contributions… Read more »

CCC program aims to bolster ‘The Connection’

Students at the Bais Medrash of the Foxman Torah Institute in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, study with Rabbi Shimon Max. (Foxman Torah Institute)

Two rabbis and 12 yeshiva students from New Jersey will join forces with Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim and the Southwest Torah Institute later this month for a multifaceted program called “The Connection.” The goal of the free, three-week program is “to help the Jewish… Read more »

Honored with renaming of law center, Kozolchyk discusses trade, identity

Tucson Tikkun Community member Michael Rohrbach (left) and Billie Kozolchyk enjoy her husband Boris’ comments in his talk at a Tucson Tikkum Community meeting held May 28 at the Sonora Cohousing multipurpose room. (Korene Charnofsky Cohen)

There is hope for better international trade relations if leaders will adhere to basic ideas of fairness, good faith and honesty, says Boris Kozolchyk, S.J.D., a world-renowned expert on international banking and commercial law. He is the founder of the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, a nonprofit… Read more »

Aphasia Center of Tucson helps patients regain talk, laughter, life

Volunteers at the Aphasia Center of Tucson practice a memory game with Director Fabi Hirsch (right).(Debe Campbell)

Former U.S. congressional representative and Tucson resident Gabrielle Giffords brought aphasia into the public eye during recovery from the 2011 mass shooting at her “Congress on Your Corner” event in northwest Tucson. Two million people in the United States have aphasia, a communication disorder, but 84.5 percent of Americans… Read more »

Tucson Jewish community has long, proud history of embracing refugees

Factory owner Bruce Beyer (rear, in green) with newly hired refugees and other employees, June 1. (Debe Campbell)

“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. You only run for the border when you see the whole city running as well. No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.” — Refugee poet Warsan Shire Each… Read more »

Museum honorees have deep roots in Tucson

Lynda Rogoff, left, and Linda Tumarkin

This is the final part of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2018 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Community Awards Celebration, held May 10. The Jewish History Museum recognized a pair of volunteers, Lynda Rogoff and Linda Tumarkin, for outstanding service, because they are such… Read more »

UA hosts talks by Israeli water, energy experts

Uri Shani at May 21 University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center lecture on "The Red-Dead Conduit — A Regional Approach to Water Scarcity.”

As part of the University of Arizona Water Resources Research Center’s ongoing efforts to compare water management experiences of Israel and Arizona, the WRRC has scheduled two lectures this spring  and summer. On May 21, Uri Shani, Ph.D., a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, presented “The Red-Dead… Read more »

THA grads blend fun, spirituality on Israel trip

The group made its first visit and shehecheyanu (blessing for new experiences) at the Kotel on Wednesday, May 9, and returned to the Western Wall for a pre-sunset Kabbalat Shabbat on Friday, May 11. (Courtesy Tucson Hebrew Academy)

Tucson Hebrew Academy eighth graders enjoyed the annual graduation trip to Israel, May 6-17. Highlights included an archeological dig at Beit Guvrin and Bar Kochva Caves, and a Bedouin experience with a drum circle and desert tent sleepover in Kfar HaNokdim, along with the requisite camel ride. Unique on… Read more »

Tucson chefs reveal the spices and condiments that make their dishes sing

In celebration of all that makes Tucson’s food scene sizzle, the AJP recently asked several local chefs and restaurant owners to talk about their favorite spices or condiments. Turmeric, which gives dishes a lovely golden color and a delicious, pungent flavor, also is good for you, says Mintu Sareen,… Read more »