Lilian Spieth at Roma Imports ( Photo: Koreen Johannessen)
When Lilian Spieth bought Roma Imports in 1999, she had never run a business or worked in a restaurant. But her kids were in college and she was bored. “I was a little bit intimidated at starting something from scratch,” she says, but she figured she could take an… Read more »
Sisters Naomi Lippel (left) and Ellie Lippel at Woops! Bakeshop (Courtesy Woops!)
Tucson’s Main Gate Square sports a chic new bakery called Woops! The Woops! phenomenon got its start in 2012 with a pop-up holiday kiosk in New York’s Bryant Square Park selling nothing but macarons, the petite, colorful French sandwich cookies (as opposed to macaroons, the chewy coconut cookies often… Read more »
(L-R) Rabbi Yossie Shemtov, Rabbi Thomas Louchheim and Rabbi Robert Eisen Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging will continue its Rabbi Lecture Series with “Finding G-d (in the) Every Day,” featuring Rabbis Yossie Shemtov, Robert Eisen and Thomas Louchheim, on Sunday, May 21 at 3:30 p.m. “The Baal Shem Tov taught us that everything you see or hear can serve… Read more »
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona has launched “Bikes Without Borders” to distribute bicycles to newly arrived refugees through local refugee resettlement agencies. “Bikes Without Borders” is seeking donations of new or used adult and child-sized bicycles and helmets, locks, lights and other… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum will host “Hidden Ones: A Veil of Memories,” a book signing and talk with novelist Marcia Fine, as part of its exhibition from the New Mexico History Museum, “Fluid Identities: New Mexican Crypto-Jews in the Late 20th Century.” The free talk will be held Tuesday,… Read more »
Matti Friedman is a former AP reporter and author of "The Aleppo Codex" and "Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story"
It’s very important to understand who is feeding you information and why they are doing so, says Matti Friedman, an award-winning author and former reporter for the Associated Press’ Jerusalem bureau. “We all need to be critical consumers of media, not just where Israel is concerned,” says Friedman. “The… Read more »
Jeff Artzi and Joyce Stuehringer are the JFSA Man and Woman of the Year
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will wrap up its 70th anniversary year at its annual meeting and awards celebration. The salute to “The Next 70” will be held Thursday, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Jeff Artzi and Joyce Stuehringer will be honored… Read more »
The “Cruz de los Sepharditos de Nuestra Tierra Sagrada” by artist Carlie Sánchez illustrates the confluence of cultures. (Courtesy Jewish History Museum) “Fluid Identities: New Mexican Crypto Jews in the Late 20th Century” is currently on display at Tucson’s Jewish History Museum. On loan from the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe, “Fluid Identities” is part of a larger exhibition entitled “Fractured Faiths.” The Tucson exhibit offers an opportunity to… Read more »
Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman (Courtesy Lederman) A group of leaders from the local Jewish community recently received a unique opportunity to study 21st-century leadership issues from a Jewish perspective. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona sponsored the flagship LEAD 2017 leadership program, held Jan. 4-March 22 at Tucson Hebrew Academy and the Jewish Federation. A… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona proposes amendments to its constitution, which will be voted upon by its membership at its annual meeting, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. As required by the constitution, these changes are available for review at jfsa.org/constitutionamendments. It is… Read more »
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron In conjunction with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present a free ethical will workshop for the Jewish community, led by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, on Tuesday, May 9, 10 a.m.-noon. Unlike a medical directive or living will, or a will detailing bequests… Read more »
Sophie Loeb Sophie Loeb, a second-year medical student at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, has a strong commitment to care for those in her own backyard. Loeb is the 2017 recipient of the Shirley Curson Medical Scholarship from the UA Hillel Foundation. The scholarship recognizes the commitment… Read more »
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold a panel discussion on the immigration crisis in Southern Arizona at its Spring Leaders Forum on Friday, April 28. The breakfast event will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, with the… Read more »
A parade led by the University of Arizona marching band kicks off Tucson’s 2013 Israel Festival.
In recent years, Tucson’s community-wide celebration of Israel’s Independence Day had grown from a one-day festival to a week of Tucson Celebrates Israel events. This year, in partnership with local congregations, the Weintraub Israel Center has orchestrated a month of events, beginning April 21, celebrating Israel’s 69 years of… Read more »
Michael J. Rosenkrantz (center) coaches Tucson Lobos players Karl Yares (left) and Arthur Parson at the National Wheelchair Basketball tournament in Louisville, Ky., on March 31, 2017. (Courtesy Rosenkrantz)
Why shouldn’t we care about other people, Michael J. Rosenkrantz asks rhetorically, adding that he refuses to live a selfish lifestyle. “I feel like it’s really important to think about the larger community, and it’s not just the Jewish community — it’s bigger,” says Rosenkrantz. “But in the Jewish… Read more »
Rina Paz, left, with Hazel Rappeport at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging (Nanci Levy)
Rina Paz has been visiting Hazel Rappeport, a resident at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, for three months. Once in a while Paz says something in English and Rappeport is quick to remind her that they are supposed to be speaking only Hebrew. Nanci Levy, community outreach coordinator… Read more »
Members of Tucson’s Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition with Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) in her office on April 13, 2016. (L-R): Samantha Ybarra, Sayanna Molino (chaperone), Emma Galligan, Slaughter, Zoe Holtzman, Michael Artzi, Sophie Gootter, Joshua Cohen, Aaron Gomez, Shari Gootter (program coordinator), Alexander Senti, Daniel Vogel, David Bracamonte (Courtesy Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona)
Tucsonan Shari Gootter spends her time changing the lives of others in a wide variety of ways. Self-employed as a therapist and yoga instructor, she works daily to help people as they improve themselves emotionally and physically; however, her work as a volunteer for several organizations in Tucson is… Read more »
Cantor Avraham Alpert Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona and the LEAH program will present two free talks in the Shalom in Every Home Healthy Family Lecture Series, April 23 and 30, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. On Sunday, April 23, Avraham Alpert, spiritual leader of… Read more »
Adam Greenberg was struck in the head by a fastball in his first Major League at bat. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)
The key to overcoming obstacles is setting a goal, says Adam Greenberg, a former major league baseball player and motivational speaker. “No matter what’s going on, always persevere and always get up, because that’s why we were given the opportunity we have to live and have the life we… Read more »
