Local

Wildcat coach to speak at Hillel alumni pre-game dinner

Joe Pasternack (University of Arizona)

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will host its annual alumni and friends event on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 5:15 p.m. The evening will feature Joe Pasternack, UA associate head basketball coach under Coach Sean Miller, who will brief attendees on this year’s Wildcat team. His talk will be… Read more »

UA Cancer Center and Tucson J team up for education series

The University of Arizona Cancer Center is partnering with the Tucson Jewish Community Center to deliver a free, four-part educational series on cancer starting in February. Classes will focus on trends in research and clinical care, from precision medicine to novel drug development to the new frontiers of immunology.… Read more »

‘This Is Hunger,’ coming to Tucson J, challenges stereotypes

“This is Hunger,” a multimedia touring exhibit created by MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger and housed in a 53-foot double trailer, reveals the diverse faces of people facing food insecurity in America.

“This Is Hunger,” a multimedia traveling exhibition created by MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, will be at the Tucson Jewish Community Center Jan. 5-8. The free exhibit, housed in a 53-foot trailer that opens to reveal almost 1,000 square feet of exhibit space, uses state-of-the-art storytelling techniques and… Read more »

Nimoy’s son honors Spock legacy, father’s trek

Adam Nimoy with his father, Leonard Nimoy, in a scene from the film “For the Love of Spock”

When Leonard Nimoy announced in 1949 that he wanted to be an actor, and was leaving Boston for Hollywood, his Russian-Jewish parents were stunned. “My grandfather said that he should take up the accordion,” says Adam Nimoy, Leonard’s son and the director of the new documentary “For the Love… Read more »

Political analyst hopes to inspire at NW event

Micah Halpern

Micah Halpern, a syndicated columnist and political analyst, says traveling the country as a guest speaker gives him the opportunity to help local communities and really get a sense of what’s going on in the Jewish world. “And that’s really the best part about this whole thing; it charges… Read more »

Limmud AZ education day returning to ASU

The third annual Limmud AZ, a daylong smorgasbord of Jewish learning, will be held Sunday, Feb. 12 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Arizona State University Memorial Union Student Conference Center in Tempe. Limmud AZ will include dozens of workshops, discussions, art, music, performances and text-study sessions,… Read more »

Tucson J to host Emanu-El’s ‘Taste of Judaism’

Temple Emanu-El and the Tucson Jewish Community Center are joining forces to bring the free “Taste of Judaism” class to the Tucson community on Sundays, Jan. 8, 15 and 22 from 2-4 p.m. at the J.  Taught by Rabbis Samuel M. Cohon and Batsheva Appel, the Taste of Judaism… Read more »

Nominations sought for Zehngut teen award

The Women’s Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is seeking nominees for its ninth annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl. The award was created to honor the memory of Zehngut, a community leader who died in 2005. Award nominees must… Read more »

Megdal plans ‘Home for Hanukkah’ concert

Bryce Megdal

Native Tucsonan Bryce Megdal will hold a concert, “Home for Hanukkah,” on Dec. 29 at the Jewish History Museum, 564 S. Stone Ave. The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with light refreshments. At 7 p.m., there will be a menorah lighting — participants may bring their own menorahs… Read more »

Local firefighters drop everything to help Israel battle blazes

Randy Odgen, right, who retired Dec. 5 from Mt. Lemmon Fire District, where he served as fire chief for six and a half years, helps battle a five-story apartment fire in Jerusalem on Nov. 29. All residents were evacuated safely and the fire was contained. Ogden, who retired from the Tucson Fire Department in June 2010 after 33 years of service, says of his Israel deployment, “I am privileged to end my career as I began it, running calls and hauling hoses as a firefighter.” (Arik Abouloff)

As soon as she heard about the hundreds of fires raging through Israel late last month, Marcela Donovan Hammond expected a call. Having just completed her Emergency Volunteer Project training in Israel in September  the Nogales firefighter, arson investigator and mother of six was prepared to drop everything at… Read more »

Interfaith vigil to end gun violence planned

An interfaith worship service and candlelight vigil marking the fourth anniversary of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., will be held Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church, 3809 E. Third St. Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim will be among the… Read more »

Jewish WWII spy will speak at NW event

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division and Chabad Oro Valley will present Marthe Cohn,  author of “Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany,” on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. at the Country Club of La Cholla, 8700 N. La… Read more »

Cardozo, Maimonides societies to hear judge

Judge Daniel Butler will present “Your Son Has a Half Hour to Live and They’re Towing Your Car: Making the Most of a Bad Day” at a combined event of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Cardozo and Maimonides societies on Monday, Dec. 12. The dinner will be held… Read more »

Gift cards, prize promotions make shopping local easy and fun this holiday season

The holiday shopping season is officially underway, with Americans expected to spend more than $650 billion on gifts, food, celebrations and other holiday needs. Local organizations are ramping up their efforts to encourage consumers to “shop local,” with gift cards and other promotions to sweeten the pot. “Arizonans should… Read more »

JHM to present play based on novel by Nobel Prize-winning Shoah survivor

Jake Goodman in ‘Kaddish', a one-person theatrical adaptation of Imre Kertész's Nobel Prize-winning novel, will run on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Tucson Museum of Art.

The Jewish History Museum in partnership with the Tucson Museum of Art will present “Kaddish,” a one-person theatrical adaptation of a novel by Nobel Prize-winner and Auschwitz survivor Imre Kertész, on Thursday, Dec. 8 at the Tucson Museum of Art., with performances at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. “This… Read more »