Local

JFSA plans ‘mini-mission’ to local agencies
November 17, 2016 /

The mini-mission, an annual behind the scenes bus tour of programs supported by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, will be held Friday, Dec 2, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The tour is sponsored by JFSA Women’s Philanthropy but is open to men and women. New this year is an exclusive… Read more »

Israeli teen brings Jewish Ethiopian holiday of Sigd to Tucson

Wearing a traditional Ethiopian dress and shawl, Leah Avuno displays a tunic that would be worn by a Kes, an Ethiopian spiritual leader. Avuno, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a toddler, is spending a year in Tucson as a volunteer. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
November 17, 2016 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Leah Avuno, one of Tucson’s two Shinshinim (teen ambassadors from Israel) brought more than just her abundant youthful energy when she came to Tucson — she also brought the rich culture of her Ethiopian heritage. This year, the Tucson Jewish community will join Avuno in celebrating the Jewish Ethiopian… Read more »

Weaving community: How the JFSA works
November 4, 2016 / Stuart Mellan, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona
Stuart Mellan

“Weaving … is the essential art of creating the unified out of two opposites. If the meeting of opposites does not take place, nothing is created, for each element is defined by its opposite and takes its meaning from it.” — Dario Valcarenghi as quoted in “The Art of… Read more »

Green Valley congregation looks to expand programs, services
November 3, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Intern
Steve Levine

The Beth Shalom Temple Center, Green Valley’s self-proclaimed “reconformadox” Jewish congregation, recently hired its first membership coordinator. Steve Levine was attracted to his new position for professional and personal reasons, and began his new job in September. “The Jewish community has been very good to me over the years,… Read more »

AS CAI scholar, Diamond to explore 5th commandment
November 3, 2016 /
Dr. Eliezer Diamond

Congregation Anshei Israel will host scholar-in-residence Dr. Eliezer Diamond on Friday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 12. Diamond is an associate professor of Talmud and rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He teaches courses in rabbinic literature and introductory, intermediate and advanced Talmud studies. He is the author of… Read more »

Jewish Culture Shuk classes to include love, death, art, God
November 3, 2016 /

More than a dozen local rabbis and educators will present adult education classes on myriad topics at the Jewish Culture Shuk on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Tucson Hebrew Academy. A shuk is an open marketplace; the Jewish Culture Shuk, presented by the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

JFCS talks to promote ‘Shalom in Every Home’
November 3, 2016 /
Adena Bank Lees (Jacquelynn Buck)

Jewish Family & Children’s Services will present a Shalom in Every Home Healthy Family Lecture Series this month. The free, interactive two-part series will explore the important connection between healthy families and healthy relationships. The series will begin with “Put Your Listening Ears On: How to Create and Enhance… Read more »

Handmaker builds program on strong spiritual foundation

Silvia Risser (center), 72, a resident at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging since January, enjoys a visit with her mother, Naomi Anderson (left), 90, and her granddaughter, Lauren Pernu (right), 22. Anderson currently lives in San Diego, Calif., and visits her daughter at Handmaker every few months. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
November 3, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Intern

Jill Rosenzweig, a local Jewish philanthropist and former board chair at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, enrolled in Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging’s post-hospital treatment program for physical therapy following back surgery last August. She recently returned to the care facility for further treatment. Rosenzweig initially chose Handmaker’s… Read more »

JFCS lecturers to focus on end of life wishes, traditions
October 21, 2016 /

Two experts on end of life issues will help answer questions such as “How can I be sure my Jewish traditions will be respected? What if I want my family to celebrate me and not mourn me?” when Jewish Family & Children’s Services presents “Embracing Culture & Traditions at… Read more »

Jews of the Caribbean topic for Hadassah lunch talk
October 21, 2016 /

Bonnie Wasserman, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Africana studies at the University of Arizona, will present “The Jews of the Caribbean” at a Hadassah Southern Arizona lunch on Sunday, Nov.  13, at 11:30 a.m. at Skyline Country Club. Wasserman is currently writing a book on religions of the African… Read more »

Tucson’s third annual Mega Challah Bake to celebrate Shabbat tradition

(L-R) Fanny Bangoura, Kim Boling and Ellie Boling roll dough in preparation for braiding at the 2015 Mega Challah Bake at the Tucson Jewish Community Center.
October 20, 2016 /

Women and girls ages 9 and up will come together for the Mega Challah Bake on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The event is a joint initiative of Chabad Tucson and the Tucson J with the participation of local congregations and organizations.… Read more »

Local thrift store volunteers in vocational program have a 1st Rate experience

Brian Puffer (left), a Chapel Haven West resident, and Hallah Karaman, store manager at 1st Rate 2nd Hand Thrift Store, share a laugh during a shift at the charitable secondhand shop. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
October 20, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Intern

Brian Puffer says his volunteer work has made Tucson feel more like home, and his new life here is starting to bloom. Puffer, 19, grew up in Tempe, Ariz., and moved to Tucson after enrolling in a two-year residential program at Chapel Haven West, a school and transitional home… Read more »

‘Jewish soul’ singer returning to Tucson stage

Neshama Carlebach
October 20, 2016 / KAYE PATCHETT, Special to the AJP

Neshama Carlebach’s albums have sold 1 million-plus copies — but she views her success as a way to help others through the pain of life transitions toward inner strength and spiritual growth. “Music brings healing to our souls,” says Carlebach, who will perform at the Fox Tucson Theatre on… Read more »

Homeless youth spend a day taking ‘Pictures of Hope’

Annie Schlesinger, project designer at Skinnytees, helps a ‘Pictures of Hope’ student snap some photographs at the Tucson Museum of Art on Saturday, Oct. 1. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
October 20, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP

Fourteen children enrolled in Our Family Services, a local program that provides support for homeless families and youth, pack a small conference room on a crisp Saturday morning, listing their future goals, decorating coloring sheets and snacking on cheese sticks. Linda Solomon, a Tucson native and founder of Pictures… Read more »

JFSA women eager to help homeless shelter

Jean Fedigan, executive director of the Sister Jose Women’s Center (left) and Lean Avuno, a Tucson shinshinim volunteer from Israel, spoke at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy annual welcome Sept. 28.
October 20, 2016 / Korene Charnofsky Cohen, Special to the AJP

When we work together, when we reach out to the least among us, we improve the lives of others while enriching our own lives and our community, Jean Fedigan, executive director of the Sister Jose Women’s Center, told about 90 people attending the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s… Read more »

Joining peers in Poland, local fire chief takes lessons of Auschwitz to heart
October 20, 2016 / Nancy Ben Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

Jonathan McMahan, Rural/Metro Fire Department chief in Pima County, was recently in Poland as one of seven U.S. fire chiefs invited to present a symposium on American firefighting expertise at the Main School of the Fire Service in Warsaw. This was the first delegation of U.S. fire chiefs invited… Read more »

Local firefighters get hands-on training as volunteers in Israel

Southern Arizona firefighters (from left) Marcela Donovan Hammond (Nogales Fire Department), Capt. Bruce Avram (Tucson Fire Department), Chief Randy Ogden (Mt. Lemmon Fire District), Jeremy Carillo (Rio Rico Fire and Medical District) and Captain Pete Ashcraft (Nogales Fire Department) tour a mobile command post in Haifa with Guy Caspi, chief mass casualty incident instructor of Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical services unit (seated). (Facebook)
October 20, 2016 / Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

Five Southern Arizona firefighters recently spent nine days in Israel training and battling blazes with fire crews in Jerusalem and Petach Tikvah. As the latest Firefighters Beyond Borders delegation, they were the first personnel from Arizona to participate in the Emergency Volunteer Project, a program that trains first-responders to… Read more »

Irving Olson, artist, world traveler, dies at 102
October 19, 2016 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Irving J. Olson, 102, entrepreneur, photographer and philanthropist, died at his home in Oro Valley on Oct. 1, 2016. Born on Nov. 26, 1913, in New Britain, Conn., he chalked up the first of many lifetime achievements: recognition by the governor as the heaviest newborn in Connecticut that year… Read more »