Rabbi Dr. Howard Schwartz
Judaism has always been a large part of Howard Schwartz’s life, but only after moving to Tucson did he truly fall into his role as a teacher of Jewish beliefs. The doctor turned rabbi uses his time post-retirement volunteering at different synagogues to give lectures on Judaism, and has… Read more »
Esther Jungreis speaks during the 2012 National Prayer Breakfast at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, Feb. 14, 2012. (Photo: U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Tristin English via Wikimedia Commons)
For the past 16 years, hundreds of women have spent summer hours reading books selected by Esther Becker of the Women’s Academy of Jewish Studies in advance of her annual book brunch. Her selections have included novels, mysteries, biographies, essays, autobiographies, and prayer. Although the format will be different,… Read more »
Chelsea Gutierrez An anti-Semitic sticker was posted downtown on Tucson’s Fourth Avenue recently, and more appeared on the University of Arizona campus. “The stickers appear to be the same type that surfaced here in Tucson approximately one year ago,” says Paul Patterson, Jewish community security director (see www.azjewishpost.com/2019/tucson-is-not-immune-to-hate-messaging-fliers-show). There also is the… Read more »
synagogues and Jewish agencies offer an assortment of virtual engagement programs for long summer days spent sheltering from the heat and the coronavirus. The list below includes some items that have crossed our desks recently but it is by no means exhaustive; check with other local organizations for additional… Read more »
Eight-year-old Arlo Foote of Tucson invites kids to join him in a Lego and Hebrew club on Zoom.
When Arlo Foote read the Arizona Jewish Post’s May 1 article, “Tucson Hebrew Academy makes fast switch to online learning,” it inspired the 8-year-old to wonder what other kids have been doing with their free time during the COVID-19 quarantine — and to create a Zoom club for Lego… Read more »
Gianna Lampert, left, and Ruth Cooper
Gianna Lampert, a teen participant in the Tracing Roots program that brings together students from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Hebrew High and residents at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, is the 2020 winner of the Better 2 Write contest sponsored by the Legacy Heritage Better Together… Read more »
Barbara Russek With great trepidation I headed to the Tucson International Airport on June 8. Several friends had told me they would not even set foot on a plane during the COVID-19 crisis and here I was going forward on a trip that would take me through three different airports within… Read more »
The Arizona Department of Revenue reminds taxpayers that tax scam artists do not take a summer break when it comes to identity theft. Thieves use tactics including card-skimming devices, access through unsecured Wi-Fi, stealing mail, hacking email accounts, phishing schemes or using false pretenses. ADOR has prepared a checklist… Read more »
(JTA) — More than 400 Jewish organizations and synagogues in the United States — including Tucson Jews for Justice — have signed on to a letter that asserts “unequivocally: Black Lives Matter.” The joint letter was an initiative of a diverse group of Jewish activists from across a range… Read more »
Graham Hoffman
As I have recently assumed the mantle of the president and CEO of both the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, I am humbled by the responsibility that I now bear as the leader of these agencies and this remarkable community. Authenticity is central to… Read more »
About 150 people dropped off their electronics to be recycled rather than throwing them in a landfill during a Jan. 13 event organized by Tucson Clean & Beautiful. (Courtesy Local First Arizona)
Editor’s note: Updated 6.28.20 to reflect additional businesses signed up for the certification program and to add the Pima Association of Governments as a supporter. Local First Arizona has been a champion of sustainability in Southern Arizona for many years. The organization recently created further opportunities for positive change in… Read more »
Rabbi Sara Metz
Rabbi Sara Metz will be only the fourth rabbi to lead Congregation Anshei Israel in its 90-year history when she takes up the reins July 1. “That’s so very exciting,” she says, acknowledging it is also challenging. “The community, and rightfully so, holds Rabbi Eisen in such high esteem.… Read more »
Drew Messing (Courtesy Messing)
As the coronavirus pandemic got underway, 16-year-old Drew Messing became the designated take-out food runner for his parents, Claudine and Andrew Messing, and grandparents, Paulette and Joe Gootter. “My mom is a great cook but a little while into quarantine my family was eager to order takeout food. I would… Read more »
The Jewish History Museum has launched a summer film club, with Zoom discussion groups twice a month on Sundays at 2 p.m. Participants can watch the films on their own in advance of the discussions. “We know that this is a moment where connection is vital, as the need for… Read more »
A driver from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona senior transportation program prepares to deliver packages from Jewish Family & Children’s Services to Holocaust survivors living in Southern Arizona. (Courtesy Jewish Family & Children’s Services)
Through an emergency grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, also known as the Claims Conference, Jewish Family & Children’s Services has extended its assistance to Holocaust survivors living in Southern Arizona during the coronavirus pandemic. With the $17,000 grant from Claims Conference’s Holocaust Survivor COVID-19 Urgent… Read more »
“It has been another tumultuous week in our community,” Graham Hoffman, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, wrote in his June 17 “Stronger Together — This Week in Our Community” email. Along with the ongoing challenges of the coronavirus pandemic,… Read more »
Kendall, with his advocate Barb Otrovsky, made a boat that won a recent Taglit regatta. (Courtesy Congregation Or Chadash)
Khylie Gardner, communications director at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, says that when the Jewish community comes together, “something amazing happens. Our collective values guide us to uplift one another, helping us to create relationships that are deeply cherished and that work for the good of our entire community… Read more »
In an economy hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, impacts to the housing market aren’t cut-and-dried. Demand for homes appeared to drop along with sales in March, but home prices have risen. What does this mean for the average homebuyer or seller? Gary Pivo, a professor of real estate… Read more »
Tony Zinman, co-founder of Tucson Jews for Justice, attends a candlelight vigil in Tucson June 1, one week after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapoolis. (Courtesy Zinman)
The Southern Arizona Jewish community has joined communities across the globe in expressing outrage at the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. And it is grappling with how best to support the struggle for racial justice. On June… Read more »
Anne Hameroff Retired attorney Anne Hameroff, the new chair of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, wants to see the Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona work together in ways that make them “more nimble and responsive” to meet the overall philanthropic desires of their donors. It’s a goal… Read more »
