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Tucson Jewish Montessori preschool opening
August 13, 2015 /

Tucson Jewish Montessori, Tucson’s first Jewish Montessori preschool, founded by Rabbi Israel and Esther Becker, will open Monday, Aug. 31. Classes are aimed at 3- to 6-year-olds, and will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with childcare available before and after classes. “Our focus is honoring the… Read more »

At autism forum, educator says inclusion also a spectrum
August 13, 2015 / Laura Wilson Etter, Special to the AJP
Stephen Shore

For some students who have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder or Asperger’s syndrome, the start of a new school year can be especially difficult. Adjusting to new teachers, schedules, classmates and rules can be hard for all children, but for children with ASD or Asperger’s syndrome, changes in… Read more »

Emotions, diversity imbue JFSA leadership mission to Israel

At a stop on the drive back to Jerusalem from Masada and the Dead Sea, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona leadership mission participants, from left, Dinah Lucas, Roe Callahan, Linda Immerman-Stoffers, Ellen Freeman and Priscilla Storm prepare to ride a camel — an activity, says JFSA President and CEO Stuart Mellan, that was “strictly optional.”
August 13, 2015 / Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

“Israel is an inspirational and complicated place,” Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said upon returning from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona interfaith community leadership mission last month. “Visiting Israel teaches that one must have great resolve and still, at the same time, be very open to hear competing views.”… Read more »

Grief group for young adults returns to UA
August 13, 2015 /

Tu Nidito is reaching out to college students and other young adults who may need support as they cope with the death of a loved one. More than 31,600 students will be returning to the University of Arizona this month, and odds are more than 6,300 of them will… Read more »

At UA, new Chabad house adding space for students, family

The shell of the new Chabad UA house was completed last month. (Courtesy Chabad UA)
July 14, 2015 / Craig S. Baker, Special to the AJP

It was under the direction of the seventh Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (commonly and lovingly referred to as “The Rebbe” by practitioners of the Chabad-Lubavitch philosophy of Judaism) in the 1950s that Chabad began setting up permanent educational and resource centers for Jewish students on university campuses… Read more »

Taste of Judaism class to feature sign language interpretation
July 9, 2015 /

Temple Emanu-El will offer its 16th year of A Taste of Judaism, a free, interactive exploration of Jewish spirituality, values, and community in three two-hour sessions. The classes are led by Rabbis Samuel M. Cohon and Batsheva Appel. Over the past 15 years in Tucson, the free sereis has… Read more »

Chaplain reminds patients to notify hospital
July 9, 2015 /

Pinchas Zohav, M.Ed., M.A.J.S., a certified counselor, has been hired by the Northwest Division of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona to provide chaplaincy services to hospitals, retirement communities and the homebound. Zohav notes that hospital patients must notify the hospital that they are Jewish in order to be… Read more »

Tucson J community garden to plant seeds of commemoration, good health

Shay Hammer, who died at age 15, inspired the community garden being created at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Susanne Kaplan)
July 9, 2015 / Sheila Wilensky, AJP Associate Editor

It is forbidden to live in a town that does not have a green garden. — Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12 Sustainability, growing local and urban gardens are trending. But growing your own food has been a staple of a healthy lifestyle over the last century, from the early Zionists… Read more »

STI will include women in Spirit program
July 9, 2015 /
Rachel Leah Mittleman

Women’s learning has been added to the Southwest Torah Institute’s long-running Dr. Paul W. Hoffert Spirit Program, which returns to Tucson Sunday, July 19, through Sunday, Aug. 2. This year’s program, entitled “Torah By Appointment,” allows participants to schedule individual and group appointments with four rabbinic students from the… Read more »

Jewish community leader Irene Sarver dies
July 7, 2015 /

Irene M. Sarver, a longtime Jewish community and civic leader, died July 6, 2015. She was 95. Mrs. Sarver served on the boards and was a member of countless organizations, including Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Hadassah, the National Council of Jewish Women, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona,… Read more »

Jewish Community Foundation grants more than $360K to aid programs in Tucson, Israel

Therapist Zehava Baruch counsels Ethiopian immigrants Fanta (left) and Weinishe at the welfare department in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. A 2015 grant from the Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona to the Kiryat Malachi welfare department will focus on preventing Ethiopian family violence. (AJP file photo)
June 25, 2015 /

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona recently awarded 24 grants totaling $369,817 through its community grants program. These grants are made in three impact areas: Tucson Jewish community, Israel and global Jewry, and Tucson general community. The local Jewish and Israel grants are administered in alignment with the… Read more »

AHCCCS changes are opportunity for JFCS growth
June 25, 2015 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor
Carlos Hernandez

Upcoming changes in the way the state of Arizona will manage behavioral health services funded by Medicaid present an opportunity for Jewish Family & Children’s Services to expand its services, along with a challenge to “improve and enhance our infrastructure” to meet compliance requirements, says JFCS President and CEO… Read more »

Counselors bring Israeli fun, culture to Camp J

Dar Katz (left) and Shachaf Shahar with Camp J campers at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Julie Zorn/TJCC)
June 25, 2015 / Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

As Camp J shlichot (Israeli emissaries), Shachaf Shahar and Dar Katz are here to share their love and knowledge of Israel and Jewish culture with the campers at the Tucson Jewish Community Center this summer. Shahar, 22, is from Yad Morde­chai, a kibbutz in Tucson’s Partner­ship2Gether region in southern… Read more »

On Migrant Trail, connecting Jewish history with modern desert crossers

Eve Rosenberg at the Bureau of Land Management campsite at Ajo Way and San Joaquin Road, before setting out for the final day of the Migrant Trail, May 31. (Deborah Mayaan)
June 25, 2015 / Deborah Mayaan, Special to the AJP

When I joined the Migrant Trail for the last day of its 12th annual week-long solidarity walk from El Sásabe, Sonora, Mexico, to Tucson, we stepped single-file along Ajo Highway in a walking meditation. Periodically, we called out names of those who had died crossing our Sonoran Desert. Some… Read more »

Growing Jewish presence supports Oro Valley businesses

Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman of Chabad of Tucson affixes the mezuzah at the grand opening of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona's Northwest office in October 2012. (Phyllis Braun)
June 11, 2015 / Sarah Chen, Special to the AJP

The Town of Oro Valley is running two campaigns to bolster local spending and keep dollars in the community. The first, Shop Oro Valley Summer Campaign, which runs through July 3, is open to anyone who shops at an Oro Valley business and spends at least $25. Participants are… Read more »

Rabbi touts holistic, kabalistic path to health
June 11, 2015 /
Rabbi Manis Friedman speaks at the Tucson Jewish Community Center May 26.

Good health and happiness can be achieved, says Rabbi Manis Friedman. During his talk, “A Healthy, Joyous and Fulfilling Life, A Holistic and Kabalistic Perspective,” attended by about 50 people on May 26 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Friedman highlighted ways for people to look at life and… Read more »