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Federation Super Extraordinary Sunday is on its way

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is getting ready for its annual Campaign Super Sunday phone-a-thon and Mitzvah Day on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., volunteers can make calls soliciting tax-deductible gifts to the Federation that support Jewish life… Read more »

Vigil on UA Mall will focus on sex trafficking

A sex trafficking awareness vigil will be held on the University of Arizona Mall on Monday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Sex trafficking survivor Beth Jacobs and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will speak and take part in a candlelighting ceremony. Jacobs is the founder of Willow Way, a local organization… Read more »

Cohon awards to honor contributions to Jewish unity

Rabbi Benji Levene

The 2014 Cohon Memorial Foundation Awards will be presented at Temple Emanu-El at Shabbat services on Friday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. Rabbis Baruch J. Cohon and Samuel M. Cohon will present the awards to this year’s winners, Jonathan Ornstein and Rabbi Benji Levene. Both recipients are being honored… Read more »

Or Chadash plans poker tournament and casino night

Congregation Or Chadash will hold a Texas Hold’em poker tournament, plus a dinner and casino night, on Saturday, Feb. 7 at the Tucson Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. The tournament is limited to 150 players on a first-come, first-served basis. Walk-ins are welcome, unless sold out. The… Read more »

Pasternack will join Hillel alumni for pre-game dinner

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will hold its annual alumni basketball event, a pre-game dinner before the UA vs Oregon basketball game, on Wednesday, Jan. 28 at 5:45 p.m. at the Hillel Foundation, 1245 E. 2nd St. The event will include dinner, door prizes, a visit with UA… Read more »

Shalom Tucson brunch is gateway to community

Shalom Tucson will host a free bagel brunch for newcomers and anyone interested in the Tucson Jewish community on Sunday, Jan. 18 at 10 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Representatives from synagogues, agencies and organizations will be on hand, along with the Jewish community concierge, Ori Parnaby.… Read more »

JCC fundraiser to benefit challenged athletes

Mary Kate Callahan (front) and her teammates (L-R): Abigail Will, Laura Haley, Jessica Honea, Kimberly Nicolai, Molly Supple and Halli Schmittenberg celebrate the end of a successful season for the University of Arizona Women’s triathlon team. (Photo: Jimmy Song Photography)

The Tucson Jewish Community Center will present “Consider Yourself Challenged,” a family friendly fundraiser on Sunday, Feb. 8 from 4 to 6:30 p.m. The University of Arizona TriCats will be on hand to conduct children’s activities and discuss equipment and training required to participate in a triathlon. Mary Kate… Read more »

Community foundations turn 100

Tracy Salkowitz

Community foundations are the cool­est thing ever … well, you would think so, too, if you had the greatest job in the world. The first community foundation was created in Cleveland in 1914 by Frederick Goff, a local banker, who understood the need for a centralized philanthropic vehicle to… Read more »

Commemorating the 4th anniversary of Jan. 8, 2011

The University of Arizona Poetry Center will present a Jan. 8 memorial reading from 7 to 8 p.m., to witness, remember, and commemorate the 4th anniversary of Jan. 8, 2011, when a gunman killed six people and wounded 13 others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, outside a Tucson Safeway store. In… Read more »

Former Tucson Mayor George Miller dies

George Miller

George Miller, mayor of Tucson from 1991 to 1999, died Dec. 25 at the age of 92. Born in Detroit, Miller was a Tucsonan since 1939 and briefly attended Tucson High School. He served as a U.S. Marine in World War II, was wounded in the Battle of Saipan… Read more »

Clothing drive to benefit Primavera

Tucsonans can activate the Jewish concept of halbashat arumin, clothing the needy, this cold season by participating in a clothing drive to benefit Primavera Men’s Shelter. This social action effort running through Jan. 4 is sponsored by the Tucson Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Relations Council in partnership with several… Read more »

Tucsonan promotes socially relevant theater, new venues

Sheldon Metz

Sheldon Metz thought he was retiring from a big-time career as an event producer when he came to Tucson in 2007.  “Instead, I’m busier than ever,” says Metz, 69. “My doctor says that’s what keeps me going.” Soon after Metz and his wife, Linda Schulman-Metz, arrived here, he jumped… Read more »

JFSA women seek Zehngut teen nominees

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 »

Proteins, diseases and current research topic for Brandeis

Melissa Kosinski-Collins, Ph.D.

Melissa Kosinski-Collins, Ph.D., associate professor of biology at Brandeis University, will speak on “When Good Proteins Go Bad” at a University on Wheels break­fast cosponsored by the Tucson Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee and the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Jan. 8 from 9 to 11 a.m. at… Read more »

Young leaders’ party to sparkle, benefit teens

Adam and Dana Goldstein at Hava Tequila 2014

“Sequins & Bowties” will be the theme for Hava Tequila, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Leadership’s annual party. The Jan. 10 event, for ages 21 and over, will include a DJ, dancing, photo booth, dessert bar and signature drinks. “We are building on last year’s success while… Read more »

Foundation grant applications now online

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona has made its three 2015 requests for proposals open to the public. Visit www.jcftucson.org/grant-opportunities to learn about what grants are available, eligibility, funding priorities, and documentation and submission instructions. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is partnering with the Foundation to fund… Read more »

Young artists portray Joseph’s ‘Dreamcoat,’ win tickets

"Joseph and His Coat of Many Colors" by Haya Gibly, age 9

An independent panel of judges has chosen the winners of the Arizona Jewish Post’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” art contest, in partnership with Broadway in Tucson. The winners each receive a pair of tickets to the show’s opening night on Jan. 7 at UA Centennial Hall. The… Read more »

Issues of identity at forefront in Tucson Jewish film festival

Lacey Schwart'z film "Little White Lie" tells of her discovery in adulthood that her father was black. (JTA)

The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, featuring several international award-winning films, Arizona premieres, and special guests, will run Jan. 15-24, 2015. Now in its 24th year, the TIJFF is one of the longest running Jewish film festivals in the country. This year, it will include 19 films over nine… Read more »

Pozez music events to probe Jewish identity

Israeli cellist Amit Peled with perform on Jan. 12 at the University of Arizona.

                                      The second Shaol and Louis Pozez Jewish Fine Arts Symposium  and Concert will take place on Monday, Jan. 12, and will explore the lives and music of European composers of… Read more »

Tucson doctor’s specialty is a global calling

Tucsonan Kenneth V. Iserson. M.D., a specialist in emergency medicine, with a newborn under an improvised inclubator in Zambia.

Kenneth V. Iserson, M.D., is a doctor, so he’s expected to help people — but he’s also a humanitarian pioneer. “I’m one of the grandfathers of emergency medicine,” Iserson, home from a two-month stint teaching doctors in Argentina, told the AJP. “I completed the first residency in emergency medicine… Read more »