More than 100 teens who otherwise may have never met have shared their cultures through the Jewish Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded by Rep. Raul Grijalva and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. The purpose of the coalition, which may be the… Read more »
Local
In response to Turner syndrome, overcoming obstacles
When Renee Bailey was 10 years old her mother, a registered nurse, thought she was a picky eater. “My mom saw me in a play, I think it was Yankee Doodle Dandy, and I was way shorter than the other kids,” recalls Bailey, now 36. “We went to an… Read more »
Native Israeli arts advocate sparks changes at UApresents
Itzik Becher, the new development director of UApresents, started singing in Israel when he was 17. He’s been singing about the arts ever since. After arriving at the University of Arizona in January, Becher discovered that “in Tucson people look at the arts like any other necessity. The arts… Read more »
Family activities take center stage on Global Day of Jewish Learning
As part of the Global Day of Jewish Learning on Sunday, Nov. 17, the PJ Library and the Tucson Jewish Community Center cosponsored an afternoon of young children’s events at the JCC. The focus was Shabbat family practice and there were plenty of hands-on activities to capture the attention… Read more »
Rare illness, reconstruction and unwavering faith bring Israeli to Tucson
Yael Schwob, 21, of Rekhasim, Israel, suffers from arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a rare congenital disease that can cause severe bleeding episodes. The condition is difficult to treat and can be fatal. Yael’s AVM has manifested on her face, disfiguring her extensively. She and her father, Rabbi Yaakov Schwob, are… Read more »
UA student’s family honored for fighting mental illness
The following is taken from a talk Sarah L. Ashford gave in September when she accepted the Daniel Moreno Recovery Award from the Aurora Foundation on behalf of her family. Her parents, Daniel Ashford and Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford, are both natives of Nogales, Ariz. Sarah is a descendant of… Read more »
‘Living Jewish heritage’ through JFSA mission
In November, 33 Tucsonans traveled to Israel under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona — some for the first time, some for the 35th time, and everything in between. The mission was personalized to accommodate these varying degrees of experience, with optional side trips to Petra… Read more »
Museum seeks director as Warshaw retires
Eileen Warshaw is stepping down at the end of January as executive director of the Jewish History Museum, an institution she helped create. “I am retiring because a decade of commitment here has laid a great foundation. Now it’s time for new energy, new thoughts, new programming to come… Read more »
JCRC, Latino community pursuing new collaborations
Building on the success of the Jewish-Latino Teen Coalition, a program founded almost 10 years ago by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the office of U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva, the JCRC is seeking new ways to strengthen relations between the Jewish… Read more »
Pre, post-war NYC photos focus of Pozez talk
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ Shaol and Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series will present “Walkers in the City: Young Jewish Women with Cameras” with Deborah Dash Moore on Monday, Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Beginning in the 1930s, Jewish photographers established a… Read more »
JCC to spin for Special Olympics
The Tucson Jewish Community Center is taking part in the JCC Association’s stationary bike event, Cycle for Good, on Sunday, Dec. 8. Thanks to staggered start times, participants in Cycle for Good will be riding bikes at the same time in JCCs across North America. Every year, Cycle for… Read more »
Pasternack will speak at UA Hillel alumni and friends dinner
The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation will hold its annual alumni and friends dinner on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 5:45 p.m. at the Meyer Agron Center for Jewish Life on the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Campus, 1245 E. Second St. UA basketball associate head coach Joe Pasternack, now in… Read more »
Tucson panel examines Pew portrait of U.S. Jews
Statistics can be overwhelming and the results can be taken out of context. Tucson rabbis and academics sought to put the recent Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project’s “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” into perspective during a panel discussion at Congregation Anshei Israel on Nov. 3. “Before we… Read more »
Klezmatics to play new, classic sounds at Fox
The Klezmatics are coming to town for a concert at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 5. Since the band’s formation more than 25 years ago, the Klezmatics have led a renaissance of the Eastern European Jewish music known as klezmer. They have performed in more than 20… Read more »
National Israel Action Network brings outreach training here
Tucson has been earmarked as one of five U.S. communities facing serious Israel delegitimization challenges. Noam Gilboord, director of community strategy for the Israel Action Network, a project of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, came here from New York last month… Read more »
In UA happiness talks, mind-body links touted
Happiness sure is popular in Tucson. Esther Sternberg, M.D., and David Raichlen, Ph.D., two Jewish professors at the University of Arizona, addressed the subject as part of the recent Happiness Downtown Lecture Series, held at the Fox Tucson Theatre. The UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences presented five… Read more »
Creativity expert to lead adults in brain games at JCC
What do you see when you look at the word “E K O R T S”? Here’s a clue: It’s a rebus, which Paul Fisher describes as “an enigmatic representation of a name, work, phrase or idea, by pictures, words, prepositions, groupings, comparisons or contrasts; or where a punning… Read more »
Cantor to highlight Jewish world music for Hadassah
Cantor Avi Alpert will speak on “Jewish Music Around the World” at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s luncheon on Sunday, Dec. 8 at noon at McMahon’s Restaurant, 2959 N. Swan Road. The presentation will include video and vocals. Alpert, the cantor at Congregation Bet Shalom, holds a bachelor’s degree in music… Read more »
Adult ed series to probe American Jewish experience
A new adult educational collaboration, “The Buzz,” will begin next month with a community discussion, “That’s Funny … You don’t LOOK Jewish: Being Jewish in America Today” with Amy Hirshberg Lederman. The series is a collaborative effort of the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »
Ledman leaving JFCS on steady course
Five years ago, when Shira Ledman took the helm at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, her husband, Bob, relocated with her to Tucson. Now it is her turn to follow her husband, a professor of business, as he takes a job with South University in Austin,… Read more »