Shira Ledman 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 »
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu As the first black rabbi from Sub-Saharan Africa, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, chief rabbi of Uganda and leader of the Abayudaya Jews, may seem like an anomaly to some, but his commitment to Judaism is staunch. “I grew up in eastern Uganda with no electricity or water,” Sizomu told around… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, in partnership with The Jewish Federations of North America, is mobilizing a communal response to the super Typhoon Haiyan, which has wrought widespread destruction in the Philippines. JFNA today opened a mailbox for Federations to support relief efforts by the American Jewish Joint… Read more »
Joy Ladin leads a full and productive life, but her path has not been easy. “Very early on, there was an awareness that I wasn’t in the right gender,” Ladin told the AJP from her home in Hadley, Mass. The first openly transgender person to work at an Orthodox… Read more »
This wall at the Holocaust History Center presents information on 120 of the survivors who have lived in Southern Arizona since the 1940s. The center is seeking information on 110 other survivors who have lived here. (Martha Lochert) The Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 20. The inaugural exhibit at the center goes “from dark to light,” with one long wall presenting the history of the Holocaust and the opposite wall dedicated to the lives of 230… Read more »
Shannon Rzucidlo After Shannon Rzucidlo, 26, went on a Birthright Israel trip this summer, NEXT, a division of the Birthright Israel Foundation, reached out to keep her connected, offering resources to help her create a Rosh Hashanah meal for friends. “I think my NEXT High Holiday meal was my ‘coming out’… Read more »
(L-R) Capt. Kyle Canty, Northwest Fire Department; Capt. Richard Johnson, Tucson Fire Department; Division Chief Kelly McCoy, Northwest Fire Department; Capt. Mark Lytle, Green Valley Fire District; Capt. Scott Laird, Rincon Valley Fire District; Tzvia and Emil Riven (in front of Laird); Lt. Thomas Tucker, Tucson Airport Authority Fire Department; and Capt. Kris Blum, Tuscon Fire Department, plant a tree on Mount Carmel to honor the Rivens’ son, Elad, who died in 2010 fighting Israel’s worst forest fire. (Courtesy Greater Tucson Fire Foundation) “We went as seven firefighters and came back as seven ambassadors for Israel,” says Capt. Scott Laird of the Rincon Valley Fire District, who spent Oct. 15-25 in Israel as part of Southern Arizona’s first Firefighters Without Borders delegation. The group sought to learn, firsthand, about how Israel’s… Read more »
From entertainment at the Fox Tucson Theatre to a cornucopia of new restaurants, to entrepreneurial innovations, downtown Tucson has been transformed — and more changes are on the way. “It’s been very gratifying and good for the Fox to offer significant programming downtown,” says Craig Sumberg, executive director of… Read more »
Southern Arizona will take part in the fourth annual “Global Day of Jewish Learning” on Sunday, Nov. 17, joining Jewish communities in more than 40 countries across six continents. A project of the Aleph Society and Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, the day is an opportunity for people in Southern Arizona… Read more »
The Reid Park Zoo will host a Chanukah celebration for the Jewish community on Monday, Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. Chabad of Tucson will rent the 17-acre venue from the City of Tucson to mark the fifth night of Chanukah with a display of holiday lights, light sculptures and… Read more »
Samantha Orzech in ‘The Laramie Project’ at Pima Community College (Courtesy Pima Community College Center for the Arts) Pima Community College Theatre Arts will present “The Laramie Project” by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project, directed by Nancy Davis Booth, Nov. 14-24. In 1998 University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who was gay, was kidnapped, beaten and left to die tied to a fence… Read more »
Handmaker Youth Leadership Team will participate in two community service projects with residents at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, this month and next. On Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m., youth participants and residents will pack care packages for clients of Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network. A speaker will… Read more »
The 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” a dark time in Jewish and world history, will be commemorated Nov. 9 and 10. The Tucson Jewish community will host several interrelated events to memorialize what’s often referred to as the start of the Holocaust, when violence against… Read more »
Gary Kippur The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is set to begin its 2014 Community Campaign next month with a goal of $3.5 million, an increase from last year’s goal of $3.36 million. One boost for this year’s campaign, says Campaign Chair Gary Kippur, is a matching grant for new or… Read more »
Gabrielle Giffords Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will receive the 2013 Jewish Heritage Award at the Jewish History Museum’s annual brunch and silent auction on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The event will take place at the Tucson Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second Street. The award is… Read more »
(copyright Irving Olson) The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division will hold a fundraising event, You Gotta Have Heart, on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. The evening will include a 100th birthday celebration for Irving Olson, the honorary event chair, as well as a live and silent auction of art… Read more »
Rabbi Ethan Tucker will serve as scholar-in-residence at Congregation Anshei Israel Nov. 8 and 9. His topic will be “Judaism and Ethics.” Tucker is co-founder, rosh yeshiva and chair in Jewish law at Mechon Hadar, a New York-based educational institution. Named one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek… Read more »
The 9th annual CHAI Circle Retreat, “A Day for Healing and Spirituality,” will take place on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Canyon Ranch Health Resort, 8600 E. Rockcliff Road. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. There is no registration fee for… Read more »
Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., author of eight books including “The Real Name of God: Embracing the Full Essence of the Divine,” will present a workshop at Congregation Chaverim on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dosick is the founder and spiritual leader of the Elijah Minyan,… Read more »
Hadassah Southern Arizona will sponsor a free education seminar, “Be Your Own Health Advocate,” on Sunday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to noon at Tucson Medical Center’s Marshall Auditorium, 5301 E. Grant Road. The emphasis of the seminar will be on lifestyle choices and preventive measures that promote wellness. The… Read more »
