News

Art teacher Martha Rast, left, with Handmaker resident Grace Efaw (Photo: Nanci Levy)

Handmaker residents have been thrilled with the recent enhancements to their activity programs. New art classes and music therapy sessions are furthering the goal of enriching the lives of the older adults Handmaker serves.  Handmaker recently introduced dementia-friendly, accessible art classes in the Tynan Advanced Assisted Living, Kalmanovitz Memory Care, and Rich Long Term Care Skilled Nursing Neighborhoods, which include residents… Read more »

Amb. Yechiel Leiter, left, completes letters of the Torah dedicated to the memory of his son with the scribe, Rabbi Tzvi Bider, as Dudi Berkowitz, right, looks on, Feb. 1, 2026 (Photo courtesy TTC)

More than 600 people turned out to hear H.E. Dr. Yechiel Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, speak in Tucson on Sunday, Feb.1. The ambassador was in town to dedicate a Torah in memory of his son, Maj. Moshe Yedidya Leiter, an Israeli physician and soldier who… Read more »

This semester, Tucson Hebrew Academy opened the Lions’ Discovery Den, a new maker space designed to support hands-on, collaborative STEM learning for students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The Discovery Den reflects the school’s commitment to experiential learning, cross-curricular connections, and preparing students with the skills they need for… Read more »

Antonia Lassar

If you spend any time online, chances are you’ve stumbled across Antonia Lassar’s very funny — and very Jewish — comedy clips on TikTok, YouTube, or Instagram, or caught her co-hosting the “Yenta!” podcast. And even if you haven’t, now is your chance to catch this young, fresh Internet sensation live in her first Arizona appearance on Feb. 21, 7 p.m., at Congregation Anshei Israel.  Lassar describes her Jewish comedy as much more than stereotypical Borscht… Read more »

Matt McQuoid, left, and Zach Glicksman

The Tucson Jewish Community Center (the J) has welcomed two new senior leaders whose professional expertise and personal connections to Jewish communal life are poised to strengthen the J’s impact across Southern Arizona. Matt McQuoid joined the organization in November as Chief Experience Officer (CXO), and Zach Glicksman recently came on board as… Read more »

Justice Prof. Daphne Barak-Erez

In the months before Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets to protest the Netanyahu government’s plans to overhaul and weaken the Israeli Supreme Court.   This attempt at a judicial coup and the attack by the government on democratic institutions… Read more »

Isaac (Ike) Berkman, son of Matthew and Lindsay Berkman, will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Feb. 7 at Kol Ami Synagogue. Ike attends Basis Tucson North, where he is in 7th grade. Ike loves music and is an avid piano player. He also enjoys traveling, playing baseball, and… Read more »

For more than a decade, the Mitch Dorson Scholar-in-Residence Fund has stood as a living expression of the belief that Jewish learning should be engaging, accessible, and meaningful. Established in 2012, the fund brings a visiting scholar or artist to Tucson to offer a popular exploration of Jewish life… Read more »

Martin (Marty) Victor Drozdoff said, “Hasta la vista!” to his body at age 78 on Jan. 14, 2026. He valiantly fought idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for eleven years, which was many years longer than expected for those facing the disease. In the face of his illness, he continued many meaningful… Read more »

Dr. Ben Corn is an internationally recognized oncologist and co-founder, along with his wife, Dvora, of the Israeli-American nonprofit Life’s Door, dedicated to enhancing hope, meaning, and dignity in healthcare.

As an internationally renowned oncologist, Dr. Ben Corn knows “it’s much sexier to pursue a cure for cancer than to try and instill hope.” “But I don’t think it’s any less gratifying,” he says. Corn is a professor of oncology at the Hebrew University School of Medicine in Jerusalem.… Read more »

The Advisory Council on Jewish American Affairs gathers for a group photograph with Gov. Katie Hobbs after a menorah lighting on Dec. 17. (Courtesy of Gov. Katie Hobbs Office)

In August 2025, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) launched the Jewish Policy Index (JPI), an interactive tool to evaluate state-level efforts to counter antisemitism through laws, education and public policy. According to the ADL, the JPI was created in response to an increase in antisemitic incidents in recent years. In… Read more »

I can say without hesitation that my experience so far with Hillel at the University of Arizona has been nothing short of incredible. As I get ready to begin my second semester at college, I’ve been thinking a lot about those first few days on campus — and how far I’ve… Read more »

Local Holocaust survivor Andrew Schot died Jan. 11, 2026, at the age of 94. A 25-year veteran of the United States Air Force, Andrew dedicated much of his life to Holocaust education and memory by sharing his own testimony with thousands across Southern Arizona and beyond. One of Andrew’s… Read more »

Clockwise from top left: JPSA Woman of the Year Anne Hameroff, Man of the Year Andy Kunsberg, Young Woman of the Year Adina Karp, and Young Man of the Year Eric Natter

Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona will celebrate four remarkable volunteers —  and its 80th anniversary —  at a dinner this month to kick off its Annual Campaign.   The honorees are Woman of the Year Anne Hameroff, Man of the Year Andy Kunsberg, Young Woman of the Year Adina Karp, and Young… Read more »

Blake Zoey Belen, daughter of Megan and Cary Belen, will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026, at Kol Ami Synagogue. Blake attends Orange Grove Middle School. She is an active member of National Charity League and a competitive swimmer for Tucson Ford Aquatics. She also… Read more »

Sharon Megdal, Ph.D.

In March, Kol Ami Synagogue started the first Arizona circle of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, a movement of American Jews confronting the climate crisis. The national Dayenu organization has about 100 chapters in cities across the country and in Canada, says Catherine Rosenberg, who co-chairs the… Read more »

“Jewish mothers are the heart of the household. We are the connectors, the planners, the tradition-keepers. When moms return inspired, connected, and confident, the ripple effect touches their children, their schools, their synagogues, and their friends. It creates a stronger, more resilient community,” says Jennifer Bell, left, enjoying schwarma with Emily Richman on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem in November 2025.

Emily Richman was thrilled when two local women, Emily Yasmer Lazarus and Shelley Kippur, approached her shortly after she moved to Tucson in 2022 about bringing the MOMentum Journey of Growth program to Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona.  Richman, JPSA’s chief development officer, had staffed the program in Pittsburgh and knew that in addition to a weeklong trip to Israel, it included pre- and post-trip meetings… Read more »

The Tucson J International Film Festival began in 1991, making it one of the longest-running Jewish film festivals in the country.   Celebrating Jewish history, culture, storytelling, and humor, the 2026 festival will kick off on January 8 with a glamorous, Hollywood-inspired screening of The Property, a dramedy that follows a grandmother and granddaughter on a quest to reclaim family property… Read more »

Last month, the Tucson Jewish History Museum & Holocaust Center unveiled a new way for visitors to hear from Holocaust survivors: “Intimate Histories in 3D.” The project uses volumetric capture technology to create three-dimensional recordings of survivors that can be viewed on tablets and personal devices.TJMHC created the project… Read more »

Rabbi Jodi Kornfeld

Many Jews consider themselves Jewish but not religious. How do these Jews find meaning in holiday celebrations, lifecycle events, and their approach to their shared heritage?   Rabbi Jodi Kornfeld, a past president of the Association of Humanistic Rabbis, will provide answers at a talk, “Secular and Jewish,” on Sunday, Jan. 4, at… Read more »