News

Americans more likely than Europeans to stand up against anti-Semitism, experts say

From left to right: Ira Forman, Michael Whine, Heidi Beirich and Rabbi David Saperstein speaking on a panel in Washington, D.C., on the rise of the far right and anti-Semitism, Jan. 22 2018. (Ron Kampeas)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s better here: That was the message of a panel of experts considering the rise of the extreme right and of anti-Semitism in the United States and Europe. That was the good news at the forum Monday sponsored by Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. No… Read more »

Doctors, pilots and Holocaust survivors try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport African migrants

Students and teachers from Seminar Ha'kibuzim protest against the deportation of African asylum seekers, in Tel Aviv, January 24, 2018. Photo by Tomer Neuberg/ FLASH90

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Holocaust survivors and rabbis, as well as doctors and some airline pilots, are among the Israelis who say they will try to thwart Israel’s plan to deport thousands of African migrants, even if it means taking them into their own homes. The latest group to come… Read more »

OP-ED The two-state delusion is the greatest obstacle to peace

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Arab-Israeli conflict is entering a phase more likely to lead to resolution than any that preceded it. The mindless mantra “there is no alternative to the two-state solution” is giving way to reality. The Palestinian Authority has never been a partner for peace. A 23rd… Read more »

Will Abbas’ explosive comments kill the peace process?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at a session of the Palestinian Central Council in Ramallah, in the West Bank, Jan. 14, 2018. (Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Oslo Accords? “Killed,” the Palestinian Authority president says, blaming Israel. The Israeli prime minister says the Palestinians are now “unmasked” — but naturally he blames the Palestinians. Notably, the United States is silent. The P.A. president, Mahmoud Abbas, delivered a rambling address of more… Read more »

A son of refuseniks chronicles the slow dissolve of Russia’s Jews

Professor Maxim Shrayer, Slavic and Eastern Languages and Literatures photographed in his office in Lyons Hall for a future issue of Chronicle.

BROOKLINE, Mass. (JTA) — When Maxim Shrayer traveled to Moscow for a five-day visit at the end of October 2016, his itinerary included a trip to the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. Shrayer, who emigrated from Russia to the U.S. with his refusenik activist parents 30 years ago, is… Read more »

UA partners with Israel, Mexico on technology research

Universities in Arizona, Mexico and Israel have formed a three-way partnership to cooperate on research, innovation and entrepreneurship. The partnership is made up of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the University of Arizona and the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. According to Bruce Wright, associate vice president of the… Read more »

Super Sunday will be part of JFSA ‘100 Days’

Michael Shiner makes a call at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Super Sunday phone-a-thon on Jan. 29, 2017. Shiner is one of three Super Sunday co-chairs for 2018.

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold its annual Super Sunday phone-a-thon on Jan. 28, 2018 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Volunteers will call members of the Tucson Jewish community seeking donations to the Federation’s 2018 Community Campaign. This year’s campaign theme is “100 Days of Impact.” … Read more »

UA Hillel switches gears with local focus for fundraiser

Tempest DuJour

The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation is going more local for this year’s fundraiser.  On Saturday, Feb. 17, at 6:30 p.m., Hillel will hold “A Night at La Cage Hillel” at the Stevie Eller Dance Theater building on the university campus. The event is crucial to supporting Hillel’s work… Read more »

JFSA Connections talk to highlight forgiveness

Edith Eger, Ph.D.

Forgiveness is the ultimate spiritual freedom, says Edith Eger, Ph.D.: “It takes forgiveness to heal.” One of the last remaining Holocaust survivors, Eger, a psychologist, will be the guest speaker at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections 25th Anniversary brunch, “The Power to Heal,” on Feb.… Read more »

New shinshinim ready to ‘talk tachles’ in adult ed series

Chen Dinatzi and Tamir Shecory are Tucson's latest Israeli teen volunteers. (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)

Chen Dinatzi and Tamir Shecory, Tucson’s second cohort of shinshinim (Israeli teen emissaries), will present a series of Israel education events for adults, “Talking Tachles with Chen and Tamir” at community congregations and organizations. Tachles is a slang Hebrew word, derived from Yiddish, that means “to the point” or… Read more »

New Hillel fellow invigorating students’ lives

Izzy Kornman

Relocating from Atlanta in the midst of Tucson’s hottest summer on record wasn’t Izzy Kornman’s greatest challenge. She’d already met one big challenge, being chosen as one of 25 national recipients of the Hillel International Springboard Fellowship. She also had to adjust to the Southwest vibe. “That’s a really… Read more »

Ivers bringing Jewish perspective to Irish play

(L-R) Arizona Theatre Company's David Ivers directs a rehearsal of 'Outside Mullingar' with actors Robynn Rodriguez (Aoife Muldoon), John Hutton (Tony Muldoon) and Larry Bull (Anthony Reilly). (Tim Fuller)

In May, the Arizona Theatre Company announced the arrival of David Ivers, the new artistic director who took over the reins from David Ira Goldstein after Goldstein’s 25-year stint leading ATC. Ivers suggested “Outside Mullingar” for the 2017/18 transition season and will make his ATC directorial debut with the… Read more »

New program lets Temple Emanu-El students read Hebrew to dogs

Temple Emanu-El students Nora and Sawyer Sevy practice Hebrew reading skills with Yofi, a certified therapy dog. (Courtesy Marjorie Hochberg)

Yofi has her credentials and began teaching this month at the Kurn Religious School of Temple Emanu-El. No matter that Yofi is a floppy-eared golden doodle. She’s available to listen to children as they read aloud, practicing their Hebrew reading skills. Research shows that reading to dogs helps children… Read more »

Lack of peace with Israel is Palestinian’s fault, U.S. ambassador says after terror attack

Rabbi Raziel Shevach, right, shown with his family, was killed in a shooting near Nablus in the northern West Bank. (Facebook)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The U.S. ambassador to Israel blamed the Palestinians for the lack of peace with Israel in the aftermath of a shooting in the West Bank that killed an Israeli man. David Friedman tweeted Wednesday morning, as the Israeli military expanded its search for the killer or killers, including… Read more »

Steve Bannon, facing heat for ‘Fire and Fury’ quotes, leaves Breitbart News

Stephen Bannon at a White House news conference, Feb. 16, 2017. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Steve Bannon, the former top strategic adviser to President Donald Trump, is leaving his powerful perch at Breitbart News. Breitbart News in a statement Tuesday said Bannon is a “valued part of our legacy,” but various media, including The New York Times, said he was ousted… Read more »

Delta employees detail a pattern of anti-Semitic abuse at airline

Two Delta Connection passenger jets at LaGuardia Airport in New York, October 2017. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) — It wasn’t long after Nahum Amir began working for Delta Airlines as a mechanic that he says his manager started calling him “the Jewish guy.” Then Amir says the manager accused him and other Jews of “killing kids in Gaza.” During the same period, Yaron… Read more »