News

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Amos Yadlin likes talking about the Begin doctrine, which calls for removing existential threats to Israel before they are manifest — maybe because he lived it twice. As an Israeli Air Force pilot, Yadlin flew one of the planes that took out Iraq’s nuclear reactor… Read more »

(JTA) — Israelis want nothing more than for their country to be considered normal. That may have to wait. A much-anticipated soccer game between the Argentine and Israeli national teams was cancelled Wednesday because, Israeli and Argentine officials say, of physical threats made to the Argentine players — including… Read more »

TRNAVA, Slovakia (JTA) — Growing up, Robert Sajtlava remembers playing near what used to be his native city’s Orthodox Synagogue. A rectangular structure with a deceptively unimpressive facade, its ornate ceiling and interior walls suffered extensive damage from the precipitation leaking through the roof and, occasionally, by trespassers who… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A proposal to overhaul the conversion system in Israel would remove its control from the haredi Orthodox-dominated Chief Rabbinate. The chief rabbis of Israel and dozens of haredi and religious Zionist rabbis are objecting to the plan, which recommends the establishment of a new state-run Orthodox… Read more »

(JTA) — Jewish converts in America may have a much harder time being accepted in Israel because of a new set of regulations proposed by Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. If adopted, some activists in Israel say, the new guidelines for religious courts could drive a deeper wedge between Israel and… Read more »

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Like many young intellectual couples their age, Anne Fleur Dekker and Paul van der Bas enjoy going on walks together, dining out, discussing art and attending cultural events. A Dutch couple in their 20s, they have different dress styles — he has a clean-cut look and… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — David Friedman, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, waded into the debate over media coverage of Israel with a pointed request to journalists. Reporters should “just keep your mouths shut until you figure it out,” he was quoted as saying at a conference launching a new Jerusalem… Read more »

JERUSALEM — It’s easy to spot Iris Yifrach as she walks through the crowds in a packed shopping mall in central Israel. And it’s not just because she’s wearing a bright yellow blouse and matching headscarf. Yifrach has been a public figure since June 2014, when her 19-year-old son,… Read more »

(JTA) — Seven Supreme Court justices sided with a Colorado baker in his legal fight with a gay couple. And seven major Jewish groups weighed in on the decision. Six of the Jewish groups disagreed with the decision. But one Jewish organization, the Orthodox Union, dissented from the rest,… Read more »

(JTA) — A bill that would ban teenagers under 18 from marrying in New Jersey has been stalled because of opposition from the state’s haredi Orthodox community. Agudath Israel of America, the national haredi organization, says it supports the bill but that its provisions are too strict. Citing child… Read more »

(JTA) — A Ugandan rabbi called on Israel to recognize his community after the government ruled against allowing members to move to the Jewish state. Rabbi Gershom Sizomu confirmed a report in Haaretz last week that the Israeli Interior Ministry had denied a community member’s immigration application. The Interior… Read more »

  JERUSALEM (JTA) — The idea came to Yotam Gross as a commander in the Givati Brigade following 2014’s Operation Protective Edge in Gaza: Instead of heading back to school after his Israeli military service, he wanted to spend his days bringing people together over warm plates of hummus… Read more »

Philip Roth, a literary giant, passed away May 22 at age 85.  As Charles McGrath wrote in his obituary in The New York Times, “he was drawn again and again to writing about themes of Jewish identity, anti-Semitism and the Jewish experience in America.” But what Roth provided, of… Read more »

In celebration of all that makes Tucson’s food scene sizzle, the AJP recently asked several local chefs and restaurant owners to talk about their favorite spices or condiments. Turmeric, which gives dishes a lovely golden color and a delicious, pungent flavor, also is good for you, says Mintu Sareen,… Read more »

Deanna Evenchik-Brav

Deanna Evenchik-Brav will be the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona recipient of the 2019 Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award, which will be presented at the International Lion of Judah Conference in January 2019 in Miami, Florida. The award honors women who have set a high standard for philanthropy and volunteerism. It was… Read more »

The Weintraub Israel Center, in partnership with Tucson Hebrew Academy and local synagogues as part of its school twinning program, sent a group of educators to Israel this week. On Tuesday, the group was visiting the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s partners in Hof Ashkelon and Kiryat Malachi, which… Read more »

It is forbidden to live in a city that does not have a garden or greenery – Mishnah Kiddushin 4:12 Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, will be a contemplative oasis designed with the concept of intentionality, and a healing extension from the Tucson Jewish Community Center Sculpture Garden.… Read more »

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona will present a free two-part training series this month for all those who care for older adults and want to understand how past emotional experiences affect both the people in their care and themselves. The target audience for “Person Centered Trauma… Read more »

The Tzofim (Israel Scouts) Friendship Caravan national tour will stop in Tucson with a free concert of song and dance on Monday, June 18 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The scouts also will perform at Camp J on the morning of June 18 and at… Read more »

Dr. Ellis Friedman

This is part two of a series on the Jewish agency volunteers who received 2018 Special Recognition Awards at the Jewish Community Awards Celebration, organized by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, held May 10 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Ellis Friedman, Tucson Hebrew Academy A native of… Read more »