News

Poor Israeli soldiers earn cash by taking on rich colleagues’ guard duty

Israeli soldiers rest from training in northern Israel, June 14, 2009. (Matanya Tausig/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Israel Defense Forces takes pride in its status as a “people’s army.” More than just a military, the IDF embraces its reputation as an equalizing force in Israeli society. Every soldier, rich and poor, is supposed to learn during mandatory army service what it takes… Read more »

Secular Humanists plan talk on intermarriage

Paul Golin

The Secular Humanist Jewish Circle of Tucson will present a panel discussion, “Who’s a Jew? Intermarriage and the Future of Judaism,” with a keynote lecture by Paul Golin, executive director of the Society for Humanistic Judaism, on Saturday, Oct. 28, 1:30-3 p.m. at the Murphy-Wilmot Library, 530 N. Wilmot… Read more »

Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak will hold swim clinic

Jason Lezak takes the U.S. to gold with a record-breaking 4 x 100 medley anchor leg at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)

Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak will present a Mutual of Omaha BREAKOUT! swim clinic on Sunday, Nov. 12, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. A total-person approach to swimming, the clinic can help swimmers break bad habits, build new skills, and uncover hidden talent. The clinic will… Read more »

Nations connect, learn at ‘Wicked Water Problems’ conference in Israel

Sharon Megdal, center, with fellow Central Arizona Project board members Jennifer Brown and Mark Taylor at the ‘Cutting-Edge Solutions to Wicked Water Problems’ conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, September 2017. (Courtesy Jennifer Brown)

I recently had the great honor and pleasure of co-chairing the international water conference “Cutting-Edge Solutions to Wicked Water Problems.” Held Sept. 10-11 at Tel Aviv University’s beautiful Porter School of Environmental Studies building, the conference was jointly convened by the American Water Resources Association and the Water Research Center… Read more »

Tucson senior living communities help Jewish residents stay connected

Carol Zuckert makes honey cake for Rosh Hashanah at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging. [Nanci Levy)

Celebrating Shabbat and Jewish holidays brings the joy and comfort of tradition to residents of senior living communities. This can involve anything from a ride to synagogue to holding High Holiday services on site. Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging “Jewish celebrations and services are important because they help… Read more »

JCRC will train citizenship fair volunteers

Richard White

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold a citizenship fair volunteer training with immigration attorneys Mo Goldman and Alan Bennett on Sunday, Nov. 19, noon-3 p.m. at the Federation office, 3718 E. River Road. Volunteers will learn how to help U.S. permanent… Read more »

CHAI Circle to host bestselling author at retreat

Rabbi Naomi Levy

Bestselling author Rabbi Naomi Levy will be the keynote speaker for the 13th annual CHAI Circle retreat on Sunday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, 5501 N. Hacienda del Sol Road. CHAI Circle is a support group for women in the Jewish… Read more »

AJP wins writing, advertising awards in ANA competition

David J. Del Grande

The Arizona Jewish Post won two awards recently from the Arizona Newspapers Association. In the ANA’s 2017 Better Newspapers Contest, AJP Staff Writer David J. Del Grande took third place in the Best Feature Story category (Division 2: Non-Daily circulation 3,500 to 10,000) for “Local thrift store volunteers in… Read more »

In new book, victims of chlorine bomb, anti-Semitic attack, find healing and hope

(L-R) Karen and Myles Levine with co-author Dan Baldwin [Courtesy Dan Baldwin)

During the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2009, Myles Levine was jolted out of bed by the screams of his wife, Karen. Their front and garage doors were sealed shut. Globs of motor oil, paint, and foam peanuts were strewn along their walkway and driveway. A putrid chemical… Read more »

What Palestinian reconciliation means for Israel

Hamas and Fatah leaders shake hands following the signing of a reconciliation deal at the Egyptian intelligence services headquarters in Cairo, Oct. 12, 2017. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a wait-and-see approach to last week’s Palestinian reconciliation deal. Netanyahu spoke out publicly and loudly against the move toward unity between the feuding Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, calling it a threat to Israel and a setback to peace.… Read more »

Is it Islamophobic to oppose the mosque next door? London Jews debate the question.

A Jewish man walking in London's Golders Green neighborhood, which is home to a large Jewish population, Sept. 23, 2015. (Tony Margiocchi/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

(JTA) — A plan to open a mosque in a heavily Jewish area of London is dividing British Jews, with some calling the development worrisome and others accusing its opponents of racism. The Islamic center is slated to open next month at the Hippodrome, a former concert hall in the heart… Read more »

Richard Spencer will soon speak at the university with the largest Jewish student body in the US

White supremacist leader Richard Spencer, center, and supporters clashing with police after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., was declared unlawful, Aug. 12, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(JTA) — The University of Florida, home to the largest Jewish student body in the country, is bracing for an upcoming speech on campus by white supremacist leader Richard Spencer. Only six weeks after Hurricane Irma wrought destruction in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott declared another state of emergency, this… Read more »

Three Supreme Court cases Jews are watching closely

Visitors wait in line to enter the Supreme Court building in Washington as the high court begins its new term, Oct. 2, 2017. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Supreme Court is back in session with a full bench of nine justices, so expect more momentous decisions after nearly a year of caution. Now that the high court is back to its previous equilibrium — four solid liberals, four solid conservatives and one… Read more »

Trump is ready to decertify the Iran deal. What does that mean?

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, Sept. 20, 2017. (Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Donald Trump will present a major foreign policy speech this week on the Iran nuclear deal, reportedly decertifying its compliance with the 2015 agreement. His words, ostensibly, will have consequences. Or perhaps not because of the type of decertification Trump reportedly is choosing. Or everything… Read more »

Federation, Foundation to hold open house at new building

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona President and CEO Stuart Mellan and Jewish Community Foundation President and CEO Tracy Salkowitz at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy Oct. 1. (Martha Lochert Photography)

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Jewish Community Foundation will hold a ribbon-cutting celebration of their new home, the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Jewish Philanthropy, 3718 E. River Road, on Sunday, Oct. 15 at 3 p.m. The open-house event will include food, music, remarks by Tucson… Read more »

‘Stumbling stone’ gives family overdue closure

Tucsonan Bertie Levkowitz-Herz speaks at the installation of a ‘stumbling stone’ honoring her uncle in Groningen, the Netherlands, Aug. 6. (Photo courtesy Bertie Levkowitz-Herz)

Active remembrance can provide an alternative to warfare, and taking pause to acknowledge as well as consider human tragedies may force us to search for peaceful means, says Bertie Levkowitz-Herz.    “You only have losers with war, and killing makes no sense,” she says. “There’s got to be another… Read more »