News

Israelis are throwing themselves one-of-a kind weddings in nature

Shani and Ran Maaman embrace under the huppah at their wedding in the Judean Desert, May 11, 2017. (Dana Bar-On)
October 6, 2017 / Andrew Tobin, JTA

TEL AVIV (JTA) – In this tiny country, there are only so many places to have a wedding. Or so you would think. But a growing number of Israelis are creating one-of-a-kind outdoor weddings from the ground up. In some cases, they even start with the ground. “We brought in bulldozers for one couple,” said Ori Fuks, an Israeli… Read more »

OP-ED As Orthodox community grows, study of all Jews reveals stark contrasts

The Orthodox Union's youth organization sold more than 4,000 tickets to Six Flags Great Adventure on the first day of chol hamoed, Passover's intermediate days, April 25, 2016. (Uriel Heilman)
October 6, 2017 / Lawrence Grossman, JTA

  (JTA) — The 2013 Pew survey “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” shows that Orthodox Judaism, while currently attracting the allegiance of only about 10 percent of all American Jews, is the fastest growing sector of the community. The high birthrate and retention rate confirmed by the survey have led some observers to predict that within a generation, American Jewry will… Read more »

OP-ED Why I traveled to Las Vegas to help after the deadly shooting

LAS VEGAS, NV - OCTOBER 2: Mourners attend a candlelight vigil at the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard for the victims of Sunday night's mass shooting, October 2, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Late Sunday night, a lone gunman killed more than 50 people and injured more than 500 people after he opened fire on a large crowd at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music festival. The massacre is one of the deadliest mass shooting events in U.S. history. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
October 6, 2017 / Alissa Thomas-Newborn, JTA

  LAS VEGAS (JTA) — We just got into our car and drove. Going to Las Vegas after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history felt like the right thing to do. As Americans and as Jews, we wanted to be a source of support and love in the face… Read more »

Local teens bring passion, talent and caring to b’nai mitzvah projects

David Jurkowitz plays piano for residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Sept. 22. [Courtesy Lisa Jurkowitz)
October 6, 2017 / Kaye Patchett, Special to the AJP

For Jewish teens, a bar or bat mitzvah project is an opportunity to learn more about their responsibilities as Jewish adults. It’s a  hands-on way to learn the meaning of tikkun olam (repairing the world), and serve the community in personally meaningful ways. Several Tucson Jewish teens shared with… Read more »

Cantor becomes rabbi, and Bet Shalom plans gala in celebration

Rabbi Avraham Alpert of Tucson speaks at his ordination at the Stephen Wise Temple in Los Angeles on May 29. (Photo: Aly Blue Photography)
October 6, 2017 / Korene Charnofsky Cohen, Special to the AJP

Congregation Bet Shalom will celebrate the recent ordination of Rabbi Hazzan Avraham “Avi” Alpert next month at a gala event. Alpert says he’s both humbled by the attention and excited because the event supports his mission of reaching out to the entire Jewish community. Alpert’s personal journey began when… Read more »

With America’s blessing, Abbas signals a reconciliation with Hamas

President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, May 23, 2017. (Flash90)
October 3, 2017 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration is encouraging the Palestinian Authority to assume control of the Gaza Strip and leaving the door open for a role by Hamas in the subsequent Palestinian government. But if such a move was once seen as a traditional predicate to a two-state… Read more »

Barcelona chaos had this Israeli reporter-turned-lawmaker dodging bullets

Police dispersing a crowd in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, Oct. 1, 2017. (David Ramos/Getty Images)
October 2, 2017 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

(JTA) — Seeing armed police in riot gear outside a school in Barcelona, the Israeli lawmaker Ksenia Svetlova felt the instincts kick in from her days as a Middle East reporter for Russian-language media. “One look was enough to see these officers were preparing for something bad,” said Svetlova, a… Read more »

An Israeli trauma expert predicted a Las Vegas attack three years ago

Dr. Avi Rivkind. in scrubs, cares for an injured person. Rivkind has pioneered treatments for terror victims based on his experience in Israel. (Courtesy of Hadassah Medical Center)
October 2, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

(JTA) — When Dr. Avi Rivkind landed in Las Vegas three years ago to lecture as a trauma care expert, he saw something that troubled him. The airport, McCarran International, felt too open, almost exposed. He felt no less comfortable on the city’s Strip while watching crowds flow from… Read more »

Josh Gad honors his Holocaust survivor grandparents with role in ‘Marshall’

Josh Gad, left, and Chadwick Boseman in a scene from “Marshall.” (Barry Wetcher)
October 1, 2017 / Curt Schleier, JTA

  (JTA) — Actor Josh Gad may be best known for voicing Olaf in the animated Disney hit “Frozen” and originating the role of Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Tony Award-winning musical “The Book of Mormon.” He’s also been a correspondent for “The Daily Show,” co-starred with Billy Crystal in the… Read more »

Mark Feuerstein dishes on his very Jewy new sitcom, ‘9JKL’

Mark Feuerstein as Josh, Liza Lapira as Eve, David Walton as Andrew, Linda Lavin as Judy and Elliott Gould as Harry in a scene from "9JKL." (Cliff Lipson/CBS Broadcasting Inc.)
October 1, 2017 / Cindy Sher, JUF News via JTA

  CHICAGO (JUF News via JTA) — A grown man moves into a New York apartment sandwiched between his meddlesome, boundary-less parents on one side and his brother, wife and their newborn baby on the other. Sounds kind of like a sitcom, right? It is. But the premise also happens to… Read more »

Five key takeaways from a new survey about Modern Orthodox Jews

Children sitting at the Park East Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox congregation in New York City, March 3, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
October 1, 2017 / Ben Sales, JTA

  NEW YORK (JTA) — The Orthodox Jewish world is even more fragmented than you think. That’s the key takeaway from a study published Thursday of Modern Orthodox Jews in the U.S., a group that adheres to traditional Jewish law while engaging with the secular world. Some of them think women… Read more »

‘The Odd Couple’ at Arizona Rose Theatre
September 28, 2017 /

(L-R) Christopher Younggren as Felix and Lawrence Fuller as Oscar in a rehearsal for the Arizona Rose Theatre’s production of Neil Simon’s classic comedy, “The Odd Couple.” Arizona Rose Theatre will present “The Odd Couple” on Oct. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22. The theatre is located in the… Read more »

JDC responds to Mexican earthquake, continues hurricane relief efforts
September 26, 2017 /

The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is responding to the devastating 7.1 earthquake in Central Mexico, immediately supporting the search, rescue, and emergency aid efforts of CADENA, its Mexican Jewish humanitarian partner, in hard-hit Mexico City. This work, as well as the tracking of Hurricane Maria’s impending impact in… Read more »

ANALYSIS Why Trump’s UN speech thrilled Netanyahu — for the moment, anyway

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu takes his seat before President Donald Trump's speech to the General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
September 25, 2017 /

ANALYSIS Why Trump‘s UN speech thrilled Netanyahu — for the moment, anyway By Ron Kampeas WASHINGTON (JTA) — The number of times President Donald Trump mentioned Iran or its derivatives in his U.N. speech? Twelve, and each time to emphasize its threat. The number of times he mentioned the Palestinians or derivatives?… Read more »

Robotic arm system puts Tucson surgeon on the cutting edge

Russell Cohen, M.D., with Stryker’s Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery system (Courtesy Stryker)
September 22, 2017 / Kaye Patchett, Special to the AJP

People are living longer than ever before — but living with a painful joint can restrict daily activities and decimate quality of life. In the 1950s, few retirees lived beyond their mid-60s, but today the average length of retirement is 18 years. During that time, joints often degenerate. As… Read more »

UA telehealth pioneer sees program thriving

Dr. Ronald S. Weinstein demonstrates telepathology during a teaching session at the University of Arizona.
September 22, 2017 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Staff Writer

When it comes to healthcare in rural areas, the overarching question is how to level the playing field between geographically isolated healthcare facilities and their urban counterparts, says Ronald S. Weinstein, director of the Arizona Telemedicine Program at the University of Arizona. That’s exactly why the Arizona Telemedicine Program… Read more »

Brandeis gears up for annual used book sale

Meg Sivitz and Rachel Barker, Brandeis Tucson chapter vice presidents, prepare for the Brandeis Book Bonanza to be held at the Foothills Mall next month. (Courtesy Meg Sivitz)
September 22, 2017 /

The Tucson chapter of the Brandeis National Committee will hold its annual used book sale, dubbed the “Brandeis Book Bonanza,” next month, beginning with a preview night on Thursday, Oct. 5 from 5-9 p.m. The book fair will be open for two weekends during mall hours, Oct. 6-9 and… Read more »

Federations create hurricane relief fund

Rescue workers and volunteers help residents make their way out of a flooded neighborhood in Houston following Hurricane Harvey, Aug. 29, 2017. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
September 22, 2017 /

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is joining with the Jewish Federations of North America to help the victims of Hurricane Irma, which battered the Caribbean and the eastern United States earlier this month. At least 42 people in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina have died as a result… Read more »