As a result of recent community work around the Jewish Community Ecosystem of Southern Arizona, the Tucson J has is pleased to announce the hiring of a Director of Community Engagement. Naomi Sandweiss has accepted and after working remotely, recently begun her position at the Tucson J. The position… Read more »
Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) has selected a cohort of 10 women to take part in the MOMentum Year-Long Journey, a program for mothers raising Jewish children 18 years and younger that includes an 8-day trip to Israel. The 10 women selected are Shelly Kippur (co-chair), Emily… Read more »
Kol Ami Synagogue is overjoyed to welcome Rabbi Malcolm Cohen to our clergy team. He was installed on Friday, March 10, 2023, with over 250 congregants and guests in attendance. We welcome everyone to come visit and meet Rabbi Cohen at Kol Ami, where our mission is to enliven… Read more »
After several months of work from a dedicated team of parent volunteers, Tucson Hebrew Academy’s (THA’s) newly renovated Sebold Library was unveiled during Love of Reading week. The ceremony involved a visit from the Library Fairies, who taught the students about properly caring for books before bestowing upon them… Read more »
Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) welcome Jennifer Lightman this week as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Jenny and her husband Brett recently moved from Philadelphia where she served as the Director of Communications and Special Projects for Perelman Jewish Day School. “We are incredibly excited to have… Read more »
Lights… camera… action! The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival opens January 12, with in-person and virtual screenings and post-film programs for select films through January 22, and virtual screenings of each and every film continuing through January 31. The Festival returns in 2023 with in-person events after two years… Read more »
As a result of strategic planning arising from community study data, and an education workgroup of rabbis and community leaders convened by the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern AZ (JPSA) in 2020, the Tucson J is intentionally enhancing Jewish learning opportunities for youth and teens through formal and informal channels… Read more »
Over 1,200 women philanthropists from 80 communities around the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Israel came together at Jewish Federations of North America’s (JFNA’s) three-day International Lions of Judah Conference in Phoenix, where they raised a collective $24.2 million supporting Federations’ mission to build flourishing Jewish communities. The conference… Read more »
Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) is committed to the Jewish value of Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness). Every week, they recognize their student’s mitzvot (acts of kindness) by giving out the Honorable Menschen Awards at a school-wide gathering called Oneg Shabbat. It is there that two students from lower… Read more »
Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is always a welcome, bright spot as the days grow shorter and the nights chillier. Even here in Tucson, where the nights are not quite as chilly as elsewhere this time of year. The Hanukkah celebrations started early this year at Handmaker. Residents had… Read more »
Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) has hired Ori Tsameret as Programming & Education Director. A recent Magna Cum Laude graduate of Tulane University in New Orleans, Ori comes to TJMHC with an impressive background in educational, cultural, and museum work. His focus areas in both his academic… Read more »
Community leaders from 16 different Jewish community agencies across Southern Arizona met Thursday, October 27, at the second Jewish Ecosystem of Southern Arizona meeting in an effort to “build an infrastructure to promote collective decision making and learning,” according to Todd Rockoff, Tucson J. President and CEO. The Ecosystem… Read more »
The University of Arizona administration and I have worked closely in the past weeks to begin to address critical issues in the wake of recent tragedy, when Professor Thomas Meixner was shot in the building across the street from Hillel on Yom Kippur by a known antisemite. May Dr.… Read more »
Leaders from Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) joined over 1,200 Jewish communal leaders in Chicago at Jewish Federations’ three-day General Assembly, where they set the shared Jewish communal agenda for the year ahead and heard from a diverse array of voices on critical issues facing the North American… Read more »
Jews for Fontes/Mayes, a group formed for the 2022 election, hosted Adrian Fontes, candidate for Arizona Secretary of State, and Kris Mayes, candidate for Arizona Attorney General at an event on October 30. Approximately 50 people attended the event, and over $22,000 was raised for the candidates. Chabad Rabbi… Read more »
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will present a free screening of Where Is Anne Frank with director Ari Folman, one of Israel’s most acclaimed filmmakers, on Sunday, Nov. 6. Where Is Anne Frank brings the famous diary of Anne Frank to the big screen from an unusual perspective,… Read more »
This past Yom Kippur, tragedy struck the University of Arizona campus when beloved professor Thomas Meixner was senselessly murdered by a former graduate student. The shooting occurred very near the UArizona Hillel building, while 25 students, six staff, and a guest rabbi were participating in Hillel’s afternoon Yom Kippur… Read more »
Rosh HaShanah begins the evening of September 25. Yom Kippur begins the evening of October 4. Southern Arizona’s congregations welcome you to celebrate the High Holy Days and hope each of you find a congregation in the Southern Arizona Jewish community that will help you greet the New Year… Read more »
Through the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP), the Arizona Department of Homeland Security (ADHS) recently awarded nearly $500,000 to five Southern Arizona Jewish organizations for security infrastructure upgrades. The five organization awardees are Congregation Chofetz Chayim, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, Hillel Foundation at University of Arizona, the… Read more »
Donna Moser, Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award Recipient Donna Moser, a Lion of Judah member for 23 years, will be honored with the prestigious Kipnis-Wilson/Friedland Award at the 2022 International Lion of Judah Conference, December 11-13, in Phoenix. The award commemorates the contributions of the founders of the Lion of Judah, Norma Kipnis-Wilson and Toby Friedland (of… Read more »
