News

A passion for history that began with her father’s stories of his childhood in pre-war Poland has led Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett to play a large part in piecing together the scattered, thousand-year history of the Polish Jews. Now she is bringing this history to Tucson. Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, chief curator of the core… Read more »

THA students earn spot in state math competition Tucson Hebrew Academy sixth grade students participated in a MathLeague.org competition held at University High School on Tuesday, Nov. 29 and won big. The team won second place school, and one student won third place overall. The students will go on… Read more »

(JTA) — If one thing jumps out about the nominations for the 90th annual Academy Awards, it’s the lack of big Jewish headlines to be plucked from them. “The Shape of Water,” Guillermo del Toro’s latest fantasy-tinted film, about an amphibian creature housed in a government laboratory, led the… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

  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 »

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 »

Tucson attorney Lowell Rothschild died Dec. 29, 2017. Mr. Rothschild, a founding partner of Mesch Clark Rothschild, received his J.D. in 1952 from the University of Arizona College of Law and had recently celebrated his 65th year in the profession. He was listed in the Best Lawyers in America… Read more »

(JTA) A haredi Orthodox grandmother’s delivery of her 20th child was no big deal to her, but it was an exciting event for the maternity department staff at Hadassah University Medical Center in Ein Kerem. The Dec. 20 delivery, a boy, was a natural birth. It was the 42-year-old… Read more »

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 »

#MEAction Arizona, a local chapter of the myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) Action Network, meets Thursday, Jan. 18, 6 p.m. Those interested in advocating or building a community in Arizona for people with this disease may attend the meeting in Tucson at 210 N. Court Ave., or join virtually via BlueJeans… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

Communication. Give and take. Love. These are some the themes that emerged when the AJP spoke recently with nine couples in the Jewish community who have been married more than 50 years – six, remarkably, in the 60-plus range — about the secrets to a long marriage. Here, without… Read more »

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 »

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 »

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 »

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 »