News

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A group of leading Orthodox rabbis met with the Israeli army’s chief of staff to complain. According to Israel’s Arutz Sheva news website, the rabbis told Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday that the growing ranks of female combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces are creating an… Read more »

When medieval Christians claimed that Jewish history and religious practice was in decline, the Kabbalah, a mystical school of thought in Judaism, provided a powerful reimagining of Judaism, says Hartley Lachter, Ph.D., associate professor of religion studies at Lehigh University. “Kabbalah argues that there is this secret way in… Read more »

Richard Carmona

Richard Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, the 17th surgeon general of the United States, will speak on “The Challenge of Brain Health in War and Peace” as part of the 2017 Mel Sherman Institute on Mental Health lecture series presented by Jewish Family & Children’s Services. Carmona will discuss the… Read more »

Dan Ben-David

The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series with six lectures on “Israel: 20th Century Ideal to 21st Century Reality.” “Since 1997 the Pozez families’ generosity has made this series one of the intellectual and social staples… Read more »

The social action committee of Congregation Or Chadash has arranged a morning of community service on Thursday, Nov. 30, 8 a.m.-noon with Habitat for Humanity Tucson, in collaboration with invited Tucson synagogues and Jewish organizations including Congregations Bet Shalom, M’kor Hayim, Chaverim, Anshei Israel, and Temple Emanu-El plus the… Read more »

An interfaith talk and book signing with Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, Ph.D., on his new book “Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions,”  will be held Thursday, Nov. 16, 7-8 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. “Mingled Waters examines the inner teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam… Read more »

Invisible Theatre will present the Arizona premiere of “The Value of Names” by Jeffrey Sweet from Nov. 7-19. The play introduces Benny Silverman, a celebrated comic who has revived his career via television after many years of forced inactivity that resulted from being named on the Hollywood blacklist of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Jewish month that began this week, Cheshvan, has traditionally been dubbed “mar,” or bitter, because it alone among the months is devoid of any holidays. It is time for the Jewish people, and the Jewish calendar, to drop mar from Cheshvan, since it is blessed… Read more »

(JTA) — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments). At the same time,… Read more »

Irena Sendler

More than 80 participants attended the “Life in a Jar” community gathering sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division on Tuesday, Oct. 24, hosted by Splendido. “Life in a Jar” is the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who rescued over 2,500 children… Read more »

While visiting any new city, following hotel check-in most guests take a moment to look at tour books or “where to go” information the hotel provides. Copenhagen was no different. How would we spend several days? After checking a few restaurant menus, museums, and even a palace, I noticed… Read more »

Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild announced at a press conference at City Hall Oct. 26 that the city will soon have a bike share program, joining more than 50 American cities that have similar programs. The “Tugo” bike share program will bring in 330 bikes to be used in and… Read more »

Congregation Chaverim has a new traveling ark, thanks to a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona in collaboration with the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. The $5,000 grant, made possible by the Ann and Sam Goldfein Endowment Fund and the Zuckerman Family Fund held at the… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. accused President Donald Trump of “politicizing” the deadly attack in New York after Trump blamed Schumer for the immigration program that purportedly allowed in the attacker. “I have always believed and continue to believe that immigration is good for America,” Schumer,  he… Read more »

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating whether President Donald Trump’s campaign had ties with Russia, issued two indictments this week and unsealed a guilty plea. Paul Manafort, who for several months last year helmed the Trump campaign, and an associate, Rick Gates, who remained with… Read more »

This is a developing story. NEW YORK (JTA) — Eight people were killed and nearly a dozen were injured when a truck rammed into a crowd in downtown New York City in what the mayor called “an act of terror.” The suspect, who was driving a truck, hit people… Read more »

(JTA) — After simmering for decades, national aspirations in the region of Catalonia in northeast Spain plunged that country into a major crisis with far-reaching international implications. The current crisis began earlier this month when federal police clashed with voters over an illegal referendum on independence. But it came… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Are Jewish millennials the most religious generation? And do one-fifth of them think Jesus was God in human form? Yes and yes, says a new survey of 599 Jews born from 1984 to 1999. The survey creates a contradictory portrait of Jewish millennials: These young… Read more »

KIEV (JTA) — This city of 2.5 million residents may be the capital of one of the poorest countries in the Former Soviet Union, but it offers a dazzling selection of luxury services to those who can afford them. On potholed streets where some elderly people are forced to… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — For 17 years, the Israeli NGO IsraAID has been performing search and rescue, purifying water, providing emergency medical assistance and walking victims of trauma back to psychological health in dozens of disaster-hit countries. But no season has been busier than this past summer and fall, its… Read more »