News

FIRST PERSON Fear and loathing, but mostly loathing, on the campaign trail

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the second presidential debate, at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 9, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
November 7, 2016 / Ben Sales, JTA

  (JTA) — Some of us are voting for Trump. Most of us are voting for Clinton. But we Jews are all afraid. There are the scandals, yes. There are emails and sexual assault allegations and emails and fraud and racism and anti-Semitism and emails. There are issues like… Read more »

Anti-Semitism unleashed by Trump followers chills Jewish voters

Bend the Arc protesters demonstrate outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Sept. 29, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
November 7, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Pieties? Out. Passports? In. Paranoia? On its way. Jewish Americans have never been ones to sit out an election, whether it comes to voting, political fundraising or dinner table punditry. But even for a community grown used to the political fray, the 2016 campaign was different.… Read more »

Weaving community: How the JFSA works
November 4, 2016 / Stuart Mellan, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona
Stuart Mellan

“Weaving … is the essential art of creating the unified out of two opposites. If the meeting of opposites does not take place, nothing is created, for each element is defined by its opposite and takes its meaning from it.” — Dario Valcarenghi as quoted in “The Art of… Read more »

With 6 days to vote, top Trump advisers release detailed Israel plan
November 4, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA
Jason Dov Greenblatt, seen at Trump world headquarters in Manhattan, is one of Donald Trump's two key Israel advisers along with being his top real estate attorney. (Uriel Heilman)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Less than a week before the presidential election, Donald Trump’s two top Israel advisers released a detailed plan that pledges assistance to Israel beyond current levels but stops short of pledging to kill the Iran nuclear deal. The 16-point plan, which was posted Wednesday on the Medium publishing platform… Read more »

Green Valley congregation looks to expand programs, services
November 3, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Intern
Steve Levine

The Beth Shalom Temple Center, Green Valley’s self-proclaimed “reconformadox” Jewish congregation, recently hired its first membership coordinator. Steve Levine was attracted to his new position for professional and personal reasons, and began his new job in September. “The Jewish community has been very good to me over the years,… Read more »

AS CAI scholar, Diamond to explore 5th commandment
November 3, 2016 /
Dr. Eliezer Diamond

Congregation Anshei Israel will host scholar-in-residence Dr. Eliezer Diamond on Friday, Nov. 11 and Saturday, Nov. 12. Diamond is an associate professor of Talmud and rabbinics at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He teaches courses in rabbinic literature and introductory, intermediate and advanced Talmud studies. He is the author of… Read more »

Jewish Culture Shuk classes to include love, death, art, God
November 3, 2016 /

More than a dozen local rabbis and educators will present adult education classes on myriad topics at the Jewish Culture Shuk on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Tucson Hebrew Academy. A shuk is an open marketplace; the Jewish Culture Shuk, presented by the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »

JFCS talks to promote ‘Shalom in Every Home’
November 3, 2016 /
Adena Bank Lees (Jacquelynn Buck)

Jewish Family & Children’s Services will present a Shalom in Every Home Healthy Family Lecture Series this month. The free, interactive two-part series will explore the important connection between healthy families and healthy relationships. The series will begin with “Put Your Listening Ears On: How to Create and Enhance… Read more »

Handmaker builds program on strong spiritual foundation

Silvia Risser (center), 72, a resident at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging since January, enjoys a visit with her mother, Naomi Anderson (left), 90, and her granddaughter, Lauren Pernu (right), 22. Anderson currently lives in San Diego, Calif., and visits her daughter at Handmaker every few months. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
November 3, 2016 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Intern

Jill Rosenzweig, a local Jewish philanthropist and former board chair at Jewish Family & Children’s Services, enrolled in Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging’s post-hospital treatment program for physical therapy following back surgery last August. She recently returned to the care facility for further treatment. Rosenzweig initially chose Handmaker’s… Read more »

In Austria, an annual cleanup of a Jewish cemetery on a Catholic holiday

Niki Kunrath, a non-Jew from Vienna, clears out cut branches from the city's Waehringer Jewish Cemetery, Nov. 1, 2016. (Tina Walzer)
November 3, 2016 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

(JTA) — As she prepared to take inventory of one of Vienna’s oldest and least-known Jewish cemeteries, historian Tina Walzer anticipated many genealogical twists and archaeological challenges. But upon entering the Waehringer Cemetery in 2008, Walzer quickly saw that before she could even begin her research, she would first need to… Read more »

BLOG Cubs fans, like the Jews, now face the challenge of success

Chicago Cubs fans cheer after their team defeats the Cleveland Indians, 9-3, to win Game 6 of the World Series at Progressive Field in Cleveland, Nov. 1, 2016. The Cubs would go on to win the Series for the first time since 1908. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
November 3, 2016 / Ben Sales, JTA

  (JTA) — For years, I’ve told anyone who would listen that the Cubs were the team of the Jews. I’ve written two blog posts about it during the past month alone. Long suffering. Faithful. Bound to tradition. Hoping for redemption, to no avail. It was all there. Until… Read more »

The House elections: Doubling the Memphis contingent and other Jewish takes

Jacky Rosen speaks to campaign volunteers at the Nevada Democrats' field office in southwest Las Vegas, Oct. 18, 2016. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)
November 2, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) – California condors? I’ll show you rarities: Jewish congressmen from Memphis and Jewish Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives. And both demographics may be set to double in population – to two. Seven Jews either running for open seats or challenging incumbents in Congress have a shot at… Read more »

World Series ignites old passions in American Jews living in the West Bank

From left, Doug Mandel, Iris Mandel and Mitch Mandel at their house in the West Bank settlement of Karnei Shomron, Oct. 28, 2016. (Andrew Tobin)
November 1, 2016 /

 KARNEI SHOMRON, West Bank (JTA) — The Chicago Cubs are facing the Cleveland Indians in a historic World Series, and most of Israel could not care less. This Jewish settlement is different. The Neve Aliza neighborhood of Karnei Shomron is overwhelmingly American. Among the some 200 families from the… Read more »

Election 2016: The top Jewish moments of a delirious campaign

Sen. Bernie Sanders waves in Concord on the day of the primary elections in New Hampshire, Feb. 9, 2016. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
November 1, 2016 / Josefin Dolsten

(JTA) — This presidential campaign has made Jewish history, for reasons good and bad. Bernie Sanders became the first Jewish candidate to win a U.S. presidential primary, and the families of both presidential nominees had strong Jewish ties. But the campaign also saw heated debate on Israel and Iran and a troubling rise… Read more »

The Jewish vote: Senate races to watch

Russ Feingold, left, is trying to take back the Wisconsin Senate seat he lost to Ron Johnson in 2010. (Darren Hauck/Getty Images)
October 31, 2016 / Ron Kampeas, JTA

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Hillary vs. Donald is sucking all the air out of the room. Consider: The first woman major party nominee battling a reality TV star. The Republican nominee, Donald Trump, bragging in a 2005 video about sexual assault, then denying it when a dozen women corroborate his braggadacio. The… Read more »

OP-ED Why a rabbi under the chuppah may boost Jewish engagement in intermarried homes

Intermarried couples whose weddings were officiated by Jewish clergy as the only officiant are more highly engaged in Jewish life than other intermarried couples, a new study has found. (Ashley Novack)
October 31, 2016 / Leonard Saxe and Fern Chertok, JTA

WALTHAM, Mass. (JTA) — At a summit meeting held last week at the National Museum of American Jewish History, several hundred communal professionals, rabbis, scholars, philanthropists and young intermarried couples gathered to discuss engagement of interfaith families in Jewish life. There is widespread communal agreement that intermarriage has reshaped the… Read more »

OP-ED In breast cancer testing, knowledge is power — and potentially distressing

Women representing Sharsheret, a support group for Jewish breast and ovarian cancer patients and their families. (Sharsheret/Facebook)
October 31, 2016 / Peggy Cottrell, JTA

(JTA) — Five years ago, on a whim, Cindy, a 27-year-old Jewish woman, decided to pursue genetic testing through an online laboratory. She wasn’t expecting any surprises because she had no family history of cancer or increased risk factors. She was young and living a healthy lifestyle. But Cindy’s… Read more »