Rabbi Bob Alper The Pope has a new comedic advisor… and he’s a rabbi. Rabbi Robert Alper, who prefers to go by Bob, is 70 years old and lives with his wife in the rural town East Dorset, Vermont. “It used to be Alpert, but we dropped the T at a party… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 22: House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) (L) speaks while flanked by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) during a news conference at GOP headquarters on Capitol Hill July 22, 2015 in Washington, DC. The GOP leaders spoke on various topics before Congress. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – “Do I know this person?” has been a common refrain in the Washington offices of national Jewish organizations since Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, resigned as House speaker last month and his chosen successor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the majority leader, flamed out last week. Every day sees a new… Read more »
Simon Plosker, top left, managing editor of HonestReporting.com, directing his monitoring team at his organization's Jerusalem headquarters, Oct. 13, 2015. (Joe Hyams/HonestReporting)
(JTA) — At an Israeli bus station, several uniformed officers surround an Arab woman before opening fire on her, dropping her to the ground. Standing over her motionless body, a Border Police officer toting an automatic rifle speaks into a radio while another officer chases away a bystander documenting… Read more »
Steve Gutow, right, with Michele Jawando, vice president of legal process at the Center for American Progress, and her husband, Will Jawando, a Democratic candidate for Congress. Michele Jawando took part in an Oct. 12 discussion about race relations organized by the Jewish Community Relations Council of St. Louis. (Jewish Council for Public Affairs)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – For the past 10 years, Rabbi Steve Gutow has been trying to get American Jews to be more civil to each other, especially in debates about political issues. But a decade on, as he prepares to step down from the helm of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the community seems… Read more »
A Palestinian protester during clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, Oct. 8, 2015. (Ilia Yefimovich/Getty Images)
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israelis have become accustomed to dismal news in the past few weeks – mornings and evenings punctuated by stabbings, car attacks and rock throwing. The cycle of random violence has left dozens of Israelis and Palestinians dead, and many fearing the worst: The start of a third… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — At least three Israelis have been killed and more than 20 wounded in a rash of terrorist attacks throughout the country. In the wake of two of the attacks on Tuesday morning in Jerusalem, roads into eastern Jerusalem were closed. Three people were killed in two… Read more »
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaking at an event at the University of Chicago, Sept. 28, 2015. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
(JTA) — I interviewed Bernie Sanders a couple years ago when word first circulated that the Vermont senator might seek the presidency. Though he knew about JTA going in — and must have known questions about his Jewish background were coming — he didn’t want to get into it. I wrote at… Read more »
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, greeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Moscow, Sept. 21, 2015. (Israeli Embassy in Russia/Flash90)
(JTA) — As a defiant Russia again flexes military muscles in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, Cold War analogies are, perhaps, unavoidable. The deployment last month of Russian warplanes in Syria laid bare Moscow’s readiness to use force to punish leaders who would challenge its authority — as in… Read more »
Anna Greenberg Tucson Hebrew Academy has been selected to participate in the Institute for Jewish Spirituality’s Tikkun Middot Project, an initiative to integrate mindfulness practice and character development in 28 Jewish communities across America. Loosely translated, tikkun middot means the cultivation or refinement of ethical traits or measures of character. The… Read more »
At the farm at Echoing Hope Ranch, Jonathan Townsend writes down his schedule for the week. (Courtesy Harlie Garcia) At first glance, Echoing Hope Ranch looks like the other farms and ranches that mark the landscape in Hereford, Ariz.; however, the programs and residents make EHR truly unique. Created six years ago, EHR was built with the goal of providing residential and in-home care for adults with autism… Read more »
J. Edward Wright J. Edward Wright, director of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, will give the first of five lectures in a Downtown Lecture Series on immortality offered by the UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Wright will speak Oct. 14 on “The Histories and… Read more »
Israeli cellist Amit Peled with perform on Jan. 12 at the University of Arizona. Israeli-born classical cellist Amit Peled got started playing cello late, at the age of 10, because a 14-year-old girl he loved was a cello player. He never spoke to the girl, he told the AJP, but kept on with the instrument and, at the age of 22, after a… Read more »
Anne Marie Chiasson The CHAI Circle will host Ann Marie Chiasson, M.D., M.P.H., author of “Energy Healing: The Essentials of Self Care” at its 11th annual retreat next month. A program of Jewish Family & Children’s Services, CHAI Circle is a support group for women in the Jewish community with a history… Read more »
Lindy Bowser as Gert and Stephanie Howell as Bella (Luke Howell) The Arizona Rose Theatre Company will present Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” Oct. 17, 18, 23, 24 and 25 at the Temple of Music & Art Cabaret Theatre. Drawn from Simon’s experiences growing up in New York City, “Lost in Yonkers” won the Tony Award for best play and… Read more »
The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music will present “Music + Festival 2015: Bernstein, Adams, Berio” on Oct. 17, 18 and 24. Directed by UA composer Daniel Asia, the eighth annual composers festival will feature a symposium, concerts and a film. Leonard Bernstein was “a composer, conductor,… Read more »
Ten years ago, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona became one of the first federations in North America to reach out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Jewish community by creating an LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project. On June 26, 2015, when a Supreme Court decision extended marriage rights… Read more »
Honey Manson, 1949 Hadassah Southern Arizona will honor local volunteer Honey Manson, the founder of its Nurses’ Council, with a fundraising event called “Tea with Honey” on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “The word ‘no’ is not in Honey’s vocabulary,” says Debra Jacobs, event chair… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will hold its annual welcome and board installations this month. The event will serve as an update as Women’s Philanthropy continues to raise awareness to help end sex trafficking in the Tucson community and beyond. The event will take place Wednesday,… Read more »
The Weintraub Israel Center and the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation will present “Israeli Response and Readiness —Terrorism and Natural Disasters,” a meet and greet and Q&A with the senior officials who develop and implement Israel’s emergency preparedness, response and recovery services, on Monday, Oct. 19, from 5:30-7 p.m. at… Read more »
(L-R): Jessica Shulem, Rachel Rush, Hilary Kelpel, Jodie Friedman and Alyssa Silva at the 2014 Mega Challah Bake at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (Roland Bosma)
The Tucson Jewish Community Center and Chabad Tucson will present the 2nd Annual Mega Challah Bake on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. in the Tucson J ballroom. The event is part of the global Shabbos Project. Other local partners include numerous synagogues, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern… Read more »
