The Tucson Jewish Community Center and Tucson Medical Center will present the second annual Family Wellness Festival on Sunday, Oct. 18 from noon-4 p.m. at the Tucson J. Pavilions throughout the J will be organized around themes such as safety, physical activity, health and wellness, food and literacy. Exhibitors… Read more »
News
Tucson gets a Moishe House — without walls
A painting and wine class served as more than just a fun night out with friends in the Jewish community this past week. An organization called “Moishe House Without Walls” has been established in Tucson and post-grads from the University of Arizona and beyond are relishing its opportunities. “Every… Read more »
The Jewish lawyer who is defending a synagogue vandal
WASHINGTON (Washington Jewish Week via JTA) — From murderers to sex offenders, some of the least desirable citizens of Maryland’s Montgomery County have walked through the doors of attorney Barry Helfand’s office. But it took a quiet teenager to make Helfand question his responsibility as a lawyer. Sitting in Helfand’s… Read more »
Why Israelis are fearing a third intifada
TEL AVIV (JTA) — First it was clashes on the Temple Mount. Then a mother and father were shot before the eyes of their four children. Then two men were killed in a stabbing attack in Jerusalem’s Old City. Now Israelis fear the wave of conflict will only rise.… Read more »
Eric Cantor almost became first Jewish speaker, Boehner aide reveals
(JTA) — Former Rep. Eric Cantor apparently just missed becoming the first Jewish speaker — second in line to the presidency after the vice president. An aide to Boehner, the Republican House of Representatives speaker who is quitting, dropped the bombshell last Friday: Boehner had wanted to step down last year,… Read more »
Netanyahu and Abbas agree: Blame the UN
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas took plenty of shots at each other. But in their dueling dueling speeches to the United Nations General Assembly, the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian Authority president directed much of their fire at the same target: the assembled world leaders. Netanyahu… Read more »
Sanders to hold rally in Tucson
Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, will hold a rally in Tucson on Oct. 9. The Vermont senator will speak at 7 p.m. at the Reid Park DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, 920 South Concert Place. Gates will open… Read more »
Everyone’s talking ISIS at the UN, leaving Netanyahu glaring
(JTA) – All anyone attending the United Nations General Assembly opening seemed to want to talk about was the threat posed to the world by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. That was much to the consternation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argued in his speech… Read more »
Hillary Clinton talks to Lena Dunham about feminism, college years
(JTA) — In the wake of the never-ending email scandal and Bernie Sanders’ rise in the polls, Hillary Clinton is feeling some serious heat in the 2016 presidential race. In an attempt to connect with younger voters, the Democratic front-runner agreed to be interviewed by Lena Dunham, the Jewish… Read more »
Ivanka Trump is pregnant with her third child
(JTA) — If you can’t get enough Trump, good news: Another one is on the way! Ivanka Trump, who converted to Judaism in 2009, announced across her social media platforms that she is expecting her third child with husband Jared Kushner, a real estate mogul who owns the New… Read more »
Russia’s kosher kingpin aims to launch halal-meat empire
MOSCOW (JTA) — At Russia’s largest kosher food factory, owner Pinhas Slobodnik welcomes his Muslim workers with a greeting in Arabic that he pronounces in a thick Russian accent. Some 120 workers, most from the predominantly Muslim republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, are employed at the factory — a sprawling… Read more »
McCain to speak at CUFI town hall on U.S. Mideast policy after Iran nuclear agreement
Christians United for Israel will host Sen. John McCain for a town hall meeting on “U.S. Policy in the Middle East in the Aftermath of the Iran Nuclear Agreement” on Saturday, Oct. 3 at noon at Victory Worship Center, 2561 W. Ruthrauff Road. McCain will address the impact this… Read more »
Israeli ministry plows ahead with ‘world Jewry’ project, even as funding and future remain uncertain
TEL AVIV (JTA) — With a budget reaching $300 million, it was conceived as a broad partnership between the Israeli government and leading Diaspora Jewish groups. Its goal: to create a stronger connection between global Jews and Israel. But nearly two years after its launch was announced with much… Read more »
Surging Trump, Carson have Republican Jews worried
WASHINGTON (JTA) – The Republican Jewish establishment is watching the surge of political outsiders — like Donald Trump and Ben Carson — in the presidential primaries with dismay. “It’s like we have a conference call every morning, and we ask, ‘What can we do to screw ourselves up today?’”… Read more »
Novelist finds nuance beyond notoriety of Rosenbergs
Two women, both mothers, become friends; the concept is simple enough. And when you get down to the nuts-and-bolts of it, it only seems logical, really: they live on the same floor of the same building in Cold War-era Knickerbocker Village, an apartment complex in New York City; their… Read more »
New film festival entry chronicles dramatic reconstruction of lost Polish synagogue
Eight of Tucson’s long-running film festivals have come together to create the Tucson Festival of Films, a three day event showcasing features, documentaries and shorts from Oct. 8-10. Among those is the Arizona premiere of “Raise the Roof,” a documentary presented by the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival about… Read more »
With rabbi’s help, Tucsonan honors parents in ‘L’Chayim’
The messages and memories of the Holocaust remain a prevalent and enduring part of the global culture. “This is a story that repeats itself over and over and over again,” says Lisa E. Mishler, author of “L’Chayim — To Life,” a new book that interprets the survival stories of… Read more »
Scholar to discuss exiled composers at JHM
The Jewish History Museum has partnered with Arizona Opera to bring Arizona State University professor Sabine Feisst to Tucson for a night of history, music and culture. On Thursday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m., Feisst will present “Arizona Lady and Exiled Composers from Nazi-Occupied Europe,” a historical account of… Read more »
Shul, interfaith council to host bond election discussion
The social action committee of Congregation Or Chadash and the Pima County Interfaith Council will present “Voting and Social Justice,” a discussion of the pros and cons of the Pima County bond election, on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 7-8:30 p.m. in room 8 at Or Chadash. Seven propositions are… Read more »
Jews in Singapore topic for Hadassah lunch
Anne Lowe, who recently spent five weeks in Singapore, will give a slide presentation on “The Jews of Singapore: Past and Present” at a Hadassah Southern Arizona lunch on Sunday, Oct. 18, 11:30 a.m. at Lodge on the Desert, 306 N. Alvernon Way. In Singapore, Lowe attended services at… Read more »