News

In April, I spent three weeks in Nepal as a volunteer for Elephant Aid International. Life for captive Asian elephants is a miserable existence of slavery, including painful iron chains around their legs. In cooperation with the government of Nepal, EAI and volunteers from all over the world built… Read more »

From Providence, R.I., to Santa Fe, N.M., to Tucson, with many stops in between, tallit maker Beth Surdut has always been an artist. Her approach to Judaism is as expansive as her art, always growing and changing. “Being brought up Jewish you’re brought up to have an inquiring mind,”… Read more »

As a teenager in Baltimore, Nechama Sonenthal had to grow up fast after her older sister fell into a coma and later needed life-saving brain surgery. That didn’t stop Sonenthal from serving her community while in high school and then traveling to Israel to train with first responders in… Read more »

This piece was written by Iris and Ori Ifrach, Rachelli and Avi Fraenkel, and Bat-Galim and Ofer Shaer, the parents of Eyal Ifrach, Gil-ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel. (JTA) — One year ago, our families were thrust into a nightmare beyond anything we could have ever imagined. Our sons,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – Two months after questions about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to a two-state solution threatened to upend the U.S.-Israel relationship, tensions have abated, but not because peace with the Palestinians is any nearer. There has been no more talk recently from President Barack Obama’s White House about “reevaluating”… Read more »

What’s the best question to ask a person after a traumatic event? Hint: It’s not, “How do you feel?” Instead, ask “What do you want to do?” or “How did you react?” says Eyal Fruchter, M.D., former head of psychiatry for the Israel Defense Forces. Recounting feelings may get… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — “This was a woman,” the narrator explains, as the camera pans over a figure so emaciated and burnt that it’s barely recognizable as human. It’s one of the more arresting scenes in “German Concentration Camps Factual Survey,” a highly unusual Holocaust documentary shot and scripted 70 years ago,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Barack Obama has a message for American Jews: I don’t shy away from disagreeing with Israel publicly, because I care about Israel and our shared values. The president marked Jewish American Heritage Month with a speech Friday at Washington’s oldest Jewish congregation, Adas Israel. His… Read more »

(J) — Liana Kadisha, a senior at Stanford University, says some Jewish students on her campus feel they have to hide who they are. The 22-year-old knows of several who tuck their Star of David necklaces inside their shirts, self-conscious about drawing attention to their Jewish identity. That’s not… Read more »

Jimmy Wales on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: "You present what all sides have said and leave it to the reader to come to the answer." (Wikimedia Commons)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — In 2003, two years after the website was founded, the editors of Wikipedia faced a dilemma: How should they refer to the part-fence, part-wall Israel was building along the West Bank border? The article’s first iteration — published amid the bloody second intifada, or Palestinian… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Forget fancy pastries, cakes or tarts: Trifles are the best dessert you can make for entertaining. They are delicious and look beautiful and impressive, but are actually one of the easiest desserts you can make. The first time I made a trifle was actually after… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) – When considering the Vatican’s creep toward recognition of Palestinian statehood, think “Israel-Vatican” and not “Jewish-Catholic,” say Jewish officials involved in dialogue with the church. A May 13 announcement on an agreement regarding the functioning of the church in areas under Palestinian control raised eyebrows in its reference… Read more »

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s diplomatic battles have spread to the soccer field. On May 29, the body that governs world soccer, FIFA, will vote on whether to suspend Israel from international play. FIFA’s 209-member countries will vote on a motion introduced by the Palestinian Football Association, which is… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) – A 39-year-old executive with an education startup and a 20-year-old naval academy student were among the seven people confirmed dead from an Amtrak train derailment in Philadelphia. Rachel Jacobs, the executive, who also is the daughter of former Michigan State Senator Gilda Jacobs, and Justin… Read more »

Fran Katz

For longtime community volunteer Fran Katz, working at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is “like coming home.” “This is where I want to be. I’ve been so passionate about Federation for almost 30 years — since Jeff and I got here, we have been volunteering,” says Katz, who… Read more »

More than 1,000 Tucsonans of all ages turned out April 26 to celebrate Israel’s 67th Independence Day at the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s sculpture garden, organized by the Weintraub Israel Center in cooperation with numerous community partners. Participants enjoyed music, food and activity booths centered on the theme of… Read more »

On Wednesday, May 20, designs for the expanded Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum will be presented to the public. The event, “A Beacon and a Hope,” is an opportunity to learn about conceptual approaches that will be implemented in the expanded exhibition prior to the June… Read more »

CAMP J Grades K-12 • 1 and 2 week options, May 26-July 31 At the Tucson Jewish Community Center; now open to nonmembers. ACA accredited. Around the world theme with field trips, friendship projects, swimming, games, arts and crafts, music, dance, drama, sports, community service, science and Friday parties. Information:… Read more »

Ever had that dream when you’re soaring above the earth, peering down at the miniaturized version of life, whistling through the clouds, watching the birds swooping by? Welcome to David Lowe’s favorite hobby: gliding. A lifelong aviation enthusiast, Lowe became hooked on gliding after his first ride in 2007.… Read more »

Mayor Jonathan Rothschild

Judaism advises us to “clothe, feed and shelter ones in need as if our own bodies.” So said Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim in her welcome to around 100 people at the “Poverty in Tucson: Local Leaders Forum,” sponsored by the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation… Read more »