News

Demonstrators gather at the Place de la Nation square in Paris following a mass unity rally protesting the recent terrorist attacks in the French capital, Jan. 11, 2015. (Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

PARIS (JTA) — As he marched through Paris with some 1.5 million people, Philippe Schmidt felt he was experiencing a “beautiful moment of unity.” For Schmidt, a Jewish human rights lawyer and vice president of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism, Sunday’s so-called Republican March was “a sign… Read more »

In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Paris, the Jewish Federations of North America expressed its solidarity with the 500,000-strong French Jewish community, the families and friends of the victims of the Charlie Hebdo shooting and the entire nation of France. JFNA has opened an emergency mailbox… Read more »

Old Havana, seen here, has the only place to go for the kashrut-observant Cuban to pick up a piece of meat. (Shutterstock)

(JEWNIVERSE/JTA) — For the kashrut-observant Cuban, there’s only one place to go for a piece of meat. Situated on Acosta Street in Old Havana is Cuba’s sole kosher butcher shop. For nearly 70 years, the privately run business has provided kosher beef to the country’s Jews, and only to… Read more »

Actress Mayim bialik reflects on what it means to be Jewish today and is grateful for the existence of Israel. (Shutterstock)

(KVELLER/JTA) — I grew up in a public school that had enough Jewish kids that I felt represented. I went to Hebrew school twice a week and had a chavurah, or fellowship, through my Reform synagogue with kids my age. A portion of my family was Orthodox. I was… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — With an agenda that has come to match almost perfectly with the priorities of the Democratic Party, the Reform movement’s Religious Action Center has not had an easy time of it in an increasingly polarized Washington. But Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the center’s incoming leader, may have… Read more »

Alfred Dreyfus (Getty Images)

(JTA) — Last week’s deadly hostage siege at a kosher supermarket in Paris has French Jews (and some non-Jews) proclaiming “Je suis juif,” or “I am Jewish,” in solidarity with the four people killed in the attack. Who are the Jews of France? Here’s a primer. How many Jews… Read more »

David Sookne, front left, and Bruce Hartford, third from right, in Alabama during a voter registration drive in 1965. (Courtesy of Bruce Hartford)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — How big of a “We” were the Jews in “We shall overcome”? Since the nationwide release of “Selma” a week before the national holiday commemorating the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., I have wondered about the extent of Jewish participation in the civil rights movement.… Read more »

Mourners seen carrying one of the bodies for burial during the funeral ceremony at Jerusalem's HarHaMenuchot cemetary for the four Jewish victims in the Paris Hyper Cacher attack, Jan. 13, 2015. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – These are the lessons of the Paris attacks for American Jews and U.S. law enforcement: Keep calm and cooperate. Enhanced communication between governments has been a key element of America’s counterterrorism successes since 9/11, experts say, and more is planned in the wake of last week’s… Read more »

Tucsonan Kim Bayne in her Griddler on the Roof food truck

Update 1.21.15: Due to family health issues, Griddler on the Roof is temporarily suspending operation. For more information, visit http://facebook.com/GriddlerTruck .  Kim Bayne likes new challenges. Although she’s been a business and technology writer for most of her career, memories of cooking for the Jewish holidays with her mother and grandmother… Read more »

PARIS (JTA) — Hundreds gathered with the leaders of France and Israel to remember the victims of an attack at a kosher supermarket near Paris. French President Francois Hollande and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined several hundred members of the Jewish community at the memorial Sunday night at… Read more »

The crowd outside the kosher supermarket Hyper Cacher in Paris as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pays his respects to the victims of last week's terrorist attacks, Jan. 12, 2015. (Aurelian Meunier/Getty Images)

(JTA) – French Jews are feeling embattled. Arsonists have targeted their synagogues, terrorists have attacked their schools and shops, and with only a few exceptions, French society has not united behind them to stop the assaults and harassment. The solution, according to Israel’s prime minister, is simple: Move to… Read more »

A French policeman shakes hands with ZAKA Israel volunteer, Dano Monkotovitz (Courtesy ZAKA)

Two days after the deadly terror attack on the kosher supermarket in Paris, veteran ZAKA volunteers from Israel traveled to France to join their volunteer colleagues in the Paris Zaka unit. On Sunday evening, Jan. 11, ZAKA International Rescue Unit head Mati Goldstein and veteran ZAKA volunteer Dano Monkotovitz flew… Read more »

(JTA) — Yoav Hattab, one of the victims of last week’s Paris kosher supermarket shooting, recently returned from a Birthright Israel trip. Hattab, 21, was one of four victims of the Friday shooting, which followed an attack earlier in the week at the satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in Paris, which… Read more »

Masha Gessen

“Speaking truth to power” is a way of life for Russian-American Jewish journalist Masha Gessen. An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch supporter of gay rights and a chronicler for the voiceless, the award-winning author will speak at four community events during “A Day With Masha… Read more »

Joyce Halimi, left, and her husband, Julien, at a vigil for victims of the deadly attack on a kosher supermarket in Paris, Jan. 10, 2015. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

PARIS (JTA) — When he heard that four Jews had died in an attack on a kosher supermarket near his home, 16-year-old Natan Kalifa was overcome with grief, anger and a feeling of exclusion from French society. He even contemplated staging an act of violence — possibly against Islamists… Read more »

People watch on TV in a cafe as police mobilize at the hostage situation at Port de Vincennes on Jan. 9, 2015 in Paris, France. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

PARIS (JTA) – The two sieges that transfixed France and much of the world on Friday epitomize the problem Islamic radicalism poses in the heart of Europe: It’s a danger to civilized society generally, but especially to Jews. Now it’s time for the authorities to wake up to the problem and… Read more »

Max Goldschmid

It’s cool. It’s funky. And, if you ask local musician, producer and owner of 11:11 Studios, Mike Levy, its rhythm can be visualized something “like an egg rolling” — slightly off-kilter, yet quasi-sober — “steady, but swinging,” he calls it. We’re talking about jazz and, later this month, Tucson… Read more »

James Deem

Tucson author James M. Deem will speak at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s luncheon on Sunday, Jan. 11. Deem, the author of over two dozen books for adults and young adults, will present “Albertine’s Doll: A Holocaust Story from Belgium.” This is one of the stories from his upcoming book, “The… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is getting ready for its annual Campaign Super Sunday phone-a-thon and Mitzvah Day on Sunday, Jan. 25, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. From 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., volunteers can make calls soliciting tax-deductible gifts to the Federation that support Jewish life… Read more »

A sex trafficking awareness vigil will be held on the University of Arizona Mall on Monday, Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Sex trafficking survivor Beth Jacobs and Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will speak and take part in a candlelighting ceremony. Jacobs is the founder of Willow Way, a local organization… Read more »