TEL AVIV (JTA) — In 2012, Anna Varsanyi was married in an Orthodox Jewish ceremony conducted through Israel’s Chief Rabbinate. Two years later, the Hungarian immigrant has made a life in Israel, settling with her husband in the central city of Modiin and working a desk job in a… Read more »
News
In Jerusalem passport case, justices consider congressional role in foreign policy
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A lawyer for a boy born in Jerusalem whose parents want Israel listed as the birthplace on his U.S. passport tried mightily this week to make a Supreme Court hearing mainly about their wish, but the justices kept upping the ante. That might mean bad news… Read more »
Israel moves to ease path to conversion for those not considered Jewish
TEL AVIV (JTA) – The Israeli government has adopted a major reform expected to ease the path to conversion for hundreds of thousands of Israelis now prohibited from marrying in the Jewish state. In the most significant response in decades to the estimated 400,000 Israelis who are not considered… Read more »
Do Israelis think Netanyahu is ‘chickenshit’? Maybe, but they like him that way
JERUSALEM (JTA) – An anonymous White House staffer apparently isn’t the only one who thinks Benjamin Netanyahu is shy about taking chances. A piece this week in The Atlantic magazine by journalist Jeffrey Goldberg ignited a firestorm with its revelation that an Obama administration official had called the Israeli… Read more »
Amid growing European anti-Semitism, new Jewish museum in Poland ‘reveals hope’
WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — In a Europe wracked by fears of rising anti-Semitism, and in a country whose Jews were all but annihilated in the Holocaust, a dazzling new “museum of life” celebrates the Jewish past and looks forward to a vital future. Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Israeli… Read more »
‘Their Lives are in Our Hands’ theme for JFSA 2015 Campaign
Visiting Greece, Israel, Russia and Ukraine on Federation missions, sisters Audrey Brooks and Donna Moser recognized that while the landscapes and languages may vary, the problems people face are similar all over the world. That led them to create a new theme, “Their Lives are in Our Hands,” for… Read more »
U.S. nuclear negotiator suggests Iran deal could be close at hand
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Is the Obama administration preparing the ground for an Iran nuclear deal — one in which both sides can claim victory? Wendy Sherman, the top U.S. negotiator, in an unusually detailed and optimistic speech on Oct. 23, for the first time suggested that the pieces of… Read more »
After Twitter ruling, tech firms increasingly toe Europe’s line on hate speech
BRUSSELS (JTA) — A little over a year after a French court forced Twitter to remove some anti-Semitic content, experts say the ruling has had a ripple effect, leading other Internet companies to act more aggressively against hate speech in an effort to avoid lawsuits. The 2013 ruling by… Read more »
Israel’s Rivlin seeks to cure ‘disease’ of racism
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s president fills a largely ceremonial role — meeting with foreign dignitaries, representing the government at state funerals and other official gatherings. But the office’s new occupant has embraced a challenge not inherent to the job: curbing what he sees as an epidemic of anti-Arab… Read more »
Pet grants, events on tap for local groups
Pima Animal Care Center is a winner in the ASPCA 100K Challenge, held June 1-Aug. 31. PACC ranked first in Arizona in its year-over-year increase of total lives saved, and sixth in its division nationwide. PACC will receive $5,000 in prize money from the ASPCA. PACC is also the… Read more »
Service dogs and therapy dogs have different roles in helping humans
The term “service dog” has become a generic term for describing the activities of three types of working dogs: service, therapy and emotional support. They are, however, all different. Service dogs A college student with visual impairment, an older adult with mobility issues, a teenager who is a type… Read more »
Despite myths, domestic violence occurs in Jewish homes
To you, a Jewish woman of any age who has been abused by her loved one. You may be feeling despair, sadness, anger, anxiety or overwhelming fear, but know that you are not alone. There is hope for a new life for you! Dream about a happier life for… Read more »
Recovery changed my life, inspired career helping others
Two weeks ago, at the gym, I met a man who had lost both feet to frostbite after getting lost while snowboarding. He was a professional hockey player who had become a professional snowboarder, until suddenly this happened. There was nothing about his appearance or personality to indicate that… Read more »
JFSA Women’s Philanthropy to fight sex trafficking in Arizona
“I am an abolitionist,” proclaimed Melanie Roth Gorelick at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Annual Welcome earlier this month. Gorelick, Community Relations Committee director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Metrowest NJ, spoke along with two other “abolitionists” to increase awareness of the sex trafficking of… Read more »
‘Shuk’ puts myriad classes under one roof
On Sunday evening, Nov. 16, 11 local rabbis and Jewish educators will teach 11 classes on a range of topics, all under one roof. The Jewish Culture Shuk, presented by the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Synagogue-Federation Dialogue, will take place… Read more »
THA to honor Carroll with Tikkun Olam Award
On Sunday, Nov. 2, at 5:30 p.m., Tucson Hebrew Academy will honor Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll at its annual Tikkun Olam event. “Ray Carroll served as a hardworking and much beloved trustee on the Tucson Hebrew Academy board for many years, and has truly become an honorary member… Read more »
JCC seeks Alzheimer’s program participants
The Tucson Jewish Community Center is beginning intake for clients and volunteers for its Elder Rehab program, a 10-week program that will start in January. The program, based on a federally funded University of Arizona program and directed by psychologist Sharon Arkin, will pair memory-impaired adults with student volunteers… Read more »
In psychology and in Judaism, local woman keeps mind and heart open
The love of learning has been a powerful motivator for Julie Feldman, Ph.D. From spending her formative years in Geneva, Switzerland, with her family, to revamping a desire to become a physician, Feldman, 46, finds joy in expanding her world. Now a clinical assistant professor in psychology at the… Read more »
Chabad, JFSA-NW sponsor ‘Loaves of Love’
Chabad of Oro Valley and the Jewish Federation-Northwest will hold a challah-making event, “Loaves of Love,” on Thursday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Federation-Northwest office, 190 W. Magee Road, #162. The event will include a hands-on challah demonstration, lessons about Jewish women’s traditions, and a challah and… Read more »
Matisyahu bringing tour to Rialto Theatre
Grammy-nominated musician Matisyahu, on tour to promote “Akeda,” his fifth studio album, will perform at the Rialto Theatre on Tuesday, Oct. 28. “Akeda” is the Hebrew word for “binding” and often refers to the biblical story of the binding of Isaac. “Akeda is the kind of album an artist… Read more »