David Cutler wanted to do something special with his Catalina Foothills home after his wife, Felicia, passed away in 2009, so he approached Rabbi Billy Lewkowicz and his wife, Ada, about using the home as a synagogue. Lewkowicz, director of Judaic studies at the Tucson Hebrew Academy, jumped at… Read more »
News
Amid neo-Nazi surge, Jewish groups applaud Greece’s Holocaust denial ban
ATHENS, Greece (JTA) — Jewish groups say the passage of a bill banning Holocaust denial and imposing harsher penalties for hate speech is an important milestone in the fight against Greece’s rising neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party. “This comes very late, but not too late,” World Jewish Congress CEO Robert… Read more »
Concierge, new website enhance local Jewish community outreach
This fall, Tucsonans will have two new ways to connect with the many programs and services offered by the Tucson Jewish community: a concierge service and a revamped, interactive jewishtucson.org community website. Ori Parnaby, the concierge, started in her new position Sept. 2. Her office is at the Tucson… Read more »
Activist rabbi was controversial, inspirational
Abigail Gumbiner defies the adage “you can’t go home again.” On Sept. 14 she will speak at the Jewish History Museum of Tucson about photos she and two other artists have contributed to the current exhibit “Temple of Shadows.” The exhibit title refers to the building that many in… Read more »
Gubernatorial candidates will debate at JCRC event
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will sponsor Gubernatorial Debate 2014 on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Cosponsors are the Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and YWCA Tucson. Fred Duval, the Democratic candidate; Doug Ducey, the… Read more »
TSO will open season with trio of Jewish composers
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra will open its 2014-15 season with “Bernstein, Copland, Gershwin: American Essentials” on Friday, Sept. 26 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 28 at 2 p.m. at the Tucson Music Hall. Music Director and Conductor George Hanson will open his 19th and final full season conducting… Read more »
Tucson actress pays tribute to friend and role model, the late Joan Rivers
Susan Claassen, actress and managing artistic director of the Invisible Theatre, first met comedian Joan Rivers, who died Sept. 4 at the age of 81, in 2008. “It was a dream come true,” says Claassen. “She had been performing her brilliant show ‘A Work in Progress by a Life… Read more »
Roberta Bracker: In Nogales, Ariz., creating a rich Jewish family life and a caring community
Growing up in the Fairfax neighborhood of Los Angeles, Roberta Bracker, now 76, took being part of a Jewish community for granted. At her high school, all of the kids were Jewish. Bracker’s mother wanted her three daughters to be knowledgeable about music and Judaic studies. She envisioned her… Read more »
Ben Pozez: A third generation takes on leadership role
For Ben Pozez, involvement in the Jewish community is practically coded into his DNA. His grandparents, the late Shaol and Evie Pozez, were philanthropic and community leaders from the moment they arrived in Tucson in 1979. His parents, Mitch and Robin, have continued the tradition. So it was only… Read more »
Jack Cole: Helping ‘overgrown country town’ prosper
Jack Cole’s path to leadership began when his life was transformed by Jewish Family & Children’s Services. He and his wife, Joan, adopted Davis, their youngest of three adopted children, through the agency. Cole was motivated to give back so that others could benefit from their services as well.… Read more »
Sarah Singer: Giving back by helping build base of young Jewish families
For Sarah Heisler Singer, volunteering in the Tucson Jewish community is all about giving back to those who have come before her, and paying that kindness forward for future generations. The mother of two (Celia, 3, and Levi, 8 months) is an attorney at Gadarian and Cacy, PLLC. She… Read more »
Marian Lupu: In retirement, lifelong advocate for the aged turns focus to at-risk youth
Marian Lupu, now 89, founded the Pima Council on Aging in 1965. She didn’t retire as executive director until 2006, when she was 82. “If you love what you’re doing, why not?” Lupu asked the AJP. A pioneer in her field, Lupu took one of the first courses ever… Read more »
Adam Goldstein: Jewish camp, UA set stage for JFSA Northwest champion
Adam Goldstein doesn’t see how unique his dedication to Tucson’s Jewish community is. Sitting at his kitchen table, he lists committee after committee he’s chaired, co-chaired, participated in or formed. He was the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Young Man of the Year in 2013. He’s been a member… Read more »
David Alberts: Tucson doctor has devoted life to preventing deadly scourge of cancer
David S. Alberts, M.D., has spent 40 years fighting cancer — and he’s not done yet. At age 74, he’s the full-time Regents Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology, Nutritional Science, and Public Health at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. On July 1, 2013, he stepped down after a… Read more »
Amy Beyer: Guided by parents’ path, young leader finds her own way
If home is where the heart is, then Amy Beyer’s heart beats to the rhythm of Jewish life in Tucson. “The Tucson Jewish community is home for me. It really feels like my extended family,” says Beyer, 36, who began her volunteering “career” at Young Jewish Tucson in 2002.… Read more »
Amid declining Jewish caucus in Congress, rising concerns over communal influence
WASHINGTON (JTA) – From 31 in 2009 to a likely 19 in January, the unofficial Jewish caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives is shrinking fast. Jewish lawmakers have traditionally been the first stop for Jewish lobbyists seeking inroads for their issues, including Israel, preserving the social safety net,… Read more »
Understanding Shmita, Israel’s agricultural Shabbat
TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Rosh Hashanah comes later this month, Israel’s Jewish farmers won’t just be celebrating the start of a new year. They’ll be marking a year in which they are prohibited from doing their jobs. Called Shmita, the Torah-mandated, yearlong farming hiatus is felt across Israel,… Read more »
Chloe Valdary: Christian, black and a rising star of pro-Israel campus activism
(JTA) — Growing up in New Orleans, Chloe Valdary kept kosher, studied the Jewish Bible and celebrated Jewish holidays with festive meals. In recent years she has become an outspoken pro-Israel campus activist, contributing regularly to the Jewish press, and speaking and posting widely about the merits of the… Read more »
Facing Islamist threats, Arab nations tilt toward Israel
(JTA) – Between this summer’s war in Gaza and gains by Islamic militants in Iraq, Syria and Libya, there’s still plenty of cause these days for pessimism about the Middle East. But there’s also some good news for Israel. If it wasn’t obvious before, the conflagrations have driven home… Read more »
Citing divisions over Israel, Rabbi Brant Rosen quits congregation
(JTA) – A prominent rabbi whose outspoken criticism of Israel became too divisive for his congregation announced this week that he is resigning his pulpit. Brant Rosen, rabbi at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill., made the announcement Tuesday. Aside from his pulpit position, which he has held… Read more »