News

To the bat cave! with Israel Center lecture

Eran Levin, Ph.D., examines a bat in Nimrod Castle on the Golan Heights

What do the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel and the Israel Defense Forces have in common? Bats. Yes, that’s right. A dozen species of these nocturnal flying mammals have made their summer home in a collection of abandoned army bunkers along the border with Jordan. And… Read more »

As confab nears, AIPAC still trying to figure out its legislative agenda

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference on March 5, 2013 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The highlight of AIPAC’s year is the final day of its annual policy conference, when thousands of activists ascend Capitol Hill to lobby for the passage of the organization’s legislative priorities. But just three weeks before the conference, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee is facing… Read more »

Israeli breast cancer survivor filling a niche with nipples

KFAR SABA, Israel (JTA) — Michelle Kolath-Arbel squeezes a nipple, rolling it in her fingers with a look of mild disgust. This model, which Kolath-Arbel ordered from China two years ago for $50, is thick and crude and took three months to arrive in the mail. “It was hard,… Read more »

Sochi ready for Jewish arrivals

Short track speed skater Vladislav Bykanov of the Israel Olympic team carries his country's flag during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics on Feb. 7, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Soft sand and turquoise beaches make Sochi a lovely holiday destination, but this coastal Russian city is less than ideal for providing religious services to large numbers of Jewish visitors. With few native Jews and only one resident rabbi, the Black Sea resort of 400,000 residents would… Read more »

As Kerry works on peace framework, Jewish groups keeping low profile

Martin Indyk, the U.S. special envoy for Ben Gurion International Airport on Jan. 5, 2014. (Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Flash90)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — As the Obama administration prepares to unveil a framework plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Jewish groups have responded by laying low. In contrast to the noisy Iran sanctions contretemps between the administration and much of the pro-Israel community, the leading centrist Jewish groups… Read more »

For some West Bank CEOs, no lost sleep over boycott threat

Yakov Burg, CEO of Psagot Winery in the Israeli West Bank settlement of Psagot, says boycotts of settlement goods haven't affected profits in a major way. (Courtesy Psagot Winery)

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Of the 200,000 wine bottles Yakov Burg produced last year, 16,000 went to Europe. The possibility of a boycott and repeated rumblings that Europe is planning to label goods produced in the settlements could decrease that number, but Burg isn’t worried. The CEO of Psagot… Read more »

WINTER OLYMPICS: For Israel’s skaters, Olympic training is a New Jersey state of mind

Israel's Sochi-bound figure skaters who train in New Jersey: from left, Alexei Bychenko, Andrea Davidovich and Evgeni Krasnapolsky. (Hillel Kuttler)

HACKENSACK, N.J. (JTA) — Evgeni Krasnapolsky and Andrea Davidovich glide around the ice, shadowing one another to the accompaniment of Nino Rota’s “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet.” At a rink in this New York City suburb, the figure-skating pair are refining their long program a few weeks before… Read more »

At Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda, Anne Heyman’s legacy lives on

Anne Heyman (Courtesy of DOROT)

AGAHOZO-SHALOM YOUTH VILLAGE, Rwanda (JTA) – Anne Heyman’s death during a horse-riding competition in Palm Beach, Fla., on Jan. 31 shocked and devastated many in the Jewish world. But it was Heyman’s work in Rwanda that so many of her admirers will remember most. A former assistant district attorney… Read more »

Renowned rabbi/author will keynote brunch honoring mayor

Rabbi Harold Kushner

There is a universal human craving for significance, says Rabbi Harold Kushner. The world-renowned rabbi and author will speak on this idea when Temple Emanu-El presents “Making a Difference in Your Life and in Our City,” a brunch next month honoring Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. “We want to know that… Read more »

Bridal show at Jewish History Museum brings back splendor of bygone eras

Models pose at the home of Catherene Morton prior to the Jewish History Museum’s bridal style show on Jan. 1. (Athol Cline/JHM)

Exotic gowns in red, purple and gold as well as the traditional white are on display at the Jewish History Museum’s sixth annual ketubah (Jewish wedding contract) and wedding dress exhibit, which continues through March 30. The exhibit features gowns from the 1500s to 2010, with origins from New… Read more »

Pozez lecturer: Judaism thrives on the pursuit of happiness

Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

Jewish thinkers focus on happiness as the quality of life as a whole, not a few moments in the accrual of pleasure or money. So said Hava Tirosh-Samuelson in her talk “Judaism and the Contemporary Pursuit of Happiness” on Jan. 13 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The Irving… Read more »

Concert to celebrate Or Chadash’s 18th year

Cantor Janece Cohen

Congregation Or Chadash will celebrate its 18th anniversary with “Chai Hopes: a musical celebration honoring 18 years of life, faith, and community” on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 3:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The number 18 is significant in Jewish tradition because it is the sum of… Read more »

JCF plans Endowment Book of Life signing

The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will hold a community signing event for its Endowment Book of Life on Tuesday, Feb. 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Tucson’s Endowment Book of Life, now in its 23rd year, is a living document that… Read more »

UA Mars project reaching out in Hebrew

A color-enhanced image shows outcrops that are likely volcanic (basalt) in origin, in Mars’ Valles Marineris canyon.

Ari Espinoza, outreach coordinator for HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) at the University of Arizona, wants to help Hebrew speakers learn about Mars. The HiRISE camera on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has been taking photos of the planet since 2006. In 2010, HiRISE started working with volunteers… Read more »

PCC seeks family photos, poems, stories for heritage celebration

In conjunction with its performing arts department’s spring musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Pima Community College is creating a Family Heritage Celebration. The college is seeking submissions for a multimedia presentation showcasing the heritage of its students, faculty, staff and community, which will culminate in a public celebration on… Read more »

CJE scholarships to help send kids to camp, teen to Israel

Scholarships for Jewish overnight summer camp are available through the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Coalition for Jewish Education. Forms are available for need-based scholarships for students currently attending Tucson’s religious schools or Tucson Hebrew Academy. The scholarships, funded by the Moe and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund at… Read more »

‘Most influential rabbi in America’ to speak at free JFSA event

Rabbi David Wolpe

  David Wolpe — named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine and one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post — will speak in support of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 2014 Community Campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The… Read more »

In the start-up nation, corporate philanthropy is growing

When the Israeli mobile maps start-up Waze accepted a buyout from Google for more than $1 billion in June, each of the company’s 100 employees walked away with an average of $1.2 million from the sale. An even bigger check, though, went to Baruch Lipner, a Canadian Israeli who… Read more »