Rabbi Eliezer Berland, seen at a prayer service at the Western Wall on Jan. 25, 2012, fled to Morocco after being accused of sex abuse. (Uri Lenz/FLASH90) (JTA) — Surrounded by dozens of adoring followers at his grandson’s wedding this summer, Eliezer Berland looked like any other Hasidic rebbe marking a family celebration. But Berland is not like most rabbis. The founder of the Shuvu Bonim religious seminary in Israel, Berland, 76, fled to Morocco earlier… Read more »
Campers at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, N.Y., participating in a pilot Hebrew immersion program. (Ramah Day Camp) NEW YORK (JTA) — For the first 3 1/2 weeks of the summer, one group of 5-year-olds at Ramah Day Camp in Nyack, N.Y., was “very quiet” as the children went about the typical camp activities, according to Amy Skopp Cooper, the camp’s director. But in the fourth week,… Read more »
The last Reform biennial, held near Washington in December 2011, marked the passing of the torch to Rabbi Rick Jacobs, left, from Rabbi Eric Yoffie, right. (URJ) NEW YORK (JTA) — First there was the Conservative movement’s October biennial conference, billed as “The conversation of the century” and opened up to presenters from outside the movement. Then came the November General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, which featured a “Global Jewish shuk: a… Read more »
Annika Hernroth-Rothstein at a pro-Israel demonstration on Nov. 22, 2012 in Stockholm. (Anders Henrikson) (JTA) — With an asylum application to her own homeland, Annika Hernroth-Rothstein was hoping to draw attention to the problem of anti-Semitism in Sweden. Hernroth-Rothstein acknowledges the bid is “absurd” — but it’s working, having garnered international media coverage and stirring debate. “EU statutes provide that asylum be granted to… Read more »
Dov Jakobovitz, 85, lives in an old-age home in a poor neighborhood of Tel Aviv. He survived Auschwitz and fought in two Israeli wars, but now he doesn't have enough money for food. (Ben Sales) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Breakfast costs Dov Jakobovitz $2. Lunch costs him $2.25. Both are served in the public old-age home in south Tel Aviv where he lives. But the food is not to his liking. Jakobovitz longs for the dishes he ate as a child in Transylvania —… Read more »
Sen. Mark Kirk, shown here with Sen. Kelly Ayotte testifying before a Senate committee on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Nov. 5, 2013, has been a leader in pushing for Iran sanctions. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) WASHINGTON (JTA) — They want to brandish a new stick against Iran, but hawks in Congress aren’t going to use it — yet. For all the disappointment they expressed following the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, skeptics in Congress appear to be willing to give the agreement brokered… Read more »
Manager Brad ausmus, right, and two of his coaches, Shawn Green, left, and Gabe Kapler, constituted the all-Jewish, Major Leagie-pedigree leadership of Israel's 2012 tean competing for a World Baseball Classic bid. (Israel Association of Baseball) BALTIMORE (JTA) – Almost from the moment they met him, several officials and players with Israel’s national baseball team said they saw manager Brad Ausmus headed for the major leagues. They cited his communication skills, command of the game and preparation — not to mention his 18-year playing career… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) — It is a cause that elicited cheers from a roomful of participants at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly. Leading politicians have long championed it and are now trying to push it through a divided Knesset. Nearly two-thirds of Israelis support it, and activists… Read more »
President Obama makes a statement announcing an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear program at the White House on Nov. 23, 2013. (T.J. Kirkpatrick-Pool/Getty Images) TEL AVIV (JTA) — For the first time in a decade, the United States and a coalition of world powers have reached an agreement with Iran to curb the country’s nuclear program. The deal requires Iran to limit its nuclear enrichment and freeze most of its centrifuges for six… Read more »
The Christians for Israel menorah being mounted in Nijkerk near Amsterdam on Nov. 25, 2013. (Sara van Oordt, Christians for Israel) BERLIKUM, Netherlands (JTA) — In a windswept parking lot near the North Sea shore, Klaas Zijlstra stands motionless as he admires his latest creation. It’s the first time he is testing the 36-foot menorah he has spent weeks designing and building in the shape of a Star of David… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement, in his office in Jerusalem, Nov. 24, 2013 regarding the agreement reached in Geneva a few hours earlier between Iran and six world powers. (Haim Zach/GPO/Flash90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — With an interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program in place, President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu each face formidable challenges ahead. For Obama, the goal will be to move from the interim agreement to a broader and more permanent deal within six… Read more »
Statistics can be overwhelming and the results can be taken out of context. Tucson rabbis and academics sought to put the recent Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project’s “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” into perspective during a panel discussion at Congregation Anshei Israel on Nov. 3. “Before we… Read more »
The Klezmatics (L-R): Frank London, Matt Darriau (back), Lisa Gutkin, Lorin Sklamberg, Paul Morrissett The Klezmatics are coming to town for a concert at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Thursday, Dec. 5. Since the band’s formation more than 25 years ago, the Klezmatics have led a renaissance of the Eastern European Jewish music known as klezmer. They have performed in more than 20… Read more »
Tucson has been earmarked as one of five U.S. communities facing serious Israel delegitimization challenges. Noam Gilboord, director of community strategy for the Israel Action Network, a project of the Jewish Federations of North America and the Jewish Council of Public Affairs, came here from New York last month… Read more »
David Raichlen Happiness sure is popular in Tucson. Esther Sternberg, M.D., and David Raichlen, Ph.D., two Jewish professors at the University of Arizona, addressed the subject as part of the recent Happiness Downtown Lecture Series, held at the Fox Tucson Theatre. The UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences presented five… Read more »
Paul Fisher What do you see when you look at the word “E K O R T S”? Here’s a clue: It’s a rebus, which Paul Fisher describes as “an enigmatic representation of a name, work, phrase or idea, by pictures, words, prepositions, groupings, comparisons or contrasts; or where a punning… Read more »
Cantor Avraham Alpert Cantor Avi Alpert will speak on “Jewish Music Around the World” at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s luncheon on Sunday, Dec. 8 at noon at McMahon’s Restaurant, 2959 N. Swan Road. The presentation will include video and vocals. Alpert, the cantor at Congregation Bet Shalom, holds a bachelor’s degree in music… Read more »
A new adult educational collaboration, “The Buzz,” will begin next month with a community discussion, “That’s Funny … You don’t LOOK Jewish: Being Jewish in America Today” with Amy Hirshberg Lederman. The series is a collaborative effort of the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »
Shira Ledman Five years ago, when Shira Ledman took the helm at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, her husband, Bob, relocated with her to Tucson. Now it is her turn to follow her husband, a professor of business, as he takes a job with South University in Austin,… Read more »
Rabbi Gershom Sizomu As the first black rabbi from Sub-Saharan Africa, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, chief rabbi of Uganda and leader of the Abayudaya Jews, may seem like an anomaly to some, but his commitment to Judaism is staunch. “I grew up in eastern Uganda with no electricity or water,” Sizomu told around… Read more »
