News

Handmaker Youth Leadership Team will participate in two community service projects with residents at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, this month and next. On Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m., youth participants and residents will pack care packages for clients of Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network. A speaker will… Read more »

Karnit Flug was named successor to Stanley Fischer, right, as governor of the Bank of Israel. (Miriam Alster/Flash 90)

JAFFA, Israel (JTA) — Andromeda Hill is a beachfront complex of luxury apartments connected by tree-lined pathways that features such amenities as a spa and business center. Five minutes down the road is Ajami, a low-income neighborhood profiled in the 2009 film of the same name that remains one… Read more »

Nathan Lewin, left, and his daughter Alyza created headaches for major Jewish groups by persevering with a so-far unsuccessful lawsuit to get the State Department to recognize Jerusalem-born Americans as born in Israel. (Washington Week)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — On Sept. 27, the conservative political blogger Ken Berwitz was enraged — not by Democratic malfeasance, his favored bugbear, but by the policies of an Oklahoma-based chain of craft stores. Berwitz was bothered not only that Hobby Lobby was keeping Hanukkah tchotchkes off its shelves, but that… Read more »

The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost friends and relatives. BALTIMORE (JTA) — For Carla Greenspan, the news was upsetting: A relative by marriage of the man who saved her mother’s life during the Holocaust was spurning an award from Yad Vashem. “It’s a sad legacy for… Read more »

KIEV, Ukraine (JTA) — The explosion that ripped through Vadim Rabinovich’s luxury SUV in central Kiev was strong enough to send a shock wave from the parking lot up to his third-floor office in the heart of the Ukrainian capital. “It was a shock for a day or two,”… Read more »

Raymond-Raoul Lambert, seen in his Strasbourg office in the 1930s, founded the Committee for Assistance to Refugees. (Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum)

(JTA) — His hearing isn’t what it used to be, but Georges Loinger still remembers Adolf Hitler’s voice emanating from the radio at his Strasbourg home. Growing up in the heavily Germanic Alsace region of eastern France, Loinger and his family tuned in regularly to broadcasts of Hitler’s speeches.… Read more »

Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, at the 2012 General Assembly in Baltimore, Md. (JFNA)

NEW YORK (JTA) – This time, it’s not going to be just talking. There’s going to be listening and debating — and, eventually, action. That’s what Jerry Silverman, CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, says will distinguish this year’s General Assembly, which is slated for Nov. 10-12… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — It looks like a futuristic salon hair dryer. Connected to a computer by a bright orange strip, the half-cube with rounded corners sits comfortably atop the head, a coil of wires resting on the skull. As a doctor stands at the computer, the patient gets comfortable.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernard Madoff. An unscrupulous contractor. Art that disappeared or was destroyed by fire — it’s not clear which. Bad, bad bookkeepers. And did we mention Bernard Madoff? These were among the causes of “material diversion” of assets — tax-speak for lost funds or property totaling $250,000… Read more »

Israelis demonstrating against the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners, Oct. 28, 2013. (Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel’s peace talks with the Palestinians remain mostly shrouded in secrecy, but one thing is certain: The Palestinian prisoner release that paved the way for their resumption is increasing tensions in Israel’s governing coalition. Israel completed the second stage of the four-part release on Tuesday, setting… Read more »

Nov. 4-8, 2013, BBYO teens will lead peers worldwide in Speak UP Week, an international initiative that explores Israel education, awareness and advocacy through formal, informal and experiential lenses. Leading up to Speak UP Week, BBYO invites the Jewish community to share their personal connections to Israel through a… Read more »

Rabbi Sergio Bergman campaigning for the PRO party, which came in first in Argentine elections Sunday.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — When he takes the oath of office in December as a new member of Argentina’s lower house of parliament, Rabbi Sergio Bergman will eschew the Christian Bible used by other legislators in favor of the Five Books of Moses. Bergman, whose PRO party won 34.5… Read more »

The 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the “Night of Broken Glass,” a dark time in Jewish and world history, will be commemorated Nov. 9 and 10. The Tucson Jewish community will host several interrelated events to memorialize what’s often referred to as the start of the Holocaust, when violence against… Read more »

Gary Kippur

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is set to begin its 2014 Community Campaign next month with a goal of $3.5 million, an increase from last year’s goal of $3.36 million. One boost for this year’s campaign, says Campaign Chair Gary Kippur, is a matching grant for new or… Read more »

Gabrielle Giffords

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will receive the 2013 Jewish Heritage Award at the Jewish History Museum’s annual brunch and silent auction on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The event will take place at the Tucson Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second Street. The award is… Read more »

(copyright Irving Olson)

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division will hold a fundraising event, You Gotta Have Heart, on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 5:30 p.m. The evening will include a 100th birthday celebration for Irving Olson, the honorary event chair, as well as a live and silent auction of art… Read more »

Rabbi Ethan Tucker will serve as scholar-in-residence at Congregation Anshei Israel Nov. 8 and 9. His topic will be “Judaism and Ethics.” Tucker is co-founder, rosh yeshiva and chair in Jewish law at Mechon Hadar, a New York-based educational institution. Named one of America’s Top 50 Rabbis by Newsweek… Read more »

The 9th annual CHAI Circle Retreat, “A Day for Healing and Spirituality,” will take place on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Canyon Ranch Health Resort, 8600 E. Rockcliff Road. A light breakfast and lunch will be provided. There is no registration fee for… Read more »

Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., author of eight books including “The Real Name of God: Embracing the Full Essence of the Divine,” will present a workshop at Congregation Chaverim on Sunday, Nov. 3 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dosick is the founder and spiritual leader of the Elijah Minyan,… Read more »

Hadassah Southern Arizona will sponsor a free education seminar, “Be Your Own Health Advocate,” on Sunday, Nov. 10, 9 a.m. to noon at Tucson Medical Center’s Marshall Auditorium, 5301 E. Grant Road. The emphasis of the seminar will be on lifestyle choices and preventive measures that promote wellness. The… Read more »