Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, Aug. 9, 2013. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Pro-Israel groups suspended their high-profile lobbying effort for a strike on Syria now that the United States and Russia have struck a deal to strip the Assad regime of its chemical weapons. A spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which organized a Capitol Hill… Read more »
A Chabad volunteer helps people clear damaged goods from their homes in Colorado. (Courtesy of Chabad) DENVER (IJN) — Before the start of Yom Kippur, a flood of historic proportions swallowed Boulder, Colo., and surrounding areas, displacing families, damaging synagogues and threatening services on the holiest day of the Jewish year — until determination came to the rescue. Orthodox Boulder Aish Kodesh hit the Internet… Read more »
Not only is climate change a hot topic, it coincides with Judaism’s long-held value of caring for the environment. “We have an obligation to God as stewards of the earth to not destroy the planet,” says Eve Shapiro, M.D., a local Jewish pediatrician who’s on the board of the… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Youth Choir, led by Cantor Janece Cohen, is seeking singers for its 14th season. The group, for ages 7-14, performs at major events throughout the Tucson community, such as Tucson Meet Yourself, the Jewish Food Festival and the Israel Festival. Singers also participate in a choir… Read more »
Alexander Tentser and Anna Gendler Classical pianist Alexander Tentser and his wife, Anna Gendler, a violinist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, will perform classical and romantic works by Mozart, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Chopin in a concert to benefit Interfaith Community Services. The duo will perform on Saurday, Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. at Rincon… Read more »
George Hanson The Tucson Symphony Orchestra opens its 85th season on Oct. 4 with music director and conductor George Hanson on the podium. Maestro Hanson, now in his 18th year leading the TSO, is opening the season with an all-Russian program, “Victorious Shostakovich!” He will give a talk on the program… Read more »
Tucson Jewish Community Center President and CEO Ken Light The Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold “Lighting the J’s Way,” a retirement event to honor Ken Light and his 27 years of service as CEO on Saturday, Oct. 12. The evening, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will feature a cocktail party and buffet dinner followed by an… Read more »
Rabbi Thomas Louchheim will present “Immigration Reform: A Jewish View” at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s opening luncheon for the 2013-14 season, on Sunday, Sept. 29 at noon at McMahon’s Restaurant, 2959 N. Swan Road. Louchheim was ordained in 1987 and has been the spiritual leader of Congregation Or Chadash since… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Community Library is now part of the Tucson Association of Jewish Libraries, a joint project of the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The library, on the second floor of the JCC, has joined with… Read more »
Tucson’s 5th Annual Multi-Faith Pride Service with the theme “Sacred Presence” will be held Sunday, Oct. 6 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. The Wingspan Multi-Faith Working Group and the LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project, a program of the Jewish Federation of… Read more »
Although known for his adventurous spirit, Dick Belkin has never been a motorcycle enthusiast. So his wife, Sherry, was surprised when he hopped on their son-in-law’s bike and said, “Let’s go for a ride.” They never left the curb. (Courtesy Dick Belkin) Once known as Captain Six and later as a captain of the broadcast industry, Dick Belkin was a pioneer in television. Since retiring 25 years ago, he brought that same entrepreneurial spirit to the World Trade Center in… Read more »
Mike Cracovaner, CEO of New Pueblo Medicine, explains the accountable care organization concept. (Deborah Mayaan) Many people wonder what will happen as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2011 is put into effect, with coverage for currently uninsured people beginning Jan. 1, 2014. Mike Cracovaner and two other members of the local Jewish community are part of a team developing new approaches… Read more »
Emily Bazelon (Nina Subin) Emily Bazelon doesn’t hesitate to take on big social issues. “I was raised to see Judaism in terms of ethical precepts,” Bazelon told the AJP. The author of “Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy” will speak in Tucson on… Read more »
(L-R): Tayvien Williams, Vianney Careaga, Marissa Pena and Rachel Mayer at the Tucson Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on Aug. 28. (Frank Youdelman) Armory Park was the scene of the Tucson Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on Aug. 28. Around 150 people listened as four young people, representing African American, Native American, Hispanic and Anglo societal groups, read segments of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I… Read more »
Southwest Torah Institute’s Women’s Academy for Jewish Studies will hold a free brunch and presentation, “Where is G-d leading me?” with Esther Becker on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Congregation Chofetz Chayim. Becker’s talk is based on “The Map Seeker: One Woman’s Quest” by Leah Kotkes, the… Read more »
“The Last Bully: Stopping Epidemics of Violence” is the 2013-14 theme of the first Media Making a Difference film series, sponsored by the Aurora Foundation, Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, Loft Cinema and the Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding. “Submit the Documentary: The Virtual Reality of Cyberbullying” will… Read more »
Syrian refugees living in camps and tens in northern Jordan are receiving aid from Jewish and Israeli groups. (Courtesy IsraAid) NEW YORK (JTA) — When Georgette Bennett decided a few months ago to help refugees from Syria’s civil war, she wanted to do it in a Jewish way. Citing a passage from Leviticus she said her late husband often quoted, “Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of… Read more »
Protestors rally Sept. 9 on Capitol Hill in support of possible U.S. military action in Syria. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Pro-Israel officials rolled their eyes this week in response to the opposing spins about their support for President Barack Obama’s drive to punish Syrian President Bashar Assad for his purported use of chemical weapons against his own people. Some suggested that once again, the tail was… Read more »
DERBENT, Russia (JTA) — Accustomed to the sound of gunfire at night, neighbors of Rabbi Ovadia Isakov were not particularly startled when a shot rang out on Pushkin Street on July 25. But unlike the volleys that partygoers often fire heavenward in this lawless corner of the Russian Caucasus,… Read more »
“A good village, built of stone, containing about 300 Arabs and 100 Druze, situated on hill-top, with gardens and extensive vineyards.” This is how two lieutenants of the British Army, Claude Conder and Herbert Kitchener, described Beit Jann in their “Survey of Western Palestine” (1881). Today, this village in… Read more »
