Ilya Farber during his trial in Tver, Russia, July 2013. (Zhekov.ru) MOSCOW (JTA) — Clutching the bars of the defendant’s cage, Ilya Farber assumes the posture of a crucifix as he proclaims his innocence and pleads for freedom with characteristic thespian flare. “I implore the judge to rule in favor of the children,” the Moscow-born Jewish artist begs the court,… Read more »
Aron Berger being interviewed earlier this year outside his daughter's state-funded elementary school in Antwerp. (Cnaaan Liphshiz) (JTA) — New government regulations are threatening the pedagogical autonomy of Antwerp’s haredi Orthodox schools and sowing division between hardliners and moderates over whether to bring the community’s school system into conformity with secular educational standards. Earlier this summer, the Flemish government issued decrees that would force both state-funded… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — In 5773, the religious wars just would not go away. In Israel, elections that extended Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister delivered big wins to two anti-Orthodox-establishment upstarts, Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. For the first time in nearly two decades, Israel’s coalition government included… Read more »
Secretary of State John Kerry said chemical weapons had been used to kill scores of people during the ongoing civil war in Syria in an appearance at the State Department, Aug. 26, 2013. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Following reports of what was almost certainly a chemical weapons attack in Syria, the White House has made moves indicating it may be inching closer to military intervention in the 2 1/2-year civil war there. Among the moves: moving warships toward the eastern Mediterranean and… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Incidents of physical and sexual abuse at Yeshiva University were not limited to its high school for boys, an investigation has found. The investigation commissioned by the university and carried out by the New York-based law firm Sullivan & Cromwell followed reports of sexual abuse… Read more »
Eritrean refugees gathering outside Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem for a demonstration against the deportation of refugees from Israel, June 9, 2013. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Hanging by his feet in a torture cell in the Sinai Desert, Dawit Demoz knew he had only one way to escape a nearly certain death: He would have to make good on his captors’ demand of a $3,500 ransom to buy his freedom. Demoz,… Read more »
Women of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman gestures toward a new platform built for egalitarian prayer at Robinson's Arch. (JTA/Yonatan Sindel/Flash90) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s religious services minister, Naftali Bennett, has unveiled a temporary platform for non-Orthodox prayer at Robinson’s Arch, the archaeological site adjacent to the Western Wall plaza used by egalitarian groups. The platform, which will include Torah scrolls, prayer books and prayer shawls and be open… Read more »
Magda Haroun, president of the Jewish community in Egypt, says she is 'very confident of the future' in her country and vows to 'never, never, never' leave. (Bassatine News) TEL AVIV (JTA) — When Magda Haroun was out on the streets during the unrest now rocking Egypt’s capital, she saw someone standing over the body of a dead soldier. “Not even a Jew would do this,” she heard him say. Haroun, the president of the Egyptian Jewish community, doesn’t… Read more »
Sam Horowitz dancing at his Bar Mitzvah party in Dallas, November 2012. (You Tube) (JTA) — For some boys reaching the age of Bar Mitzvah, donning a prayer shawl and reading from the Torah is exciting enough. But Sam Horowitz knew he wanted more. The Dallas teen is the star of a Bar Mitzvah video that has gone viral in the past two… Read more »
Chana Staiman visiting the building in Prague where her late father, Harry, was raised. (Courtesy Chana Staiman) The “Seeking Kin” column aims to help reunite long-lost relatives and friends. BALTIMORE (JTA) – As a girl in Seattle, Anne Bush evinced little interest in the Holocaust, even though her father, Harry, was a survivor whose mother, sister and brother-in-law had been murdered. But as a mother in… Read more »
Rabbi Jason Holtz When I arrived in Tucson three years ago, I found synagogues filled with learning, service and community. I found Jewish agencies and nonprofits devoted to turning Jewish values into Jewish action. I found a compelling Federation centered on tzedakah, righteous giving, and tikkun olam, repairing the world. And… Read more »
Handball hall-of-famer Fred Lewis, second from right, with his brother, Jack Lewis, sister-in-law, Ilene Lewis, and son, David Lewis, at the memorial to the 11 athletes murdered at the Munich Olympics in 1972, at the Wingate Institute in Netanya, Israel, site of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
(Courtesy Fred Lewis) Israel hosted the world’s largest sporting event of the year this summer, the 19th Maccabiah Games, held July 17-30. Three Tucsonans participated as athletes in the Olympic-style games, which included Jewish athletes from 70 countries, while one current and one former Tucsonan were inducted into the International Jewish… Read more »
Ella Vaturi and Noa Berman On August 2, Noa Berman and Ella Vaturi wrapped up two months as shlichot (Israeli emissaries) with the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s day camp. Every year, the Jewish Agency for Israel sends two Israelis in their early 20s to share knowledge and love for Israel and Jewish culture with… Read more »
Rabbi Batsheva Appel Temple Emanu-El has appointed Rabbi Batsheva Appel as associate rabbi. “I’m looking forward to working with a rabbi who I know is very talented,” Appel told the AJP, referring to Temple’s senior rabbi Samuel M. Cohon, “and a community that seems to be doing wonderful things here in Tucson.… Read more »
Rides to synagogue programs and services – including High Holy Days celebrations – are available for seniors and adults with disabilities through a special grant program. The program, “Tucson Community Shared Transportation for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities,” has a new phone number: 465-4323. The Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »
Congressman Ron Barber with children at a fortified indoor playground in Sderot, Israel, built with contributions from American groups and individuals. It can withstand a direct hit from a Gaza rocket. The area, under constant threat, is protected by the Iron Dome rocket interceptor. (Office of Congressman Ron Barber) Israel and Southern Arizona have ties that bind — in both the economic and national security realms. U.S. Rep. Ron Barber, who describes himself as “a strong supporter of Israel,” participated in a fact-finding trip to Israel from Aug. 5 to 11. Barber is a Tucson Democrat and a… Read more »
A new school year is beginning and innovative plans are on the agenda for Tucson’s Jewish schools. Congregation Bet Shalom’s religious school is adding a seventh and eighth grade Sunday program that will combine text study with “inspirational informal learning.” It will include a class on the Mishnah, which… Read more »
Essie Nadler and Stu Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, sign an endowment agreement for the Message of Hope Fund at the home of Ruthann Pozez. “We will never forget.” These words have become a staple for Jewish people around the globe. On the surface, they remind us of the millions of innocent lives lost in a world of blind hatred, blatant egotism and unimaginable fear, in the hope that such horrendous acts never happen… Read more »
(L-R) Becky Monroy, Heather Rich and Hayley Flanigan won bronze medals with the Team Austin girls basketball team. Thirteen teen basketball players from Tucson — 10 boys and three girls —participated in the JCC Maccabi Games in Austin, Texas, July 28-Aug. 2. The annual games for Jewish teens ages 13 to 16 are like a mini-Olympics, but with the emphasis on camaraderie and enhancing Jewish identity more… Read more »
Until 2009, right-wing Portuguese politician José Ribeiro e Castro didn’t have much interest in the expulsion of his country’s Jewish community in the 16th century. That changed once Ribeiro e Castro opened a Facebook account. Online, the 60-year-old lawmaker and journalist connected to several Sephardic Jews, descendants of a… Read more »
