The Neirab Palestinian refugee camp near Aleppo is the largest of its kind in Syria. (UNRWA) HERZLIYA, Israel (JTA) — Three weeks ago, militants in Gaza landed a rocket near the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Two weeks ago, Egypt raised its state of emergency in the Sinai Peninsula, warning of an increase in jihadist activity there. Last week, a rock thrown by a West Bank… Read more »
The Torah ark at the newly built Tiferet Israel Este synagogue in Caracus, Venezuela, March 17, 2013. (Association Israelita de Venezuela) (JTA) — For more than a decade, Venezuelan Jews have been holding their breath, subject to the whims of a mercurial president who used his bully pulpit to intimidate, rail against Israel and embrace Iran There was the police raid of a Caracas school in 2004, allegedly… Read more »
Pope Francis, then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, speaking at a B'nai B'rith Argentina event commemorating Kristallnacht, Nov. 12, 2012. (Courtesy B'nai B'rith Argentina) ROME (JTA) — When the white smoke rose last week at the Vatican, signaling to the world that the College of Cardinals had chosen a new pope, Catholics weren’t the only ones waiting with bated breath. Jews, too, were eager to see whether the new pontiff would be someone… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — On page 15 of the most recent edition of the Kansas Independent Oil and Gas Association’s newsletter, beneath griping about perceived threats to the industry posed by President Obama’s tax and energy policies, was a nugget of positive news: A new coalition had formed between the… Read more »
Shoppers checking out the dried fruit stand at the Tel Aviv Carmel Market, 2009. (Liron Almog/Flash90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — Puffing on a cigarette, Amnon Tubi says he always knew what scientists only recently have proven about staying healthy. “I knew that Mediterranean food is the best,” he said, surrounded by tables overflowing with tomatoes, cucumbers and oranges. “The legumes are healthy. There’s a lot… Read more »
A Palestinian policeman in the West Bank city of Ramallah standing next ot a poster with a slogan protesting the upcoming visit of President Obama, March 12, 2013. (Issam Rimawi/FLASH90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — When President Obama visits Israel next week, Gavriel Yaakov wants him to jump-start the peace process. “I’m excited,” said Yaakov, 67, sitting in a Tel Aviv mall. “I want negotiations to get to an agreement on a long-term peace with the Palestinians.” Yaakov said he… Read more »
Women of the Wall holding their monthly Rosh Chodesh service at the Western Wall, in contravention of rules barring women from wearing prayer shawls or reading from the Torah at the site, March 12, 2013. (Miriam Alster/Flash90/JTA) JERUSALEM (JTA) — If ever there were a gathering of Women of the Wall that was going to spark a wider conflict, Tuesday’s would have been the one. For the past several months, police have detained members of the women’s prayer group during their monthly Rosh Chodesh services for… Read more »
The Lautenberg Amendment paved the way for these Iranian Jews shown arriving at Kennedy Airport in New York in 1995 to come to the United States. (Courtesy HIAS) WASHINGTON (JTA) – When the Lautenberg Amendment was introduced in 1990, it provided a mechanism for hundreds of thousands of Soviet Jews to exit their crumbling country and immigrate to freedom in the United States. Since 2004, it has served as a lifeline for religious minorities fleeing the Islamic… Read more »
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leading the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, March 10, 2013. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — He’s had to bite a few bullets to get there, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will lead Israel’s next government. Barring a last-minute surprise, Israel’s new governing coalition will be sworn in this week: a center-right grouping of Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud-Beiteinu faction, the centrist… Read more »
Tel Aviv — Researchers have long been fascinated by the secrets of Ramat Rahel, located on a hilltop above modern-day Jerusalem. The site of the only known palace dating back to the kingdom of Biblical Judah, digs have also revealed a luxurious ancient garden. Since excavators discovered the garden… Read more »
Naomi Schuster, UA Hillel director of student life (left) and Holocaust survivor Yuliya Genina paint ceramic butterflies for the Butterfly Project, to be displayed around Tucson in the coming months. Participants at the UA Holocaust Vigil will have the opportunity to paint butterflies. (Amy Gould) The University of Arizona Hillel Foundation’s Annual Holocaust Vigil — a 24-hour program dedicated to Holocaust remembrance — will take place on the UA mall from Wednesday, March 20 at noon until Thursday, March 21 at noon. This year’s theme is “Silence Helps the Oppressors.” The event will include… Read more »
Jane Ash, one of the founders of the Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, left, and Ital Ironstone with framed print by Julie Szerina Stein. (Marth Lochert) The Advisory Council of the Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona awarded Ital Ironstone its seventh annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award at the Connections brunch on Sunday, March 3. The award recognizes an outstanding Jewish teenage girl. The council, which includes past Women’s Philanthropy chairs and… Read more »
David Graizbord David Graizbord, Ph.D., associate professor of Judaic studies at the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, will present “Kaballah, What is it, Really and What does it Matter (Especially if You are Not a Hasid or Neo-Hasid)” at a Hadassah Southern Arizona luncheon on Sunday, March 17 at noon at… Read more »
Jewish War Veterans Friedman-Paul Post 201 will sponsor a lunch meeting on Sunday, March 17 at noon in honor of the 117th anniversary of the national veterans’ organization. The guest speaker will be James Ross, administrator of the Arizona State Veteran Home in Tucson. Jewish War Veterans of the… Read more »
Friends of the Israel Defense Forces is sponsoring a mission to Poland and Israel next month. Fifty IDF officers will accompany supporters of FIDF from the United States and Panama on the 10-day “From Holocaust to Independence” journey, April 8-19. In Poland, the group will travel to historical sites… Read more »
For Passover, the Maimonides Society of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is continuing its new program of matching established Jewish doctors in Tucson with Jewish medical students and residents from the University of Arizona for home holiday meals and observances. If you are a doctor planning a Passover… Read more »
Hundreds of thousands of locusts fly over Ramat HaNegev in southern Israel, March 5. (Dudu Greenspan/FLASH90/JTA) JERUSALEM (JTA) — A swarm of 1 million locusts crossed into Israel from Egypt. The locusts on Tuesday remained concentrated in areas of southern Israel near the border, but sightings were reported throughout the country, including Tel Aviv and the Carmel region of northern Israel. Residents of the Ramat… Read more »
Tucson’s Israel 65 Festival next month will celebrate “Israel’s Incredible Innovations.” Some of Israel’s many claims to fame include: Computers: The USB flash drive, a portable memory storage system, developed by M-Systems Agriculture: The modern drip irrigation system that dispenses a single drop of liquid at a time, invented… Read more »
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild will give the opening remarks at an all-day seminar sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association Desert Southwest Chapter at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Wednesday, March 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sessions at the 19th Annual Mayor’s Alzheimer’s Conference will include “Caregiving: Elder Law… Read more »
Jewish Family & Children’s Services is seeking volunteers and donations for its Matza and More project,, which it started in 1970. Local businesses, synagogues and Jewish organizations join JFCS in collecting and delivering a variety of food items to more than 200 individuals and families to help them celebrate… Read more »
