Itamar Rabinovich Itamar Rabinovich, Israel’s ambassador to the United States from 1993 to 1996, will present “The U.S., Israel and the Challenge of Iran: Options and Constraints,” on Monday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. A Weintraub Israel Center Heartbeat of Israel program, the free lecture… Read more »
Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman of Chabad of Tucson affixes the mezuzah at the grand opening of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona's Northwest office in October 2012. (Phyllis Braun) The Jewish Federation-Northwest celebrated its grand opening at 190 W. Magee Road on Sunday, Oct. 7. Although the new office of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division has been open since July, offering classes, Torah study, women’s Rosh Chodesh gatherings, mah jongg, arts and crafts for all… Read more »
A projection of what Rambam Hospital’s underground hospital will look like once it is completed. (Rambam Hospital, Haifa) When missiles rained down on northern Israel from Lebanon six years ago, surgeons at Rambam Hospital in Haifa worked, terrified, on the building’s eighth floor. That summer, missiles had struck fewer than 20 yards away, endangering the staff and patients of northern Israel’s largest hospital and the central facility… Read more »
Tucsonan Bill Kugelman, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, talks with Polish students Michal Kochanowski, Maciej Baranowski and Milena Adelt at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Oct. 9. (Sharon Glassberg/JFSA) Polish high school teacher Barbara (Basia) Matusiak wears a Star of David around her neck, although she isn’t Jewish. Matusiak was part of a non-Jewish Polish group that included 10 teens, two teachers and the principal of High School 15 in Lodz, Poland, who visited Tucson from Oct. 4… Read more »
A poster touts the debate Oct. 11 between Vice President Joe Biden and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in Danville, Ky. The candidates outlined differences over what constitutes a red line for action when it comes to Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program. (Creative Commons) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made headlines last month with this question: What are the U.S. red lines when it comes to Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program? The two presidential campaigns are offering two different answers. “Recently, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have talked… Read more »
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Facebook page of PlayArt Labs, an Israeli gaming startup, looks more like the homepage of an art museum than the profile of an emerging technology company. It features an article about Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” an animation of Vincent van Gogh’s… Read more »
Hannah Rosenthal, center, the anti-Semitism monitor for the United States, meeting with English language micro-scholarship students in Azerbaijan, March 2011. (U.S. Embassy Baku) WASHINGTON (JTA) – Anti-Semitism overseas is being noted with increasing frequency by U.S. State Department human rights reports, and Hannah Rosenthal says that’s a good thing. Rosenthal, the State Department’s second anti-Semitism monitor, says increased reporting reflects burgeoning awareness of the problem among U.S. diplomats. “The not-so-sexy part of… Read more »
Arlen Specter, shown speaking at the AFL-CIO convention in September 2009, represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate for 30 years. (Steve Dietz/Sharp Image) WASHINGTON (JTA) — During his 30 years in the clubby confines of the U.S. Senate, Arlen Specter never lost his acerbic prosecutorial zeal, friends and associates say. The insistent questions, the commitment to independence that made the longtime Pennsylvania senator a critical player in recent U.S. history, ultimately did… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — When 15 prominent American Protestant leaders sent a letter to Congress last week calling for an investigation and possible suspension of U.S. aid to Israel, at least one outcome was certain: The Jews wouldn’t like it. Already, one major American Jewish group has canceled its participation… Read more »
Rabbi Raphael Evers speaking with spectators at the commemoration ceremony on the 20th anniversary of the crash of an El Al plane in Amsterdam, Oct. 4, 2012. (Cnaan Liphshiz) AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Chemical weapons, nuclear debris and Mossad agents in biohazard suits all have played prominent roles in the dozens of conspiracy theories surrounding the crash of an El Al airplane here 20 years ago this month. But Rob Oudkerk, vice chairman of the Dutch parliament’s inquiry into… Read more »
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing early elections in Israel at a news conference at his office in Jerusalem, Oct. 9, 2012. (Miriam Alster/FLASH90/JTA) TEL AVIV (JTA) — It wasn’t Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for early elections that was unusual. After all, only a few governments have served a full term in Israel’s 64-year history. What was unusual was that seemingly everyone on Israel’s political spectrum — from left to right — appeared to… Read more »
Stephanie Neidermyer, LMFT, in the lobby of the new northwest office of Jewish Family & Children’s Services Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, a nonprofit agency that offers social and behavioral health services to the Jewish and greater Tucson community, recently opened an office on the Northwest side, at the corner of Oracle and Magee Roads. Shoshana Elkins, vice president of programs and services… Read more »
The LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, Wingspan Multi-faith Working Group and Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will hold the 4th Annual Multi-faith Pride Service, “Love Wins,” on Thursday, Oct. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E.… Read more »
Tucson Meet Yourself: A Folklife Festival will take place downtown from Oct. 12-14. This is the 39th annual TMY festival, whose mission is to present the living traditional arts of the ethnic communities of the Arizona-Sonora region. The festival now draws more than 100,000 people over three days. The… Read more »
Traditional political issues of taxes and business growth arose at a local candidates forum on Monday, Sept. 24 at the Arizona Inn. However, many of the 15 candidates vying for seats in Legislative Districts 9, 10 and 11 and on the Pima County Board of Supervisors repeatedly harked back… Read more »
“We the People of the United States …” So begins the United States Constitution, laying out the blueprint for a nation. Along with its 27 amendments, the Constitution is the roadmap to our rights as citizens. Today, many significant issues are being challenged on constitutional grounds. But just what… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy will celebrate local women with “13 Extraordinary Women Share Their Secrets” on Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at Skyline Country Club. The 13 women will have three minutes each to share their formulas for success in their personal, professional and… Read more »
Congregation Anshei Israel’s cantorial soloist Nichole Chorny is forming two new choirs: one for adults and another for children. An interest meeting for the adult choir will be held Sunday, Oct. 14, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in the synagogue’s sanctuary. Open to all adults, the choir’s repertoire will include a full… Read more »
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy and CHAI Circle will hold a Sharsheret Pink Shabbat Weekend Oct. 25-28. The events will kick off Thursday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. with a “Think Pink” challah baking program and panel discussion at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, “What’s Jewish about… Read more »
Joel Chasnoff Tucson Hebrew Academy will honor Tom Warne with its 2012 Tikkun Olam Award at a gala dinner featuring entertainment by comedian Joel Chasnoff on Oct. 28. Warne is known in the Jewish community as a lay leader and philanthropist. He is chair of the Tucson Jewish Community Center board… Read more »
