Ira Forman, longtime head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, was tapped by the Obama campaign to be its Jewish outreach director. (photo by Ira Forman) WASHINGTON (JTA/WASHINGTON JEWISH WEEK) — The fight for the Jewish vote in 2012 is expected to be a tough one. So the Obama campaign is turning to the quintessential insider. On Aug. 16, the Obama campaign tapped as its Jewish outreach director Ira Forman, the former head of the… Read more »
MINORITY OF ONE: The New York Jewish Week looks at the lives of the small numbers of Jewish students enrolled at historically black colleges. “I create my own Jewish life,” says Abraham Mercado, a place-kicker for the football team at Baltimore’s Morgan State University, where he may (or may… Read more »
Tifereth Israel Congregation in New Bedford, Mass., is looking for former members and their descendants for its 90th anniversary celebration in November 2011. Please email Milton Goodman, executive director, at mgoodman@tinewbedford.org or contact the congregation through its Facebook page.… Read more »
On Sunday, Aug. 21, Ira Kerem, the TIPS (Tucson Israel Phoenix Seattle) partnership representative in Israel, reported that following the killing of eight Israelis along the border with Egypt by terrorists based in Gaza, the Israeli air force launched attacks into Gaza. “Since then almost 100 missiles have been fired from… Read more »
JERUSALEM (JTA) – Last week, Muslim and Jewish soldiers gathered after a day’s training to eat a communal iftar, the traditional break-the-fast meal eaten after sunset during the month-long observance of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan. “Ramadan isn’t just one day like the 17th of Tammuz or Tisha B’Av,”… Read more »
JONATHAN ROTHSCHILD, Democratic candidate for mayor of Tucson, has released a 180-Day Work Plan focusing on jobs and economic development, “safe, vital neighborhoods,” an open government initiative and plans to develop green industries. To read a copy of the plan, go to www.jonathanfor mayor.com. “The Heyday… Read more »
Frank (Waldemar Torenstra) and Esther (Anna Drijver) in ‘Bride Flight’ Half an hour into the richly layered Dutch saga “Bride Flight,” you’d never imagine that a menorah would become the film’s most affecting and enduring symbol. At that point, we’re scarcely aware that there’s a Jewish character in this first-rate romantic drama, which centers on a quartet of 20-something… Read more »
(L-R): David Updegraff, Bob Kovitz, Kathleen Cannon, Babe McGuire, Scott Berg and Robyn Austin in “Elevator” “Elevator,” a play about six people trapped inside a World Trade Center elevator on Sept. 11, 2001, debuted in Tucson at the Pima Community College Proscenium Theater, Sept. 1-4. Based on facts about the elevator system in the twin towers, the play begins a few minutes before the first… Read more »
It’s hard to think of a more innocuous word for most American Jews than “community.” But in France, things aren’t so simple. France’s national ethos frowns upon displays of ethnic difference. So for many French Jews, the word “community” conveys a sense of separatism and insularity that clashes with… Read more »
Tucsonan Bobby Present, right, defeated Barry Danser of London, left. (Courtesy Bobby Present) Tucsonan Bobby Present competed in the Maccabi Games in Vienna, Austria, this summer, playing in the masters tennis men’s 55+ category — and doing well until an injury forced him to default for the first time in his tennis career. “It was unfortunate timing,” he told the AJP, because… Read more »
The Men’s Club of Beth Shalom Temple Center has launched a free “Offbeat Film Retrospective,” with screenings on the first and third Thursday of each month at 1 p.m. Many of the films reflect the Jewish experience in the diaspora, directly or indirectly, says men’s club president Merle Sobol.… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El is bringing back its free “Taste of Judaism” classes for the 12th year. Nearly 4,000 people have completed the course through Temple Emanu-El, which now offers five sessions at locations throughout Tucson. Rabbis Samuel M. Cohon and Jason Holtz will lead an interactive exploration of the history… Read more »
Congregation Anshei Israel is continuing “Rosh Hodesh: It’s a Girl Thing!” for a fourth year. The nationwide program uses Jewish teachings to help pre-teen and teenage girls make healthy life choices and features an informal setting, small group size, and carefully designed activities. The program is free and is… Read more »
Congregation Or Chadash will host Leah Hochman, Ph.D., as scholar-in-residence Aug. 26-28. Hochman is director of the Jerome H. Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at the University of Southern California and assistant professor of Jewish thought on the Los Angeles campus of Hebrew-Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. She teaches… Read more »
Food allergies among children have become more commonplace in recent years, and Tucson’s Jewish schools are paying attention. “Not only has there been an increase in allergies, but there’s been an increase in the severity” of allergies among students at Tucson Hebrew Academy, says Ronnie Sebold, the school’s… Read more »
The 2nd Annual Rainbow Keshet Awards committee is seeking nominations honoring individuals in Southern Arizona who have helped make the local community and the world a better place for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and families. The awards ceremony will be held at the Tucson Jewish Community… Read more »
Esther Becker of Congregation Chofetz Chayim will hold a free pre-High Holiday women’s dinner and discussion of the book “A Daughter of Two Mothers” by Miriam Cohen on Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. “Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur offer a time for introspection, a time for renewal, and… Read more »
Israeli soldiers scuffle with Palestinians during a demonstration near the West Bank village of Beit Omar, Aug. 13. Some analysts warn that a U.N. vote on the Palestinian statehood could set off a new wave of Mideast violence. ( Najeh Hashlamoun/Flash 90) On Sept. 20, when the annual session of the U.N. General Assembly opens, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to ask U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to present a Palestinian request for statehood recognition to the U.N. Security Council. The long-anticipated request will kick off a chain of events… Read more »
Alfred Schreier returned to Vienna in 2009 for the 100th anniversary of the Hakoah Sport Club (above), and again this summer for the first European Maccabi Games to be held in a German-speaking country since 1945. Alfred Schreier was proud to be among the 2,000 athletes representing 37 nations at this year’s European Maccabi Games held July 5 to 13 in Vienna, Austria. A Sahuarita resident, Schreier, 82, was born in Vienna, where he returned after the Holocaust to become a successful teen athlete in… Read more »
Ben Louchheim (Photos courtesy Tucson Hebrew Academy) At Tucson Hebrew Academy parents sometimes say “you keep them in a cocoon,” says Ronnie Sebold, director of admissions. But this cocoon also nurtures THA students as they embark on their high school years. “They get a lot of comfort here, learn skills and are academically so prepared and… Read more »
