WASHINGTON (JTA) — What happens when new media scandal meets ancient political calculus? Anthony Weiner, the Democrat from New York, found out on Thursday, when he delivered his resignation following intense pressure from party leaders. Top Democrats described for JTA the key factors that led to Weiner’s ouster: Their… Read more »
News
Andrew Breitbart, unabashedly ‘biased journalist,’ makes splash at RJC
(Los Angeles) The TV cameras at the Beverly Hilton Hotel’s ballroom were there to cover a foreign policy speech by Newt Gingrich, but during the cocktail hour, all eyes at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s Summer Bash were on Andrew Breitbart. While Gingrich was mingling privately at the June 12… Read more »
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords discharged from Houston hospital
Photos of a smiling Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in January, were released on her Facebook page. The photos show Giffords with close-cropped hair. According to a statement on the Facebook page, they were taken May 17, the day after her husband, Mark… Read more »
Israel Scouts Friendship Caravan to give free concert at JCC
The Tzofim (Israel Scouts) Friendship Caravan national tour will stop in Tucson with a free concert of song and dance on Thursday, June 30, at 6 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The Weintraub Israel Center is seeking host families to house the Israeli teens for one night.… Read more »
UA Humanities Seminars are top-flight return to learning
Lifelong learning is often touted as an essential ingredient for aging gracefully, but for some Jewish Tucsonans the appeal goes far beyond that notion. The University of Arizona Humanities Seminars Program has filled a need “for something that gets into my brain and grabs me,” says Marilyn Heins, 80,… Read more »
Young Israel names first associate rabbi
Congregation Young Israel appointed Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin as associate rabbi as of May 2011. He will work alongside CYI’s spiritual leader of 27 years, Rabbi Yossie Shemtov. Ceitlin grew up in Montreal, where his parents are both educators. He studied in yeshivot in Bnei Brak and Kfar Chabad… Read more »
Politics, conversion, Gaza: Rabbis’ Israel trip is inside scoop
It’s not unusual for rabbis to frequently visit Israel, but last month Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon of Temple Emanu-El enjoyed the rare opportunity of traveling to the Holy Land as part of a select group from around the United States and Canada that included 10 Reform, 10 Conservative and… Read more »
Homeland security partners with Jewish groups on security campaign
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In its first partnership with a faith-based community, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is working with Jewish organizations to expand awareness of suspicious behavior. The “If You See Something, Say Something” campaign will distribute posters and customized announcements in synagogues, Jewish community centers and related… Read more »
Shuttering of Yale program on anti-Semitism raises hackles
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Did Yale’s program on anti-Semitism die a natural death from lack of academic vigor, as the university says? Should it have been saved, as two major Jewish groups are arguing? Or was it killed for being politically incorrect about Muslim anti-Semitism, as alleged by others? The… Read more »
Meet Dan Lederman: the Jewish bail bondsman legislator from South Dakota
WASHINGTON (JTA) — AIPAC photo-ops? Check. Initiate and pass Iran divestment bill? Check. Pheasant-hunt fundraisers, sandbagging for flood protection and running a bail bonds business… Check. Could Dan Lederman, an energetic and peripatetic 38-year-old Republican state senator in South Dakota, set a new template for Jewish politicians? “He’s somebody… Read more »
BDS brouhaha threatens to taint Limmud Australia
SYDNEY, Australia (JTA) — Legitimate criticism or illegitimate dissent? Censorship or free speech? Fighting for a democratic Jewish state or sleeping with the enemy? These are some of the vexing questions Australian Jewry is grappling with in the wake of a controversy surrounding Limmud-Oz, the Australian arm of the… Read more »
Dolphinarium disco attack 10 years ago turning point for Russian-speaking immigrants
Tel Aviv — Faina Dorfman, who immigrated to Israel from Uzbekistan hoping that her only child would have a better life here, walks along a stretch of beach just south of a tattered seaside disco called the Dolphinarium. Ten years ago, a young Palestinian detonated a bomb packed with… Read more »
JCC seeks Tucson host families for Israeli camp counselors
The Tucson Jewish Community Center summer camp (“Camp J”) and the Weintraub Israel Center are seeking host families for two Israeli counselors who will be working at Camp J this summer. Yael Weizner, 19, has a passion for dance and painting. She comes from a non-religious background and although… Read more »
Federation continuing 2011 Campaign effort
As the summer begins, Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona campaign leaders are working to close the 2011 Campaign by contacting past donors who have not yet made a pledge for this year. “The budgeting process for next season begins this summer,” explains Campaign Chair Kathryn Unger. “And the 2011… Read more »
CAI hires young rabbi as director of learning
Congregation Anshei Israel has hired Rabbi Ben Herman to serve as director of congregational learning, effective July 1. In this new position at CAI, Herman will be responsible for the synagogue’s religious school and adult education programs and will also be the liturgical coordinator, arranging for congregants to lead… Read more »
Months after tsunami, Jewish groups and Israel still helping Japan
In northeastern Japan, the area hardest hit by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami, a team of Israeli post-trauma experts guided local teachers and officials through their lingering pain. One kindergarten teacher broke down in tears as she related how another teacher saw the great wall of water… Read more »
Battle over proposed circumcision ban shaping up in California cities
In November, San Franciscans will vote on a ballot measure that would outlaw circumcision on boys under the age of 18. Although experts say it is highly unlikely the measure will pass — very few state ballot propositions pass in the state, much less one this controversial —… Read more »
UA professor spearheads $16 million grant against obesity
Merrill Eisenberg is a dynamo — a medical anthropologist and assistant professor at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health whose $16 million grant strikes at obesity from multiple fronts. “The bottom line is to make the healthy choice the easy choice,” says Eisenberg,… Read more »
Landmark study provides snapshot of new Jewish identity in Central Europe
BUDAPEST, Hungary (JTA) — A generation after the fall of communism, Jews in Central Europe feel comfortable where they live but are concerned about anti-Semitism. They like to visit Israel but don’t want to move there. And they feel that they don’t have to be religious to be a… Read more »
From praise to anger, Jewish response to Obama’s speech runs the gamut
WASHINGTON (JTA) — From accolades like “compelling” to accusations like “Auschwitz borders” to radio silence, to label the Jewish response to President Obama’s speech on Middle East policy as diverse understates matters. The very breadth of the Middle East policy speech — 5,600 words and covering the entire Middle… Read more »