Rabbi Samuel M. Cohon The speaker invited then uninvited. The signature on the petition removed. The activity joined, then unjoined. The job threatened. Rabbis and Jewish professionals increasingly are being faced with a dilemma over discussing divisive topics — especially regarding Israel — central to how they see their Jewish missions without losing… Read more »
In Israel, restituting Holocaust-era assets isn’t just about getting European countries, banks and insurance companies to pay up. It’s also about finding the rightful heirs of thousands of pre-state assets in Israel whose original Jewish owners perished during the Holocaust. These include dormant bank accounts, real estate, bonds and… Read more »
The Kurt Lindenfeld store in Chemnitz, Germany, seen here in the 1920s, was one of thousands of German Jewish businesses that vanished during the Nazi era. (N.Y. Museum of Jewish Heritage) NEW YORK (JTA) — The Israeli government is firing a new salvo in the turf war over Holocaust restitution. Following years of complaints by survivors about opacity and unjust allocation decisions by the Claims Conference, and after two decades of what critics deride as scant tangible successes by the… Read more »
New Yorkers gather near Ground Zero to celebrate the news that Osama bin Laden has been killed. (Richard via Creative Commons) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) -- When the news of Osama bin Laden’s death at U.S. hands hit the airwaves Sunday, America breathed a collective sigh of relief. Spontaneous celebrations broke out in front of the White House, as crowds gathered to wave the Stars and Stripes and chant their delight.… Read more »
(JTA) — Jewish and Israeli leaders welcomed the news that Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan. The body of bin Laden, head of the terrorist group al-Qaida and the mastermind behind the Sept. 11, 2011 attacks on New York and Washington, was… Read more »
Upon hearing the news of Osama bin Laden's death, jubilant crowds packed New York's Times Square in the wee hours of May 1, 2011. (Uri Fintzy) NEW YORK (JTA) – For years after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many Americans waited in fear for the next strike by al-Qaida on U.S. soil.… Read more »
Dear Avi and Adele: My mom, like most typical Jewish mothers, keeps trying to set me up when I haven’t asked her to. While I appreciate her efforts, I’m a little uncomfortable that my mother is out there shopping for me – she doesn’t really seem to know my… Read more »
The Museum of Jewish History in Girona is housed in what is believed to be the Spanish city’s last known synagogue. (Ben Harris/JTA Photo Service) Hidden among the maze of alleyways east of the Onyar River, the Museum of Jewish History stands as testament — if an inadvertent one — to the completeness of Spain’s destruction of its once-thriving Jewish population. Inside the museum, set in what is said to be Girona’s last known… Read more »
The Southwest Jewish Education Center, directed by Rabbi Shafir Lobb, is sponsoring a weekend with Cantor Richard Kaplan May 5-7, including a memorial and service of healing concert honoring the victims of the Jan. 8 shooting on May 7. Kaplan, who is also a teacher and ethnomusicologist, has performed… Read more »
The Temple Emanu-El Kurn Religious School will hold a Simcha Fair on Sunday, May 1 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Temple Emanu-El. Simcha, which means happy event or celebration, can include weddings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, baby showers and engagement parties. The fair is free and open… Read more »
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and Hadassah Southern Arizona will hold a breakfast event, “Views on Recovery and Progress: A Conversation with Tucson City Council Members and Pima County Board of Supervisors” on Friday, April 29, 7:30-9 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s nominating committee, chaired by Jennifer Miller Grant, has recommended the following slate of officers for the 2011-2012 program year: Jeff Katz, chair of the board; Kathryn L. Unger, senior vice chair; Madeline Friedman, vice chair; Larry Gellman, vice chair; Joyce Stuehringer, vice chair;… Read more »
The Weintraub Israel Center will hold its annual Yom Hazikaron memorial service in honor of fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terror on Thursday, May 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The program will include an honor guard from the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and… Read more »
The Federation’s TIPS Partnership incorporates the Regional Council of Hof Ashkelon, a consortium of kibbutzim and moshavim that border Gaza. This update from our partners, written Sunday, April 10, reveals how life is being impacted on a day-to-day basis by the uptick in missiles coming into the region from… Read more »
On, Monday, May 2, more than 10,000 high school students and Holocaust survivors from around the world will take part in the 2011 March of the Living, walking three kilometers from Auschwitz to Birkenau. The event will air live at 9 a.m. on Jewish Life Television on cable and… Read more »
In conjunction with this year’s Tucson community Yom HaShoah memorials, the Temple Emanu-El Readers Theater, members of the Adult Education Academy’s “So You Think You Can Act” class, will present a staged reading of “Ani Maamin” (“I Believe”) on Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m. One of Maimonides’ Thirteen… Read more »
Ishmael Khaldi Middle Eastern countries want to learn from Israel, the region’s only democracy, Israel’s first Arab Bedouin diplomat, Ishmael Khaldi, told an audience of around 65 people at an April 15 breakfast at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “We’re ready to speak with Iran or anybody who wants to speak… Read more »
David Abraham and his mother, Marlene, in Israel David Abraham, a former Tucsonan who made aliyah in 2008 after graduating from the University of Arizona and spent two years in the Israel Defense Forces, where he was a tank commander, has joined with other “lone soldiers” and native Israelis to launch a website that provides information, in… Read more »
Artist’s rendering of proposed Hillel renovation After more than three years in the planning, the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation is ready to begin work on renovating and expanding its current building. Hillel will hold a ceremonial groundbreaking at the site (1245 E. Second Street) at 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 5. Hillel serves as… Read more »
Bill Kugelman talks to Hebrew High students. (Jonathan Vanballenberghe) Picture a room full of teenagers, uncharacteristically still, hanging on to every word spoken by an 86-year-old man, who looks easily 10 years younger, with bushy eyebrows and salt-and-pepper hair, a yarmulke perched stubbornly on his head. “How long after liberation and after the war did it take you… Read more »
