Jason Alexander, meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres at Peres' residence in Jerusalem, Oct. 25, 2011. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90/JTA) (JTA) — To those who know him as the lovably neurotic and lazy George Costanza from TV’s “Seinfeld,” there was something comic — if not downright ridiculous — in seeing actor Jason Alexander being asked by an elder statesman of Middle East diplomacy about making peace between Israelis and… Read more »
(Jewish Ideas Daily) — America’s relations with the Arab world have been strained for decades, but the Arab world is not all of a piece. The pre-eminent enemies of Israel and the West, Syria and Iran, are totalitarian. Egypt, since the 1970 death of the nationalist hero-tyrant Gamal Abdel… Read more »
Ava Sarah Keyrallah was born in Paris on Oct. 31, 2011, the day the United Nations celebrated the 7 billionth child being born. (Courtesy Celine Abisror) NEW YORK (JTA) — Could the 7 billionth person on the planet be Jewish? According to the United Nations Population Fund, the Earth welcomed its 7 billionth resident on Oct. 31. Statistically, the newborn was most likely a boy in India or China. The symbolic title was given to… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — They may have scored a victory at UNESCO, but the Palestinians are running into new obstacles on their push for statehood recognition at the United Nations. The effort to pursue the issue at the U.N. Security Council has encountered a stumbling block in Bosnia, where the… Read more »
A destroyed Jewish clothing store in Magdeburg, Germany, after Kristallnacht, Nov. 11, 1938. (H. Frederick, Hanover) NEW YORK (JTA) — Before it was called Kristallnacht, it was known simply as “the pogrom.” Designated “the night of broken glass,” the 14-hour wave of Nazi violence on Nov. 9-10, 1938 left hundreds of Jewish storefronts and synagogues across Germany and parts of Austria in shards and splinters,… Read more »
The late philanthropist Mendel Kaplan showing former South Africa President Nelson Mandela around the South African Jewish Museum, which was opened by Mandela in 2000. (Shawn Benjamin/Ark Images) CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA) – When anti-apartheid activist Lorna Levy first became involved in politics as a student in the late 1950s, she remembers being the target of hostility from the Jewish community in her native South Africa. In the 1960s, she and her husband, Leon, made their… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is determined to return to Congress. Giffords, who is recovering from being shot in the head in January, reveals in a book she co-writes with her husband, Mark Kelly, that she plans to keep her job, according to a report Friday by… Read more »
Danny Danon, a Knesset member and a leader of the settlement movement, making a point to Herman Cain after leading the Republican presidential candidate on a tour of the tunnels beneath Jerusalem's Western Wall, August 2011. (George Lange Studios) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Call Herman Cain the crash-course pro-Israel candidate. Since stumbling in May on a question about Palestinians and the right of return, the one-time pizza executive who recently rocketed to the top of GOP presidential polls has visited Israel and read up about the Jewish state. “Mr.… Read more »
UNESCO designated Tel Aviv's "White City" -- its 4,000 Bauhaus buildings -- a heritage site in 2003, facilitating funds for rehabilitation projects. (David Lisbona via Creative Commons.) WASHINGTON (JTA) — The immediate consequence of UNESCO’s vote to grant the Palestinians membership is clear: A cutoff of American funding for the U.N. agency governing the protection of cultures and sharing of scientific knowledge, which stands to lose roughly a fifth of its budget. What’s less certain… Read more »
Rafael Medoff WASHINGTON (JTA) — Most American Christian leaders strongly condemned the Kristallnacht pogrom that the Nazis carried out against Germany’s Jews 73 years ago next week, when hundreds of synagogues were torched, the windows of thousands of Jewish businesses were smashed, 100 Jews were murdered and 30,000 more were dragged… Read more »
Secular protesters march against Islamism in Tunis ahead of the Oct. 24 elections in Tunisia, Oct. 14, 2011. The placard reads "Free to speak to say nothing." (Houda Trablesi for Maghrebia, via Creative Commons) WASHINGTON (JTA) — It was an orderly, peaceful election — a rarity in the Arab world. And it was won by Islamists. How observers view the Tunisian elections and what they mean for the West, Israel and the North African country’s tiny Jewish community depends in part on which… Read more »
Untitled 1968 lithograph by Marc Chagall “Flight: Mid-Century Masters Interpret the Escape for Survival,” an art exhibit that includes pieces by Marc Chagall and Joan Miró, is on display at the Tucson Jewish Community Center until Dec. 4. The exhibit is presented by the International Rescue Committee in Tucson, in partnership with the JCC. The… Read more »
Richard H. Carmona, M.D., the 17th surgeon general of the United States, will be the keynote speaker at the seventh annual CHAI Circle (Cancer, Healing and Inspiration) retreat. The retreat will take place on Sunday, Nov. 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Canyon Ranch, 8600 E. Rockcliff… Read more »
Temple Emanu-El Women of Reform Judaism will present an evening with comedian Keith Barany on Saturday, Nov. 5. Barany calls himself a “clean comic” who proves that comedians can be tasteful and hilarious without being corny; his website is pg-comedy.com. He currently contributes to “The Jimmy Kimmel Show,” was… Read more »
The Young Women’s Cabinet of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will present “Hot Looks for Hanukkah” at Fringe at La Encantada on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. Fringe managing director Jessica Baylon and staff will share make-up application tips and hairstyle techniques. The event will… Read more »
The Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona will present a “Medicare, Social Security and Disability Seminar” on Thursday, Nov. 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Speakers are Janet Davis, an income, estate and gift tax financial planner; Brian Clymer, an attorney who represents… Read more »
Nan Rubin The Secular Humanist Jewish Circle will sponsor a lecture by Nan Rubin on “Mussar, an Ethical Approach to Daily Life” on Saturday, Nov. 19, from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Dusenberry-River Library, 5605 East River Road (Craycroft and River). Rubin, a licensed clinical social worker, has been engaged… Read more »
Nancy Mellan As Jewish women, we come from a tradition that honors our role in home, family and community. In the Eshet Chayil Shabbat blessing recited by husbands to their wives, we are honored: “A good woman, who can find. She reaches her hand out to those in need. She is… Read more »
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona will present a symposium on “The U.S.-Israel Relationship: On the Verge of a Paradigmatic Shift?” on Wednesday, Nov. 9, from 1 to 9 p.m. The event, with experts from the East and West Coasts and the UA, will… Read more »
U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Cecil D. Haney (left) presents U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jonathan E. Lowe with the Lance P. Sijan Leadership Senior Officer of the Year Award for all of Strategic Command on Sept. 18, 2011. Haney is deputy commander for U.S. Strategic Command, encompassing army, navy, air force and marines, at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb. (Courtesy Anne Lowe) Even if some Jewish servicemen and women haven’t celebrated Passover in years, attending a Seder thousands of miles from home can be a source of comfort. Several Tucson mothers of Jewish servicemen have found their own ways to honor their offspring, while extending tzedakah to other Jewish members of… Read more »
