Philanthropist Steven Lightman will be honored at the Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging annual dinner on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. at Loews Ventana Canyon. The event will feature “Encore: A Salute to Musical Theatre” by performers from the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and… Read more »
News
Birmingham mission shows black-Jewish ties live on
Some pundits have declared the historic black-Jewish alliance of the civil rights era over, dead, finished. Not so, say Tucsonans Jonathan Rothschild and Barbara Lewis, who in June took part in a Jewish Council on Public Affairs-sponsored African-American/Jewish Community Leaders Mission to Birmingham, Ala., to witness the still vibrant… Read more »
Engineer turned shaliach Guy Gelbart arrives in Tucson
As a teen growing up in Haifa, Guy Gelbart was active in the Israeli Scout Movement, the Tzofim. “It was about the coolest thing you could do,” Gelbart told the AJP. Now, at age 36, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s new Israel Center director and community shaliach, or… Read more »
Karla Ember, beloved cantor and choir director, dies after brutal attack
“Radiant” and “giving” are the words friends use to describe Karla Marie Ember, 54, cantorial soloist for Congregation Chaverim, who died Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2010, from injuries sustained in an attack on Friday, Sept. 3.… Read more »
Will the real Imam Rauf please stand up?
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2010 9:31 AM Initially the controversy over building a $100-million Muslim community center and mosque two blocks from Ground Zero was about location, location, location. Increasingly, however, attention has turned to the 61-year-old Sufi imam behind the project. Depending on who you ask, Rauf —… Read more »
The peace talks — and their obstacles
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Peace in a year? Try getting past Sept. 26. Or is it 30? Direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis have barely begun and already the sides are facing their first major hurdle — the end of Israel’s partial moratorium on settlement building. Several issues might beset… Read more »
Benefit concert – a message from Cantor Janece Cohen
Last Friday night, my dear friend Karla Ember, beloved cantorial soloist of Congregation Chaverim and longtime Tucson Jewish community musician was violently attacked and gravely wounded. She is now in intensive care and fighting for her life. Members of our Jewish community are trying to help Karla and her… Read more »
Netanyahu, Abbas each give a little on first day of talks
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Tell us what you want. Now listen to what your partner wants. Now tell us what your partner wants. In slow, almost excruciating increments, talks between Israelis and Palestinians are taking on the dimensions of counseling sessions moderated by the United States. Heading into a White… Read more »
THA tidbits: Middle-schoolers bond on retreat
Many schools have eliminated informal programs, leaving only classes characterized by high student/teacher ratios, rote memorization and drill exercises. But in designing programs at Tucson Hebrew Academy, the social and high-energy needs of young teens have not been tossed out, says Arthur Yavelberg, THA interim head of school. Take… Read more »
Apples add sweet meaning to holiday fare
The Northwest Rosh Chodesh group, a program of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division Jewish Connections, met Aug. 9 at the Oro Valley home of Ester Leutenberg. Seventeen women, ranging in age from a middle school student to women in their 70s, came together to greet the… Read more »
Maccabi Games give Tucson teen athletes opportunity for medals, service
The Tucson Maccabi Delegation of 14 teen athletes attended the Maccabi Games in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 1-6, making this the 15th year the Tucson Jewish Community Center has fielded a team. The games attract thousands of Jewish youth each year from across the United States, Mexico, Canada, Israel and… Read more »
Larry Harlow, ‘El Judío Maravilloso,’ headliner for Tucson Latin Jazz Festival
Salsa star Larry Harlow, known affectionately in the Latin music world as El Judío Maravilloso (“the marvelous Jew”), will headline the Tucson Jazz Society’s Downtown Tucson Latin Jazz Festival on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 8 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center’s Leo Rich Theatre. Born Lawrence Ira Kahn in… Read more »
Exhibit honors new fire foundation
A photography exhibit by Tucsonan Sean Stuchen, “Firefighters on Film,” celebrates the creation of the Tucson Fire Foundation. The foundation, the result of yearlong discussions between community philanthropists and Tucson Fire Department senior staff, will provide funds to bridge the human services gap between the needs of the fire… Read more »
Nominate, vote for Jewish Community Heroes
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is seeking nominees for the Second Annual Jewish Community Hero Awards, a Jewish Federations of North America initiative aimed at connecting people through social media to recognize those who are helping their communities through volunteer service. To nominate a Jewish Community Hero, go… Read more »
‘Rebbetzmen’: Life as rabbi’s husband A-OK
With four female rabbis heading Tucson congregations, it’s easy to forget that the advent of women on the bimah is a relatively recent occurrence. Since 1972, about 1,000 women have been ordained as rabbis in this country. So the norm for most congregations is a male rabbi where the… Read more »
JCC collecting cards for Israeli soldier Shalit
Captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit marked his 24th birthday — his fifth in captivity — on Aug. 28. The Tucson Jewish Community Center is collecting birthday and new year’s cards for Shalit, in partnership with the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, Magen David Adom (Israel’s “Red… Read more »
Cantors’ journey to Poland captured in film
A documentary based on the historic visit of 100 cantors to Poland last year, “100 Voices: A Journey Home,” will be shown at three movie theatres in Tucson, for one night only, on Tuesday, Sept. 21. The film explores the rich history of Jewish culture in Poland, which is… Read more »
Unique device aids in shofar mitzvah
Blowing a shofar via a mechanical device? When 23-year-old Peter Ruiz, who has cerebral palsy, presses a touch screen at Congregation Or Chadash’s contemporary Rosh Hashanah service on Thursday, Sept. 9 at 8:30 a.m., he will remarkably do just that. “This may be the first time this has been… Read more »
Rumors sully Jewish response to imams’ trip to Auschwitz
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Eight imams bowed in prayer before a sculpture at Dachau vividly representing the Jewish dead of Europe. It’s a picture worth a thousand words of reconciliation and understanding. Yet even before its appearance in the Jewish media — on the front page of the Forward for… Read more »
Sarkozy’s security crackdown roils France, but Jews more circumspect
PARIS (JTA) — With a preponderance of voices from the international media, human rights groups, the French clergy and some politicians denouncing French President Nicolas Sarkozy for fueling negative ethnic stereotypes with his new immigrant-focused security crackdown, many Jewish community representatives in France are taking a more measured stance.… Read more »