News

Handmaker residents celebrate Purim

Sarah Segal got into the spirit of Purim during the Zoom Megillah reading at Handmaker on Erev Purim.

Despite COVID restriction adjustments, Handmaker residents had fun celebrating Purim this year! Rabbi and Chani Shemtov and Rabbi and Feigi Ceitlin provided beautiful Mishloach Manot for our residents at Handmaker. Many residents also enjoyed listening to the Megillah Esther on Zoom on Erev Purim, read by Mel Cohen, Dan… Read more »

Pastor, former Tucson mayor discuss African American-Jewish relations, fixing inequities

Jonathan Rothschild, left, and Pastor D. Grady Scott

Although the African American community faces many challenges, such as gaining better access to healthcare and education, for Pastor B. Grady Scott of Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Tucson, the number one issue is overrepresentation in jails and prisons. Scott and former Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild presented “African… Read more »

Examining justice: Introducing the Tzedek Project

What is justice? Equity? Fair treatment? The blindfolded woman holding the scales? What would the perfect world, filled with justice,  look like? Deuteronomy 16:20 tells us: “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof l’maan tichyeh.” Justice, justice you shall pursue, that you may live… In the months of 2021, we will explore many… Read more »

JFSA Tucson Maimonides Society wishes the community a happy, healthy 2021

The Tucson Maimonides Society is a fellowship of healthcare professionals who are dedicated to educational, social and philanthropic activities under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. ALLERGY & IMMUNOLOGY Jacob Pinnas, M.D.* Retired   Leonard Schultz, M.D.* Retired   Howard J. Schwartz, M.D.* Retired   ANESTHESIOLOGY… Read more »

AJP gets new intern; JFSA/JCF hires marketing coordinator

Quinn McVeigh is the Arizona Jewish Post’s intern for spring 2021. McVeigh is a junior at the University of Arizona majoring in journalism and environmental studies with a minor in natural resources. His interest in interning with the AJP stems from his high school years, when he had meaningful… Read more »

CAI to present StandWithUs virtual workshop for teens on anti-Semitism

Nichole Chorny

Congregation Anshei Israel will present a workshop for high school students about anti-Semitism led by StandWithUs on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 11:15 a.m. on Zoom. Teens attending will include high school madrichim (teacher’s aides) from CAI and Or Chadash/Temple Emanu-El, plus members of CAI USY and BBYO, but all Jewish… Read more »

Human rights lawyer appointed as new Jewish History Museum director

Gugulethu Moyo, executive director of the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center in Tucson (Photo courtesy Moyo)

Gugulethu Moyo, the new executive director of Tucson’s Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center, comes to the job with a unique set of qualifications, encompassing both her career as an international human rights lawyer and her personal Jewish journey. In November, the museum’s board of directors unanimously approved her appointment… Read more »

Amid pandemic, Project Isaiah and Mitzvah Magic continue to help needy Tucsonans

Community Food Bank team members load provide food supplies at the emergency food distribution center it operated at Kino Sports Complex for nine months. On Jan. 7, the food bank moved drive-up distribution to its building at 3003 S. Country Club Road. Project Isaiah, the Jewish community's annual anti-hunger campaign, benefits the Community Food Bank. (Photo courtesy Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona)

Through Project Isaiah and Mitzvah Magic, two longstanding programs organized by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and community partners, members of the Tucson Jewish community have helped put food on the table and meet other needs for local families this fall, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.… Read more »

Tucson International Jewish Film Festival’s ‘Feeding Our Souls’ documents local shul’s farm project

A Congregation Bet Shalom member shows off eggs laid by the shul's chickens, in the short film 'Feeding Our Souls." (Courtesy Tucson International Jewish Film Festival)

Congregation Bet Shalom members young and old — but mostly young — are featured in a short film, “Feeding Our Souls,” that will debut as part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival. But the chickens are definitely the stars. Raising chickens has been a central part of the… Read more »

Woman of the Wall founder Anat Hoffman to give talk for COC Sisterhood

Anat Hoffman

Congregation Or Chadash Sisterhood will host Anat Hoffman, executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center and founder of Women of the Wall, via Zoom on Sunday, Jan. 24, at 11 a.m. Hoffman will present “If You See Something — Say Something,” which she calls “an invitation to speak… Read more »

Tucson Jewish community members honored among 40 Under 40

Melissa Zimmerman

Melissa Zimmerman, LMSW, CCTP, BHP, vice president of clinical services at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona; Isaac Rothschild, a managing partner at Mesch Clark Rothschild; and Robin Glicksman, DBH, LMSW, chief clinical officer at Escalera Health, are among those honored recently as “40 Under 40” by… Read more »

Business briefs from AJP, JCF/JFSA, Tucson J and CCC

Eric Jabloner has joined the Arizona Jewish Post as an ad sales representative contractor, selling digital advertising. Jabloner grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, and attended the University of Arizona, receiving a B.A. in drama production in 1979. He worked as a scenic artist for the Arizona Opera Company and the… Read more »

Telemedicine pioneer Ronald Weinstein gets lifetime achievement award

  Ronald Weinstein, M.D., director of the national award-winning Arizona Telemedicine Program and a professor of pathology, was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the Phoenix Business Journal at the 2020 Health Care Heroes virtual event Nov. 9. An international pioneer in the field of telemedicine, Weinstein founded… Read more »

P.S. columnist publishes new coffee table volume

What do Laura and George Bush, Hillary Clinton, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Joseph Lieberman, Geraldo Rivera, Itzhak Perlman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jerry Reinsdorf, and Alex Trebek have in common?  They are all highlighted with local Tucsonans in Sharon Klein’s new coffee table book, “Let’s Schmooze About Your News: Reflections of the P.S.… Read more »

Six virtual Jewish film festivals to catch this winter

A scene from "Feeding Our Souls," a Tucson-based documentary that is part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival

Virtual Jewish film festivals are providing film buffs with a smorgasbord of options to lift hearts and minds during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The 30th anniversary of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, already underway, begins its streaming of “Standing Up, Falling Down” with comedy stars Billy Crystal and… Read more »

With real-life travel curtailed, Tucsonan’s Jewish travel podcast is unique opportunity

A travel group (minus leader and photographer Tom Price) on tour in Fez, Morocco, once a major center of Jewish life. (Photo courtesy Tom Price)

International travelers seeking new and exciting experiences can depart today from Tucson, or anywhere, at no cost, with no passport, and with no travel restrictions. All that’s required is an Internet connection, a digital device, some curiosity, and one’s attention for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. “Around… Read more »

A story we missed: Green Valley temple members bake bagels to aid Oregon wildfire relief

Gary Melton of the Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley forms a bagel as part of a men's club fundraiser in November 2020. (Photo courtesy Mike Finkelstein)

Editor’s note: There’s no denying 2020 has been a tough year, and we’re sorry we missed this noteworthy story from last month. Enjoy! Over the Nov. 8 weekend, members of the men’s club at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley came together for a bagel making fundraiser for… Read more »