News

Happy with legacy, Tucson mayor looks forward to practicing, teaching law

From his office on the top floor of city hall, Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild pauses to take stock. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

When Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild walks out of City Hall on Dec. 2, turning his gavel over to Regina Romero, he will walk a few short blocks to his new desk at Mesch Clark and Rothschild, attorneys at law. He told the AJP he looks forward to returning to… Read more »

Stone Avenue Block Party to host four Arizona bands

Sonido Tambó is among the bands entertaining at the fifth annual Stone Avenue Block Party on Nov. 16. (Courtesy photo)

This year’s free Stone Avenue Block Party will be the best yet, says Bryan Davis, Jewish History Museum executive director and host of the fifth annual event. The event is set for Saturday, Nov. 16, in front of the Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center, 564 S. Stone Ave. The… Read more »

When he’s not repairing books, local retiree turns them into works of art

Tucsonan Marty Getraer has entered these examples of folded book art in a local Judaica contest.

Tucsonan Marty Getraer taught himself bookbinding years ago when he lived in Baldwin, New York, repairing more than 600 prayer books for his synagogue in gratitude to the daily minyan where he said Kaddish for his father. He revived the hobby a decade ago after moving to Tucson, where… Read more »

Archaeology, wine intersect in upcoming UA lecture

Jennie Ebeling, Ph.D.

Update: This article was corrected 11.8.19 to show that the lecture is taking place on Monday, Nov. 18 (not Sunday). University of Arizona alumna Jennie Ebeling, Ph.D., now an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Evansville in Indiana, will present the next lecture in the Shaol and… Read more »

Series will blend Torah insights, modern psychology

A new Chabad adult education course will explore what Judaism has to say about common negative emotions such as sadness, anxiety, anger, guilt, and shame. “Worrier to Warrior: Jewish Secrets to Feeling Good However You Feel” will be presented by Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin at the Tucson Jewish Community Center,… Read more »

Garden of Hope expands J outdoor exhibits

(L-R) Garden of Hope founder Randy Emerson, London Emerson, Bonnie-Sedlmayr Emerson, Jordan Emerson, Sasha Emerson, Miriam Emerson, and Jane Sedlmayr with artwork by Lynn Rae Lowe at the dedication of the Garden of Hope at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, Nov. 3. (Damion Alexander)

Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, was officially dedicated Nov. 3 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Cancer survivor Bonnie Sedlmayr-Emerson was the inspiration for the garden. Her husband, Randy Emerson, oversaw the project. “The garden celebrates the arts, which is important to the JCC spiritually, emotionally, and cognitively,”… Read more »

Tucson collector goes nuts for nutcrackers

Tucsonan Bertí Brodsky began collecting nutcrackers 34 years ago in Germany. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

With a collector’s heart, Arizona Jewish Post advertising manager Bertí Brodsky surrounds herself with things that have meaning. A collection of crystal balls that began when her mother gave her an antique glass paperweight; charming David Winter cottages; teddy bears from the early ’80s; shoes in every color, to… Read more »

‘Greetings’ and mazel tov — why a nice Jewish boy enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1969

Bob Kovitz during his U.S. Army basic training at Fort Ord in Monterey, California, in 1969. Courtesy Bob Kovitz

Fifty years ago, I reported to the U.S. Army induction center in Los Angeles. My father, who was a World War II veteran, later described the experience of driving me to the center as the worst day of his life. Why was a Jewish graduate student from the University… Read more »

Tucson J seeks applications for pilot Women InPower leadership program

(L-R) Deb Krivoy, Springfield JCC (Massachusetts); Sarah Siegel, Harry & Rose Samson Family JCC (Milwaukee); Kendall Sisisky Valliere, Jewish Community Alliance of Jacksonville; Allison Wexler, Tucson Jewish Community Center; Leslie Sholl Jaffee, Leslie Jaffe Consulting; and Jessica Schneider, Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92nd Street Y, at a Women InPower training session at the JCC Association in New York, Oct. 30. (Amy Wexler)

In August, a coalition of women leaders in the Jewish community, including Sheila Katz, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women; Idit Klein, CEO of Keshet; and Shifra Broznick, founder of Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community, authored a piece for eJewishphilanthropy about their experiences as highly… Read more »

PJ book inspires a baking party

Jenny Davenport, a PJ Library mother, reports that her daughter, Charlotte, age 9, received PJ’s “Once Upon an Apple Cake: A Rosh Hashanah Story,” and read it in one sitting. She then chose it as her book club selection for the next month. Seven girls in the book club… Read more »

JFSA women launch year with Sukkot party

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Fall Kickoff Co-Chair Judy Berman introduces Youth On Their Own Ambassador Hope Sherise (JFSA)

Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy held its fall kickoff event, “Salsa in the Sukkah,” on Wednesday, Oct. 16. Youth On Their Own Development Director Bethany Neumann and Youth Ambassador Hope Sherise spoke about YOTO, Women’s Philanthropy social action beneficiary, which helps homeless or unaccompanied students graduate high… Read more »

Business Briefs: 11.8.19

Andrew Pawlicki-Sinclair has joined the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona as the assistant director for leadership development and engagement. He has worked for Arizona Serve and the Arizona Conservation Corps managing AmeriCorps national service grants. Before that, Pawlicki-Sinclair served as an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Santa Rita High School… Read more »

Ryan Aaron Rudner

Ryan Aaron Rudner, son of Eric and Monica Rudner, will celebrate becoming a bar mitzvah on Nov. 9 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the grandson of Calman and Gail Rudner and Alberto and Sara Mirta Bien-Willner, all of Tucson, and the great-grandson of Lidia Esses of Buenos Aires,… Read more »

A Jewish photographer has been capturing Alexander Vindman and his twin for nearly 4 decades

Carol Kitman first started photographing Yevgeny, left, and Alexander Vindman in 1980. (Carol Kitman)

(JTA) — Carol Kitman remembers meeting Alexander and Yevgeny Vindman nearly 40 years ago in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The brothers were about 4 1/2 years old and dressed in matching blue sailor outfits with navy caps. Kitman was instantly taken with the twins and asked to take their photo.… Read more »

For Ukrainian Jews, having a Jewish president is a source of pride — and fear

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky smiles after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the General Assembly in New York, Sept. 26, 2019. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — Arkady Kesselman, a 20-year-old Jewish student, was set on leaving his native Ukraine for the West last winter. In a war-torn nation losing about 1.2 million citizens each year, where the average monthly salary is about $300, it’s not an unusual decision. But Kesselman has… Read more »

German city of Dresden declares it has a ‘Nazi emergency’

(JTA) — The eastern German city of Dresden has passed a resolution declaring a “Nazi emergency.” The Dresden City Council passed the motion last week saying that the city needed more support from state and federal sources to deal with rising far-right sentiment. Dresden is the headquarters of the… Read more »