News

A relaxation garden, no matter how small, turns your house into a home

This very tropical looking plant survives in a desert garden with afternoon shade. Its flowers are visited by hummingbirds. (Photo: Pixabay.com)

Behaviorists have stacks of data highlighting the fact that getting out in nature can calm and restore the human spirit. This applies to all humans, even if you never lived in the country, even if you hate to hike, and no matter what age. Five, 35, or 85, we… Read more »

Sisterhood high tea will focus on fashion, fund-raising

Fashions by LuLaRoe will be among those modeled by synagogue members at the Congregation Or Chadash/Temple Emanu-El high tea, Sept. 15. (Photo courtesy Congregation Or Chadash Sisterhood)

Congregation Or Chadash Sisterhood and Temple Emanu-El Women of Reform Judaism will hold their first major collaboration, a fashion show high tea, on Sunday, Sept. 15, from 2-4 p.m. The event will be catered by L’Chaim Catering and fashions provided by Clique and LuLaRoe will be modeled by members… Read more »

Tucson Botanical Gardens annual butterfly exhibit returns with colorful flora, fauna

Heliconius sara longwing at Tucson Botanical Gardens Butterfly Magic exhibit. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

The time to get all aflutter is approaching at Tucson Botanical Gardens, with the annual Butterfly Magic exhibit. Beginning each October, the Cox Butterfly and Orchid Pavilion exhibit offers an exclusive opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most beautiful and exotic butterflies imported… Read more »

Lowe’s ‘Let There Be Light’ reflects life’s journey

Day 4 of Lynn Rae Lowe’s ‘Let There Be Light’ (Photo courtesy Lynn Rae Lowe)

Award-winning local artist Lynn Rae Lowe will unveil a seven-panel “aluminations” series, “Let There Be Light,” at a one-day exhibit Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Southern Arizona Arts Guild gallery in La Encantada before the work, commissioned by Temple Beth El in West Bloomfield, Michigan,… Read more »

Jewish roots stir revival in world’s largest Muslim nation

Yaakov Baruch, a ‘born-again’ Indonesian Jew, visits the world’s largest permanent menorah in Manado, Indonesia. (Photo courtesy Yaakov Baruch)

Editor’s note: AJP Assistant Editor Debe Campbell lived and worked in Indonesia for more than 20 years. Returning in July on holiday with her husband, Gilbert Alvidrez, she visited Sulawesi island, where she conducted research and interviews for this story. The world’s largest permanent menorah looms over Manado, the… Read more »

Abandoning East Jerusalem would undermine Zionism and the city’s Arab residents

Israeli security forces stand guard in one of the alleys of Jerusalem's Old City following a knife attack, May 31, 2019. (Thomas COEX / AFP)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Fifty-two years ago, following the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the eastern part of this city. After annexing additional Arab villages to the north and south, it created what we know today as East Jerusalem, where approximately 200,000 Jews and 300,000 Arabs live. While Israel… Read more »

Sackler family in talks to give up ownership of Purdue Pharma under proposed opioid settlement

A view of Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., owned by the Sackler family. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

(JTA) — The Sackler family would give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and pay $3 billion of its own money to settle thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its role in fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, according to a tentative negotiated agreement described to NBC and… Read more »

Far-right candidate takes party out of elections in agreement with Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Moshe Feiglin is taking his far-right Zehut party out of next month’s national elections in Israel following an agreement with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Feiglin made the announcement during a joint appearance Thursday with Netanyahu, who heads the Likud party. Feiglin is a former member of… Read more »

Jewish socialist philosopher who met with Hamas is running for president

(JTA) — A Jewish socialist philosopher who met with the leader of Hamas is running for president. On Wednesday, Jerome Segal announced that he would run as the nominee of the Bread and Roses Party he founded last year. The party supports wealth redistribution, as well as guaranteed employment… Read more »

Amazon launches operations in Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Amazon announced the launch of operations in Israel. The company set up a website in Hebrew, which talks about its local delivery services, in order to attract vendors. Amazon also is asking overseas businesses to warehouse their inventory in Israel and make arrangements with international shippers… Read more »

Israel eases immigration process for medical professionals

An aliyah “mega event” expo in New Jersey had a special track for health care professionals considering immigrating to Israel, March 10, 2019. (Photo: Shahar Azran/Nefesh B’Nefesh)

When Stephanie Sipzner began thinking about immigrating to Israel, the New Jersey pediatrician had plenty of questions about working as a doctor in a new country. Sipzner worried about adapting to a new language and medical culture. The Teaneck resident also was wary of the bureaucratic difficulty of transferring… Read more »

‘Golden’ Israeli hospital is among world’s top 10

In March, Newsweek recognized Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, near Tel Aviv — the largest and most comprehensive hospital in Israel and the Middle East — as one of the 10 best hospitals across the globe. Sheba Medical Center “is a leader in medical science and biotechnical innovation,… Read more »

Back from the brink, Hadassah banks on bipartisanship in attracting new members

Hadassah CEO Janice Weinman speaks at the group's national convention in New York, July 18, 2019. (Hadassah)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — A decade after the Bernie Madoff debacle — one so serious that Hadassah officials refuse to even utter the Ponzi schemer’s name — the women’s Zionist organization is back. The finances are robust — 2017 tax returns show $108 million in assets — and a staff… Read more »

As U.S.-Iran tensions escalate, Jews are warned they could be targeted

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delivers a speech at a ceremony in Tabriz, Iran, Aug. 1, 2019. (Presidency of Iran/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (JTA) – In 1992, Israel killed Abbas al-Musawi, a founder of the Hezbollah terrorist group in Lebanon, in a dramatic helicopter attack. Iran, Hezbollah’s primary funder, threatened to retaliate – talk that was somewhat expected for a country that routinely calls for the destruction of Israel. But two… Read more »

Why most Jews in Hong Kong are not involved with the protests

Protesters with umbrellas and protective gear face off with riot police at Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong, Aug. 24, 2019. (Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP/Getty Images)

(JTA) — Since early June, protesters in Hong Kong have been gathering multiple times a week to fight what they see as Chinese attempts to encroach on their freedoms. The police have responded violently at times, shooting tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. One demonstration drew an… Read more »