News

Rabbi Arnold Task, 92, died on May 8, 2025, surrounded by his wife, Judy, and daughters, Sherri Gouterman, Susan Israel, and Laurie Klein. Rabbi Task was born in Chicago on October 21, 1932. He and Judy were married on Sept. 4, 1955. Rabbi Task completed his undergraduate degree at… Read more »

David Graizbord

Professor David Graizbord, director of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, will lead an interactive workshop on a question that has been at the center of controversy within Jewish communities in the United States and elsewhere: “Is anti-Zionism antisemitism?” The workshop will be held… Read more »

The Loft Cinema will show the film ‘October 8’ on Wednesday, May 14 at 7:30 p.m. “‘October 8’ offers a look at the explosion of antisemitism on college campuses, social media and in the streets of America beginning the day after the October 7th attack on Israel… Read more »

Wearing a “Bring Them Home Now” T-shirt, Eli Hayut crosses the finish line of the Arizona Monster Race on April 11, 2025. (Photo courtesy Eli Hayut)

Eli Hayut, Israel’s ultramarathon national champion, made history last month in Arizona. Hayut, 47, ran the 304-mile Arizona Monster Race, setting the record for the longest distance run by an Israeli. The race follows the Arizona Trail from Superior to Patagonia through rugged Sonoran Desert terrain and up Mt.… Read more »

Tucson police investigate the vandalism at Chabad Tucson–Young Israel synagogue on Tuesday, April 22. Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin called the Tucson police chief who sent out a crime scene unit. (Photo courtesy Chabad Tucson)

Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin discovered the words “End Apartheid Abolish Israel” spelled out in purple graffiti on the outer wall of his Chabad Tucson–Young Israel synagogue early in the morning on Tuesday, April 22. Neither he nor the congregants who gathered for morning prayer noticed the graffiti when they drove… Read more »

Former University of Arizona basketball player/assistant coach Josh Pastner speaks at the press conference where he was introduced as the new head coach of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Men's Basketball Team on March 26. (Photo courtesy UNLV Athletics)

The 1990s were the last golden age for college basketball programs west of the Rocky Mountains, with three winning national championships that decade. Josh Pastner, 47, was a freshman on the 1997 University of Arizona men’s basketball team – the most recent team west of the Rockies to win… Read more »

The Tucson Jewish Community Center (the J) will honor volunteers and staff, elect new board members, and celebrate the organization’s 2024 accomplishments in the Alice and Paul Baker Ballroom on Thursday, May 15 from 5:30-7:30pm. The entire community is invited to join for a celebratory evening. Honorees include Amy… Read more »

Handmaker has hosted countless events and programs in the Great Room. For the last several years, attendees of programs held there have frequently commented that the program was good, but the speaker was difficult to hear or the image on the screen was hard to see. This was… Read more »

On Sunday, April 27, at this year’s Southern Arizona Yom HaShoah Commemoration, we will come together as a community to commemorate 80 years since the end of the Holocaust. As in years past, we will gather to memorialize the more than six million Jews, including one and a half… Read more »

Congregation B'nai Midbar Cantorial Soloist Eliyanah Powers and Rabbi Daniel Price lead a Shabbat service on Feb. 21, 2025. (Photo courtesy B'nai Midbar)

Congregation B’nai Midbar is Southern Arizona’s newest Jewish congregation — with a 25-year history. The congregation began when three SaddleBrooke residents formed the Institute for Judaic Services and Studies in 2000. Its primary purpose was to hold monthly Shabbat services and High Holiday celebrations. Over the years, the… Read more »

At its April 2, 2025, board of governors meeting, Pima Community College honored Lisa Grabell for 20-plus years as a student mentor in PCC’s Teacher Certification program. Grabell is a Holocaust survivor from Vienna, Austria. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Mills College of Education in New York… Read more »

The 2019 Jewish Latino Teen Coalition with Congressman Raúl Grijalva in Washington, D.C.

The Jewish Latino Teen Coalition extends its most heartfelt condolences regarding the passing of Congressman Raúl Grijalva. Congressman Grijalva and his office were instrumental in founding and supporting this program, which represents a unique partnership between the Tucson Jewish and Latino communities and has helped shape the lives of… Read more »

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN: Ian Kinsler #3 of Team Israel throws to first base in the fifth inning during the baseball Opening Round Group B game between Team Israel and Team Republic of Korea on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Yokohama Baseball Stadium on July 29, 2021 in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. (Photo by Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

Two years after he retired from a 14-year Major League Baseball career as a second baseman, Tucson native Ian Kinsler’s time with Team Israel began. “My Jewish heritage means a lot to me — it’s part of who I am,” said the 42-year-old Kinsler, who graduated from Oro Valley’s… Read more »

(L-R): E. Lee Bernick, professor of public policy at University of Nevada Las Vegas; Jessica Mehlman, associate vice president of impact and planning at Jewish Federations of North America; Sen. Ruben Gallego; Carlos A. Hernández, president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona; Andrew Gale, legacy officer at Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona; and Sophie German, director of older adult and community services at JFCS.

Three Tucsonans traveled to Washington, D.C., last week for a “Financial Vulnerability Fly-In” sponsored by Jewish Federations of North America. Fifty participants from across the country, including Carlos A. Hernández, president and CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona; Sophie German, director of older adult and… Read more »

Since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, antisemitic incidents on U.S. college campuses have increased dramatically. “But it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen to everybody, and it doesn’t mean that’s going to be your whole college experience. Definitely not,” Robin Friedman, co-founder of TribeTalk, assured local… Read more »

​The Tucson J International Film Festival is rapidly approaching its 35th year! Established over three decades ago, the festival has become a cornerstone cultural event for Tucson’s Jewish community as well as for the community’s seasonal snowbird residents. This remarkable longevity is a testament to our commitment to presenting… Read more »

As a parent, a Tucson Hebrew Academy board member, and a proud member of this community, I’ve seen firsthand how Jewish education shapes not only our children’s minds but also their hearts. When my husband and I enrolled our son at THA, we were initially drawn by the small… Read more »

As Arizona families face increasing economic pressures, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) is reinforcing its commitment to providing essential mental health and community support services to vulnerable populations across the region. JFCS is committed to responding to the growing economic crisis in our community by… Read more »

This year, Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) is incredibly proud to see our 8th-grade class embarking on exciting high school journeys. Our graduates are heading to top schools like Catalina Foothills High School, the Arts Magnet Program at Tucson High School, The Gregory School, and five have been accepted to… Read more »

Daniella Ironi is Tucson’s newest shlicha, or Israeli emissary, here to support this summer’s JCC Maccabi Games & Access® at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Ironi is helping design fun yet educational programs for the “Hang Time” space, where athletes will spend time socializing when they are not competing.… Read more »