News

(JTA) — Nearly one-fifth of Ukraine parliament members co-signed a draft resolution urging their new president to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there. Of the 450 members of the Verkhovna Rada, 86 signed on as co-authors of a bill submitted for a vote on Friday,… Read more »

(JTA) — British Jews thanked Prime Minister Theresa May for being a “true friend” to their community following her announcement Friday that she is stepping down. May said she will step down as Conservative Party leader on June 7 after failing to convince lawmakers to support her Brexit deal.… Read more »

(JTA) — A French-Jewish taxi driver was mugged and beaten in what he said was an anti-Semitic crime by perpetrators who targeted him because of his Jewish-sounding name. The driver, a 33-year-old man from the Paris region whose first name is Israel Hai, said he accepted a ride in… Read more »

CHICAGO (JTA) — High school administrators in two Chicago suburbs are halting distribution of yearbooks after students were alleged to include anti-Semitic, Nazi and white supremacist elements. Highland Park High School, located 15 miles north of Chicago, is a leafy suburb with a sizable Jewish population. Students there are… Read more »

(JTA) — The Chabad of Poway synagogue dedicated a new Torah scroll in honor of Lori Gilbert-Kaye, who was killed in a shooting attack last month at the San Diego-area synagogue. The ceremony took place Wednesday night marking the end of the sloshim, or first 30-day mourning period, and… Read more »

(JTA) — The director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Dayton called on the Jewish public to avoid a KKK rally set for Saturday in the Ohio city. Rabbi Ari Ballaban said in a statement issued earlier this week that a counter rally scheduled to take place right… Read more »

(JTA) — Early on Friday mornings, Diane Weil leaves her house in Montgomery, Alabama, with an umbrella. The 64-year-old registered nurse doesn’t need it to shield her from the rain. Instead she uses it to block patients from protesters who come to the health clinic where she has been… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is on red alert over outbreaks of fires across the country, some on a massive scale, amid a massive heat wave. At least one community, founded by the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, has been burned to the ground. Fires on Thursday were out of control… Read more »

Updated with new date, July 14, on June 5, 2019. The Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold its “One Day Adult Summer Camp — Color War Edition” on Sunday, July 14, building off last year’s successful event. The camp, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. with check-in and a… Read more »

Maxwell Greenberg

The Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center will welcome its first scholar-in-residence, Maxwell Greenberg of the University of California, Los Angeles, later this month. Greenberg, a doctoral candidate in UCLA’s Cesar E. Chavez Department of Chicano/a Studies, will discuss his research in the museum’s final gallery chat for the season,… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Air National Guard pilot gave Jill Cooper Udall the all-clear: There were storm warnings, but she had 10 turbulence-free minutes to get through her seder. Cooper Udall, who is married to Tom Udall, a Democrat and the senior senator from New Mexico, waved the 25… Read more »

(JTA) — Fighting for the underdog has been a passion for Debra Katz for as long as she can remember. Years before she would go on to win awards for her work as a civil rights attorney and represent Christine Blasey Ford in one of the nation’s most high-profile… Read more »

An emotional performance by the Shalva Band at Thursday’s Eurovision Song Contest semifinal earned widespread praise from viewers in Israel and abroad, who hailed the band for its message of inclusivity and acceptance. Last Thursday, the Shalva Band, as guest artists, performed the song A Million Dreams”. Following their… Read more »

In August, the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance will open Catalyst, a 14,000 square foot maker and community creative art space, and a permanent home for the organization, at the Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road. Catalyst will feature four distinct maker spaces, including an arts and crafts… Read more »

Noah Richter

CIEE, a leader in international education and exchange, announced that Noah Richter, a rising senior at University High School, is one of 250 American high school students from across the United States awarded the prestigious Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Scholarship for the 2019-2020 academic year. CBYX is a bi-lateral exchange… Read more »

Marking this Memorial Day, you’ll find members of the Friedman-Paul Post 201 of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America offering traditional red poppy flowers for donations at Safeway supermarkets across Tucson. The post uses funds raised from twice-annual poppy sales to host monthly bingo sessions… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy held its eighth-grade graduation on Wednesday, May 8. During the ceremony, graduates reflected on their time at the school, and looked forward to the future, including THA’s annual eighth-grade trip to Israel. “THA not only has helped me grow and further my education but has shaped… Read more »

More than 250 people attended a celebration of Israel’s 71st birthday on Sunday, April 28, at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, enjoying food, music, an artisan fair, kids’ activities and Israeli film shorts. The Weintraub Israel Center, a program of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Tucson… Read more »

Alice Mayoral, with Jordan the lizard, won most unusual pet. Photos: Debe Campbell/AJP)

Pets of all description were on parade at Congregation Or Chadash May 5 for the annual pet blessing. About 50 gathered with their beloved dogs, a rabbit, and a gecko to share the Prayer for Animals, led by Rabbi Thomas Louchheim. The blessing also culminated a monthlong b’not mitzvah… Read more »

The community-wide 2019 Yom HaShoah commemoration on Sunday, May 5 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center focused on highlighting Jewish life and culture before the Holocaust. Rather than rehearse the political miscalculations and complicity of European nations or the mechanics of Nazi genocidal violence, says Bryan Davis, executive director… Read more »