News

An indigenous and Jewish photographer wants to tell her people’s story before it’s too late

In “An Exploration of Resilience and Resistance,” Kali Spitzer photographed indigenous and mixed race women and gender non-conforming people. (Kali Spitzer)In “An Exploration of Resilience and Resistance,” Kali Spitzer photographed indigenous and mixed race women and gender non-conforming people. (Kali Spitzer)

(JTA) — At the age of 20, Kali Spitzer left her home in Victoria, British Columbia, to travel north and immerse herself in the culture of her father, who is a member of the Kaska Dena, a First Nations people native to Canada. For around seven months, she lived… Read more »

What it’s really like for Palestinians at the Israeli checkpoints

Palestinian men wait by the side of the road near Checkpoint 300 in Bethlehem, minutes from Jerusalem. (Laura Ben-David) (Laura Ben-David)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (JTA) – I believe in the Jewish people’s right to live in our homeland. That profound belief has no bearing on the rights of others to live here as well. There are Palestinians who live and work in the land of Israel, and while I may… Read more »

This new town will be the first fully inclusive community in Israel

Ayala, 11, a student with a cognitive disability, communicates via a computer screen with her teacher, Rivka Dimant, in a school at Aleh Negev, a campus for Israelis with disabilities, Oct. 25, 2018. (Ben Sales)

OFAKIM, Israel (JTA) — Ayala’s eyes darted around the screen, choosing words and pictures as her teacher asked her rapid-fire questions. Ayala, 11, has a cognitive disability that prevents her from speaking. But she can communicate thanks to a screen that reads her eye movements and transmits answers to… Read more »

Gaza escalation holds both promise and perils for Netanyahu

A rocket fired from the Gaza Strip leveled a house near Tel Aviv and injured seven, March 25, 2019. (Faiz Abu Rmeleh/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu’s week had been carefully scripted: Less than one month away from Israeli elections, the prime minister was traveling to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump. A friendly photo op would become even friendlier when Trump announced that he wanted to recognize Israeli… Read more »

Dozens of rockets launched at southern Israel from Gaza overnight

JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 60 rockets were launched overnight into southern Israel from the Gaza Strip even as Hamas said it had accepted a cease-fire agreement. Egypt brokered the cease-fire, which was to take effect at 10 p.m. Monday, but rockets targeting civilian areas continued to fall until after… Read more »

Rocket fired from Gaza slams into home in central Israel, injuring 7

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A long-range rocket fired from Gaza scored a direct hit on a home in central Israel, injuring seven, including two infants. Following the early Monday morning attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also serves as defense minister, announced that he would cut short his visit… Read more »

Billionaire German family to make amends for company’s Nazi past

BERLIN (JTA) — One of Germany’s wealthiest families said it will make amends for its company’s Nazi past. In a spectacular announcement, the Reimann family, worth about $37 billion and the second richest in Germany, announced that new research had shown that the company’s Nazi-era directors, Albert Reimann and… Read more »

Tucson pilot stars at annual local air show over weekend

U.S. Air Force Maj. Jason Markzon, center, with his Tucson family, (L-R) brother, Seth; mother, Andrea; father, David; and sister, Heide. (Debe Campbell/AJP)

This year’s “Thunder and Lightning Over Arizona,” at Davis-Monthan U.S. Air Force Base, March 23-24, brought a hometown pilot soaring into town for the performance. Maj. Jason Markzon, flying the #8 slot, is the only Jewish pilot in the Thunderbirds Air Combat Command unit. The advance squadron’s advance pilot,… Read more »

SculptureTucson promoting art with annual festival

SculptureTucson founders from left, Jeff Timan, Steve Kimble, and Barbara Grygutis (Courtesy SculptureTucson)

The SculptureTucson Festival Show and Sale, the largest outdoor juried show in Arizona, will be held Saturday, April 6, 9:30-6 p.m., and Sunday, April 7, 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., at Brandi Fenton Memorial Park, 3482 E. River Road. Now in its second year, the free festival will showcase more than… Read more »

Talk to focus on domestic violence survivors

Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D.

LEAH (Let’s End Abusive Households), a program of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, with community partner Hadassah Nurses Council, will present, “Freeing Survivors of Domestic Violence from Stigma and Self-Blame” with Deena Gayle Hitzke, Ed.D., on Sunday, April 7, 10 a.m. to noon at Congregation Bet… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy’s fifth STEM Festival in the works

At a past Tucson Hebrew Academy STEM festival, a visitor plays an electrical fruit piano. ( www.thastem.com )

“How Things Work” is the theme for Tucson Hebrew Academy’s fifth annual free community STEM Festival on Sunday, April 7. Many exhibitors from previous years will be returning, along with some exciting new organizations, says Jennifer Lehrfeld, THA’s upper school science/STEM teacher. Vector Launch will invite students to send… Read more »

Winter resident active in Tucson, East Coast communities

Nancy Lefkowitz

Nancy Lefkowitz is a “winter resident.” But the six months of the year she lives in Tucson, “we really live here,” she says, and her community engagement certainly proves it. “Having worked with Nancy over the last several years, I know she is always ready to take on responsibilities… Read more »