Hey everyone! My name is Zach “Schwally” Schawelson and I have been a Jewish student at the University of Arizona for the past FIVE years! I study engineering and when I’m not stressing about homework, projects, or finals, I spend my time at the Hillel building. During my 5… Read more »
Several years ago, a coworker who knew I was a Christian, told me that I was more Jewish than she was. Coming from a “sabra” (native born Israeli), sealed the deal for me and I’ve never looked back. Since then, I have told some that I am a Christian,… Read more »
It’s there. It has to be. According to Anti-Defamation League Director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, antisemitism has increased 388% since October 7 over the same time period last year. Christopher Wray, FBI Director calls it at a historic level and points out that Jews are the target of international… Read more »
This article was first published in the October 2023 issue of DesertLeaf magazine. My Aunt Jan saved my life. The overall risk of a woman developing breast cancer during her lifetime is approximately 13%. My risk was much higher—55%-72%—due to a genetic predisposition known as a BRCA1 mutation. I… Read more »
What comes to mind when you think of a parade? Music, dancing, fanciful clothing, even a float or two? A Pride parade is all that and more: it marks an exuberant and enthusiastic celebration for and by the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) community. (The… Read more »
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Arizona Jewish Post or its publisher, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona. At a Pima County (Arizona) Board of Supervisors meeting in early June, an attendee made a straight-arm… Read more »
Arizona. California. Israel. Peru. Boston. No matter what state, country, time zone or zip code, I call my mother every day. And at 97, she still answers the phone with energy and excitement. Calling home was a decision I made over two decades ago to intentionally stay connected to… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman, guest speaker at upcoming JPSA Advanced Gifts/Summit dinner Amy Hirshberg Lederman will be a guest speaker at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona’s (JPSA’s) Campaign Summit & Advanced Gifts Dinner, October 25, 2022, details are forthcoming. It’s that time of year again. Backpacks and school binders tumble off the shelves at Target, crossing guards in bright orange vests… Read more »
My birthday this year came and went with no bouquet of roses gifted to me by a special man and nary a sweet nothing whispered in my ear. It’s just not fair, I silently reproached the universe. Why are there so many more women than men over 60 looking… Read more »
Watching a TV drama unfold as a crime is committed, the suspect is apprehended, tried, and convicted in one hour (including commercials) has always been unrealistic to those of us who have been participants in both sides of “law and order.” The juxtaposition of watching the entire trial seeking… Read more »
The Arizona Jewish Post (AJP), like the Southern Arizona Jewish community, grew, blossomed, and transformed over the past 75 years. The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona (JFSA) honors and celebrates the rich history of the AJP and its special place in our community. Timeline A powerful team Over the… Read more »
(Design by Emily Burack/book via CSA Images/Getty Images)
This story originally appeared on Alma. I received what I believe to be an average Jewish American Conservative synagogue education. I attended Jewish preschool, the full run of weekly, then biweekly Hebrew school, and completed “Hebrew high school” all the way through the rabbi’s confirmation class. This was all… Read more »
The Twitter logo is superimposed on anti-Semitic tweets. (Screenshots/JTA Montage)
NEW YORK (JTA) — On Friday afternoon, a few hours before Shabbat, I found myself scrolling through Twitter when I stumbled upon an anti-Semitic rant. This by itself is hardly unusual — the amount of anti-Semitic vitriol on Twitter is horrifying. But when I checked the account, I found that… Read more »
A woman walks with her child in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Efrat, April 26, 2020. (David Vaaknin for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
MITZPE YERICHO, West Bank (JTA) — It’s been surreal watching from Israel as Americans discuss my future. I’ve gotten used to presidents spending years developing plans for my neighborhood and other towns in Judea and Samaria, also known as the West Bank — they mean well and I truly… Read more »
Kylie Unell in front of a depiction of New York's Washington Square Park (Courtesy Unell)
NEW YORK (JTA) — As a biracial Jew, there is an expectation that I must have something to say in this historic moment. Unlike at any other time in my life, people are treating my opinion as though it deserves a stage, or a glass case for passersby to take… Read more »
Seo Yoon Yang (Courtesy)
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (JTA) — As a Korean-American teenage immigrant living in a predominantly white city and attending a school with a predominantly white student body, racial slurs and insensitive comments have unfortunately become a normalized part of my life. Before living in Tennessee, I grew up in Palm Beach… Read more »
A Black Lives Matter protester raises his fist during a march to honor George Floyd in New York City, May 31, 2020. (John Moore/Getty Images) This story originally appeared on Alma. Take a moment and remember where you were when you first heard about the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. I was in Tel Aviv getting ready to go to the movies after Havdalah. I didn’t end up going —… Read more »
I would like to express our appreciation for the incredible donations of DVDs, CDs, yarn, hygiene items, coloring books, colored pencils, etc. to everyone who donated to our residents at B’nai B’rith Strauss Manor during this pandemic. The love and compassion everyone showed and the response was amazing. Our… Read more »
A view of suburbia (Getty Images)
CLEVELAND (JTA) — I turned on my phone and felt an overwhelming sense of frustration, sadness and hopelessness. While I had been enjoying two days without electronics in observance of Shavuot and Shabbat, cities across the country were engulfed in a combination of civic protests and police riots. Weapons… Read more »
Marc L. Dollinger (Courtesy) Two summers ago, I published an academic book about blacks and Jews that did not include a single black Jew in the narrative. Ilana Kaufman, founder and president of the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative, encouraged me to open my eyes to my own implicit assumptions about Jews,… Read more »
