Retired Tucson Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael “Mike” McKendrick Retired Tucson Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael “Mike” McKendrick was inducted into the Arizona Fire Service Hall of Fame on Sept. 9. Mike worked for Tucson Fire for more than 30 years and, upon retirement, founded the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation (GTFF). The GTFF provides firefighters with health and… Read more »
Greek Jewish Society members erect the UA Hillel sukkah “When a person is happy, gloom and suffering stand aside. Yet greater still is to gather courage to actually pursue gloom, and to introduce it into the joy, such that the gloom itself turns into joy.” – Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, Likutei Moharan, Part II 23:1:3-4 This week I… Read more »
As part of an ongoing effort to create safe spaces to talk and learn about Israel, the Weintraub Israel Center, a joint project between the Tucson JCC and Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, are leveraging Israeli actress and activist Noa Tishby’s recent book “Israel: A Simple Guide To The… Read more »
Rosh Hashanah preparation and celebration lasted the entire month of Elul at Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA). The blowing of the shofar was heard on our grounds every morning. Fifth and sixth grade students created their own shofrot. Seventh graders took a field trip to Handmaker to blow the shofar and… Read more »
After waiting in line outside the Neue Galerie in New York six years ago to see the Gustav Klimt “Woman in Gold” painting, I remember hoping that the wait would be worth it. Of course it was; the painting was spectacular. I also remember thinking that those who are… Read more »
JBS, the Jewish Broadcasting Service, a nonprofit national cultural television network covering the panorama of Jewish life is now available in Arizona on Comcast CH 1684, Direct TV CH 388, the streaming services of ROKU, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and on the JBS Website at www.jbstv.org. Programs on… Read more »
On Aug. 19, Gov. Doug Ducey formally signed Arizona House Bill 2241, making it mandatory for Arizona schools to teach students about the Holocaust and other genocides at least twice between seventh and twelfth grades. For the past year, in anticipation of this legislation, the Jewish History Museum & Holocaust History… Read more »
Phyllis Maizlish Phyllis Ruth Goldberg Maizlish, age 88, died on Thursday, August 26th at her beloved “Little House” in Park City, Utah, surrounded by multitudes of flowers and her loving daughters and son. Phyllis was born in Pittsburg, Kansas, and moved to the Kansas City area as a teenager. At Paseo… Read more »
Roberta Bracker The following obituary was published in the Nogales International on August 6, 2021. Roberta N Bracker passed away peacefully on June 3, 2021, just one day shy of her 83rd birthday. She succumbed to a spirited battle with Parkinson’s disease. Roberta’s childhood nickname ‘Birdie’ captures her free, open… Read more »
Southern Arizona residents looking for Kosher options during the High Holidays and year round have a variety of options. The following are a list of stores or methods of acquiring Kosher food in Southern Arizona as of August 2021. For more information, consider joining the “Kosher in Tucson” Facebook… Read more »
In the aftermath of a tragedy, communities can find healing by remembering the past and strengthening community ties. This was the goal of the Luz de Vida, a concert and a compilation album created to honor the victims of the shooting that took place on January 8th, 2011. The… Read more »
A modern midrash: After Sholem Aleichen’s Tevye, the Dairyman, his family, and his townspeople are forced to leave their beloved Anatevka due to the czar’s decree, all of them seek and are granted asylum in the United States. They move to America’s Dairyland, Wisconsin, where they settle and begin… Read more »
Lee Klein Lee Klein of Cox Media in Tucson has just received the Tucson Advertising Federation Educational Foundation’s Tucson Next Gen Award. The award recognizes advertising professionals forty and younger who are making a significant impact on the advertising industry through their leadership, personal qualities, and career achievements. Lee has made… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, along with five other local Jewish agencies, organizations, and synagogues, was recently awarded funding through the Arizona Department of Homeland Security (ADHS)’s Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) to improve campus security measures. JFSA intends to use the majority of the funds awarded to… Read more »
It was so exciting to welcome our new and returning students to campus on Thursday, August 5! Tucson Hebrew Academy also welcomed its new Head of School, Johanna Shlomovich. Since 2013, Johanna has served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ramaz School in New York City. In this role,… Read more »
Rosh HaShanah begins the evening of September 6. Yom Kippur begins the evening of September 15. Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur call to us through the piercing majesty of the sound of the Shofar, inviting us to renew our connection with ourselves, with our people, and with G-d. This… Read more »
Handmaker Assisted Living residents have been keeping busy with some new activities that are helping to expand their mind and body, giving residents new opportunities to learn about themselves and each other. Steve Hunt, Handmaker Administrator, began playing billiards with residents in the Rubin Assisted Living neighborhood last month… Read more »
Rabbi Dr. Scott Saulson Kol Ami is the “old-new” synagogue in town. After nearly two years of collaborative planning, we are emerging from and building on the legacies of Temple Emanu-El, founded in 1910, and of Congregation Or Chadash, founded in 1995. We envision “a home of joyful Judaism for all.” Indeed, we… Read more »
School supplies and toiletries are being collected for students at Homer Davis Elementary School through August 31 and can be dropped off at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, Tucson Jewish Community Center, and Tucson Hebrew Academy. Making a Difference Every Day: The Homer Davis Project, an effort to… Read more »
Murray Keshner and his wife Joyce Murray Keshner, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather left this earthly plane early Saturday, July 31, just days before his 96th birthday. He was born August 2, 1925 in Brooklyn, NY. In his many roles as husband of 73 years, art director, dad, painter, singer, and teacher, he touched… Read more »
