Mind, Body & Spirit

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israelis will be under a complete lockdown beginning on Tuesday through at least Friday to stem the spread of the coronavirus during the Passover holiday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the closure on Monday evening in a nationally televised address from his official residence in… Read more »

Graham Hoffman is president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona and president and CEO-elect of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona

In response to the growing spread of COVID-19, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation have created a Jewish Community Pandemic Relief Fund to help meet the needs of the most vulnerable members in the Jewish and greater communities. “We have set it up to… Read more »

Mending Souls Co-founder Rose Skelly

The Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life is encouraging community sewing groups and individual sewers to participate in the Mending Souls Project. All you need is a sewing machine and basic skills to prepare antibacterial face masks for local healthcare providers. By reviewing the website and calling… Read more »

Deborah Kalar-Crowder

Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Southern Arizona assists Jewish individuals facing financial crises in this difficult time. Jewish Emergency Financial Assistance, sometimes referred to as LEAF (Local Emergency Assistance Fund), provides financial assistance, and case management plays a crucial role in ensuring the program effectively helps those in… Read more »

The Banner Health Foundation is collecting donated medical supplies and personal protective equipment, or PPE. Tucson donations can be dropped off Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at the Banner Home Health Office, 575 E. River Road. Donated supplies will be deployed in Banner Health’s Arizona hospitals and medical centers. The following items… Read more »

The University of Arizona will present webinars on  the COVID-19 pandemic on Friday, April 3 and Tuesday, April 7, 9:30-11 a.m. at https://global.arizona.edu/covid-19-resources. Today’s webinar, hosted by the College of Medicine,  will feature Dr. Monica Kraft, Robert and Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine and Department of Medicine chair, and… Read more »

(JTA) — Anti-Semitism has plagued French society for centuries, flaring up in times of crisis — especially during epidemics. In the 14th century, for instance, Jews were massacred in France during the Black Death epidemic after they were blamed for spreading the disease by poisoning water wells. In the… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Four heavily Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn have especially high rates of the novel coronavirus, according to data released by this city’s Department of Health. The record of positive COVID-19 tests in the five boroughs shows that Borough Park, Crown Heights, Williamsburg and Midwood all have… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — One in three residents, or 34 percent, of the mostly haredi Orthodox city of Bnei Brak in central Israel who have been tested for the coronavirus are positive. The high percentage of positive tests reported Tuesday by the Health Ministry compares to 6 percent in Tel… Read more »

WEST HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (JTA) — I’ve been preparing for the COVID-19 pandemic for the past year. No, I am not an alarmist, prophet or a hoarder. I am a 39-year-old mother of four young children — and I am a widow. My husband, Ari, passed away on March 6, 2019.… Read more »

(JTA) — Two residents of Montefiore, a Jewish nursing home in suburban Cleveland, tested positive for coronavirus. The facility in Beachwood, Ohio, made the announcement in a statement on Saturday, the Cleveland Jewish News reported. Both of the residents are now hospitalized. More than two weeks ago the facility… Read more »

(JTA) — Among the mysteries of the coronavirus is that some patients suffer and ultimately die from the disease while others experience the symptoms as akin to a mild cold. Rabbi Daniel Nevins is in the latter category. The dean of the rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary,… Read more »

BUENOS AIRES (JTA) — The first Jewish victim of the coronavirus in Argentina was cremated by local authorities despite protests from the local Jewish community. Ruben Bercovich, a 59-year-old businessman and father of three, died on Thursday in Resistencia, the capital of the northern Chaco province. Bercovich, owner of… Read more »

RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — Daniel Azulay, one of Brazil’s most prominent children’s artists and educators, died March 27 at 72 in Rio de Janeiro. Azulay was being treated for leukemia when he contracted the coronavirus. Azulay was the creator of “Turma do Lambe-Lambe,” a group of children’s characters… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, a prominent leader in the haredi Orthodox community, called on his followers to pray alone without a prayer quorum. The ruling on Sunday came after a steep rise in the number of coronavirus cases in Bnei Brak, a mostly haredi city in Israel,… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The National Library of Israel has created an archive to document the impact of the coronavirus on Jewish communities around the world. The Jewish Community COVID-19 Archive will be made up of “ephemera items” — materials not generally intended for long-term preservation. Such items often help… Read more »

(JTA) — At least twice a day, Micol Naccache breaks down in tears over what the coronavirus is doing to her city of Milan and its Jewish community. A high school teacher and mother of two, Naccache describes herself as “an optimistic person.” But she is struggling to stay… Read more »

(JTA) — Before everything changed, Jalna Silverstein and Asael Papour were planning a wedding much like many other Jewish nuptials on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. They had a band and caterer lined up, a ceremony planned for the synagogue where Silverstein grew up and all the little… Read more »

We’re creating space to mourn Jews who are lost to the coronavirus at a time when Jewish mourning practices are nearly impossible to observe. If you’ve lost someone dear to you, we invite you to share their story with us using this form. Maurice Berger, 63, was a noted… Read more »

(JTA) — Arie Even, the first Israeli to die from the coronavirus, was buried in the dead of night with mourners standing six feet apart and funeral workers wearing Hazmat gear. Even, 88, a native of Hungary who survived the Holocaust, was a retired Israeli diplomat. He died Friday… Read more »