Special Sections

My congregation prays at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue. Here’s how we are coping this Rosh Hashanah.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, right, holds hands with Rabbi Jonathan Perlman, who survived the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue, at Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church during a service for victims of the mass shooting, Oct. 31, 2018, Perlman's wife, the author Beth Kissileff, is seated to his left. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images/JTA Photo Service)
September 23, 2019 / Beth Kissileff, JTA

PITTSBURGH (JTA) — Our sages teach us that kol hatchalot kashot, all beginnings are difficult. This phrase feels especially resonant this Rosh Hashanah. The man who blew the shofar last year at my Pittsburgh synagogue, New Light, is not here to blow it now. He was murdered on Oct. 27… Read more »

Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma files for bankruptcy
September 16, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — The Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy as part of a tentative $12 billion settlement with dozens of state and local governments that filed lawsuits accusing the company of fueling and profiting from the opioid epidemic. The company’s board met Sunday evening to approve the move,… Read more »

Five hacks for the best Rosh Hashanah celebrations with family, friends

Traditional apples and honey dish on Rosh Hashanah table; apples and honey are traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah to symbolize wishes and prayers for sweetness in the new Jewish year, San Ramon, California, September 9, 2018. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
August 30, 2019 / Beata Abraham JTA via Kveller

I can’t help but wonder why Hallmark and the retail world at large haven’t co-opted the Jewish New Year. True, while there may “only” be some 5 million to 7 million Jews in the U.S. (depending on who’s counting), Rosh Hashanah is a particularly important holiday on the Jewish… Read more »

Tucson Jewish Community Center aims for autumn Garden of Hope opening
August 30, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor
he ‘Garden of Hope’ at the Tucson Jewish Community Center will be a multipurpose healing space. (Photo: Barbara Grygutis Sculpture LLC)

Gan Tikvah, the Garden of Hope, is nearing completion at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. It will have a fluid connection to the current Sculpture Garden and provide a shady and tranquil pocket park for all seasons. It will offer an outdoor venue for classes, programming, and, with dramatic… Read more »

ICSAVE offers Arizonans free lifesaving training for active shooter incidents

Green Valley Fire Captain Mark Lytle, a member of ICSAVE’s team of volunteers, learned about Israeli emergency medical services as part of Tucson’s first Firefighters Without Borders delegation in October 2013. The Magen David Adom (Red Shield of David) is Israel’s national ambulance, blood services, and disaster relief organization. It has been a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement since 2006. (Photo courtesy Mark Lytle)
August 30, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Mark Lytle, a native Tucsonan who has worked in the fire service for 24 years, is part of a coalition of first responders who created Integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events, or ICSAVE, to provide free active violence trainings to schools, religious institutions, and other groups across Arizona.… Read more »

New guidelines call for early breast cancer risk assessment
August 30, 2019 / Shayne Tarquinio, AJP Intern
Dr. Michele Ley

Women should get a formal breast cancer risk assessment between the ages of 25 and 30, according to the new guidelines set by The American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS), published in May. According to the organization, one in eight women, or 12 percent of women in the United… Read more »

A relaxation garden, no matter how small, turns your house into a home

This very tropical looking plant survives in a desert garden with afternoon shade. Its flowers are visited by hummingbirds. (Photo: Pixabay.com)
August 30, 2019 / Jacqueline A. Soule, Ph.D. Special to the AJP

Behaviorists have stacks of data highlighting the fact that getting out in nature can calm and restore the human spirit. This applies to all humans, even if you never lived in the country, even if you hate to hike, and no matter what age. Five, 35, or 85, we… Read more »

Tucson Botanical Gardens annual butterfly exhibit returns with colorful flora, fauna

Heliconius sara longwing at Tucson Botanical Gardens Butterfly Magic exhibit. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
August 30, 2019 / Debe Campbell, AJP Assistant Editor

The time to get all aflutter is approaching at Tucson Botanical Gardens, with the annual Butterfly Magic exhibit. Beginning each October, the Cox Butterfly and Orchid Pavilion exhibit offers an exclusive opportunity to get up close and personal with some of the world’s most beautiful and exotic butterflies imported… Read more »

Lowe’s ‘Let There Be Light’ reflects life’s journey

Day 4 of Lynn Rae Lowe’s ‘Let There Be Light’ (Photo courtesy Lynn Rae Lowe)
August 30, 2019 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

Award-winning local artist Lynn Rae Lowe will unveil a seven-panel “aluminations” series, “Let There Be Light,” at a one-day exhibit Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Southern Arizona Arts Guild gallery in La Encantada before the work, commissioned by Temple Beth El in West Bloomfield, Michigan,… Read more »

Sackler family in talks to give up ownership of Purdue Pharma under proposed opioid settlement

A view of Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., owned by the Sackler family. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
August 29, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — The Sackler family would give up ownership of Purdue Pharma and pay $3 billion of its own money to settle thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its role in fueling the nation’s opioid epidemic. The settlement, according to a tentative negotiated agreement described to NBC and… Read more »

Israel eases immigration process for medical professionals

An aliyah “mega event” expo in New Jersey had a special track for health care professionals considering immigrating to Israel, March 10, 2019. (Photo: Shahar Azran/Nefesh B’Nefesh)
August 29, 2019 / Lori Silberman Brauner JTA

When Stephanie Sipzner began thinking about immigrating to Israel, the New Jersey pediatrician had plenty of questions about working as a doctor in a new country. Sipzner worried about adapting to a new language and medical culture. The Teaneck resident also was wary of the bureaucratic difficulty of transferring… Read more »

‘Golden’ Israeli hospital is among world’s top 10
August 28, 2019 /

In March, Newsweek recognized Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer, near Tel Aviv — the largest and most comprehensive hospital in Israel and the Middle East — as one of the 10 best hospitals across the globe. Sheba Medical Center “is a leader in medical science and biotechnical innovation,… Read more »

Understand your pets through their body language

Dogs with raised eyebrows elicit a strong desire in humans to care for them. (Alexandra_K/Adobe stock
August 16, 2019 / Debe Campbell, Assistant Editor

The domestic canine, descended from the wolf, eventually evolved into “man’s best friend.” New research from the University of Portsmouth shows that facial muscles evolved over thousands of years, allowing dogs to better communicate with humans using those big, round, heart-melting “puppy dog eyes.” The study comparing dog and… Read more »

Fall Arts Preview Art Directory
August 16, 2019 /

In this directory, we present some of the finest arts companies in Tucson: ANDREW SMITH GALLERY www.andrewsmithgallery.com • 984-1234 Andrew Smith Gallery is the leading gallery in the world specializing in buying and selling historic, classic, and contemporary Western American photography. The gallery is the international source for the… Read more »

Local wildlife artist to exhibit at BSTC
August 16, 2019 /

The art gallery at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present “The Art of Paying Attention,” wildlife drawings and stories by award-winning Tucson-based artist and storyteller Beth Surdut, Sept. 18-Oct. 23. “My ‘Art of Paying Attention’ series is an invitation to look closely and appreciate the lives… Read more »

UA research center studies the relationship between humans and dogs

Black Labrador Sisu spends her days in the laboratory, helping conduct research. (Shane Tarquinio/AJP)
August 16, 2019 / Shayne Tarquinio, AJP Intern

Sisu is a black Labrador. She wears a red collar and has sweet eyes and spends her days on the third floor of the University of Arizona anthropology building, assisting in research at the AZ Canine Cognition Center. Sisu mills around the lab, getting pats from lab coordinators and… Read more »