(JTA) — Michele Sciama, a former secretary-general of the Jewish Community of Milan — the city’s local Jewish communal life organization — has died of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Sciama, known to his friends and family as Micky, was 79 when he died Monday morning. He is survived by his… Read more »
Special Sections
From ‘Spock’ greetings to chopstick Torah pointers, synagogues are getting creative amid the coronavirus outbreak
To minimize the spread of germs, congregants at Temple Emanuel of the Pascack Valley are using disposable chopsticks in lieu of a shared yad when reading from the Torah. (Courtesy Alan Sokoloff)
(JTA) — On a typical Friday, some 200 people show up for services at Temple De Hirsch Sinai, a Reform congregation in Seattle. But last week, there was no one in the pews as Rabbi Daniel Weiner welcomed Shabbat in the synagogue’s smaller sanctuary. Instead, some 1,500 people watched… Read more »
‘It’s separating families’: How the unprecedented coronavirus lockdown is affecting Italy’s Jews
A man and woman stand outside the Milan Cathedral with protective masks and sanitizing gels, Feb. 23, 2020. (Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(JTA) — The outbreak of the coronavirus in northern Italy forced Claudia Bagnarelli to make a painful choice. “To keep visiting my 94-year-old mother, I needed to stop seeing everyone else in my life,” Bagnarelli, a Jewish ballet teacher from Milan, said Monday. To avoid the risk of infecting… Read more »
Coronavirus curbs bar mitzvah in Milan
Because of bans on large gatherings, Ruben Golran, an Italian Jewish kid celebrating his bar mitzvah, had to limit the ceremony to close relatives.
Ruben Golran had studied for a year and a half in anticipation of his bar mitzvah, when 600 of his relatives and friends were supposed to converge on Milan to celebrate. First he planned to have a ceremony Tuesday, Feb. 25, when he would put on tefillin, a Jewish… Read more »
Tucson, Phoenix are best cities for sunshine
It’s no surprise to us who live in the Sonoran Desert that, on average, we enjoy 286 sunny days a year in Tucson — while the U.S. average is 205. Old Pueblo residents can get ample doses of vitamin D while those in the Pacific Northwest are depleted. We… Read more »
Surgeon looks to shed light on serial killers at medical professionals’ dinner
Brain surgeon Allan Hamilton, M.D., pictured at one of his TED talks, will speak to the Tucson Maimonides Society March 16.
Editor’s note: Due to the spread of COVID-19, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona on March 13 has cancelled all public events through April 16. Tucson Maimonides Society’s March presentation sounds like it comes straight from the set of a television medical drama. Indeed, speaker Allan Hamilton, M.D., is… Read more »
JFCS trainings explain agency’s trauma-informed approach to care
Melissa Zimmerman
After the findings from a national Adverse Childhood Experience Study recognized that a third of the population of the United States suffers from trauma, Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona worked to make the organization a more trauma-informed space. Melissa Zimmerman, vice president of clinical services at… Read more »
CHAI Circle meeting will explore healing sound
“The Healing Power of Sound” will be introduced by Tucsonan Tryshe Dhevney at CHAI Circle’s March meeting. Dhevney is a harmonic and vocal sound energy expert, author, speaker, and crystal bowl-recording artist. She has decades of experience assisting others in creating health, wealth, and wholeness through the properties of… Read more »
We’re tracking the impact of the coronavirus on the Jewish world. Here’s what we know.
NEW YORK (JTA) — Like the rest of the world, the Jewish world is reeling as the novel coronavirus spreads. We’ll be tracking the latest developments here. Have an idea or question? Reports of coronavirus in your community? Send us an email. A cluster of cases involves New York… Read more »
AIPAC alerts participants that some were in contact with coronavirus patient
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The American Israel Public Affairs Committee alerted the thousands of activists who attended its conference this week that a New York group in attendance had been in contact with someone who has the virus. “To our knowledge, no one who attended the conference has tested positive… Read more »
County launches garden emissions voucher program
To cut down on pollution created by gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, the Pima County Department of Environmental Quality, in partnership with the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, has created the “Cut Down Pollution” program. “Our region exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health standard for ground-level ozone on… Read more »
Bet Shalom’s midbar (desert) farm project goes to the chickens
Volunteers pitch in with chores at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival Feb. 9. (Courtesy Cong. Bet Shalom)
Congregation Bet Shalom’s first Tu B’shevat Farm Festival brought about 80 community members of all ages together, including congregants, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation students, youngsters, and young adults connected to local farms and outdoor education programs. “The Midbar Project is a way for our people to connect with… Read more »
UArizona researchers join team studying viability of vertical farming
Leafy greens being grown under red and blue light wavelengths, which supports efficient chlorophyll absorption.
(Photo courtesy University of Arizona)
A rapidly growing global population, ecosystem degradation, changing climate conditions, and water and land scarcity all contribute to the need for integrated and innovative food production technologies. Researchers at the University of Arizona are testing a vertical farming approach. Fueled in part by a $2.7 million grant from the… Read more »
From AI to Ultratooth: How dental innovations help your oral health
The practice of dentistry looks much different than it did at the turn of the century. Technological advancements are making trips to the dentist quicker, less painful, and more reliable, while other product developments are enabling better oral self-care. “These new technologies are having a huge impact on how… Read more »
Non-Jewish counselors enrich Jewish summer camps
Alejandro Padron at Camp Mountain Chai (Javier Hernandez/Camp Mountain Chai)
A few years ago, Joe Gurski had never met a Jewish person and knew little about Judaism apart from things he had seen on television. Today the 25-year-old, who lives in Manchester, England, has many Jewish friends and can recite Shabbat prayers in Hebrew. Gurski, who grew up Catholic… Read more »
For lifelong artist, Tucson storytelling groups provide new creative outlet
Mary Jo Pollack tells a story at Tellers of Tales Tucson on Oct. 5, 2019.
Mary Jo Pollack lives life out loud, not only as a storyteller for Odyssey Storytelling, FST!, and Tellers of Tales Tucson, but as a general life philosophy. Pollack, 71, is an artist on the board of directors of Beading Divas to the Rescue, a group of Tucson women who… Read more »
Music is local Hebrew choir leader’s lifeblood
Rina Paz, right, leads members of Tucson’s Shirat HaShirim Hebrew choir in a rehearsal. From left, Norma Torres, Norma Edgerton, Lorena Caspar, Armando Garcia, Ruby Rodarte and Crystal Rodarte
Rina Paz leads Tucson’s Shirat HaShirim Hebrew choir and does other volunteer work within the Jewish community. She grew up in Haifa, Israel, in a large family that was always singing and dancing. Ever since she was a little girl, she says, she has been living life as the… Read more »
Retiring to Israel requires advance considerations
In 2019, some 500 of 3,500 immigrants to Israel from North America were retirees.
For a growing number of Jews in the Diaspora, turning retirement dreams into reality also means realizing a lifelong dream of living in Israel. Over the past decade, more than 6,000 Jews from North America and Britain have retired to Israel. In 2019, some 500 of 3,500 immigrants to… Read more »
Local artist brings 19th century cantor to life in ‘My Grandfather’s Prayers’
Artist Lisa Amie Sturz manipulates a puppet representing Cantor Izo Glickstein as she narrates ‘My Grandfather’s Prayers.’ Photo courtesy Red Herring Puppets
Relocating her well established Red Herring Puppets studio from North Carolina to Tucson last year was a big move for Lisa Amie Sturz. She brings to the Old Pueblo 40 years of experience in building, performing, and directing puppetry for film and television, theater, museums, educational institutions, and special… Read more »
How to retire to Israel
In 2019, some 500 of 3,500 immigrants to Israel from North America were retirees. (Jonny Finkel Photography)
JERUSALEM – For a growing number of Jews in the Diaspora, turning retirement dreams into reality also means realizing a lifelong dream of living in Israel. Over the past decade, more than 6,000 Jews from North America and Britain have retired to Israel. In 2019, some 500 of 3,500… Read more »
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