A window shattered by an act of vandalism at the University of Arizona Hillel building near the entrance off of 2nd Street. (Photo: Lea Thomas) The University of Arizona Hillel building was vandalized on the morning of Saturday, Feb. 14. As the center for Jewish students on campus, this act brings a wave of fear for Jewish students. Since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdered over 1,200 citizens and took hundreds… Read more »
The Advisory Council on Jewish American Affairs gathers for a group photograph with Gov. Katie Hobbs after a menorah lighting on Dec. 17. (Courtesy of Gov. Katie Hobbs Office)
In August 2025, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) launched the Jewish Policy Index (JPI), an interactive tool to evaluate state-level efforts to counter antisemitism through laws, education and public policy. According to the ADL, the JPI was created in response to an increase in antisemitic incidents in recent years. In… Read more »
Hava Leipzig Holzhauer, President and CEO of Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona Yesterday, one day after a terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney, Australia that killed 15 people, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona and the Tucson Jewish Community Center responded to a local antisemitic incident that occurred near the Tucson J on the Jewish Community Campus. Early Monday… Read more »
Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona Director of Public Affairs Carina Bien-Willner, left, moderates a discussion with Israeli singer-songwriter Linor Ein Gedy (center) and antisemitism expert Rachel Fish, Ph.D., Oct. 26, 2025. For many weeks after Oct. 7, Israeli singer-songwriter Linor Ein Gedy could find no comfort in music. “Music has always been my source of strength, of solace, and my way to channel my emotions. It wasn’t only my livelihood. It was my way to turn pain into beauty,… Read more »
Rachel Fish, Ph.D. Scholar/activist Dr. Rachel Fish is a renowned expert on antisemitism in America. She will be in Tucson on Sunday, October 26, to lead Southwest Institute 2025, a program from the Center for Jewish Resilience at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona designed to help educators and administrators identify and address… Read more »
The J is thrilled to be part of the rolling world premiere of theatre dybbuk’s “Dracula (Annotated).” This production, with its blend of artistry, history, and provocation, offers a rare opportunity to engage audiences on multiple levels. From the outset, our goal has been to create a month of… Read more »
Doug Levy stands outside his downtown Tucson office on July 31, 2025. Posters cover the holes created by rocks thrown through the window. (Photo: Facebook) Tucsonan Doug Levy and his wife, Nanci, returned from vacation last week to discover that a rock had been thrown through the window of his downtown Tucson office, where he displays a large menorah. Levy initially dismissed the vandalism as the act of “some random kid,” but when… Read more »
Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona Deputy Security Director Paul Patterson describes the OODA Loop decision-making tool at a July 17 community security briefing. (Photo: Phyllis Braun) “One of our main goals is to always make sure that nobody’s afraid to be Jewish,” Paul Patterson, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona deputy community security director, told the audience at a JPSA security briefing, “Situational Awareness: See Something, Say Something,” on July 17. “Our security initiatives… Read more »
Delegates to the Association of Holocaust Organizations conference in Toronto, Ontario June 7-10 included Lori Shepherd, executive director of the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, middle row, seventh from left. (Courtesty Lori Shepherd) Each year, the Association of Holocaust Organizations, an international network of more than 130 organizations, hosts a summer conference devoted to the advancement of Holocaust education, remembrance, and research. Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center is a proud member of this amazing group of educators, scholars, and institutional leaders.… Read more »
Judith Manelis On a recent Friday night, I arrived at my synagogue to discover something had been added to its architectural design. There were large round cement balls in a line across the front of the building and doorway. So now, in addition to having a security guard at the building… Read more »
University of Arizona Professor David Graizbord speaks on "Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?" on May 18 at Congregation Anshei Israel. On May 18, Congregation Ashei Israel volunteers scrambled to bring in extra chairs for Professor David Graizbord’s workshop, “Is Anti-Zionism Antisemitism?” The interest from the 100-plus attendees prompted a second workshop, scheduled for June 22 from 3-4:30 p.m., also at Anshei Israel. “The first part of the presentation evidently… Read more »
David Graizbord Professor David Graizbord, director of the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona, will lead an interactive workshop on a question that has been at the center of controversy within Jewish communities in the United States and elsewhere: “Is anti-Zionism antisemitism?” The workshop will be held… Read more »
Tucson police investigate the vandalism at Chabad Tucson–Young Israel synagogue on Tuesday, April 22. Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin called the Tucson police chief who sent out a crime scene unit.
(Photo courtesy Chabad Tucson)
Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin discovered the words “End Apartheid Abolish Israel” spelled out in purple graffiti on the outer wall of his Chabad Tucson–Young Israel synagogue early in the morning on Tuesday, April 22. Neither he nor the congregants who gathered for morning prayer noticed the graffiti when they drove… Read more »
