Tagged FRONT

L’Shana Tova from UArizona Hillel Foundation!

Interim Executive Director, Jennifer Camano, CFRE is delighted to have joined the dedicated and lively team at UAHillel. Tucson’s Jewish Wildcat Headquarters has been busy acting as a home away from home for all kinds of Jewish students. This year’s programming has gotten off to a robust start with… Read more »

Can You Be Zionist and Progressive? (Of Course!): Weintraub Israel Center to Bring Zioness Founder and Executive Director Amanda Berman to Tucson J

After a successful kick-off to a season of Arts, Culture + Community events with over 100 convening at the Tucson J earlier this month for a conversation with infamous author, Dara Horn, the Weintraub Israel Center is excited to welcome Zioness Founder and Executive Director, Amanda Berman to the… Read more »

Op-Ed: Tucson’s Multifaith Coalition Shows Up for Pride

What comes to mind when you think of a parade? Music, dancing, fanciful clothing, even a float or two? A  Pride parade is all that and more: it marks an exuberant and enthusiastic celebration for and by the LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) community. (The… Read more »

Tucson J’s New Director of Teen Engagement Returns to Tucson Roots; Gears up for 2025 JCC Maccabi Games®

Davis Hubbell, Tucson J Director of Teen Engagement

This summer, the Tucson J community welcomed a familiar face in a new and exciting role: Davis Hubbell, a native of Tucson and an alum of Tucson J programs, was appointed as the J’s new Director of Teen Engagement. With a rich tapestry of experiences spanning from artisan bakeries… Read more »

Sweet Start to the New Year at Handmaker

When a group of Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) first-grade students walked into the Handmaker Grand Foyer holding hands with their eighth-grade buddies, the Handmaker residents waiting for them to arrive began grinning from ear to ear. Just seeing the kids was enough to put smiles on their faces. But,… Read more »

Tucson Hebrew Academy Welcomes Families to Open House for Kindergarten through Second Grade

Excitement is in the air as Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA) prepares to open its doors to prospective students and their families for a special Open House event catering to children in Kindergarten through Second Grade. This engaging event promises a sneak peek into the vibrant world of Jewish education… Read more »

Kol Ami Synagogue Hires Moss as New Executive Director

After a thorough search for a new Executive Director, the Kol Ami Board of Trustees announced the hiring of Sean Moss. Showcasing a 20-year breadth of global experience spanning business management, strategy, marketing, and corporate governance, Moss is poised to bring fresh perspectives to the continued success of Kol… Read more »

Jewish Museum announces new name

The Jewish History Museum & Holocaust History Center in downtown Tucson has a streamlined new name: Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center. The name, approved by the Museum’s Board of Directors in October, is the result of months of deliberations and conversations with stakeholders, says Board President Eric Schindler.… Read more »

Claims Conference negotiates pensions for 6,500 additional Holocaust Survivors worldwide, including several in Arizona

In early October, the Claims Conference announced pensions for certain groups of Holocaust Survivors who previously did not receive funding. These include Survivors of the Leningrad Siege, those hiding in France, and those persecuted in Romania. These funds will support 6,500 survivors worldwide, recognizing the trauma and terror that… Read more »

Bar Mitzvah: Sawyer Charles Lazarus

Sawyer Charles Lazarus

Sawyer Charles Lazarus celebrated his Bar Mitzvah on August 7th, 2021 at Congregation Anshei Israel. He is the son of Emily and Adam Lazarus and the grandson of Ellen and Larry Z”L Yasmer and Sandy and Joel Lazarus of Davie, Florida. Sawyer is a rising seventh grade student at… Read more »

Pastor, former Tucson mayor discuss African American-Jewish relations, fixing inequities

Jonathan Rothschild, left, and Pastor D. Grady Scott

Although the African American community faces many challenges, such as gaining better access to healthcare and education, for Pastor B. Grady Scott of Grace Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Tucson, the number one issue is overrepresentation in jails and prisons. Scott and former Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild presented “African… Read more »

Tucson International Jewish Film Festival’s ‘Feeding Our Souls’ documents local shul’s farm project

A Congregation Bet Shalom member shows off eggs laid by the shul's chickens, in the short film 'Feeding Our Souls." (Courtesy Tucson International Jewish Film Festival)

Congregation Bet Shalom members young and old — but mostly young — are featured in a short film, “Feeding Our Souls,” that will debut as part of the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival. But the chickens are definitely the stars. Raising chickens has been a central part of the… Read more »

With real-life travel curtailed, Tucsonan’s Jewish travel podcast is unique opportunity

A travel group (minus leader and photographer Tom Price) on tour in Fez, Morocco, once a major center of Jewish life. (Photo courtesy Tom Price)

International travelers seeking new and exciting experiences can depart today from Tucson, or anywhere, at no cost, with no passport, and with no travel restrictions. All that’s required is an Internet connection, a digital device, some curiosity, and one’s attention for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. “Around… Read more »

A story we missed: Green Valley temple members bake bagels to aid Oregon wildfire relief

Gary Melton of the Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley forms a bagel as part of a men's club fundraiser in November 2020. (Photo courtesy Mike Finkelstein)

Editor’s note: There’s no denying 2020 has been a tough year, and we’re sorry we missed this noteworthy story from last month. Enjoy! Over the Nov. 8 weekend, members of the men’s club at Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley came together for a bagel making fundraiser for… Read more »

Letting go is all we have to hold on to

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

If you had told me a year ago that I would change my life by selling my Tucson home to be closer to my Mom in New Jersey or that I would spend the winter bundled up in Boston rather than hiking in the sunshine, I would have responded:… Read more »

Local Jewish community planners aim for ‘bigger tent’ with ‘Pathways’ document, working groups

Insights that have emerged from the ongoing community planning process will help enrich Jewish life in Southern Arizona, with a focus on collaboration and inclusion.

How can the Southern Arizona Jewish community shape a future that engages, fulfills, and sustains more people than ever before, in this generation and the generations to come? A newly released 21-page document called “Southern Arizona Jewish Community: Pathways to Enriching Jewish Life” aims to answer this question. Developed… Read more »

Handmaker and Chabad team up for kosher Meals on Wheels

From left, Rabbi Yossie Shemtov of Chabad Tucson with Handmaker Director of Food and Facility Services Mike Felde, Pastry Chef Julie Ogroski, and Executive Chef Claire Wilmouth (Photo: Faye Gandolfi)

Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging has announced a partnership with the ongoing Chabad of Tucson Kosher Meals on Wheels program. By providing affordable kosher meals to those in need, this collaboration helps tackle the issue of food insecurity in the local community. The program will provide glatt kosher… Read more »