A chance encounter with Tucsonans Dana Narter and Ed Baruch inspired bestselling author Lisa Gardner’s latest book, “Kiss Her Goodbye,” which is set mainly in Tucson. Gardner met the couple in 2023 on a whale-watching trip in California. They told her about serving as companions to a family of… Read more »
Gabriel Charles Grandner will celebrate becoming a Bar Mitzvah on Saturday, March 7, at Kol Ami Synagogue. He is the son of Michael & Ana Liza Grandner. Charlie attends Orange Grove Middle School. He enjoys playing the trumpet and piano and was recently one of only two people from… Read more »
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 of… Read more »
Tessa Veksler Public speaker, content creator, and activist Tessa Veksler, a leading Jewish and Zionist voice, will headline Connections, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona Women’s Division’s flagship event, on March 8. A first-generation American of Ukrainian Jewish descent, Veksler graduated in 2024 from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a… Read more »
Lindsey Baker speaks at a University of Arizona event celebrating Donald Baker, MRED '14, as the College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture 2026 Alumnus of the Year earlier this month. (Photo: Chris Richards/University of Arizona) The University of Arizona College of Architecture, Planning & Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) has posthumously named Donald Baker, MRED ’14, its 2026 Alumnus of the Year. Baker was an active member of the local Jewish community, and his legacy fund held at the Jewish Community Foundation continues to support CAPLA’s Master of Real Estate… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center (TJMHC) will host the grand opening of its newest exhibition, ”Media Matters: Cutting Through the Noise,” on Thursday, March 12, at 6 p.m. This year’s installment of the Allen & Marianne Langer Contemporary Human Rights Exhibit explores the evolution of media literacy and… Read more »
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, z'l Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, of blessed memory, once wrote, “I believe that the challenge for our time is to open a series of windows so that the world can illuminate our understanding of Torah, and so that the Torah may guide us as we seek to make our way… Read more »
Members of the Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat team at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (L-R:) Arif Muhammad, Ahmad Omid Rahimi, Anna-Lise "Annie" Kunz, Joelle Zuberi, Neda Ardebili, and Molly Bryan. (Photo courtesy JFCS) Celebrating the Impact of the JFCS SASIC Program The Jewish Family and Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) Services to Afghan Survivors Impacted by Combat (SASIC) program is a mental health initiative designed to support Afghan individuals and families who arrived in the United States after 2021 and have been affected… Read more »
Judith Manelis with, from left, Shimon Peres, Yitzhak Rabin, and Menachem Begin (Photo courtesy of Judith Manelis) Downsizing is not simply a “rehoming” of old possessions: the shoes that are too tight … the extra set of silverware that has been packed away in the closet for 20 years … the scrapbook with pictures from 12 years at camp. To me, downsizing is a metaphor for aging. … Read more »
A son, Chaim Asher Zimmerman, was born Jan. 28, 2026 to Mushkie and Rabbi Ephraim Zimmerman of Oro Valley. Chaim joins his siblings, Devora, Chana, Leah, Risa, Zev, Bayla, Menachem, and Levi.… Read more »
Art teacher Martha Rast, left, with Handmaker resident Grace Efaw (Photo: Nanci Levy) Handmaker residents have been thrilled with the recent enhancements to their activity programs. New art classes and music therapy sessions are furthering the goal of enriching the lives of the older adults Handmaker serves. Handmaker recently introduced dementia-friendly, accessible art classes in the Tynan Advanced Assisted Living, Kalmanovitz Memory Care, and Rich Long Term Care Skilled Nursing Neighborhoods, which include residents… Read more »
For more than a decade, the Mitch Dorson Scholar-in-Residence Fund has stood as a living expression of the belief that Jewish learning should be engaging, accessible, and meaningful. Established in 2012, the fund brings a visiting scholar or artist to Tucson to offer a popular exploration of Jewish life… Read more »
I can say without hesitation that my experience so far with Hillel at the University of Arizona has been nothing short of incredible. As I get ready to begin my second semester at college, I’ve been thinking a lot about those first few days on campus — and how far I’ve… Read more »
Shelley Pozez looks on as Brenda Landau uses an oversized dreidel to teach the traditional Hanukkah game to Homer Davis Elementary School students in 2023. Landau is director of legacy development at the Jewish Community Foundation at Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona. (Photo: JPSA) Eighty children at Homer Davis Elementary School currently receive snack packs of food to supplement their nutrition each weekend. “They rely on it,” says MaryCarmen Salazar Rubio, a reading instruction assistant and snack pack coordinator at Homer Davis, which is in the Flowing Wells School District. There’s always a waiting… Read more »
Sharon Glassberg has spent years bearing witness to history. As a Holocaust Survivor Services Coordinator at Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) and President of the Board at the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, she has facilitated weekly support groups, creating sacred space for survivors… Read more »
Jane Berenbeim, International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies immediate past president, center, with Southern Arizona Genealogical Society Co-Presidents Nancy Grayson, left, and Rich Schlesinger The Southern Arizona Jewish Genealogical Society won the Member of the Year Award at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies’ 45th International Conference on Jewish Genealogy held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, from August 10-14, 2025. The IAJGS represents more than 90 Jewish genealogical societies worldwide. Rich Schlesinger and… Read more »
In recognition of Drowning Impact Awareness Month, Tucson Medical Center and the Tucson Jewish Community Center are partnering to host the annual Community Water Safety Day on Sunday, Aug. 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. The free event, hosted at the Tucson J, is designed to promote water safety… Read more »
Shamsedin Zamani, pictured with his four children, spoke at Tucson’s World Refugee Day program on June 20, 2025. His daughters wore traditional Afghan attire. (Photo: Dana Narter)
Longtime Tucsonans Dana Narter and her husband, Ed Baruch, were volunteers with the refugee resettlement program at Jewish Family & Children’s Services for several years. She wrote about one of her first experiences with the program for the AJP in July 2022. In 2023, JFCS asked if Narter and… 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 »
The Tucson Jewish Community Center (the J) will honor volunteers and staff, elect new board members, and celebrate the organization’s 2024 accomplishments in the Alice and Paul Baker Ballroom on Thursday, May 15 from 5:30-7:30pm. The entire community is invited to join for a celebratory evening. Honorees include Amy… Read more »
