Ariel Burger with his book, "Witness: Lessons from Elie Wiesel's Classroom" Every student who tours Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center will hear the words of Elie Wiesel, “When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” On Thursday, May 7 at 6:00 p.m. in the Paul & Alice Baker Ballroom at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, the Lakin… Read more »
Each year, as the holiday of Shavuot approaches, Jewish communities around the world prepare to revisit a defining moment in their collective story: The receiving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Traditionally understood as a spiritual marriage between God and the Jewish people, Shavuot has also come to be… Read more »
Judith Manelis As many older adults know, it is often difficult to forge close personal relationships when you relocate to a new place. Most people already have an intimate circle of friends, a comfortable routine, regular work or leisure activities — organized lives. And suddenly, there you are, reaching out and… Read more »
Mitzvah Magic co-chairs Danielle Larcom (left) and Katie Stellitano Rosen with some of the gifts destined for needy Jewish families in Southern Arizona this Passover. Mitzvah Magic is a joint program of Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona and Jewish Family & Children’s Services. Mitzvah Magic, a volunteer program that supports local Jewish families in need, is celebrating its 18th year with a birthday bash on Wednesday, May 13. Marlyne Freedman, then a vice president at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, started the program in 2008 in response to the economic… Read more »
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Congregation Chaverim reads the names of people who were murdered in the Holocaust during the University of Arizona Hillel Yom HaShoah vigil on April 13, 2026. (Photo courtesy UA Hillel) To commemorate Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) for 2026, the University of Arizona Hillel gathered students and community members on the UA Mall to bear witness together. This was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that a name-reading vigil has occurred on the UA mall. At… Read more »
Senior Community Shlicha Yuval Malka (front) and Junior Community Shlicha Daniella Ironi with the Banai family — Uri, Noam, and Boaz — who performed at the 2025 Yom Ha’aztmaut festival in Tucson (Photo courtesy Weintraub Israel Center) Yuval Malka, Southern Arizona’s senior community shlicha (Israeli emissary), and Daniella Ironi, junior community shlicha, have been planning events for two of the most important dates on the Israeli calendar: Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, and Yom Ha’aztmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, known collectively as the spring “Yamim” (Hebrew for… Read more »
James Heuser and Carol Mintz Heuser display their mezuzah case collection at the Center for Jewish Philanthropy on March 9, 2026. (Photo courtesy JPSA) On March 9, Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona received a special donation from Carol Mintz Heuser and James Heuser. The gift was a collection of 52 mezuzah cases and scrolls James had saved from demolition over decades of working at a retirement community in New Jersey. … Read more »
Kseniya DeLano Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) has named Kseniya DeLano as the agency’s president and chief executive officer, effective April 6. DeLano joined JFCS in 2024 as the agency’s finance director and most recently served as chief administrative officer. “As a member… Read more »
Tucson Hebrew Academy Spanish Teacher Miguel Montemayor reviews vocabulary with a student (Photo courtesy THA) This fall, Tucson Hebrew Academy launched a full-fledged Spanish program, expanding on what was formerly a middle school elective. On a recent Wednesday, eight students from the fifth, seventh, and eighth grades engaged in a spirited game of Pictionary, reinforcing their vocabulary lessons on food and restaurants as… Read more »
Judith Manelis with Farfel (Photo: Steve Shawl) Who knew when I named my new dog Farfel seven years ago, that I would become a Judaic studies teacher to my non-Jewish neighbors? All I knew was that I wanted a dog to replace the female Yorkshire Terrier that I had lost 20 years earlier. Her name was… Read more »
Keynote speaker Tessa Veksler was thrilled to arrive at the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy Connections brunch on March 8 and find a mirror emblazoned with her hashtag: #werenotgoinganywhere. Inside, more than 250 women were equally jazzed to hear from Veksler, a passionate Jewish and Zionist… 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… 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… 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. … 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 »
