Jews in Southern Arizona have a new way to connect, explore, and engage with others in the local Jewish community: Connect Jewish Tucson. The recently launched Connect Jewish Tucson website, connect.jewishtucson.org, lets individuals create and promote events, find events they want to attend, and even invite people to go… Read more »
Dr. Elliott Heiman passed away April 7, 2024, after a valiant battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 85. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sandy; his daughters Pamela Heiman (children Rebecca and Shira), and Andrea (Adam) Kahn (children Tzivia, Yaakov Meir (Nechama) Kahn, and Basya (Shmaryahu)… Read more »
The Jewish community of Southern Arizona will host its second AgeWell Day on Tuesday, May 7. The event brings together community members aged 60 and above for activities and camaraderie. Positive relationships and social connections are the keys to happier, healthier, longer lives, according to a multi-decade Harvard study.… Read more »
There he is, totally oblivious to what is about to happen. He is caught in the spotlight, bewildered, in his own world. The whole studio audience stands. Nicholas Winton, on the front row, has no idea until someone taps him on the shoulder and asks him to turn. Only… Read more »
This story first appeared in Jewish News (greater Phoenix). Last month, 17 Arizona state representatives, seven Democrats and 10 Republicans, went to Israel to meet with Israeli business, military and political leaders; learn about Israeli society; and speak with witnesses of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, including… Read more »
Rabbi Malcolm Cohen speaks during the “call to the audience” at the March 19 Tucson City Council meeting. (Photo courtesy Hava Leipzig Holzhauer) The Tucson City Council will discuss a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza at its Tuesday, April 9 study session. Study sessions precede the council’s formal meetings. At the March 19 study session, council member Lane Santa Cruz requested a 20-minute discussion of the topic be added to… Read more »
Please join local Holocaust survivors and their families as we come together in community to memorialize the tragedy and loss of the Holocaust and to pay tribute to those who survived and the generations that have followed after them. This special observance will take place at 2:00 p.m. on… Read more »
From the Song of Songs, we find a beautiful text elaborating on the beauty of spring. “For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers are seen in the land. The time of the nightingale is come, and the voice of the turtle dove… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Graham Hoffman
Social Venture Partners Tucson has selected 10 local nonprofits to participate in its sixth annual Fast Pitch program. These organizations will take part in an 18-week training program designed to help nonprofits build meaningful relationships, gain resources, and become more resilient. At the centerpiece event on March 11, 2021,… Read more »
Months ago, Ester Leutenberg told her husband, Jay, she was concerned about young children and teens’ reactions to the restrictions and uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. “Our twin grandsons could not have a high school graduation ceremony; young people of all ages were either struggling with virtual… Read more »
