WASHINGTON (JTA) — The speech that Russ Feingold gave to end his career in the U.S. Senate was much like his career itself: by turns crystal clear, obscure, ornery, defiant and gracious — and quoting a fellow Great Plains Jew to boot. “But my heart is not weary, it’s… Read more »
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In the war on breast cancer, Israel leads
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Irit Paneth, in and out of remission from breast cancer for more than a decade, was among the thousands who wound their way like a giant pink-and-white ribbon through Jerusalem’s streets in the first Susan G. Komen Foundation’s Race for the Cure held in Israel. “What’s… Read more »
First sign of the new U.S. political reality — Bibi’s swagger
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The sharpest signal of what last week’s elections meant for Jews came not from Washington but from New Orleans, Nova Scotia and Australia. In New Orleans, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech Monday calling for moving beyond sanctions to mounting a “credible military threat”… Read more »
Music, joy core of new Renewal congregation
A focus on blending heart and mind brings a new congregation to Tucson. Congregation Kol Simchah (voice of joy) will hold its first Friday night Shabbat service and dinner on Nov. 19. “Born of the seed of Ner Tamid,” says Rabbi Shafir Lobb, the new Renewal congregation has emerged… Read more »
JFSA leaders embrace LEAF, ‘Tzedakah Tree’
In response to unprecedented requests for economic assistance from Jewish Tucsonans, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona has launched the Local Emergency Assistance Fund to provide assistance with housing costs, food, job placement and more. While pledges to the Federation campaign traditionally are unrestricted, the Federation board is allowing… Read more »
New Jewish Elder Access project launched
Jewish seniors who are new to Tucson, need transportation or other resources, or want to improve their job skills, can now call Irene Lloyd, coordinator of JEA (Jewish Elder Access) for assistance at 404-4596. JEA, which started on Aug. 2, was created under the auspices of the Jewish Federation… Read more »
Tucson community expands Global Day of Jewish Learning: Weeklong celebration planned
In partnership with Tucson’s synagogues and Jewish agencies, the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will host a Global Week of Jewish Learning, Nov. 4-11, in conjunction with the Global Day of Jewish Learning, the first worldwide, trans-denominational event devoted to Jewish learning. On… Read more »
Blind Israeli’s marathon run going to the (seeing-eye) dogs
NEW YORK (JTA) — When Noach Braun and Gadi Yarkoni run this year’s New York City marathon on Nov. 7, they’ll be tied together at the hip — literally. Yarkoni, an Israeli who lost his sight during combat in Lebanon 15 years ago, will be tethered by a strap… Read more »
Cantor could help GOP take over the House, but can he win over the Jews?
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Eric Cantor has spent a lifetime relishing wearing the other hat. Among Jews, the Republican congressional whip from Richmond, Va., likes to play the genteel Southern conservative, the posture that won over his wife, a socially liberal banker from New York. Among southerners, he’s the nice… Read more »
There’s no place for bullying in God’s world
NEW YORK — I was saddened to hear of the death of Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old college student driven to suicide by bullying over his sexual orientation. While Clementi’s case has grabbed national headlines, it sadly is far from unique. Last September alone, no fewer than six boys in… Read more »
Plenty of Jews on board California’s bid to legalize marijuana
OAKLAND, Calif. (JTA) — Ed Rosenthal has been working to legalize marijuana in California since he moved to the state in 1972. Vindication may finally be at hand for the Bronx-born former yippie. On Nov. 2, California voters will consider Proposition 19, a ballot initiative to legalize the cultivation… Read more »
Female scribes finish writing Torah scroll
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — It took seven years to write and just a few days to sew together, but on Oct. 15 the first Torah scroll written entirely by a group of women was attached to its wooden poles and declared complete. The ceremony was held at Seattle’s Kadima… Read more »
Unifying factor in 2010 election: never before
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Talk to veteran campaign watchers about this year’s congressional races, and within seconds they will tell you that they’ve never before seen elections quite like these. “We’ve never seen a cycle where there’s been this many races this close to an election and you don’t know… Read more »
Gala dinner will highlight Taste of Israel week
The second annual “Israel Ethnic Epicurean Gala,” sponsored by the TIPS (Tucson, Israel, Phoenix and Seattle) partnership, will be held Nov. 3 with food prepared by nine ethnically diverse Israeli women from our Partnership 2000 region of Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon. The women, who will spend a week… Read more »
U.S. colleges with few Jews building facilities to draw more
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Last year, 19-year-old Max Chapnick ate plenty of vegetables. Chapnick, who comes from a kosher home in White Plains, N.Y., is a sophomore at Washington and Lee University, a small liberal arts school in Lexington, Va. His freshman year he ate in the dining hall… Read more »
South African museum to juxtapose Holocaust with Rwandan genocide
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (JTA) — At a South African Holocaust museum that plans to open late next year in Johannesburg, the Holocaust will be featured beside a more local genocide: the Rwandan violence of 1994. The inclusion of the African mass murder is not a mere gesture toward… Read more »
With Emanuel and Axelrod gone, will the Jews have access to Obama?
WASHINGTON (JTA) — They were two Jewish aides who had offices within shouting distance of the Oval Office. But the Oct. 1 resignation of Rahm Emanuel as White House chief of staff and the imminent departure of David Axelrod, the president’s senior adviser, is raising the question of what… Read more »
Note cards honor TIPS art contest winners
Drawings by Natalie Leonard and Zevi Bloomfield are the local winners in an art contest sponsored by the TIPS communities of Tucson, Israel, Phoenix and Seattle. The drawings are printed on note cards the Israel Center will distribute at community events. This is the fourth year of the TIPS… Read more »
School benefit is Mellans’ anniversary toast
Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona President and CEO Stuart Mellan and his wife, Nancy, will celebrate 18 years of marriage by hosting an open house anniversary party to benefit the Homer Davis Elementary School’s Friday food pack program on Sunday, Oct. 10, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the… Read more »
Imaginative NYC sukkah contest to go nationwide
It was a surprise hit on the cultural roster of a city that may be the most culturally busy city in the nation. And even though the Sukkah City architectural competition in New York was being dismantled this week, look for Sukkah City next year in a town near… Read more »