Sarah Julia Seldin, left, and Shani Mink are founders of the Jewish Farmers Network. (Ben Harris)
REISTERSTOWN, Md. (JTA) — When Sarah Julia Seldin arrived at the main national gathering of Jewish foodies in 2016, she was disappointed to find no programming aimed specifically at people like her. There were sessions on kosher cooking, Jewish food ethics and the realities of kosher animal slaughter. But… Read more »
Men wearing suits portraying haredi Jews with an ant's abdomen and legs at the annual procession of the carnival in Aalst, Belgium, Feb. 23, 2020. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
AALST, Belgium (JTA) — I probably spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about the Holocaust. Partly as a consequence of covering Jewish news in Europe at a time of rising anti-Semitism, Holocaust associations often come to mind in my daily life — on crowded trains, for example. But… Read more »
Palestinian boys head towards the "Green Line" that separates the Arab village of Bartaa, which straddles the 1967 border between Israel and the northwestern tip of the West Bank, April 29, 2012. (Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/GettyImages)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Election rallies for the Arab parties in Israel rarely garner much attention or excitement. But recent policy proposals engineered thousands of miles away may have re-energized a once stagnant and unreliable voting bloc. The peaceful Arab village of Bartaa, home to about 4,500 residents, is located in… Read more »
A campaign billboard in Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv, featuring Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz in front of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Artur Widak/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Full disclosure: This is the third time in the past year that we have published this article. With only minor changes. That’s because on Monday, March 2, for the third time in the past 12 months, Israelis will be voting in a national election. The first election,… Read more »
From left, Aviva Zeltzer-Zubida, Ph.D., Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona vice president; Graham Hoffman, Jewish Community Foundation president and CEO; and JCF Project Manager Maya Horowitz, review a community planning timeline at the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, Jan. 28.
Last spring, community leaders from the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation began a community visioning project that was soon dubbed “2020 and Beyond: Reimagining Jewish Life in Southern Arizona.” After initial stages that included hiring an outside consultant and holding meetings with stakeholder groups… Read more »
Siblings Sara and Josh Hurand in Tucson in fall 2017
Sara Hurand says she’s never known anyone like her brother, Josh Hurand, a psychotherapist in Tucson who has a gift for connecting people. “He makes business connections, creative connections, light and fun connections, and deep and enduring connections. He is meaningfully close with family members both near and far,… Read more »
The cast of Unscrewed Theater’s Not Burnt Out Just Unscrewed comedy troop
Unscrewed Theater and Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will partner for a BSTC fund-raiser next month, “Dine and Laugh!” Comedy troops from Unscrewed Theater, an improv club based in Tucson, will perform while attendees enjoy a three-course dinner on Saturday, March 21, at the Madera Crystal Ballroom… Read more »
Kenny Mirman and Marlene Burns celebrate Purim at Chabad Oro Valley. (Photo courtesy Chabad Oro Valley)
A full array of Southern Arizona Purim parties will ensure that this most fun holiday of the Jewish calendar is action-packed. Take your pick from a string of family-friendly events, submitted by area synagogues and agencies. Friday, March 6 6 p.m.: Purim Shabbat Early Shabbat tot and child-friendly service;… Read more »
Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging continues its annual Three Rabbis Lecture Panel next month, exploring “The Future of the Tucson Jewish Community.” Rabbi Yossie Shemtov of Orthodox Congregation Young Israel, Rabbi Robert Eisen of Conservative Congregation Anshei Israel, and Rabbi Thomas Louchheim of Reform Congregation Or Chadash will… Read more »
Girl Scout Troop 613 meets at Congregation Anshei Israel. (Photo courtesy Nichole Chorny)
There is a nationally recognized Girl Scout program for Jewish troops across the United States and Tucson has its own troop. Girl Scout Troop 613, which includes girls in second to fourth grades, is led by one of the girls’ mothers, Nichole Chorny, who is the cantorial soloist at… Read more »
Volunteers pitch in with chores at Congregation Bet Shalom’s Tu B’Shevat Farm Festival Feb. 9. (Courtesy Cong. Bet Shalom)
Congregation Bet Shalom’s first Tu B’shevat Farm Festival brought about 80 community members of all ages together, including congregants, University of Arizona Hillel Foundation students, youngsters, and young adults connected to local farms and outdoor education programs. “The Midbar Project is a way for our people to connect with… Read more »
On Feb. 21, 2020, the Jewish History Museum will mark four years since the opening of the Holocaust History Center and the expansion of the museum’s campus. The creation of the Holocaust History Center marked the realization of a decades-old community aspiration that began in the 1960s when local Holocaust… Read more »
(Getty Images)
This story originally appeared on The Nosher. Chunky Monkey. Rum Tres Leches. Banana Nut Fudge. Who gave the world the gift of these delectable ice cream flavor inventions? While Italian immigrants are traditionally given credit for opening the first ice cream parlors in the United States in the early… Read more »
A symbol of pinched fingers — ubiquitous among Israelis saying “wait a minute” or “have patience” — has been included in the 2020 list of approved emojis. But the nonprofit Unicode Consortium, the organization that approves new emojis, is calling the emoji showing all fingers and thumb held together… Read more »
The Oxford English Dictionary added several Yiddish terms in 2020. (In Pictures Ltd./Corbis via Getty Images)
(JTA) — It’s not just “yiddo.” The Oxford English Dictionary has just added a slew of Jewish-themed and Yiddish terms, some of which are sure to offend. The venerable institution’s list of new entries for January 2020 contains dozens of items with Jewish content, from “bialy” to “Jewfro” to… Read more »
Isabel Pereira was kicked off Swedish "Big Brother" after she said she hates Jews. (Screenshot via YouTube)
(JTA) — Two contestants were kicked off a Swedish reality show after having a conversation in which one said she hates Jews, while a third who remains has previously expressed support for neo-Nazi ideas on social media. The comments, made during a live airing of the popular show “Big… Read more »
Background: the AIPAC Conference in Washington, March 6, 2018 (Haim Zach/GPO); foreground: Rep. Betty McCollum, a Minnesota Democrat who called AIPAC a "hate group." (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — AIPAC is coming, but no one knows who’s speaking. Just about two weeks before the activists come to town for the largest U.S. Israel lobby’s annual conference, AIPAC has no speakers listed on its convention website, though I’ve been told it will be posted in the… Read more »
Participants in a memorial service on the one-year anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, 2019. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
PARKLAND, Fla. (JTA) — It was during Zoey Fox-Snider’s sophomore year that a gunman entered her campus at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School here. The 17-year-old remembers the fire alarm going off and rushing toward the exit with her friends, but then being told to go back in. Suddenly… Read more »
(Rachel Ringler)
This story originally appeared on The Nosher. On a recent trip to Israel, my husband and I took a taxi to Bat Yam, a workingman’s town located a stone’s throw and a world away from the uber-cool city that is Tel Aviv. We went to eat Russian food in… Read more »
(Screenshot from BBC One)
This story originally appeared on Alma. I’ve been a huge fan of “Doctor Who” for years, so when I saw in the trailer for the new season that the iconic time traveler’s adventures were going to feature a story set in Nazi-occupied Paris, I thought — finally. After 57… Read more »
