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 »
(CSA Images/Getty Images)
This story originally appeared on Kveller. Way back in 1828, Noah Webster learned 28 languages in order to write his groundbreaking dictionary. But “kvell” was nowhere to be found among his 70,000 words. His family was surely proud, but it’s safe to assume that not one of them told… Read more »
Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and wife Jane walk together after greeting his campaigners outside a polling station in Manchester, N.H., Feb. 11, 2020. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Bernie Sanders and Mike Bloomberg have much in common besides running for the Democratic nomination for president: They’re in their upper 70s, had hardscrabble upbringings and have had contentious relations with the party whose endorsement they now seek. And both are seeking the chance to make… Read more »
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert arrive for a press conference on U.S. President Donald Trump's Israeli-Palestinian peace plan on February 11, 2020, in New York. (Bryan R. Smith/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas hasn’t negotiated directly with Israel in nearly six years and most Palestinians want him to step down. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert served 16 months in prison for bribery and fraud in a corruption scandal that ended his political… Read more »
Sammy Miller, center, in yellow, and his band the Congregation. (Lauren Desberg)
(JTA) — Sammy Miller and his girlfriend Misha grew up in vastly different cultures: Sammy was raised Jewish in suburban Los Angeles, while Misha was raised Muslim in Karachi, Pakistan, moving to the United States when she was 12. Miller also happens to be a musician — he leads… Read more »
Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg holds a campaign rally in Detroit, Feb. 4, 2020. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
(JTA) — The Jewish Telegraphic Agency has sent five questions about anti-Semitism and Jewish issues to all of the registered presidential candidates from both parties. You can read Vice President Joe Biden’s responses here and Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s responses here. 1. Anti-Semitic hate crimes are currently on the rise across… Read more »
Guila Benchimol, Ph.D., will lead Safety Respect Equity workshops in Tucson Feb. 16-17 for the Jewish community.
The national Safety Respect Equity coalition examines issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Jewish community. The movement addresses privilege and power inequity, and devises solutions to ensure that existing structures no longer negatively influence how community business is done. The focus is on the values and… Read more »
