(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 »
Former British Parliament member Luciana Berger will headline the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies international conference on anti-Semitism Feb. 23 in Tucson.
The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Arizona will host a two-day international conference, “Contradictions and Tropes of Anti-Semitism,” Feb. 23-24. “The conference will address the disturbing rise of anti-Semitism in this country,” says Gil Ribak, Ph.D., organizing committee co-chair with Ed Wright, Ph.D., and Günther… Read more »
Andrew Marantz speaks at an April 2019 TED talk.
Extremism has hijacked the global social media conversation. Most of our lives — not just social life but news and entertainment that form our worldview — is online. The once-beautiful dream of a free internet — now a huge, irredeemable dumpster fire — is increasingly corrupted by conspiracy and… Read more »
Todd Purdum The Brandeis National Committee Tucson Chapter 24th Annual Book and Author Events will take place March 4 and 5, with four nationally recognized authors: journalists Todd S. Purdum and Hank Phillippi Ryan, each with a departure from their usual beats; biographer James McGrath Morris; and park ranger turned mystery… Read more »
The Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery after a 2016 cleanup effort.
There is an inspirational feeling when you walk onto the site of the Bisbee-Douglas Jewish Cemetery, says Richard Rosen, who likens it to the emotional uplift of stepping off a plane in Israel. “There’s a feeling of positive spirituality,” he says. Established in 1904, the cemetery, just 100 yards… Read more »
Mary Jo Pollack tells a story at Tellers of Tales Tucson on Oct. 5, 2019.
Mary Jo Pollack lives life out loud, not only as a storyteller for Odyssey Storytelling, FST!, and Tellers of Tales Tucson, but as a general life philosophy. Pollack, 71, is an artist on the board of directors of Beading Divas to the Rescue, a group of Tucson women who… Read more »
Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom cofounders Sheryl Olitzky and Atiya Aftab speak to members at a dinner hosted by The Tucson Islamic center Jan. 26.
The Tucson chapter of the national non-profit Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom recently hosted 52 international and local members for a fact-finding mission in Southern Arizona. The group of 26 Jewish and 26 Muslim members focused on southern border issues Jan. 26-30. The apolitical Sisterhood strives to build bridges between… Read more »
Stuart Mellan Congregation Or Chadash will host “Celebrating 25 Years of Gratitude,” a dinner honoring Stuart Mellan, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 21. Mellan will retire in May, after more than 25 years at the Federation. Or Chadash also got its start 25… Read more »
Isaac and Simone Figueroa at the 1920s-themed Hava Tequila party on Feb. 2, 2019.
Hava Tequila, the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s annual Young Leadership benefit party, will be held Saturday, Feb. 29, 8-11 p.m. at a new location, the Sonoran Rooftop at the Westward Look, 245 E. Ina Road. The theme will be “A Night on the Red Carpet.” “We checked out… Read more »
Anna Stupnicka-Bando, the 90-year-old president of the Polish Association of the Righteous Among the Nations, gets set to enter one of the taxis for saviors of Jews, in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 29, 2020. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — Outside one of this city’s many brutalist apartment buildings, passersby stop to stare at and photograph a London-style taxi emblazoned with large Star of David symbols. Some seem puzzled by the out-of-place sight. Others look delighted to encounter something they’ve seen or heard about in… Read more »
Zucchini, potato and Manchego pashtida (Leanne Shor)
This recipe originally appeared on The Nosher. Americans don’t have nearly the appreciation that Israelis do for quiche. In the States, it’s an unimaginative brunch addition that never really shines. But in Israel, it’s the star of many lunch tables and an incredible dairy dinner. Not to mention Shavuot,… Read more »
Vicky Ignatiuk, left, and Kate Kliuchevschi, 13-year-old Christian students in Moldova, munch on Passover matzah brought to their Chisinau classroom by two Jewish visitors. (Larry Luxner)
CHISINAU, Moldova (JTA) — Fifteen Christian seventh-graders at the City Theater School in this capital city sit in a circle listening attentively while two Jewish teenagers visiting their classroom talk about Jewish traditions. “What do you think a Jew looks like?” asks Arina Andriuschenko, standing at the blackboard with… Read more »
The Arab League held an emergency meeting to discuss the U.S.-brokered proposal for a settlement of the Middle East conflict at the league headquarters in Cairo, Feb. 1, 2020. (Khaled Desouki/AFP via Getty Images)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — President Donald Trump’s Middle East peace plan will probably not achieve its stated goal of bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but it might just bring about peace between Israel and more of its Arab neighbors. Here’s why. Over the past several years, Israel… Read more »
(We Are via Getty Images)
This story originally appeared on Alma. “Your Hebrew name?” the head of the yeshiva asked, pencil and paper poised to take it down for my aliyah, the honor of reciting Torah blessings. It was my third week at his school, a place where I’d reluctantly agreed to study for… Read more »
Raquel Montoya-Lewis answers questions from the press after Gov. Jay Inslee announced her appointment to the Washington State Supreme Court. (Office of the Governor)
This story originally appeared on Kveller. When Justice Raquel Montoya-Lewis was sworn in to Washington’s Supreme Court earlier this month, she became the second Native American person to serve on a state Supreme Court. “This was never something I really planned on or expected to happen,” Montoya-Lewis tells Kveller… Read more »
