Lida Maxwell The Jewish History Museum’s “States of Rightlessness” series will culminate with a keynote lecture by Lida Maxwell on the evening of Thursday, Jan. 24. The museum coordinated “States of Rightlessness” to mark 70 years since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly,… Read more »
Adam del Monte (Courtesy del Monte)
One of the world’s leading flamenco and classical guitarists and composers, Adam del Monte, will present scenes from the flamenco opera “Llantos 1492” during the 2019 Tucson Desert Song Festival, Jan. 15-Feb. 5. “Llantos 1492,” the world’s first flamenco opera, is in keeping with this year’s festival theme of Latin… Read more »
A kit from PJ Library guides the adventure as families host others in the “My Shabbat Adventure with Friends” program. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s PJ Library program is launching “My Shabbat Adventure with Friends,” a new program to help PJ Library families to reach out to other families in the local Jewish community. Host families will commit to holding three Shabbat dinners for two to four families,… Read more »
Jewish Tucson Concierge Carol Sack with some of her creations. (Debe Campbell/AJP)
A skill Carol Sack attained as a young girl of 10 has become a lifelong treasure that brings pleasure to many. Carol Sack has crocheted a Noah’s ark-full of animals and dolls over her lifetime, an activity she now practices daily as a meditation. She gives her creations, large and… Read more »
Bill Epstein The Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre will present “My Life in Sports,” written and performed by Tucsonan Bill Epstein, Jan. 17-27. “A coming-of age story, a cautionary tale, and a love story, ‘My Life in Sports’ is a dramatic memoir about the romance of men and sports, about the games… Read more »
From left, Sam Alexander, Lynn Rae Lowe and Damion Alexander exhibit together in ‘United by Art’ at Tucson’s Mexican consulate. (Courtesy Damion Alexander)
Award-winning Tucson artist Lynn Rae Lowe; her son, Damion Alexander; and her grandson, Sam Alexander, 19, are among 13 artists featured in “United by Art,” an exhibit on display at the Mexican Consulate in Tucson, 3915 E. Broadway Blvd., through Feb. 8. “I am honored to have an opportunity… Read more »
Cnaan Liphshiz examines binned avocados at Amsterdam's Albert Cuyp Market, Jan. 5, 2018. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
AMSTERDAM — I was recently offered a handout while rummaging for food in a heap of trash as my two small children looked on. It happened all because I wanted to start attending synagogue regularly. To be clear, I’m writing this neither as a plea for pity nor an indictment against… Read more »
Rabbi Peter Berg of The Temple in Atlanta speaks at an interfaith prayer vigil following the Pittsburgh shooting last year. (Ellis Vener)
(JTA) — On an average Saturday morning at the Orthodox Ohel Tefillah synagogue on Chicago’s North Side, about 10 percent of the men carry a handgun. That number may seem high in a liberal city with some of the strictest gun laws in the country. But in the aftermath… Read more »
Annie Cohen, right, met Holocaust survivor Ela Weissberger when the teen appeared in a New Orleans production of "Brundibar" in 2016. The children's opera by Jewish Czech composer Hans Krása was performed by the children of the Theresienstadt concentration camp, including Weissberger. (Courtesy of Cohen)
NEW ORLEANS (JTA) — Ela Weissberger, though tiny and elderly when I met her, was the strongest woman I have ever known. Her energy was indefatigable, her personality vibrant and sunny, her wit sharp and charming. Her magical rapport with children was undeniable. Ela was a Holocaust survivor, sent… Read more »
Michael Douglas, left, and Alan Arkin have some fun after winning big at the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., Jan. 6, 2019. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) — From Michael Douglas’ Yiddish exclamation to more success for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” to Regina King’s Hebrew-letter tattoo, the 2019 Golden Globes had its fair share of Jewish moments. Rachel Brosnahan is not Jewish, but she does a convincing job playing a very Jewish woman in “Mrs.… Read more »
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Capitol Hill, Jan. 3, 2019. (Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In the waning days of 2018, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., formally declared her interest in running for the presidency. Warren was not the first to do so — former Maryland Rep. John Delaney has for months been canvassing for Democratic votes in Iowa, the first caucus… Read more »
Rabbi Rachel Rubenstein is trying to engage young families in her role as executive director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County, New York. (Gail Conklin for the Jewish Federation of Greater Orange County)
NEW YORK (JTA) — Rabbi Rachel Rubenstein knows that in the age of Kickstarter, getting young people to give to a Jewish federation can be a hard sell. “In today’s culture, we can go straight to the GoFundMe, and fund so hyper-specifically what you want to fund,” she told… Read more »
Scott Zorn The Tucson Jewish community was stunned by the news that Scott Zorn, 59, died Jan. 1, 2019, in Akron, Ohio, with hundreds of Facebook messages quickly going out to his wife, Julie; children, Haley and Dylan; and in-laws, Tucsonans Kathy and David Unger. Zorn was the director of children,… Read more »
George R.R. Martin, left, shown with "Finding Your Roots" host Henry Louis Gates, Jr., was shocked by his DNA test. (Courtesy of McGee Media/Ark Media)
(JTA) — PBS’ celebrity genealogy show “Finding Your Roots” has had plenty of Jewish guests — Bernie Sanders, Larry David, Paul Rudd and Scarlett Johansson — and the occasional guest, like Paul Ryan, who learn they have a Jewish ancestor on their family tree. But the season five premiere, which airs… Read more »
Many in Brazil have converted to Judaism under the supervision of Gilberto Venturas, an Orthodox rabbi, shown here with his wife, Jacqueline. (Courtesy of Sinagoga sem Froteiras)
RECIFE, Brazil (JTA) — Preparing to leave this city’s main Jewish community center, Sabrina Scherb peeks beyond its blast-proof gate into a quiet street strewn with branches and shredded mango fruits. The debris, left over from an overnight tropical storm, is not what’s worrying Scherb, a 22-year-old university student… Read more »
An Orthodox Colombian family shown in 2012. A new study revealed "widespread" Sephardic genetic ancestry across Latin American countries. (Paul Smith/For the Washington Post)
(JTA) — In a genetic study of 6,589 people from five Latin American countries, about a quarter displayed traces of what may be Sephardic Jewish ancestry. Geneticist Juan-Camilo Chacón-Duque and his colleagues published their findings last week in Nature Communications magazine, in an article titled “Latin Americans show wide-spread… Read more »
Nelly Ben-Or sits by one of her two pianos in her London home, Dec. 13, 2018. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
LONDON (JTA) — Like countless world-class pianists, Nelly Ben-Or began playing piano at the age of 5 and never stopped. That discipline helped Ben-Or, 86, became an international concert pianist and the person most widely recognized for adapting the Alexander technique for posture and movement improvement for musicians. But… Read more »
Sinatra received the yarmulke at a fundraiser for a Jewish school in New Jersey in 1981. (Courtesy of Pauline Schwartz)
(JTA) — When a huge auction was held at Sotheby’s last month of items belonging to Frank Sinatra and his wife Barbara, the item that made the most headlines was one of the smallest: a hand-knit yarmulke, owned by Frank, which was purchased for nearly $10,000 by an unknown… Read more »
Amy Heckerling at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City, April 18, 2016. (Mike Coppola/Gett)
(JTA) — Officially and for the record, despite her Jewish-sounding name, Cher Horowitz is not a member of the tribe. In fact, the Valley Girl heroine of the iconic 1995 film “Clueless” was never intended to be Jewish, says her creator, Amy Heckerling. “I wasn’t thinking in terms of… Read more »
The olive trees outside of Amsterdam's Portuguese synagogue get wrapped up every year. They are shown here in February 2018. (Hans Kaljee)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Each year at the height of winter, city workers descend on the square opposite Holland’s oldest synagogue and pull gigantic yellow tarps over the canopies of 25 olive trees. The trees, each 250-300 years old, are Amsterdam’s oldest. They were brought here in 2010 from central… Read more »
