Tagged FRONT

State anti-BDS laws are hitting unintended targets and nobody’s happy

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signing his state's anti-BDS bill at a Jewish community center in Austin, May 2, 2017. (Office of the Texas Governor)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — On May 2, Israel’s Independence Day, Texas state Rep. Phil King stood smiling as Gov. Greg Abbott signed King’s bill banning the state from doing business with boycotters of Israel. “Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies, and we will not tolerate such actions against an important ally,”… Read more »

Poor Israeli soldiers earn cash by taking on rich colleagues’ guard duty

Israeli soldiers rest from training in northern Israel, June 14, 2009. (Matanya Tausig/Flash90)

JERUSALEM (JTA) – The Israel Defense Forces takes pride in its status as a “people’s army.” More than just a military, the IDF embraces its reputation as an equalizing force in Israeli society. Every soldier, rich and poor, is supposed to learn during mandatory army service what it takes… Read more »

Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak will hold swim clinic

Jason Lezak takes the U.S. to gold with a record-breaking 4 x 100 medley anchor leg at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. (Courtesy Tucson Jewish Community Center)

Olympic swimmer Jason Lezak will present a Mutual of Omaha BREAKOUT! swim clinic on Sunday, Nov. 12, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. A total-person approach to swimming, the clinic can help swimmers break bad habits, build new skills, and uncover hidden talent. The clinic will… Read more »

Tucson senior living communities help Jewish residents stay connected

Carol Zuckert makes honey cake for Rosh Hashanah at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging. [Nanci Levy)

Celebrating Shabbat and Jewish holidays brings the joy and comfort of tradition to residents of senior living communities. This can involve anything from a ride to synagogue to holding High Holiday services on site. Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging “Jewish celebrations and services are important because they help… Read more »

Civil rights lawyer Ed Morgan left mark on Tucson

W. Edward Morgan

Like many Jews, eminent local civil rights lawyer W. Edward “Ed” Morgan, who died in Tucson Sept. 20, 2017, at age 94, deeply valued Jewish learning — but the knowledge that changed his life emerged only in his late 50s, when he first learned from his aging mother that… Read more »

CHAI Circle to host bestselling author at retreat

Rabbi Naomi Levy

Bestselling author Rabbi Naomi Levy will be the keynote speaker for the 13th annual CHAI Circle retreat on Sunday, Nov. 5, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, 5501 N. Hacienda del Sol Road. CHAI Circle is a support group for women in the Jewish… Read more »

AJP wins writing, advertising awards in ANA competition

David J. Del Grande

The Arizona Jewish Post won two awards recently from the Arizona Newspapers Association. In the ANA’s 2017 Better Newspapers Contest, AJP Staff Writer David J. Del Grande took third place in the Best Feature Story category (Division 2: Non-Daily circulation 3,500 to 10,000) for “Local thrift store volunteers in… Read more »

In new book, victims of chlorine bomb, anti-Semitic attack, find healing and hope

(L-R) Karen and Myles Levine with co-author Dan Baldwin [Courtesy Dan Baldwin)

During the early morning hours of Aug. 2, 2009, Myles Levine was jolted out of bed by the screams of his wife, Karen. Their front and garage doors were sealed shut. Globs of motor oil, paint, and foam peanuts were strewn along their walkway and driveway. A putrid chemical… Read more »

At 97, former Tucsonan publishes sweeping anthology of ‘Aging Wisely’ essays

Irving Silverman, left, and George Youngerman at Maya Levy’s bat mitzvah celebration in Tucson on Feb. 15, 2014. (Courtesy Doug Levy)

If Irving I. Silverman had not been born legally blind 97 years ago, he probably wouldn’t be making news today. Silverman recently published “Aging Wisely … Wisdom of Our Elders,” a nearly 500-page anthology of essays by more than 75 seniors and experts in aging. This is just the… Read more »

What Palestinian reconciliation means for Israel

Hamas and Fatah leaders shake hands following the signing of a reconciliation deal at the Egyptian intelligence services headquarters in Cairo, Oct. 12, 2017. (Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images)

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has taken a wait-and-see approach to last week’s Palestinian reconciliation deal. Netanyahu spoke out publicly and loudly against the move toward unity between the feuding Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, calling it a threat to Israel and a setback to peace.… Read more »

Is it Islamophobic to oppose the mosque next door? London Jews debate the question.

A Jewish man walking in London's Golders Green neighborhood, which is home to a large Jewish population, Sept. 23, 2015. (Tony Margiocchi/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

(JTA) — A plan to open a mosque in a heavily Jewish area of London is dividing British Jews, with some calling the development worrisome and others accusing its opponents of racism. The Islamic center is slated to open next month at the Hippodrome, a former concert hall in the heart… Read more »

Richard Spencer will soon speak at the university with the largest Jewish student body in the US

White supremacist leader Richard Spencer, center, and supporters clashing with police after the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., was declared unlawful, Aug. 12, 2017. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

(JTA) — The University of Florida, home to the largest Jewish student body in the country, is bracing for an upcoming speech on campus by white supremacist leader Richard Spencer. Only six weeks after Hurricane Irma wrought destruction in Florida, Gov. Rick Scott declared another state of emergency, this… Read more »

OP-ED How to get more women speakers at big Jewish events

The General Assembly is one of the largest annual gatherings of the organized Jewish world. (Jewish Federations of North America)

LOS ANGELES (JTA) — In November, the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America is coming to Los Angeles for the first time since it became my home city in 2008. Over the course of my Jewish professional life, I have eagerly attended at least six General Assemblies,… Read more »

To save Yiddish theater, these Romanian actors abandoned their home

Nicolae Botezatu, sitting, with the rest of the cast of Romania's Jewish State Theater last year. (Courtesy of Jewish State Theater)

BUCHAREST, Romania (JTA) — When the roof of the Jewish State Theater collapsed during a 2014 snowstorm, its director reluctantly knew it was finally time to abandon the century-old building in this capital city. Maia Morgenstern did not take the decision lightly. Following years of neglect by authorities, the Bucharest Jewish… Read more »

‘Stumbling stone’ gives family overdue closure

Tucsonan Bertie Levkowitz-Herz speaks at the installation of a ‘stumbling stone’ honoring her uncle in Groningen, the Netherlands, Aug. 6. (Photo courtesy Bertie Levkowitz-Herz)

Active remembrance can provide an alternative to warfare, and taking pause to acknowledge as well as consider human tragedies may force us to search for peaceful means, says Bertie Levkowitz-Herz.    “You only have losers with war, and killing makes no sense,” she says. “There’s got to be another… Read more »

‘Courage to Sparkle’ to welcome JFSA women

Lois Barth

“Courage to Sparkle: Creating a Life That Lights You Up” is the theme for the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy annual welcome event, which will be held Wednesday, Oct. 18, at the Harvey and Deanna Evenchik Center for Philanthropy, the new home of the Federation and Jewish… Read more »

Local teens bring passion, talent and caring to b’nai mitzvah projects

David Jurkowitz plays piano for residents of Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging on Sept. 22. [Courtesy Lisa Jurkowitz)

For Jewish teens, a bar or bat mitzvah project is an opportunity to learn more about their responsibilities as Jewish adults. It’s a  hands-on way to learn the meaning of tikkun olam (repairing the world), and serve the community in personally meaningful ways. Several Tucson Jewish teens shared with… Read more »

With America’s blessing, Abbas signals a reconciliation with Hamas

President Donald Trump and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, May 23, 2017. (Flash90)

  WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Trump administration is encouraging the Palestinian Authority to assume control of the Gaza Strip and leaving the door open for a role by Hamas in the subsequent Palestinian government. But if such a move was once seen as a traditional predicate to a two-state… Read more »