Andrea Siemens October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This year the LEAH program (Let’s End Abusive Households) of Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona is focusing on raising awareness about teen dating violence and abuse. Teen dating violence can be physical, emotional, or sexual. Dating violence can take place… Read more »
Southern Arizona firefighters (from left) Marcela Donovan Hammond (Nogales Fire Department), Capt. Bruce Avram (Tucson Fire Department), Chief Randy Ogden (Mt. Lemmon Fire District), Jeremy Carillo (Rio Rico Fire and Medical District) and Captain Pete Ashcraft (Nogales Fire Department) tour a mobile command post in Haifa with Guy Caspi, chief mass casualty incident instructor of Magen David Adom, Israel’s emergency medical services unit (seated). (Facebook)
Five Southern Arizona firefighters recently spent nine days in Israel training and battling blazes with fire crews in Jerusalem and Petach Tikvah. As the latest Firefighters Beyond Borders delegation, they were the first personnel from Arizona to participate in the Emergency Volunteer Project, a program that trains first-responders to… Read more »
Irving J. Olson, 102, entrepreneur, photographer and philanthropist, died at his home in Oro Valley on Oct. 1, 2016. Born on Nov. 26, 1913, in New Britain, Conn., he chalked up the first of many lifetime achievements: recognition by the governor as the heaviest newborn in Connecticut that year… Read more »
Pep Rosenfeld, left, and Greg Shapiro portray Donald Trump supporters at their comedy club in Amsterdam, May 11, 2016. (Courtesy of Boom Chicago)
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — In the Dutch capital’s main American comedy club, two middle-aged Jewish men wrestle while wearing blond wigs until one of them pretends to rip out his opponent’s still-beating heart. This violent portrayal of a Hillary Clinton victory over Donald Trump is the closing scene of a… Read more »
Illustration by Amy Leutenberg Brodsky, LISW-S, from “Nurturing Spiritual Development in Children by Understanding Our Own Spirituality’
Spirituality encompasses wonderment, awe, caring and kindness, yet many adults have a hard time finding a spiritual path. Ester Leutenberg and Deborah Schein, Ph.D. have written a book that gives adults a road map to finding their own spirituality and directions on teaching spirituality to children. The book, “Nurturing… Read more »
The Ben Yehuda Street pedestrian mall in downtown Jerusalem. (Yoninah/Wikimedia Commons)
JERUSALEM (JTA) — When I moved from the U.S. to Israel, I expected to feel closer to my Jewish roots. But I didn’t expect to feel closer to my mother. This is not a place I associate with her — at least it wasn’t until I had a chance… Read more »
Tammy Duckworth and Sen. Mark Kirk shaking hands after their debate at the Chicago Tribune, Oct. 3, 2016. (Nancy Stone/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – While the Iran nuclear deal gets fleeting attention in the presidential race, it is shaping up as a key issue in at least nine states integral to Democrats’ hopes of regaining control of the U.S. Senate. Rival pro-Israel factions are pouring money into many of those races, and candidates are… Read more »
Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in West Palm Beach, Fla., Oct. 13, 2016. (Maria Lorenzino/Sun Sentinel/TNS
Updated with a response from the Trump campaign. MIAMI BEACH (JTA) — Donald Trump’s star, blunted into a circle, may just have re-sprouted six corners. Trump delivered a speech Thursday in West Palm Beach, Florida, that sounded some familiar themes – familiar to his campaign, but also to… Read more »
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton spar fiercely at the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 9, 2016. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump did not shake hands, and then they did. The Republican nominee called his rival the devil and said he would jail her. Clinton said that three minutes of a 2005 video in which Trump bragged about committing what constitutes sexual assault “represents exactly… Read more »
Vice President Joe Biden addresses a memorial for Shimon Peres in Washington, D.C., Oct. 6, 2016. (Ron Kampeas)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Vice President Joe Biden said Shimon Peres’ legacy should be one of tolerance at a time of rising bigotry. “At a time when the currents of bigotry and anger and isolationism are on the rise, when too many are quick to cast blame on the outsider,… Read more »
(Wikimedia Commons)
(JTA) — Building up to Sukkot, with its temporary, shaky sukkah, it’s easy to forget that the holiday comes with something more substantial: its own book, Ecclesiastes — Kohelet in Hebrew — which is read during the festival and gives us a solid sampling of earthly wisdom. “A season… Read more »
Don Baker (Martha Lochert)
Tucson Hebrew Academy’s “Developer of Dreams” Tikkun Olam Celebration honoring the late Donald Baker will be a promotion of visionary ideals, says Deborah Baker (no relation), alumni coordinator at THA. This year will be an intimate community event because of Baker’s untimely death, she says. “There are people who… Read more »
Hans Winterberg “Forbidden Composers” is the theme for the 9th annual Music + Festival which will be presented by the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music later this month. The festival will focus on the music, lives and cultural impact of three Jews whose music was banned by the… Read more »
Nathan Bacal holds a photo of his great-grandfather, Harry Bacal, the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s first board president. (Julie Zorn/Tucson Jewish Community Center)
In many Jewish communities, the phrase “l’dor v’dor” (loosely translated as “from generation to generation”) is used to highlight the importance of passing values, education and history from one generation to the next. Scholars and community organizations often speak of the importance of teaching children as a way to… Read more »
Paulette and Joe Gootter
The Jewish History Museum will honor Joe and Paulette Gootter at its 8th annual fall fundraiser, “Over the Rainbow: Songs of Conscience & Hope.” The luncheon and silent auction will be held Sunday, Oct. 30, at noon at Hacienda Del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, with entertainment by Richard Hanson.… Read more »
Amy Hirshberg Lederman
Amy Hirshberg Lederman will speak on “Living with No Regrets” at the 12th Annual CHAI Circle Retreat on Sunday, Oct. 30, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Canyon Ranch Health Resort, 8600 E. Rockcliff Road. CHAI Circle (Cancer, Healing and Inspiration), a program of Jewish Family & Children’s Services,… Read more »
Tucson women at the International Lion of Judah Conference in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 12, (L-R): Ellyn Gold, Shelly Silverman, Phyllis Maizlish, Leslie Glaze, Karen Katz, Judy Berman, Jody Gross, Melissa Goldfinger and Fran Katz (Courtesy Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona)
A delegation of nine Lions of Judah from Tucson attended the biennial international conference in Washington, D.C. to discuss philanthropic programs, ideas and stories of strength. Judy Berman, a local philanthropist, has been a Lion for about 10 years. She has attended three conferences thus far but this year’s… Read more »
The Cavatina Duo, Eugenia Moliner and Denis Azabagic, will present “Sephardic Journey” as part of the UA Presents series on Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. at Crowder Hall, 1017 Olive Road (in the music building). Moliner, a flutist from Spain, and Azabagic, a guitarist from Bosnia, together have… Read more »
TMC's germ squad
The third annual Family Wellness Festival, produced by the Tucson Jewish Community Center in collaboration with Tucson Medical Center, will be held Sunday, Oct. 16, from noon to 4 p.m. at The J. The keynote speaker for the free, interactive event will be Dan Johnson, executive director of the… Read more »
Art Almquist as Aryeh Lev, Carrie Hill as Rivkeh Lev and Steve Wood as Asher Lev in Live Theatre Workshop’s production of ‘My Name Is Asher Lev’
Live Theatre Workshop will present “My Name Is Asher Lev” by Aaron Posner, adapted from the novel by Chaim Potok, through Nov. 12, with a preview performance Oct. 7. Set in post-war Brooklyn, “My Name Is Asher Lev” is the story of a boy’s passionate desire to follow his… Read more »
