Ruth Westheimer promises she won’t talk about sexual satisfaction in her March 8 presentation at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Women’s Philanthropy annual Connections brunch. Best known as “Dr. Ruth,” Westheimer is an American sex therapist, media personality, author, radio and television talk show host, and Holocaust survivor.… Read more »
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Why is a church still holding services in the former Nazi headquarters of Auschwitz-Birkenau?
OSWIECIM, Poland (JTA) — As the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz approaches, survivors are preparing to gather and commemorate the event, testifying to their faith in life over death. Political and religious leaders from around the world will be there, too, declaring that what happened in that dark abyss will… Read more »
With Holocaust summit in Jerusalem, Israel gets dragged into Europe’s memory wars
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A major gathering of world leaders in Jerusalem meant to highlight the world’s determination to learn the lessons of the Holocaust has become mired in controversy even before it has started, dragging Israel into a battle over history debates still raging in Europe three-quarters of a… Read more »
Ukraine’s Jewish president heaps praise on Israel in pre-visit interview
(JTA) — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine extolled Israelis as a “united, strong, powerful” and “unique” people in his first interview for an Israeli publication. The Times of Israel published the interview with the Jewish Zelensky on Sunday ahead of his arrival in Israel to attend the World Holocaust… Read more »
At 97, a Dutch resistance hero wants to give fellow Jewish fighters overdue recognition
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Shortly after her capture by the Nazis in 1944, Dutch resistance fighter Selma van de Perre was transferred from a regular prison to the worst concentration camp in the Netherlands. Van de Perre arrived at the infamous Camp Vught about five months after its commander, Adam… Read more »
Where the top 7 Democratic candidates stand on Iran
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The post-debate analysis this week focused largely on the ongoing spat between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. While we hope they can sort that out soon, the debate featured something else more relevant to JTA readers: Everyone on stage thought that President Donald Trump made a… Read more »
Meet the Jewish travel blogger who soon will have visited every country
(JTA) —In 2012, Drew Goldberg spent part of his junior year of college studying abroad in Prague. It was only his second time leaving the United States — the other time was for Birthright, the free Israel trip for Jewish young adults. The trip to the Czech capital was… Read more »
Capitol Steps will zap both sides of the aisle for Hillel benefit
It’s another election year, and that’s a bonanza for the Capitol Steps, the singing satirists from D.C. who will take the stage at the Fox Tucson Theatre next month in a benefit performance for the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation. “That will be a fun time because that will… Read more »
What is causing the rise in anti-Semitism in New York?
NEW YORK (JTA) — For weeks, anti-Semitic attacks have been surging in and around New York City — from assaults in Brooklyn to the shooting in Jersey City to the recent stabbing in Monsey on Hanukkah. What’s still unclear is why the spike is happening now — and whether… Read more »
With adoption of major spending bills, Congress signals support for two-state solution
WASHINGTON (JTA) — If where you spend your money is the clearest sign of your priorities, Congress seems to be saying that it remains invested in Israeli-Palestinian peace and in robustly supporting Israel’s defense systems. The House of Representatives threw its support this week behind a spending package that… Read more »
Hugh Grant campaigns with Luciana Berger in London’s most Jewish borough
(JTA) — As the United Kingdom nears the final stretch of what is shaping up to be one of its most fateful general elections since World War II, all eyes are on the leaders of its two main parties: Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the Conservatives and Jeremy Corbyn… Read more »
Tucson J and Arts for All will integrate, expand programs
The Tucson Jewish Community Center will expand its capacity to serve people with disabilities by integrating Arts for All, a Tucson-based organization founded in 1985, into its programming early next year. Arts for All provides opportunities for adults and children with and without disabilities to participate in performing and… Read more »
This Portuguese Jewish community couldn’t afford a rabbi. Now it made a $1 million movie appearing on Netflix.
(JTA) — A decade ago, the tiny Jewish Community of Porto didn’t have enough money to hire a rabbi or even fix the roof of its synagogue. Today, this Orthodox congregation of 400 people in northern Portugal has enough for both, along with a kosher hotel, a ritual bath,… Read more »
Holocaust rescuer gets a surprise 100th birthday party in Poland
(JTA) — The day after he turned 100, Jozef Walaszczyk prepared to attend yet another Holocaust commemoration ceremony in his native Warsaw. Walaszczyk is Poland’s oldest living Righteous Among the Nations – a title given by Israel’s Yad Vashem Holocaust museum to non-Jews who risked their lives to save… Read more »
Museum to honor Eilat-Kahn, second generation Holocaust survivor
The Jewish History Museum/Holocaust History Center will honor Rosie Eilat-Kahn on Sunday at its 2019 Fall Benefit, “A Call to Courage.” “Rosie has been a leader among the second generation of Holocaust survivors in this community for decades,” says Bryan Davis, executive director of the museum. “She has coordinated… Read more »
For Ukrainian Jews, having a Jewish president is a source of pride — and fear
ODESSA, Ukraine (JTA) — Arkady Kesselman, a 20-year-old Jewish student, was set on leaving his native Ukraine for the West last winter. In a war-torn nation losing about 1.2 million citizens each year, where the average monthly salary is about $300, it’s not an unusual decision. But Kesselman has… Read more »
Israeli political analyst parses Sept. 17 elections for Tucsonans
Israel’s Sept. 17 elections, its second national elections in less than six months, produced no clear victory for either Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party or his top rival, Benny Gantz, retired commander–in-chief of the Israel Defense Forces who now serves as the head of the Blue… Read more »
Nearly 9 in 10 American Jews say anti-Semitism is a problem in U.S.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — More than eight in 10 American Jews say that anti-Semitism has spiked in recent years and even more believe it is a problem in the United States, according to an American Jewish Committee survey. More than three-quarters of respondents see the extreme political right as more… Read more »
Launching Oct. 24: Annual campaign funds local, global needs
Educating the community — that’s our real campaign task,” says Melissa Goldfinger, chair of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s 2020 fundraising drive. “We kick off our 100 Days of Impact on Oct. 24, with our 2020 theme: Powered by You — Stronger Together. Our job is to help… Read more »
Reliving the massacre every minute: How Pittsburgh survivors are struggling a year later
PITTSBURGH (JTA) — As this city’s Jewish community celebrated Rosh Hashanah this week, the Tree of Life synagogue stood closed, its doors blocked by a chain-link fence. A brown, wilted wreath hung on a tree near the synagogue, where a gunman killed 11 worshippers last year in the worst… Read more »