Tagged HEADLINES

Orchestrating Change: JFCS Hosts a Film Screening to Fight the Stigma of Mental Health Disorders

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona (JFCS) is hosting a unique film screening and panel discussion at The Loft Cinema on March 5, 2023, at 2pm. The film, Orchestrating Change, tells the inspiring story of Me2/ Orchestra. The conductor of the orchestra, Ronald Braunstein, was on the… Read more »

Tucson Portrait Story Art(ish) LIVE Festival, an Immersive Art Experience, is Coming to the Jewish Community Center

The Tucson J invites the entire community to campus Sunday, March 12 from 1-4pm for “Tucson Portrait Story Art(ish) LIVE Festival,” an immersive art experience in partnership with local artist and long-time community member, Lauri Kaye of Create for the People Ventures, and Southern Arizona Arts + Culture Alliance.… Read more »

Gratitude at Handmaker for the Community’s Chesed

Handmaker residents are grateful for the chesed (loving kindness) that they receive from the Tucson community. And lately, they have received a lot! For the last year, the Congregation Bet Shalom Chesed Group of volunteers, led by David Wien, have been joining Handmaker residents monthly for a “virtual tea… Read more »

Of Blessed Memory: Irwin “Ace” Rosman

Ace and Charlene Rosman

Irwin “Ace” Rosman died on February 6, 2023, at age 91. He will be mourned by his family and friends, including sons Richard Rosman and his wife Johanna Rosman of New York, and Brian Rosman and his wife Rabbi Barbara Penzner of Boston; and his four grandchildren, Aviva Rosman… Read more »

JPSA Introduces VP of Marketing and Communications

Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) welcome Jennifer Lightman this week as Vice President of Marketing and Communications. Jenny and her husband Brett recently moved from Philadelphia where she served as the Director of Communications and Special Projects for Perelman Jewish Day School. “We are incredibly excited to have… Read more »

PJ Library and PJ Our Way to Hold Relaunch Event in February

After three years of mostly virtual programming, there will be a relaunch event for PJ Library and PJ Our Way in Southern Arizona, Purim Palooza! on Sunday, February 19 from 10am to 2pm at the Children’s Museum of Tucson. The program is free and open to families currently enrolled… Read more »

Launching a Career With UArizona Hillel

I am currently in the last semester of the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation’s Springboard Social Justice Fellowship, and I am full of gratitude. Hillel calls it the Springboard Fellowship because it is built to give young Jewish professionals the tools to spring into their future careers. And, for… Read more »

THA Humanities Students Walk in Another’s Shoes; The Power of Storytelling and Empathy

At Tucson Hebrew Academy (THA), students are steeped in the Jewish experience, making them uniquely positioned to understand and find common ground with all groups of people that have been oppressed. Using the curriculum, “Facing History and Ourselves” in conjunction with hands-on projects, middle-school humanities students have focused on… Read more »

Tucson International Jewish Film Festival Celebrates 32 Years

If I were to ask the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival committee members, whom I have the pleasure of working with to create this signature community-wide event, about the three films from this year’s line-up that they each found most meaningful, it’s unlikely I’d get any duplicate answers. That’s… Read more »

Head Football Coach Jedd Fisch Joins a (Really, Truly) Fun Night Out on Campus…And Helps Fuel the Jewish Future

UArizona Hillel’s annual fundraiser is less than three weeks away–on February 11–and we are thrilled that Head Football Coach Jedd Fisch will be our special guest at the opening mini-plenary. Our signature event–Come Home to Hillel–is a truly unique and fun night out. Unlike any other fundraiser (or friendraiser) in… Read more »

JFCS Connects Southern Arizona to International Refugee Shabbat

Jewish Family & Children’s Services (JFCS) of Southern Arizona is proud to participate in the fifth annual International Refugee Shabbat, which takes place February 3-4, 2023. Founded by HIAS (originally the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), it is a moment for congregations, organizations, and individuals in the United States and… Read more »

Bat Mitzvah: Avey Lopez-Hanshaw

Avey Marie Lopez-Hanshaw (Aviva Miryam bat Azriel) will celebrate becoming a Bat Mitzvah on Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at Congregation Kol Ami on Country Club Rd. She is the daughter of Dr. Elise & Mr. Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, and the granddaughter of Donna Greenwood, Manuel Lopez, and Karen & Mark… Read more »

Brandeis Lectures at Handmaker Continue and Expand

The idea for Handmaker to host Brandeis Lectures in their Great Room originated about five years ago when Brandeis Lecture Coordinator Ellie Eigen was visiting a friend of hers at Handmaker, Carol Zuckert. Eigen had been coordinating the Brandeis Tucson Museum of Art Docent Talks and was looking for… Read more »

Tucson International Jewish Film Festival Returns with In-Person Events at the J

Lights… camera… action! The Tucson International Jewish Film Festival opens January 12, with in-person and virtual screenings and post-film programs for select films through January 22, and virtual screenings of each and every film continuing through January 31. The Festival returns in 2023 with in-person events after two years… Read more »

Community to Celebrate Day of Chesed January 16

Chesed in Judaism is kindness, but it is also much more. It means acts of freewill, generosity of spirit, and assisting people and the world in ways that create a positive, meaningful difference. We are taught as Jews that a foundational aspect of the entire world lies in such… Read more »

Of Blessed Memory: Don Luria

Tucson lost one of its most fervent community champions Dec. 25, 2022 when Don Luria, 87, passed away after a short illness, surrounded by family, at his Tucson home. He leaves a legacy of accomplishment in, business, government, education and nonprofit service across more than 50 organizations spanning 65… Read more »

Through Community Collaboration, Youth and Teen Programs Enriched with Judaic Curriculum are Creating Lifelong Jewish Leaders

As a result of strategic planning arising from community study data, and an education workgroup of rabbis and community leaders convened by the Jewish Philanthropies of Southern AZ (JPSA) in 2020, the Tucson J is intentionally enhancing Jewish learning opportunities for youth and teens through formal and informal channels… Read more »

Lions of Judah Conference Celebrates Women’s Philanthropy in Phoenix

Over 1,200 women philanthropists from 80 communities around the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, and Israel came together at Jewish Federations of North America’s (JFNA’s) three-day International Lions of Judah Conference in Phoenix, where they raised a collective $24.2 million supporting Federations’ mission to build flourishing Jewish communities. The conference… Read more »