Jewish Family & Children’s Services will sponsor a free screening of the 2016 film “Denial,” starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson, on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The film recounts the true story of historian Deborah Lipstadt, played by Weisz. The screening… Read more »
One year ago, the Trump administration announced a highly controversial ban against refugee resettlement in the U.S. For seven months the White House declared that the most vulnerable people on our planet (refugees) – 75 percent of whom are women and children – would not find safe harbor on… Read more »
It’s never too late to learn and grow. The Tucson Jewish Community Center provides numerous opportunities to help people discover their passions later in life. Here are a few highlights of events and classes coming up. “Inside Writing a Mystery” is a free discussion with local author and retired… Read more »
(JTA) — In 2015, Ukraine’s president signed a law whose critics say stifles debate on the historical record of World War II and whitewashes local perpetrators of the Holocaust. Law 2538-1 criminalized any rhetoric insulting to the memory of anti-communist partisans. And it celebrates the legacy of such combatants – ostensibly including… Read more »
(Kveller via JTA) — I have three children. Three healthy, wonderful, grown-up children. I have a wonderful husband. And I have a father, a brother and sister-in-law, and other friends and relatives whom I love. Sounds good, no? It is good. It’s very good. Yet I often say that… Read more »
Guava and Cheese Hamantaschen (Sandy Leibowitz)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Guava, or guayaba in Spanish, is native to tropical areas such as Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Because of its proximity and availability, the fruit is a part of many Latino cuisines. Guavas have a strong tropical fragrance and floral taste… Read more »
David Wain, director of "Wet Hot American Summer," in January 2018. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Entertaiment Weekly)
(JTA) — Many Jews attend overnight camp. But growing up, Micah Hart was so Jewish that he attended two every summer. Hart was the son of the director of Jacobs Camp, a Reform Jewish camp in western Mississippi. He went there every year, but to give him some independence, his… Read more »
Passover-Friendly Chicken Schnitzel (Shannon Sarna)
(JTA) — Two of my family’s favorite dishes are schnitzel and rainbow cookies, and I have a feeling your family may feel the same. Here’s some great news about both: They very easily translate into Passover-friendly versions with minor adjustments. While you could serve them for your seder meals,… Read more »
(My Jewish Learning via JTA) — Here are nine things that many likely wouldn’t know about the Festival of Freedom: 1. In Gibraltar, there’s dust in the charoset. The traditional charoset is a sweet Passover paste whose texture is meant as a reminder of the mortar the enslaved Jews… Read more »
(JTA) — Free exercise of religion in America is a foundational civil right and one of our nation’s greatest strengths. But as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled decades ago, the free exercise of religion cannot infringe on the rights of others: It must be balanced with other civil rights.… Read more »
(JTA) — When Gabrielle Birkner and Rebecca Soffer met in 2007, the two Jewish journalists found they had much more in common than their professions. Through a mutual friend, they joined what became known as Women With Dead Parents, a monthly dinner gathering in New York City for women… Read more »
(Kveller via JTA) — Twinkle, twinkle, kochavim (stars), Shining in the shamayim (sky). When I say Shema tonight, Everything will be all right. Years ago, my oldest child brought this song home from preschool. It made me wonder: What exactly was the message they were trying to convey to… Read more »
Vegetarian Matzah Ball Soup (Vicky Cohen and Ruth Fox)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Let’s face it: There’s just something wonderfully soothing about seeing a steaming bowl of matzah ball soup with its pillowy-plump dumplings swimming in a bath of golden broth. This healing vegetarian matzah ball soup delivers all the “ah” of its traditional cousin with precisely… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — When Rabbi Angela Buchdahl announced how her synagogue would respond to the #MeToo moment, she singled out a man. But he wasn’t one of her congregants, synagogue clergy or staff members. He was Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, perhaps the most prominent 20th-century composer of American Jewish… Read more »
Bea Slater is a social media maven featured along with other "yentas" in JDate ads. (Elaine Durbach)
WHIPPANY, N.J. (New Jersey Jewish News via JTA) — If Bea Slater had ever been a shrinking violet, her sudden celebrity might be uncomfortable. At 90, the great-grandmother has her image plastered on billboards and bus shelters up and down Manhattan and in Brooklyn. There’s even one on the roof above… Read more »
Campers at Big Idea/JCC Day Camp in Tenafly, N.J., incorporate robotics into Lego projects. (Courtesy of Kaplen JCC on the Palisades)
CHICAGO (JTA) — Sam Rosen, a 10-year-old Minecraft player, builds virtual castles at his computer and protects himself from monsters. His mother, Carrie, a high school math teacher, knows the game teaches tech skills and engineering — valuable skills he can build on in school. So when JCC Chicago… Read more »
Rexhep Hoxha, left, and Fatos Qoqja in a bar in Tirania, Albania, Nov. 8, 2017. Qoqja is pictured with a medal that his father received for saving Jews during the Holocaust. (Cnaan Liphshiz)
TIRANA, Albania (JTA) — Most anywhere else in Nazi-occupied Europe, an encounter with police would have likely sealed the fate of Jewish refugees like Nissim and Sarah Aladjem and their 10-year-old son, Aron. Instead, when the family was detained by police in the Muslim nation of Albania 75… Read more »
Stephen Miller, the White House senior adviser for policy, photographed at the White House, Dec. 15, 2017. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
NEW YORK (JTA) — During a combative news conference in early August, White House adviser Stephen Miller told reporters that the United States should prioritize immigrants who speak English. “Does the applicant speak English?” Miller asked, describing a bill to reduce the overall number of immigrants and reform immigration… Read more »
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JANUARY 22: US vice President Mike Pence (L) is seen with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an official welcome ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office on January 22, 2018 in Jerusalem, Israel. U.S. Vice President Mike Pence landed in Israel Sunday evening after visiting Egypt and Jordan. The Palestinian Authority is boycotting Pence's visit to the region, due to Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announcement to move the embassy. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
When Mike Pence moved to Washington earlier this year, he and his wife took with them a framed phrase they had for years hung over their fireplace in their Indiana home, and then over the fireplace in the governor’s mansion in that state. Now it hangs over the mantle… Read more »
Congregation Or Chadash’s fourth annual Tournament and Casino Night will be held Saturday, Feb. 10 at the historic Scottish Rite Cathedral. Along with a Texas Hold-Em tournament and other casino games, the evening will feature a buffet dinner, cash bar, DJ, dancing, and prizes. For a $100 registration fee,… Read more »
