Unicorn challah (Shannon Sarna)
(The Nosher via JTA) — I don’t know when the craze over “unicorn foods” became the trend, but it’s hard to scroll through Facebook or visit a Starbucks without seeing an explosion of pastel colors and sweet flavors. My colleague Rachel Edelman created some eye-catching unicorn hamantaschen for Purim… Read more »
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 23: Dr. James Zogby participates in a panel discussion about the Muslim experience in America at the Washington National Cathedral October 23, 2012 in Washington, DC. Zogby is president of the Arab American Institute. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – The U.S. State Department’s most recent religious freedoms report includes more than 1,400 words on access to holy sites in Israel. The most recent report of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has zero words on access – or on anything to do with Israel.… Read more »
Marchers protesting labor arrangements at the Jewish Theological Seminary's construction site in New York City say the building contractor violates workers' rights, May 1, 2017. (Ben Sales)
NEW YORK (JTA) — The labor rights march, held on the unofficial workers’ holiday of May 1 and embarking from the steps of the Jewish Theological Seminary here, featured signs in Yiddish and Hebrew — and included some of the seminary’s own students. But the march wasn’t celebrating the long… Read more »
For the 25th consecutive year, the National Association of Letter Carriers and the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona will team up to collect donations on Saturday, May 13 for the annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive. This is Southern Arizona’s largest single-day food drive. “With our community’s help,… Read more »
Ah, asparagus! As Mother’s Day approaches, local chefs and restaurateurs are turning their thoughts to burgeoning spring produce — and time spent in the kitchen with their mothers and grandmothers. “I’m excited to cook with artichokes, asparagus and peas,” says Tyler Fenton, chef/co-owner at Reilly Craft Pizza & Drink.… Read more »
Matti Friedman is a former AP reporter and author of "The Aleppo Codex" and "Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier's Story"
It’s very important to understand who is feeding you information and why they are doing so, says Matti Friedman, an award-winning author and former reporter for the Associated Press’ Jerusalem bureau. “We all need to be critical consumers of media, not just where Israel is concerned,” says Friedman. “The… Read more »
Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor… Read more »
More than 40,000 women and children find safety in domestic violence shelters every day. Since 1999, Jewish Women International’s Flower Project has delivered bouquets of flowers and financial literacy materials to domestic violence shelters on Mother’s Day, showing women fleeing violence that they are remembered and loved, and providing… Read more »
(Courtesy Helen Zegerman Schwimmer)
Where can you find the memories of a lifetime? They are stored in several large plastic containers neatly arranged on the shelves in my den. The time has come to revisit these mementos and as I begin to wade through more than 60 years of birthday, anniversary and holiday… Read more »
The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona proposes amendments to its constitution, which will be voted upon by its membership at its annual meeting, May 11 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. As required by the constitution, these changes are available for review at jfsa.org/constitutionamendments. It is… Read more »
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron In conjunction with Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Beth Shalom Temple Center in Green Valley will present a free ethical will workshop for the Jewish community, led by Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, on Tuesday, May 9, 10 a.m.-noon. Unlike a medical directive or living will, or a will detailing bequests… Read more »
Vandalized gravestones at the Waad Hakolel Cemetery in Rochester, N.Y., March 3, 2017. (Gretchen Stumme/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) – Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States soared 86 percent in the first three months of 2017 after rising by more than one-third in 2016, according to the Anti-Defamation League. There has been a massive increase in harassment of American Jews, largely since November, and at least… Read more »
President Donald Trump watches the lighting of memorial candles during the annual Days of Remembrance Holocaust ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda, April 25, 2017. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – President Donald Trump got the memo on the Holocaust and the Jews. In a barrage of statements this week from the president and his aides, the Trump administration wants you to know, he gets it, he really gets it: The Holocaust describes a genocide committed only… Read more »
TEL AVIV (JTA) – To build a Jewish state in the Middle East, Israelis had to be innovators. Some of what they’ve come up with has been used mostly by their fellow citizens — think Hebrew slang, Bamba snacks and the Iron Dome missile defense system — at least so far.… Read more »
The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold a panel discussion on the immigration crisis in Southern Arizona at its Spring Leaders Forum on Friday, April 28. The breakfast event will begin at 7:30 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, with the… Read more »
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, April 20, 2017. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Iran is not living up to the “spirit” of the nuclear deal, President Donald Trump said, the latest in a flurry of mixed messages on the deal his administration has relayed in recent days. “As far as Iran is concerned, I think they are doing a… Read more »
Jennifer Stempel's recipe was inspired by the similarities between a knish — pictured here from New York's Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery — and an empanada. (Eric Hunt/Wikimedia Commons)
(The Nosher via JTA) — When I think of knishes, like most people, I think of New York Jewish deli-style discs of creamy potato or savory meat enveloped by a flaky crust. Potato knishes are my favorite because they act as a vehicle for as much good, grainy mustard… Read more »
Jair Bolsonaro is a deeply divisive figure in Brazil's Jewish circles. (Udo Kurt)
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) – A few days before they read from the Passover Haggadah about how God split the Red Sea waters, Brazilian Jews have never felt so split between right and left. At the center of the divide, although hardly in the Moses role, is Jair Bolsonaro,… Read more »
Jews dig a trench in which they were later buried after being shot in Ponary, Poland. (Courtesy of Yad Vashem)
LOS ANGELES (JTA) – A one-hour TV program airing tonight on PBS links an incredible Holocaust escape story to advanced scientific techniques. “Holocaust Escape Tunnel,” a “Nova” production to be shown April 19, sheds new light on the attempt by 80 imprisoned men and women — mostly Lithuanian Jews… Read more »
The Texas mountain laurel (Sophora secundiflora) is a slow growing evergreen tree that has purple clusters of incredibly fragrant flowers in early spring. (Copyright Jacqueline A. Soule)
According to Jewish lore, the best time to plant a tree is 18 (“chai”) years ago, while the next best time is today. If not today, how about this month? April 28 is National Arbor Day, so you have some time to plan and get ready to celebrate. But… Read more »
