Tagged HEADLINES

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Ilan Mengistu knows his pitch to rescue his brother, Avera, should be a no-brainer to Jews — “pidyon shvuyim,” the redemption of the hostage, is among the greatest of commandments. But Mengistu also knows that the story he has to tell is not the straightforward narrative… Read more »

(The Nosher via JTA) — I recently fell in love with honey squash, a new variety of hearty winter squash bred specifically to be concentrated in flavor and adorable in appearance. OK, maybe it wasn’t specifically grown to be adorable, but the result nevertheless is the same. I found… Read more »

SECAUCUS, N.J. (JTA) — “Caution: Meat and dairy sampling on show floor,” read a sign at the entrance to Meadowlands Exposition Center. That may seem like an unusual warning outside a convention center, but to the crowd attending the food expo there on Tuesday, it made sense: Kosherfest is… Read more »

As Hurricane Harvey swept over Houston, Chava Gal-Or counted herself lucky. The water rose up to her door and a little bit seeped in, but her home did not flood. However, many in the Reform synagogue where she works had it much worse: Twenty-nine families lost their homes —… Read more »

Bryce Megdal

Cantorial candidate Bryce Megdal will present a   musical program at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s lunch on Sunday, Dec. 3. Carolynn Scherer Katz, Desert Mountain Hadassah regional vice-president, will install the 2018 officers of Hadassah Southern Arizona and the Woman of the Year Award will be presented. Megdal, a Tucson… Read more »

It’s the time of the year that Arizona residents and winter visitors have been waiting for — temperatures are perfect and the hiking trails and walking paths are filled with people who are outside with their pets, enjoying the Arizona winter. While you enjoy exercise with your pet, you… Read more »

Batel Marsha, an 18-year-old Ethiopian-Israeli, says the Ethiopian National Project’s SPACE (School Performance and Community Empowerment) program “saved me ­— maybe not literally saved my life, but totally helped me get to where I am today.” Batel will join the Israeli Air Force next month, where she will train… Read more »

Yael Aronoff, Ph.D.

Yael Aronoff, Ph.D., director of Jewish studies at Michigan State University, will present “The Political Psychology of Israeli Prime Ministers” on Monday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, continuing the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies’ 20th anniversary Shaol & Louis Pozez Memorial Lectureship Series… Read more »

SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) —  Lyla Maymon and Jane Shvartzman went to interview officials last year at the Larkin Street Youth, a local organization fighting homelessness among young people, to see if their programs were worthy of a philanthropic grant. Maymon and Shvartzman asked all the right questions, like what… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Stephen Bannon, the former chief strategist for President Donald Trump, called himself a “Christian Zionist” at the Zionist Organization of America’s annual dinner. He also praised Republican Jewish megadonor Sheldon Adelson for his help in guiding Trump through a sexual assault scandal. Bannon, at what… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — It’s lunch break during a one-day conference on “Israeli Cuisine as a Reflection of Israeli Society” — so naturally I’m eating lunch. Everything on my white plastic plate can be considered Israeli food. There is a burek (which originally heralds from Spain, by way of Turkey),… Read more »

(JTA) — The British rocker and former Smiths frontman Morrissey has not one but two Jewish-themed songs on his forthcoming album, “Low in High School.” Perhaps the more notable one is simply called “Israel” and offers a blunt rebuke of critics of the Jewish state. “In other climes they… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — The big post-Election Day headline is the stunning Democratic sweep in Virginia’s gubernatorial and House elections, coupled with the predicted Democratic win of the governor’s mansion in New Jersey. Republicans are wondering what this says about the train that was Trumpism. In Virginia, Ed Gillespie was… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A group of leading Orthodox rabbis met with the Israeli army’s chief of staff to complain. According to Israel’s Arutz Sheva news website, the rabbis told Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday that the growing ranks of female combat soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces are creating an… Read more »

The social action committee of Congregation Or Chadash has arranged a morning of community service on Thursday, Nov. 30, 8 a.m.-noon with Habitat for Humanity Tucson, in collaboration with invited Tucson synagogues and Jewish organizations including Congregations Bet Shalom, M’kor Hayim, Chaverim, Anshei Israel, and Temple Emanu-El plus the… Read more »

Invisible Theatre will present the Arizona premiere of “The Value of Names” by Jeffrey Sweet from Nov. 7-19. The play introduces Benny Silverman, a celebrated comic who has revived his career via television after many years of forced inactivity that resulted from being named on the Hollywood blacklist of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Jewish month that began this week, Cheshvan, has traditionally been dubbed “mar,” or bitter, because it alone among the months is devoid of any holidays. It is time for the Jewish people, and the Jewish calendar, to drop mar from Cheshvan, since it is blessed… Read more »

(JTA) — Contemporary Jewish life is graced by extraordinary blessing: We are the heirs of a Torah of compassion and justice that has grown ever more supple and vibrant because of the dynamic nature of halachah (Jewish law) and the opportunity to observe mitzvot (commandments). At the same time,… Read more »

Irena Sendler

More than 80 participants attended the “Life in a Jar” community gathering sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Northwest Division on Tuesday, Oct. 24, hosted by Splendido. “Life in a Jar” is the story of Irena Sendler, a Polish Catholic social worker who rescued over 2,500 children… Read more »

(JTA) — After simmering for decades, national aspirations in the region of Catalonia in northeast Spain plunged that country into a major crisis with far-reaching international implications. The current crisis began earlier this month when federal police clashed with voters over an illegal referendum on independence. But it came… Read more »