Ringu Tulku Rinpoche
Tibetan Buddhist Monk Ringu Tulku Rinpoche will speak on “The Power of Gratitude to Heal” at Temple Emanu-El’s Chardonnay Shabbat service on Friday, Nov. 25 at 5:45 p.m. Following the service, Rinpoche will continue the discussion with Rabbis Samuel M. Cohon and Batsheva Appel and guests at a Shabbat… Read more »
A groundbreaking ceremony for a new building that will house the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Community Foundation will be held Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. in the northwest corner of the Tucson Jewish Community Center parking lot at River and Dodge Roads. The project,… Read more »
The mini-mission, an annual behind the scenes bus tour of programs supported by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, will be held Friday, Dec 2, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The tour is sponsored by JFSA Women’s Philanthropy but is open to men and women. New this year is an exclusive… Read more »
Wearing a traditional Ethiopian dress and shawl, Leah Avuno displays a tunic that would be worn by a Kes, an Ethiopian spiritual leader. Avuno, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a toddler, is spending a year in Tucson as a volunteer. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)
Leah Avuno, one of Tucson’s two Shinshinim (teen ambassadors from Israel) brought more than just her abundant youthful energy when she came to Tucson — she also brought the rich culture of her Ethiopian heritage. This year, the Tucson Jewish community will join Avuno in celebrating the Jewish Ethiopian… Read more »
Yossi Klein Halevi, left, and Abdullah Antepli are co-directors of the Muslim Leadership Initiative. (Netanel Tobias/Shalom Hartman Institute)
(JTA) — For years, whenever Jews and Muslims engaged in dialogue and activism, it usually concerned one issue: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With Donald Trump’s ascent to the presidency, that appears to be changing. Regardless of what’s happening across the ocean, Jews and Muslims in the United States are… Read more »
(JTA) — Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont Independent, has joined the Senate Democratic leadership. Sanders was named chair of outreach for the party on Wednesday, according to reports on the closed-door Senate Democratic caucus meeting. As an Independent, Sanders was an outsider to the Democratic Party until he ran… Read more »
(JTA) — The upset victory by Donald Trump in the 2016 elections stunned a Jewish activist and leadership class that is at times as divided as the electorate at large. JTA asked some of those leaders to describe their concerns and expectations in a series of brief essays titled… Read more »
Stephen Bannon at a Donald Trump rally at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev., Nov. 5, 2016. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) — On Sunday, President-elect Donald Trump appointed Stephen Bannon to be his chief strategist. Before joining Trump’s campaign, Bannon was the chairman of Breitbart News, a site steeped in conspiracy theories that has featured the white supremacist, anti-Semitic ideologies of the so-called alt-right. Bannon has also been accused of… Read more »
Researcher Emily Landau making an appearance at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, Nov. 9, 2016. (Andrew Tobin)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Right-wing Israeli politicians welcomed the election of Donald Trump with open arms. On Wednesday, Education Minister Naftali Bennett said Trump becoming the president-elect of the United States was a chance for Israel to “retract the notion of a Palestinian state.” Several politicians, including Jerusalem Mayor… Read more »
'The gift of accepting finitude, should we be willing to unpack it from the bubble wrap of avoidance and fear, is one that will give us more life right now,' says Rev. Rosemary Lloyd, director and adviser to faith communities for The Conversation Project Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (JTA) — Talking about death makes some people uncomfortable. Of course, we think we should talk about it. Ninety percent of Americans surveyed said it’s really important that we talk with our loved ones about our wishes for the kind of care we would like at end… Read more »
Rep. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois at a celebration in Washington, D.C., for women leaders, Jan. 20, 2013. The Democratic congresswoman, an Iran deal backer, defeated Mark Kirk to win his Senate seat. (Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for Elle)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — In dueling election recaps on Wednesday, J Street and the Republican Jewish Coalition claimed they beat the other when it came to supporting like-minded candidates. The arena was Congress and the weapon of choice was Iran: RJC campaigned against candidates associated with the nuclear deal, J Street… Read more »
Leonard Cohen during a concert in Ramat Gan, Israel, Sept. 24, 2009. (Marko/Flash90)
(JTA) — Leonard Cohen, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose Jewish-infused work became a soundtrack for melancholy, has died. He was 82. “It is with profound sorrow we report that legendary poet, songwriter and artist Leonard Cohen has passed away,” his Facebook page said late Thursday. “We have lost one… Read more »
Ron Dermer, left, Israel's ambassador to the United States, meets with J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami in Jerusalem, April 2010. J Street is among the Jewish groups calling on Dermer to reject an award from a group seen as anti-Muslim. (Courtesy J Street)
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Reform movement and other liberal Jewish groups are urging Israel’s U.S. ambassador, Ron Dermer, not to accept an award from an organization deemed by the Anti-Defamation League to promulgate anti-Muslim extremism. The ADL itself stopped short of asking Dermer not to accept the award next… Read more »
Donald Trump speaks with reporters following the first presidential debate, at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Sept. 26, 2016. (Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images)
(JTA) — On Monday, one day before Election Day, I received a call from a reader. She identified herself as a Reform Jew, 46, from Chicago. She had praise for JTA and our daily newsletter, but also a complaint: Our emphasis on the Trump campaign, including charges over… Read more »
Jacob Silberstein called his first presidential campaign "underwhelming. (Ben Sales)
NEW YORK (JTA) – Jacob Silberstein used one word to describe the first presidential campaign he’s experienced as a voter: “underwhelming.” Like many of his classmates at List College, a joint program here between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, Silberstein voted for Hillary Clinton. He… Read more »
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton during the second presidential debate, at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 9, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Some of us are voting for Trump. Most of us are voting for Clinton. But we Jews are all afraid. There are the scandals, yes. There are emails and sexual assault allegations and emails and fraud and racism and anti-Semitism and emails. There are issues like… Read more »
(JTA) — An Arizona teenager was sentenced to eight years in prison for plotting an attack on government buildings and the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Mahin Khan, 18, was sentenced on Friday in Maricopa County Superior Court a month after he pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism, conspiracy to… Read more »
Tracy Salkowitz When I was little, kids used to walk around the neighborhood asking for funds for everything from the PTA to the girl scouts. We used to have tzedakah or charity boxes (pushkes) in our homes where we would drop coins to plant trees in Israel or to support Hadassah… Read more »
Jason Dov Greenblatt, seen at Trump world headquarters in Manhattan, is one of Donald Trump's two key Israel advisers along with being his top real estate attorney. (Uriel Heilman) WASHINGTON (JTA) — Less than a week before the presidential election, Donald Trump’s two top Israel advisers released a detailed plan that pledges assistance to Israel beyond current levels but stops short of pledging to kill the Iran nuclear deal. The 16-point plan, which was posted Wednesday on the Medium publishing platform… Read more »
More than a dozen local rabbis and educators will present adult education classes on myriad topics at the Jewish Culture Shuk on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Tucson Hebrew Academy. A shuk is an open marketplace; the Jewish Culture Shuk, presented by the Jewish Federation of Southern… Read more »
