Ingredients are set out for a mega challah bake. (Courtesy Chabad Tucson) The Shabbos Project, a global movement to celebrate the Jewish day of rest on the weekend of Oct. 24-25, will be marked in Tucson with a Mega Challah Bake for women and girls (ages 9 and up) at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 7… Read more »
At Camp Be’chol Lashon, which provides a space for racially and ethnically diverse Jews, discussion about appearance is the norm. (Courtesy of Be'chol Lashon) SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — Earlier this year, the Jewish overnight camp Eden Village garnered a great deal of attention for its “no body talk” policy, which camp leaders described as providing a “break from mentioning physical appearance, including clothing.” The policy, which aims to lessen the stress children feel about appearance, certainly has merit. But… Read more »
Rabbi Gil Steinlauf (JTA) — Rabbi Gil Steinlauf struggled for decades with an identity that he only acknowledged publicly this week. On the Monday after Yom Kippur, Steinlauf, the married senior rabbi at Adas Israel — a large and historic Conservative synagogue in Washington, D.C. — announced that he is gay. “With… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is talking tough. And Israel and the United States don’t seem to mind too much — or else think their best option at this point is to grin and bear it. Abbas used his Sept. 26 speech to the United Nations… Read more »
The good news is that Israelis are still willing to sit down and talk with the Palestinians. The Peace Index, a monthly survey run by the Israel Democracy Institute and Tel Aviv University, has just found out that “the rate of those who favor renewing the talks (50 percent)… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) – Should Republicans win the Senate and maintain control of the House of Representatives on Nov. 4 — as many observers expect them to do — the political gridlock that has characterized much of President Obama’s term is poised to intensify. Jewish strategies, however, will remain the… Read more »
While none of the Jewish denominations sanction quickie conversions, there are ways to cheat the system using corrupt rabbis. This humorously labeled breath spray, however, probably won't do the trick. (carloscappaticci/ Creative Commons) (This is part of a special JTA report on conversion in America. Read our other pieces about who’s converting to Judaism, and about the denomination-by-denomination breakdown of how the different denominations do conversion.) Must coverts pass a test to become a Jew? Generally, no. Across all the denominations, rabbis… Read more »
A rendering of the Menorah Center in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, which is said to be the largest Jewish community center in Europe. (Jewish Community of Dneproperovsk) DNEPROPETROVSK, Ukraine (JTA) — Five months into the war that turned him into a refugee in his own country, Jacob Virin has already attended 20 Jewish weddings — including those of his son and two other relatives — at the $100 million JCC of Dnepropetrovsk. Towering over the skyline… Read more »
TEL AVIV (JTA) — For approximately a half hour at the beginning of her El Al Israel Airlines flight last week from New York to Tel Aviv, Elana Sztokman watched as the haredi Orthodox man seated next to her rushed up and down the aisle searching for someone willing… Read more »
Women’s Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold its annual welcome and board installations on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Lodge at Ventana Canyon, 6200 N. Clubhouse Lane. The event will focus on challenging sex trafficking in Arizona, as the state gears up… Read more »
Brandeis National Committee, Tucson Chapter, will host local author John Maley at its fall opening lunch Monday, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel at Reid Park. Maley has been a soldier, peace officer, corrections officer, probation officer and has worked as a private investigator in… Read more »
The Civic Orchestra of Tucson, the oldest community orchestra in the region, will begin its 2014-2015 season with a free concert at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The concert, on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., also marks the orchestra’s participation in Daniel Pearl World Music Days to honor… Read more »
Yoram Bauman Yoram Bauman, Ph.D., “the world’s first and only stand-up economist,” will present “Comedy, Economics and Climate Change” at the University of Arizona on Monday, Sept. 29 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Berger auditorium, 1130 E. Helen St. “It turns out that comedy actually pays better than teaching,”… Read more »
Submerged cars on a Manhattan street following a tidal surge caused by Hurricane Sandy, Oct. 30, 2012. (Christos Pathiakis/Getty Images) JERUSALEM (JTA) — Two days before the U.N. Climate Summit, demonstrators, including a large multi-faith contingent — will descend on New York City to demand urgent action on climate change. The People’s Climate March, which coincided with the week of the U.N. General Assembly, was billed as the largest climate march in history. Sunday’s event notably took place in… Read more »
Melissa Duchan NEW YORK (JTA) – For years, Melissa Duchan had found the dress code for girls at her Orthodox school in Brooklyn, the Yeshivah of Flatbush, onerous. But it wasn’t until recently that Duchan, 16, felt that scrutiny of female students had crossed the line from irritating to what she called “predatory.”… Read more »
Israel's Andy Ram sprawled on the court following his five-set doubles victory with partner Yoni Erlich, holding racket, against Argentina in a Davis Cup match in Sunrise, Fla., Sept. 13, 2014. (Andrea Eidman) SUNRISE, Fla. (JTA) – It wasn’t Tel Aviv, but thousands of people chanting his name at a Davis Cup match following a grueling victory was a pretty good way for Israel’s Andy Ram to leave the game oftennis to which he had devoted more than half his life. Ram, 34,… Read more »
Researchers searching for human remains in Wasosz, the site of a massacre of Jewish villagers in 1941. (Podlaska Archaeological Laboratory) (JTA) — In September 1941, a group of villagers wielding axes and other tools descended upon the homes of their Jewish neighbors and murdered every last one, according to testimonies gathered by Holocaust scholars. Not much else is known about the massacre in Wasosz, a village 100 miles east… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Following a five-week landmark civil trial and two days of deliberation, a Brooklyn jury found Arab Bank liable of knowingly supporting terrorism in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip. According to the U.S. District Court ruling on Monday, the Jordan-based bank provided material support… Read more »
(JTA) — I recently attended a farewell party for someone switching jobs from one Jewish organization to another. Among many accolades, one person giving a toast said, “While we are sorry to lose him, at least he is still committed to working in the Jewish world.” While I appreciate… Read more »
Exterior shot of the $351 million Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg. (Flickr) TORONTO (JTA) — On the fourth floor of the new Canadian Museum for Human Rights, visitors will find a gallery called “Examining the Holocaust,” which is devoted entirely to the story and lessons of the Shoah. On the same floor, in a smaller, adjacent space, a gallery called “Breaking… Read more »
