French comedian Dieudonne demonstrating the quenelle, a vaguely Nazi-like gesture whose popularity has soared in France. (YouTube) PARIS (JTA) — To outsiders, they seem like ordinary men striking macho poses for the camera. But there is a dark side to the photos that are appearing with growing frequency in the French media. The men — and less frequently women — are performing the “quenelle,” a gesture… Read more »
Rabbi Yossi Winner cycles the UA Chabad menorah to a new location on campus. (Courtesy UA Chabad) Mitzvah 613 Torah dedication Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday, Dec. 8, to witness the dedication of Congregation Anshei Israel’s new Torah, the culminating event to a yearlong celebration of the synagogue’s 83rd anniversary. The event included learning stations and art projects for all ages, performances by adult and… Read more »
As part of its quest to continue as “the heart of Conservative Judaism in Southern Arizona,” says Rabbi Robert Eisen, Congregation Anshei Israel is launching a search process for one or more professionals to fill the roles of cantor and educator. “Our mission statement is wordy (CAI shall serve… Read more »
Members of Firefighters Without Borders, the seven-man Arizona delegation that traveled to Israel in October, will discuss their trip at Hadassah Southern Arizona’s lunch program on Sunday, Jan. 5. The local firefighters conferred with Israeli firefighters and rescue workers to learn firsthand how to respond to mass casualties. Their… Read more »
Shalom Tucson will host a free bagel brunch for newcomers and anyone interested in the Tucson Jewish community on Sunday, Jan. 12, at 10 a.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Representatives from synagogues, agencies and organizations will provide “one stop shopping for our warm and vibrant Jewish community,”… Read more »
Neshama Carlebach onstage at the Union for Reform Judaism's biennial in San Diego, Dec. 14 2013. (URJ) (JTA) — I grew up Jewish. Simply Jewish. My late father, Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, raised us in an observant Orthodox household. Our lives were filled with beautiful ritual and we celebrated the wonder of a familial spiritual connection. That said, we also danced along the fine line of progressive… Read more »
Ariel Kandel, head of the Jewish Agency for Israel's France operations, at his Paris office on Dec. 11, 2013. (Cnaan Liphshiz) PARIS (JTA) — In an overcrowded conference room in the heart of Paris’ 14th arrondissement, a hundred French Jews are losing their patience. They have gathered at the Paris office of the Jewish Agency for Israel for a lecture on immigrating to Israel, but the agency staff is running… Read more »
Nelson Mandela salutes the crowd at the Green and Sea Point Hebrew Congregation in Cape Town on a visit shortly after being elected South Africa’s president in 1994. (Photo: SA Rochlin Archives, SAJBD) Joining Mandela, from left, are Rabbi Jack Steinhorn; Israel’s ambassador to South Africa, Alon Liel; Chief Rabbi Cyril Harris; and Mervyn Smith, chairman of the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. NEW YORK (JTA) — Nelson Mandela will always be remembered as a symbol of courageous resistance to the racist policies of apartheid South Africa. He was a true hero of conscience. But he also will always have a special place in the memory of the Jewish community. I first… Read more »
Susan and Alan Kendal at milepost marker in the Golan Heights In November, 33 Tucsonans traveled to Israel under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona — some for the first time, some for the 35th time, and everything in between. The mission was personalized to accommodate these varying degrees of experience, with optional side trips to Petra… Read more »
Eileen Warshaw Eileen Warshaw is stepping down at the end of January as executive director of the Jewish History Museum, an institution she helped create. “I am retiring because a decade of commitment here has laid a great foundation. Now it’s time for new energy, new thoughts, new programming to come… Read more »
Congratulations to the Arizona Jewish Post for its excellent coverage of the panel that discussed the recent Pew Research Center’s study titled “A Portrait of Jewish Americans.” The study, as you might expect, found an increasing number of Jews who claim they are “atheists,” “agnostics” or of “no… Read more »
Oshrat Barel Let me tell you about the best part of my role as a shlicha (emissary from Israel). Without a doubt, it is the opportunity, every single day, to meet the most interesting people and to do what I like most: explore Israel through others’ eyes — your eyes. This… Read more »
EFRAT, West Bank (JTA) — The reputable car dealer’s advertisement in the local paper screams “Brand New Mercedes — Only $500!” You get excited but think it sounds too good to be true. Upon closer inspection, it is: The car dealer is offering only the hubcaps of the Mercedes… Read more »
NEW YORK (JTA) — Right now, there is just one way for someone who is not Jewish to become Jewish in a publicly recognized and officially authorized fashion: undergo religious conversion under the auspices of a rabbi. Whether the path to Jewish identification follows Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist or… Read more »
WASHINGTON (JTA) — There’s the six-month interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program that trades some sanctions relief for a freeze on Iran’s nuclear program. And then there’s the interim before the interim begins. Little noticed in the wake of the historic pact reached last month by Iran and the… Read more »
Rabbi Eliezer Berland, seen at a prayer service at the Western Wall on Jan. 25, 2012, fled to Morocco after being accused of sex abuse. (Uri Lenz/FLASH90) (JTA) — Surrounded by dozens of adoring followers at his grandson’s wedding this summer, Eliezer Berland looked like any other Hasidic rebbe marking a family celebration. But Berland is not like most rabbis. The founder of the Shuvu Bonim religious seminary in Israel, Berland, 76, fled to Morocco earlier… Read more »
The last Reform biennial, held near Washington in December 2011, marked the passing of the torch to Rabbi Rick Jacobs, left, from Rabbi Eric Yoffie, right. (URJ) NEW YORK (JTA) — First there was the Conservative movement’s October biennial conference, billed as “The conversation of the century” and opened up to presenters from outside the movement. Then came the November General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America, which featured a “Global Jewish shuk: a… Read more »
Edwin Black WASHINGTON (JTA) — As the current round of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks flounder and seek to regain momentum, many are wondering what America can do with its prodigious economic resources to encourage peace and reconciliation between the parties. For this reason, it may astound many that American taxpayers already are… Read more »
President Obama makes a statement announcing an interim agreement on Iran's nuclear program at the White House on Nov. 23, 2013. (T.J. Kirkpatrick-Pool/Getty Images) TEL AVIV (JTA) — For the first time in a decade, the United States and a coalition of world powers have reached an agreement with Iran to curb the country’s nuclear program. The deal requires Iran to limit its nuclear enrichment and freeze most of its centrifuges for six… Read more »
Statistics can be overwhelming and the results can be taken out of context. Tucson rabbis and academics sought to put the recent Pew Research Religion & Public Life Project’s “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” into perspective during a panel discussion at Congregation Anshei Israel on Nov. 3. “Before we… Read more »
