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Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect passage of the rule change Oct. 26. Holocaust education became mandatory in Arizona as of Oct. 26. The Arizona State Board of Education passed a change to the Arizona Administrative Code’s sections R7-2-301 and R7-2-302, the minimum courses of study… Read more »

(JTA) — What do Elana Kagan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Barbra Streisand, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Gal Gadot, Marc Benioff and Steven Spielberg have in common? Yes, they are all Jewish. And they all appear on the shortlist of the selection committee of the Genesis Prize to be this year’s laureate. This… Read more »

AMSTERDAM (JTA) — For a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor and friend of the renowned teenage diarist Anne Frank, laying the first brick for a new monument to victims of the genocide was a “special moment.” “I’m satisfied that it’s finally happening,” Jacqueline van Maarsen told the ANP news agency on… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona presented its Community Awards Celebration & Annual Meeting 2020 on Tuesday, Sept. 15 as a Zoom meeting, with 110 people attending. With large in-person meetings still restricted to help slow the spread of coronavirus, the Federation for the first time held this annual… Read more »

As part of the Arizona Jewish Post’s pivot to an all-digital platform, we’ve introduced new monthly ad directories. On Sept. 11, we kicked things off with two directories: L’Shana Tova Tikatevu 5781, featuring Rosh Hashanah greetings from community members and organizations, and the September – October 2020 Business Directory.… Read more »

(JTA) — An Italian lawmaker has nominated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for the Nobel Peace Prize. Paolo Grimoldi of the right-wing Northern League party tweeted Wednesday that he had nominated Netanyahu because he signed peace agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as the… Read more »

As of our Sept. 11, 2020 issue, the Arizona Jewish Post has pivoted to become an all-digital publication. All content, including articles, life cycle announcements, advertisements, and opinion pieces will be featured online at azjewishpost.com. Why the change? On July 17, 2020, the board of directors of the Federation… Read more »

Lori Ann Burd

The echoes of oppression in Jewish history have shaped Lori Ann Burd’s strong sense of Jewish identity and desire to do good in the world. “I am so privileged, and have come from these people who fought so hard just to survive,” says Burd, 39. “I have literally no… Read more »

Neil Markowitz

Neil Markowitz, 61, has been a contributing member of the Tucson community for over 25 years. His work in founding and running the Environmental Education Exchange (E3) as well as the time he gives to Jewish organizations has made an impact felt across the region. Markowitz has been working… Read more »

Gregg Garfin, Ph.D.

Growing up in the 1970s it was almost impossible not to be surrounded by environmental movements. The first Earth Day was held in April 1970 and many people were concerned with saving forests and protecting the air, land, and water from pollutants. Gregg Garfin, Ph.D., was no exception. Garfin,… Read more »

The Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish History Museum & Holocaust History Center in Tucson today issued a statement strongly condemning statements made by Arizona Representative John Fillmore likening the tattooing of Holocaust victims to government mask-wearing mandates issued to slow… Read more »

Jewish Family & Children’s Services of Southern Arizona, in collaboration with the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, the Tucson Jewish Community Center, and Arizona Youth Partnership, will present “Increased Risk in Troubling Times: Suicide Prevention for Today,” on Thursday, Sept. 10, which is World Suicide Prevention Day. The online… Read more »

(JTA) — In early June, as anti-racism protests swept the country in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd, Beth Hillel Temple in Kenosha, Wisconsin, signed onto an interfaith letter supporting peaceful protest and condemning “a broken societal system which disproportionately affects communities of color.” This week,… Read more »

(JTA) — Only one person has ever officially fulfilled the traditional Jewish birthday blessing of living “until 120,” but Rosalie Wolpe from South Africa is well on her way. Wolpe celebrated her 111th birthday last week at her Cape Town retirement facility, Highlands House Home for Jewish Aged, with… Read more »

(JTA) — The Vatican both fought efforts efforts to reunite two Holocaust orphans with their relatives and urged Pope Pius XII not to protest the Nazi deportation of Italian Jews, Brown University historian David I. Kertzer has found. Kertzer published the results of his investigation into Vatican documents unsealed… Read more »

Gertrude A. Shankman, 105, died July 24, 2020. Gertrude was born Oct. 26, 1914 in Brooklyn, New York. She was a longtime resident at Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, where students from Tucson Hebrew Academy had visited to celebrate her birthday ever year since she turned 100. “As… Read more »

Chabad of Oro Valley will hold three socially-distanced Shofar blowing events outside its premises at 1171 E. Rancho Vistoso Blvd. #131 on Sunday, Sept. 20. The times are 9:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 6 p.m. Each will include a 10-minute service in the parking lot. No registration is required.… Read more »

Congregation Anshei Israel will give Tucsonans an opportunity to hear the Rabbi Sara Metz sound the Shofar live on Friday, Aug. 21 at 8:30 a.m., in the northwest parking lot (facing the sanctuary doors). Members also can pick up thei High Holy Days packages. Other LIVE Shofar blast opportunities… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Gabby Giffords, the Jewish former congresswoman who became a leader in the gun control movement after being shot by an assailant in the head in 2011, opened the third night of the Democratic convention with an appeal to elect Joe Biden president. “We can let the… Read more »

(JTA) — The Reform movement has received a $600,000 multi-year grant to support racial equity, inclusion and diversity work. The Union for Reform Judaism said Wednesday that it had received funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to fight racism and back inclusion across its institutions. Reform is the largest… Read more »