Tagged HEADLINES

NEW YORK (JTA) — Two production companies are teaming up to make a film about WeWork and its founder, Adam Neumann. Universal and Blumhouse Productions have fast-tracked a film written by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Charles Randolph, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It is based on an upcoming book by… Read more »

(JTA) — Amazon has come under fire for selling Christmas ornaments and bottle openers featuring images of the site of Auschwitz. The products were removed from the Amazon website hours after a request by the Auschwitz Memorial and Museum on Sunday morning. “Selling ‘Christmas ornaments’ with images of Auschwitz… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — The following is Sacha Baron Cohen’s keynote address at Anti-Defamation League’s 2019 Never Is Now Summit on Anti-Semitism and Hate, held in New York City on Nov. 21, 2019. It is reprinted here with permission from the ADL.  Thank you, , for… Read more »

(JTA) — A Muslim woman wearing a hijab confronted a man on an Underground train in London who was verbally attacking a man and his sons, who were wearing kippahs. The man, in a tirade caught on video, told the family during the Friday ride that they are members… Read more »

(JTA) — Centuries of Christian anti-Semitism led to the Holocaust, the Church of England said in a new report that called for repentance. “God’s Unfailing Word: Theological and Practical Perspectives on Christian-Jewish Relations,” which was released last week, also asked Christians to accept the importance of Zionism for most… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — New York state police officers must be trained in how to recognize and respond to hate crimes under a new law. The bill comes as hate crimes in general — and anti-Semitic incidents in particular — are on the rise in New York City. Orthodox… Read more »

On Oct. 27, 2018, a gunman killed 10 congregants and injured six more at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. The gunman himself was shot but survived. On Aug. 26, 2019, the U.S. Attorney in Pittsburgh announced that federal prosecutors would be seeking the death penalty in the… Read more »

Graham Hoffman

Philanthropy is increasingly a hands-on endeavor. Donors, particularly in making sizeable philanthropic investments, want to understand the impact of their donations on the causes they support. This approach has influenced the philanthropic landscape, resulting in many nonprofits soliciting program-designated or restricted donations rather than unrestricted support in an attempt… Read more »

Did you know … that the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is a 501c3 charitable organization? Did you know … that the Federation, in turn, supports six local community agencies that also are nonprofits?  They are the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, Handmaker Jewish Services for the Aging, Jewish… Read more »

Rabbi Stephanie Aaron

I was humbled and inspired to travel Nov. 3-6 with other rabbis and cantors to El Paso and Juarez, along with staff from HIAS (formerly the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) and T’ruah, a rabbinic organization for human rights, to visit detained immigrants near the U.S.-Mexico border. These are my… Read more »

As these words are being written, an Israel-Gaza truce has been already achieved, after 48 hours of intensive fighting. The attack from Gaza — retaliation for an Israeli action against an Islamic Jihad leader — included over 300 rockets fired at Israeli communities near and far. Eighty Israelis were… Read more »

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

I recently returned from a fantastic trip to Israel — an interfaith delegation sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. Our group consisted of 28 dynamic and open-minded people — a vibrant and deeply engaged mix of faiths, ethnicities, and professional backgrounds. Together we walked, climbed, and explored… Read more »

My heart jumped when I saw the phone number of my oldest son’s school on the screen. “Hello?” “Is this Dr. Skinazi?” “Yes.” “Don’t worry, Lucas is fine. Only — I just wanted to let you know that there was a little anti-Semitic incident at school today.” Breathe in,… Read more »

Teresa Corbin

Women caring for children of all ages with disabilities can find support with the Jewish Mothers/Grandmothers Special Needs Support Group, which meets at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “It really doesn’t matter what the special need or disability is, the feelings around it are very similar,” says Joyce Stuehringer,… Read more »

Erika Spivack

The Women’s Philanthropy Advisory Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona is seeking nominations for the 14th annual Bryna Zehngut Mitzvot Award, recognizing an outstanding Jewish teenage girl. The award honors Zehn-gut, a community leader who died in 2005. Nominees should be high school juniors or seniors who… Read more »

Hadassah Southern Arizona will announce its Woman of the Year for 2019 and install its 2020 officers at a wine and chocolate philanthropy event on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 1:30 p.m. at the Ruth and Irving Olson Center for Jewish Life, 180 W. Magee Road, Suite 140. The Enchanted… Read more »

(JTA) — Violence erupted at a a protest by pro-Palestinian students against an appearance by Israeli army reservists at York University in Toronto on Wednesday night. Members of the university chapter of Students Against Israeli Apartheid, or SAIA, tried to shut down a university-approved panel discussion featuring Reservists on… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Satmar Rebbe distributed $5 million to 150 anti-Zionist institutions Zalman Teitelbaum was in Israel to present the heads of the institutions with checks made out in shekels, The Jerusalem Post reported. The checks were distributed on Thursday night in the Satmar stronghold of Beit Shemesh.… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — More than 30 heads of state will gather in Jerusalem on the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. The leaders will be attending the fifth World Holocaust Forum in January, which will coincide with the anniversary. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Emmanuel Macron of France,… Read more »

(JTA) — Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany will make her first visit to the site of the Auschwitz Nazi camp in her 14-year tenure. The visit to the former death camp in Poland is scheduled for Dec. 6, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reported Thursday. She will participate there… Read more »