Tagged HEADLINES

(JTA) — A rabbi in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, is opening there what he says is the city’s first yeshiva, or Jewish religious seminary, since World War II. The Vilna Yeshiva will have about a dozen students when it opens this fall, Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky, the Chabad-Lubavitch… Read more »

(JTA) — A new board member of The Women’s March who has accused Israel of genocide and the FBI of recruiting for ISIS was voted off two days after she was appointed. “Zahra Billoo has been removed from board membership effective immediately,” the board posted Wednesday on Twitter. “We… Read more »

NEW YORK (JTA) — Sitting at the front of a large room lined floor to ceiling with Jewish holy books, Rabbi Joseph Beyda’s voice broke as he processed, seemingly in real time, the idea that a trusted teacher had preyed on his students. “I think the overarching feeling of… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A film about the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin as seen through the eyes of his killer will be the country’s nomination for an Oscar. “Incitement” took the Ophir Award in Israel for best picture on Sunday night. The top prize at the Ophirs of… Read more »

BOSTON (JTA) — The grounds of a suburban Boston synagogue were vandalized. Congregants of Temple Sinai in Sharon, about 25 miles south of Boston, discovered graffiti of unidentifiable defacing symbols splashed over the large Star of David in the pavement near the synagogue’s front entryway as they arrived for… Read more »

(JTA) — After winning an Emmy Award for the second straight year, Alex Borstein of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” movingly dedicated this victory to her Holocaust survivor grandmother, who defied the Nazis to stay alive. “My grandmother turned to a guard … She was in line to be shot… Read more »

(JTA) — Construction on the first official synagogue in the United Arab Emirates will begin in several months. The synagogue, slated to be completed by 2022, will be part of a multi-faith complex called the Abrahamic Family House in the capital Abu Dhabi, Reuters reported, citing the Abu Dhabi-based… Read more »

(JTA) — Lev Tahor, a fringe haredi Orthodox sect, requested political asylum from the Iranian government. In its request, the group “declared their loyalty and submission to the Supreme Leader and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It asks for “asylum, protection and religious freedom of the families… Read more »

(JTA) – Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis in Hungary opened two new synagogues in the Budapest area. The larger synagogue in Újlipótváros, a central area of the capital city, is housed in a riverside building overlooking the Danube River. It will be part of a three-story Jewish community center and worship complex… Read more »

(JTA) — Alex Borstein of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” recalled her Holocaust survivor grandmother’s courage in defying the Nazis at the Emmy Awards. Borstein, who won the best supporting actress award for her portrayal of Midge Maisel’s manager Susie Myerson, dedicated her award on Sunday night to her grandmother… Read more »

TIRASPOL, Transnistria (JTA) — Officially, this disputed sliver of land between Ukraine and Moldova is called the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. But to visitors to Transnistria, a breakaway region that declared its independence in the 1990s but which most of the world considers part of Moldova, it looks more like… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz have agreed to hold negotiations to form a unity government. The heads, respectively, of the Likud and Blue and White parties announced the negotiations late Monday night following a two-hour meeting at the Jerusalem residence of President Reuven Rivlin.… Read more »

(JTA) — The Sackler family-owned Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy as part of a tentative $12 billion settlement with dozens of state and local governments that filed lawsuits accusing the company of fueling and profiting from the opioid epidemic. The company’s board met Sunday evening to approve the move,… Read more »

(JTA) — A man arrested last month in the shooting of a 68-year-old man outside a synagogue in Miami, Florida, was charged with a hate crime. Carlints St. Louis, 30, was arraigned last week in criminal court in Miami on charges that include one count of attempted first-degree murder… Read more »

(JTA) — Three of the founding and most prominent board members of the Women’s March stepped down from their positions, the organization announced Monday. But that was not the only shakeup for the group — 17 new board members have been appointed. One of them, Zahra Billoo, a lawyer… Read more »

(JTA) — Three of the organizers of the Women’s March have stepped down from its board. Co-chairs Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory and Bob Bland left in July, The Washington Post reported Monday. In a news release, the Women’s March said they “will transition off of the Women’s March Board… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Men’s group held its annual leadership development retreat Aug. 23-25 on Mt. Lemmon, facilitated by Jewish Federations of North America National Young Leadership Cabinet co-chair Adam Miller, from Orange County, California. The 13 young men participated in leadership development programming including community… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Women’s Cabinet held its annual retreat Aug. 17-18, themed “Be the Change.” The Cabinet spent 24 hours celebrating Shabbat, getting to know each other, learning about the Tucson Jewish Community, and the mission of the Federation.… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona ChaiLife members gathered Saturday, Aug. 24 to reconnect. ChaiLife was created for those men who have graduated from the Young Men’s Group and want to remain connected to the Federation and their chevra (group).… Read more »

Participants at the Tucson Jewish Community Center weekly Goat Yoga class get a workout and then some. They are joined by miniature kids from Goats of Tucson Yoga. At the hour-long evening program, the yogis usually are more interested in the costumed creatures than yoga poses, especially when plank,… Read more »