Tagged HEADLINES

NEW YORK (JTA) — Seth Rogen and his father were honored by the secular Jewish group The Workers Circle — formerly known as The Workmen’s Circle until Monday night — for their contributions to Jewish culture, activism and promotion of the Yiddish language. Rogen, 37, who usually plays Jewish… Read more »

(JTA) — Palestinian-American activist Linda Sarsour took to Twitter to clarify recent controversial comments she had made about Israel. Speaking Friday at the annual conference of American Muslims for Palestine in Chicago, Sarsour had criticized progressive Zionists. “Ask them this, how can you be against white supremacy in America… Read more »

(JTA) — Kamala Harris, the junior senator from California, is dropping her presidential bid. “My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue,” Harris, 54, told supporters in a message on Tuesday. The former California attorney general had failed to gain steam among the… Read more »

(JTA) — Moshe Holtzberg, whose parents were killed in the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai when he was 2, was called to the Torah as a bar mitzvah. Holtzberg celebrated on Saturday in his hometown of Afula, in northern Israel, Chabad.org reported. A party was held on Sunday night in… Read more »

(JTA) — In case you missed it: Black and Jewish comedian Tiffany Haddish is having a bat mitzvah ceremony soon. She has released a Netflix stand-up special inspired by the occasion as well. So, naturally, on a special Sunday night edition of Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight Show,” Haddish broke… Read more »

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — The Holocaust Museum of Buenos Aires was rededicated after a two-year, $4.5 million renovation and expansion. The project updates, modernizes and adds new spaces to the institution in the city center of Buenos Aires. The addition of nearly 1,000 square meters, or nearly 11,000… Read more »

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 »