Tagged HEADLINES

Nechama Rivlin, wife of Israel’s president, dies at 73
June 4, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Nechama Rivlin, the wife of President Reuven Rivlin, has died at the age of 73. She died on Tuesday, a day before her 74th birthday, at Beillinson Hospital in Petah Tikvah, where she underwent a lung transplant three months ago. Rivlin, who had in recent years… Read more »

We Orthodox Jews desperately need gay rabbis

Israelis participate in the Gay Pride Parade on July 30, 2015 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Hebrew signs read, "Come out from the closet, the closet is death." (Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)
May 31, 2019 / Rabbi Daniel Landes, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — On May 24, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that I would be ordaining a gay Orthodox rabbinical student who was denied the opportunity to receive smicha from his own Orthodox yeshiva. On May 26,  I did so, ordaining Rabbi Daniel Atwood during a ceremony attended by more… Read more »

What Jewish law really says about abortion

Protesters on both sides of the abortion issue gather in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building during the Right To Life March in Washington, Jan. 18, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
May 31, 2019 / Ephraim Sherman, JTA

(JTA) – Alabama and Georgia have passed laws recently that limit or forbid abortions in unprecedented ways, joining a growing number of states that are attempting to dramatically restrict abortion access. During these charged times, it is appropriate for the Jewish community to remind ourselves that halacha (Jewish law) has a… Read more »

Young leaders apply philanthropic savvy at JFSA annual meeting

JFSA Young Leadership Campaign volunteer Sarah Singer (left) presents a check to Tucson Hebrew Academy Head of School Laurence Kutler (center) and outgoing THA Board Chair Neil Kleinman. (Martha Lochert)
May 31, 2019 /

Two Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Young Leadership special teams received funds to disburse in the community, which they presented at the JFSA Annual Meeting and Community Awards Celebration on Thursday, May 9 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Recipient agencies included the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, Jewish… Read more »

Israeli fallen soldiers mourned in song for Yom Hazikaron

Holocaust survivors lit memorial candles at the 2019 Yom Hazikaron event at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. (L-R): Dov Marhoffer, Wanda Wolosky, Walter Feiger, Pawel Lichter, and Wolfgang Hellpap. (Marty Johnston)
May 31, 2019 /

The Weintraub Israel Center organized a musical tribute to Israel’s fallen soldiers and victims of terror for a local commemoration of Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, on Tuesday, May 7 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center.… Read more »

With just the right ‘Goldilocks situation,’ herbs can thrive indoors

Fresh herbs have more flavor than dried, and can be easy to keep once you find their “Goldilocks zone.”
May 31, 2019 / Jacqueline A. Soule, Ph.D., Special to the AJP

Full disclosure: you can grow herbs indoors, but it is not easy. There are two “Goldilocks situations” that must be dealt with. These two situations are water and light. Too much or too little of either is bad — you need to get it just right. To add another… Read more »

5,000-year-old yeast used by Israeli scientists to brew a pretty good beer

Beer cruse from Tel Tzafit/Gath archaeological digs, from which Philistine beer was produced. (Yaniv Berman, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority)
May 31, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

Israeli scientists are using ancient yeast to brew a beer fit for a pharaoh. The researchers have isolated yeast from ancient pottery used to brew beer and used it to create the same libation that was presumably drunk by the Egyptian pharaohs, Iron Age rulers, and ancient Jewish leaders.… Read more »

PJ Library kids learn value of helping others

Goldie Goldstein and her daughter share a loving moment while preparing a thank you letter to PJ Library founder Harold Grinspoon. (Photo: Mary Ellen Loebl/JFSA)
May 31, 2019 /

PJ Library hosted a “Kids Helping Kids” afternoon May 19 at Jewish Family & Children’s Services. Children and families gathered to learn about the mitzvah of helping others. Sharon Glassberg shared an educational presentation, reading from the book “Mitzvah Pizza.” Participants expressed their gratitude in drawings and letters to… Read more »

Seniors celebrate a century and intergenerational friendships
May 31, 2019 / Sharon Klein, Special to the AJP
Ruth C. Goodman with her son, Roy Goodman

Centenarians unite On Friday, May 3, the Pima Council on Aging and Tucson Medical Center sponsored the 32nd annual Salute to Centenarians event at TMC’s Marshall Conference Center. This gathering, the largest known convergence of centenarians in the United States, attracted close to 50 attendees, ages 99+, accompanied by… Read more »

Tucson J’s Elder Camp proves summer fun isn’t just for the grandkids anymore

Sylvia Levkovitz takes part in a cup stacking challenge at the Tucson Jewish Community Center’s Elder Camp 2018. {Courtesy Sharon Arkin)
May 31, 2019 /

Seniors who look back fondly on summer camp fun and frolic can now relive those golden days of yore. Following a banner first-year experiment, the Tucson Jewish Community Center is announcing open registration for its second season of Elder Camp. Camp will take place on four consecutive Sunday afternoons,… Read more »

Israeli army says it found ‘most significant’ Hezbollah attack tunnel
May 29, 2019 / Marcy Oster, JTA

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The Israeli military said it uncovered the “longest” and “most significant” Hezbollah attack tunnel on the border with Lebanon. The discovery of the nearly milelong tunnel was made in the winter during Operation Northern Shield, which aimed to expose and neutralize cross-border attack tunnels, but was… Read more »

US, Israeli and Russian security advisers to meet in Jerusalem in June
May 29, 2019 / Josefin Dolsten, JTA

(JTA) — The national security advisers of the United States, Israel and Russia will meet in Jerusalem in June, the White House said Wednesday. The announcement said that John Bolton of the United States, Meir Ben-Shabbat of Israel and Nikolay Patrushev, secretary of the Russian Security Council, would convene… Read more »

Israel will hold new elections after Netanyahu fails to form coalition
May 29, 2019 / Ben Sales and Marcy Oster, JTA

(JTA) — For the first time in its history, Israel will hold a second national election in one year, five months after the last election in April. The Israeli Knesset voted at midnight Thursday to dissolve itself, triggering elections on Sept. 17. The unprecedented vote happened after Prime Minister… Read more »

It is dangerous to wear a kippah in Germany, anti-Semitism official says
May 28, 2019 / Toby Axelrod, JTA

BERLIN (JTA) – It is dangerous to identify publicly as Jewish in Germany, including wearing a kippah, Germany’s commissioner on anti-Semitism said. In a wide-ranging interview, Felix Klein told the Berliner Morgenpost on May 24 that he could not recommend that Jews wear a kippah everywhere and any time… Read more »

Dozens of Ukrainian lawmakers want embassy moved to Jerusalem
May 24, 2019 / Cnaan Liphshiz, JTA

(JTA) — Nearly one-fifth of Ukraine parliament members co-signed a draft resolution urging their new president to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there. Of the 450 members of the Verkhovna Rada, 86 signed on as co-authors of a bill submitted for a vote on Friday,… Read more »