Tagged HEADLINES

(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 »

If you’ve been meaning to get together with friends but haven’t found the time, here’s an additional incentive: PJ Library’s Get Together program offers up to $100 reimbursement for hosting two or more families to gather and have some fun. PJ Library of Southern Arizona is participating in Get… Read more »

Amy Hirshberg Lederman

In October 1965, Columbia Records released a hit song by the Byrds called “Turn, Turn, Turn.” While my friends and I loved its beautiful harmony, I never suspected that its words would accompany me through life, spanning decades of historical and personal events from the Vietnam War to the… Read more »

Rabbi Yehuda Ceitlin (Britta Van Vranken)

There is a tale about a rabbi whose synagogue was infested with mice. When the conventional method to get rid of them didn’t succeed, he turned to a fellow rabbi for advice. “Simple,” said his colleague, “give them a Bar Mitzvah and they won’t step foot in your synagogue… Read more »

Harold Grinspoon, the founder of PJ Library, celebrated his 90th birthday July 27. Members of Southern Arizona’s PJ Library prepared a gift for Grinspoon, thanking him for making free Jewish-themed books available every month for children across the world, ages 6 months-8 years. The colorful birthday-thank you book, created… Read more »

(JTA) — Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that if he is re-elected next week, he’ll immediately annex a big part of the West Bank: the Jordan Valley. That’s kind of a big deal. On the other hand, it’s not really — yet. That specific eastern swath of the West Bank… Read more »

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel likely will have to go to war with Gaza, Benjamin Netanyahu said. “There probably won’t be a choice but to launch an operation, a war with the terror forces in Gaza,” Netanyahu said during an interview with the Kan public broadcaster on Thursday morning. “We have… Read more »

BOSTON (JTA) —  A health care organization with historic ties to the city’s Jewish community and an Ivy League university have been awarded a $53.4 million grant by the National Institute on Aging, one of the largest federal awards ever to study dementia. Hebrew Senior Life, an affiliate of… Read more »

(JTA) — A city councilman in Paterson, New Jersey, used the term “Jew us down” at a public meeting to criticize developers looking to buy land for less money. Colleagues of Michael Jackson condemned his use of the term, calling it “highly insensitive,” “reprehensible” and “totally inappropriate.” Councilman Al… Read more »

Robert (“Bobby”) Sharpe died Aug. 28, 2019, in Snowmass Village, Colorado, after a long battle with terminal brain cancer. Born and raised in Minnesota, Sharpe’s career took him to the movie business in Los Angeles and the garment industry in Minnesota before he was drawn to Tucson, where he… Read more »

(JTA) — John Bercow, the British House of Commons speaker who became widely known for his cries of “Order!” and other colorful rhetoric, announced Monday that he will resign his post by the end of October. Bercow is Jewish and said last year: “I’ve always been very open about… Read more »

(JTA) — Popular Jewish actress Mayim Bialik will write and direct a feature film based on her own experiences. The comedy-drama titled “As Sick As They Made Us,” which will deal with mental illness, will be Bialik’s screenwriting and directing debut. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jon Ossoff, a Jewish investigative documentarian who lost a close 2017 race for the U.S. House of Representatives, is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia. Georgia is seen as a possible pickup for Senate Democrats in 2020 as they seek control of the body.… Read more »

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Late last month, a reporter for Bloomberg Law called the U.S. Department of Labor for comment about a recently hired staffer who had riffed on Facebook about excessive Jewish influence, including the observation that the Jewish media “protects its own.” Within hours, Leif Olson had resigned.… Read more »

(JTA) — A Southern California father of seven suffering from ALS made the cross-country trip to be at his son’s bar mitzvah with family and friends in his hometown of Brooklyn. Rabbi Yitzi Hurwitz, 47, of West Hollywood, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s… Read more »