Brenna Lacey, center, with Jewish Community Foundation Executive Director Tracy Salkowitz (left) and Andy Rush, founder of The Drawing Studio Eighteen years ago Brenna Lacey walked into The Drawing Studio as a student and since then, her relationship with the organization has only become more colorful. Now she is the president of the nonprofit organization bringing relaxation, community and an artistic outlet to everyone who enters its doors. “The… Read more »
Rabbi Israel Becker Usually when you write an article, you hope that there will be numerous readers and that your message will be well received, however, this article is being written for the benefit of those who I am certain will not read it because they are no longer on this earth.… Read more »
Yochi Azran, a teacher from Israel, uses a ‘sabra’ puppet to talk to Crystal Lucha’s students at the Tucson Jewish Community Center in December 2017.
There are many living bridges forming between Tucson and Israel. One is in the shape of a classroom. The Weintraub Israel Center began its school twinning program in 2014 between Tucson and the Israeli communities of Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon as an opportunity to connect classrooms and children… Read more »
Rabbi Avi Feldman, left, and wife Mushky are moving with daughters Chana and Batsheva to Iceland. (Chabad.org) (JTA) — The Chabad movement is sending a rabbi and his wife to Iceland, an island nation with 250 Jews where ritual slaughter of animals is illegal and circumcision is likely to be outlawed as well. Rabbi Avi Feldman, 27, of Brooklyn, New York, and his Sweden-born wife Mushky,… Read more »
Lavan's cohort of 25 fellows is examining the intersection between impact investing and Judaism. (Courtesy of Lavan)
NEW YORK (JTA) — For all of its modern history, the American Jewish community has pursued most of its goals through philanthropy — funding programs and institutions through donations and charitable giving that relies heavily on the generosity of wealthy people. But what if the community could achieve those… Read more »
Cholent Pot Pie (Alexandra Hawkins)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Here’s a comforting yet elevated Shabbat dish from chef Yehuda Sichel of Abe Fisher. Ingredients: 1 cup pearled barley 1 cup dried kidney beans 3/4 pound boneless short ribs, cut into 2-inch cubes 1/2 pound kosher salami, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1 large yellow… Read more »
(Kveller via JTA) — A confession: I mock social media publicly. I loudly echo the sentiments expressed by so many — that social media is changing the way we interact with each other; that it can cause depression and anxiety; that we all need to step away from the… Read more »
Female rabbis said the themes related to gender in the Purim narrative take on an added significance in the wake of the #MeToo movement. (Lior Zaltzman)
NEW YORK (JTA) — When Meredith Jacobs was taught the Purim story as a little girl in the 1970s and ’80s, Esther was made out to be its heroine, while Queen Vashti was its “evil queen.” According to the Book of Esther, Vashti was banished by her husband, the… Read more »
Roller Coaster Grandma: The Amazing Story of Dr. Ruth (Courtesy of Apples & Honey Press)
(JTA) — A talking parrot saves the family seder and a moose-musician is eager to host his perfect first Passover meal in a pair of delightful new children’s books for the holiday, which this year begins on the night of March 30. A third book celebrates the rich diversity… Read more »
A makeshift memorial erected in front of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., days after the shooting that left 17 students and teachers dead, Feb. 18, 2018. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
(JTA) — In the many years between my first job at JTA and returning as its editor in 2016, I would joke about a headline it published in 1999: “Two Turkish Jews killed in quake.” Perhaps you’ll remember that 17,000 people died in the Turkish earthquake that year. That headline seemed… Read more »
President Donald Trump in the White House, Feb. 9, 2018. (Olivier Douliery/Pool/Getty Images)
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The latest episode of Iran flexing its regional hegemonic muscles in the Middle East came with a direct and unprecedented military challenge to Israel. Last week, Iran used a technologically advanced drone – reverse-engineered from a U.S. drone captured in 2011 – to penetrate Israel’s… Read more »
© 2012 Peter Billard Photographer, 160 Oak Street Unit 206, Glastonbury, CT 860-633-6300 pbillard@snet.net WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jay Marshall Wolman, like a thousand other lawyers on Twitter, is wry, maybe a little coarse and, well, Jewish, peppering his tweets with Hebrew blessings and other Jewish references. He gets deadly serious, though, if you ask him why he is the lead attorney representing Andrew… Read more »
A Reuben sandwich from Katz's Deli in New York. (Tamsin Slater/Flickr)
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) — At a time when more than three-quarters of American Jews say they do not keep kosher, should we be shocked when Jews gather together and eat non-kosher food? American Jews have always gone beyond the restrictions of Jewish dietary laws, eating non-kosher (treif or trefa)… Read more »
Blood Orange Semolina Cake (Chaya Rappoport)
(The Nosher via JTA) — Upside down cakes are one of my favorite types of cakes to make, mostly because they are an easy way to impress. In an upside down cake, the fruit is layered on the bottom of the pan along with sugar, and a simple, fluffy… Read more »
Beejhy Barhany opened Tsion Cafe in 2014 with her husband. (Josefin Dolsten)
NEW YORK (JTA) — At Tsion Café in Harlem, visitors can order a vegetable injera, an Ethopian sourdough flatbread topped with vegetable, lentil and chickpea stews. There is traditional shakshuka, a dish common in Israel and the Middle East where eggs are cooked in a hearty tomato sauce. And… Read more »
As I enter my seventh decade of life, I often reflect on my family: Where we came from and where we are going. Each year, I gain a greater appreciation for how Judaism has made such a difference in my life and my family. At my great-grandfather’s funeral in… Read more »
It started the day of the Oakland Women’s March with the same sense of hope and anticipation as loved ones who were marching across the country. As fate would have it, I was putting the finishing touches on a 1,000-piece Wonder Woman puzzle our family had been toiling on… Read more »
Jewish Family & Children’s Services will sponsor a free screening of the 2016 film “Denial,” starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Wilkinson, on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The film recounts the true story of historian Deborah Lipstadt, played by Weisz. The screening… Read more »
One year ago, the Trump administration announced a highly controversial ban against refugee resettlement in the U.S. For seven months the White House declared that the most vulnerable people on our planet (refugees) – 75 percent of whom are women and children – would not find safe harbor on… Read more »
It’s never too late to learn and grow. The Tucson Jewish Community Center provides numerous opportunities to help people discover their passions later in life. Here are a few highlights of events and classes coming up. “Inside Writing a Mystery” is a free discussion with local author and retired… Read more »
