Judge John Peck with his “St. Notorious” at Art Under the Arches Gallery, January 2018. A long, winding and unexpected road took Tucson native John Peck from the Old Pueblo to Ajo, a small Arizona community of 3,300 people, just 40 miles from the Mexican border. From editor, to economic developer, community activist and nonprofit leader, he now finds himself sitting on the justice court… Read more »
The Tucson Jewish Community Center has added JPride to its programming roster. JPride, then known as the LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project, began in 2005 when the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona became one of the first federations in the country to create an outreach program for lesbian, gay, bisexual… Read more »
Same-sex marriage supporters celebrate outside the supreme court on June 26, 2015. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (JTA) – How often do you get the opportunity to pack “109 years,” #LoveWins and the rainbow colors into 140 characters? That’s how the American Jewish Committee celebrated the Supreme Court ruling Friday extending marriage rights to gays throughout the United States. “For 109 years AJC has stood for liberty… Read more »
Masha Gessen Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen is intent on exposing injustice, whether in her three talks in Tucson on Feb. 2, her books or articles in the New York Times, Slate and other publications. Her personal family history has run head-on into conflict with both the former Soviet Union and the… Read more »
Masha Gessen “Speaking truth to power” is a way of life for Russian-American Jewish journalist Masha Gessen. An outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a staunch supporter of gay rights and a chronicler for the voiceless, the award-winning author will speak at four community events during “A Day With Masha… Read more »
Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly at National Harbor, Md., Nov. 10. (Ron Sachs) There was the vice president of the United States, two Supreme Court justices and an Academy Award-winning actress with a compelling Jewish story. There were Jewish professionals, lay leaders, clergy and recent college graduates. The West Point cadets’ Jewish choir performed. The Israeli prime minister appeared via satellite from… Read more »
Ellen Freeman ELLEN FREEMAN was elected to the board of Keshet, a national grassroots organization that works for the full equality and inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Jews in Jewish life. Freeman was program coordinator of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project and is a… Read more »
Simon Rosenblatt Simon Rosenblatt is emphatic as he speaks about volunteering with the Tucson Jewish community: “Make no mistake, Jewish Tucson is our family.” Rosenblatt spreads his energy and time across a trifecta of local and national Jewish efforts: Temple Emanu-El, the Jewish Community Relations Council and the Union for Reform… Read more »
A scene from 'Out in the Dark' The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project is sponsoring a film, “Out in the Dark,” at the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival on Jan. 23. What begins as a tender romance between a privileged Israeli lawyer and a Palestinian student becomes an edge-of your-seat thriller, says… Read more »
Joy Ladin leads a full and productive life, but her path has not been easy. “Very early on, there was an awareness that I wasn’t in the right gender,” Ladin told the AJP from her home in Hadley, Mass. The first openly transgender person to work at an Orthodox… Read more »
Ellen Freeman This summer, 150 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews from around the world gathered in Winnipeg, this year’s host city for the 21st World Congress of GLBT Jews, held July 5 to 7. Attendees represented more than 15 countries, including the United States, Canada, England, France, Israel, Argentina and… Read more »
Tucson’s 5th Annual Multi-Faith Pride Service with the theme “Sacred Presence” will be held Sunday, Oct. 6 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 160 S. Scott Ave. The Wingspan Multi-Faith Working Group and the LGBT Jewish Inclusion Project, a program of the Jewish Federation of… Read more »
I was very fortunate this year to attend the LGBT Seder put on by the Jewish Inclusion Project and held at Congregation Or Chadash. I am straight, and I initially attended mainly because of a (lesbian) friend who is new to… Read more »
