Tagged JFSA

New U.S. citizen Tommy Fred Taye, flanked by his wife, Bennetta Grant (left), and daughter, Secret Taye, displays his certificate of naturalization at the Evo A. Deconcini U.S. Courthouse in Tucson on Nov. 21. (Sheila Wilensky/AJP)

Amid kudos and controversy following President Barack Obama’s Nov. 20 directive stalling deportation for up to 5 million undocumented immigrants — allowing many to work legally — Tommy Fred Taye became a U.S. citizen. “I never knew that it was Jewish people who were bringing me here,” Taye, now… 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 »

Donna Moser, left, and her sister, Audrey Brooks, are co-chairs of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 2015 Community Campaign.

Visiting Greece, Israel, Russia and Ukraine on Federation missions, sisters Audrey Brooks and Donna Moser recognized that while the landscapes and languages may vary, the problems people face are similar all over the world. That led them to create a new theme, “Their Lives are in Our Hands,” for… Read more »

Rabbi Robert Eisen speaks at a “We Stand With Israel” rally at Congregation Anshei Israel on Aug. 7.

An air raid siren wailed through Congregation Anshei Israel. On the southern wall of the sanctuary, a video showed people scurrying for shelter and lying down in the middle of a plaza, covering their heads. “In Israel, you only have 15 seconds to save your life,” an announcer intoned… Read more »

This year, the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona and the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona combined multiple grant programs into one, the 2014 Community Impact Grants. Through the new, aligned grants program, the JCF and the JFSA awarded more than $410,000, which includes $268,472 to Jewish organizations in… Read more »

Rosie Eilat Kahn and Terry Allen Perl, JFSA Woman and Man of the Year

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will honor its 2014 award winners at its annual meeting and awards celebration on Thursday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. “Feddy’s,” the custom metal and glass awards designed by Lynn Rae Lowe for the Federation, and other… Read more »

Myq Kaplan

Comedian Myq Kaplan has appeared on “The Tonight Show,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and his own Comedy Central Presents special. In 2010 he performed in Tucson in the Last Comic Standing Tour. Next month, he’s bringing his act back to… Read more »

Operation Elijah is a community effort to ensure that every Jew in Southern Arizona has a seat at a Seder table for Passover. Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s Jewish Community Relations Council and Outreach Connections, the project matches those who are new to the Tucson community,… Read more »

The Jewish Community Relations Council issued a statement Tuesday urging Gov. Jan Brewer to veto SB1062, which would allow businesses to deny service to gays and others on “religious freedom” grounds: “As the public affairs and social justice arm of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, the Jewish Community… Read more »

Scholarships for Jewish overnight summer camp are available through the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona Coalition for Jewish Education. Forms are available for need-based scholarships for students currently attending Tucson’s religious schools or Tucson Hebrew Academy. The scholarships, funded by the Moe and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund at… Read more »

Rabbi David Wolpe

  David Wolpe — named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine and one of the 50 most influential Jews in the world by the Jerusalem Post — will speak in support of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona 2014 Community Campaign on Wednesday, Feb. 12. The… Read more »

Scholarships for Jewish overnight camps, funded by the Moe and Frances Beren Family Scholarship Fund, are available through the Coalition for Jewish Education of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. “As in past years, these funds are critical in both showing the community’s recognition of the positive impact Jewish… Read more »

Super Sunday co-chairs Kris and Ben Silverman

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona will hold its annual fundraising phone-a-thon, Super Extraordinary Sunday, on Jan. 26 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Several mitzvah projects, including a Red Cross blood drive and a Gift of Life bone marrow registry, will help make the day special. “Arizona is… Read more »

Susan and Alan Kendal at milepost marker in the Golan Heights

In November, 33 Tucsonans traveled to Israel under the auspices of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona — some for the first time, some for the 35th time, and everything in between. The mission was personalized to accommodate these varying degrees of experience, with optional side trips to Petra… Read more »

Rabbi Gershom Sizomu

As the first black rabbi from Sub-Saharan Africa, Rabbi Gershom Sizomu, chief rabbi of Uganda and leader of the Abayudaya Jews, may seem like an anomaly to some, but his commitment to Judaism is staunch. “I grew up in eastern Uganda with no electricity or water,” Sizomu told around… Read more »

Romance blooms for Andrew West and Sophia Kerdoon in the Negev Desert.

Ask almost anyone who has been on Birthright Israel and they will tell you that the 10-day trip is a life-changing experience. This might sound cliché, but for many Tucsonans on the trip from June 10-20 — sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, local donors and the… Read more »

The Idan Raichel Project, known for its fusion of diverse musical styles and ethnicities, will perform at the Fox Tucson Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m., in a concert cosponsored by the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona. The group, which rocketed to fame in Israel with its… Read more »

Marlyne Freedman

For more than a decade, Marlyne Freedman has been there for members of the Tucson Jewish community. Not just through her job as senior vice president at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona, but as a compassionate supporter of all things Jewish — both people and causes. At 66,… Read more »

The Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s nominating committee, chaired by Jeff Katz, has recommended the following slate of officers for the 2013-2014 program year: Kathryn L. Unger, chair of the board; Madeline Friedman, vice chair; Terry Perl,  vice chair; James A. Whitehill, vice chair; James Wezelman, treasurer; Shelly Silverman,… Read more »

In response to Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense in November 2012, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) joined with the Union for Reform Judaism and several other Jewish organizations to create one coordinated campaign to raise relief funds for Israel. To date, the JFNA Terror Relief Fund has… Read more »