Tagged Michelle Blumenberg

Jewish community stands up for racial justice

Tony Zinman, co-founder of Tucson Jews for Justice, attends a candlelight vigil in Tucson June 1, one week after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapoolis. (Courtesy Zinman)

The Southern Arizona Jewish community has joined communities across the globe in expressing outrage at the murder of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. And it is grappling with how best to support the struggle for racial justice. On June… Read more »

Local workshops will guide unity against harassment, bias

Guila Benchimol, Ph.D., will lead Safety Respect Equity workshops in Tucson Feb. 16-17 for the Jewish community.

The national Safety Respect Equity coalition examines issues of sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the Jewish community. The movement addresses privilege and power inequity, and devises solutions to ensure that existing structures no longer negatively influence how community business is done. The focus is on the values and… Read more »

Don’t seek to imitate big cities, Jewish communal exec tells Tucson agencies

Sandy Cardin, CEO of Our Common Destiny, talks with Michelle Blumenberg, executive director of the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, and Abbii Cook, assistant director at UA Hillel, Dec. 3 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. [Phyllis Braun/AJP)

Sandy Cardin, who recently stepped down after 25 years as president of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, where he remains a senior advisor, visited Tucson Dec. 3 to speak at the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona’s lead gifts dinner. Earlier that day, at a lunch meeting at… Read more »

#MeToo event encourages community-wide conversation

During an exercise at the Jewish community’s “From #MeToo to #WeToo” event May 21, audience members wrote reflections on banners marked “I Learned,” “I Feel,” and “I Commit to.” Colored stickers indicate “likes” from other attendees. (Maya S. Horowitz/JCF)

It is our collective responsibility as members of this community to examine the part that we play in these frameworks,” Graham Hoffman, president and CEO of the Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona, told the audience at a recent community event addressing sexual harassment in the Jewish communal world.… Read more »

P.S. – 4.28.17

Lauren Brewer (left) and Shelby Roseman before picking up their Hollywood Half-Marathon race packets

Hollywood Half-Marathon On April 8 at 6 a.m., Shelby Roseman and her daughter, Lauren Brewer (Phoenix), ran in the Hollywood Half-Marathon. The race started in front of the Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy Awards, and continued down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. At the finish line near Hollywood… Read more »

Arsenio Hall, UA Hillel benefit performer, believes in power of laughter

Arsenio Hall

Arsenio Hall, a comedian, actor and television star, believes in the healing power of laughter, and he surrounds himself with like-minded people. “The greatest thing in the world is laughter, from my son to my friends, laughter keeps you young and it keeps you alive,” says Hall. Nothing impedes… Read more »

UA Hillel director continues to grow Jewish community

Michelle Blumenberg

Michelle Blumenberg, executive director at the University of Arizona Hillel Foundation, has spent her career helping to secure and expand a vibrant Jewish community in Tucson and beyond. “I feel that it’s important to give what I can to help ensure that we have a Jewish community in the… Read more »

Business briefs 1.8.16

MICHELLE BLUMENBERG, executive director of the UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA HILLEL FOUNDATION, and AMALIA MARK, UA Hillel director of Jewish student life, attended the Hillel International Global Assembly in Orlando Dec. 14-17. The convention focused on inclusion of students with disabilities, pluralism and mental health on campus. SIVAN KORN has… Read more »

Tucson gets a Moishe House — without walls

Moishe House Without Walls held a pre-Rosh Hashanah event at Brush N Bottle on Sunday, Sept. 13. Back row: Oren Riback, Alexa Ravit, Eric Natter, Taylor Pfeifer, Allie Healy, Eric Vornholt; front row: Jamie Oko, Emily McDonell, Alyssa Silva, Aimee Katz, Jami O’Rourke, Brandon Hellman (Photo courtesy Alyssa Silva)

A painting and wine class served as more than just a fun night out with friends in the Jewish community this past week. An organization called “Moishe House Without Walls” has been established in Tucson and post-grads from the University of Arizona and beyond are relishing its opportunities. “Every… Read more »