Tagged Weintraub Israel Center

Shinshinim hosts grateful for opportunity

Seated (L-R): Leah Avuno, Yoni Weiner, Bar Alkaher; standing: Téa, Tamir, Erin, Elana, Joshua, Jackie and Naomi Weiner (Courtesy Naomi Weiner)
March 30, 2017 / Renee Claire, Special to the AJP

If your heart longs to visit Israel, but time doesn’t allow, consider the opportunity to bring a vibrant piece of Israel to your home. The Shinshinim Young Ambassadors Program sends Israeli high school graduates to communities all over the world to work in Jewish educational and cultural institutions (see… Read more »

Israeli Partnership2Gether delegates get inside look at Tucson community

Tucsonan Goggy Davidowitz takes part in a Partnership2Gether team- building exercise at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Feb. 27. (David J. Del Grande)
March 30, 2017 / David J. Del Grande, AJP Staff Writer

Hosting the annual Partnership2Gether leadership mission in Tucson this year was ambitious and quite successful, says Oshrat Barel, director of the Weintraub Israel Center. Six partnership delegates from Israel, Tucson delegates and local community stakeholders spent a week, from Feb. 26-March 5, discussing the program, its strengths and ways… Read more »

Local firefighters drop everything to help Israel battle blazes

Randy Odgen, right, who retired Dec. 5 from Mt. Lemmon Fire District, where he served as fire chief for six and a half years, helps battle a five-story apartment fire in Jerusalem on Nov. 29. All residents were evacuated safely and the fire was contained. Ogden, who retired from the Tucson Fire Department in June 2010 after 33 years of service, says of his Israel deployment, “I am privileged to end my career as I began it, running calls and hauling hoses as a firefighter.” (Arik Abouloff)
December 15, 2016 / Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

As soon as she heard about the hundreds of fires raging through Israel late last month, Marcela Donovan Hammond expected a call. Having just completed her Emergency Volunteer Project training in Israel in September  the Nogales firefighter, arson investigator and mother of six was prepared to drop everything at… Read more »

In focus 8.12.16
August 12, 2016 /

Rep. McSally visits Holocaust History Center Jewish History Museum board member Leonard Schultz shows U.S. Rep. Martha McSally photos of his parents-in-law, Rachel and Rachmil Kane, in the Holocaust survivor exhibit at the Holocaust History Center. McSally visited the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum on July… Read more »

Session to outline emergency volunteer project in Israel
June 23, 2016 /

The Greater Tucson Fire Foundation will host an information session about the Emergency Volunteer Project, an opportunity for professional volunteer opportunities in Israel, on Sunday, June 26, from 2-4 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The project’s mission is to recruit, train and deploy dedicated individuals who will… Read more »

In focus 6.10.16
June 9, 2016 /

Happy birthday, Israel The Weintraub Israel Center capped off Tucson Celebrates Israel Week with a family-friendly Yom Huledet L’Yisrael (Happy Birthday Israel) party at the Tucson Jewish Community Center on Sunday, May 15. The event included Israeli party games, party favors and birthday cake.       Lag B’Omer… Read more »

Israeli teen emissaries to be newest link in Tucson-Israel chain

Under the auspices of the Weintraub Israel Center, Leah Avuno and Bar Alkaher, Israeli teen emissaries who will arrive in Tucson in August, hold a Skype conference with local Jewish educators. The teens are known as “Shinshinim,” from the Hebrew letter “shin’’ that starts each word in the program’s Hebrew title, “Shnat Sherut Shlishit” (third year of service). (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)
May 26, 2016 / Karen Schaffner, AJP Intern

A year of service will soon begin for two Israeli teens and their work will bring them here to Tucson. Leah Genei Avuno, 17, of Kiryat Malachi and Bar Alkaher, 17, of Shimshit will arrive here at the beginning of August and they cannot wait to dig in. They are… Read more »

First WIC Israel trip sparks new insights, spiritual connections

Weintraub Israel Center trip participants at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem. Kneeling (L-R): Jane Rodda, Fernanda Quintanilla, Oshrat Barel, Steve Weintraub, Jeff Artzi (standing, wth wreath) and Nicky Anspach. Standing, first row: Carlos Hernandez, Nora Navarro-Hernandez, Deborah Yoklic, James Whitehill, Sally Trattner, Iris Posin, Conrad Plimpton, Stephen Caine, Barbara Yamada, Linda Behr, Stan Behr, Marcia Wiener, Irene Watkins, Linda Horowitz, Martin Horowitz, Phyllis Mack, Ray Carroll and Muki Jankelowitz (guide). Second row: Carol Weinstein, Judith Brown, Richard Fertal, Ken Miller, Karen Paulsen-Balch, Marisa Balch and Riann Balch. Third row: Morris Riback, Paula Riback, Rebecca Crow, Rick Edwards, Neal Savage, Marilyn Medwied, Heather Caine, Myles Beck and Richard Spears. Not pictured: John Crow, Sherry Hoffman-Blum, Tracy Salkowitz, John Winchester and Denise Wolf. (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)
March 17, 2016 / Karen Schaffner, AJP Intern

When Tucsonan Nora Navarro-Hernandez, who is not Jewish, visited the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem for the first time, she had a real awakening. She was there for Shabbat. “I thought it was going to be quiet and really solemn,” she says. “I didn’t think there was going to be… Read more »

Multifaith ‘Thank G-d for Israel’ event planned
February 18, 2016 /
Jim Showers

The Weintraub Israel Center will present “Thank G-d for Israel,” an event showcasing multifaith support for Israel, on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 2:30 p.m. at the Tucson Jewish Community Center. The keynote speaker will be Jim Showers, executive director of Friends of Israel, a worldwide Christian ministry founded in… Read more »

Israel trip gives Tucson J staff new insights, ways to connect with community

Tucson Jewish Comunity Center staff members and Israeli chefs prepare a communal meal Nov. 16. Guests include the staffs of the Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon community centers and members of the Partnership2Gether steering committe. (L-R) Todd Rockoff, Abby Gettinger, Lisa Delyria, Stacy Ramsower, Christina Pugh, Denise Wolf, Chef Yael Shamir, Chef Maya Klein, Travis Fischer, Chef Sahar Rafael, Lynn Davis, Sue DeBenedette, Oshrat Barel. The Israeli chefs, joined by Chef Orly Varon Shushan, will visit Tucson in May for the Israel Festival.
December 4, 2015 / Michael Miklofsky, Special to the AJP

Jewish culture and connection were the focus of a recent Tucson Jewish Community Center staff trip to Israel. The group of 10 returned to Tucson from their 12-day trip on Nov. 19 with a renewed sense of purpose. The Tucson J staff joined with delegations from the Shimon and… Read more »

Top Israeli first responders train, consult with Tucson experts

Chief Les Caid of Rio Rico Fire District, in blue shirt, with Israelis, from left, Guy Caspi, Magen David Adom; Brig. Gen. Shmulik Friedman, Israel Fire and Rescue Authority; Lt. Col. Ariel Blitz, Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command; Maj. Sivan Inbar, Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command. Not pictured: Avi Borger, National Emergency Management Authority (Firefighters Beyond Borders Facebook page)
November 19, 2015 / Nancy Ben-Asher Ozeri, Special to the AJP

“When we train for mass casualty incidents, we know that the blood isn’t real and when the training is over, everyone is going to stand up and walk away. How does Israel deal with real mass casualty incidents that can happen every day?” That question by Tucson Fire Department… Read more »

Senior Israeli first responders to greet Tucsonans at Q&A
October 8, 2015 /

The Weintraub Israel Center and the Greater Tucson Fire Foundation will present “Israeli Response and Readiness —Terrorism and Natural Disasters,” a meet and greet and Q&A with the senior officials who develop and implement Israel’s emergency preparedness, response and recovery services, on Monday, Oct. 19, from 5:30-7 p.m. at… Read more »

Israel trip offer expands on ‘people to people’ connections

Members of a Partnership2Gether group celebrate together in Israel. (Jewish Agency for Israel)
June 11, 2015 / Craig S. Baker, Special to the AJP

The Weintraub Israel Center has embraced the mission of creating a “living bridge” between Southern Arizona and Israel since it was founded in 1997. At the forefront of this mission are the Israeli shlichim — Hebrew for “messengers” or “emissaries” — who serve as directors of the WIC during… Read more »

Ethiopian aliyah stories resonate amid protest
May 14, 2015 / Oshrat Barel, Special to the AJP
Oshrat Barel

Ethiopian protest in Israel It’s been more than 30 years since the first immigrants came from Ethiopia to Israel. As a young teenager I remember the new immigrants coming to the merkaz klita (absorption center) in Revaya next to my hometown. My mother volunteered as the chair of the… Read more »

IDF doctor to speak on post-traumatic stress
April 30, 2015 /
Eyal Fruchter

Eyal Fruchter, M.D., a retired Israel Defense Forces colonel who served as a military doctor, flight surgeon and military psychiatrist, will lead the keynote session of a conference on “Cause and Effect of Post-Traumatic Stress” on Thursday, May 14 at the Tucson Jewish Community Center, presented by the Greater… Read more »

Revamped Tucson J stresses myriad pathways to wellness

New treadmills in The J’s modernized sports and wellness center look out at the Tucson Mountains.
March 19, 2015 / Phyllis Braun, AJP Executive Editor

After several years of planning and fundraising and more than nine months of construction, the Tucson Jewish Community Center will hold the official grand opening of its new 15,000-square-foot sports and wellness center on Sunday, March 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day will start with a… Read more »

Scholar to parse debate on Israel’s proposed National Identity Law, human rights
February 5, 2015 / Sheila Wilensky, AJP Associate Editor
Leonard Hammer

As an Israeli lawyer and legal scholar for more than two decades, Leonard Hammer, Ph.D., is well-equipped to discuss Israel’s complex juncture of religion and democracy. Hammer, the David and Andrea Stein visiting professor of modern Israel studies at the University of Arizona, will speak on “Israel’s Proposed National… Read more »