If you live in Arizona, there is an important event happening this Thursday, March 30 at the Valley of the Sun JCC. But don’t worry, if you live anywhere else, you can watch the event virtually. There is no charge, but registration is required:  https://www.ushmm.org/online-calendar/event/wcarizonastpp0323 The post When Extremist Ideas Are No Longer Considered “Extreme” at the Valley of the Sun JCC first appeared on Arizona Jewish Life ..read more

For the past few years, Arizonians needing food assistance have come to the Arizona Kosher Pantry in Phoenix to pick up necessary items. AKP, which has been in operation since 2018, helps  thousands of Arizonans each month, according to azkosherpantry.org. The site also mentioned that  the pantry provides more than 200,000 pounds of food each year. It is stocked with donated or surplus vegetables, fruits, canned goods, milk and kosher fish and meat. The pantry also runs a kosher kitchen that prepares meals for everyone in need. Despite being a kosher p ..read more

    Very rarely in life will you meet someone that is a true inspiration. When I first sat down with Nancy Kravetz, I knew little, apart from the brief research I had conducted before our interview. I knew Nancy was an artist who despite being 85 years old continued to work in her studio every day to sketch and create. However, I did not know the stories of love, passion, work, and family which has allowed Nancy to be so successful throughout her life, and has truly changed the way I view things in my life. At 85 years old, Nancy Kravetz is an illustration of beauty, beaming with en ..read more

The Jewish Tuition Organization (JTO) announces the retirement of Executive Director Linda Zell at the end of July. Linda started with the JTO in 2003 while it was a program within the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. Under her leadership, the JTO grew to be an independent non-profit organization that raises more than $4 million annually. Each year, over 90 percent of donations received go back into the community as scholarships for more than 700 children attending six Jewish day schools. “Linda’s management and fundraising accomplishments have been remarkable. Her efforts will live on in ..read more

Photo: News 360 TV COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — A year ago, Jeff Cohen and three others survived a hostage standoff at their Reform Jewish synagogue in this Fort Worth suburb. Their trauma did not disappear, though, with the FBI’s killing of the pistol-wielding captor, 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram. Healing from the Jan. 15, 2022, ordeal remains an ongoing process. “Let’s be blunt: We’re healing. We’re not healed,” said Cohen, 58, a Lockheed Martin engineer who serves as president of Congregation Beth Israel and its 140-family membership. The 10-hour standoff ended about 9 ..read more

  By Rabbi Dr. Robert L. Kravitz, Jewish Family & Children’s Service   Every New Year presents us with a chance to pause and reflect on the past year. Considered a festive time, many will dress up and attend New Year’s Eve/Day parties and watch football.   As in every special season, our tradition calls upon us to look for moderation in our celebrations. Too much of anything is ‘too much.’ Just as we break the glass at the festive wedding ceremony to balance that joy with the difficulties of our history, we must reign in some of our exuberance as the New Year commences, and ..read more

Nine different law student groups at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law, have begun this new academic year by amending bylaws to ensure that they will never invite any speakers that support Israel or Zionism. If it wasn’t so frightening, one might be able to recognize the irony in the sight of campus progressives trying so hard to signal progressive virtue that they fall victim to a deeper moral shame. Nine different law student groups at the University of California at Berkeley’s School of Law, my own alma mater, have begun this new academic year by a ..read more

Click here to Reserve your seat Living a Life That Matters: from Nazi Nightmare to American Dream  We are very honored to have Ben Lesser as our Holocaust speaker this year. Tickets are available now for the Chandler Center for the Arts. In this engaging, inspiring, and educational Holocaust survivor memoir, Ben Lesser invites you to revisit a time in history when the world went mad. Learn how this ordinary, young Jewish teenager from Krakow, Poland, survived through extraordinary times living in ghettos, enduring four concentration camps — including Auschwitz, Buchenwald and Dachau ..read more

Len Gutman has been named vice president of philanthropic services at Jewish Family & Children’s Service (JFCS). Gutman was most recently the director of philanthropy at Sojourner Center, a subsidiary of JFCS. As vice president of philanthropic services, he will oversee the organization’s overall fundraising and development efforts including working with donors and prospects for annual gifts, major gifts, and planned gifts. He will also be responsible for marketing and communications across the organization. “Len has been an integral part of our philanthropic services team at Sojourner Cen ..read more

Over 300 Birthright Israel Excel Fellows from North America and around the world gathered in New York City this past April for the Excelerate22 Summit. This marked the first time the annual Birthright Israel Excel Summit has been held in person since 2019, a welcome change from the virtual Summits of the last two years. Birthright Israel Excel is a prestigious business fellowship that offers a summer internship in Israel, followed by membership in an exclusive community of peers focused on professional development, personal growth, Israel engagement, and philanthropy. After their internships ..read more