Everything changed on October 7th, 2023.The world felt different; more frightening, more chaotic, more imbalanced. Collectively, Jews all over the globe felt the horrific pain that Hamas had inflicted.   At first, we felt the world had our backs. We believed any civilized culture supported us after the worst genocidal attack against Jews since the holocaust.  After all our devotion to social justice, our loyalty to those in pain, our commitment to support those without a voice, it was time for the world to stand with us, to make sure every hostage would be released.   But as tim ..read more

  In celebration of Jewish Disability Advocacy Day 2024, the Union for Reform Judaism, Jewish Federations of North America, Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies, and 107 additional national, state, and local Jewish organizations sent the following letter to the 118th Congress: Dear Members of the 118th Congress, Representing the collective voice of 110 undersigned Jewish national, state, and local organizations, we thank you for the bipartisan strides achieved so far in the 118th Congress for people with disabilities. As the second session of the 118th Congress begins, we urge you to ..read more

TUCSONANSBy Phyllis Braun Sadness, anger, hope, and resilience. Todd Rockoff, president and CEO of the Tucson Jewish Community Center (JCC), felt all these emotions and more on a JCC Association Board Solidarity Mission (JCCA) to Israel in January. “I felt a great pull to be there,” he says, to bear witness and “to support our brothers and sisters in Israel” in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas terrorists murdered 1,200 people and took 240 hostages. Rockoff, who helped organize the trip for 40 JCCA participants, says it hurt to be in Tucson, far from our ancestral Jewish homeland, and it hurt to ..read more

Please join StandWithUs by taking action on any of  FIVE active campaigns seeking to hold institutions accountable for rising antisemitism under their leadership! Join StandWithUs in Urging UC Berkeley to hold fully accountable all those who broke campus policies and attacked Jewish and Israeli students on February 26, 2024.   Jewish and Israeli students at UC Berkeley have endured antisemitic discrimination and harassment on campus for years. Tensions came to a head on February 26th, when anti-Israel students held a “p ..read more

Tucson J President and CEO, Todd Rockoff will serve on the inaugural advisory board for a new organization called Global Jewry, joining a coalition of 225 prominent Jewish thought leaders from all over the world. Global Jewry is a grassroots effort to broaden and strengthen the ties that bind the Jewish people to one another by highlighting shared values, celebrating shared history and working together to chart a shared future. Its mission is to provide a platform that fosters unity, support, and celebration of Jewish heritage. Among the advisory board members are JCC Association of North ..read more

New Program Provides Educators With Skills and Approaches to Engage with ‘Complexities Around Conflicts’  Amid new challenges and realities facing Israel and Jewish communities around the world, educators are seeking new skills and approaches to engage with the complexities around conflicts. To meet this demand, The iCenter’s Conflict of Interest (COI) Certificate Program gathers educators from around North America to provide them with the necessary competencies to educate about conflicts in their unique educational setting. “We need to approach the conflict and not avoid it. In ..read more

A hybrid event (in-person and virtual) by Rabbi Sharon Brous Arizona Jews for Justice presents and Temple Solel present Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World   ABOUT THE EVENT: The Amen Effect: Ancient Wisdom to Mend Our Broken Hearts and World (on-sale: 1/9/24), makes the case that in an era of loneliness, social alienation and ideological extremism, our deepest spiritual work is finding our way to one other—in celebration, sorrow, and solidarity. Relationships of care and curiosity, Brous argues, are essential to both personal healing and social change. This is how ..read more

The Jewish Tuition Organization (JTO) announces Chad Mandelbaum as its newly elected Board President. Mandelbaum will take the reins from outgoing Board President Fred Wabnik, who served as Board President for seven years. “The board appreciates the many years Fred served as Board President and I’m looking forward to working with the dedicated Board and Staff as we build on a great foundation to provide Jewish day school education to students, regardless of financial ability,” stated Mandelbaum. “There is so much potential to make a difference for our community today and for the future, and I ..read more

Contemporary abstract artist Lily Stockman discusses her work, drawn from nature and its grammar of symmetry, camouflage, and repetition to create large-scale abstract paintings, during the spring Lenhardt Lecture Lenhardt Lecture: Lily Stockman Cocktail Hour 5:30pm Artist Talk 6:30 – 8pm // Whiteman Hall TICKETS: Free for Members | $5 for the general public Join contemporary artist Lily Stockman for the spring Lenhardt Lecture. Based in Los Angeles and Yucca Valley, California, Stockman draws from nature and its grammar of symmetry, camouflage, and repetition to create large-scale abstr ..read more

Lee Berk, former Berklee College of Music president, namesake, and music legend, created a unique concert venue in Phoenix, Arizona when he moved to Sagewood, a senior living community. The concert venue recently hosted its 100th live concert in honor of Lee Berk who passed last year. It was his mission to bring music and its many benefits to seniors. Sagewood, a Life Plan Community featuring a resort-style setting in Phoenix, recently hosted their 100th live concert at the Oasis Performance Center, the community’s onsite concert venue. Woody’s Place Presents, a resident led production te ..read more