Valley View

Why is this night different from all other nights?

Dr. David Hirsch’s work with special-needs children was highlighted on the front page of the April 25, 1997 issue of Jewish News, with an adorable photo of the good doctor examining a young patient’s teddy bear.

The former spiritual leader and cantor of Beth Emeth Congregation in Sun City West has died.

Congregation Beth Israel has made two new hires that will shape the congregation in the years to come. Seth Ettinger will start as CBI’s new cantor on July 1. Nicole Berne will serve as the new director of youth engagement and associate camp director starting in May.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost 20 years since the Arizona Diamondbacks debuted in the big leagues.

Anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. rose by 57 percent last year, the largest single-year increase on record. This is according to the Anti-Defamation League 2017 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents, released last month. A significant factor in this trend was a surge in anti-Semitism on college campuses across the U.S.

I’ve seen and written enough bar/bat mitzvah announcements to get a good look at how the youngsters are presenting themselves to the community before their big day. Many of the photos appear professionally shot, with the boy or girl affecting a casual pose, usually in front of an interesting outdoor background. Hair is carefully coiffed for a not-too-polished look and clothes are trendy school casual.

A 60-year friendship between two of the most influential men in baseball history gave a boost to a recent Phoenix Art Museum event.

A significant community-wide effort leading up to Yom Hashoah on April 12 is taking shape across the Valley in order to educate and raise awareness about the Holocaust.

Are you feeling nostalgic yet?

Seth Leibsohn — a talk radio host, author and attorney — is one of five candidates currently registered for the Republican primary for Arizona’s 9th Congressional District, which encompasses Tempe, Ahwatukee and parts of Phoenix, Mesa and Scottsdale.

Graeme Fox just celebrated 11 years of sobriety on March 1. He started using drugs at 15 and injecting heroin at 18. Back then, he was reckless, buying needles off the street and hoping they were clean, or sharing them with friends.

Sometimes the things that connect us are also the things that keep us apart.

For several decades, the Jewish News was published every two weeks. As a result, there was no Jewish News issue near the time President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.

Vice President Mike Pence told a friendly audience at the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., on Monday that he was bringing greetings “from the most pro-Israel president in the history of the United States.”

Nazi infiltrators and U.S. sympathizers plot terrorist attacks and the assassinations of Jewish celebrities, while a police department overrun by Ku Klux Klan members turns a blind eye. With the FBI too preoccupied chasing Communists, it falls to a lawyer, described by his enemies as “the most dangerous Jew in Los Angeles,” to defend America and foil these plots.

How does a cocktail sound the next time you finish working out?

Dr. Lorrie Henderson, CEO of Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Phoenix, offers tips for parents on how to discuss the recent school shooting with their children.

Nationally and locally, hate crimes are on the rise, according to the “Anti-Defamation League (ADL) 2017 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents” released on Tuesday. The report shows that in 2017, Arizona had its largest single-year increase of anti-Semitic incidents on record.

Events

In Arizona, one in six people struggles with food insecurity, according to the Arizonans Preventing Hunger Action Plan 2017. Yecheskel Friedman, co-founder and president of Ezras Cholim of Phoenix (ECP), is quick to point out that this number includes many members of the Jewish community. This is one of the reasons ECP opened the Kosher Food Pantry last week, a kosher food bank available to the community five days a week.

In keeping with the spirit of Purim, perhaps the most irreverent of Jewish holidays, the Chabad of the East Valley’s CTeen program is going to bake what it is dubbing “America’s Largest Hamantash” on Feb. 27. Though Jewish News was unable to confirm if the hamantashen will be the largest in the U.S., with an estimated cooked weight of at least 11 pounds, it’s safe to say it will be one huge pastry.

For decades, a critical component of teaching about the horrors of the Holocaust has been bringing students face to face with survivors.

A crowd of more than 30 people milled about under an awning at the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert last Saturday afternoon. Volunteers with Temple Emanuel of Tempe’s hiking club carefully laid out a veritable cornucopia of snacks and drinks as kids ran around.