Valley View

In 2016, 65.6 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced, more than at anytime since World War II. That’s roughly equivalent to the entire population of the United Kingdom.

Charlotte Adelman was checking her Facebook account in 2016 when she noticed a message that took her back 70 years to when she was hiding under a bed while German soldiers looked for her, nearly stabbing her with a bayonet as they did so. The message was from Alain Quatreville, the son of the family that had hidden Adelman for nine months during the war.

A n immigration policy that separates asylum-seeking parents from their children is drawing criticism from immigration advocates and leaders within the Jewish community, both nationally and here in the Valley.

Rachel Hoffer, a board adviser with Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix’s NowGen program, traveled through Morocco and Spain with Danielle Gross, a first-year member of Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet and a participant in NowGen.

As they do every Memorial Day, local members of the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. (JWV) participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona. They also raised money to benefit organizations providing services for veterans by selling poppies at a number of local Fry’s Food & Drug Stores.

Danielle Gross is a first-year member of Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet.

A Valley native and product of the Arizona public school system, Republican Jonathan Gelbart is one of two Jewish candidates vying to become Arizona’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In the three years since the launch of the Women’s Leadership Institute, participants have added several programs to the Valley’s Jewish communal landscape, including a family camp experience, a teen leadership program and Passover seders for individuals with special needs.

Events

In this week when the United States officially moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we look back to our coverage of the summer and fall of Israel in 1967.

In 2014, the Alzheimer’s Association designated June Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month in order to support those with Alzheimer’s and those caring for them, in addition to promoting early detection. This year, the monthlong observance culminates on the summer solstice, June 21, with The Longest Day, an event offering individuals and groups the opportunity to host private or public events in order to raise money and awareness to support the organization’s continuing service.

George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” played in the background as around 200 attendees mingled and noshed in the social hall on the Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus last Wednesday. They were there for the Legacy Celebration, organized by the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Phoenix, to honor the 2018 signers of the Endowment Book of Life and celebrate the success of the local Life & Legacy program.

OK, I admit it: I chose to flash back to this date because this issue of Jewish News was published one day after I was born. As I thumbed through the issue, I was pleased to find a photo and small story about Phoenix’s second successful and permanently established synagogue.

Jessica Knight was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer in September 2013. Married to a marine, Knight and her family moved around every couple of years. At the time of her diagnosis. they were living in Vienna, Virginia, and Knight hadn’t yet connected with a synagogue.

For their first-round draft selection, the Arizona Cardinals chose former University of California, Los Angeles quarterback Josh Rosen, who is Jewish, as the 10th overall pick.

Ariel Rosen once dreamed of being an actress. Raised in Scottsdale, Rosen went to Fordham University in New York to study theater. But these days, the 34-year-old prefers to be behind the camera, directing videos for her health and wellness social media channel, Vegan Sprouts.

Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix has announced $1.7 million in allocations for 2018 that focus on the organization’s four core impact areas: enriching senior lives, engaging the next generation, building community and supporting Israel and Jewish communities worldwide. Federation gave $979,520 to its local strategic partners, agencies that are supported for their longevity, impact in the community and breadth of programming.

Rabbi Mari Chernow realized the remodel of the small sanctuary at Temple Chai had really made a difference when one young congregant entered and told her mother, “It smells like Shabbat.”

Fashion made the front page of the Feb. 24, 1978, issue of Jewish News. A fashion show was part of the United Jewish Welfare Fund Women’s Division 1978 campaign effort. Guests at a fundraising luncheon were treated to a look at the latest fashions from Saks Fifth Avenue.

When Nathan Sachs, the founder and owner of Blueprints for Tomorrow, a financial services company based in Scottsdale, considered teaching classes at the Valley of the Sun JCC (The J), it wasn’t a tough call.

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program recipients will no longer be eligible for in-state college tuition in Arizona, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled last week, sparking the ire of those advocating on behalf of the so-called Dreamer community, including some local Jewish nonprofits.

There’s no doubt that the declaration of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948, was both joyous and frightening for the Valley’s Jewish community. A day after Israel’s future and first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, declared the establishment of the Jewish state, Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq attacked the fledgling nation.

Yityish Aynaw’s life reads like a modern fairy tale, full of early tragedy, a great journey and even a happily ever after. Born in northwest Ethiopia near the city of Gondar, her father died when she was 2 during the long war with Eritrea.

Violins of Hope Phoenix, a project of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, was recently awarded a grant from the Newton and Betty Rosenzweig Fund for the Arts through the Arizona Community Foundation. The Violins of Hope project showcases instruments used by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust, with concerts and exhibitions around the world. It will come to Phoenix in 2019.