Valley View

Events

Starting in November, students affiliated with Arizona State University will have the opportunity to try something new: visit Jewish communities around the world without leaving the Valley.

Whether it’s creating a national clothing line, running a unique restaurant/playspace in downtown Phoenix or teaching boxing, Steve Rosenstein has many irons in the fire — and that’s the way he likes it.

Every summer, Bruce and Barbara Goldberg of Phoenix escape the city’s oppressive heat by retreating to their Flagstaff vacation home. They love having their grandchildren visit for the summer, and are thrilled to give them the special treat of attending Northern Arizona’s only Jewish day camp, Camp Canyon, which emphasizes outdoor adventure.

One might have expected a somber tone at the Jewish National Fund’s “Gaza Border Crisis: The Trauma, the Damage, the Needs” town hall. However, despite the harrowing circumstances that were described and shown, there was a strong sense of strength, hope and gratitude displayed from the Israeli speakers.

Events

Jennifer Samuels doesn’t describe herself as a politician, but rather as a teacher with a wealth of experience who is willing to fight in the Arizona Legislature for a strong future in education.

“I want our politicians to get back to being, ‘We’re Arizonans first, and we’re Democrats and Republicans second,’” said Aaron Lieberman, a Democrat who’s running in the Aug. 28 primary for a state house seat in Legislative District 28.

Krystal has faced some of the many challenges young adults who have aged out of foster care deal with such as homelessness, pregnancy, drug abuse, mental illness and unemployment.

A change in top leadership at the Jewish Community Relations Council isn’t stopping the organization from continuing to pursue its mission.

Long commutes are nothing new for those living in Los Angeles, but Rabbi Allison Lawton’s commute may look a little different than most.

As the Jewish Genetics Diseases Center of Greater Phoenix prepares for a community screening in Scottsdale on Aug. 19, Wendy Carriere, executive director of the center, still feels the presence of late co-founder Dr. Sherman Minkoff in every decision she makes.

As many readers in the Valley’s Jewish community know, I am not Jewish. I was raised a Catholic in a Mexican-American neighborhood in El Paso, Texas, and somehow ended up in the “Jewish part of town.” I learned about Judaism from my friends and their parents. I learned to respect Judaism from my parents.

Growing up in the Soviet Union in the 1980s, in what is now Uzbekistan, Arthur Rothstein still recalls the challenges of life under a totalitarian regime and the rampant anti-Semitism that went with it.

Elad Nehorai — the writer of the popular blog Pop Chassid and a contributor to the Forward, Haaretz and other Jewish media outlets — was drawn to spirituality from a young age.

In our weekly Flashback section, we go into our archives to find treasures we can share with you. This week, we have a recollection from Dan Abrams, who has lived in Phoenix since 1946 and recently retired from Abrams Realty & Management. Here, he shares his connection to the early days of the Jewish News and its first publisher. 

When Congregation Beth Tefillah was founded in 2010, the fledgling Orthodox synagogue consisted of just a few families and Rabbi Pinchas Allouche.

Sheryl Press is the director of Campaign & Women’s Philanthropy for Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. She and 10 other Valley Jewish leaders in the community took part in Jewish Federations of North America’s mission to Berlin and Budapest. Here are her reflections on the trip.

It was looking like a very good year for the Jewish Tuition Organization of Greater Phoenix and the state’s corporate private school tax credit program.

“The Reds,” “The Red Scare,” “The Red Menace.” Those of us who lived during the Cold War remember hearing those phrases or at least being familiar with them. As part of the last generation to enter adulthood with the Soviet Union still in existence, the phrase I most remember was President Ronald Reagan’s “The Evil Empire.”

This Community page features photos of community members around the Valley and the world. Submit photos and details each week to photos@jewishaz.com by 10 a.m. Monday.

Events

Summer in Arizona is the deadliest time of the year. With temperatures regularly hovering between 110 and 115 degrees, the homeless are particularly vulnerable, especially when they lack access to drinking water.

With excessive heat warnings expected to be in effect across the Valley and the Southwest this weekend, sisterhoods from a number of synagogues are heading north to Flagstaff to beat the heat and attend the Women of Reform Judaism Southwest Area Day, also called “ReJEWvinating in the Forest.” It is the first WRJ Area Day to take place in Flagstaff.