Are Jews The Chosen People? Reconciling Chosenness With The Holocaust.
Over the centuries Judaism, Christianity and Islam have each described
themselves as the children of Abraham and as such special and chosen.
It is a claim that has often resulted in the degradation of the other
rather than as a relationship of respect and honor.
In the schedule that follows, we will examine how each faith
community identifying as chosen, understood the meaning and
obligations of that belief as well as the consequences derived from its
denial of that legacy to anyone else.
Banned Book Club: All the Rivers
Join us for our final Banned Book Club of the season! We’ll discuss All the Rivers, a romance novel that has faced censorship from the Israeli educational system.
2900 Miles and Other Jumping Cholla
Serge J-F. Levy was born and lived in New York City for 39 years before moving to the Sonoran Desert. He will be presenting a selection of street, documentary and landscape photography from his 30 year career alongside his writing reflecting on his experience as a Jew in America. Q + A to follow.
Is There A Chosen People? Conflicting Claims of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
Over the centuries Judaism, Christianity and Islam have each described
themselves as the children of Abraham and as such special and chosen.
It is a claim that has often resulted in the degradation of the other
rather than as a relationship of respect and honor.
In the schedule that follows, we will examine how each faith
community identifying as chosen, understood the meaning and
obligations of that belief as well as the consequences derived from its
denial of that legacy to anyone else.
Purim Masquerade Ball
The Purim Masquerade Ball is a community celebration that builds on the tradition and insight of the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society who started the first Purim event in Tucson. Those events helped raise funds for the building of the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory that became the current home for the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center.
In addition to that tradition, TJMHC presents the Queen Esther Award for the individual who works to make our community stronger and safer. The 2024 honoree was Sharon Glassberg.
Masks and costumes are encouraged & prizes awarded at this fun community event!
Ticket and sponsorship information available starting in 2025.
Never Again: Germans and Genocide After the Holocaust, a talk with Dr. Andrew Port
When it comes to German efforts to confront the Nazi past, conventional approaches tend to focus on solemn statements and well-meant monuments.
Never Again: Germans and Genocide after the Holocaust (Belknap/Harvard, 2023) looks instead at the very concrete ways in which postwar Germans embraced the lessons of the Third Reich and the Holocaust—above all in response to other genocides that took place elsewhere after 1945 in places like Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda. This innovative approach makes the lessons, limits, and liabilities of politics driven by memories of a troubled history harrowingly clear.
Behind the Panels: Adapting a Holocaust-era Opera into a Graphic Novel A Talk with Dave Maass
Death Strikes: The Emperor of Atlantis is a new, critically acclaimed graphic novel adaptation of Der Kaiser von Atlantis, a satirical sci-fi opera written in 1943 by two Jewish creators while they were imprisoned in Terezín (Theresienstadt) concentration camp. Writer Dave Maass visits the Tucson Jewish Museum with a visual presentation that covers the research that went into adapting the book for Dark Horse Comics, the secret symbolism and references embedded in the artwork, and how the book came together under the guidance of legendary comics editor Karen Berger (The Sandman).
TJMHC Purim Masquerade Ball!
TJMHC is excited to reimagine Southern Arizona’s original Purim Ball!
In the early 1900s, the Hebrew Ladies Benevolent Society held a Purim Ball to raise funds to build the first synagogue in the Arizona Territory. Built in 1910, this space is now home to the Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center. Make plans now to join us as we celebrate their original vision and determination in creating a heart for Southern Arizona Jewish Life.
Past, Present, Future - The State of Abortion Rights in the State of Arizona
Join us to hear about the history of abortion rights in Arizona, learn about the Arizona Abortion Access Initiative, and discover how you can help advance these efforts! Signature-gathering training will be provided and lunch will be served.
Banned Book Club: All Boys Aren’t Blue
Join us for a conversation on George M. Johnson’s “memoir-manifesto” essay collection on queer Black life
Gallery Chat: Art & Identity at TJMHC
Come learn about the potential overlap between community and art through MOCA Education Manager Harrison Orr’s collaboration with TJMHC in creating our new mural!
Harrison (he/him/his) is the Education Manager at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson and an Adjunct Instructor of Art & Visual Culture Education at The University of Arizona. He earned a BFA in Media Arts and an MA in Art & Visual Culture Education at The University of Arizona.
Jews, Prison, and Spirituality with Dr. Elaine Leeder
Elaine Leeder has spent the last 28 years in and out of prison. Working with both victims and perpetrators, through the lens of Restorative Justice, has shown her that redemption, remorse, and contrition exist behind the walls.
As part of the JCRC's Hineni lecture series, Dr. Leeder will discuss the Jewish values and spirituality like teshuvah (charity), chesed (loving kindness) and tikkun olam (the act of repairing the world) that deeply inform her work.
This talk is co-sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality and Society with generous support from Jewish Philanthropies for Southern Arizona.
Bridging the Gap in Our Jewish History, A Gallery Chat with Joel Alpert, director of JewishGen Press
Ever wonder what the lives of your grandparents or great-grandparents were before they emigrated from Eastern Europe? Imagine finding mention of your ancestors names or even articles about them. This talk discusses a whole genre’ of literature that contains this information. Originally written in Yiddish and Hebrew, these Memorial or Yizkor books are now being translated into English by JewishGen Press. This project is revealing the intimate history of the destroyed Eastern European Jewish communities. Come and hear from Joel Alpert about this work!
Attendees will be able to explore TJMHC’s collection of JewishGen Press materials.
This event is free but pre-registration is required.
Stories from Home: Siglos. Sueños. Sefarad. A dance performance & storytelling workshop
How does one remember what was hidden for so long? In Siglos. Sueños. Sefarad. Tucson-based choreographer Yvonne Montoya explores where ancestral memories live in the body as she remembers the experiences of the Sephardic Jews during and after the Spanish Inquisition. As a direct descendent of the B'nei Anusim of Spain and Portugal, Siglos. Sueños. Sefarad. is dedicated to her Sephardic ancestors who took refuge from the Spanish and Mexican Inquisitions in Northern New Mexico.
Siglos. Sueños. Sefarad. is an excerpt of Stories from Home. Stories From Home is a series of dances embodying the oral traditions of Latino communities in the American Southwest, centering Nuevomexicana, Xicana, and Mexican American bodies, aesthetics, and experiences. Montoya draws upon personal histories as well as ancestral knowledge, including stories from her great-grandmother, grandmother, great-aunts, and father.
The performance will be preceded by a Storytelling + Luminaria making workshop open to participants of all ages.
This event is free but pre-registration is required.
The Lakin Lecture Series on Antisemitism
TJMHC welcomes Dov Waxman to continue our ongoing conversations around antisemitism as we explore the debate around antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and anti-Israel sentiment.
Banned Book Club
Register below for our upcoming Banned Book Club Meeting on Thursday, Jan. 4th at 6 PM!
Starting at 6PM, we will meet for a discussion moderated by artist & educator Lin Lucas
Register at timhc.org/banned-book-club
TJMHC HAS COPIES AVAILABLE FOR LOAN
Communication: A tool for violence, a tool for peace
The JCRC for Tucson & Southern Arizona is proud to present an evening with Rachel Brown, Founder and CEO of Over Zero.
Over Zero was founded in response to the global need to counteract and prevent identity-based violence and other forms of group-targeted harm. In conjunction with Common Ground USA, they are currently working in Arizona three other states in which false narratives and election interference have gained traction, putting them at risk for these and other threats to civil society.
Project Over Zero works in collaboration with local partners to develop effective strategies for preventing and addressing identity-based violence and discrimination, tailoring their approach to the specific needs and challenges of each community.
This event provides a valuable opportunity for individuals and organizations in the Tucson community to learn how communication strategies, from the government, the media, and in our own lives, play an important role in the health of our democracy.
Read more about Over Zero at their website.