Twenty-five faith leaders from 19 different congregations spent the day in conversation and fellowship. For many, it was their first visit to the museum. Immigration attorney Alba Jaramillo, a longtime local advocate for human rights and co-executive director of the Immigration Law & Justice Network, presented the keynote and shared disturbing tales of the current immigration and detention landscape. She cited the increased militarization and violence surrounding immigration enforcement, even though immigration policy is a matter of civil rather than criminal law in this country.

I am blessed and honored to be involved with the Southern Arizona Holocaust survivors. They are inspiring to the school children they talk to on tours as they show an insurmountable amount of strength and courage when discussing their experiences in concentration camps, ghettos, cattle cars, and the journeys they took to come to America. They do not let tragedy define who they are. They use it as a tool to teach others that what they experienced should never happen again.

On behalf of Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center’s Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Lynn Davis as the museum’s Interim Executive Director.

She assumes that role effective June 1, 2026 and will work alongside our outgoing director, Lori Shepherd, through the end of June.

I am blessed and honored to be involved with the Southern Arizona Holocaust survivors. They are inspiring to the school children they talk to on tours as they show an insurmountable amount of strength and courage when discussing their experiences in concentration camps, ghettos, cattle cars, and the journeys they took to come to America. They do not let tragedy define who they are. They use it as a tool to teach others that what they experienced should never happen again.

On Sunday, April 12, the Southern Arizona community came together to commemorate Yom HaShoah, a day of remembrance for the Holocaust.

Together, we mourned the six million Jewish lives lost and we honored those who, against the greatest of odds, survived. We extoll the virtues of those who put themselves in harm’s way to save others, often people they had never met. And we gave thanks for the liberators who, through their own sacrifices, helped restore humanity amid chaos and devastation.

This year’s Yom HaShoah commemoration, “The Legacies We Leave Behind,” will be held on Sunday, April 12, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. in the Paul and Alice Baker Ballroom at the Tucson Jewish Community Center (The J). All are welcome but registration is required.

In June of 2025, Jim Dannenberg traveled with five of his distant cousins, all American-born and largely strangers to one another, to Falkenberg, Germany, to lay Stolpersteine, or “stumbling stones,” in memory of relatives who were murdered or expelled by their neighbors during the Holocaust. 

Their journey revealed a small renewal of Jewish life since Dan's visits to the region in the 1990s, alongside the rise of far-right, nationalist political groups. 

Read more about Dan's family's story on our blog.

At Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center, Black History Month invites us to reflect on the ways that our work fits into a broader context. When we tell the stories of Jews in Southern Arizona since the late 1800s, it’s important to situate Jewish experiences alongside those of their neighbors.

The work that we do - of educating about the Holocaust and other genocides, gaining an understanding past events as a means of preventing future atrocities - is not the work of a single day. Nor can it be accomplished in one interview, or one school tour, or one visit to our museum. The work of creating compassion and building a more equitable community is a process.

Triumph in Tragedy, a new traveling exhibit honoring Arizona’s local Holocaust survivors, was recently installed in our Holocaust Center. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Arizona Jewish Historical Society and Hilton Family Holocaust Education Center. The segment on view at TJMHC features Holocaust survivor and Tucson resident, Andrew Schot.

The importance of connecting with our neighbors, our community, and our schools, to build a better tomorrow.

Members of Tucson’s Multifaith for Pride Coalition are celebrating the recent passage of a City Council resolution that reaffirms the rights of transgender individuals in our community while, at the same time, recognizing the “disproportionate risks of harassment, violence, barriers to essential services, and legislative threats that undermine their human dignity.”

Nearly ninety years later, Kristallnacht still speaks to us with unmistakable urgency. Its anniversary reminds us that hate, if left unchecked, inevitably escalates. We must continue to study, teach, and recognize the warning signs of hatred and genocide. We cannot turn away from persecution and violence. When we see something, we must say something. We must stand firmly against antisemitism and all forms of identity-based hate.

For almost fifty years, Lynda Rogoff has been a beautifully vocal fixture of Tucson's Jewish community, leaving an indelible mark through her extensive and deeply personal volunteer work. Her decades of service, which began shortly after she moved to Tucson with her husband, Ed, have woven her into the very fabric of Southern Arizona’s Jewish community. From leading organizations to passionately sharing history, Lynda's contributions have enriched the lives of many and helped preserve a vital part of Tucson's heritage.

And so it goes at Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center.

This is what the fundraising is for: to always be here when the community needs it. The mission of TJMHC is year-round and always needs your support. “Educate, Explore, Preserve, and Collaborate” is not tied to the calendar year, school year, or the seasons.  Your investment can come at any time, multiple times during the year, when you feel particularly connected.  

Whether the students go on to become educators, police officers, or community leaders, we hope they carry forward the understanding that the lessons learned at TJMHC are not just about the past. They’re about building a more just future.

So much of the three-day summit echoed the mission of Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center. Every day, we empower local educators with the tools they need, create innovative opportunities for Tucson students, and serve as an integral part of local community collaborations. Each of these is a key piece in the fight to end antisemitism and identity-based hate in all its forms.

Think of the possibilities open to you as you move through these High Holidays. Which ones will you grasp tightly and use to guide you in returning to your best self?