Letter | Arizona is a great place to be a Jew
Image by Getty
Editor:
I was disappointed by Amy Silverman’s June 28 article in the Forward. Arizona is a great place to be a Jew.
While Silverman asks why any Jew would stay in Arizona, the reality is that our Jewish community is active, vibrant and proud of being Jewish in the state.
Arizona is not the right-wing crazy-town Ms. Silverman makes us out to be. Arizona voted for President Biden in the 2020 election and has two Democratic Senators— Mark Kelly and Krysten Sinema. And while it is true that some of our congresspeople helped support the January 6 insurrection, so did representatives from bigger, bluer, Jew-ier states like New York and California.
When it comes to antisemitism, I feel that Arizona is no worse than any other state. The Jewish community of Tucson was devastated by two recent acts of vandalism on our synagogues but part of the reason we were so heartbroken is because those kinds of antisemitic attacks are not something we are used to.
In recent weeks more about 150 Tucsonans gathered to rally against antisemitism— an event conducted in Arizona summer heat with support from our mayor and interfaith leaders.
Arizona is a great place to be a Jew. While it gets very hot in the summer, our people are very comfortable being in the desert. The one thing we lack in Tucson is a Jewish deli… so to any restaurant entrepreneurs out there, our tongues are hanging out for a good corned beef down here.
Sincerely,
Tony Zinman
Tucson, Arizona
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need 300 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Only 300 more gifts needed by April 30
