Giffords: ‘Shame’ on senators who voted down gun checks

Published on April 18, 2013

The U.S. senators who defeated a bill that would toughen background checks for gun purchasers "brought shame on themselves," former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords said.

Loughner’s parents acted on signs of danger before Giffords attack

Published on March 28, 2013

The parents of Jared Loughner, concerned by his erratic behavior, confiscated a gun and disabled his car in the months before the killing spree that critically wounded congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Obama pledges to stand with Israel, stop Iranian bomb, in State of the Union

Published on February 13, 2013

President Obama pledged to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb and to "stand steadfast" with Israel in his State of the Union speech.

Giffords opens Senate hearings on gun control

Published on January 30, 2013

Gabrielle Giffords, the former congresswoman who survived a shooting that killed six people, opened U.S. Senate hearings on gun violence.

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords launches gun-control initiative

Published on January 8, 2013

Former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who was severely wounded two years ago in an Arizona shooting, is launching a group aimed at curbing gun violence and raising enough money to challenge the well-funded gun lobby.

Giffords meets with Newtown officials to talk gun control

Published on January 7, 2013

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords traveled to Newtown, Conn., to discuss gun control with local and state officials.

Jewish groups push for action on gun control

Published on December 18, 2012

In the wake of the shooting rampage in Newtown, Conn., Jewish groups are looking to build alliances and back legislation to strengthen gun control laws.

Let’s not lose our political voice

By Sam Yebri
Published on November 8, 2012

Something in our DNA inspired Jews to be a voice for social justice and public service in America. Jews have served at all levels of civic leadership since the founding of this country.

Gabby Giffords faces Tucson assailant as he is sentenced to life

Published on November 8, 2012

Former Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords stood in federal court to face her would-be assassin on Thursday moments before he was sentenced to life in prison for killing six people and wounding 13 others, including Giffords, last year.

Jared Loughner to plead guilty in Arizona shooting spree

Published on August 6, 2012

Jared Loughner, the man accused of killing six people and wounding then-U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in 2011, is set to plead guilty in a Tucson court on Tuesday, a person familiar with the case said.

Livni, Giffords on Newsweek’s influential women list

Published on March 6, 2012

Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni and several American Jews, including former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, were included in Newsweek's 150 "Women Who Shake the World."

Psychologist: Loughner not yet ready for trial

Published on February 3, 2012

Jared Loughner is not yet competent to stand trial, according to the court-appointed psychologist in the case of the shooting that wounded Gabrielle Giffords.

Rep. Giffords, Health Insurance and Inclusion

By Michelle K. Wolf
Published on January 23, 2012

Gabby Giffords: a Woman of True Courage

By Misha Henckel
Published on January 22, 2012

Video: Giffords announces resignation from Congress

By Brad A. Greenberg
Published on January 22, 2012

Giffords attends vigil marking attack anniversary

Published on January 9, 2012

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords led the Pledge of Allegiance at a vigil marking the one-year anniversary of an attack on the congresswoman and her constituents at a political event.

2011’s Top 10 Jews in the news (Like them, or not)

By JewishJournal.com
Published on December 26, 2011

Last year, we started our Top Jew of the Year list by featuring “Jews who embody the best in Jewish values.” For 2011, however, we had to readjust our thinking a bit. Below, a list of Jews in the News, with the best of the Tribe up top, and the rest…well, you’ll see.

US Rep. Giffords says she feels “pretty good”

Published on November 15, 2011

Speaking on camera for the first time since she was shot in the head in January, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords said she feels "pretty good," in an excerpt of an ABC interview shown on Thursday.

Giffords learns identities of shooting victims

Published on August 21, 2011

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) has learned the identities of those killed in a shooting attack during a meet-the-constituents event at which she was also shot.

Giffords’ doctor OKs her run

Published on August 4, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords' neurosurgeon says that the Arizona congresswoman could run for re-election.

With debt deal, Jews’ fight and worries shift to new ‘super committee’

Published on August 2, 2011

Even before the debt deal was signed Tuesday in Washington, U.S. Jewish groups and recipients of government largesse were asking the same question: Who’s going to get cut?

Giffords votes in House; colleague says preparations readying for re-election run

Published on August 2, 2011

Following her dramatic return to Congress for the first time since she was shot, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords announced that she would run for re-election in 2012.

Zuckerberg, Bibi head list of Top 50 Jews

Published on July 26, 2011

Mark Zuckerberg and Benjamin Netanyahu head The Jerusalem Post’s second annual list of the world’s 50 Top Jews.

Gabby Giffords makes first public appearance

Published on June 28, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) made her first public appearance since being wounded in a tragic shooting in Tucson, Arizona earlier this year in which numerous victims were hurt or had their lives taken, ABC News reports.

Giffords released from hospital

Published on June 16, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in January, was released from the hospital. Giffords' release Wednesday came days after the release of photos of the congresswoman taken in May.

Photos of Gabrielle Giffords released five months after shooting

Published on June 12, 2011

Photos of a smiling Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head in January, were released on her Facebook page.

Suspected Giffords shooter declared unfit for trial—for now

Published on May 25, 2011

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Gifford's alleged assailant, Jared Loughner, has been ruled unfit for trial but will be reassessed in four months. U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns, ruling Wednesday in Tucson that Loughner does not "have a rational understanding of the proceedings" at this time, sent him to a psychiatric facility and ordered a new hearing for Sept. 21 to reassess his fitness to stand trial.

Reform cites Giffords shooting in urging clip ban

Published on April 28, 2011

The Reform movement cited the attack that seriously wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six others in urging Congress to ban high-capacity ammunition clips. "The clips can hold 30, 50 or even 100 rounds, enabling shooters to cause serious casualties before needing to reload," read the letter that Rabbi David Saperstein, the director of the movement's Religious Action Center, sent to all members of Congress.

Rep. Giffords to attend husband’s shuttle launch

Published on April 26, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in January, will attend the space shuttle launch captained by her husband. Giffords (D-Ariz.) was given the go-ahead by her doctors to attend the launch, her husband Mark Kelly said in a CBS interview broadcast Monday.

The politicization of everything

Published on April 12, 2011

How do you take one of the most shocking and revolting murder sprees in memory and make it even more disturbing? By pouncing on its supposed root causes for transparently partisan purposes.

Giffords may attend husband’s shuttle launch

Published on March 14, 2011

There is "a good possibility" that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in January, will attend the space shuttle launch in April captained by her husband. "We think there's a good possibility that she will be there," one of Giffords' neurologists, Dong Kim, told The Washington Post over the weekend, echoing similar statements to other media outlets by other Giffords' physicians and aides.

Alleged Tucson gunman Jared Lee Loughner indicted on 49 counts

By JewishJournal.com
Published on March 4, 2011

Eight weeks after the tragic shooting in Arizona Jared Lee Loughner was indicted on 49 counts including murder and attempted murder Friday.

Rabbi talks about Gabrielle Giffords’ status, connection to faith [VIDEO]

Published on March 4, 2011

Gabrielle Giffords continues her recovery in Houston.

UPDATE: Gabrielle Giffords continues her recovery in Houston

By JewishJournal.com
Published on March 4, 2011

Eight weeks after the tragedy that struck Arizona, Gabrielle Giffords continues to recover in Houston.

Giffords speaks for first time since shooting

Published on February 9, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords spoke for the first time since she was shot. C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Giffords (D-Ariz.), told CNN on Wednesday that she had asked for toast.

Giffords upgraded to ‘good,’ begins rehab

Published on January 27, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has been moved from a hospital to a rehabilitation center. Giffords (D-Ariz.) , who was shot in the head on Jan. 8 while meeting constituents in Tucson, was moved Wednesday from a Houston hospital to the city's Institute for Rehabilitation and Research. Doctors said her condition was now "good."

Loughner pleads not guilty in Tucson shooting

By JewishJournal.com
Published on January 24, 2011

Jared L. Loughner, who the police said was responsible for the shooting rampage outside a Tucson supermarket on Jan. 8, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges that he tried to murder Representative Gabrielle Giffords and two of her aides. Appearing in Federal District Court alongside his defense lawyer, Judy Clarke, Mr. Loughner entered a written plea to Judge Larry A. Burns of San Diego without uttering a word.

Santa Monica Shabbat service advocates for gun control

By Ryan Torok
Published on January 19, 2011

Politics and religion were intermingled during Friday night Shabbat services in Santa Monica on Jan. 14. In the wake of the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., which also left six dead and 13 others wounded, clergy and congregants at the Reform synagogue Beth Shir Shalom addressed the need for gun control. The service also commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day and mourned performer and composer Debbie Friedman, who died on Jan. 9 at the age of 59. Yet the Tucson shooting remained the focus of the Santa Monica service, which approximately 200 people attended. Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels spoke fervently, saying, “I can’t tolerate a country that doesn’t take weaponry off the street.”

Is Gabby Giffords Jewish enough?

Published on January 18, 2011

As a Conservative rabbi and a member of the movement's Rabbinical Assembly, I cannot officially consider Jewish descent to be determined patrilineally -- from the father. In fact, in its Code of Professional Conduct, the section detailing the responsibilities for membership in the Rabbinical Assembly currently lists four standards of religious practice. The first: "Matrilineality determines Jewish status." Yet like many Jews who regard Jewish status to require a Jewish mother or proper conversion, I admit to feeling pride when a Jewish athlete or celebrity is successful, even if their "Jewishness" isn't technically defined by halachic standards. After all, when Major League Baseball player Ryan Braun won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2007, should the Jewish community have refused to claim the "Hebrew Hammer" as one of our own since only his father is a member of the Tribe? Braun considers himself to be Jewish, and his Israeli-born father lost most of his family in the Holocaust.

Giffords’ husband urges volunteer service

Published on January 17, 2011

The husband of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is urging Americans to volunteer in their communities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "Many of you have asked how you can help and how you can honor the memory of those who were wounded or lost their lives. What united the victims of the tragedy on Saturday was service – they volunteered in church or at soup kitchens, worked in government, and tended to their communities. On behalf of Gabby and our family, I ask that you consider honoring their commitment to service by dedicating a few hours on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, this Monday, January 17th, to volunteer in your community," Mark Kelly said in a statement distributed by the Giffords for Congress campaign.

Jewish groups join faith call for civility

Published on January 13, 2011

Jewish faith leaders joined a call for soul searching in the wake of the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. "This tragedy has spurred a sorely needed time of soul searching and national public dialogue about violent and vitriolic political rhetoric," said the open letter to Congress signed by 50 Muslim, Jewish and Christian leaders appearing Thursday in Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Congress. "We strongly support this reflection, as we are deeply troubled that rancor, threats and incivility have become commonplace in our public debates."

Palin’s ‘blood libel’ remark overwhelms message

Published on January 13, 2011

It was a well-crafted message preaching unity -- and mined with a “blood libel” that blew it all apart. Sarah Palin’s video message Wednesday, her first substantial commentary since Saturday’s shooting in Tucson that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and killed six others, at first appeared to succeed in reconciling two American precepts that have seemed irreconcilable in recent days: a common purpose and a rough-and-tumble political culture. “Vigorous and spirited public debates during elections are among our most cherished traditions,” said the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate. “And after the election, we shake hands and get back to work, and often both sides find common ground back in D.C. and elsewhere.”

Palin slammed for using ‘blood libel’ term [VIDEO]

Published on January 12, 2011

Sarah Palin's use of the term "blood libel" to decry blaming conservatives for the Arizona shooting has raised the ire of the Jewish community. In a video statement released Wednesday, Palin said that “Acts of monstrous criminality stand on their own. They begin and end with the criminals who commit them. Especially within hours of a tragedy unfolding, journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn. That is reprehensible.” The blood libel refers to accusations that began in the Middle Ages that Jews used the blood of murdered Christian children to make matzah for Passover.

The Precious Center

By Rob Eshman
Published on January 11, 2011

Jared Lee Loughner is crazy. That, more than any other single fact, is to blame for why he walked up to a gathering outside a Tucson Safeway last Saturday and tried to kill Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, murdering six other people in the rampage.

ADL: Assessing hate speech angle in shooting ‘critical’

Published on January 11, 2011

The Anti-Defamation League said it is "critical" to determine whether the man alleged to have shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was influenced by hate speech.

Tucson Jewish community anguished over Giffords shooting

Published on January 11, 2011

Following the shooting Saturday that critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and left six dead, the Tucson Jewish community has come together to pray for Giffords and the other victims and offer their support. Giffords, who is Jewish, was among 14 wounded in the shooting rampage in front of a Tucson supermarket Saturday morning. Jared Lee Loughner was arrested for perpetrated the shooting and appeared in a Phoenix courtroom Monday. Among those killed were U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, 63; Christina-Taylor Green, 9; Giffords constituent services director Gabriel Zimmerman, 30; and Phyllis Schenk, 79; Dorothy Morris, 76; and Dorwan Stoddard, 76. Zimmerman, a native Tucsonan, was widely reported as being Jewish, although he was not.

ADL: Giffords wasn’t shot because of her Judaism

Published on January 11, 2011

An analysis of Internet musings by Jared Lee Loughner dismisses speculation that he may have targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords because she is Jewish. "In the end, the writings so far revealed seem to indicate no particular leanings about race, and it is difficult to come away from the postings with such a conclusion," according to the analysis published Tuesday by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL analysis also said that the writings do not "point to a particular ideology or belief system." Loughner's "semi-coherent" writings "are indicative of an individual who has been exposed to a number of different ideas, from across the political spectrum, and has sometimes appropriated external concepts -- often seemingly divorced from their original context," the analysis said. Loughner, 22, waived bail Monday when he appeared in a federal courtroom to face two federal charges of murder and three charges of attempted murder. He is expected to face additional state murder charges.

Gabrielle Giffords: Israel needs U.S. to push the peace process

Published on January 11, 2011

My grandfather, Akiba Hornstein, was the son of a Lithuanian rabbi. My grandfather changed his name to Giff Giffords for reasons of anti-Semitism and moved to Southern Arizona from New York more than a half century ago. In the 1940s, he founded my family's tire and automotive business, El Campo Tire, which grew into a successful and thriving business for 50 years, which I ran for several years before serving in the Arizona Legislature.

Obama calls Giffords’ rabbi

Published on January 11, 2011

President Obama spoke with the rabbi of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords during a series of calls to friends and families of victims of the weekend shooting in Tucson. A White House official said Rabbi Stephanie Aaron of Tucson's Congregation Chaverim was among the Tucson-area officials, victims and families Obama reached Monday in the wake of the Jan. 8 attack that left Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, critically injured and six dead.

Alleged Arizona shooter Jared Lee Loughner has Jewish mother, acquaintance says

Published on January 11, 2011

An acquaintance of Jared Lee Loughner, the accused gunman in the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, says his mother is Jewish.

Giffords’ account of her trip to Israel

Published on January 11, 2011

In 2002, shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Gabrielle Giffords, then a member of the Arizona House of Representatives, visited Israel on a trip organized by AJC's Project Interchange. She wrote this insightful, moving account, which AJC is honored to republish nine years later, upon her return to the United States. It is a land of contradiction, of complexity and simplicity. Its mountains and deserts were the backdrop for the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran. Now journalists stand before this same landscape and transmit battle reports to viewers of BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera. It is a land where Orthodox Jews wearing clothing that was fashionable 300 years ago pose for digital pictures taken by tourists wearing the most modern fashions. And it is a place that offers the most ancient historical accounts, along with the most modern of lessons.

Did heated rhetoric play role in shooting of Giffords?

Published on January 9, 2011

The 8th District in southern Arizona represented by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords comprises liberal Tucson and its rural hinterlands, which means moderation is a must. But it also means that spirits and tensions run high.

Giffords known for her openness and Judaism

Published on January 9, 2011

The event was typical Gabrielle Giffords: no barriers, all comers -- Democrats, Republicans, independents welcome to talk about what was on their minds and in their hearts.

Memo notes Giffords’ Judaism in motives of alleged attacker

Published on January 9, 2011

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security memo reportedly notes that Gabriel Giffords is Jewish in describing the motives of the Arizona congresswoman's alleged assailant.

Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords critical after being shot in the head

Published on January 8, 2011

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was in critical condition after being shot in the head.

Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords shot in the head

Published on January 8, 2011

A gunman shot Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in the head.