H eadlines
NEWSBRIEFS Arizona Jewish Post Closes
THE ARIZONA JEWISH POST, a 75-year-old publication
covering Tucson and southern Arizona, announced it would
cease operations effective March 1, JTA reported.

The Jewish Community Federation of Southern Arizona, which
owns and operates the Post, cited declines in ad revenue and reader-
ship, loss of philanthropic support and the COVID-19 pandemic as
factors contributing to an “unsustainable position.” It noted that “our
community’s communications,” including “local stories, lifecycle
events, and obituaries,” would “be delivered via alternative vehicles.”
The paper’s records will be preserved in an archive.

The paper had only one remaining editorial staffer, Executive
Editor Phyllis Braun.

The closure is the latest in a growing number of local Jewish news
outlets that have shuttered or drastically scaled back operations since
the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those include the Jewish
Advocate in Boston and Canadian Jewish News (CJN relaunched as
an online-only publication). The New York Jewish Week closed its
print edition in 2020, and was acquired by 70 Faces Media.

Law Banning Boycott Israel Movement to Be Challenged
A federal appeals court struck a blow to the legality of an Arkansas
law that aims to penalize the boycott Israel movement, JTA reported.

Arkansas passed a law in 2017 that financially penalizes compa-
nies that don’t renounce the boycott Israel movement. A challenge
to the law was dismissed by a federal Arkansas judge in 2019.

But a federal appeals court revived the challenge on Feb. 12,
ordering the district court in Little Rock to reconsider the case.

The plaintiff in the case is the alternative monthly newspaper the
Arkansas Times. The Times holds no position on Israel boycotts; it
filed the suit because it objected to having to sign an agreement not
to boycott Israel as part of a University of Arkansas advertising deal.

Steven Spielberg Wins Genesis Prize
Director Steven Spielberg won the 2021 Genesis Prize, which is
nicknamed the “Jewish Nobel,” JTA reported.

The award, which was announced Feb. 10, “honors extraordi-
nary individuals for their outstanding professional achievement,
contribution to humanity, and commitment to Jewish values.”
“Key Jewish themes are often woven into his narratives: impor-
tance of identity and belonging, maintaining humanity in a ruthless
world, caring for the other, and honoring the moral obligation to
do the right thing,” the Genesis Prize Foundation wrote about the
Oscar winner in a statement, citing Spielberg’s work to preserve the
memory of the Holocaust and to prevent future genocides.

The honor comes with a $1 million prize. Past recipients, who
include Michael Douglas, Michael Bloomberg, Natalie Portman
and Natan Sharansky, donated the money to philanthropic causes.

Diego Schwartzman Upset at Australian Open
Eighth-seeded Argentine Jewish tennis star Diego Schwartzman
was upset by Russian Aslan Karatsev in the third round of the
Australian Open, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.

Schwartzman, 28, who entered the top 10 for the first time in
his career this past fall and played in last year’s ATP Finals, lost
in the fourth round of last year’s tournament to eventual winner
Novak Djokovic.

In Schwartzman’s last Grand Slam appearance, he was a semifinalist
in the French Open, becoming the shortest man to reach a Grand Slam
semis since Jewish tennis player Harold Solomon in 1980. l
— Compiled by Andy Gotlieb
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