HEADLINES | 6
SPECIAL SECTION | 14
CYBERSTALKER ARRESTED
SENIOR LIFESTYLE
After year of harassment, man stands trial
Shemer Art Center’s exhibit celebrates local artist
JANUARY 8, 2021 | TEVET 24, 5781 | VOLUME 73, NUMBER 8
Harvey Dietrich, philanthropist, ‘last Jewish cowboy,’ dies of COVID-19 ELLEN O’BRIEN | STAFF WRITER
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arvey Dietrich, a pioneering cattle rancher and a driving force for the Jewish community in Arizona, died Dec. 25. He was 85. Dietrich’s longtime friend, Jerr y Lewkowitz, described him as “a cowboy rancher and a gentleman.” “He was a very special guy in so many respects,” Lewkowitz said. “He was a good friend in that if you want to talk to him, you could, and if he agreed or disagreed, he was the same person.” Dietrich began working at a meat-packing plant at age 15, after his family moved from Boston to Los Angeles. At 19, he was promoted to cattle buyer and in 1959, he moved to Phoenix, where he rose through the ranks of the cattle industry. A tenacious entrepreneur, Dietrich helped launch Sun Land Beef Co., which revolutionized the beef industry and became one of the largest beef production companies in the West. After he sold his stake in Sun Land Beef in 1997, Dietrich devoted himself full-time to ranching, which he began as a side business in 1972. Today, his 770,000-acre Diamond A Ranch in Seligman is the largest in Arizona. “He was basically a self-made man,” said Larry Bell, executive director of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society. “He worked as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen, and you could never go five or 10 minutes without his cell phone ringing with something to do with the cattle and the price of feed and the fall SEE DIETRICH, PAGE 2 roundup or whatever — he would
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Jewish community members cautiously optimistic in initial phase of COVID-19 vaccines SHANNON LEVITT | MANAGING EDITOR
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s 2020 drew to a close, Pam Moreno, a therapist for Jewish Family & Children’s Service’s senior programs, found herself looking forward to a much brighter 2021. After discovering she qualified for Phase 1A of the COVID-19 vaccination program, she drove to Chandler and what appeared to be a football field-sized space with several rows of cars. The Army National Guard and various fire departments were assisting as cars approached the injection stations. She was surprised by the orderly nature of the event. Twenty-five minutes after she pulled into line, she was vaccinated and on her way home. It was no more painful than a flu shot, she said. “Everything was so organized,” she said. “I didn’t even get out of my car.” Everyone involved — whether on the giving or receiving end — was excited and the atmosphere was joyous, Moreno said. After nearly a year of dealing with COVID, as well as the current surge in infections and hospitalizations, she feels hopeful for the first time. In Maricopa County alone, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities were SEE VACCINES, PAGE 3 hit hard. Since March, more
Lana Susskind-Wilder after receiving her first COVID-19 vaccination in December. PHOTO BY CHRIS FORD
Minecraft realm becomes venue for Jewish learning Congregation Beth Israel’s youth advisor, Erik Rendelman, uses Minecraft to engage students in unique and fun Jewish lessons. To read more, go to p. 5. PHOTO BY ERIK RENDELMAN
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NATIONAL
House passes bipartisan bill to elevate status of US envoy on anti-Semitism
INTERNATIONAL
Azeri Jewish grandmaster wins chess championship and $60,000
ISRAEL
North American olim join 3,000-plus others who arrived in Israel in 2020