The Arizona Post

The Arizona Post, described as the first Anglo-Jewish publication in Tucson, Arizona, began in September 1946. It was owned by husband and wife, Myer Rutz and Rebecca Staman Rutz, with Rebecca as publisher and editor. The newspaper provided information for and about the Jewish community, from announcements about births, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, and weddings, to news about the opening of Temple Emanu-El's new building and New Year's greetings from community members during Rosh Hashanah. For the first few years, Myer wrote a column, “Myer’s Diary,” about the comings and goings of community members. Published every other week, the newspaper was typically ten to sixteen pages. Its initial slogan was “Keep Posted with the Arizona Post!”, changed in December 1947 to "Arizona's Pioneer American-Jewish Newspaper.”

In an interview with the Jewish Historical Society of Southern Arizona Oral History Project, Rebecca Rutz explained: “I remember I had said that we had three objectives with the paper. It would mirror the Jewish community…It would be Zionist. And it would be liberal.”  Rebecca  also noted that, at the time, Tucson’s Jewish community was small, "somewhere around 250 Jewish families,” so the paper “stressed Jewish activity, Jewish identity.” 

In the early years of the newspaper, regular columns included “Hodge Podge,” a collection of personal anecdotes, and “What’s Going On,” that informed the Jewish community of celebrations, exhibits, and other social events. A page was usually dedicated to activities of local organizations, such as the Temple Men’s Club and Hadassah. In the first year of publication, contributing editors Rabbi Joseph Gumbiner and Rabbi Marcus Breger wrote a column, “Across the Rabbi’s Desk,” in which each commented on different issues.

A December 1949 editorial responded to criticism that the newspaper should carry more national news by emphasizing that, in their duty as a “community paper…there cannot be too much local news,” but that they also kept their readers “reliably informed on the most important news that happens on the national and international scene.” Indeed, news in the Post ranged from the status of Jewish displaced persons in Europe to the creation of the State of Israel to national politics in the United States. Rebecca and Myer Rutz also hosted the Arizona Post Hour, a Sunday morning radio program of “American-Hebrew-Jewish music, interviews, and news," from about 1949 to 1952. 

The August 17, 1956 issue of the Post declared “Sholom! This is your NEW Arizona Post...fresh from its new Hebraic-script masthead to the clever rib-tickling cartoon ‘Dayenu.’”  The new publishers were Abe and Mildred Chanin. Abe, who was also the new editor, was a graduate of the University of Arizona and a reporter for the Arizona Daily Star [LCCN: sn 84020668]. The new masthead now included the date in the Hebrew calendar; for example, printed alongside “Friday, August 17, 1956” was “10 Elul 5716.”  The Chanins ran the Arizona Post until the Tucson Jewish Community Council purchased it in 1965. The newspaper is still being published today as the Arizona Jewish Post. 

Essay provided by University of Arizona Libraries.