Happening
Holocaust memoir digest. Esther Goldberg, who grew up in the only Jewish family in Ketchum, Idaho, of parents who came from Volyn in Poland, now Ukraine, began the Holocaust Memoir Digest project in September 2000, a catalog of detailed summaries of the published memoirs of Holocaust survivors, in order to make them more widely available to educators and the public. She recently completed the third volume, which has maps drawn by her husband, Sir Martin Gilbert. You can search by memoir, topic or place. holocaustmemoirdigest.org
Claims conference. Since 1951 this organization has secured what it considers a small measure of justice for Jewish victims of Nazi persecution. Through negotiations, disbursing funds to individuals and organizations and seeking the return of Jewish property lost during the Holocaust , hundreds of millions of dollars have been distributed to agencies that help Nazi victims in more than 40 countries, including a historic breakthrough for Holocaust victims from North Africa, so that now Jewish women and children interned in the Tunisian camps of Gabes Marcia-Plage and Tniet-Agarev may be eligible for compensatory payments. Also, increased funding covers in-home services for aging Holocaust survivors. claimscon.org
Childhood and youth under the third reich — a gender perspective, a conference, will take place in Israel October 29-31, 2007. Papers are invited on a wide range of topics such as: a gendered approach to degradation, exploitation and abuse of minors; artistic creation depicting girls and boys during the Nazi era; gender issues for youth in the ghettos, camps, death marches and among the partisans; sexual abuse of children and adolescents; comparative study of how girls and boys survived. Scholars, artists and Holocaust survivors whose testimonies shed light on the subject of childhood and youth are invited to submit a 500-word proposal in English or Hebrew by April 15, 2007 (full paper by July 1, 2007) to: Dr. Batya Brutin, Beit Berl College, Beit Berl Post Office 44905 Israel or: intshoa@beitberl.ac.il or batyab@netvision.net.il
The association of israel’s decorative arts (aida), co-founded by Charles and the late Andrea Bronfman and Dale and Doug Anderson, exposes contemporary artists from Israel to an international audience of artists, galleries, collectors and institutions. AIDA also provides fellowships, training and opportunities for cultural exchanges. A recent exhibit at the Racine Art Museum in Wisconsin, “Women’s Tales: Four Leading Israeli Jewelers,” featured Bianca Eshel-Gershuni, Vered Kaminski, Esther Knobel, and Deganit Stern Schocken. Just opened at Brandeis University is “Offering Reconciliation,” initiated by curator/artist Orna Tamir-Schestowits. She designed a large size clay “bowl of reconciliation,” after which 135 Israeli and Palestinian artists, sculptors and photographers interpreted reconciliation with their own narratives of coexistence, pain, loss, fracture and fusion, and their hopes for art instead of hostility. Viewable online at theparentscircle.com/exhibition. For information on The Association of Israel’s Decorative Arts, see AIDAarts.org
Their lens on Israel. Rina Castelnuovo (one of whose photographs appears on our Winter 2005 cover), Yael Bartana, Gillian Laub, Sharon Ya’ari and Catherine Yass are among the Israeli, American and European photographers and video artists whose portraits of life in Israel since 2000 are featured in “Dateline Israel,” an exhibit though August 5 at the Jewish Museum o f New York, jmuseum.org
Aliya, an exhibit of images by Israeli photographer Aliza Auerbach captures the anxiety and hope of the massive wave of immigrants to Israel from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia as they left their homelands and arrived in the State of Israel. Find out about bringing this exhibit to your venue from Olivia Blechner at the Department of Academic Affairs, Consulate General of Israel in New York. oliviab@ newyork.mfa.gov.il
From the heart: The Photojournalism of Ruth Gruber
Gruber’s life and work are inextricably bound with the rescue and survival of the Jewish people. She’s now 95 and has had backstage access to Jewish history: she escorted war refugees from Europe to America; visited DP camps; detailed the plight of the Exodus 1947; described the establishment of the State of Israel; and documented the State’s ingathering of refugees from Europe, Iraq, Yemen, and Ethiopia. This exhibition contains many photographs which also appear in her new book, Witness: One of the Great Correspondents of the Twentieth Century Tells Her Story [Schocken, April 2007] Through October 8, 2007 at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, mjhnyc.org.
Meet me at moma… a monthly program for individuals with Alzheimer’s and their family members or care partners helps them communicate through looking at and making art. Specially trained educators highlight themes, artists, and exhibitions during an interactive program in the Museum of Modern Art’s galleries and classrooms, free of charge. Preregistration is required via Access Programs (212) 408-6347, (212) 247-1230 (TTY), or accessprograms@moma.org.
Hang out on the Israeli literary scene. A new Taglit-birthright Israel trip has a special focus on journalism, writing, and literature. This free 10-day trip, for Jews 18 – 26 who have not yet been to Israel on a peer experience, will feature — along with hiking, climbing Masada, floating in the Dead Sea, etc. — discussions with journalists and authors in Israel. The first of these trips is scheduled for June and will be staffed by author/journalist Ruth Andrew Ellenson as well as a professional from Jewish Book Council — which is the partnering organization jewishbookcouncil.org/page.php?26
Do you need a contemporary update at your seder? “In Every Generation: A Hagada Supplement on Economic Justice” has texts and discussion questions — why we search for chametz, for example. Lee Moore writes about kos Miryam (Miriam’s cup) and water rights; Toba Spitzer about “My father was a wandering Aramean,” Marcia Cohn Spiegel about Elijah’s cup, Phyllis Berman about how to handle the afikomen, among other commentaries. You can download this 36-page resource from the website of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, a cross-denominational organization founded in 2002 to support its sister organization in Israel. rhr-na.org
Women’s prosperity can mean peace. The Business Council for Peace is a non-profit coalition of business people and entrepreneurs founded in coordination with UNIFEM (the United Nations Development Fund for Women) to help women become stronger economically so they have a stronger voice for peace locally. You can help women in regions of conflict and post-conflict, such as Afghanistan and Rwanda, to create life-sustaining business opportunities. A Middle East project is the Jerusalem Candle of Hope, a venture that combines the handwork of Palestinian and Israeli craftswomen. bpeace.org
Being a mother in academe, a research project, will be based on interviews (1-2 hours in length) with 50 mothers across Canada, the United States, and Australia. If you are interested in participating, and would like more details check out yorku. ca/arm/motherinacademia.html or contact Andrea O’Reilly, aoreilly@yorku.ca.
No body’s perfect™. promotes selfesteem and positive body image for young women and men coping with — or at risk for — an eating disorder. For them and their families across Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island a new program offers workshops, referrals, counseling and more. Eating Disorders Programs 516.496.7550. fegs.org
Did you ever wish for a doll just like you? Gali Girls may be the antidote to the omission of figures and narratives Jewish girls can identify with among the other historical dolls on the market. The latest in the Gali series is a Sephardi doll. For their Jewish History Series, the Gali creators want original ideas for chapter books for girls 7-12 featuring a Jewish girl in a specific period of Jewish history who grows thorough her experiences. Potential authors can request writers guidelines at support@galigirls.com
