Calendar

“Medieval Arab Jewry beyond the Cairo Geniza”- Professor Samuel England
Associate Professor of Arabic at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Faculty affiliate of the Middle East Studies Program, the Religious Studies Program, and the Medieval Studies Program.

We have a vivid picture of Jewish life in medieval Islamic empires, thanks to the Geniza collection of documents outside of Cairo. But very few of those documents speak to Jews’ roles in the elite courts, where policy and “high culture” were crafted. Not only did Jewish notables address the courts, they also actively participated in the Arabic literary and scientific work through which medieval scholars learned about the world. Professor England will explore how Jewish imperial subjects became embedded in Arabic literature during the thirteenth century.

Living in Egypt on and off since childhood, Professor England gained an appreciation for Arab cultures and the history of Abrahamic religions throughout the Middle East. His published research covers Classical Arabic poetry and prose, Crusades literature, Arab nationalist film and drama of the past century, and Romance-language treatments of Islam. He is the author of Medieval Empires and the Culture of Competition: Literary Duels at Islamic and Christian Courts (Edinburgh University Press, 2017). Currently, he is writing a book about the role of Classical Arabic in military regimes from the twentieth century to the present day.

Please join your neighbors, volunteers and Jewish Social Services staff for candle lighting, challah, wine, songs and discussion to usher in Shabbat. Music by Les Goldsmith with the assistance of UW students from Hillel.

A program of Jewish Social Services, UW Hillel and Capitol Lakes Retirement Community.

“Jewish Diaspora in China: European Jewish refugees in Shanghai during World War II” – Professor Weijia Li
Director of Global Higher Education Master’s Degree Program, Assistant Professor of German, Faculty Affiliate: Center for East Asian Studies and Center for German and European Studies

From 1938 to 1941, more than 17,000 German and Austrian Jewish refugees, along with over 2,000 Polish Jews, fled from the Nazi terror to Shanghai, China. The refugees’ hope to use Shanghai as a temporary home until securing transfer to North America or elsewhere was soon wrecked by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the breakout of the Pacific War. As a result, they ended up spending a decade in China. Professor Li will describe his research of the Jewish refugees in Shanghai and their adaptation to a life in exile.

Weijia Li’s research and teaching interests include Chinese-German cultural encounters reflected in German literature, press, and art history. In 2010, he published a book on German Jewish writer Anna Seghers’s encounter with China in her life and works. He’s now working on a new book project on German and Yiddish writings on China by European Jewish refugees in Shanghai during WWII.

Join us for Lunch!

Menu choices from Adamah Neighborhood Table:
Chef Jason’s famous Parve matzah ball soup and matzah crackers
Choice of: Herbed tuna sandwich with lettuce, tomato and onion on sourdough bread, or
Curried egg salad with mango chutney, lettuce, tomato and onion on Bavarian Rye
Carolina cole slaw, dessert and fruit

We can arrange rides through Transit Solutions for $1. Cost of the meal is $10. To register for rides, meal, and for further info about parking and handicap parking, contact Paul Borowsky, paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083.

“Only Victims: The Hollywood Blacklist” – Ellie Gettinger
Education Director at the Jewish Museum Milwaukee

Ellie Gettinger will preview Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s new original exhibit Blacklist: Hollywood’s Red Scare, which opens to the public in October 2018. The talk will explore the historical events that led to the Hollywood Blacklist and its impact on film, television, and theater. Gettinger will offer insights into the development of the exhibit, connections to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, and contemporary parallels. As described by Dalton Trumbo, “The blacklist was a time of evil…no one on either side who survived it came through untouched by evil…[Looking] back on this time…it will do no good to search for villains or heroes or saints or devils because there were none; there were only victims.”

Jewish Social Services Presents: Annual Summer Barbeque

Transportation is available with Transit Solutions

$9 per person for lunch: Kosher hot dogs, hamburgers and veggie burgers, potato salad, coleslaw, fresh fruit salad and brownies

The beautiful swimming pool and lounging deck will be open at no charge

Funds are available to make it possible for those with low incomes to attend. For all questions and registration, contact Paul Borowsky at 442-4083 or at paul@jssmadison.org; all information will be kept confidential. Programs underwritten by Jewish Social Services.