The best place to stay up to date on all events and programming at JSS! This calendar is always up to date and includes all the information you need to get involved.
Aug
8
Wed
“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.
Aug
22
Wed
“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.”
Sep
13
Thu
Bus Trip to Jewish Museum Milwaukee
We will leave Madison at 9:30 am, have an early lunch, attend talk and tour from 1-2:30 pm, and then return to Madison. Lunch location and menu will be announced shortly. Cost is $25 and will include all transportation, lunch and museum fees. This program is generously subsidized by Jeff Levy. If cost is prohibitive, funds are available through Jewish Social Services. Contact Paul Borowsky at JSS: paul@jssmadison.org, 608-442-4083. We will have a chance to tour core exhibits as well as the traveling exhibit which is ending soon:
Traveling Exhibit:Stitching Histories From the Holocaust tells the story of Hedwig Strnad and her husband Paul through the letters to their Milwaukee cousin and the dress designs they sent in the hopes of getting visas. Hedy and Paul were ultimately killed in the Holocaust, but her dress designs survived. The centerpiece of this exhibit are the eight dresses lovingly created by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater Costume Shop. These dresses provide visitors with a tangible connection to the loss of talent in the Holocaust.
Accompanying Stitching Histories are two more family stories of immigration:
The Oelsner family fled to Japanese-occupied Shanghai in 1939, the only place that they could go without a visa. Their daughter Edie was born there and the collection reflects the family’s journey from Nazi Germany, to war-torn Shanghai, and ultimately to the United States.
While Mary and George Stern escaped to the United States in 1938 and settled in Racine, WI.
Jun
12
Wed
“Watching Sports Through a Jewish Lens” – Mitch Nelles
Mitch Nelles, on-air host with iHeartMedia, often grapples with the hypocrisy of today’s sports landscape. The me-first attitude of many athletes, coupled with the team-first premise that leads to victory, is forefront in almost every sports narrative these days.
Taken from a culturally Jewish perspective, Mitch looks at a few current examples, mixed with stories from Wisconsin athletes, and speaks about sports in general as well. Mitch is currently heard as part of The Crossover – on the iHeartRadio App – and hosts his own podcast, called “It’s ALL Thunder!”, also on the iHeartRadio App
Lunch: Vegetarian Minestrone, Artisan Rolls and Butter, Grilled Whitefish with Lemon Caper Picatta,
Toasted Orzo and Roasted Vegetables, or Portabella Mushroom Fettuccine (with Peppers, Onions and Tomatoes, Topped with Roasted Red Pepper). Dessert: Turtle Sundae
Jun
26
Wed
Charles Cohen
Professor Emeritus, Department of History, E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions Founding Director for the Lubar Institute for the Study of Abrahamic Religions – UW Madison
“Jews and Muslims in Christian America”
The United States has been defined in various ways as a “Christian nation”; if so, how do Jews and Muslims—whose understandings of such things as sacred space, sacred time, food, and the religious meaning of the state, can be quite different from those of Christians—fit into American society?
Professor Emeritus, Charles Cohen will discuss this in his talk entitled, Jews and Muslims in Christian America. Professor Cohen is the E. Gordon Fox Professor of American Institutions. He teaches at UW Madison in the Departments of History and Religious Studies. Professor Cohen was Founding Director the Lubar Institute for the Study of the Abrahamic Religions, whose mission is to create better understandings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by encouraging ongoing discussion of these traditions and their interrelationships.. His book, “Abrahamic Religions: A Very Short Introduction,” will be published in late 2019 by Oxford University press.
Lunch: Nakoma Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette, Artisan Rolls and Butter, Grilled Salmon with Mango Pineapple Salsa, Wild Rice and Asparagus or Vegetable Napoleon. Dessert: Chocolate Mousse Sundae with Fresh Berries
Jul
10
Wed
Carousel Bayrd
Attorney & Partner, Herrick and Kasdorf Supervisor, Dane County Board
“Criminal Justice and Restorative Justice: Reforming the System”
Over the last 13 years, Carousel has authored legislation addressing criminal reform, racial justice, immigrant’s rights, women’s rights, and mental health services. She also hosts “A Public Affair,” an in-depth current affairs talk radio show every Tuesday on WORT. Previously, Carousel was the founding coordinator of YWCA Madison’s Municipal Restorative Justice Initiative, the first of its kind in the nation to remove youth from the criminal justice system. Carousel’s family were long-time members at the Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel of Los Angeles. She grew up in both Los Angeles and New York. Carousel’s talk will cover various facets of the criminal justice system – from policing to the courts to incarceration. She will offer details about alternatives to incarceration that are already working in Wisconsin, including the very successful Restorative Justice Initiative in Madison that is keeping youth out of the criminal justice system, and Dane County’s innovative study on bail reform. Carousel will also respond to the question: How we can make changes in every area and address the root causes of racism within the system? She will end with suggestions on how community members can get involved and help move reform in Wisconsin.
Lunch: Tomato Basil Soup, Artisan Rolls and Butter, Baked Cod with Lemon Brown Butter, Wild Rice with Spinach and Mushroom or Vegetable Phyllo with Marinara and Crème Fraiche.
Dessert: Door Country Cherry Pie a La Mode
Jul
24
Wed
Larry Kohn
Education Director of Temple Beth El from 1979-2014
“And the Fine Blade Gleamed with the Fury of Live Coals: Twentieth Century Poets Confront the Akedah”*
The Torah’s story of the sacrificial binding of Isaac (Akedah) has been addressed by a number of Twentieth Century American, Yiddish and Israeli poets. The Akedah (Genesis 22) will be read in English translation along with a sample of Rabbinic and contemporary Torah commentary. This will be followed by a reading and discussion of poems in English or English translation written by Anthony Hecht, Marge Piercy, H. Leivick, Hayim Gouri, Amir Gilboa and Yehuda Amichai.
As Education Director of Temple Beth El, Larry Kohn facilitated the temple’s Shabbat morning Torah study for the last two decades of his tenure. Beginning in 1976 a dozen of Larry’s poems under his given name, Lawrence, have appeared in small press publications including Green’s Magazine, Response: A Contemporary Jewish Review, The Journal of Reform Judaism and Neo-Victorian/Cochlear edited by Esther Cameron in Madison.
* Title quote from: “Isaac” in The Darkness and the Light by Anthony Hecht, Alfred A. Knopf, New York: 2002
Lunch: Quinoa and Spinach Salad (with Chickpea, Tomato, Egg, Feta, Artichoke, Olives, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Artisan Rolls with Butter, Baked Tilapia, Cucumber-Red Pepper Relish, Roasted Baby Red Potatoes and Green Beans or Vegetable Quiche. Dessert: Tiramisu