Israel Film Series
Calling all filmgoers! Join us for an array of Israeli films focusing on the topic of homelessness. A discussion with Q&A will follow each film, please see film details for specifics. Films to be announced soon!
Lost Boys of Portlandia
Wednesday, October 10
7:00 pm
Meet local Israeli filmmaker, Nili Yosha and Executive Director for Outside the Frame. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story.
Diplomat
Tuesday, October 16
7:00 pm
The Hotel Diplomat in Jerusalem was once a five-star hotel. For nearly 20 years it is home to 600 immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Never having integrated into Israeli society, its residents have created their own little island, secluded from the outside world.
Zrubavel
Tuesday, October 30
7:00 pm
The personal dramas of the immigrant Zrubavel family and the universal intergenerational cultural struggles that come with assimilation are depicted in this first feature film made by Ethiopian Israelis.
Purchase tickets at oregonjcc.org/film
In partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies
![](https://orjewishlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Circa_Humans4WEB_byPedroGreig_06.jpg)
(Photo by Pedro Greig)
White Bird welcomes Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with their program HUMANS.
After an absence of five years, White Bird is delighted to present the return of the world-famous Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with the West Coast premiere of their astonishing new work HUMANS. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world—performing in 39 countries to over a million people. As was the case in Portland in 2013, with their White Bird debut, Circa’s movement-based circus works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents. Under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Circa’s HUMANS features an ensemble of 10 exceptional, multi-skilled circus artists whose physicality and artistry are put to the test in Lifschitz’ newest work.
An article in the Australian Jewish News says: Lifschitz looks back on his career with lots of pride, as do his Jewish parents who may initially have preferred him to be a doctor.
Circa is at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus—pioneering how extreme physicality can create powerful and moving performances. Circa pushes the boundaries of the art form, blurs the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus, and leads the way with a diverse range of thrilling creations that ‘redraw the limits to which circus can aspire“ (The Age).
Over the course of 70 nail-biting minutes, HUMANS explores the limits of human physicality and perseverance. The stage remains stripped bare as the vulnerability of the artists is left exposed throughout this thrilling work. Seamlessly moving from one breathtaking acrobatic act to the next, HUMANS challenges both the artists and the audience members to answer the questions “what does it mean to be human? How can you express the very essence of this experience with your body, with the group and with the audience? Where are your limits, what extraordinary things can you achieve and how can you find grace in your inevitable defeat?” Lifschitz uses this work to report on what it means to be human. “In our limitations are our possibilities,” he says. It is “precisely because we are human that our physical achievements acquire dignity, meaning and poetry. It is in connection to our vulnerability that our strength finds its true articulation.”
In its glowing review, The Guardian (UK) sums up the power and beauty of HUMANS: “Circa’s brand new production Humans is the five-star favorite: a clear demonstration of the artistry of circus and its potential to draw together multiple theatrical forms. What I adored was its fluid take on humanity and gender roles: women caught men falling backwards; men leapt towards and were caught by men. As the ensemble moved themselves into sculptural, abstract shapes, reaching higher to the ceiling for the denouement, I felt moved by their vulnerable, collective humanity.”
Circa’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, and National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where he was the youngest director ever accepted into its prestigious graduate director’s course. Since graduating, Yaron has directed over 60 productions including large-scale events, opera, theatre, physical theatre, and circus. His work has been seen in 39 countries and across six continents by over one million people and has won numerous awards including six Helpmann awards and the Australia Council Theatre Award. He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of Circa, and was the Creative Director of Festival 2018: the arts and cultural program of the 21st Commonwealth Games. In 2018, Yaron directed four new Circa creations, and a new production of Idomeneo which opened in Lisbon at The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.
White Bird’s 21st season (2018-19) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the Arts Education & Access Fund; Work for Art; The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and Oregon Arts Commission.
Israel Film Series
Calling all filmgoers! Join us for an array of Israeli films focusing on the topic of homelessness. A discussion with Q&A will follow each film, please see film details for specifics. Films to be announced soon!
Lost Boys of Portlandia
Wednesday, October 10
7:00 pm
Meet local Israeli filmmaker, Nili Yosha and Executive Director for Outside the Frame. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story.
Diplomat
Tuesday, October 16
7:00 pm
The Hotel Diplomat in Jerusalem was once a five-star hotel. For nearly 20 years it is home to 600 immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Never having integrated into Israeli society, its residents have created their own little island, secluded from the outside world.
Zrubavel
Tuesday, October 30
7:00 pm
The personal dramas of the immigrant Zrubavel family and the universal intergenerational cultural struggles that come with assimilation are depicted in this first feature film made by Ethiopian Israelis.
Purchase tickets at oregonjcc.org/film
In partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies
Israel Film Series
Calling all filmgoers! Join us for an array of Israeli films focusing on the topic of homelessness. A discussion with Q&A will follow each film, please see film details for specifics. Films to be announced soon!
Lost Boys of Portlandia
Wednesday, October 10
7:00 pm
Meet local Israeli filmmaker, Nili Yosha and Executive Director for Outside the Frame. In a riff on Peter Pan, homeless youth of Portland debate if and how to return to mainstream society while creating their own film version of the iconic story.
Diplomat
Tuesday, October 16
7:00 pm
The Hotel Diplomat in Jerusalem was once a five-star hotel. For nearly 20 years it is home to 600 immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Never having integrated into Israeli society, its residents have created their own little island, secluded from the outside world.
Zrubavel
Tuesday, October 30
7:00 pm
The personal dramas of the immigrant Zrubavel family and the universal intergenerational cultural struggles that come with assimilation are depicted in this first feature film made by Ethiopian Israelis.
Purchase tickets at oregonjcc.org/film
In partnership with the Institute for Judaic Studies
Fundraising Dinner with Aviv
Join the MJCC for a fundraising dinner at Aviv, Portland’s home to delicious vegan Israeli food. The first dinner seating begins at 5:30 pm and the second seating starts at 80 pm. We are pleased to offer each multi-course dinner with an optional wine-pairing featuring Israeli, kosher, and Oregon-local wines. Aviv is donating a portion of the proceeds of this multi-course dinner to the MJCC.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
5:30 pm or 8:00 pm
Aviv 1125 SE Division St., Portland
$45 per person. Wine not included.
$85 per person. Wine included.
Sign up in the MJCC lobby or at https://www.oregonjcc.org/about-us/brunch/party-boards
Join us for the Portland premiere of this 15-minute documentary short by Jodi Darby. The film follows two Jewish Portland artists, drummer/writer/environmentalist Lisa Schonberg and musician/writer/Jewish educator Alicia Jo Rabins, as they prepare for Lisa’s adult bat mitzvah. The word chavruta refers to the traditional partner-style study of Jewish texts; over the course of one year, the two women delve into a grassroots, feminist, distinctly Portland course of study.
Free, but suggested donation of $5 at the door.
7:00 pm at the MJCC.
Film Screening – American Creed
Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, and David M. Kennedy, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, come together from different points of view to investigate the idea of a unifying American creed. Their spirited inquiry frames the stories of people striving to bridge deepening divides in different communities around the country. Director Sam Ball will join us for an in-depth conversation following the film.
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED.
Please check back soon for more details, including a re-scheduled date.
Cost: $10. Member Cost: $8.
Register at oregonjcc.org/americancreed
Film Club: Fig Tree
Sunday, December 8, 4:00-7:00pm
Join the Feldstein Library Film Club for a special screening of the film Fig Tree.
About the film: During the Ethiopian civil war, a Jewish teenager hatches a scheme to keep her Christian boyfriend from being drafted, as she and her family prepare to flee the country and go to Israel.
Please note: Programs are subject to change; please contact the office for more information: 503.246.8831 or visit the website at: www.nevehshalom.org.
PJ Havdallah (0-5 Years Old), Saturday, Feb 15, 5:15pm
Young families say goodbye to Shabbat in our PJs with dinner, stories, art & fun.
RSVP: nevehshalom.org/pjhavdallah.
Due to travel restrictions advised to contain the Coronavirus, this event has been cancelled. We hope to reschedule this event at a later date. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Antisemitism on College Campuses Workshop
Wed, March 18, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Teens, parents, and Jewish community members are increasingly concerned about the anti-Israel sentiment on college campuses across the U.S. that often spills over into Anti-Semitic speech and policies. Stand With Us brings experts from the field to explain and discuss:
— Antisemitism vs. Legitimate Criticism of Israel
— The evolving face of the BDS movement
— Know your rights: how to respond and who can help
Program begins at 6pm, dinner included, ending time 8:30pm
Cost: $10 per individual or $15 per family
RSVP: tinyurl.com/CNSCollegeCampus20