THE LAST JEWS OF BAGDAD. A film by Carole Basri, a Jewish American lawyer and filmmaker of Iraqi-Jewish descent. This film captures the story of the plight of over 160,000 Iraqi Jews and their persecution, torture, and escape from Iraq between the years of 1940 and 2003. Ms. Basri will be present for the showing of this film in Portland, and she will engage the audience in a conversation about the history of Jewish Baghdad and its rapid disappearance after 1940. The timing of this event is especially relevant due to the recent collective efforts of JIMENA and other Jewish organizations strongly urging US Government officials to keep the Iraqi Jewish Archive from returning to Iraq.
English language, Produced by Carole Basri, 110 minutes, Speaker: Carole Basri
For parents/caregivers and their children up to 5 years old. Play. Meet friends. Run. Have a Kosher snack. Sing + listen to stories. Have a blast!
In the MJCC Sportsplex!
Free and open to everyone!
In partnership with PJ Library, Chai Baby, Portland Jewish Academy
Exhibits Feb. 16- May 27
Vedem: The Underground Magazine of the Terezin Ghetto
Vedem Underground examines the literary magazine written by Jewish teens imprisoned at Terezin, a Nazi camp in Czechoslovakia during the Second World War. Using pop-art graphics, drawings and paintings, and the prose and poetry, these brave adolescents secretly wrote and illustrated the longest-running underground magazine in a Nazi camp. Vedem (Czech for “In the Lead”) documented their voices with defiance, humor and heartbreak. The exhibition breaks down their 800 original pages and reconstructs them in the form of a contemporary magazine. Curated by Rina Taraseiskey and Danny King.
To Tell The Story: The Wolloch Holocaust Haggadah
On view in the East Gallery: Commissioned by Helene and Zygfryd B. Wolloch, The Holocaust Haggadah is richly illustrated with lithographic prints by David Wander and calligraphy by Yonah Weinreb that link the story of liberation from ancient Egypt to the Holocaust.
Explore the following questions with Arthur Slepian, the founder and president of A Wider Bridge (AWB)–a pro-Israel organization that works to deepen the connections between the LGBT communities of Israel and North America.
- What has been the progress of the LGBTQ community in Israel, and what challenges remain?
- How can one successfully engage progressive people with Israel at a time when there is so much antagonism towards Israel on the left?
- How can the LGBTQ communities of Israel and North America learn from and support one another, especially in the aftermath of our own recent elections?
A Wider Bridge was founded in 2010, has staff in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC and Tel Aviv, and brings its programs to cities across North America. Arthur has several decades of experience as a leader in both the Jewish community and the LGBT community, along with a successful career as a leader in the business world. Arthur lives in San Francisco and serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Federation of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Co-sponsored by: Congregation Neveh Shalom, Jewish Pride Greater PDX, Neveh Shalom Keshet, Jewish Federation of Portland, Congregation Beth Israel and A Wider Bridge.
A Wider Bridge was founded in 2010, has staff in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, DC and Tel Aviv, and brings its programs to cities across North America. Arthur has several decades of experience as a leader in both the Jewish community and the LGBT community, along with a successful career as a leader in the business world. Arthur lives in San Francisco and serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Community Federation of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Co-sponsored by: Congregation Neveh Shalom, Jewish Pride Greater PDX, Neveh Shalom Keshet, Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, Congregation Beth Israel and A Wider Bridge.
Join us for a fun, introductory Israeli dance class. All levels are welcome. Six people needed to run class.
Register: oregonjcc.org/registration
Registeration code: CG202
A monthly discussion covering a wide range of topics that will draw on our experiences.
January’s topic: Jewish Texts and When Does Life Begin
In the Cafe at the J
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with Congregation Neveh Shalom
Join us to celebrate our upcoming new building at our Capital Campaign Kickoff Event. This complimentary, adults only event will be fun, classy, and informative.
-View plans and project timeline
-Open bar and hors d’oeuvres
-Share ideas for the new space
-Celebrate our community’s future
7-9 pm | Adults Only | Free of Charge
RSVP by Jan. 3
6698 SW Capitol Hwy
Please join Congregation Beth Israel as we celebrate Dr. King’s enduring legacy and welcome Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell as our keynote speaker. Our service will include music from the NW Gospel Choir and CBI’s Kol Echad Choir. Free and Open to the public.
LIFEBOAT
A True Story of Two Teenagers Who Did Not Give Up
A co-production with Northwest Children’s Theater
WHO: Co-produced by Corrib Theatre & Northwest Children’s Theater
WHAT: Lifeboat
By Nicola McCartney
Directed by Avital Shira
WHEN: January 12 – February 4, 2018
Opening Night/Press Night: Friday, January 12
Regular Run: Thursdays-Saturdays@ 7:30pm; Sundays @ 2pm
WHERE: Northwest Children’s Theater, 1819 NW Everett St., Portland
TICKETS: $25 regular price; $20 student/group; $15/youth under 18
Brown Paper Tickets: 800-838-3006 or https://corriblifeboat.brownpapertickets.com/
SPECIAL EVENTS
Sunday, Jan 14: Post-show Talkback, guest TBD
Sunday, Jan 21: Post-show Talkback, guest TBD
Sunday, Jan 28: Post-show Talkback with Charlotte Headrick (Dramaturg)
PRODUCTION PHOTOS AVAILABLE: Jan 12, 2018
SHOW IMAGE ATTACHED: Sketch by Jan Baross
PORTLAND, OREGON – December 21, 2017. With a bracing true story of determination and hope, Corrib Theatre and Northwest Children’s Theater present Nicola McCartney’s Lifeboat. Directed by Avital Shira and starring Kayla Lian and Britt Harris, this riveting play by an award-winning Irish playwright runs for four weeks, Jan. 12 through Feb. 4, at Northwest Children’s Theater.
Lifeboat is the extraordinary true story of Bess Walder and Beth Cummings. Set during World War II, it is a story of courage, a story of survival and a story of enduring friendship.
On Friday the thirteenth of September 1940, a ship, The City of Benares, set sail from Liverpool bound for Canada. On board were 90 child evacuees escaping the relentless bombing and dangers of war torn Britain. Four days into the crossing, the ship was torpedoed and sank. Only 11 children aboard survived. Of those few, two young girls, Bess Walder (15) and Beth Cummings (14), clung to life as they spent 19 terrifying hours in the water on an upturned lifeboat. With the hopes and dreams upon which they’d set sail, they buoyed one another’s spirits with stories of home, family and adventure. Bess and Beth inspired each other to survive. Lifeboat tells their story.
“At its core, Lifeboat is a play about resilience,” said play Director Avital Shira, daughter of Portland Rabbis Laurie Rutenberg and Gary Schoenberg. “These two young women defy the odds through connection, story and the will to save the other to ultimately survive longer than humans should be able in the middle of the Atlantic. The world is dark at the moment, and it’s especially important now to harness the power of human resilience and remind ourselves that if we find our common humanity, we have the ability to keep each other afloat.”
“Lifeboat packs a wallop because it is fundamentally about life, death and the human spirit. Oh, and it’s a highly entertaining history lesson too: informing the young and reminding the old.”
Theatre Review, New Zealand
RESEARCH
This is a true story centered around two teenage girls during the evacuation of British children during World War II. Know as “Operation Pied Piper,” the British evacuation of children began on Friday, September 1, 1939. The ship the young girls in this story were sailing on was the City of Benares. It was carrying 191 passengers (90 of them children) and 216 shipmates, 407 souls all told — 260 perished (79 children) and 147 survived (11 children). Details about this ship and its demise are here.