Debby Applegate
Madam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age 
Tuesday, September 13, 2022 – 12:00 p.m.
In person at Commonpoint Queens Sam Field Center
Click here to purchase the book

Madam is the biog­ra­phy of Pol­ly Adler (1900−1962), the most infa­mous and influ­en­tial madam in Jazz Age New York. Her 1953 mem­oir, A House is Not A Home, sold 2 mil­lion books and became a 1963 movie star­ring Shel­ley Win­ters. More than a biog­ra­phy, this is a col­or­ful and unusu­al his­to­ry of Jew­ish life told through the per­spec­tive of a ​“good Jew­ish girl” from a Russ­ian shtetl who immi­grat­ed to Brook­lyn, and rose to become ​“the Female Al Capone” and one of the most renowned Jew­ish-Amer­i­can women in the 20th cen­tu­ry. Her broth­els were under­world salons that catered to every­one from the Van­der­bilts and the Rock­fellers to Wal­ter Winchell, Frank Sina­tra, Desi Arnaz, the Algo­nquin Round­table, Dutch Schultz and Mey­er Lan­sky, and, it was rumored, Franklin D. Roo­sevelt.

Michael Twitty
KOSHERSOUL
Thursday, September 15, 2022 – 12:30 p.m.
FREE – click here to register

Join Jew­ish Book Coun­cil and best-sel­l­­ing author Michael W. Twit­ty in a con­ver­sa­tion about iden­ti­ty, food, cul­ture, and inter­sec­tion­al­i­ty. Kosh­er­soul is a thought-pro­vok­ing mem­oir that looks at the cre­ation of African-Jew­ish foods as a result of migra­tion and the dias­po­ra. Michael Twit­ty will be joined by Adeena Suss­man, food writer and author of the upcom­ing book Shab­bat: Recipes and Rit­u­als From My Table To Yours.

Jessica Nordell
The End of Bias: How We Eliminate Unconscious Bias and Create a More Just World
Monday, December 5th at 12pm**
Virtual

The End of Bias is a trans­for­ma­tive, ground­break­ing explo­ration into how we can erad­i­cate unin­ten­tion­al bias and dis­crim­i­na­tion, the great chal­lenge of our age. Uncon­scious bias: per­sis­tent, unin­ten­tion­al prej­u­diced behav­ior that clash­es with our con­scious­ly held beliefs. With nuance, com­pas­sion, and ten years’ immer­sion in the top­ic, Jes­si­ca Nordell weaves grip­ping sto­ries with sci­en­tif­ic research to reveal how minds, hearts, and behav­iors change. Cap­ti­vat­ing, direct, and trans­for­ma­tive, The End of Bias: A Begin­ning brings good news. Biased behav­ior can change; the approach­es out­lined here show how we can begin to remake our­selves and our world.

In Partnership with JCC Association:

Zach Bodner
Jewish Leadership in the 21st Century
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 – 8:00 p.m.
Virtual – FREE
Click here to register

Join us for a virtual Jewish Leadership Forum event in partnership with the JCC Association of North America on Wednesday, November 2. Zach Bodner, President and CEO of the Oshman Family JCC and author of Why Do Jewish? A Manifesto for 21st Century Jewish Peoplehood, will discuss Jewish Leadership in the 21st Century. Zack’s book “Why Do Jewish?” addresses some of the most important questions of our time for the Jewish people….. How do I live a more meaningful life? How might I feel more connected to others, to the world around me, to the past and the future? In an era when we can choose our own identities, why might we choose to identify as Jews?

Faith Kramer
52 SHABBATS: Friday Night Dinners Inspired by a Global Jewish Kitchen
Monday, December 19th at 12pm
Virtual

52 Shab­bats: Fri­day Night Din­ners Inspired by a Glob­al Jew­ish Kitchen invites every­one to hon­or Shab­bat with a spe­cial meal on Fri­day evenings. It has more than 90 mod­ern recipes (includ­ing many veg­e­tar­i­an options) that add fla­vor and mean­ing to the Shab­bat or hol­i­day table. Let 52 Shab­bats be your guide if you have ever thought about start­ing, shar­ing, or expand­ing your cel­e­bra­tion of Shab­bat, or just adding to your Jew­ish food reper­toir. The book’s many essays and sto­ries also explore Shab­bat tra­di­tions, the Jew­ish cal­en­dar, and the sym­bol­ism of foods in Judaism, offer descrip­tions of Jew­ish com­mu­ni­ties around the world, and inves­ti­gate the glob­al Jew­ish pantry.

Franki Bagdade
I Love My Kids, But I Don’t Always Like Them
Monday, January 23, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
Virtual

Par­ent­ing chal­leng­ing chil­dren suc­cess­ful­ly can present obsta­cles beyond the typ­i­cal parent’s expe­ri­ence, knowl­edge, or imag­i­na­tion. Writ­ten by an expert with 20 years of expe­ri­ence in obser­va­tion and study in the class­room and recre­ation­al pro­grams, this book focus­es on behav­ioral chal­lenges in chil­dren and serves as a guide for par­ents on how to improve their child’s behavior. Fran­ki Bag­dade (M. Ed.), a dynam­ic and cre­ative con­sul­tant skilled in prob­lem solv­ing and out-of-the-box solu­tions, pro­vides a new approach with sim­ple steps that estab­lish new struc­tures, sys­tems, and strate­gies in and out of the home to empow­er your child take respon­si­bil­i­ty for their own behav­ior-and allows you to once again enjoy your child.

Let­ty Cot­tin Pogrebin
Shan­da: A Mem­oir of Shame and Secrecy
Monday, February 6, 2023 – 12:00 p.m.
Virtual

The word shan­da is defined as shame or dis­grace in Yid­dish. This book, Shan­da, tells the sto­ry of three gen­er­a­tions of com­pli­cat­ed, intense 20th-cen­tu­ry Jews for whom the desire to fit in and the fear of pub­lic humil­i­a­tion either drove their aspi­ra­tions or crushed their spir­it. In her deeply engag­ing, aston­ish­ing­ly can­did mem­oir, author and activist Let­ty Cot­tin Pogre­bin expos­es the fiercely­guarded lies and intri­cate cover­ups woven by dozens of mem­bers of her extend­ed fam­i­ly. Begin­ning with her own long­suppressed secret, the sto­ry spi­rals through the hid­den lives of her par­ents and rel­a­tives — reveal­ing the truth about their ori­gins, per­son­al trau­mas, mar­i­tal mis­ery, aban­doned chil­dren, reli­gious trans­gres­sions, sex­u­al iden­ti­ty, rad­i­cal pol­i­tics, and sup­pos­ed­ly embar­rass­ing ill­ness­es. While unmask­ing their cha­rades and dis­guis­es, Pogre­bin also show­cas­es her family’s remark­able tal­ent for rein­ven­tion in a nar­ra­tive that is, by turns, touch­ing, sear­ing, and sur­pris­ing­ly universal.

Daniel Grunfeld
By The Grace of the Game: The Holocaust, A Basketball Legacy, and an Unprecedented American Dream
Monday, February 27, 2023 – 7:00 p.m.
Virtual

When Lily and Alex entered a packed gym­na­si­um in Queens, New York in 1972, they bare­ly rec­og­nized their son. The boy who escaped to Amer­i­ca with them, who was bul­lied as he strug­gled to learn Eng­lish and cope with fam­i­ly tragedy, was now a young man who had dis­cov­ered and secret­ly honed his bas­ket­ball tal­ent on the out­door courts of New York City. That young man was Ernie Grun­feld, who would go on to win an Olympic gold medal and reach pre­vi­ous­ly unimag­in­able heights as an NBA play­er and exec­u­tive. In By the Grace of the Game, Dan Grun­feld, once a bas­ket­ball stand­out him­self at Stan­ford Uni­ver­si­ty, shares the remark­able sto­ry of his fam­i­ly, a del­i­cate­ly inter­wo­ven nar­ra­tive that doesn’t lack in heart­break yet remains as deeply nour­ish­ing as his grandmother’s Hun­gar­i­an cook­ing, so lov­ing­ly described. The true improb­a­bil­i­ty of the saga lies in the dis­cov­ery of a game that unknow­ing­ly held the pow­er to heal wounds, build bridges, and tie togeth­er a frac­tured Jew­ish family.

All speakers are $8 members / $10 non-members

Mark Gerson
THE TELLING: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life
Monday, April 4, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

Have you ever wondered that there might be something more to Passover, the Seder and in the Haggadah―something that just might hold the secrets to living the life of joy and meaning that you were intended to? Join Mark Gerson, the host of The Rabbi’s Husband podcast and renowned Jewish philanthropist, as he shows us how to make the Passover Seder the most engaging, inspiring, and important night of the Jewish year. Through his book, The Telling: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life, we learn how to love the Passover Seder! The Seder wasn’t designed to put your kids to sleep, but is meant to be an experience for families to love, treasure and remember.

Faris Cassell
THE UNANSWERED LETTER: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help
Thursday, April 28, 2022 – 12:00 p.m.

In 1939, as the Nazis closed in, Alfred Berger mailed a desperate letter to an American stranger who happened to share his last name, begging the American recipient of the letter for help, guidance, and hope. Decades later, Alfred’s letter ended up in the hands of Faris Cassell. Cassell is a journalist, writer and winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for the Holocaust. Through her book, The Unanswered Letter: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help, Cassell shows her determination to discover an ending to the story of Berger’s letter. Traveling across the United States as well as to Austria, the Czech Republic, Belarus, and Israel, she uncovered an extraordinary story of heart-wrenching loss and unforgettable love that endures to this day.

Ira Rosen
TICKING CLOCK: Behind the Scenes of 60 Minutes
Monday, May 23, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

When pro­duc­er Ira Rosen walked into the 60 Min­utes offices in June 1980, he knew he was about to enter tele­vi­sion his­to­ry. His career cat­a­pult­ed him to the heights of TV jour­nal­ism, break­ing some of the most impor­tant sto­ries in TV news. But behind the scenes was a war room of clash­ing pro­duc­ers, anchors, and for­mi­da­ble 60 Min­utes fig­ures. Two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and Emmy Award winning producer Ira Rosen reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show in Tick­ing Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes. It’s a 60 Minutes story on 60 Minutes itself!

Based on decades of access and experience, readers are taken behind closed doors to offer an incisive look at the show that invented TV investigative journalism. Filled with surprising humor, charm, colorful detail, and unforgettable personalities that battled for prestige, credit, and the desire to scoop everyone else in the game. Rosen dives into the dynamics of top correspondents such as Diana Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and Anderson Cooper as well as revelations of some of 60 Minutes’ most sensational stories. Highly entertaining, dishy, and unforgettable, Ticking Clock is a never-before-told account of the most successful news show in American history.

David Page
FOOD AMERICANA: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes
Monday, June 20, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

What is American cuisine? What national menu do we share? What dishes have we chosen, how did they become “American”, and how are they likely to evolve from here? Author David Page brings us Food American: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes, a fas­ci­nat­ing explo­ration of how Amer­i­ca cre­at­ed a nation­al cui­sine from the foods of many oth­er coun­tries. Page is a two-time Emmy win­ner that changed the world of food tele­vi­sion by cre­at­ing Din­ers, Dri­ve-Ins and Dives. Before that, as a net­work news pro­duc­er, he trav­eled Amer­i­ca and the world cov­er­ing the biggest sto­ries‚ and indulging his love for ter­rif­ic food. He’s pas­sion­ate, engag­ing, humor­ous, and he has fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ries to tell. 

Food Americana is the inside story shows how generations of Americans have formed a national cuisine with tastes from all over the world in an engaging and entertaining combination of food culture and pop culture. Also included is Jew­ish-spe­cif­ic con­tent such as the fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ry of bagels and lox‚ from behind the counter at Russ & Daugh­ters appe­tiz­ing store on the low­er east side, to Mar­vin Lender describ­ing the his­to­ry of Lender’s Bagels, to Mel Brooks rem­i­nisc­ing about lox as a once-a-week treat as a child. And there’s also the real back­sto­ry of Jew­ish love for Chi­nese food!

Registration is now open!:

For more information, contact [email protected].

Mark Gerson
THE TELLING: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life
Monday, April 4, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

Have you ever wondered that there might be something more to Passover, the Seder and in the Haggadah―something that just might hold the secrets to living the life of joy and meaning that you were intended to? Join Mark Gerson, the host of The Rabbi’s Husband podcast and renowned Jewish philanthropist, as he shows us how to make the Passover Seder the most engaging, inspiring, and important night of the Jewish year. Through his book, The Telling: How Judaism’s Essential Book Reveals the Meaning of Life, we learn how to love the Passover Seder! The Seder wasn’t designed to put your kids to sleep, but is meant to be an experience for families to love, treasure and remember.

Faris Cassell
THE UNANSWERED LETTER: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help
Thursday, April 28, 2022 – 12:00 p.m.

In 1939, as the Nazis closed in, Alfred Berger mailed a desperate letter to an American stranger who happened to share his last name, begging the American recipient of the letter for help, guidance, and hope. Decades later, Alfred’s letter ended up in the hands of Faris Cassell. Cassell is a journalist, writer and winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for the Holocaust. Through her book, The Unanswered Letter: One Holocaust Family’s Desperate Plea for Help, Cassell shows her determination to discover an ending to the story of Berger’s letter. Traveling across the United States as well as to Austria, the Czech Republic, Belarus, and Israel, she uncovered an extraordinary story of heart-wrenching loss and unforgettable love that endures to this day.

Ira Rosen
TICKING CLOCK: Behind the Scenes of 60 Minutes
Monday, May 23, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

When pro­duc­er Ira Rosen walked into the 60 Min­utes offices in June 1980, he knew he was about to enter tele­vi­sion his­to­ry. His career cat­a­pult­ed him to the heights of TV jour­nal­ism, break­ing some of the most impor­tant sto­ries in TV news. But behind the scenes was a war room of clash­ing pro­duc­ers, anchors, and for­mi­da­ble 60 Min­utes fig­ures. Two-time Peabody Award-winning writer and Emmy Award winning producer Ira Rosen reveals the intimate, untold stories of his decades at America’s most iconic news show in Tick­ing Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes. It’s a 60 Minutes story on 60 Minutes itself!

Based on decades of access and experience, readers are taken behind closed doors to offer an incisive look at the show that invented TV investigative journalism. Filled with surprising humor, charm, colorful detail, and unforgettable personalities that battled for prestige, credit, and the desire to scoop everyone else in the game. Rosen dives into the dynamics of top correspondents such as Diana Sawyer, Barbara Walters, and Anderson Cooper as well as revelations of some of 60 Minutes’ most sensational stories. Highly entertaining, dishy, and unforgettable, Ticking Clock is a never-before-told account of the most successful news show in American history.

David Page
FOOD AMERICANA: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes
Monday, June 20, 2022 – 1:30 p.m.

What is American cuisine? What national menu do we share? What dishes have we chosen, how did they become “American”, and how are they likely to evolve from here? Author David Page brings us Food American: The Remarkable People and Incredible Stories Behind America’s Favorite Dishes, a fas­ci­nat­ing explo­ration of how Amer­i­ca cre­at­ed a nation­al cui­sine from the foods of many oth­er coun­tries. Page is a two-time Emmy win­ner that changed the world of food tele­vi­sion by cre­at­ing Din­ers, Dri­ve-Ins and Dives. Before that, as a net­work news pro­duc­er, he trav­eled Amer­i­ca and the world cov­er­ing the biggest sto­ries‚ and indulging his love for ter­rif­ic food. He’s pas­sion­ate, engag­ing, humor­ous, and he has fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ries to tell. 

Food Americana is the inside story shows how generations of Americans have formed a national cuisine with tastes from all over the world in an engaging and entertaining combination of food culture and pop culture. Also included is Jew­ish-spe­cif­ic con­tent such as the fas­ci­nat­ing sto­ry of bagels and lox‚ from behind the counter at Russ & Daugh­ters appe­tiz­ing store on the low­er east side, to Mar­vin Lender describ­ing the his­to­ry of Lender’s Bagels, to Mel Brooks rem­i­nisc­ing about lox as a once-a-week treat as a child. And there’s also the real back­sto­ry of Jew­ish love for Chi­nese food!

Eric Weiner
THE SOCRATES EXPRESS: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers
Monday, January 10, 2022 – 12:00pm

Eric Weiner combines his twin passions for philosophy and global travel in a pilgrimage that uncovers surprising life lessons from great thinkers around the world, from Rousseau to Nietzsche, Confucius to Simone Weil. Traveling by train, Weiner journeys thousands of miles, making stops in Athens, Delhi, Wyoming, Coney Island, Frankfurt, and points in between, to reconnect with philosophy’s original purpose: teaching us how to lead wiser, more meaningful lives. From Socrates and ancient Athens to Simone de Beauvoir and twentieth-century Paris, Weiner’s chosen philosophers and places provide important signposts as we navigate today’s chaotic times. In The Socrates Express, Weiner, a former foreign correspondent for NPR, invites us to voyage alongside him on his life-changing pursuit of wisdom and discovery as he attempts to find answers to our most vital questions.

Daniel Sokatch
CAN WE TALK ABOUT ISRAEL?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted
Monday, January 24, 2022 – 12:00pm

Can We Talk About Israel? is an attempt to grapple with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as (and indeed are) victims. And it’s an attempt to explain why Israel (and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict) inspires such extreme feelings – why it seems like Israel is the answer to “what is wrong with the world” for half the people in it, and “what is right with the world” for the other half.  We will have the opportunity to hear from Daniel Sokatch, the Chief Executive Officer of the New Israel Fund, as he asks whether there is any other topic about which so many intelligent, educated, and sophisticated people express such strongly and passionately held convictions, and about which they actually know so little?

Black History Month Event
Andrew Feiler
A BETTER LIFE FOR THEIR CHILDREN: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools That Changed America
Monday, February 7, 2022 – 12:00pm

This is a story of how two very different people came together to make a difference in the world. Julius Rosenwald, born to Jewish immigrants, rose to lead one of the world’s largest retailers – Sears, Roebuck & Company – and Booker T. Washington, born into slavery, became the founding principal of Tuskegee Institute. In 1912 the two men launched an ambitious program to partner with Black communities across the segregated South to build public schools for African American children. Of the original 4,978 Rosenwald schools built during 1912-1937 across 15 states, approximately 500 survived. To tell this story visually, Andrew Feiler drove 25,000 miles, photographed 105 schools, and interviewed dozens of former students, teachers, and preservationists. A fifth-generation Georgian, Feiler will share some of the photographs capturing interiors and exteriors, schools restored and yet-to-be-restored, and portraits of people with compelling connections to these schools.

Anne Sebba
ETHEL ROSENBERG: An American Tragedy
Monday, March 7, 2022 – 10:00 a.m.

Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage for the Soviet Union in the 1950s despite the fact that the US government was aware that the evidence against Ethel was shaky and was based on the perjury of her own brother. With Ethel’s profound love for and loyalty to her husband, she refused to incriminate him despite government pressure, and then faced the death penalty. We will hear from Anne Sebba about new evidence that recently surfaced on Ethel Rosenberg through the revelation of prison letters Ethel exchanged with her husband, her lawyer, and her psychotherapist over a three-year period while in confinement. We will learn more about Ethel’s struggles with the social mores of the 1950s, longing to be a good wife and perfect mother to her two small boys while battling the political paranoia of the McCarthy era, antisemitism, misogyny, and a mother who never valued her. Anne Sebba is a prize-winning biographer, lecturer, and former Reuters foreign correspondent.

Women’s Month Event
Tracy Walder
THE UNEXPECTED SPY: From the CIA to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking Down Some of the World’s Most Notorious Terrorists
Monday, March 21, 2022 – 12:00 p.m.

Tracy Walder, a Jewish American woman recruited by the CIA straight from her sorority at the University of Southern California, tells a thrilling tale of clandestine meetings in clandestine locales with spies and embedded civilians from other countries and of following trails across North Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, shutting down multiple attacks. She watched al-Qaeda members with drones as President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Secretary of State Colin Powell looked over her shoulder. She tracked chemical terrorists and searched the world for weapons of mass destruction. In The Unexpected Spy, Walder shares the riveting story of her tenure at the CIA, and later, in counterintelligence at the FBI.

Raffi Berg
RED SEA SPIES: The True Story of Mossad’s Fake Diving Resort
Monday, October 4, 2021 – 1:00pm

In the early 1980s on a remote part of the Sudanese coast, a new luxury holiday resort opened for business. Catering to divers, it attracted guests from around the world. Little did the vacationers know that the staff were undercover spies working for the Mossad – Israel’s intelligence agency. Red Sea Spies, written by longtime BBC Middle East Editor Raffi Berg, tells the true story of what began with one cryptic message pleading for help and turned into a secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews in refugee camps, spiriting them to Israel. These events inspired the recent Netflix drama The Red Sea Diving Resort.

Harold Koplewicz
THE SCAFFOLD EFFECT: Raising Resilient, Self-Reliant, and Secure Kids in an Age of Anxiety
Thursday, October 14, 2021 – 7:00pm
This is a free event, but registration is required

Just as sturdy scaffolding is needed when building a structure that then comes down once the structure is stable and built, good parenting provides children with steady, warm, emotional nourishment on the path toward independence. Never-ending parental problem-solving and involvement can have the opposite effect, enabling fragility and anxiety over time. World-renowned child psychiatrist Harold Koplewicz will explain how to prevent and counteract the anxiety and emotional fragility prevalent in children and teenagers today, introducing a new parenting philosophy and strategies that give children the tools to flourish on their own.

Ami Ayalon
FRIENDLY FIRE: How Israel Became Its Own Worst Enemy
Monday, October 18, 2021 – 12:00pm

Retired Admiral Ami Ayalon, a former director of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency, shares his own thoughts and philosophy about what Israel needs to do to achieve relative peace and security and to sustain itself as a Jewish homeland and a liberal democracy. In Friendly Fire, Ayalon shares his deeply personal journey of discovery, seeking input and perspective from both Palestinians and Israelis whose experiences differ from his own and from each other. Join us, along with Prof. Mark Rosenblum who will moderate the discussion, to hear how Ayalon has come to realize that the sustainable and democratic Jewish homeland for which he repeatedly risked his life can only be realized side-by-side with a Palestinian state whose citizens have genuine hope for their own bright future.

A former Flotilla 13 (Israel’s navy SEALS) commando, a commander of the navy, cabinet minister, Knesset member, Ami Ayalon was the recipient of the Medal of Valor, Israel’s highest military decoration.

An expert on the Middle East, Prof. Mark Rosenblum is Director of the Ibrahim Student Leadership and Dialogue Middle East Program with Queens College, and Director Emeritus of the Center for Jewish Studies and the Center for Ethnic, Racial, and Religious Understanding.

Kristallnacht Event
Gwen Strauss
THE NINE: The True Story of a Band of Women Who Survived the Worst of Nazi Germany
Monday, November 1, 2021 – 12:00pm

The Nine tells the story of nine women under thirty who joined the resistance during World War II and eventually became a close-knit group of friends. They smuggled arms through Europe, harbored parachuting agents, coordinated communications between regional sectors, trekked escape routes to Spain, and hid Jewish children in scattered apartments. They were arrested by French police, interrogated and tortured by the Gestapo, subjected to a series of French prisons, and deported to Germany. Gwen Strauss shares with us the true story of her great aunt Hélène Podliasky, who led this band of female resistance fighters on a daring escape from a German forced labor camp and a ten-day journey across the front lines of WWII back to Paris.

Leah Garrett
X TROOP: The Secret Jewish Commandos of World War II
Monday, November 15, 2021 – 12:00pm

In June 1942 the Third Reich had cast a horrific shadow across Europe. In desperation, Winston Churchill and his chief of staff formed an unusual plan: a new commando unit made up of Jewish refugees who had escaped to Britain – a motley group of intellectuals, artists, and athletes, mostly from Germany and Austria, who had to take on fake British names and personas. Trained in counterintelligence and advanced combat to deliver decisive blows against the Nazis, this top-secret unit became known as X Troop. Acclaimed scholar Leah Garrett draws on extensive original research, including interviews with the last surviving members of X Troop, and follows this unique band of brothers from Germany to England and back, to British internment camps, the beaches of Normandy, the battlefields of Italy and Holland, and the hellscape of Terezin concentration camp – the scene of one of the most dramatic rescues of the war.

Moriah Amit
TRACING YOUR ROOTS AT HOME, LEVEL II: Online Research Beyond the U.S.
Monday, July 12, 2021 – 12:00pm

Are you interested in learning more about your family’s history prior to their arrival in the U.S. or about a branch of your family that never emigrated to the U.S.? In this interactive online presentation, Moriah Amit, Senior Genealogy Librarian at the Center for Jewish History’s Ackman & Ziff Family Genealogy Institute, will show you how to broaden your family history search beyond the basic databases to specific online resources for places of origin worldwide. In addition, learn tips for finding and requesting records from your country of origin that are not available online. While this is designed as a follow-up to the Center’s genealogy basics session, first-time participants are welcome. This workshop is geared toward people of all religious/ethnic backgrounds.

Scott Shane
FACTS OR FAKES? Navigating the News in an Age of Disinformation
Monday, August 16, 2021 – 12:00pm

During this time of mass media, how do we differentiate between what is fact and fake? Is COVID-19 part of a secret plot to make a fortune by selling vaccines? Did Trump’s lawyer plot with Russian spies to hack the Democrats? Are Fox and MSNBC reporting on the 2020 election from different planets? Former New York Times reporter Scott Shane will examine recent case studies in online disinformation, using real images and video clips, and discuss how to separate truth from fabrication.