A Salute To Israel at 60

Celebrate Israel's 60th Birthday. Reveal how the often turbulent history helped to contribute to the strength of the nation in 2008. Uncover the beauty of the music that grew from the polyglot of settlers to the musical idioms of the 21st century.  Glimpse into Israeli culture and life, as presented within the dramatic contexts of religion, history and geography.

Dr. Abraham Gittelson 

 

Dr. Abraham Gittelson, is presently senior consultant to the Central Agency for Jewish Education of South Florida, where he served as Associate Executive Director for more than 25 years. In addition, he now focuses on adult Jewish education, teaching in programs at Florida Atlantic and Nova Universities and at Elderhostels. He is also active in Holocaust education, lecturing at High School Student Awareness Days and in the training of Holocaust teachers in the public school systems of Florida.

 

Israel at 60: Challenges From Within and Without

Examine the crucial issues facing Israel including the fate of Jerusalem, the return of the 'refugees', the final boundaries of a Palestinian state and the shortage of water in the Middle East. Explore the gap between observant and secular Israelis, and the question of Israel being a state for Jews or a Jewish state.

 

 

Mark Levy 

Mark Levy has performed and taught in the S.F. Bay area for 25 years at temples, synagogues, JCC’s, Lehrhaus Judaica, Workmen’s Circle, and other Jewish groups. He has appeared throughout the country and abroad and is a singer and lecturer who specializes in older Judaic folk music in Yiddish and Ladino, Klezmer history and theory, and Jewish music history in general. He recently performed for Yeshiva University Sephardic Department’s Semana Sepharad in New York, and is a cantorial soloist in California. He has released a fourth album of Jewish music this year entitled Bin Ikh Mir A Shnayderl: Yiddish Work Songs, in commemoration of the 100^th birthday of Workmen’s Circle, a fraternal order of Jewish workers and their families.

 

The Music of Israel

From the early Chalutzim (pioneers) in Palestine to the latest rock, we'll sample the music of the Jewish state and learn how it develops from the polyglot of settlers and musical idioms of the 20th century.

 

 

 

Tom Friedmann

Tom Friedmann, the author of a novel, Damaged Goods, a collection of stories, Hero Azriel, and two English textbooks, lectures widely on humor, literature and culture, at colleges, temples, JCCs, and other organizations, including New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut Elderhostels. A tenured Professor of English at Onondaga Community College of SUNY, he also teaches scriptwriting at Syracuse University’s Dept. of Visual and Performing Arts. His recently completed script (with Lester Friedman), Prisoners of Freedom: An American Holocaust Story, a dramatic documentary based on the Ft. Ontario refugees, has been shown on Time Warner cable and been the recipient of a number of awards at national and international film festivals. His other honors include awards for fiction, from New Jersey State Council of the Arts, SUNY Faculty Grants, and PEN Women. As a pre-screener, Friedmann has been instrumental in selecting some of the films being shown in the annual Syracuse International Film and Video Festival.

 

Short Comedies and Dramas from Israeli Film Schools on Courtship, Domestic Life, and Statehood

 

View award winning, internationally shown short fictional films from the Sam Spiegel, Tel Aviv, and Ma'ale School of Film and Television. These contemporary short narratives are beautifully scripted and acted, addressing daily life within the larger contexts of politics and religion. Shown in festivals around the world, they feature writers, actors, and producers who have come to dominate the Israeli film industry.