Experience world class programming with internationally renowned authors as we bring you the best of the literary world. Let us engage, educate and entertain you with this year's incredible lineup of authors and moderators.

Schedule of Events

November 7, 2023

7:30 - 8:30 PM: Opening Night Event : Israel Story

Israel Story podcast tells extraordinary tales about ordinary people living in this corner of the world. This special program, created for Israel's 75th anniversary, is a live, literary, multi-media performance - part history lesson, part contemporary social commentary, all in one night. It is based on the story around Israel's original Declaration of Independence. The presentation includes interviews with the closest living relative of each of the original 37 signatories of the Declaration. The evening will include live storytelling, reading of the Declaration Megillat H'Atzmaut, a chavrusa-style hands-on component, a recording of Ben Gurion's grandson and an interview with Rabbi Gold's grandson to reflect diverse views of Israel today.

Location:
Mandel JCC

November 13, 2023

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Uri Kaufman

October 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, a conflict that shaped the modern Middle East. The War was a trauma for Israel and following the oil embargo, a pivotal reordering of the global economic order. But, argues Uri Kaufman, from the perspective of a half century, the War can be seen as a pivotal victory for Israel. In the War's aftermath, both sides had to accept unwelcome truths: Israel could no longer take military superiority for granted-but the Arabs could no longer hope to wipe Israel off the map. A straight line leads from the battlefields of 1973 to the Camp David Accords of 1978 and all the treaties since.

Location:
Online

November 14, 2023

7:30 - 8:30 PM: Adam Mansbach

A hilarious, satirical, and poignant reimagination of the golem, whose justice-seeking adventure takes him through modern-day bodegas, sitcoms, and fast food as he and his creator wrestle with questions of existence and Jewish identity-from the bestselling author of the Go the F*ck to Sleep series. The Golem in Brooklyn is a zany, clever, candid commentary on antisemitism and the dream of its eradication.

Location:
Mandel JCC

November 16, 2023

7:00pm - 8:00pm: Mitch Albom

A moving new novel from the beloved author of Tuesdays with Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Exploring honesty, survival, revenge and devotion, The Little Liar is a timeless story about the harm we inflict with our deceits, and the power of love to redeem us. When the Nazis invade Salonika, Greece, eleven-year-old Nico Crispi is offered a chance to save his family. He is instructed to convince his fellow Jewish residents to board trains heading towards the east, where they are promised jobs and safety. He dutifully goes to the station platform every day and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. Only after it is too late does Nico discover that the people he loved would never return.

Location:
Parma Snow Branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library
2121 Snow Road
Parma, OH 44134

November 19, 2023

10:00 - 11:30 AM: Kids' Day featuring Sari Kopitnikoff Only Kidding

Join us for a fun morning strengthening your funny bone with educator and author Sari Kopitnikoff. Enjoy kid-friendly joke-writing activities and a light breakfast (kosher dietary laws observed). This event is ideal for families with children ages 3-8.

In Only Kidding!, this one-of-a-kind illustrated Jewish joke book for kids, you'll laugh about all things Jewish: Jewish holidays, Jewish food, Hebrew letters, Jewish celebrations, and even some holy things. (No, not socks.) The book contains 50+ original jokes, and even more silly illustrations.

Author Sari Kopitnikoff is an experiential educator, digital artist and content creator. She's passionate about creating books, games, activities and shows that bring Judaism to life. For over a decade, she taught elementary through high school, and gives workshops for kids, teens and adults.

Enjoy a morning of fun with Sari Kopitnikoff and your friends at the J!

Event is free but registration required

Loaction:
Mandel JCC

November 20, 2023

7:30 - 8:30 PM : Keynote Event Michael Oren

In 2048: The Rejuvenated State, Ambassador Michael Oren sets out his vision for Israel in honor of Israel's 75th Independence Day 25 years in the future. Drawing on more than 40 years' experience in government, the military and Foreign Service, and with the perspective of a historian who has lived throughout the county and abroad, Oren identifies the most critical issues that Israelis need to discuss and proposes measures which, however difficult, are vital to Israel's fate. His work is presented in three languages: English, Hebrew & Arabic all in one volume, a wonderful metaphor for the peace and unity we all hope for.

Loaction:
Mandel JCC

January 17, 2024

7:30 - 8:30 PM: Laura Meckler

In this searing and intimate examination of the ideals and realities of racial integration, award-winning Washington Post journalist Laura Meckler tells the story of a decades-long pursuit in Shaker Heights, Ohio, and uncovers the roadblocks that have threatened progress time and again-in housing, in education, and in the promise of shared community. In telling the stories of the Shakerites who have built and lived in this community, Meckler asks: What will it take to fulfill the promise of racial integration in America? What compromises are people of all races willing to make? What does success look like, and has Shaker achieved it? The result is a complex and masterfully reported portrait of a place that, while never perfect, has achieved more than most and a road map for communities that seek to do the same.

Loaction:
Mandel JCC

March 5, 2024

7:30 - 8:30 PM: Peter Blauner

Picture in the Sand is a historical suspense novel about faith, hope, terror, and the movies. In 1954, a young movie fan named Ali Hassan gets a dream job working for Cecil B. DeMille on a film about the greatest of Jewish liberation stories, The Ten Commandments, in Egypt. But that dream turns into a nightmare when Ali gets caught up in real-life events of the day. He ends up in prison, but he finds salvation there in an unlikely life-saving friendship with a Jewish filmmaker. It's a story Ali has kept secret for decades. But now, as an older successful businessman living in America, he's forced to share it with a beloved grandson who's about to make the same mistakes by going off to fight in a holy war.

Loaction:
Mandel JCC

March 6, 2024

7:30 - 8:30 PM: Marjorie Ingall

Drawing on a deep well of studies in brain science, sociology, psychology, law, and medicine, Marjorie Ingall explains why a good apology is hard to find…and why it doesn't have to be. Alongside a six (and a half!)-step formula for apologizing beautifully, Sorry, Sorry, Sorry delves into research on why good apologies are psychologically difficult; why corporations, celebrities, and governments seldom apologize well; how to teach children to apologize; how to respond to a bad apology; how gender, race, and power affect apologies and forgiveness; and most of all, why good apologies are essential, powerful, and restorative.

Location:
Park Synagogue
27500 Shaker Blvd
Cleveland, OH 44124

March 11, 2024

7:30 PM: Women in History: Untold Stories

Three Author Panel Celebrating Women's History Month

Listen, World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America's Most-Read Woman by Allison Gilbert

Told in cinematic detail, Listen World! is the inspiring story of a timeless maverick, capturing what it means to take a gamble on self-fulfillment and find freedom along the way. Elsie Robinson launched her nationally syndicated Listen, World! column nearly 100 years ago. She shared her points of view with over twenty million readers – blasting gender inequality, racism, antisemitism – and invited readers to "talk back" by printing their fiery letters in her pages.

The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWll and Shape Modern America by Christopher Gorham

The first-ever biography of Anna Marie Rosenberg, a Jewish immigrant with only a high school education who went on to be dubbed by Life Magazine "the most important woman in the American government." Her life ran parallel to the front lines of history yet her influence on 20th century America, from the New Deal to the Cold War and beyond, has never before been told.

Bessie: A Novel by Linda Kass

Just days after the close of World War II, Bess Myerson, the college-educated daughter of poor Russian Jewish immigrants living in the Bronx, is competing in the Miss America pageant. At stake: a $5,000 scholarship. The tension and excitement in Atlantic City's Warner Theatre is palpable, especially for traumatized Jews rooting for one of their own. Drawing on biographical and historical sources, Bessie is a tender study of a bold young woman living at a precarious moment in our cultural history.

Location:
Online

March 12, 2024

10:00 AM: Dalia Feldheim

Dare to Lead Like a Girl is a holistic look at how to achieve purpose and joy at work. It is about turning the world of work into a place where empathy, intuition, passion, and resilience take their rightful place, where women can lead like women and men can tap into their historically considered feminine leadership traits and dare to lead (more) like a girl! It's a provocative call to action to all leaders to stop wearing emotional masks at work and connect to their more feminine leadership traits like purpose, perspective, physical power, people and positivity.

Location:
Online

March 17, 2024

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Joe Posnanski

Cleveland LOVES baseball!  Celebrated sportswriter Joe Posnanski circles the bases, calling out 50 of the most exceptional moments in the history of the game. You'll be transported back to the ballpark to relive memorable moments that created legends or may have produced epic errors. Told from a unique perspective, the book covers not only the well-known moments but significant smaller stories from games outside the major leagues. This celebration of baseball will have us cheering from our seats!

Why We Love Baseball is a love letter to baseball, a fresh and heartfelt look at the game's greatest moments and how they continue to grab at our hearts. Whether it's Willie Mays' over-the-shoulder catch, Babe Ruth's called shot, Shohei Ohtani's exploits as both a pitcher and a hitter, or Josh Gibson or Sandy Koufax's perfect game, these timeless and magical moments take us to the heart of why we love baseball after almost 150 years. And, why Baseball has always drawn Jewish attention.

Loaction:
Mandel JCC

March 19, 2024

7:30 PM: Elizabeth Graver & Aaron Hamburger

A kaleidoscopic portrait of one family's displacement across four countries, Kantika-"song" in Ladino-follows the joys and losses of Rebecca Cohen, feisty daughter of the Sephardic elite of early 20th-century Istanbul. When the Cohens lose their wealth and are forced to move to Barcelona and start anew, Rebecca fashions a life and self from what comes her way-a failed marriage, the need to earn a living, but also passion, pleasure, and motherhood. Moving from Spain to Cuba to New York for an arranged second marriage, she faces her greatest challenge-her disabled stepdaughter, Luna, whose feistiness equals her own and whose challenges pit new family against old.

Fleeing the chaos of World War I and the Soviet Revolution, practical, sensible Pearl Kahn and her lovestruck, impulsive younger sibling Frieda hope to reach America. But when discriminatory new immigration laws bar their entry, the young women sail instead to Havana, Cuba, convinced that there they will find a way to overcome this setback.

A heartbreaking, epic family story, Hotel Cuba explores the profound courage of two women displaced from their home who strive to create a new future in an enticing and dangerous world far different from anything they have ever known.

Location:
Online

March 20, 2024

1:00 PM: Nina Siegal

A riveting look at the story of World War II and the Holocaust through the diaries of Dutch citizens, firsthand accounts of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Based on select writings from a collection of more than two thousand Dutch diaries written during World War II, The Diary Keepers illuminates a part of history we haven't seen in quite this way before, from the stories of a Nazi-sympathizing police officer to a Jewish journalist who documented daily activities at a transport camp. The Diary Keepers mines the diaries of ordinary citizens to understand the nature of resistance, the workings of memory, and the ways we reflect on, commemorate, and re-envision the past.

Location:
Online

Date:
November 7 - March 20, 2023

Location:
Mandel Jewish Community Center, 26001 South Woodland Road, Beachwood, OH 44122
Parma Library Snow Branch, 2121 Snow Road, Parma, OH 44129
Park Synagogue East, 27500 Shaker Boulevard, Cleveland, OH 44101
Online

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