[D.C.]
April 22 (Mon.), 12:00 Noon—
Lecture on the Jews of Iraq by Dr. David Kazzaz
Where:
Library of Congress, Room G-51 (Madison Building). Dr. Kazzaz is author
of Mother of the Pound: Memoirs on the Life andHhistory of the Iraqi
Jews. Born in Baghdad, Dr. Kazzaz graduated medical school from the
American University in Beirut in the 1940's. He moved to Israel in 1950
and then moved to the United States to complete his psychiatric residency
at the University of Colorado in Denver, where he still lives. Lecture
free to the public.
[N.Y.]
Monday, April 22, 6:00 pm
Life in the Damn Tropics:
Book Party/Reading Celebrating David Unger's New Book
Meet
David Unger and hear excerpts from "Life in the Damn Tropics"
(Syracuse University Press) on April 22 at the Americas Society, 680 Park
Avenue at 68th St New York, NY 10021. RSVP ACCEPTANCES ONLY, call 21-249-8950
ext.369. Also Thursday, April 25
at 7:15 pm, the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 5 Union Square
West, 7th Floor New York, NY 10003 (Doors locked at 8 PM)
" a witty book, ebullient in its observations about the human heart
and mind, and the caprices of destiny." Oscar Hijuelos
Read
more about this book!
[L.A..]
Saturday, April 27, 6:30 pm—Kurdish
American Education Society Dinner Features Keynote Speaker
Arun Gandhi of the Mahatma
Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
The Kurdish
American Education Society honors Dr. Fouad Darweesh, a distinguished
Kurdish-American leader. K.A.E.S. is a nonprofit organization established
to promote cultural and educational bonds between the people of the United
States and the Kurdish people of the Middle East. Dr. Fouad Darweesh is
a Kurdish-American physician who has worked for humantarian causes. Arun
Gandhi is a profoundly compelling speaker. The dinner and presentation
are only $30 per seat Beckman Hall, Room 404, Chapman University, Orange,
CA. For directions call 714-997-6815.
For complete
information, click
here, print the form and mail it in, or call 909-981-2444, 714-738-1785, or 949-380-4347 for further info.
[L.A..]
Sunday, April 28, 2:30-7:30 pm—Jacques
Derrida: The Last and Least of the Jews, First
Annual Conference on the Impact of Jewish Thought on European Civilization
at UCLA
"Politically
active and deeply committed to furthering the course of social justice,
Jacques Derrida
has speculated that his early childhood experiences of intense anti-Semitism
which, among other things, led to his expulsion from the Algerian public
schools at an early age, prompted him to devote his life work to rethinking
positions of racism, power, and oppression using his sharp and surprising
analytical skills to address the ways in which they overtly and covertly
operate. As such his work has opened up spaces of critical thought to
a wide variety of cultures and forces informing a wide range of human
rights movements." —Amy Ziering Kofman et Kirby Dick, makes
of a new film, "Derrida."
Says Derrida
himself: "Under the heading of' declaring oneself Jewish,' I would
rather confide in you, and perhaps avow that these philosophical necessities
have imposed themselves upon me through the modest experience of someone
who, prior to becoming what you call a 'French-speaking Jewish intellectual.'
was first a young Jew in French Algeria...In a country where the number
and the diversity of historical communities was as rich as in Jerusalem,
West to East, this Jewish child could only dream of a peaceful, cultural,
linguistic, and even national pluri-belonging through the experience of
non-belonging: separations, rejections, ruptures, exclusions...
Covell Commons,
UCLA. 2:30 pm, Kenneth Reinhard, Dir. UCLA Center for Jewish Studies,
introductory remarks. 2:45 Jacques Derrida, Dir. of Studies at
the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris) and Prof. of
Comp Lit at UCI. 3:15 Responses to Derrida's "Abraham, the Other"
and "Avowing—The Impossible" by Gil Anidjar (Columbia
U.), Robert Gibbs (U. of Toronto), Dana Hollander (Michigan
State), Moshe Idel (Hebrew U.), Joshua Kates (St. Johns),
Eric Santner (U. of Chicago), Elizabeth Weber (UCSB) and Samuel
Weber (Northwestern), and comments by Prof. Derrida. 5:45 Reception.
6:30-7:30, Screening of Derrida's "Elsewhere," a film by Safaa
Faty (1999, 52 minutes). Free to the public. Call for info, 310-825-5387.
[L.A..]
Sunday, April 28, 7:30 pm
Sephardic Songs of Exile, A
Symphonic Suite Composed by Yuval Ron and Performed by the L.A.
Jewish Symphony
A world
premier of Yuval Ron's "Sephardic Songs of Exile," a symphonic
suite based on the traditional music of the Jews of Bosnia, Spain and
Morocco. Performed by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony featuring soloists:
Maya Hadi - alto voice, Jamie Papish - percussion, Yuval Ron - oud. Commissioned
by artistic director Dr. Noreen Green for the LAJS. Also in the program:
contemporary symphonic compositions by Noam Sheriff, Benjamin Yusupov,
Moshe Rasiuk and Ariel Davydov. Reception with the composers and performers
to follow the concert. Location: Sinai Temple Hall - 10400 Wilshire Blvd.,
Los Angeles, CA Tickets: To order tickets please call LAJS Box Office
at: 310-478-9311.
[N.Y.]
Sunday, April 28, 7:00 pm
Emil Zrihan, Extraordinary Judeo-Moroccan Vocalist/Cantor/Hazzan
Performs at Symphony Space
The
World Music Institute presents Emil Zrihan, the extraordinary countertenor
& cantor from Ashkelon. Zrihan makes a rare appearance with his compelling
Judeo-Andalusian musical ensemble performing Arab/Mizrahi music of Moroccan
and the Middle East. He was a huge hit during his last New York appearance
in Central Park in 2000 and roused audiences to their feet in Los Angeles
and San Francisco during his U.S. debut in 1999. At Symphony Space, Broadway
at 95th Street, NYC $30; students $15, Box office, (212) 864-5400.
Information/charges (212) 545-7536.
" amazing vocal improvisations" CHICAGO TRIBUNE "(he)
amazed American listeners with his Neptunian breath control and ecstatic
blend of Moroccan mawal, flamenco, and Jewish and Muslim liturgical music."
RHYTHM MAGAZINE The Moroccan-born Israeli cantor Emil Zrihan, nicknamed
"the voice of the mockingbird," has been acknowledged as one
of the finest countertenors in the world. The power and range of his voice
expresses the emotional intensity of North African sacred and secular
songs (both Sephardic and Arabic), and the vivacity of Andalusian mawal,
a virtuosic improvisational form performed by Arabs throughout North Africa
and the Levant. Through his performances he encourages peaceful dialogue
between Jews and Arabs. Singing in Arabic and Hebrew, he will be accompanied
by the brilliant ud (lute) player Nabil Khalidi, violinist Mohammed Bennis,
accordionist Sameh Sidhom, and percussionists Omar Rhattani and Mustapha
Ettamri.
This program is made possible in part with public support from the New
York State Council on the Arts, a State agency. Additional funding is
provided by the Howard Bayne Fund and the Concordia Foundation. Endorsed
by Ivri-NASAWI.
[N.Y.]
Wed., May 1, States of the Art: Arab, Hebrew & Spanish Novelists
Elias Khoury, Shimon Ballas & Juan Goytisolo read from their work.
New York University Main Bldg., Room 703, 100 Washington
Square East. Introduced by Ammiel Alcalay.
Free admission. Elias Khoury is visiting Professor at New York University;
his novels include Bab al-Shams, Little Mountain, Journey
of Little Ghandi, and Gates of the City. Juan Goytisolo, visiting
at the King Juan Carlos Center, is the author of many novels and essay
collections. His most recent books include The Marx Family Saga,
Landscapes of War and the forthcoming State of Siege. Shimon
Ballas has written twelve novels in Hebrew and several collections of
critical essays in Arabic; translations of his work into English appear
in Ammiel Alcalay¹s collection, Keys to the Garden. Ammiel Alcalay¹s
most recent books are Memories of Our Future: Selected essays 1982-1999,
and From the Warring Factions.
Sponsored/funded and/or endorsed by: The Ford Foundation / Crossing Borders:
Rethinking Area Studies Program Classical, Middle Eastern & Asian Languages
& Cultures / Queens College Center for Comparative Literature & Society
/ Columbia University The Hagop Kevorkian Center / New York University
Comparative Literature / CUNY Graduate Center Middle Eastern Studies /
New York University Comparative Literature / Columbia University The Oded
Halahmy Foundation for the Arts The Community Bookstore / Brooklyn/Ivri-NASAWI/Levantine
Cultural Center. For further info call 718-997-5586 or 212-998-8877.
[N.Y.]
Wed., May 1, 9: 30 pm, Sarah Aroeste, Spanish Mediterranean Rock Fusion,
with Yoel Ben-Simhon and Guests
Sarah
Aroeste is best known for her funky fusion of Spanish, Mediterranean
and American musical styles. Yoel
Ben-Simhon is best-known for his Moroccan/Middle East musical
performances with his Sultana Ensemble. Here Ben-Simhon joins Aroeste
for a new collaboration.
Inspired by her family's cultural heritage—orginally from Spain and
later settling in Salonika, Greece— the Aroeste sound combines and
updates aspects from her unique family background. Most influenced by
the music and language of her Spanish roots, Aroeste grounds her music
in Ladino, or castillian Spanish, the language originated by Spanish Jews
after their expulsion from Spain in 1492. This medieval form of Spanish
was carried by Spanish Jews to the various points where they later settled,
primarily along the Mediterranean coast and North Africa. In time, ladino
came to absorb bits and pieces of languages all along the Mediterranean
coast, including Greek, Turkish, Portuguese, French, Italian and Hebrew.
Wednesday, May 1st, Makor, 9:30 PM, $12, 35 W. 67th Street, NYC.
212-601-1000.
[N.Y.]
Thurs., May 2, A Fistful of Lentils: Jennifer Felicia Abadi Discusses
her New Syrian Cookbook/Memoir at Makor, 7 pm.
"A
Fistful of Lentils," writes Steven Raichlin, "is a fine work
of culinary archaeology, but even more, it's a vibrant, living cookbook..."
Says food critic Gil Marks, this "is a comprehensive and thoughtful
collection of traditional Syrian-Jewish dishes." Jennifer Abadi will
be on to prepare two recipes from her book, Bazirgan ( a crushed wheat
"caviar" salad) and a warmed creamed lemon-spinach salad— both served
with pita bread. During the demo she will give a brief history about the
Syrian Jews, anddiscuss the Arabic and Spanish influences on their cuisine.
She will also talk about the Syrian Jewish community of Brooklyn and Manhattan
of today. Makor, 7 pm., 35 W. 67th Street, New York 10017. Call 212-601-1000
for info.
[S.F.]
Thurs., May 2, An Evening With Turkish Poet Murat Nemet-Nejat,
7:30 pm
A
Turkish-born poet of Persian Jewish descent, Murat Nemet-Nejat has been
engaged in translating major Turkish poetry into English, and creating
his own multi-leveled poetry, for many years. He reads at 7:30 pm, $7.00
Donation, @The Unitarian Center, 1187 Franklin (At Geary). For more information
visit the San Francisco Poetry
Center's website. To read some of Nemet-Nejat's work, visit the Ismi
Anthology.
[D.C]
Fri/Sat/Sun, April 12-14 — The Arab Novel: Visions of Social Reality
CCAS 2002 annual Spring Symposium