Anti-Semitism, seltzer and the internet among topics at ‘An Evening of Jewish Renaissance’

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Jonathan Weisman, an author and the deputy Washington editor of The New York Times, will be among the many speakers at this year’s “Evening of Jewish Renaissance,” which will be held on Nov. 17 at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center.

Weisman will discuss how Jews are viewed in America since Donald Trump became president, and how we can move forward in fighting the growth of anti-Semitism. 

On a lighter note, Barry Joseph will discuss seltzer and also read from his new book, “Seltzertopia.” His effervescent expertise has been widely written about, including in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, as well as discussed on shows such as NPR’s “All Things Considered” and “CBS This Morning.” 

Martin Fletcher, known to many as the NBC News bureau chief in Tel Aviv, will discuss how he transitioned from a TV journalist to a novelist. Fletcher’s “Promised Land: A Novel of Israel” is a gripping tale of a struggling family and an epic saga about the nation’s tumultuous early years.  

Many people who make their living  from the internet are very concerned about its ill effects. For example, Tiffany Shlain, founder of the Webby Awards, and Facebook co-founder, Mark Zuckerberg, celebrate Shabbat partly as a way to take a day off from screen time. Catherine Price will discuss how the internet is designed to make a day often hard to accomplish, why we should be concerned and what we can do about it – short of throwing out our smart-phones. Price is an award-winning science journalist who has been featured in many publications, including The New York Times and Time magazine.

These four speakers will be joined by two Israeli designers, Liraz Cohen and Sarit Shani Hay, as well as many local presenters, including Rabbi Eliezer Gibber, Rabbi Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus, Rabbi Eliahu Klein, novelist Hilary Salk and Doctors Herbert Rakatansky, Steve Schechter and William Sikov. 

Registration for “An Evening of Jewish Renaissance” will open in November. The event, on Saturday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m., is sponsored by the Judge Marjorie Yashar and Dr. James Yashar Fund at the Jewish Federation Foundation and held at the Alliance’s Dwares JCC, 401 Elmgrove Ave., in Providence.

For more information, contact Larry Katz at lkatz@jewishallianceri.org or 401-421-4111.

LARRY KATZ is director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.

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