Lectures, Courses & Their Recordings
2020-2021
Below are the lectures, talks, and courses we presented in 2020 and 2021, with links to their recordings on YouTube. Enjoy!
Panel Conversation on Living with HIV/AIDS
On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, World AIDS Day, one of the director brothers of the emotional documentary Who's Gonna Love Me Now? Barak Heymann and Interim Chairperson of The Aguda - The Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, Nurit Shine came together for a dialogue around HIV, its stigma, the triumph of love over hate. The moderator was Cindy Brown, Manager of Lambda Living Program for LGBT Seniors in South Florida and a member of A Wider Bridge’s Board of Director
Sponsors: A Wider Bridge, The Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, and the EBIJFF. Promotional Co-sponsor: CCJCC
Around the World with Fred: Israel's Orthodox Communities
On Sunday, November 14, 2021, noted author/historian Fred Rosenbaum examined the popular 2016 Israeli movie The Women's Balcony, Israel's religious communities, and the relationship between "state and synagogue" in the country.
Sponsors: EBIJFF and CCJCC in partnership with Cong. B'nai Shalom, Cong. Beth Emek and Lehrhaus.
Around the World with Fred: The Auschwitz Report
On Thursday, October 14, 2021, author/historian Fred Rosenbaum talked about what the Allies knew, their silence, and the escape of inmates to alert the world.
Sponsors: EBIJFF in partnership with CCJCC, Cong. B'nai Shalom, Cong. B'nai Tikvah and Cong. Beth Emek.
Q&A with Dr. Marcia Rock, Naomi Guttman-Bass and Equestrian Nancy-Zeitlin
Our September 22 conversation featured Nancy Zeitlin, the award-winning equestrian who is the subject of the moving documentary UnReined as well as the two filmmakers, Dr. Marcia Rock and Naomi Guttman-Bass.
Sponsors: EBIJFF in partnership with CCJCC, Cong. B'nai Shalom and Cong. Beth Emek.
Panel Conversation on "The Sign for Love"
The trailblazing Israeli documentary The Sign for Love was available for viewing beginning Tuesday, July 20 through Thursday, July 22. The panel conversation on life with disability, while being LGBTQ and Israeli with the film’s co-creators Elad Cohen and Iris Ben Moshe, and with Patrick Levy- Leadership groups's facilitator, The Leadership Center of People with Disability at Beit Issie Shapiro took place on Wednesday, July 21 at 12 pm PDT.
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Sponsors: A Wider Bridge, The Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest, and the EBIJFF. Co-sponsor: CCJCC.
Shamir Uncovered
The late Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Shamir's son Yair Shamir answers questions about the documentary Shamir, His Way and his father. The Zoom interview took place on Sunday, May 9, 2021 and shone a light to the personality and values of Yitzhak Shamir.
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Sponsor: EBIJFF
Co-Sponsors: CCJCC, JEICOR and Cong. B'nai Shalom.
Prof. Eran Kaplan's Talk on "The Dead of Jaffa"
EBIJFF26 streamed the film The Dead of Jaffa on Eventive, April 22-24. On April 23, Prof. Eran Kaplan discussed what happened in the mixed city of Jaffa, before, during, and after the War of Independence.
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Underwritten by Aaron Metals, Selma and Paul Forkash,
Susan and Howard Geifman, Beth Harris Hoeninger.
Co-sponsor: Cong. B'nai Shalom.
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Prof. Eran Kaplan's Lecture on the Documentary "Ma'abarot"
The documentary Ma'abarot was available for streaming on Eventive, April 21-23 as part of EBIJFF26. On April 21, Prof. Eran Kaplan took us back to the late 1940s when waves of immigrants arrived in Israel during a time of great societal
and economic challenges.
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Underwritten by Lili and David Naveh and Martha Ann Wishnev of
Better Homes and Gardens Realty
Co-sponsor: Temple Isaiah.
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Fred Rosenbaum and the Documentary "The Holy Silence"
The documentary, Holy Silence was available for streaming April 18-20 as part of our 2021 Virtual Festival. On April 19, author/historian Fred Rosenbaum closely examined the controversy surrounding the role of the Vatican and Pope Pius XII during World War II.
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Underwritten by Margaret & Stuart Winter
Co-sponsor: HaMaqom
Dr. Dana Beyer and "Cured"
On Sunday, April 18, retired eye surgeon, public health issues advocate, former Executive Director of Gender Rights Maryland and a Board member of A Wider Bridge Dr. Dana Beyer discussed the battle to declassify being transgender as a mental disorder. This battle was the subject matter of the 2020
documentary Cured that was screened in EBIJFF26.
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Underwritten by Riva Gambert & Sam Pitluck in memory of
Lee Engel, Z”L and Congregation B’nai Tikvah Social Action
Committee.
Co-sponsor: A Wider Bridge.
Prof. Eran Kaplan's Lecture on Menachem Begin
The documentary Menachem Begin: Peace and War streamed on Eventive, April 15-17 as part of EBIJFF26. On April 15, Prof. Eran Kaplan explored the legacy and the political life of Israel’s sixth prime minister whose 1977 election ended nearly three decades of Labor Party domination.
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Underwritten by Jo-Ann & Arnold Jacobson, M.D. and Arlee Maier.
Co-sponsor: JEICOR.
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Fred Rosenbaum and "The Crossing"
The Norwegian WWII drama, The Crossing was available for streaming April 11-13 as part of our 2021 Virtual Festival. Author/historian Fred Rosenbaum placed the film into its historic and cultural context on April 12 during a special livestream event.
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Underwritten by East Bay Holocaust Education Center
Co-sponsors: Contra Costa Jewish Day School, Contra Costa
Midrasha and HaMaqom
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A Chat with Menemsha Co-founder Neil Friedman
On Saturday, April 10, Neil Friedman, co-founder of Menemsha Films and now one of the developers of ChaiFlicks.com, a Jewish and Israeli streaming service, joined us for a lively chat. He answered several questions one of which was "What makes a film Jewish?"
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"Red Sea Spies" with Raffi Berg
This is the fourth program of Faces of Israel Series: A Celebration of Ethiopian Jewish Heritage.
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Together with guest speaker Daniel Limor, author Raffi Berg revealed the true story of an undercover operation run by Israel’s Mossad in the early 1980s on a remote part of the Sudanese coast. Berg’s book is the complete, never-before-heard, gripping tale of a top-secret and often hazardous operation.
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Sponsors: Cong. B’nai Tikvah, CCJCC, EBIJFF, Cong. B’nai Shalom
and the Jewish Book Council.
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Panel Conversation on "Family In Transition"
The panel got together virtually on February 11, 2021. The conversation included Amit Tzuk from the documentary Family In Transition, Micha Yehudi and was moderated by Dana Beyer.
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Sponsors: A Wider Bridge, The Consulate General of Israel to the
Pacific Northwest, EBIJFF and Congregation B'nai Tikvah's Social
Action Committee. Co-sponsor: CCJCC.
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Panel Discussion on "Marry Me However"
The conversation was on January 21, 2021. The panel included Rabbi Mordechai Vardi, the film's director, and Avigail Sperber, an Israeli cinematographer, social activist, and the founder of Bat Kol--Religious Lesbian Organization.
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Sponsors: A Wider Bridge, The Consulate General of Israel to
the Pacific Northwest, EBIJFF, CCJCC and Eshel.
The Legacy of "The Green Book"
Award-winning photographer and author Candacy Taylor's riveting talk on the legacy of the Green Book took place on Sunday, January 10, 2021. Taylor is currently a non-resident fellow at the Hutchins Center at Harvard University with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, The Wall St. Journal, Newsweek, PBS Newshour, BBC, The Guardian UK, NPR, The Atlantic and over 40 other media outlets. In writing her book, Overground Railroad, Taylor drove approximately 50,000 miles, visiting over 4,000 of the 10,000 Green Book businesses in her database.
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Sponsors: EBIJFF, CCJCC and Cong. B’nai Tikvah’s Social Action Committee.
Co-sponsors: Beth Chaim Cong., Cong. Beth Emek,
Cong. B’nai Shalom, Cong. B'nai Torah, Temple Beth Abraham,
Temple Isaiah.​
Underwritten by Anonymous.
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Around the World with Fred: Joachim Prinz & The Civil Rights Movement
On Thursday, January 7, 2021, author/historian Fred Rosenbaum discussed the powerful documentary about civil rights activist Rabbi Joachim Prinz, which screened Tuesday, January 5 through Sunday evening, January 10.
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Sponsors: EBIJFF, CCJCC and Cong. B’nai Tikvah’s Social Action Committee.
Co-sponsors: Beth Chaim Cong., Cong. Beth Emek, Cong. B'nai Shalom,
Cong. B'nai Torah, Temple Beth Abraham, Temple Isaiah.​
Underwritten by Anonymous.
Around the World with Fred: The Argentinian Jews
The Argentinian drama, Anita, was available for streaming December 1 through December 6, 2020. Author/historian Fred Rosenbaum placed the film into its historic and cultural context on December 2.
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Sponsors: EBIJFF in partnership with Contra Costa JCC
and Cong. B’nai Shalom.
Live Q&A for "A Call to Spy"
On Wednesday, November 11, 2020, producer/writer/actor Sarah Megan Thomas, actor Samuel Roukin and former senior CIA officer, author Craig Gralley joined us for a live Q&A.
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Craig Gralley is the author of Hall of Mirrors—Virginia Hall: America’s Greatest Spy of WWII, (Chrysalis Books, 2019). You may purchase the book here.
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Underwritten by Anonymous.
Sponsor: EBIJFF.
Co-sponsor: CCJCC & Cong. B’nai Shalom.
In partnership with IFC films and Tamar simon from Mean Streets Management.
Course on Post World War II Hollywood
In this two-hour course, EBIJFF Director Riva Gambert traced the rise of the House UnAmerican Committee (HUAC) that had a major impact on Hollywood for more than a decade. She also examined Crossfire and The Gentleman’s Agreement, the two 1947 films that were the first to capture American antisemitism, for how they approached the subject. This is a follow-up to August’s course on film censorship in Hollywood.
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Sponsored by EBIJFF in partnership with Contra Costa JCC and Cong. B’nai Shalom.
Around the World with Fred: The Jews of Austria
The Austrian movie The Tobacconist was available for streaming from July 21-24, 2020. Fred Rosenbaum talked about the history and contemporary life of Austria’s Jewish community on Thursday, July 30.
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“Around the World with Fred” series features award-winning author and historian Fred Rosenbaum who will place a film into its historic/cultural context. Fred is the founder of HaMaQom, formerly Lehrhaus Judaica, and the author of several books on the Bay Area Jewish community as well as on partisans during WWII.
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Sponsors: EBIJFF in partnership with Contra Costa JCC, Cong. B'nai Shalom, Cong. Beth Emek and Cong. B'nai Tikvah.
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