This and That
Catching up with my “post these links to Jewschool” file… A play about Jewish youth that’s really about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict, a conference about GLBT Jewish youth, and movies, some of which are about Jewish GLBT people, including youth, and one of which is about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict… So you see, it all fits together…
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The New York Theatre Workshop will be presenting staged readings of Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children. This is the 10-minute play that has been garnering some controversy around its debut in England. Critics have called it anti-Semitic. Supporters praise its ability to articulate moral outrage. Now New Yorkers will be able to see for themselves, which is precisely the point, according to NYTW’s press release:
As there has been a great deal of public discussion expressed about the play based either on reading it, or merely hearsay, it is our intent to put the play where it belongs—on a stage and in the mouths of actors—so our community can encounter the play firsthand and in a conducive environment for thoughtful and respectful discussion and consideration.
Each reading will include a moderated discussion including speakers from “both sides” of the conflict, to be followed by a second reading of the play.
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Keshet has extended the registration deadline for their Training Institute for Jewish Educators and Youth Professionals, which will be held May 31st to June 3 at the Pearlstone Retreat Center in Maryland. If you work with Jewish youth and are interested in helping to create a more inclusive environment for LGBT kids, here’s your chance to learn techniques and hobnob with other folks trying to do the same thing. More information here.
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Films That Change The World is bringing back the Purim to Passover project, which aims to create 250 community screenings of the films Trembling Before G-d/Trembling on the Road, Hineini: Coming Out in a Jewish High School, and Encounter Point in the coming month. (What better way to celebrate Birkat HaChammah than with a brunch and a film?) Last year I saw Trembling on the Road at one of these events, and even though it was essentially a bunch of people I already knew sitting in our friend Steven’s living room, it felt good to be part of something bigger. This year I’m thinking about screening Encounter Point if I can find a free moment between now and Pesach. Can you host a screening too? Sign up here.