What’s Going On In NYC This Week – Online

Your guide to Jewish-y events in New York City.

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THE GREAT BIG JEWISH FOOD FEST

A 10-day festival with a variety of events — workshops & conversations, happy hours, Shabbat dinners and more — that will take place over Zoom, Instagram and Facebook. Highlights include events with Jewish food world leaders such as Michael Twitty, Joan Nathan, Michael Solomonov, Adeena Sussman, Einat Admony, Jeffrey Yoskowitz & Liz Alpern of Gefelteria, Lior Lev Sercarz, Ruth Reichl, Gail Simmons, Jewish Food Society, Hazon, Mazon and more. — May 19-28, The Great Big Jewish Food Fest, jewishfoodfest.org. Free.

A DIGITAL DANCE FESTIVAL BY BATSHEVA DANCERS
Each season, dancers from Israel’s acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company and its affiliate feeder group, Batsheva — The Young Ensemble, present new creations in self-produced performances. This year, in the face of the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 25 creators have combined forces to share their work online. For scheduling check the website, where times are listed in Israel Standard Time (Tel Aviv). Each film is only available for 24 hours. — May 15-24, Batsheva Dance Company,batshevacreates.com. Free.

KLEZMER FIDDLE PROJECT — ‘A NIGN A DAY’

A stellar line-up of 35 klezmer string players from 12 countries — including New York City’s own Jake Shulman-Ment and Alicia Svigals — resuscitates the ancient Jewish nign tradition with melodies from Vol. 4 of Moshe Beregovski’s “Old Jewish Folk Music” collection. Every day during the lockdown a fiddler (or cellist) from the project will do a live broadcast featuring nigunim, chat and sometimes even a guest. — Through May 27, 4-4:45 p.m., facebook.com/events/536517630631547/. See the line-up at ilanacravitz.com/strings.htm. Free, but you can make a donation.

COCKTAIL CONCERT WITH FRANK LONDON

Join acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London live on Zoom. A bandleader, Grammy Award-winner and all-around klezmer icon, London will be joining us directly from his apartment on the Lower East Side. — Monday, May 18, 7-7:30 p.m., Museum at Eldridge Street, eldridgestreet.org/event/cocktail-concert-with-frank-london/. Free.

THE STATE OF THE DELI
Jewish delis and appetizing shops across America are fighting to keep their carving knives out and smokers on. “Save the Deli” author David Sax discusses the business of delis and the inspiring people behind them with Gefilteria co-founder Jeffrey Yoskowitz. Then David zooms cross country from the West Coast to the East to check on new school deli Beetroot in Portland, Oregon, the classic Kenny & Ziggy’s in Houston, Wise Sons in San Francisco, Manny’s in Chicago and Russ & Daughters on the Lower East Side of New York City. — Tuesday, May 19, 8-9 p.m., The Great Big Jewish Food Fest, greatbig.jewishfoodfest.org/events/77a3bed3-824b-4104-9d96-638cc92cbeb8. Free.

SUING NAZIS

Integrity First for America (IFA) is leading the charge in a groundbreaking lawsuit that seeks to hold accountable the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other far-right extremists who conspired to orchestrate a weekend of violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017. The suit — scheduled to go to trial in October 2020 — has the potential to bankrupt and dismantle the center of this movement. Join IFA Executive Director Amy Spitalnick and senior attorney Michael Bloch for an update on the status of this landmark case. — Tuesday, May 19, 2 p.m., Museum of Jewish Heritage, mjhnyc.org/events/suing-nazis-a-case-update-and-discussion-with-integrity-first-for-america/.
‘BAD RABBI’ — LIVE PODCAST RECORDING
Charlie Buckholtz’s “Bad Rabbi” podcast will be joined by YIVO’s Eddy Portnoy for a discussion of Portnoy’s book, “Bad Rabbi and Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press.” An underground history of downwardly mobile Jews, Portnoy mines the Yiddish press to expose the seamy underbelly of pre-WWII New York and Warsaw. It’s likely to make CNN’s new documentary “Scandalous: The Untold Story of the National Enquirer” sound like “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.” — Tuesday, May 19, 4 p.m., co-sponsored by YIVO and LABA: A Laboratory for Jewish Culture at The 14th Street Y, yivo.org/Bad-Rabbi-Podcast. Free.
ISRAELI LUNCH AND LEARN: CONTRADICTING NARRATIVES

Join Israeli emissary Ophir Tal in a discussion about the contradicting narratives of Israel Independence and Palestinian Nakba in the context of Israel’s establishment, and how it affects the chances of peace in the forseeable future. Bring your own lunch to the Zoom call. — Tuesday, May 19, 1:15 p.m., Virtual 14Y, https://zoom.us/meeting/register/v5Uvfu2rrjgquuvRk9R9MRQMKUF34ygvrg. Free.

COVID-19 AND ISRAEL: SECURITY COOPERATION BETWEEN ISRAEL, THE PA AND HAMAS

A virtual lunch-and-learn session with Ilan Goldenberg, Israel Policy Forum’s policy adviser and senior fellow and director of the Middle East Security Program at the Center for a New American Security. — Wednesday, May 20, 1:30-2:30 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, https://jccmanhattan.org/programs/virtual-lunch-and-learn-series-covid-19-and-israel-security-cooperation-between-israel. Free.

SOVIET JEWISH CUISINE WITH CHEF BONNIE MORALES, AUTHOR BORIS FISHMAN AND FOOD JOURNALIST GABRIELLA GERSHENSON
If there’s something that Soviet cuisine and the literature surrounding it has taught the world, it’s how to celebrate in grand style in times of bleakness and uncertainty. Join food journalist Gabriella Gershenson in conversation with cookbook author Bonnie Morales (born Frumkin), chef-owner of the restaurant Kachka in Portland, Oregon, and Boris Fishman, author of the lavishly food-focused memoir “Savage Feast,” for a discussion of vodka, salty snacks and the Soviet Jewish appetite as a writer’s muse. — Wednesday, May 20, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Jewish Book Council and The Great Big Jewish Food Fest, greatbig.jewishfoodfest.org/events/f1f7c1d0-2787-4633-a96a-182c3dc5e00e. Free.

L’CHAIM!

Join The Jewish Museum for a drink and a conversation with artist Laurie Simmons and curator Kelly Taxter live on Instagram. The Jewish Museum presented the exhibition “Laurie Simmons: This is How We See” in 2015 and her work is also in the museum’s collection. — Thursday, May 21, 5-6 p.m., The Jewish Museum, thejewishmuseum.org/calendar/events/2020/05/21/lchaim-052120.

‘I WANT YOU TO KNOW WE’RE STILL HERE’ BOOK LAUNCH WITH ESTHER AND JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

When Esther Safran Foer’s mother casually mentioned that her father had a previous wife and daughter, both killed in the Holocaust, she resolved to find out who they were, and how her father survived. What she found reshaped her identity and gave her the opportunity to finally mourn. Join us on Zoom for the launch of her post-Holocaust memoir “I Want You to Know We’re Still Here,” where she will be joined by her son Jonathan Safran Foer, author of the acclaimed books “Everything Is Illuminated, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” and “Eating Animals.” The reading and conversation will be followed by an audience Q&A. — Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m., The Museum of Jewish Heritage, https://mjhnyc.org/events/i-want-you-to-know-were-still-here-a-post-holocaust-memoir-launch-with-esther-jonathan-safran-foer/.

‘ABE’ Q&A

A conversation plus Q&A with director Fernando Grostein Andrade about his film “Abe.” Rent the film at home (see Ongoing listings below before joining  the conversation.) An Official Selection at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, “Abe” is about a young aspiring chef whose family (half-Jewish Israeli, half-Muslim Palestinian) always fights. Can some home cooking bridge the divide? — Sunday, May 24, 5 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, eventbrite.com/e/abe-qa-tickets-104069488642?aff=email511. Free.

VIRAL: ANTISEMITISM IN FOUR MUTATIONS

Emmy-winning filmmaker Andrew Goldberg explores anti-Semitism’s infectious behavior as he travels through four countries to speak with victims, witnesses and anti-Semites as well as Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Fareed Zakaria, George Will and Deborah Lipstadt. The film spotlights the American far-right, the English far-left, the Hungarian prime minister’s campaign against Jewish philanthropist George Soros and violence against Jews in France. — Premieres Tuesday, May 26, 9 p.m., on PBS.

COMING SOON: ISRAEL FILM CENTER FESTIVAL
The 8th annual Israel Film Center festival is coming to you virtually, with brand new Israeli narrative and documentary films and live Q&As and conversations. Last year, George Robinson wrote in The Jewish Week that the festival is “a cheering reminder that, whatever one may think of the Netanyahu-Regev agenda, the spirited fightback from filmmakers has resulted in some exemplary cinema.” Until the festival begins in June, check out Israel Film Center STREAM, the most comprehensive site for Israeli films now available for streaming in the U.S., at israelfilmcenterstream.org. — The festival runs June 7-14, Israeli Film Center, israelfilmcenterstream.org/festival/.

Ongoing:

‘LOVE, LOSS, AND WHAT I WORE’

The hit Off-Broadway play by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron, using clothing and accessories and the memories they trigger, is based on the best-seller by Ilene Beckerman. In 2017, cast members Lucy DeVito, Tracee Ellis Ross, Carol Kane, Natasha Lyonne and Rosie O’Donnell reunited at 92Y for a special one-night-only performance directed by Karen Carpenter, who directed the original production. Now 92Y, in association with Daryl Roth, announce a first-time online release of the 2017 performance, available for a limited time. — 92Y, 92y.org/event/love-loss-and-what-i-wore. $10.

‘CRESCENDO’

Loosely inspired by Daniel Barenboim’s West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, this feature film directed by the Academy Award-nominated Dror Zahavi focuses on world-famous conductor Eduard Sporck (Peter Simonischek, “Toni Erdmann”), who creates an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra. But the young musicians from both sides are far from able to form a team, forming two parties that deeply mistrust each other, both on and off stage. — At virtual theaters nationwide, menemshafilms.com/crescendo.

‘HEADING HOME: THE TALE OF TEAM ISRAEL’

This documentary charts the underdog journey of Israel’s national baseball team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. Its line-up included several Jewish American Major League players — Ike Davis, Josh Zeid and ex-Braves catcher Ryan Lavarnway — most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, let alone having ever set foot in Israel. — Now on DVD and Blu-ray as well as Digital HD and Video-on-Demand, menemshafilms.com/heading-home.

ABE

Twelve-year-old Abe (Noah Schnapp) is an aspiring chef who wants his cooking to bring people together — but his half-Israeli, half-Palestinian family has never had a meal that didn’t end in a fight. Fernando Grostein Andrade’s new film, shot in Brooklyn by Blasco Giuratois (“Cinema Paradiso”), is about grappling with family, background, passions and whether even the most lovingly-cooked family dinner can heal old wounds. — Screening on multiple online platforms, bluefoxentertainment.com/films/abe.

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