Summer 2020 Season—Join the
Book Club on Zoom!!!
Led by Gail Robinson. Join us Wednesdays at 2pm.
We are starting our 2020 season. Join in a lively discussion of Jewish-themed books from different parts of the world—living in a small town as the only Jewish family in the deep South to a hair raising thriller to help Ethiopian Jews escape to Israel. These books will totally captivate you. And thank you for all your suggestions. Each book I read made it difficult for me to only pick four.
I invite all to join Books of Jewish Interest (BJI). Participants are expected to read the book listed for the date. We are looking for volunteer discussants for three of the four books. Like last year, the leader will present an informative summary of the book’s story or thesis and provided questions to stimulate the discussion. Snacks will be virtual.
Last year we didn’t have authors participate, since three were deceased and one lived in Australia. This year, three of our four authors are living. And, we already have one commitment from the author to join in our discussion. We will approach the other authors to discuss their books this summer. If an author participates, the leader will have a preliminary phone meeting with the author. Please don’t be shy and volunteer. I will walk you through the whole process. It’s actually exhilarating.
Because of the coronavirus, our co-sponsor, Bethlehem Public Library, will not be hosting BJI at the library. Instead, we will create a Zoom Meeting by registration on Wednesday afternoons at 2 p.m. on July 8, July 22, August 12, and August 26. Meetings are open to anyone and everyone interested in participating in a reading group. Please volunteer to lead a book discussion (we already have a volunteer for Violins of Hope). Please fill out a form below, call (202) 744-4646, or email gailkr48@gmail.com if you want to volunteer.
Mossad Exodus, Gad Shimron
Wednesday, July 8 2020 at 4pm
In 1977, Israel’s Mossad spy agency was given an assignment far different from its usual cloak and dagger activities. It was ordered by then Prime Minister Menachem Begin to rescue thousands of Ethiopian Jewish refugees in Sudan and deliver them to Israel. No stranger to action in enemy countries, the agency established a covert forward base in a deserted holiday village in Sudan, and deployed a handful of operatives to launch and oversee the exodus of the refugees to the Promised Land, by sea and by air, in the early 1980s. Gad Shimron offers a thrilling firsthand account of how the operation was put in place, and how the Mossad team in Sudan brought it off, despite great personal risk, running a partying vacation spot for wealthy tourists by day as they stole through the Sudanese desert to rescue desperate refugees by night. The book sheds light on American involvement in the latter stages of the operation, when the White House facilitated an airlift of Ethiopian Jews and the CIA station in Khartoum sheltered the last Mossad operatives, on the run from Libyan secret service agents, and spirited them out of Sudan in special boxes labelled Diplomatic Mail. Enhanced by Gad Shimron's wide-ranging historical observations and his crisp, incisive prose, this is at once an entertaining read and a powerful tale of idealistic heroism (review by Goodreads).
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The Jew Store, Stella Suberman
Wednesday, July 22 2020 at 4pm
In the South during the 1920’s, Stella Suberman recalls in her family memoir, every small town had a “Jew store,” which sold dry goods and odds and ends. In Concordia, TN, this was Bronson’s Low-Priced Store, owned and operated by Suberman’s father, whom she calls Aaron Bronson. A Russian immigrant with a young family and ambition to become a salesman, Bronson made his way south, searching for opportunity. Ultimately, he built a life for himself, his wife and his three children in a place where they were the only Jews. There was a lot to contend with: the local big-shot, Tom Dillon, who had no use for Jews; the ever-present threat of the Ku Klux Klan; the nagging question of what to do about a bar mitzvah for 13-year-old Joey. But there were also the kindnesses of the spinster Miss Brookie Simmons, the excitement of the wild auction held to save the town during the Depression and, after years of hard work, success, as Bronson’s modest store became a town fixture. Like the store, which is practically a character in its own right, the people in “The Jew Store” linger in the mind (Review by Marisa Kantor Stark, NYT, 1998).
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The Book of Jeremiah, Julie Zuckerman
Wednesday, August 12 2020 at 2pm
Author joining the discussion on Zoom!
Ms. Zuckerman tells the story of awkward but endearing Jeremiah Gerstler—the son of immigrants, brilliant political science professor, husband, and father. Jeremiah has yearned for respect and acceptance his entire life, and no matter his success, he still strives for more. As a boy, he was feisty and irreverent and constantly compared to his sweet and well-behaved older brother, Lenny. At the university, he worries he is a token hire. Occasionally, he’s combative with colleagues, especially as he ages. But there is a sweetness to Gerstler, too, and an abiding loyalty and affection for those he loves. When he can overcome his worst impulses, his moments of humility become among the best measures of his achievements. Spanning eight decades and interwoven with the Jewish experience of the 20th century, Julie Zuckerman charts Jeremiah’s life from boyhood, through service in WWII, to marriage and children, a professorship and finally retirement, with compassion, honesty, and a respect that even Gerstler himself would find touching (Reviewby New Books Network).
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Violins of Hope, James A Grymes
Wednesday, August 26 2020 at 2pm
Grymes traces the beautiful and haunting history of violins played by Jews in the Holocaust. Each chapter is dedicated to one violin and its players, places, and how it eventually came into the hands of Israeli violinmaker and repairman Amnon Weinstein. Across the board, the violins aided someone's survival or made their life more bearable. In Auschwitz, SS members formed orchestras for entertainment from the prisoners there. Often players received special treatment from the guards. They noted, “We played music for sheer survival. We made music in hell.” It was by no means a guarantee of survival, and some orchestras were gassed immediately after their set. But some of the stories are accounts of hope, education, and joy. In the backwoods of Norway, the conductor Ernst Glaser headed an initiative where he played for the Norwegian resistance movement, hiding out in the wilderness to relay Norwegian history and pride. Motele Schlein’s story describes using his musical prowess to sneak into an SS party and plant bombs. Motele muses, “I’ll play so well tonight, that you'll be blown apart dancing.” The accounts are unembellished, with plain, yarn-spinning language. They breathe new life into history (Review by Publishers Network).
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Past Books of Jewish Interest Seasons
We have saved our past series logs for your knowledge base. Meetings are open to anyone and everyone interested in participating in a reading group. The actual dates for each book will depend on volunteer and Author availability. Please call (202) 744-4646 or email Gail Robinson at gailkr48@gmail.com if you have any questions.