COMMUNITY GREEN TEAM FORMING to WORK on CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES

                    
COMMUNITY GREEN TEAM FORMING to WORK on CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES

Monday, December 4, 7 p.m.

at the Central Queens Y
in Forest Hills



Scientists are telling us:  we are at a critical moment on climate change.  

It is urgent that we take action now to protect our planet.

In Forest Hills, we are forming a community green team that will get involved locally on the issue of climate change.  A few possible ideas for action include:

• Advocating for climate change legislation
• Public education: films or speakers to educate the public about climate change, food and water issues
• Community solar, energy audits & energy saving rebates:  Public programs to educate the public to reduce their energy use and to sign up for community solar projects.
• Community gardens or other community projects

Join us at our first meeting on Monday, December 4!  Come ready to share your ideas and to brainstorm with your neighbors!  

For more information, call (718) 268-5011 ext. 151 or email pkurtz@cqy.org.

67-09 108th Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375

I WAS TOLD TO COME ALONE: A Muslim Reporter Tells Her Story, Behind the Lines of Jihad

As an independent, unmarried Muslim woman who grew up in Germany and is now an award-winning reporter for the Washington Post, Souad Mekhennet’s cultural background has given her the ability to cross lines to places that reporters rarely enter.  Mekhennet will tell the riveting story of her journey behind the lines of jihad at a talk at the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills on Monday, November 13, at 1:30 p.m.  Mekhennet’s complex cultural identity has made it possible for her to meet with some of the world’s most dangerous terrorist operatives, including members of ISIS, Al Qaeda, and the Taliban.  Souad Mekhennet is a correspondent for The Washington Post’s national security desk, and she has reported on terrorism for The New York Times and NPR.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street, in Forest Hills.  All events are always open to the public.  An $8 voluntary donation is requested.  For more information, contact Cultural Arts at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151, or at pkurtz@cqy.org or online at www.cqy.org. In her new book, Mekhennet tells of her quest through the neighborhoods of European cities where terror has come to the heart of Western civilization and of tense meetings in Iraq and Syria with terrorist leaders (which led to a surprising number of marriage proposals).   Mekhennet seeks to shed light on the radicalization of young Muslims, starting in the German neighborhoods from which the 9/11 plotters emerged, to the Iraqi neighborhoods where Sunnis and Shia turned against one another, and culminating on the Turkish-Syrian border region where ISIS has a daily presence.  Mekhennet documents chilling run-ins with various intelligence services. She then returns to Europe, first going to London, where she uncovered the identity of the ISIS executioner “Jihadi John” before the FBI, MI-5, and Scotland Yard did so.  Along the way Mekhennet tells of heart-pounding border crossings, desperate phone calls from wrongfully accused men and from families whose children have fled to ISIS, and tense meetings with leaders of terrorist organizations.  As an investigative reporter, Mekhennet seeks answers to questions about the roots of militant extremism. This program is one event in the Fall Author Series of the Central Queens Y.  More information is available online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.  Photo credit, Ben Kilb.

Annual Author's Cafe of the Central Queens Y, Sunday, November 5

Prof. Jeremy Dauber has written a cultural history of Jewish humor, tracing the origins back to the Bible and Talmudic rabbi jokes.

Come out for a fun and thoughtful afternoon. You will enjoy a look at the funny side of some very serious business and the serious side of funny business! You'll come away surprised at how much there is to think about...

Last chance for advance ticket price: Friday, November 3.
 

Jeremy Dauber
 

JEWISH COMEDY

A Serious History

 

Sunday, November 5, 2 p.m.

At the Forest Hills Jewish Center
106-06 Queens Boulevard
 

 

This year our author’s cafe lightens up, with a thoughtful look at a fun topic, Jewish humor. In his new book, Prof. Jeremy Dauber traces the origins of Jewish comedy and its development from the Bible to the age of Twitter.

Dauber organizes the Jewish comic imagination over continents and centuries into what he calls the seven strands of Jewish comedy―including the satirical, the witty, and the vulgar. He traces the ways Jewish comedy has mirrored, and sometimes even shaped, the course of Jewish history.

Persecution, cultural assimilation, religious revival, diaspora, Zionism―all of these, and more, were grist for the Jewish comic mill.  Dauber explores comic masterpieces, from the Book of Esther and Talmudic rabbi jokes to Borscht Belt skits and Seinfeld, and the work of such masters as Sholem Aleichem, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Woody Allen, Joan Rivers, and Jon Stewart.

Jeremy Dauber is Professor of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture at Columbia University.

Kosher dessert & coffee.

$18 minimum donation in advance/$23 at the door. Your generous donation to support the programs you enjoy is greatly appreciated!

Group & student discounts available.

Register online at www.cqy.org/tix or call (718) 268-5011 ext. 151.

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Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Programs
Central Queens Y

67-09 108th Street, Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 268-5011 ext. 151 or pkurtz@cqy.org
www.cqy.org

November 6 Panel Discussion: Israel and American Jews

Professor Dov Waxman 

The 20th Author’s Cafe of the Central Queens Y in Forest Hills will feature a panel discussion on one of the most controversial issues within the American Jewish community.  For over a generation, solidarity with Israel was one of the bonds that brought American Jews together across their differences.  Now, in a fundamental shift in recent years, American Jews are sharply divided on the topic of support for Israel.  

On Sunday, November 6 panelists Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the complex reasons for this shift.  

The panel discussion, Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict Over Israel, will be held at 2 p.m. at the Forest Hills Jewish Center, at 106-06 Queens Boulevard, Forest Hills.  Advance tickets are $16 and can be purchased online at www.cqy.org/tickets or at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or pkurtz@cqy.org.  Group & student discounts are available.

In some communities, Prof. Waxman writes in his new book, the debate about support for Israel has become so heated, that a moratorium on these discussions has been put in place.  Professors Dov Waxman and Steven M. Cohen will discuss the underlying reasons for this divide, including important changes in the makeup of the American Jewish community itself and increasing disagreement over Israel’s policies, among other factors.  Professors Waxman and Cohen will discuss the impact this fractious debate is having on Jewish communities and organizations and what this means for the future of the American Jewish community.  

Author of several books on Israel, Prof. Waxman teaches Israel studies at Northeastern University. Prof. Steven M. Cohen is Research Professor of Jewish Social Policy at HUC-JIR and has participated in leading demographic studies of how the American Jewish community is being reshaped today.  The 20th Annual Author’s Cafe, which includes kosher dessert and coffeee, is a benefit for the Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage Programs

This program is the headline event in the Fall Speaker Series of the Central Queens Y.  More information is available online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 

Rethinking Passover Event at the Central Queens Y, Forest Hills

6th NY Reelabilities Film Festival Comes to Queens

 Stand Clear of the Closing Doors

The Central Queens Y will host the 6th Annual NY Reelabilities Film Festival on Sunday, March 9, and Monday, March 10 in Forest Hills.  The Reelabilities Film Festival, a film festival touring major cities across the country, will feature three films on living with disabilities at screenings over two days in Queens.  These rich and moving films are about the human experience, rather than about disabilities. Discussions follow each film, with speakers such as the director and lead actor of two films.  The festival plays at the Central Queens YM & YWHA, at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Tickets and information are available online at www.cqy.org/tickets or by calling (718 268-5011, ext. 151.  All films are open to the general public, with an $8 donation requested.

Gabrielle

Eerily reminiscent of the recent tragic story of Avonte Oquendo, Stand Clear of the Closing Doors will be shown on Sunday, March 9, at 11 a.m.  Set in Queens during Hurricane Sandy, this powerful film tells the story of an autistic boy who runs away from home, but is found.  On Sunday afternoon, March 9, at 2 p.m. the festival features Gabrielle, an uplifting story about love and the redemptive powers of music among young people with developmental disabilities and living in a group home. On Monday, March 10, the festival continues with a screening of Do You Believe in Love, a film about a matchmaker whose tough love style of matchmaking brings together people with disabilities to find soul mates and partners through life.

The ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with disabilities. Post-screening discussions bring out the issues in each film and bring together the community to explore, discuss, embrace, and celebrate the diversity of our shared human experience.  The CQY festival also includes an unusual photographic exhibit, the Pearls Project, a groundbreaking exhibit featuring young people in disabilities programs throughout Queens.

Talk on Muslim/Jewish Relations at Forest Hills Jewish Center

In the wake of September 11, two of the most prominent Muslim and Jewish leaders in NYC forged an unlikely friendship. As the city reeled from the events of the day, many people reacted with anger and bitterness. Rabbi Marc Schneier and Imam Shamsi Ali instead made the courageous decision that they would bring their communities together to work for peace. 

On Sunday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m.., Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali will discuss their new book, which grew out of their conversations, Sons of Abraham, at the Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens. 

In their new book, Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali confront the differences between Muslims and Jews with great honesty, while also looking for the values that unite us.  They challenge both Jews and Muslims to step outside their comfort zones to find common ground. 

Tickets to this event, which also includes kosher desserts, are available through the Central Queens Y, at (718) 268-5011, ext. 151 or online at www.cqy.org/tickets.  Advance tickets are $15, with tickets at the door at $21. 

Rabbi Marc Schneier was born in NYC into a community wary of outsiders.  Son of a distinguished rabbinical dynasty, his passion for Israel made him suspicious of Muslims. Imam Shamsi Ali grew up in a small farming village in Indonesia and attended Muslim schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, where he was taught that Jews intended to destroy Islam and its practitioners. Despite such extraordinary differences, these two men become close friends, as well as passionate advocates for mutual understanding between the world’s most bitterly opposed religions. Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali confront such difficult questions as the legitimacy of both Israel and a Palestinian state, the idea of the chosen people, the meaning of jihad and shari’a. Rabbi Schneier and Imam Ali do not agree on everything, but when they disagree, the manner in which they do so sets an example for this necessary dialogue. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 
                          

Chanukah Festival

The fun's at the Central Queens Y on 108th St. this Sunday...

Author to Discuss Polish Jewish Reconciliation

An estimated eighty percent of American Jews are of Polish descent.  Poland was once  home to the largest Jewish population in Europe.  Yet today, most American Jews think of Poland solely through the lens of the horrific realities of the Holocaust.  On Monday, Nov. 18, at 1:30 p.m., author Louise Steinman will talk at the Central Queens YM & YWHA in Forest Hills, on her new book on a new movement toward Polish Jewish reconciliation, reclaiming the centuries of Jewish life in Poland.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Louise Steinman’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

During the Holocaust, three million Jews, nearly the entire Jewish population of Poland, were killed.  However, while German-occupied Poland was the site of the largest extermination camps, with some Poles participating in the destruction of the Jewish communities, Poland was also the epicenter of European Jewish life for centuries.

Author Louise Steinman set out to examine today’s burgeoning Polish-Jewish reconciliation movement through the lens of her own family's history, joining the ranks of Jews of Polish descent who are confronting both the atrocities and the heroism of Polish Holocaust rescuers, and reclaiming the centuries of Polish Jewish history, as well as with their own families’ stories.  At the same, Poland is seeing a resurgence of interest in Jewish life, including Jewish cultural festivals and the increasing popularity of klezmer music, as a younger generation of Polish non-Jews try to restore some sense of the culture that was lost in the Holocaust.

Louise Steinman codirects the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at the University of Souther California and is the author of a previous, award winning memoir. 

More information about this event or about the Fall Author Series is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 

The Myth & Reality Of Prewar Jewish Life In Europe

YIVO, the premiere cultural organization of Yiddish culture in New York, continues its yearlong series of programs in Forest Hills, with a talk by Prof. David Fishman at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  On Monday, November 11, Prof. Fishman will speak at 1:30 p.m. on the “Myth and Reality of the Jewish Shtetl.  Prof. David Fishman will discuss the cultural life and realities of Jewish life in the small towns of Eastern Europe before World War II.  David Fishman is Professor of Modern Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary and he serves as director of Project Judaica, a Jewish-studies program in Moscow.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Prof. Fishman's talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

In 1912 nearly half of the Jews in Eastern European lived in small towns. While Jewish life in these small towns is often remembered with nostalgia today, contemporary Yiddish playwright, S. An-ski called these shtetlekh, "the Jewish dark continent". Prof. Fishman's talk will look more closely at the reality of the life and culture of shtetl Jews, including political movements such as Zionism and the Jewish labor movement, the Bund, their literature and theater.  He will also discuss Jewish relations with Russians, Poles, and other Christians, as well as the cultural life of the shtetl.  The talk will feature some slides and recorded music.

This program is one in an ongoing series of programs co-sponsored by YIVO’S Yidishe kultur-serye at the Central Queens YM & YWHA. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org. 

Journalist to Speak on Culture Clash Within Israeli Society

This spring and summer,  Israel has seen dramatic confrontations among Jews, between the ultra-Orthodox haredi population and others, over issues such as the exemption from military service for this religious community and over women’s rights.   On Monday, October 28, veteran foreign correspondent Lawrence Malkin will discuss his new book, The War Within, at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  

Co-authors Yuval Elizur & Lawrence Malkin have taken a hard look at the growing conflict between Israel’s secular to modern Orthodox citizens, on the one hand  -  and its growing community of ultra-Orthodox, on the other.   With roughly ten percent of Israel’s population, the high birth rate of the ultra-Orthodox has increased their numbers so that they now form a separate society within Israel, whose leaders can make and unmake governments.   

The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Sherri Fink’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

Last spring mass protests by Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community drew thousands of men opposed to eliminating the long-standing exemption of the ultra-Orthodox from military service.  In recent years, a growing movement within Israel has protested the segregation of  - and other restrictions on - women within the ultra-Orthodox community.  Elizur and Malkin looked at these controversial issues and others such as welfare dependency, and private education among this rapidly growing segment of the religious population.   

Lawrence Malkin is an award-winning journalist, formerly foreign correspondent for Time magazine and The Associated Press.   Co-author Yuval Elizur is a sixth generation Israeli, former deputy editor for Israel’s largest daily newspaper, Ma’ariv, and Jerusalem correspondent for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe. 

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.

One Year After Sandy: Stories of Life and Death in a Superstorm

One year after Hurricane Sandy, New York City is still recovering from the most violent storm this area has ever seen.  In her new book based on Pulitzer Prize winning reporting, investigative journalist Sherri Fink tells the riveting story of life and death decisions in a hospital fighting for its life during Hurricane Katrina, the kinds of decisions that could well be required in future superstorms anywhere.  Sherri Fink will talk about the haunting, disturbing story she uncovered on Monday, October 21, at 1:30 p.m. at the Central Queens YM & YWHA.  The Central Queens Y is located at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills.  Sherri Fink’s talk is open to the public, with a $7 donation suggested.

Sheri Finks

Sheri Fink’s landmark investigation of a New Orleans hospital ravaged by Hurricane Katrina is based on a trial of a doctor accused of second degree murder for deaths of patients.  Her account draws the reader into the lives of the doctors and nurses who struggled to survive and to preserve life amidst chaos. 
     
After Katrina struck and the floodwaters rose, the power failed, and the heat climbed, exhausted caregivers chose to designate certain patients last for rescue. Months later, several health professionals faced criminal allegations that they deliberately injected numerous patients with drugs to hasten their deaths.

In her new book, Fink exposes the burden of agonizing ethical decisions made under duress and reveals just how ill-prepared we are in America for the impact of large-scale disasters—and how we can do better.  In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Sheri Fink is also an M.D..  She has, herself, been a relief worker in disaster and combat zones, as well as working with humanitarian organizations on several continents.

More information about this event is available at 718 268-5011, ext. 151, or online at www.cqy.org or at  (718) 268-5011 ext. 151, or pkurtz@cqy.org.

Holocaust Memorial Day Event at Central Queens Y

Talk By Holocaust Survivor Who Risked Her Life Postwar As Civil Rights Activist

Holocaust Memorial Day will be marked in Forest Hills with a talk by a remarkable Holocaust survivor who went on after the war to risk her life working for social justice in the American South during the Civil Rights Era.  On Monday, April 8, at 1:30 p.m., writer, artist, and civil rights activist Marione Ingram will speak on her memoir on her experiences during the Holocaust at the Central Queens YM & YWHA in Forest Hills.  

Following the war, Ingram emigrated to the U.S. and set up a Freedom School in Mississippi during the 1960s.  The program will begin with a candle lighting ceremony for Holcaust Memorial Day.  

Marione Ingram’s talk is open to the public, with a $6 voluntary donation requested.  The Central Queens Y is at 67-09 108 Street in Forest Hills. 

Marione Ingram grew up in Germany during World War II, the daughter of a Jewish mother.  When neighbors reported them to the Gestapo, her mother received a deportation notice and attempted suicide.  In the midst of deportations, they also experienced the firestorm bombings of Hamburg, the deadliest aerial assault the world had ever seen.  Ironically she and her mother escaped the death camps only because, bombed out and denied access to air raid shelters, they were presumed dead in the firestorms. Marione and her mother were able to survive the last eighteen months of the war in hiding, living with constant fear and hunger.  

Immigrating to the U.S. in 1952, Ingram worked in NYC at the Museum of Modern Art.   For the first time in her life she felt safe, but she also observed that discrimination against African Americans was so prevalent that most people viewed it as normal, whereas she saw it as a variation of the racism she had experienced as a child. Impelled by her own experiences, she became a civil rights activist.  During the 1960s she worked on voter registration in the South and opened a Freedom School in Mississippi.  There she faced harassment  and threats and the school was eventually torched by the Klu Klux Klan.  Today she is a writer and a fiber artist, whose writing has been published in Best American Essays and whose artwork is exhibited on both sides of the Atlantic.