Briefly
The Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh’s Crash Course to Unde-rstanding the Arab-Israeli Conflict will hold its next class, “The Arab-Israeli Conflict: From 1948 to 2014,” on Sunday, March 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Parkway Jewish Center, 300 Princeton Drive.
There is a $10 charge.
Contact Eric Probola at eprobola@
jfedpgh.org or 412-992-5247 for more information.
The Agency for Jewish Learning will hold a night of wine tasting paired with heavy hors d’oeuvres and a live auction featuring wines from Napa to the Negev, as well as lots from Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Jamison Farm, Seven Springs and others. The Fruit of the Vine Festival will be held Sunday, March 29 at the Pittsburgh Opera headquarters, 2425 Liberty Ave., beginning with a VIP reception from 4 to 5 p.m.; the main event is 5 to 8 p.m.
Tickets are $100 per person. Dietary laws will be observed.
Visit ajlpittsburgh.org for more information and tickets or call 412-521-1101, ext. 3207.
“Lemon Tree,” an award-winning film directed by Israeli director Eran Riklis, will be the last film of this year’s Rodef Shalom Sisterhood Movie Night series on Sunday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Levy Hall. The Pittsburgh Area Jewish Committee and J-Street Pittsburgh will join with the Sisterhood to co-sponsor the showing.
The film tells the story of a Palestinian woman whose beautiful grove of lemon trees becomes a security threat when the Israeli defense minister builds his house next to the grove.
The film played in mainstream theaters around the country a few years ago, and was presented at international film festivals around the world. It won the Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival in 2008 and the European Film Award at the San Sebastian Film Festival in 2008. The Sisterhood Movie Night series presented this film in 2010 and the Movie Night committee selected it as one of the standout films to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the series.
The film is in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles. The screening is open to the community and there is no charge.
Temple Emanuel of South Hills welcomes the community to “Advocating for Israel Without Losing Friends,” a presentation by Karen Hochberg from the Pittsburgh American Jewish Committee, on Sunday, April 12 at 11 a.m. with questions and answers to follow.
Contact templeemanuel@temple
emanuelpgh.org or 412-279-7600 for more information.
Susan M. Melnick has accepted the position of director of the Small Town Jewish History Project at the Senator John Heinz History Center. The mission of the new project is to preserve the Jewish history of small towns in western Pennsylvania. As part of the new project, which is funded by grants, Melnick will collect records and photographs from congregations, organizations, families and businesses that reflect the history of Jewish life in those dwindling communities. The oral histories of those who lived there will also be recorded.
Melnick formerly served as the archivist for the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center.
Jewish Women International and Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity continue to be leaders in educating college-age men and women on sexual assault issues. Now, this partnership joins with the national “It’s On Us” campaign to expand its efforts to educate students on sexual assault prevention. “It’s On Us” is a project housed in Generation Progress and launched in partnership with the White House, Mekanism and PVBLIC Foundation.
With students around the country heading out for spring break, ZBT and JWI recognize that sexual assault does not end at campus borders and are teaming up in Safe Smart Spring Break, educating on spring break safety practices and encouraging brothers to use the LiveSafe app, which is fully integrated into the “It’s On Us” campaign. The fraternity will also participate in Sexual Assault Awareness Month Week of Action, from April 12 to 19, encouraging its 90 chapters to host and attend events on their campuses and participate in the “It’s On Us” national social media campaign.
Recognizing that real cultural change needs to start before students get to college, the two organizations also are partnering with the BBYO teen movement. On March 27, a new initiative, “Brother to Brother,” will bring teen boys and college fraternity brothers to Capitol Hill to advocate for legislative change to help make campuses safer for all students.
Rabbi Yosef Itkin, kosher supervision administrator of the Vaad Harabanim of Greater Pittsburgh, and his crew will be available to kasher items for Passover on Sunday, March 29, at Yeshiva Girls School (corner of Forbes and Denniston) from noon to 4 p.m. The fee for kashering is $10.
The National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section has announced that it will be closing its Designer Days Boutique (DDB), the high-end consignment store located on Forbes Avenue in Squirrel Hill, when its lease expires at the end of May 2015.
The decision to close the store was based on economic considerations, with the timing of the closure driven by the term of the lease, said Andrea Kline Glickman, executive director of NCJW, Pittsburgh Section, in a prepared statement.
NCJW’s two stores in Swissvale, Thriftique and Home Consignments, will remain open. The organization’s retail assessment committee is continuing to review those stores as well, and will be advising the board of directors on how best to move forward with NCJW’s entire retail operation in the long-term.
NCJW’s spring and fall Designer Days events will continue to be held in its designer annex at Home Consignments.
Joan Nathan, the author of 10 cookbooks and the host of the PBS television series “Jewish Cooking in America,” will make a special appearance and conduct cooking demonstrations at the Waterworks Giant Eagle Market District at noon and the Shadyside Market District at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31.
Nathan’s appearance, where she will share recipes from her books “Joan Nathan’s Jewish Holiday Cookbook” and “New American Cooking” is free to the public. Details and advance reservations can be made at marketdistrict.com.
The Aleph Institute, at 5804 Beacon Street, will be hosting a “dry” Seder on Friday, April 3, and Saturday, April 4, beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night. A full course meal will be served and no Hebrew background is necessary. Suggested donation is $36 per adult, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. RSVP as soon as possible at AlephNE.org/seder. For more information, call 412-421-0111.
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