literature

Presented by the Mandel Jewish Community Center

The 23rd annual Cleveland Jewish Book Festival will showcase a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction books and authors with Israeli and Jewish themes. • For information and tickets visit www.mandeljcc.org/bookfest.

by Noa Tishby Wednesday, November 9, 2022 @ 7:30 pm ET

B’nai Jeshurun Congregation, 27501 Fairmount Blvd., Pepper Pike Noa Tishby is on a mission to correct misperceptions of Israel—its history, culture, and people. After watching Israel be criticized by the global community, particularly online, Tishby began defending the country on Twitter and beyond. What began as a hobby developed into a deep passion, and ultimately, a vocation. The more Tishby sought to explain Israel to others, the more she sought to learn herself. From that journey, this book was born. Noa Tishby is an Israeli-American performing artist, producer, author and activist. In April 2022, Tishby was appointed as Israel’s first-ever Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism and Delegitimization of Israel.

Sponsored with support from the Jewish Federation’s a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland Cleveland Israel Arts Connection The Mandel JCC is a proud beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

by Jonathan Dunsky Sunday, November 20, 2022 @ 11 am ET

Virtual “A Death in Jerusalem” is a historical mystery that takes place in Jerusalem in January 1952. It features Holocaust survivor and private investigator Adam Lapid as he investigates a mysterious death in Israel’s capital. Jonathan Dunsky is the author of the Adam Lapid historical mysteries series. A lover of history, Dunsky enjoys learning about Israel’s past and to weave it into his novels. He resides in Israel with his wife and two sons.

To register visit www.case.edu/lifelonglearning or call 216-368-2091.

Landmark Centre, 25700 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

Pardes (Hebrew for “orchard”) is a Jewish legend about four rabbis of the Mishnaic period who visited the “orchard” of esoteric Torah knowledge. Only one survived the experience unharmed. The novelists David Hopen and Yochi Brandes have both written novels titled “The Orchard,” inspired by this legend. In this class, participants will compare and contrast these two books, exploring how both authors craft narratives that grapple with testing the boundaries of religious belief.

Omer Friedlander was born in Jerusalem in 1994 and grew up in Tel Aviv. He earned a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge, England, and an MFA from Boston University. His short stories have won numerous awards, and have been published in the United States, Canada, France, and Israel. He currently lives in New York City. “The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land” announces the arrival of a natural-born storyteller of immense talent. Warm, poignant, delightfully whimsical, Friedlander’s gorgeously immersive and imaginative stories take you to the narrow limestone alleyways of Jerusalem, the desolate beauty of the Negev Desert, and the sprawling orange groves of Jaffa, with characters that spring to vivid life. These stories render the intimate lives of people striving for connection. They are fairy tales turned on their head by the stakes of real life, where moments of fragile intimacy mix with comedy and notes of the absurd. Told in prose of astonishing vividness that also demonstrates remarkable control and restraint, they have a universal appeal to the heart.

Sponsored with support from the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland