Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, Spring Summer 2023

MUSIC

VISUAL ARTS

YOM HA’ATZMAUT

SPRING & SUMMER

Roe Green, Honorary Producer

Spring & Summer 2023 Season

1-22 Jews and Art* 10

3 Growing up Jewish in India* 9

8-10 EXILE: Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas* 14

12 Sigmund Freud: The Human Subconscious, Science & Religion* 11

16-19 Song of the Soul: The Visionary Clarinet* 14

19 & 21 “If You Thirst for a Homeland” Final Open Houses 8

19 Daniel Gortler, pianist 12

20-Apr 27 Braided Memories: An Exhibition of Poetry, Image, and Sound* 10

22 The Journey of Helena Broder During the Holocaust* 11

22 Diaspora, Memorialization, and Identity* 11

22-Apr 1 CIFF47 at Playhouse Square 18

24 On the Threshold of Oblivion: Portraits of Holocaust Survivors in Chile* 11

25 Beyond Borders: The Art of Siona Benjamin: Exhibition Closes* 9

26 The Divine Sarah: An Intimate Visit with Legendary Actress Sarah Bernhardt* 11

APRIL

1-23 “Becoming Dr. Ruth*” 16

2-9 CIFF47 Streams 18

4 Exile: Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas* 14

16 “Surface Identities: Studio Works by Israeli Street Artists” Opens 6

20 “Who by Fire: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai” with Matti Friedman 15

20-21 Holocaust Remembrance: WWII Era Composers* 14

21-22 “Symphony of Life” with Cleveland Ballet 16

22 Limón Dance Company with Yaron Kohlberg, piano 17

23 Golda Meir: The Only “Woman in the Room” 11

27 An Evening with Itzhak Perlman 12

27-May 4 Ken Burns’ “The U.S. and The Holocaust”* 18

30 Albert Einstein: Scientific Genius, World War II & Jewish Existence* 11

Join

MAY

9 Shalva Band: A Concert for Yom Ha’atzmaut 4

9-June 6 “From Another Point of View” 8

14 IsraelFest! for Yom Ha’atzmaut 5

JUNE 11 Gertrude Stein: Salon for Pride* 11

14-Jul 1 Lightness of Being 13

30 “Andy Warhol’s Jewish Icons: 10 Portraits”

Exhibition Closes* 11

JULY 5-16 CIPC for Young Artists 13

Coming this Fall

Amernet String Quartet 13

Tal Hurwitz, classical guitarist 12

Ayelet Tsabari, novelist 15

* Jewish-themed cultural events

The artistic viewpoints reflected in these programs do not necessarily represent the positions or opinions of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland.

Covid Protocols: As the situation with COVID-19 is ever evolving, all programs are subject to change. Please call ahead to ensure whether programs are in person or virtual, and the specific protocols in place at each venue.

You will enjoy “Meet the Artist” receptions, name recognition in the twice yearly arts brochures and on www.jewishcleveland.org, plus the satisfaction of knowing you are helping connect Cleveland and Israel through the arts.

For more information about the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Patron Society, please contact Hedy Milgrom at hmilgrom@jewishcleveland.org or 216-593-2850.

Dear Friends,

As we begin our celebration of Israel @ 75, it is humbling to look back at the origins of the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection.

It was during the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel that the Federation began to explore bringing contemporary Israeli arts to Cleveland audiences. The Cameri Theatre of Tel Aviv had an impressive run with their incredible performances of “Hamlet” at the Cleveland Playhouse. moCa Cleveland mounted a recordbreaking exhibition, “Hugging & Wrestling: Israeli Video and Photography.” And hip hop sensation Hadag Nachash headlined our Yom Ha’atzmaut Celebration.

Inspired by those successes, the Cleveland Israel Arts Connection (CIAC) was born. Since our inception, we have welcomed over 100 Israeli musicians, authors, visual artists, dancers, choreographers, actors, filmmakers, and composers–all in partnership with 50 outstanding Cleveland arts organizations. And in 2010, we opened the Roe Green Gallery in the Federation’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building dedicated to exhibiting Israeli visual art and artists.

We continue to forge new partnerships such as with the Cleveland Ballet (p. 16) and the Cleveland Classical Guitar Society, (p. 12.) And this spring we will send our third arts delegation to Israel to continue exploring new artists who will hopefully make their way to Cleveland in the near future.

As you look through these pages, we’d like to draw your attention to two extra special opportunities. In “Surface Identities: Studio Works by Israeli Street Artists” (p. 6-7) curator Sara Hurand features the work of 16 Israeli Street Artists. This exhibition in our Roe Green Gallery opens in April and runs through the end of the year. Yom Ha’atzmaut offers two amazing ways to celebrate: Shalva Band in Concert (p. 4) will perform at the Mimi Ohio Theater on May 9, followed by IsraelFest! (p. 5) a family-friendly celebration on May 14.

Please join us for these and many more exciting experiences to come.

Warm regards,

Roe Green Erica Hartman-Horvitz

Erica Hartman-Horvitz and Roe Green

YOM HA’ATZMAUT 2023

Presented by Jewish Federation of Cleveland

SHALVA BAND A Concert for Yom Ha’atzmaut

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

Mimi Ohio Theatre, 1511 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

The Shalva Band, comprised of 8 talented musicians with disabilities, performed on Season Six of The Rising Star in Israel. Hundreds of thousands of people tuned into the popular broadcast to watch their performances. They united a country, and world, in support of inclusion.

Their performances changed how millions of people view and embrace disability. They strengthened children and families to believe in their amazing potential and have proven to the world that people deserve to be judged and celebrated for their abilities.

The Shalva Band’s performance at Eurovision 2019 was broadcast live and seen by 150,000,000 people around the world.

Tickets

• For best availability, reserve tickets before they go on sale to the general public on March 15.

• To purchase, visit www.playhousesquare.org/ events/venue/ohio-theatre or call 216-241-6000.

• Use code JFED for $12 discounted tickets; regular price is $24.

• For groups of 10 or more, tickets are $5 each. Call group sales at 216-640-8600.

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

IsraelFest! for

Yom Ha’atzmaut

Sunday, May 14, 2023 @ 2 – 5 pm

Safran Park

Mandel Jewish Community Center

26001 S. Woodland Road, Beachwood

Celebrate 75 years from Israel signing the Declaration of Independence on May 14, 1948! Fun-filled attractions for all ages include: free swag, door prizes & raffles, strolling performers, inflatable activities & crafts for kids, and delicious kosher food.

• For more information, visit www.jewishcleveland.org.

Israel at 75 is a community-wide celebration to mark Israel’s 75th birthday. The Jewish Federation of Cleveland, together with local synagogues, agencies, and organizations, will bring Israel to Cleveland through a variety of arts, cultural, and educational events for all ages.

Please look for this logo throughout the brochure for events specifically designed to celebrate Israel at 75!

SURFACE IDENTITIES: Studio Works by Israeli Street Artists

Sara Hurand, AIA, Curator

April 16 – December 20, 2023

Roe Green Gallery

Jewish Federation of Cleveland

Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

Street art is part of the experience of Israel, especially in densely populated urban contexts like Tel Aviv, Haifa, and the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Painting in public places empowers artists to claim space, make it their own, and communicate to you, or anyone who happens by it.

Many artists use street painting as a way to make visible their inner searches of personal identity, or make a social or political statement, or just to have fun.

To paint on the street takes self-confidence, even hubris on the part of the artist to feel that their work has a place in the public realm. Often Israeli street artists say, “I walked by this place and felt it needed to be painted by me.” Sometimes an immigrant to Israel feels foreign and out of place, so the act of painting makes an environment feel more familiar.

This exhibition gathers studio works by sixteen Israeli street artists to give us a sense of Israel, the place, through their eyes and hands. A cacophony of styles and colors brings you the visual noise you would encounter on the streets of Israel.

• To schedule group tours or individual visits, email israelarts@jewishcleveland.org or call 216-593-2890.

Presented by the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

Artist: Brothers of Light

EXHIBITION OPENING & CURATOR TALK

Sunday, April 16, 2023 @ 1 – 3 pm

Join Sara Hurand, curator, on an in-depth journey of placemaking through art. Street artists in Israel mark creative expression in public spaces, claiming, shaping, and arguably, boldly beautifying urban surfaces. Internal thoughts, feelings, and motives are shared in a dynamic interplay of expression and experience between the public and the artist, influencing the soul of neighborhoods and communal civic identity. Underneath this public art lies the unique identities of the artists. Sara will introduce you to street artists both born in Israel and those that have made aliyah from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. Together you will go beyond the surface identities of these artists and glimpse works created in the intimacy of their private studios.

Gallery Open Houses – 2023

Sunday, May 21 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, May 23 @ 6-8 pm

Sunday, June 25 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, June 27 @ 6-8 pm

Sunday, July 16 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, July 18 @ 6-8 pm

Sunday, August 20 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, August 22 @ 6-8 pm

Sara Hurand is an architect, social activist, and creative strategist. Among her non-profit volunteer work, she is on the boards of Sheatufim: Strategies for Social Impact, FRONT International, and she co-founded the national award-winning Jewish Arts and Culture Lab in Cleveland, OH. She now lives in Tel Aviv. Sara holds a Master of Architecture from Harvard University and Bachelor of Fine Arts in Environmental Design from Parsons School of Design.

Presented by the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

Sponsored with support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture

Photo: Michal Chitayat

Artist: Swan.er

Artist: Or Bar-el

Artist: Pesh Visuals

Artist: Faluja

Extended through March 2023!

IF YOU THIRST FOR A HOMELAND

Flame-worked glass by Dafna Kaffeman

A collaboration between the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection and the Chrysler Museum of Art Trudy Wiesenberger, Curator, Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

Carolyn Swan Needell, Ph.D., Curator, Chrysler Museum of Art

Roe Green Gallery, Jewish Federation of Cleveland Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building 25701 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

Presented by the Jewish Federation’s Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

FROM ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

by Orit Fuchs

Presented by District Gallery

May 9 – June 6, 2023

District Gallery

The Van Aken District, Shaker Heights

Orit Fuchs lives and works in Tel Aviv and is a storyteller with a deep appetite for artistic self-expression. Having worked as an art director for some of Israel’s top agencies, Fuchs has a firm grasp on pop culture and gender roles in contemporary society. At the center of her work, Fuchs places the female image in monumental portraits of strong, defiant women with lots of attitude.

Fuchs explores the interactions between the object and the subject, while making a humorous and ironic statement about contemporary culture. Her work presents a unique contemporary language centered on private being and mental states, and gender issues in cultural-social contexts.

• For information visit www.district-gallery.com or call 216-218-9307.

Israeli born glass artist Dafna Kaffeman has been challenging viewer’s notions about tolerance, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and morality in Europe, the United States and Scandinavia.

Her exquisitely crafted plant specimens, made in flame-worked glass from Israel’s natural world, are combined with embroidered texts. Handkerchiefs, often associated with mourning, are the backdrops for many of the glass plants. Inspired by nature, her pieces convey the complexities of life in Israel. Her work ignites an intellectual and emotional response.

• To schedule group tours or individual visits, email israelarts@jewishcleveland.org or call 216-593-2890.

Final Open Houses

Sunday, February 19 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, February 21 @ 6-8 pm

Sunday, March 19 @ 1-3 pm

Tuesday, March 21 @ 6-8 pm

BEYOND BORDERS: THE ART OF SIONA BENJAMIN

Samantha Baskind, Ph.D., Curator

Presented by Cleveland State University

January 8 – March 25, 2023

Galleries at CSU

1307 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

The identity of Indian American-Jewish artist Siona Benjamin is layered and multifaceted, just like her artwork.

Raised as a Jew and member of the Bene Israel community in largely Hindu and Muslim Mumbai, Siona Benjamin attended Catholic and Zoroastrian schools before moving to the US. Benjamin’s transcultural view has been shaped by diverse, complex experiences and is inspired by history and mythology, as illustrated by the captivating characters and symbolism that populate her art.

• Visit artsandsciences.csuohio.edu/galleries/galleries or call 216-687-2103.

• Gallery hours: Tu-Sa, 12-5 pm.

GROWING UP JEWISH IN INDIA

with Siona Benjamin

Presented by Cleveland State University and CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Friday, March 3 @ 12 pm

Landmark Centre Building, 25700 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

In this talk, Siona Benjamin will discuss what it was like to grow up Jewish in India, show images from her artwork and provide historical background about the three distinct Jewish communities in India: the Bene-Israel, the Cochini Jews, and the Iraqi Jews.

• For information visit www.case.edu/lifelonglearning or call 216-368-2091.

JEWS AND ART

Presented by CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Wednesdays, March 1 – 22, 2023 @ 10 am

Landmark Centre Building, 25700 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

The idea of Jewish art has been discussed, embraced, and even denied by Jewish artists and art scholars for the last century. This course will explore fascinating questions such as: What are the features that define “Jewish art”? If the artist is Jewish, does that make their work Jewish art? Why has Jewish ceremonial art (Judaica) historically been regarded differently from the art of other ethnicities and cultures? Who are some Jewish artists that you’ve probably never heard of and why not?

Instructor, Linda Sandhaus, M.D. is a docent at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

• For information visit www.case.edu/lifelonglearning or call 216-368-2091.

BRAIDED MEMORIES:

An Exhibition of Poetry, Image, and Sound

Presented by Case Western Reserve University, CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program, and the Maltz Museum

March 20 – April 27, 2023

Art Gallery, Kelvin Smith Library

11055 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Chilean Jewish poet, author, and human rights activist Marjorie Agosín, and Chilean Jewish photographer, Samuel Shats bear witness as artists to the striking realities of refugees both past and present, real and imagined. They capture a universal truth of human struggles to find a home in arresting depictions of just a few who have faced such challenges.

Agosín’s poems hover between Austria and Chile, shifting from the past of the Holocaust to the present in dizzying transitions forming narrative braids. Shats’s photography forms a dialogue with these migratory poems and expands the aesthetic experience of the audience, providing both relevant visual information and more subtle, complementary metaphors to Agosín’s poetic work.

BRAIDED MEMORIES:

Exhibition Opening Reception with Marjorie Agosín & Samuel Shats

Thursday, March 23 @ 4 pm

Art Gallery, Kelvin Smith Library

11055 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

ANDY WARHOL’S JEWISH ICONS: 10 PORTRAITS

Presented by The Temple Museum of Jewish Art, Religion and Culture of The Temple-Tifereth Israel

Portraits on display through June 30, 2023

The Temple-Tifereth Israel

26000 Shaker Boulevard, Beachwood

Created by the artist himself in New York City in 1980, the 10 individual silkscreen portraits on paper feature Sarah Bernhardt, Louis Brandeis, Martin Buber, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, George Gershwin, Franz Kafka, the Marx Brothers, Golda Meir, and Gertrude Stein. Often considered to be the most influential contemporary artist of the twentieth century, the prints showcase Warhol’s iconic style with bright colors and bold imagery. Executed at a mature moment in Andy Warhol’s career, the portraits showcase the artist’s ongoing exploration of famed subjects as well as religious identity.

• Visit www.ttti.org for more information.

Explore the Lives of Warhol’s Jewish Icons with Noted Speakers

SIGMUND FREUD: The Human Subconscious, Science & Religion with Rabbi Jonathan Cohen & Vera Camden of KSU and Cleveland Psychoanalytic Center

Sunday, March 12 @ 3 pm

The Divine Sarah: An Intimate Visit with Legendary Actress SARAH BERNHARDT

A one-act play written and performed by Anne McEvoy directed by Jacqui Lowy

Sunday, March 26 @ 3 pm

GOLDA MEIR: The Only “Woman in the Room” with Rabbi Yael Dadoun

Sunday, April 23 @ 3 pm

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Scientific Genius, World War II & Jewish Existence with Rabbi Jonathan Cohen

Sunday, April 30 @ 3 pm

GERTRUDE STEIN: Salon for Pride with Jane Rothstein, Librarian & Archivist

Sunday, June 11 @ 3 pm

BRAIDED MEMORIES

with Marjorie Agosín

The Journey of Helena Broder

During the Holocaust

Wednesday, March 22 @ 4 pm

Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities

Clark Hall, 11130 Bellflower Road, Cleveland

www.case.edu/artsci/bakernord/events

Diaspora, Memorialization, and Identity

Wednesday, March 22 @ 7 pm

Maltz Museum

2929 Richmond Road, Beachwood www.maltzmuseum.org/events/braided-memories

What does it mean to seek refuge? How does it feel to be welcomed or denied entry into a new country? What does it mean to leave your home to seek safety far away?

Dr. Marjorie Agosín explores these questions through the story of her great grandmother, Helena Broder, who fled her home in Vienna for safety in Chile in the wake of Kristallnacht.

ON THE THRESHOLD OF OBLIVION

with Samuel Shats

Portraits of Holocaust Survivors in Chile

Friday, March 24 @ 12 pm

Landmark Centre Building

25700 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

www.case.edu/lifelonglearning

Portraits of Holocaust Survivors in Chile

Friday, March 24 @ 4 pm

Baker-Nord Center for the Humanities

Clark Hall, 11130 Bellflower Road, Cleveland

www.case.edu/artsci/bakernord/events

Seeking refuge from the horrors of the Holocaust, some survivors rebuilt their lives in Chile; today, only a few hundred remain and are now between 75 and 105 years old. Samuel Shats’s photography preserves the personal histories of 31 of these survivors and reveals the capacity of human beings to live meaningful lives after the most traumatic experiences.

DANIEL GORTLER, pianist

Presented by Cuyahoga Community College’s (Tri-C) Classical Piano Series

Sunday, March 19, 2023 @ 2 pm

Gartner Auditorium, Cleveland Museum of Art

11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland

Acclaimed Israeli pianist Daniel Gortler has delighted audiences and critics alike with his memorable performances around the world, receiving great praise for both his technical mastery and his musical ingenuity. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras around the world as well as all orchestras in his home country of Israel, including including The Israel Philharmonic. In addition to his frequent orchestral and recital performances, Gortler is an avid chamber music performer. • For tickets visit www.tri-c/arts-and-entertainment/index.html or call 216-987-4444.

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

AN EVENING WITH ITZHAK PERLMAN

Presented by Tuesday Musical

Thursday, April 27, 2023

@ 7:30 pm

EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall

198 Hill Street, Akron

TAL HURWITZ

Undisputedly one of the world’s most respected violinists and music educators, Itzhak Perlman is also beloved by generations through appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show to Sesame Street to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (in a duet with jazz pianist Jon Batiste).

Don’t miss this historic, exclusive evening with a living legend. Mr. Perlman will share intimate anecdotes and multi-media images from his life and career — and perform with longtime collaborator and friend Rohan De Silva — all curated by Tony Award-winning director Dan Sullivan.

• For tickets visit www.tuesdaymusical.org or call 330-761-3460.

Presented by Cleveland Classical Guitar Society

An exceptional classical guitarist and composer, Israeli Tal Hurwitz has garnered international acclaim in concerts and competitions around the world. Continuing in the grand classical tradition of the composer/performer, he is dedicated to furthering the technical and musical possibilities of the guitar.

His reputation for technical mastery and artistic clarity have allowed him to do just that; engaging audiences the world over with his striking interpretations. Additionally Mr. Hurwitz has won prizes as both a performer and composer in numerous international competitions throughout Europe, North America, South America and the far East.

• For details visit www.cleguitar.org.

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

Photo: Eitan Tal

LIGHTNESS OF BEING

with Itamar Zorman, violinist

Presented by ChamberFest Cleveland

Eleven concerts inspired by Milan Kundera’s novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being.

June 14 – July 1, 2023

Various Venues

Born in Tel-Aviv in 1985 to a family of musicians, Itamar Zorman began his violin studies at the age of six at the Israeli Conservatory of Music in Tel-Aviv. He has received numerous awards, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras worldwide. Described as a “poet of the violin,” Zorman is also a committed chamber player. He is a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project.

CIPC FOR YOUNG ARTISTS

Presented by Piano Cleveland

July 5 – 16, 2023

The CIPC for Young Artists is known as one of the top international piano competitions for emerging pianists ages 11-18. Across two divisions of Junior (11-14) and Senior (15-18), contestants will compete for almost $30,000 in prizes and perform their Final Round performances with The Canton Symphony.

AMERNET STRING QUARTET

with Amitai Vardi, clarinetist

Presented by Kent State University

Glauser School of Music

Praised for their “intelligence” and “immensely satisfying” playing by the New York Times, the Amernet String Quartet has garnered recognition as one of today’s exceptional string quartets and are Ensemble-in-Residence at Florida International University in Miami. Their sound has been called “complex” but with an “old world flavor.” Strad Magazine described the Amernet as “…a group of exceptional technical ability.”

• For more information visit www.chamberfestcleveland.com, call 216-471-8887, or email info@chamberfestcleveland.com.

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

Ran Dank, a medalist in the 2007 Cleveland International Piano Competition, returns to Cleveland as a juror. Born in Israel, Ran Dank has appeared as soloist with orchestras throughout Israel. He is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Naumburg Piano Competition and the Sydney International Piano Competition. He was also the First Prize winner of the Hilton Head International Piano Competition.

• For details visit www.pianocleveland.org.

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

Clarinetist Amitai Vardi, an avid soloist, orchestral, and chamber musician, was appointed Professor of Clarinet at Kent State University in 2012. Vardi served as principal clarinetist of Red {an orchestra}, Opera Cleveland, and Lyric Opera Cleveland. He currently holds positions with The Erie Philharmonic, Blue Water Chamber Orchestra, and the Lake Placid Sinfonietta.

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

Photo: Jamie Jung

Photo: Janette Beckman

EXILE:

Music of the Jewish & African Diasporas

Presented by Apollo’s Fire

March 8 – 10 and April 4, 2023

Various Venues, including The Temple-Tifereth Israel, Beachwood

Expelled from their homes and scattered across the earth, exiled peoples have often found strength and resilience in their music. This new program from Jeannette Sorrell begins where “O Jerusalem!” ended – celebrating the interwoven connections of the Sephardic, Ashkenazy, Palestinian, and African traditions.

Rachel Weston, mezzo-soprano

Jacob Perry & Haitham Haidar, tenor

Jeffrey Strauss, baritone

Daphna Mor, recorder, ney, vocals

• For tickets and venue information, visit www.apollosfire.org or call 216-360-0012.

• Use code “JFED” for ticket discounts.

A voyage of faith for the 21st century… An ensemble at the peak of their powers, making vital statements about the world…

–Seen & Heard International (review of O Jerusalem!)

CityMusic Cleveland presents

Various Venues, including The Temple-Tifereth Israel, Beachwood For more information visit www.citymusiccleveland.org or call 216-632-3572.

OF THE SOUL: THE VISIONARY CLARINET

SONG

March 16 – 19, 2023

The CityMusic Chamber Orchestra will perform Osvaldo Golijov’s Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind, featuring clarinet soloist Daniel Gilbert. Golijov, a Jewish, Argentine composer who studied at Jerusalem Rubin Academy, describes the work as “a kind of epic, a history of Judaism. It has Abraham, exile, and redemption. The movements sound like they are in three of the languages spoken in almost 6,000 years of Jewish history: Aramaic; Yiddish; and Hebrew.”

HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE: WWII ERA COMPOSERS

April 20 – 21, 2023

This concert features the work of Jewish composers who lived during the Holocaust. Gideon Klein’s Partita für Streicher was written while the composer was at Terezin. Survivor Mieczysław Weinberg’s monumental Piano Quintet Op. 18 is the centerpiece of the program, performed by The Pantheon Ensemble. The concert also features works by Erwin Schulhoff, who died at Wurzburg prison during WWII.

WHO BY FIRE: Leonard Cohen in the Sinai

with Matti Friedman

Presented by CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Thursday, April 20 @ 7:30 pm

Mandel Jewish Day School

26500 Shaker Blvd., Beachwood

In October 1973, the poet and singer Leonard Cohen—thirty-nine years old, famous, unhappy, and at a creative dead end—traveled from his home on the Greek island of Hydra to the chaos and bloodshed of the Sinai desert after Egypt attacked Israel on Yom Kippur. Moving around the front with a guitar and a group of local musicians, Cohen met hundreds of young soldiers, men and women, at the worst moment of their lives. In Who by Fire, journalist Matti Friedman gives us a riveting account of those weeks in the Sinai, drawing on Cohen’s previously unpublished writing and original reporting to create a kaleidoscopic depiction of a harrowing, formative moment for both a young country at war and a singer at a crossroads.

Matti Friedman is a journalist and the author of three previous works of nonfiction. Spies of No Country: Secret Lives at the Birth of Israel (2019,) Pumpkinflowers: A Soldier’s Story of a Forgotten War (2016,) and The Aleppo Codex (2014,) have received international acclaim.

Matti’s work as a reporter has taken him from Israel to Lebanon, Morocco, Moscow, the Caucasus, and Washington, DC. A former Associated Press correspondent and essayist for the New York Times opinion section, he currently writes a monthly feature for Tablet Magazine. His writing has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, the Atlantic, and elsewhere. Matti was born in Toronto and lives in Jerusalem with his family.

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

AYELET TSABARI

Presented by CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Ayelet Tsabari was born in Israel to a large family of Yemeni descent. She is the author of the memoir, The Art of Leaving, winner of many awards including the Canadian Jewish Literary Awards. Her first book, The Best Place on Earth, won the Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature and the Edward Lewis Wallant Award for Jewish Fiction, and has been published internationally to great acclaim. She studied film and photography in Capilano University’s Media Program in Vancouver, where she directed two documentary films, one of which won an award at the Palm Spring International Short Film Festival.

A graduate of Simon Fraser University’s Writer’s Studio and the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph, Ayelet teaches at the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Guelph, at University of King’s College’s MFA in Creative Nonfiction, and The Shaindy Rudoff Graduate Track in Creative Writing in Bar Ilan University.

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

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

THEATER & DANCE

SYMPHONY OF LIFE

Presented by Cleveland Ballet

April 21 – 22, 2023 @ 7 pm

Connor Palace, 1615 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Join the company as they immerse themselves into a beautiful and elegant musical score from world-renowned Israeli composer Anna Segal, which is the first commissioned musical score for Cleveland Ballet. The company not only has this exquisite score by Ms. Segal, but the artistic story is told by the critically acclaimed choreographer, Ilia Zhivoi. A 24-piece orchestra brings to life Segal’s wonderful piece of music with Cleveland Ballet artists bringing their own artistry and flare to Zhivoi’s beautiful choreography.

• For tickets, please visit www.clevelandballet.org or call 216-320-9000 x107.

• Use code DG15 for ticket discount.

Critically acclaimed composer Anna Segal belongs to a new generation of classical composers: an unusual, versatile composer in various disciplines – Symphonic and Chamber music, solo concertos, Lieder with Orchestra, Choir works and even Chansons. Her compositions have been performed worldwide.

Born in Ukraine, Segal began studying piano and composition at the age of 5. With degrees in piano and musicology, she later studied composition at The Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine. After immigrating to Israel, she earned an M.A. in Composition from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

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

BECOMING DR. RUTH

Presented by Cleveland Play House

April 1 – 23, 2023

Allen Theatre

1407 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

The triumphant true story of America’s Favorite Sex Therapist! With her trademark wry humor, warmth, and candor, Dr. Ruth recounts her life’s many roles: a child escaping Nazi Germany on the Kindertransport; an Israeli sharpshooter in the 1940s; a single mother in America; and finally, the global celebrity sought out by presidents. This life-affirming solo show is a testament to resilience, forging your own path, and the joy of human connection.

• Tickets go on sale January 2, 2023.

• Visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com/ or call 216-241-6000.

• Use code “JFED” for ticket discounts.

LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY

with Yaron Kohlberg, pianist

Presented by DANCECleveland and Tri-C Performing Arts

Saturday, April 22, 2023 @ 7:30 pm

Mimi Ohio Theatre, 1511 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland

Timeless, dramatic, and nuanced, the great Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of American modern dance since its inception. Founded in 1946, the company was responsible for the creation, growth and support of modern dance in the US, and will celebrate its 75th anniversary season with works that reflect on the history of the company and look forward to its next iteration.

The program will feature Yaron Kohlberg, renowned international pianist and president of Piano Cleveland, in a live performance of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major to accompany the company’s performance of Waldstein Sonata.

• For tickets, please visit www.tickets.playhousesquare.org or call 216-241-6000.

WAYS YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

47TH CLEVELAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

CIFF47 in person @ Playhouse Square

March 22 – April 1, 2023

CIFF47 Streams (online)

April 2 – 9, 2023

CIFF47 will take place in-person followed by CIFF47 Streams, which will take place online. The Festival will once again present their Jewish and Israeli Visions sidebar. These films from – or about– Israel and the Jewish diaspora enlighten and entertain with their unique cultural perspective.

• CIFF47 program details will be announced in early March at clevelandfilm.org.

KEN BURNS’ “THE U.S. AND THE HOLOCAUST”

Presented by CWRU’s Siegal Lifelong Learning Program

Thursdays, April 27 – May 4, 2023 @ 4 pm Landmark Centre Building, 25700 Science Park Drive, Beachwood

In “The U.S. and the Holocaust,” a 3-part film series released in September 2022, award-winning documentary filmmaker Ken Burns examines America’s response to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of the twentieth century. The series documents how American public indifference, bureaucratic red tape, and restrictive quota laws led to tragic consequences. How do we reckon with this history? Join Holocaust scholar Professor Cathy Lesser Mansfield for a discussion of the series and its devastating findings.

Cathy Lesser Mansfield is the composer and librettist of “The Sparks Fly Upward,” and founder and Executive Director of The Sparks Fly Upward Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about the Holocaust, genocide and tolerance.

Professor Mansfield teaches courses in consumer protection and commercial law, as well as a course called “Holocaust and the Law,” at Case Western Reserve University School of Law. She was a Silberman Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and is a Distinguished Fellow at The Consortium for the Research and Study of Holocaust and the Law at Chicago-Kent College of Law’s Center for National Security and Human Rights Law.

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION

The Cleveland Israel Arts Connection is a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, connecting our community with the most dynamic 21st century cultural experiences that Israel has to offer. Working in partnership with Northeast Ohio’s leading arts organizations, we strive to identify, enhance, promote, and create unique and engaging Israeli cultural opportunities.

Daniel N. Zelman, Board Chair

Erika B. Rudin-Luria, President

CLEVELAND ISRAEL ARTS CONNECTION ADVISORY GROUP

Roe Green and Erica Hartman-Horvitz, Co-Chairs

Edna Akrish

Leslye Arian

Ziona Austrian

Eric Baer

Samantha Baskind

Howard Bender

Timothy Beyer

Zeda Blau

Richard Bogomolny

Amy Budish

Sue Cahn

Rebecca Carmi

Reneé Chelm

Joanne Cohen

Deena Epstein

Natalie Epstein

Marc Freimuth

Mady Friedman

Barbara Galvin

Matthew Garson

Jay Geller

Valerie Geller

Jane Glaubinger

Florence Goodman

Tyler Grasee

Rochelle Gross

Lilli Harris

Rebecca Heller

Stephen H. Hoffman

Sara Hurand

Bob Immerman

Susan Immerman

Bob Jackson

Roseanne Kadis

Sue Koletsky

Susan Krantz

Karen Krause

Lisa Kurzner

STAFF

Leora Lanzola

Daniel Levin

Karen Levinsky

Sarah Liska

Irwin Lowenstein

Linda McDonald

Michael Milgrom

Marjorie Moskovitz

Peta Moskowitz

Linda Olejko

Debbe Deutch Rabinowitz

Deborah Ratner

Barbara Robinson

Sharon Rosenbaum

Linda Sandhaus

Nancy Schwartz-Katz

Abbie Sender

Charna E. Sherman

Anita Siegal

Scott Sill

Gila Silverman

Marjorie Simon

Margaret Singerman

Ivan Soclof

Marilyn Soclof

Cathy Stamler

Marla Comet-Stark

Robert Stark

Barbara Tannenbaum

Richard Uria

Herb Wainer

Susan Wasserman

Penni Weinberg

Elie Weiss

Judith Weiss

Trudy Wiesenberger

Ruth Wolfson

Rachel Lappen, Chief Development Officer

Hedy P. Milgrom, Senior Development Officer

Israel Wiener, Israel Arts & Culture Consultant

Debra S. Yasinow, Director, Cleveland Israel Arts Connection

The Jewish FederaTion’s

2023 Cleveland israel arTs ConneCTion is broughT To you by These generous individuals, CorporaTions, and FoundaTions:

Roe Green, Honorary Producer

STAR PATRONS

Roe Green Foundation

Harley & Rochelle Gross

Richard Horvitz & Erica Hartman-Horvitz

Robert & Susan Immerman

Karen & Alan M. Krause

PLATINUM PATRONS

Stanley I. and Honnie R. Busch Memorial Endowment

The John & Peggy Garson Family Foundation

Drs. Jane Glaubinger & Eric Baer

David & Francine Horvitz

Anita & Michael Siegal

GOLD PATRONS

Richard Bogomolny & Patricia Kozerefski

Reneé Chelm

Matt Garson & Casey Bochenek

Sara Hurand & Elie Weiss

Linda McDonald, Ph.D.

SILVER PATRONS

Zeda W. Blau

Rebecca & Irad Carmi

Marc Freimuth

Barbara Galvin

Florence Goodman

Lilli & Seth Harris

Amy & Steve Hoffman

Jewish Arts Endowment Fund

Roseanne Kadis

Noreen Koppelman-Goldstein & Barry Goloboff

Rachel & Justin Lappen

Karen & Ira Levinsky

Cookie & Herb Marcus

Hedy & Michael Milgrom

Ashley Hartman Robinson

Sharon & Bruce Rosenbaum

Linda M. Sandhaus, M.D.

Joseph and Marla Shafran Foundation, Glidden House Associates

Charna E. Sherman

Robert & Eileen Sill Family Foundation

Marjorie Simon

Margaret Singerman

Richard & Beverley Uria

Barbara Wain

Herb & Jody Wainer

Susan Wasserman

Judith Weiss

Trudy & Steve Wiesenberger

FRIENDS

The Edna & Yair Akrish Family

Leslye Arian

Ziona & Dan Austrian

Amy Budish

Deena & Richard Epstein

Jonathan Freilich

Margie Moskovitz

Barbara Tannenbaum & Mark Soppeland

Debra S. Yasinow

Jewish Federation of Cleveland

Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Building

25701 Science Park Drive

Cleveland, Ohio 44122

The Jewish FederaTion’s Cleveland israel arTs ConneCTion is broughT To you by These generous sponsors:

Roe Green, Honorary Producer

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSOR

BRONZE SPONSOR

The Leonard Krieger Fund of the