C nversati ns 2026 - 2027
MANDEL JCC
Authors, Ideas & People Who Inspire
C nversati ns MANDEL JCC
Authors, Ideas & People Who Inspire
Dear Book Lovers,
We are excited to introduce Mandel JCC Conversations: Authors, Ideas and People Who Inspire, the newly reimagined name for the Mandel JCC’s longtime Jewish book festival. While our name is changing, our mission remains the same: to bring engaging authors and speakers to Greater Cleveland and create meaningful opportunities for our community to explore new ideas and perspectives. None of this could happen without you. We are grateful to our dedicated volunteers, generous donors, community partners and our audience for the unwavering support. We look forward to sharing this next chapter with you. Please explore this year’s events and join us for the conversations ahead. Warmly,
Bruce Rosenbaum
Jesse Rosen
Beth Rosenthal
EVENTS AT-A-GLANCE MON, NOV 9 11 AM EST • VIRTUAL Yishay Ishi Ron and Yardenne Greenspan Free TUES, NOV 10 • 7 PM KEYNOTE Shai Davidai Mandel JCC $18 Mandel JCC Members $25 Public $75 VIP Reception and Main Event SUN, NOV 15 • 3 PM Daniel Sokatch Mandel JCC Free for Mandel JCC Members & PRISM project members $12 Public TUES, DEC 1 • 7 PM Yaron Weitzman Mandel JCC $12 for Mandel JCC Members $15 Public $5 Student (<18yrs) WED, DEC 2 • 1 PM Merryl Goldberg Mandel JCC Free for Prime Time Members. $12 other Mandel JCC Members $15 Public
TUES, DEC 15 • 7 PM Rebekah Lowin Congregation Mishkan Or $12 Members of Mandel JCC, JWA CLE, and CMO $15 Public WED, JAN 27 • 7 PM Judy Batalion Park Synagogue $12 Mandel JCC and Park Synagogue members $15 Public MON, FEB 1 11 AM EST • VIRTUAL Jason Bell Free
SUN, FEB 28 • 10:30 AM KIDS DAY Suzy Ultman Mandel JCC Free TUES, MARCH 2 • 7 PM Michael Lowenthal Suburban Temple Kol Ami Free MON, MARCH 8 • 7 PM Zibby Owens South Euclid-Lyndhurst Public Library $15 (includes a copy of Between Chapters) THURS, MARCH 18 • 7 PM Karen Goldfinger Baker Mandel JCC Free
Tickets
For tickets and registration, scan the QR code or visit: conversations.eventive.org/welcome Tickets also available at the door
Group Tickets
Discount tickets are available for groups. Please email Beth Rosenthal at brosenthal@mandeljcc.org
Official Bookseller:
Books can be purchased from our local partner Mac’s Backs Books on Coventry at 1807 Coventry Road, Cleveland Heights, or macsbacks.com For more information or questions, contact Beth Rosenthal at 216-593-6216 or brosenthal@mandeljcc.org
VIRTUAL NOV 9 • 11 AM EST
KEYNOTE • NOV 10 • 7 PM • MANDEL JCC
FICTION
Yishay Ishi Ron and Yardenne Greenspan DOG & THE GIRL WHO RODE THE WHITE LION In his debut novella Dog, Yishay draws on his own experiences to craft an intimate, raw, yet tender portrait of his protagonist’s psyche and that of Israel’s wounded society. His second novel, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion, is inspired by an astonishing and little-known true story of the 1938 rescue of Jews from a Nazi Germany circus. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yishay Ishi Ron is an Israeli author and the son of a Holocaust survivor. His acclaimed novel Dog was longlisted for the Sapir Prize and is currently being adapted into a feature film. The Girl Who Rode the White Lion is his second novel. Yardenne Greenspan translated both of Ron’s books into English. She is also a writer whose work has been featured in Tablet, Jewish Book Council, Literary Hub, Haaretz, Words Without Borders, and has a regular column in Ploughshares. Greenspan has taught creative writing and translation workshops at Columbia University.
Tickets: Free Register for the Zoom link Sponsor: Cleveland Israel Arts Connection
Shai Davidai AMERICAN INTELLECTUAL ANTISEMITISM The Anti-Jewish Movement Tearing Through our Universities In the wake of the October 7th Hamas massacre, Shai Davidai became an accidental activist. Almost overnight, he was organizing rallies, appearing on primetime television, testifying before Congress, facing death threats, and found himself barred from teaching his award-winning course. Beginning with the small vigil at Columbia University that sparked his activism, Davidai chronicles how ideological extremism took root in elite institutions and how silence and fear fueled the most significant surge of antisemitism in North America since the Holocaust.
NOV 15 • 3 PM • MANDEL JCC
NON-FICTION NON-FICTION
Daniel Sokatch CAN WE TALK ABOUT ISRAEL? A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted. Revised and Updated. Book talk followed by a guided conversation facilitated by PRISM Project
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shai Davidai has a PhD. in Social Psychology from Cornell University and has taught at Princeton, The New School for Social Research, and Columbia University. His activism has drawn over 250,000 followers on social media, and his podcast, Here I Am with Shai Davidai, reaches tens of thousands of listeners each week. He is also the creator and host of Pragmatic Judaism, a podcast exploring Judaism as a blueprint for Jewish continuity, peoplehood, and survival. He was named one of The Jerusalem Post’s 50 Most Influential Jews of 2024, honored by the Israeli Parliament, and awarded The Jerusalem Prize at the Jerusalem Conference in New York City.
Can We Talk About Israel? is the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, grappling with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as victims. This book is an easy-to-read yet penetrating and original look at the history and basic contours of one of the most complicated conflicts in the world. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Daniel Sokatch has served as the CEO of the New Israel Fund since 2009. Before joining NIF, Daniel served as the CEO of the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the Peninsula, Marin and Sonoma Counties. Prior to his tenure at the Federation, he was founding Executive Director of the Progressive Jewish Alliance (now Bend the Arc). Daniel holds an MA from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, a JD from Boston College Law School, and a BA from Brandeis University.
Tickets: $18 Mandel JCC Members; $25 Public; $75 VIP Reception and Main Event Sponsors: Cleveland Israel Arts Connection, a program of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland; The Iris Bialosky Zahler Lecture Series of the Mandel JCC Community Partner: Siegal Lifelong Learning
Tickets: Free for Mandel JCC Members & PRISM project members; $12 Public Sponsors: PRISM Project; with support from The Myron Guren Memorial Fund
DEC 1 • 7 PM • MANDEL JCC
NON-FICTION
DEC 2 • 1 PM • MANDEL JCC
NON-FICTION
Yaron Weitzman
Merryl Goldberg
A HOLLYWOOD ENDING
NOTES OF DECEPTION
The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers
How a Quartet of American Musicians Outwitted the KGB
The book chronicles the turbulent partnership between LeBron James and the LA Lakers. Drawing on nearly 300 interviews, longtime NBA reporter Weitzman takes readers inside the fraught alliance that reshaped one of basketball’s most glamorous franchises. From a Succession-like power struggle within the Buss family to the rise of LeBron’s landscape-altering talent agency and its efforts to wield influence inside the organization, this book captures the battle over control, legacy, and vision, all revealed in a new light.
This is the riveting untold story of four Jewish American klezmer musicians-turned- amateur-spies who risked everything to help fellow Jews escape the Soviet Union during the Cold War. With little training in espionage, they risked their freedom and their lives to smuggle information to and from the West under the watchful eye of the KGB to help fellow Jews, activists, and dissidents escape an oppressive regime.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Yaron Weitzman is an award-winning NBA writer and the author of two books. His latest, A Hollywood Ending: The Dreams and Drama of the LeBron Lakers, was named one of the best books of 2025 by The New Yorker. His work has appeared in The Ringer, Bleacher Report, Yahoo Sports, FOX Sports, and GQ, and was selected for “Best American Sports Writing.”
Tickets: $12 for Mandel JCC Members; $15 Public; $5 Student (<18 yrs)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Merryl Goldberg, PhD. is a saxophonist, writer, activist, and Professor of Music at California State University San Marcos. Goldberg’s undergraduate degree is from New England Conservatory of Music, and her Masters and Doctorate are from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She toured and recorded with the Klezmer Conservatory Band for many years.
Tickets: Free for PrimeTime Wellness Club participants; $12 other Mandel JCC Members; $15 Public Sponsor: PrimeTime Wellness Club, Mandel JCC
DEC 15 • 7 PM CONGREGATION MISHKAN OR
JAN 27 • 7 PM • PARK SYNAGOGUE
NON-FICTION
FICTION
Rebekah Lowin
Judy Batalion
A YEAR OF JEWISH JOY
THE LAST WOMAN OF WARSAW
Inspired Recipes, Rituals, and Traditions for Beautiful Celebrations Join us for an evening of creative discussion and demonstrations to enhance any holiday! In A Year of Jewish Joy, Rebekah Lowin— affectionately called the “Jewish Martha Stewart” by her readers — brings warmth, creativity, and style to Jewish celebrations. From Shabbat to the major holidays, she guides readers through traditions and rituals, providing practical ways to bring them to life at home. The book features more than 75 kosher recipes, menus, entertaining ideas, and DIY holiday decorating inspiration, in a way that is both beautiful and approachable. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rebekah Lowin is a writer and content creator known for her whimsical, design-forward approach to Jewish holiday cooking, décor, craft projects, and storytelling. Her work aims to make traditions feel fresh, accessible, and joyful. She has been featured in Food Network Magazine, Bon Appétit, PBS, and Woman’s Day.
Tickets: $12 Members of Mandel JCC, JWA CLE, and CMO $15 Public Sponsors: Jewish Women in Action Cleveland & The Women of Mishkan Or
In honor of International Holocaust Remembrance Day This debut novel by the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling author follows two very different Jewish women in Warsaw in the late 1930s as they unexpectedly come together in their search for love, meaning, and a sense of home while grappling with the storm clouds gathering around them. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Judy Batalion is the author of several awardwinning nonfiction books, most recently The Light of Days. Judy’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vogue, The Forward, Salon, and The Jerusalem Post.
Tickets: $12 Mandel JCC and Park Synagogue Members; $15 Public Sponsors: The Park Synagogue Robert Leitson Family Lecture Fund; The Park Synagogue Leonard Senkfor Library
VIRTUAL FEB 1 • 11 AM EST
FEB 28 • 10:30 AM • MANDEL JCC
Ohio Author KIDS DAY
NON-FICTION
Jason Bell
Suzy Ultman
OPERATION SPARROW
I LIKE YOUR CHUTZPAH
The Incredible True Story of the North American Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War
And Other Yiddish Words You’ll Like
WATCH together with the Men’s Club at the Mandel JCC or stream from home. In March 1944, three American commandos parachuted into Nazi-occupied Hungary on an impossible mission: get captured, endure interrogation, and sell Hitler the biggest lie of the war. Their deception would draw over a million Axis troops away from Normandy, making D Day possible. But Operation Sparrow had a second purpose: saving Hungary’s one million Jews, the last large Jewish community in Nazi-aligned Europe. This is the declassified true story of one of WWII’s boldest deceptions — and the race to prevent genocide. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jason Bell, PhD., is a professor of philosophy at University of New Brunswick. He won the Vine National Canadian Jewish Book Award for best history book: Cracking the Nazi Code. He discovered Operation Sparrow in 2013 while examining newly unsealed papers on Canada’s East Coast, revealing one of the war’s most daring deceptions.
Tickets: Free Register to watch at the JCC, or to get a Zoom link Sponsor: Mandel JCC Men’s Club
Come spend the morning with Suzy! We will read from her fun, Jewish and joyful board books, play, create, and of course, enjoy yummy kosher snacks! Suzy has written over 10 Jewish-themed board books, so you won’t want to miss this fun morning filled with Yiddish, mitzvot, and maybe even pickles. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Suzy Ultman has been creating toys and books for family and friends since childhood. A born storyteller, Suzy is an illustrator, product designer, toy creator, and bookmaker of sophisticated and simple objects that inspire and delight young and old alike. Her second book, Shabbat Shalom, was the winner of the Association of Jewish Libraries’ 2026 Sydney Taylor Picture Book Award. Her other books include How Do you Jew, It’s a Mitzvah, Oy Vey, and the latest, I Heart Pickles.
Tickets: Free Sponsor: A Shoresh Grant, powered by the Jewish Education Center Community Partner: PJ Library
MARCH 2 • 7 PM SUBURBAN TEMPLE-KOL AMI
MARCH 8 • 7 PM SOUTH EUCLID-LYNDHURST LIBRARY
NON-FICTION
MEMOIR
Michael Lowenthal
Zibby Owens
PLACE ENVY
BETWEEN CHAPTERS
Essays in Search of Orientation
How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot
Growing up in places where his family had no past and met mostly by silence from his Holocaust-refugee grandparents, Michael Lowenthal longed to be from somewhere. When he realized he was gay, he felt displaced from his own displaced family. Place Envy chronicles his quest for orientation in the world: as an agnostic Jew, as a queer traveler and lover, and as a writer who can tell or twist the truth. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Michael Lowenthal is the author of four novels: The Same Embrace, Avoidance, Charity Girl— which was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and a Washington Post Top Fiction of 2007 pick—and The Paternity Test, an Indie Next selection and a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He has also written for the New York Times Magazine, Boston Magazine, the Washington Post, and the Boston Globe.
Tickets: Free Sponsor: Kol Nashim Women of Suburban Temple-Kol Ami
South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library 1876 Green Rd. South Euclid Between Chapters is a collection of essays written during a period of Zibby’s life from ages 39 to almost 50, when she experienced extreme changes, going from stay-at-homemom to being recognized on the street for her work, from not being on social media to being an “influencer,” from being married to divorcing and then remarrying, and from feeling relatively safe to realizing safety was an illusion all along. It was a time when she gained and lost weight, gained and lost friends, weathered natural disasters and societal turmoil. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Zibby Owens is the award-winning host of the podcast Totally Booked with Zibby and the weekly TV show Totally Booked. Author of six books including two bestsellers, On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates and Blank: A Novel, she owns Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica, CA, and Zibby Publishing, a boutique publishing house, all part of Zibby Media.
Tickets: $15 includes a copy of Between Chapters Sponsor: Cuyahoga County Public Library
MARCH 18 • 7 PM • MANDEL JCC
Local Author NON-FICTION
Karen Goldfinger Baker STAY HERE On Love, Loss and Remaining With honesty and quiet attention, this collection of lyrical poetry reminds us that life exists after loss. Stay Here is a companion for moments when nothing makes sense, when sorrow meets the everyday, and is a beautiful reminder that even in the ache, love remains. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Karen Goldfinger Baker is an executive and leadership coach whose work focuses on how leaders live and lead while carrying grief, loss, and trauma. She is a Certified Grief Educator, in partnership with David Kessler, and the host of two podcasts: Stay Here and Trauma Hiders Club.
Tickets: Free
2026 Community Readers & Steering Committee Janice Adell Edna Akrish Linda Angart Leah Avner Faye Bass Betty Bauman Amy Bilsky Dan Borison Grace Brower Amy Budish Fran Bulloff Jill Cappy Mark Cohen Lisa Cynamon Mayers Wendy Dahar Sallie Fine Shelley Fishbach Alison Galinsky Bonnie Goodman Susan Gordan Nancy Greff Laura Halpert Ingrid Halpert Betsy Kohn Cindy Letzt Eliana LeVine Mark LeVine
Shelly Lewis Beth Lockshin Ruth Mardell Raizel Michelow Julie Moss Anna Novik Jody Podl Anita Pupa Jill Pupa Shawna Rosner Susan Ringel Cheri Shapero Jessica Semel Abbie Sender Laura Simon Judy Spaulding Jennifer Stern Michelle Sudow Cynthia Tancer Tracy Thomas Amy Viny Audrey Weiss Ethan Weiss Judi Wolf Nancy Zimmerman We regret any errors or omissions
Thank You to Our Sponsors* Major Supporters Anonymous Cleveland Israel Arts Connection Iris Bialosky Zahler Lecture Series of the Mandel JCC Barbara Meckler – IHO Shelly Lewis Literary Agent Linda Angart – IMO Anne Angart & Miriam Leikind Peter & Aliki Rzepka Publisher Shelly & Scott Lewis Cindy Letzt & Jonathan Rogen Editor Miriam Vishny & Mark Cohen Nancy & Michael Greff Reader Susan & Daniel Borison Laura & Scott Kuntz Berinthia & Mark LeVine Eliana LeVine & Josh Polster Lisa & Joshua Mayers Jody & Tod Podl Erica & Erick Remer Enid & David Rosenberg
June Scharf Abbie Nagler Sender Judy Solganik Judy & Tom Spaulding Sandy Zieve Writer Deedra Dolin, – IMO Larry Dolin Noreen KoppelmanGoldstein & Barry Goloboff Barbara & Barry Epstein Jill Pupa Myron Guren Memorial Fund Shawna & Matt Rosner Sally & Larry Sears Darby & Jon Steiger Audrey & Ethan Weiss Book Worm Janice & Mitchell Adell Amy & Armond Budish Shelley & David Fishbach Susan & Mark Ringel Mikki & Michael Rocker – IMO Herman A. and Sadie C. Eigen Margo Roth Laura Simon & Steve Moss Amy Wain Judi & Marshall Wolf
Community Sponsors
The Prism Project SENKFOR LIBRARY
Government Support
Community Partners
*as of 10/1/26 We regret any errors or omissions
Media Sponsor
cjn.org
To make a Donation:
Your generous support is greatly appreciated. To make a donation, visit engage.mandeljcc.org/conversations2026
Proud Member
Mandel JCC Conversations Committee Co-Chairs Dan Borison June Scharf
Thank You Thanks to our volunteers for their hard work and dedication in making this series a success!
Bruce Rosenbaum, Board Chair Jesse Rosen, President and CEO Beth Rosenthal, Arts & Culture Program Associate
26001 S. Woodland Road Beachwood, OH 44122 www.mandeljcc.org/Book-Festival
Cleveland, Ohio PERMIT NO. 1279
PAID
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