Metropolitan New York
Exhibits
Resistance: The courageous stories of 27 men and women who, some 60 years ago, resisted Nazi occupation in Belgium are included in a documentary exhibition, Images of Resistance: Belgium, 1940-1945. The display features large-scale digital photographs, wartime images, contemporary portraits and personal testimonies of the resisters. Presented by Yeshiva University Museum, the exhibit is based on research by Anne Griffin, a political science professor at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Photography is by Jean-Marc Gourdon. Center for Jewish History, Yeshiva University Museum, 15 W. 16th St. (between Fifth and Sixth Aves.); through Dec. 31; Sun., Tue-Thu. 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; $8, $6 for seniors and students. (212-294-8301 or www.yumuseum.org)
Dilapidated Sites: Interested in the cycle of life and beginnings and endings, Israeli-born photographer Shuli Sade focused her lens on industrial ruins and architectural sites around the world. Illuminated Disjunction, an exhibition of new works, includes images of the ruins of Csepel — an industrial island on the outskirts of Budapest — and the coalmines of Pecs, in southern Hungary. Born in 1952, Sade attended Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Hungarian Cultural Center, 447 Broadway; through July 15; Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; free. (212-750-4450)
Film
Gaza: Israel’s controversial disengagement from Gaza, in August 2005, is the topic of acclaimed filmmaker Yoav Shamir’s “5 Days” (2005). The aptly named documentary, which was filmed over the course of five emotionally charged days, follows people who played key roles in the event, including Dan Harel, chief of the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command, and prominent leaders in the movemen against disengagement. In creating the film, Shamir and his seven film crews were given extensive access to the Israeli army and settlers. The film, which is followed by a discussion with Mike Aronoff, political science professor at Rutgers University, is presented at Makor in its New York premiere. Makor, 35 W. 67th St.; July 5, 7:30 p.m.; $15. (212-601-1000 or www.makor.org)
Lectures and Discussions
Play Ball: Former Major League Baseball player Ron Blomberg, author of the recently released book “Designated Hebrew: The Ron Blomberg Story” (Sports Publishing), discusses his book (which he co-authored with Dan Schlossberg) and his life experiences. Blomberg was the first-ever designated hitter in Major League Baseball, and he was the first significant Yankee player to be open about his Jewish identity. The event opens the Hampton Synagogue’s eighth annual Author Discussion Series. A Jewish Book Fair and reception precede the reading, and a dessert reception and book signing follow. Hampton Synagogue, 154 Sunset Ave., Westhampton Beach; July 6; book fair and reception: 5 p.m.-7 p.m.; reading: 7:30 p.m.; signing and reception: 9 p.m.-10 p.m.; free. (631-288-0534)
Literary: Writers Myla Goldberg and Victoria Redel read from their works at the upcoming installment of the seventh annual Scribblers on the Roof season. Goldberg is the author of the acclaimed novel “Bee Season” (Doubleday, 2000), which tells the story of a complicated family whose lives are changed forever by an elementary school spelling bee, Jewish mysticism and Eastern religious cults. Redel penned the haunting novel “Loverboy” (Graywolf Press, 2001), which centers on a single mother who is obsessed with her child. The reading is held on Ansche Chesed’s rooftop. Ansche Chesed, 251 W. 100th St. (at West End Ave.); July 10, 8 p.m.; $5 suggested donation. (212-865-0600)
Tisha B’Av: Most Jews have a general understanding of the meanings of such major holidays as Passover, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. But when it comes to lesser-known sacred days, many of us are left scratching our heads. A holiday that is not an exception to this rule is Tisha B’Av, the upcoming fast day that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It marks two cataclysmic events that have greatly influenced the development of Judaism and are still relevant in contemporary times. The JCC in Manhattan presents “Tisha B’Av: What’s It All About, Anyway?” a three-part learning program that explores the history and meanings of the holiday, and the reasons that some fundamentalist Jews and Christians hope to build a Third Temple. JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. (at 76th St.); three Wednesdays: July 12, 19, 26; 7 p.m.-8:30 p.m.; $65, $50 for members; registration requested. (646-505-5708 or www.jccmanhattan.org)
Music
Summer in the City: Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham narrates Aaron Copland’s Lincoln Portrait in the New York Philharmonic’s concert, Summertime Classics. The program is chockfull of old-time favorites, including George Gershwin’s “Strike Up the Band” and “Rhapsody in Blue”; works from Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Town,” and Aaron Jay Kernis’s New Era Dance. Marcus Roberts performs on piano, and Bramwell Tovey conducts. Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, W. 65th St. and Broadway; July 5, 6; 7:30 p.m.; $19-$49. (212-875-5656 or www.nyphil.org)
Worldly: Head to the JCC’s rooftop for a summer concert as Illusion, a world music ensemble, makes its New York City premiere. The group’s upbeat original tunes blend sounds from Israel, Greece, Armenia and Bohemia. Led by Czech-born multi-instrumentalist Jaroslav Jakubovic, Illusion includes Adam Morrison on keyboards, Zahava on vocals, Vivian Israel on cello, Ziv Ravitz on drums and Emmanuel Mann on bass. JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. (at 76th St.); July 7, 8 p.m.; $10, $5 for members. (646-505-5708 or www.jccmanhattan.org)
Performance
Manhattan Madcaps: Rodgers and Hart’s recently “rediscovered” musical “Manhattan Madcaps of 1924” tells the timeless New York City fairytale: Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl and a decent Manhattan apartment. What New Yorker can’t relate to that? The musical, which is presented by Summer Stock on Broadway at Symphony Space, features 17 tunes from Rodgers and Hart shows and film scores, including “City” (“Me for You,” 1929), “I Gotta Get Back to New York” (“Hallelujah I’m a Bum,” 1933) and “Way Out West (on West End Avenue)” (“Babes in Arms,” 1937). Annette Jolles directs. Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space, Broadway at 95th St.; July 6-22; Wed.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sun. 3 p.m.; $19. (212-864-5400 or www.symphonyspace.org)
Tour
Jewish Harlem: Most people associate Harlem with such names as Malcolm X and Marcus Garvey, but though it comes as a surprise to some, in 1920 there were 200,000 Jews living in Harlem. Lace up your sneakers and explore the neighborhood’s Jewish heritage, synagogue buildings and former Jewish institutions on a walking tour presented by the JCC in Manhattan. Meeting place: JCC in Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave. (at 76th St.); July 9, 1 p.m.; $15, $10 for members. (646-505-5708 or www.jccmanhattan.org)
CALIFORNIA
All-American: George Krevsky Gallery presents My America, an exhibition inspired by the exhibit of the same name at the Judah L. Magnes Museum. The display features paintings and works on paper by such artists as Theresa Bernstein, William Gropper, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jacques Lipchitz, Louis Lozowick, Ben Shahn and Raphael Soyer. George Krevsky Gallery, 77 Geary St., San Francisco; through July 29; Tue.-Sat. 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.; free. (415-397-9748)
COLORADO
Russian Expressions: Freedom of style and expression, a right denied to artists during communist rule of Russia, are the predominant themes in works featured in an exhibition called Building Cultural Bridges: Art from the Former Soviet Union to America. The exhibit is presented by the Mizel Museum. Mizel Museum, 400 S. Kearney Rd., Denver; through Sept. 29; Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; free. (303-394-9993 or www.mizelmuseum.org)
ILLINOIS
Worldly Sounds: Traditional instrumental music from the Arabic, Sephardic, Egyptian, Levantine, Turkish and Armenian traditions is performed by the Mosaic Trio, a group of musicians from the Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble. The trio features Moroccan-born qanun performer Hicham Chami, flutist Kim Sopata and percussionist Karim Nagi Mohammed. The group performs Arabesque Chicago, a concert presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and by Silk Road Chicago: Summer 2006. Chicago Tourism Center, 72 E. Randolph St., Chicago; July 21, 5:30 p.m.-6:15 p.m.; free. (312-744-2400 or www.chicagoculturalcenter.org)
MASSACHUSETTS
Archived: On September 18, 1946, historic materials were unearthed from the Warsaw Ghetto. The materials, which offered detailed accounts of daily life in the ghetto, the devastation inflicted by the Nazis and the destruction of Polish Jewry, were secretly compiled by Warsaw historian Emanuel Ringelblum and a group of writers, historians, rabbis, teachers and welfare workers to document the Nazis’ destruction. They were buried by the group when the Nazis began their liquidation of the ghetto. Presented as high-quality facsimiles in a traveling exhibition titled Scream the Truth at the World: Emanuel Ringelblum and the Hidden Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, the materials include photographs, artifacts, artwork, letters, children’s essays, documentation of deportation and murder, and reports on ghetto life. National Yiddish Book Center, Hampshire College, 1021 West St., Amherst; through Oct. 6, Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.; Sun. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.; free. (413-256-4900 or www.yiddishbookcenter.org)
WYOMING
Newman: Woody Allen, Louise Nevelson, Norman Mailer, Louis Kahn and Leonard Bernstein are among the high-profile personalities captured by renowned photographer Arnold Newman (1918-2006), who passed away in early June. Presented in an exhibition, Arnold Newman: One World, One People, the photos span six decades, from the 1940s to the present. The images offer intimate portraits of Jewish public figures, such as artists, politicians, philosophers and entertainers, who have made significant contributions to their fields. The traveling exhibit was organized by the Jewish Museum of Florida. Center for the Arts, 240 S. Glenwood St., Jackson; through Aug. 25; Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; private viewings available on request; free. (307-734-8956, www.artassociation.org or www.jhcenterforthearts.org)
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