May Day Party + Solidarity Fundraiser
2023-04-30 15:00 - 18:00 (America/New_York) | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Celebrate May Day early on April 30 from 3-6pm with Boston Workers Circle, hosted by the Young Adult Committee! Join us for drinks (Gragger’s leftover bounty), music, and activist banner painting as we honor our organization’s roots in the labor movement by raising funds to support striking workers! Membership month is coming up soon in June, so this is a great opportunity to become a BWC member and meet other young adults who are working to build progressive Jewish community and political power here in Boston. This event is 21+.
Register Here

IPC Study Group
2023-05-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-06-08 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-07-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-08-02 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-09-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-10-04 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-12-06 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The IPC Study Group is a subcommittee of the Israel/Palestine Committee (IPC) which meets on Zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm to discuss books, films, articles, and/or webinars we’re reading and watching together, to deepen our understanding of the history and context of Israel/Palestine.
All are welcome to join us. You can find what we’re currently studying together here, as well as information on what we’ve previously read and watched. Join us here on Zoom at 6pm The IPC Study Group communicates between sessions via google email list. Contact ipc@circleboston.org to let us know you’re coming, for more information, or to join the email list and help us choose what we’re going to learn about together for future sessions!

Advanced Brenendike Verter: Yidishe Dikhterins In Ukraine Nokh Der Revolutsye
2023-05-03 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-05-10 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom
Level: The class is suited to advanced speakers and readers of Yiddish including students in past advanced BWC Yiddish classes.. We will discuss the poems and poets in Yiddish, in a supportive environment that encourages each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability.
Materials: Provided by instructor.
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Avantgarde Yiddish women poets were trailblazers in the development of secular Yiddish literature in post-revolution Ukraine. The daring themes and imagery of many of their poems signified a fiery break with the restrictions of the past. In this course, we will read a selection of these poems, and will discuss the themes and stylistics, as well as the biographical, sociohistorical and literary contexts of the poems. We will explore ways that these poets transgressed gendered expectations in their subversive verse.
ברענענדיקע ווערטער: ייִדישע דיכטערינס אין אוקראַינע נאָך דער רעװאָלוציע
ייִדישע דיכטערינס האָבן קרעפֿטיק גענומען דאָס וואָרט אין אוקראַינע אין דער נאָך-רעוואָלוציע
תּקופֿה. זיי האָבן זיך אויסגעצייכנט מיט די באַזונדערקייטן פֿון זייערע טעמעס און בילדער, און
מיט זייערע שעפֿערישע שפּילערײַען מיט ווערטער און קלאַנגען. זייערע אָריגינעלע לידער זײַנען
אַ וויכטיקער צושטײַער צו דער אַנטוויקלונג פֿון וועלטלעכער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור.
מיר וועלן צוזאַמען לייענען די פֿלאַמיקע פֿערזן פֿון פֿאַרשיידענע דינאַמישע דיכטערינס, און וועלן
אַרומרעדן די טײַטשן, טעמעס און סטיליסטיק פֿון די לידער, און די קאָנטעקסטן אין וועלכע די
לידער זײַנען דערשינען.

Antisemitism: Reclaiming the conversation
2023-05-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Hybrid – BWC Building & Zoom
6 sessions | April: 20, 27, May: 4, 11,18, 25
Thursdays 7:00-8:30 PM ET | HYBRID
As we navigate a world with rising white nationalism, antisemitism, and threats to democracy, it can be difficult to distinguish real threats from fear tactics. This course is to help discern our path for building Jewish safety and a vision for a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural world, as well as being able to identify what impedes and divides us, both currently and historically.
Over six sessions, a range of outstanding speakers and facilitators will teach the history of antisemitism and its connections to other forms of oppression, as well as how we can take action to fight antisemitism rooted in our progressive values.
Course sessions:

4/20 – “From Anti-Judaism and Anti-Semitism: Is There a Difference?” with Dr. Shaul Magid
4/27 – “Antisemitism and White Christian Nationalism” with Ben Lorber of Political Research Associates
5/4 – “A Black Jewish Perspective on Fighting Racism and Antisemitism” with Rebecca Pierce
5/11 – “How has Antisemitism divided our movements for Justice in the US?” led by Sophie Ellman-Golan
5/18 – “Antisemitism and Israel/Palestine” led by Emma Saltzberg from Diaspora Alliance
5/25 – Facilitated Reflection + integration

Each class will also include a 15 minute schmooze period at 6:45 before the class begins.
Register Here

Di Nest: Yiddish Creative Project Incubator
2023-05-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-06-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-07-06 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-08-03 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-09-07 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-05 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Di Nest is an incubator for Yiddish-language creative projects! Join us on the first Thursday of the month to share and workshop community members’ artistic works in progress. All forms of creativity in Yiddish (or prominently featuring Yiddish) are welcome: poetry, prose, music, visual arts, performing arts, translations into Yiddish, and more.
Di Nest is open to Yiddish speakers and students of all levels. Whether you’re just starting to create in Yiddish or have been doing so for years, you’re welcome to attend! Sessions will be in a mix of Yiddish and English.
Each session will include time to workshop material of several participants and a chance for everyone to spend time creating. If you have material you would like to workshop, please email yiddish@circleboston.org. Whether or not you’re bringing material to workshop, you are welcome to attend and offer feedback to fellow participants.
Register Here.

Yiddish Reading Group
2023-05-05 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-05-12 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-05-19 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-05-26 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-06-02 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-06-09 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-06-16 10:30 - 12:00, 2023-06-23 10:30 - 12:00 and 41 more dates | Zoom
Join our Yiddish Reading Group! We meet weekly (mostly) to read fiction in Yiddish. Group members select the readings which are usually short stories or novellas. Discussion is in English. Anyone who has taken an intermediate or advanced Yiddish class at the Workers’ Circle or has similar proficiency should be able to manage well in the group.
If you would like more information about the group, including the Zoom link, email yiddishreadinggroup@circleboston.org

Aging in Health: Part 2 (Aging in Community)
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:00 | Zoom
A continuation of our January conversation with Dr. Jeff Bass (but newcomers are also welcome!). Internist Dr. Jeffrey Bass, who will speak on changes we can expect as we age and how we can manage our health and well-being. He will discuss specific physiological systems as well as more general topics and will take questions from the group. Please contact AIC@circlboston.org with questions.

Support Space Meeting #4
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA
The Support Space is designed for Shule caregivers who identify as OR who are the caregiver of a young person who identifies as Black, a person of color, a Jew of color, Indigenous, Sephardi, and/or Mizrahi (JOCISM).
Contact supportspace@circleboston.org for more information

Shule (Session 21)
2023-05-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Circle Playtime
2023-05-07 10:45 - 12:15 | John D. Runkle Elementary School, 50 Druce St, Brookline, MA 02445, USA
Circle Playtime is a free playgroup for families with children ages 2-5 years old. Each session includes fun age-appropriate activities, filled with music-making and storytelling related to a Jewish or social justice holiday. It is followed by open play at the nearby playground.
RSVP HERE.

BWC Finance Committee
2023-05-08 17:30 - 18:30, 2023-06-12 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom
Join on Zoom.

Yiddish Vinkl
2023-05-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-06-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-08-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-09 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-02-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-03-14 19:00 - 20:30 and 2 more dates | Zoom
Somerville Vinkl will be held virtually until it’s safe to meet in person again. This is an opportunity for you to sharpen your Yiddish skills in a comfortable and informal setting, whatever your level of Yiddish. All are welcome.
Somerville Vinkl is the second Thursday of every month, from 7:00-8:30 PM. For questions contact yiddish@circleboston.org.
Register Here.

Mothers' Day Walk for Peace
2023-05-14 08:00 - 11:00 | MA
AFREJ is assembling a BWC team to walk in the Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace. Happening from 8:00 – 11:00 on Sunday May 14, the 4.3 mile walk starts and ends at Town Field Park (Fields Corner) in Dorchester. This is the 27th annual walk, sponsored by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, to raise funds for their work in supporting families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. It’s a powerful community-building event and is a great way for families to begin Mothers’ Day.
We’ve set a goal of the BWC team raising $1500. Go to here to register. When you create your personal account, make sure you link it with the Boston Workers Circle Team.

Community Klezmer Concert & Dance Party
2023-05-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Hyde Community Center, 90 Lincoln St, Newton Highlands, MA 02461, USA
Ever wanted to dance the hora in public but didn’t know how? Now’s your chance!Join International Jewish Music Festival winners Ezekiel’s Wheels Klezmer Band and world renowned dance leader Avia Moore for an evening of freylekhs, bulgars, zhoks, and more at the Hyde Community Center bandstand in Newton Highlands.
Whether you’re a veteran Yiddish dancer or have never even heard of a zhok, bulgar, or freylekhs, you’re invited to join hands and dance the night away with us.
No registration required, but if you wish to register to receive any updates, you can do so here.

Breakfast and Testimony Writing Party with BWC, T'ruah, and Kavod
2023-05-21 10:00 - 11:30 | The Democracy Center, 45 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join T’ruah clergy, Boston Workers Circle, and Kavod to build community, eat breakfast, and support one another in writing testimony to support the legislative priorities (the Prison Moratorium, Elder Parole, and Primary Caretakers Act) of Families for Justice as Healing and the National Council. Please register to receive location specifics from organizers before the event!
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-05-21 10:15 - 12:15 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman

Building Secular Life Cycle Rituals
2023-05-21 10:30 - 12:00 | Hybrid – BWC Building & Zoom
Join us for a workshop to examine the role of life cycle rituals in supporting our secular community. How can we support each other at significant points in our lives, both happy and sad? What can we learn from Jewish traditions? How can we build community-wide involvement and infrastructure to make ritual a regular part of our individual and communal lives?
You will learn about the role of ritual in the lives of BWC members and have the opportunity to experiment with crafting your own rituals. You are welcome if you are interested in the role of ritual in a secular community or have expertise in ritual development or facilitation.
This is a one-time workshop which will lead to the formation of a group of BWC members/leaders committed to making life-cycle rituals an active part of our community life.
Register Here.

Shule (Final Session)
2023-05-21 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Solo Parent Series for Shule Families
2023-05-21 10:45 - 11:45 | MA
For more information, reach out to meira@circleboston.org

Israel Palestine Committee Meeting
2023-05-24 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The IPC meets the third Wednesday of every other month at 7pm on Zoom. Our committee-wide meetings are a great chance to learn more about what our subcommittees have been doing and find out how to plug into that work and our upcoming events! Each meeting includes a learning and action component as well. Join us on Zoom at this link.

Yiddish Sing
2023-05-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-07-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-09-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-26 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-16 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-01-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-04-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Building Democracy Team Meeting
2023-05-31 15:00 - 16:00 | https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/81658708945?pwd=[REDACTED]
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Zohar Berman is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/81658708945?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 816 5870 8945Passcode: [REDACTED] tap mobile+19294362866,,81658708945# US (New York)+13017158592,,81658708945# US (Washington DC)
Dial by your location +1 929 436 2866 US (New York) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 305 224 1968 US +1 309 205 3325 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 931 3860 US +1 253 205 0468 US +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 360 209 5623 US +1 386 347 5053 US +1 507 473 4847 US +1 564 217 2000 US +1 669 444 9171 US +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 689 278 1000 US +1 719 359 4580 USMeeting ID: 816 5870 8945Find your local number: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/u/kouW0jKHk
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Shule B'nai Mitzvah
2023-06-03 09:00 - 14:00 | MA

Shule Community Picnic
2023-06-04 10:30 - 12:30 | Larz Anderson Park, Goddard Ave & Newton St., Brookline, MA 02445, USA

Freedom is a Verb: 25th Anniversary Concert with Special Guest Daniel Kahn
2023-06-10 19:30 - 21:30 | MA
For 25 years, the A Besere Velt Yiddish chorus has created a culture of resistance, and brought us together through radical song. On June 10th at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, Boston Workers Circle and A Besere Velt will be joining forces with Yiddish rock/folk star Daniel Kahn to present Freedom is a Verb, a concert that is sure to inspire and sustain our work for collective freedom. As Daniel sings:
Freedom is a verbSomething never finished, never doneIt’s something you must makeIt’s something you must takeIt’s something you must constantly become
At Freedom is a Verb we are thrilled to honor and celebrate: Progressive Jewish leader Nadav David, Boston Workers Circle Community and Yiddish world leaders Linda Gritz & Mike Katz, and labor leaders Jessica Wender-Shubow & the Brookline Educators Union. Each of our honorees actively lead our community towards freedom.
More information & ticket sales here.

Neighborhood Shabes
2023-06-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Brookline, Jamaica Plain, & Cambridge – Exact locations will be sent to registrants
Register Here.
Please note: JP is almost at capacity. Cambridge registration will close Thursday 6/15 at noon, and the other locations’ registration will close Friday 6/16 at noon.Join your BWC neighbors at a potluck Shabes dinner near YOU! We will host three events simultaneously in Brookline, Cambridge and Jamaica Plain. Expect an informal evening including candles, wine, challah and shmoozing. Perhaps you’ll learn about new neighborhood resources. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend!
Locations: detailed info will be sent upon registration (there will be a combination of indoor and outdoor options). Please note the JP location is almost at capacity — if this is the location you wish to attend, please sign up soon!
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5-15+). Click here to make your donation.
Questions? Email shabes@circleboston.org.

Standout for Reproductive Justice
2023-06-17 09:30 - 11:30 | MA
We will have a standout in front of “Your Options Medical” (which is having an open house on June 17) which purports to provide non-judgmental pregnancy counseling, however is listed with the state as a Christian Ministry and do, in fact, have a vision and a model that is specifically designed to dissuade clients from abortion and provide misinformation about abortion risks and procedures.
Co-sponsored by: Indivisible MA Feminist Action Team

Boston Jewish Teen Social Justice Leadership Summit
2023-06-19 11:00 - 19:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Boston-Area Jewish Youth Social Justice Summit Hosted by TASC and Temple Israel Boston
Suggested Donation: $25Includes lunch, dinner and evening activity
We are planning on having workshops, learning together, and fun. Contact emilia@circleboston.org with any questions.
Register Here.

Annual Meeting
2023-06-20 18:30 - 20:00 | HYBRID – 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA and on Zoom
Join us for the first annual meeting back in person in our building since the pandemic! We will gather in person and on Zoom to collectively celebrate all the amazing work Boston Workers Circle has accomplished this year. Programming will include a presentation on the State of the Organization, celebration of member leaders, and relational time!
The annual meeting is also when we elect our new Board of Directors. The BoD has a nominating committee that helps recruit candidates, and we have some great member candidates! There are two open positions this year.
And, any person who has been an active member of BWC for 2 or more years is eligible to run. So if you are interested in running and have not already spoken to the nominating committee, please submit your name and a brief bio to Libby Shrobe!

Building Democracy Team Meeting
2023-06-22 15:00 - 16:00 | https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88053700737?pwd=[REDACTED]
──────────
Zohar Berman is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meetinghttps://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88053700737?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 880 5370 0737Passcode: [REDACTED]
—
One tap mobile+13126266799,,88053700737# US (Chicago)+16469313860,,88053700737# US
—
Dial by your location• +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)• +1 646 931 3860 US• +1 929 436 2866 US (New York)• +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)• +1 305 224 1968 US• +1 309 205 3325 US• +1 689 278 1000 US• +1 719 359 4580 US• +1 253 205 0468 US• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)• +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)• +1 360 209 5623 US• +1 386 347 5053 US• +1 507 473 4847 US• +1 564 217 2000 US• +1 669 444 9171 US• +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
Meeting ID: 880 5370 0737
Find your local number: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/u/kbpJgnK5pO
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Yiddish Walk at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary
2023-06-24 12:00 - 15:00 | Mass Audubon’s Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, 293 Moose Hill Pkwy, Sharon, MA 02067, USA
Join us for a walk at Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary – af yidish! BWC member and Sharon resident, Judy Bressler, will be our guide. We’ll walk the trails and shmuesn (shmooze), equipped with our trusty Yiddish botanical dictionary. Yiddish speakers and students of all levels are welcome at this intergenerational outing! Come catch up with friends or see your Yiddish classmates in person. RSVPs to yiddish@circleboston.org are requested so we can send out announcements or weather updates.
Moose Hill is located at 293 Moose Hill Parkway in Sharon, MA, a little over 30 minutes’ drive from Boston. We’ll be organizing oyto-khevres (carpools) from the Boston area. When you RSVP, please let us know if you can drive others or if you would like a ride.
Admission to Moose Hill is free to Mass Audubon members; for non-members, it is $4 Adults, $3 Seniors (65+), $3 Children (2-12).
We recommend bringing a water bottle and a sandwich/snack, and wearing sturdy shoes since we’ll be walking on unpaved trails.

Circle Book Group
2023-06-25 10:15 - 12:15 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading Starring Sally J. Freedman as Herself by Judy Blume

GBIO Housing Justice Forum
2023-06-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Greater Boston Interfaith Initiative is holding an action at Temple Israel, 477 Longwood Ave in Boston on June 26th at 7:00 P.M. in support of its housing justice agenda. They hope to be 1000 strong coming together to demand housing justice including support for fees on high end real estate to support affordable housing, doubling funding for public housing and other critical housing initiatives.

Register here.

Member Renewal Phonebank
2023-06-27 18:30 - 20:00 | MA
Our community is member powered which means we rely on each other to make our intergenerational, secular, cultural, and social justice loving community happen. Help set our community up for another successful year, get the chance to connect with other BWC-ers, and support our efforts to retain our incredible members at our Membership Renewal Phonebank!
Register Here.

Freedom is a Verb Watch Party
2023-06-28 18:30 - 20:30 | MA
Did you miss the concert? Join us for a virtual watch party!
Register Here.

Young Adult Summer Shabes
2023-07-07 18:30 - 20:30 | A location in JP, shared with registrants
Join BWC’s Young Adult Community for a chill summer shabes in JP! We’ll have good food and time to schmooze as we celebrate summertime together. We’ll talk about ways to get involved in leadership with our YA community and BWC more broadly, so come through to meet like-minded young adults passionate about Jewish culture and social justice organizing!

Register Here.

Member Get-Away Weekend
2023-07-14 - 2023-07-16 | World Fellowship Center, 368 Drake Hill Rd, Albany, NH 03818, USA
BWC member get-away weekend at World Fellowship| Friday, July 14 – 16 | N.H.
Join BWC members for an intergenerational member getaway at World Fellowship, a New Hampshire retreat center. Choose from a range of accommodations from tent sites to cabins to rooms upstairs in the main lodge. Families can enjoy childcare, prepared meals, a Friday night talent show, a Saturday night bonfire, and live music, and, a favorite, Whitten Pond, which is a 1/4 mile walk through the woods for boating and swimming in a quiet place with wild blueberries and no pondside development or motorboats. It’s a treasure! Spend a weekend taking local adventures all in the comfort of a center whose tagline is wake up where Social Justice meets Nature.
Make your reservation on the retreat center’s website https://worldfellowship.org/ and note you are part of the BWC group.
If you have any questions contact Shule parent, Leah Madsen.

Yiddish Committee Meeting
2023-07-20 19:30 - 20:30, 2023-10-19 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-01-18 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-04-18 19:30 - 20:30 | Zoom
Registration link

Boston Premiere of Israelism Film
2023-08-20 16:00 - 18:00 | Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
I﻿sraelism’s first screening in the Boston area! Israelism is a new documentary about the quickly changing American Jewish relationship to Israel, and features interviews with Simone Zimmerman, Jeremy Ben-Ami, Peter Beinart, Noura Erakat, Cornel West, Noam Chomsky, Abe Foxman, and many others.
I﻿t’ll take place on Sunday, August 20th, at 4pm est, at the Coolidge Corner Theater in Brookline followed by a Q&A with Israelism’s Co-Directors.
Co-sponsored with IfNotNow
Get tickets here.

Elul Community Canvass for #NoNewWomensPrison Campaign
2023-08-21 18:00 - 20:00 | Davis Square, Somerville – Ten Figures Statues Park
Join T’ruah MA, Boston Workers Circle, and Kavod as we chat with our neighbors about the MA campaign to stop construction of a $50 million new women’s prison and to instead invest in reimagining communities. We will be rallying support for two of Families for Justice as Healing’s policy priorities: the Prison Moratorium and Elder Parole.

Register Here.

Yiddish Community Picnic & Campfire
2023-09-04 16:30 - 20:00 | Member Backyard – Address Provided in Registration Confirmation
The BWC Yiddish Committee invites Yiddish speakers of all levels, from Beginning students to fluent speakers, and their families/friends, to enjoy an outdoor potluck picnic and campfire in Medford. There will be an optional short walk to the nearby Mystic Lakes. Drop by for a short time or stay for the whole event. There will be plenty of opportunity to chat in both Yiddish and English.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-09-10 10:15 - 12:15 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading East West Street by Philippe Sands.
About the book:A profound, important book, a moving personal detective story and an uncovering of secret pasts, set in Europe’s center, the city of bright colors—Lviv, Ukraine, dividing east from west, north from south, in what had been the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
A book that explores the development of the world-changing legal concepts of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity” that came about as a result of the unprecedented atrocities of Hitler’s Third Reich.
It is also a spellbinding family memoir, as the author traces the mysterious story of his grandfather as he maneuvered through Europe in the face of Nazi atrocities. This is “a monumental achievement … told with love, anger and precision” (John le Carré, acclaimed internationally bestselling author).
East West Street looks at the personal and intellectual evolution of the two men who simultaneously originated the ideas of “genocide” and “crimes against humanity,” both of whom, not knowing the other, studied at the same university with the same professors, in “the Paris of Ukraine,” a major cultural center of Europe, a city variously called Lemberg, Lwów, Lvov, or Lviv. (Source: Penguin Random House)

Shule Session 1 & New Family Orientation
2023-09-10 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

AIC Brunch: Welcome to the New Year!
2023-09-10 10:30 - 12:30 | Cambridge, MA, USA
AIC Brunch: Welcome to the New Year will take place in Cambridge, exact location TBA.
More detailed description coming soon.

Rosh Hashanah begins at Sundown
2023-09-15 | MA

Rosh Hashanah
2023-09-16 10:00 - 12:00 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA
Please see full details and registration link here.

Neighborhood Tashlikh
2023-09-16 15:00 - 16:00 | Various Locations
Everyone welcome, children & families, especially!
TASHLIKH — (You shall cast away) is based on biblical passages – most notably from Micah (7:9) “You will hurl all of our sins into the depths of the sea”. The traditional word for “sin” is “khet”. A more modern translation goes back to the original meaning of “khet” from archery — “to miss the mark”.
We throw pebbles into the water to represent our “sins” and those burdens, regrets, disappointments, old thinking, missed opportunities, excuses, or rationalizations that interfere with our living full lives. At the same time, we embrace hope to do better and set our intentions on hitting our marks in the coming year.
What to throw? We suggest bringing pebbles to throw because bread, even challah, is not good for the ducks and geese.
Details will be shared closer to the holiday!
Register Here.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown
2023-09-24 | MA

Shule Session 2
2023-09-24 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Circle Playtime
2023-09-24 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-10-01 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-11-05 10:45 - 12:15, 2023-12-10 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-03-24 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-04-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-05-05 10:45 - 12:15 | MA

Yom Kippur
2023-09-25 10:00 - 12:00 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA

Aging Outside the Box
2023-09-26 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-10-24 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-28 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-12-26 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-01-23 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-02-27 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-03-26 17:30 - 19:00, 2024-04-23 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
A monthly discussion/support group for folks 60 and over who don’t have children and/or grandchildren

Please email AIC@circleboston.org to be put in touch with the Aging Outside the Box coordinator.

AFREJ Fall Gathering with the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA)
2023-09-27 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join us as we begin our new year with an in-person gathering at BWC. Following a discussion of AFREJ commitments and coalitions, we will host a (hybrid) program from 7-8pm with Andrew Steinberg from JALSA, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action. We will learn about the bills that JALSA supports in the Massachusetts State Legislature to achieve economic justice, combat climate change, address the housing crisis, and advance solutions for other pressing issues.
The program also includes a virtual action for folks to contact their legislators about these policy priorities. Whether new to AFREJ or an AFREJ veteran, we welcome you!
Andrew Steinberg is an organizer for the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action (JALSA). As a grassroots, nonprofit, advocacy organization, JALSA puts Jewish values into action by engaging the Jewish community and other allies in the pursuit of social, economic, environmental, and racial justice.
Register here.

Book Talk with Linda Dittmar
2023-09-28 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Friends Meeting At Cambridge, 5 Longfellow Park, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
BWC is excited to co-present a book event with IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine. Please join us in person or on zoom and invite your friends to hear and engage with Linda Dittmar as she shares her powerful story of the early years of Israel’s statehood and the Palestinian Nakba.
Israeli-American writer and academic Linda Dittmar is the author of Tracing Homelands; Israel, Palestine, and the Claims of Belonging. Part history, part travelogue, and part memoir, it is a braided account of Israel’s early years of statehood and the Palestinian Nakba—the “catastrophe” of mass expulsion—remembered as an Israeli child growing into young adulthood and as an adult, now living in the U.S., who comes to see that history with new eyes. A recipient of an Artist Fellowship from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Linda’s writings have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, Jewish Currents, Harvard’s Divinity School’s Bulletin, Consequence, and Nowhere magazine.
Masks and rapid tests are recommended for in person attendance, and registration is required whether attendance is in person or via Zoom.Register Here.

Shule Session 3 (Sukkes & All Parent Assembly)
2023-10-01 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus Open Rehearsal
2023-10-01 15:00 - 17:30, 2023-10-15 15:00 - 17:30 | Temple Beth Zion, 1566 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Check out A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus’s open rehearsals in October! A Besere Velt (a better world) – is the Yiddish Chorus of the Boston Workers Circle. We are a vibrant 80-member intergenerational community chorus that weaves the heartache and irrepressible idealism of Yiddish music into a vision of justice for the 21st century. Our songs contain the history, culture and progressive values to inspire us to action today.
When you join A Besere Velt, you become a custodian of a centuries-old cultural legacy and join a warm, welcoming community sharing a passion for music, culture, and heritage. Our powerful message is progressive and universal. We sing the songs of the workers, activists, artists and all who struggled for freedom and justice – struggles that continue today.
All are welcome, ages 13 and up. There are no auditions; no need to be able to read music. You don’t have to be Jewish, nor do you need to know Yiddish. Come sing with us! Email abv@circleboston.org for more information and plan to join us for our open rehearsals on October 1st & 15th in Brookline.
For more information about BWC and for samples of ABV performances check out our website: circleboston.org/arts

Beyond the Two-State Solution with Dr. Jonathan Kuttab
2023-10-04 19:30 - 21:00 | HYBRID – Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, 60 Highland St, West Newton, MA 02465, USA
Register to join on ZoomCo-sponsored by Boston Workers Circle;Temple Beth Zion; Temple Sinai of Brookline Israel Committee; Temple Israel of Boston, and Temple B’nai Brith of Somerville
All are invited to join us in the CDT Sanctuary (60 Highland Street, West Newton) or on Zoom as we welcome human rights lawyer and peace activist Jonathan Kuttab, who will share with us his vision for peace in Israel-Palestine that he advances in his short book Beyond the Two-State Solution. Dr. Kuttab challenges the assumptions of both Zionism and Palestinian nationalism in his transformative vision of a homeland for both the Jewish and Palestinian peoples that meets the existential needs of both people. Please join us for what promises to be a thought provoking conversation! Beyond the Two State Solution is available to download for no charge; visit www.nonviolenceinternational.net/beyond2states.
Jonathan Kuttab is a renowned Palestinian human rights lawyer, cofounder of the independent NGO Al Haq, the premier human rights organization in the West Bank, and cofounder of Nonviolence International, which seeks to realize the worth and dignity of all people through the nonviolent resolution of conflicts around the globe.

HONK Festival
2023-10-08 | MA

Circle Book Group
2023-10-08 10:15 - 12:00 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading three graphic novels: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword, Hereville: How Mirka Caught a Meteorite, and Hereville: How Mirka Got her Sword by Barry Deutsch.
About the book:Eleven-year-old Mirka Herschberg dreams of fighting dragons and spends her days honing her skills, even though there are no dragons in her Orthodox Jewish community, but when she accepts a challenge from a mysterious witch, Mirka just might win her dragon-fighting sword after all.

Early Intermediate
2023-10-10 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-10-17 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
This class will use Colloquial Yiddish, starting with chapter 11, and will incorporate exercises, songs, and additional short readings to further our study of grammar, conversation, and culture.
Register Here.

Beginner, Virtual
2023-10-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-17 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-24 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! This course introduces students to the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.
Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions

Advanced Beginner
2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-01 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-08 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Do you know about der, di, dos, and dem, but shudder when you hear the words “dative” and “accusative”? Do you know how to exchange pleasantries in Yiddish but not how to talk about what happened yesterday? Do you know the alef-beys, but not have enough vocabulary to tell a story? Would you like to study Yiddish every week with an enthusiastic teacher who showers you with positive feedback no matter how many mistakes you make? This advanced beginner Yiddish class might just be right for you.
Register Here.

Strategic Planning Community Coversation
2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Over the summer, BWC began a strategic planning process to help us co-create a shared vision for where our community is headed as we set new 3-year strategic priorities. Our new strategic priorities need to be shaped by the many perspectives within our community. To make that happen, we need to hear from you!
All BWC members are invited to join the strategic planning committee for an update on the strategic planning process, a presentation on themes that came up in this summer’s environmental scan (which included an all member survey and interviews with members, partners, and staff), and a discussion on what you would like to see the organization focus on in the next 3 years. We need your voice in the mix as we write our next chapter together, so keep an eye on your email for when we send out further information to all BWC members. Not yet a member? Join today!

Yiddish Class - Advanced Beginner
2023-10-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-10-25 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-12-06 19:00 - 20:30 | MA
I’m looking forward to having you in Yiddish class! Class will be on Wednesdays from 7 to 8:30 Eastern Standard Time
Textbook: Colloquial Yiddish by Lily Kahn
Zoom link: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED]
Reach out to abby.g.howell@gmail.com (512-762-2113) with any questions. I’m looking forward to seeing you in class!
Join Zoom Meeting
https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED] (ID: 88525115374, passcode: [REDACTED]
Join by phone
(US) +1 301-715-8592 (passcode: [REDACTED]
Joining instructions: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://applications.zoom.us/addon/invitation/detail?meetingUuid%3DZUsmZWvJTUKw69raWgq3DA%253D%253D%26signature%3D6fae7563f2bb578d5ddd60cbf1791aa50fcee54b70d29636f298ae0562308480%26v%3D1&sa=D&source=calendar&usg=AOvVaw0I34-TYq5-uuK-ICOj5FBl
Meeting host: abby.g.howell@gmail.com
Join Zoom Meeting: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/88525115374?pwd=[REDACTED]

Beginner, In-Person
2023-10-11 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-18 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-10-25 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Let’s learn Yiddish — lomir zikh lernen yidish! Learn elementary grammar, how to read Yiddish and conversation skills. Students who don’t yet know the Hebrew alphabet will be asked to join the class a half hour early for the first several sessions. The class will be interactive and lively, using the textbook Colloquial Yiddish, and exposing students to Yiddish culture through songs, games, and other multimedia materials.
Register Here.

Advanced
2023-10-11 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-10-18 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-10-25 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-01 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-08 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-15 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-11-29 20:00 - 21:30, 2023-12-06 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom
Celia Dropkin (1887-1956) is a dynamic writer whose work is exciting, intense and confronting. Best known for her fierce and intimate poetry, Dropkin brings the same bold, unflinching voice to her short stories. Dropkin’s stories take the reader deep under the skins of sharply drawn characters, casting a critical gaze on the settings and social circumstances that they encounter. In this course, we will read a selection of Dropkin’s short stories in the original Yiddish, and will discuss the themes, characters, contexts and stylistics of these works.
Register Here.

Member Training: Google Drive for Organizers
2023-10-12 19:00 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join board member and member leader Nakhie and BWC organizer Zohar for a session all about Google Drive, tailored to help you think through how to use it to support your organizing work. We’ll cover file types, the purpose of Drive’s sharing tools, best practices for organizers, and answer your questions about how to use this useful program. During the second half of the training, participants will have the opportunity to create a new Shared Drive for their committee, or tidy up their existing one, with plenty of support throughout.

Register Here.

Shule Family Brunches / Family-Teacher Meetings
2023-10-15 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Continuing Intermediate
2023-10-16 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-10-30 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-06 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-13 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-20 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-11-27 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-12-04 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-12-11 17:00 - 18:30 | Zoom
In this class, we’ll read Kadya Molodowsky’s 1942 novel Fun Lublin Biz Nyu York. It’s written as a diary of a young woman who immigrates to New York under troubling circumstances. We’ll read the text of the book together in class, looking up unfamiliar words as we go, discussing the text in Yiddish and/or English to make sure everyone is following along, and along the way, indulge in lengthy tangents about whatever else comes up.
Register Here.

Yiddish Class - Intermediate
2023-10-16 17:00 - 18:30, 2023-10-23 17:00 - 18:30 | MA
Yiddish class is happening! I’m so excited to see you all! We’ll commence on Monday October 16th at 5pm eastern time, and then we’re going to take a hiatus the following week (because I’ll be in Mexico on a work trip with spotty internet) and then we will reconvene on the 30th of October and meet for a total of 8 sessions (or longer, if we decide to!)
I’m looking forward to seeing you all in class!
Textbook: Fun Lublin Tsu Nyu York by Kadya MolodovskyZoom link: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED]
Any questions, contact abby.g.howell@gmail.com (512-762-2113).
Join Zoom Meeting
https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED] (ID: 87340826794, passcode: [REDACTED]
Join by phone
(US) +1 309-205-3325 (passcode: [REDACTED]
Joining instructions: https://www.google.com/url?q=https://applications.zoom.us/addon/invitation/detail?meetingUuid%3DV7qgV1SAQzyqMGl2u2Zs2w%253D%253D%26signature%3D6cf53876e2183a63e5d567bf90311ee3c64a55f997088ab77bc3cbeaec720875%26v%3D1&sa=D&source=calendar&usg=AOvVaw2nGcoQuLbOuzym8Lwq66vq
Meeting host: abby.g.howell@gmail.com
Join Zoom Meeting: https://circleboston-org.zoom.us/j/87340826794?pwd=[REDACTED]

Member Training: Publicity Visuals
2023-10-16 17:30 - 18:30 | Zoom
Join our communications manager Mira for a session all about the visuals that go into spreading the word about your work! This session will cover some basic information about branding and graphic design, taking quality photos to document your work and improve your future outreach efforts, and using Canva, a beginner-friendly graphic design platform, to create visuals for print and digital publicity.

Register Here.

Rally in Support of Ceasefire in Israel/Palestine at City Hall Plaza
2023-10-18 16:00 - 18:00 | Boston City Hall, 1 City Hall Square, Boston, MA 02201, USA
RSVP here to join us at City Hall Plaza in Boston on Wednesday, October 18 to mourn for the dead, and fight for the living–both Israelis and Palestinians.
This is a Jewish-led action, sponsored by IfNotNow and co-sponsored by Boston Workers Circle and Kavod.
We welcome and encourage our non-Jewish allies to join us.
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“No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.” This promise, from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, is a direct call for mass killing and forced removal of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.
The Israeli military is preparing for a massive ground invasion of Gaza. Israeli and American leaders are dehumanizing Palestinians with vitriolic rhetoric that calls to mind the most hysterical days of Bush’s War on Terror. We know where this will lead: genocide.
Our Massachusetts Senators and every American political leader must demand a ceasefire now.
Many of us are mourning our Israeli and Palestinian friends and loved ones. We are in pain and grief, trying to process a week of horrific violence that has left so many that we know injured, traumatized, kidnapped, or killed. But we refuse to let our grief be weaponized to justify the murder of more Palestinians. As American Jews, we demand a ceasefire now.
No genocide in our name.
The time is now to mobilize to prevent this genocide from going forward. We demand that every political leader use their leverage to implement a ceasefire and use any possible tool to force Israel to halt its war on Palestinians in Gaza.
RSVP here for more information, and meet us at 4pm at City Hall Plaza on Wednesday, October 18th.

Israel-Palestine Committee Meeting
2023-10-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
This meeting will be our annual business meeting as a committee, and also include topical discussions of IPC issues.
Guest Speaker: Alice Rothchild
Register Here.

Yiddish Community Picnic
2023-10-21 16:00 - 18:00 | Front Lawn – Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join fellow BWC Yiddish speakers and students for a Yiddish shmues and picnic for shaleshudes, the third meal of shabes that takes place on Saturday afternoon. Please feel free to bring a dish, snack, or (non-alcoholic) drink to share! All levels of Yiddish, beginning to fluent, are welcome. There will be plenty of opportunities to chat in both Yiddish and English. Drop by for a short time or stay for the whole event, and make sure to dress for the weather!
Rain Date: October 28

Register Here.

Yiddish Culture & The Jewish Labor Movement: 1880s-1960s
2023-10-23 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-10-30 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-11-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-11-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
In this course we will explore the history of Jewish labor activism in the United States and its relationship to Yiddish culture. We will engage questions such as: How did Jewish Socialists and Communists relate to their Jewish identity? How did they think about Americanization and assimilation? What role did Yiddish culture play in Socialist and Communist organizing? How did Jewish identity and Yiddish culture interact with broader efforts toward anti-racism and multiculturalism? And how does this history help us navigate the present of Jewish and Anti-Racist organizing work? Beginning with the early Jewish labor movement in the 1880s and ending with New Left activism of the 1960s, this four session course will take us through the salient turning points of Jewish labor history in the United States and how Jews navigated these pressing questions of identity, community, and social justice at different historical moments.

More Information and Registration Here!

Early Intermediate
2023-10-24 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-07 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-14 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-21 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-11-28 17:30 - 19:00, 2023-12-05 17:30 - 19:00 | Zoom
This class will use Colloquial Yiddish, starting with chapter 11, and will incorporate exercises, songs, and additional short readings to further our study of grammar, conversation, and culture. The readings will introduce students to important authors such as I.L. Peretz and Kadya Molodowsky.
Register Here.

LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Shabes
2023-10-27 18:00 - 19:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join Boston Workers Circle for an intergenerational Shabes gathering in honor of LGBTQ+ History Month as we honor those who paved the way for us and celebrate our community.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5-15). Registration is required.
Register here.

Shule Session 5
2023-10-29 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Shule: Responding to the crisis in Israel and Palestine as parents
2023-10-29 10:45 - 11:45 | MA
A parent processing space to examine the impact of the crisis in Israel/Palestine and the things we need to get in touch with our deepest values as we confront this moment as people and as parents facilitated by BWC board president, Rachel Hess and others
This conversation will take place at Shule in person.

IPC Study Group
2023-11-01 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-01-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-02-07 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-03-06 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-04-03 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
The IPC Study Group is a subcommittee of the Israel/Palestine Committee (IPC) which meets on Zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6pm to discuss books, films, articles, and/or webinars we’re reading and watching together, to deepen our understanding of the history and context of Israel/Palestine.
All are welcome to join us. You can find what we’re currently studying together here, as well as information on what we’ve previously read and watched. Learn more about us here. The IPC Study Group communicates between sessions via google email list. Contact ipc@circleboston.org to let us know you’re coming, for more information, or to join the email list and help us choose what we’re going to learn about together for future sessions!

Beginner, In-Person
2023-11-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-11-08 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-11-15 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-11-29 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-12-06 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

Interfaith Mass Action: Ceasefire Now
2023-11-02 16:00 - 17:00 | Brewer Fountain, Boston, MA, United States
As people of conscience of every faith and background, we hold every life as sacred. As clergy, faith leaders, and people of faith, we call on all of our siblings in spirit to rise up and demand that our elected officials use all of their leverage to call for a ceasefire. We mourn all dead and are fighting for all lives.
We commit to using our diverse spiritual practices of word, song, and ritual to preserve life, to demand an end to the bombardment of Gaza, allow humanitarian aid, release all political prisoners and hostages, and fight for a world where Palestinians are free and there is safety for all.

For three weeks our thousands of marches, school walkouts, phone banks, and Congressional office sit-ins have awakened the US public. It is working. The majority of Americans now support a ceasefire. It’s time our politicians take action. We pray that they act and we will keep acting until they do.

For three weeks our thousands of marches, school walkouts, phone banks, and Congressional office sit-ins have awakened the US public. It is working. The majority of Americans now support a ceasefire. It’s time our politicians take action. We pray that they act and we will keep acting until they do.
RSVP

Di Nest: Yiddish Arts Incubator
2023-11-02 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-01-04 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-02-01 19:30 - 21:00, 2024-03-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom

Community Havdalah
2023-11-04 17:00 - 18:30 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
These last three weeks have been full of so many complex emotions for our community. Come be in community as we close the week with a secular havdalah ritual, and connect with each other around all we may be experiencing in this challenging moment.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-11-05 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion.
About the book:
One of the most important stories of World War II, already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture: a spectacular, searing history that brings to light the extraordinary accomplishments of brave Jewish women who became resistance fighters—a group of unknown heroes whose exploits have never been chronicled in full, until now.
Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish women in Poland—some still in their teens—helped transform the Jewish youth groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and nerves of steel, these “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them. They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also nursed the sick, taught children, and hid families.
Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters have remained virtually unknown.
As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden of Beasts, and Band of Brothers, The Light of Days at last tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion—the granddaughter of Polish Holocaust survivors—takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest and internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few—like Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail—into the late 20th century and beyond.
Powerful and inspiring, featuring twenty black-and-white photographs, The Light of Days is an unforgettable true tale of war, the fight for freedom, exceptional bravery, female friendship, and survival in the face of staggering odds. (Source: HarperCollins)

Shule Session 6
2023-11-05 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Shule Parent Coversation: Radical Parenting During Challenging Times
2023-11-05 10:45 - 12:15 | MA
Rebecca Hornstein-Zimmerman and Dan Gelbtuch will facilitate a conversation for parents to explore what it means to bring our full selves to our role as parents. We will explore how to bring our radical values and our hearts to best support the young people in our lives and ourselves as we and they try to live in a time of increased uncertainty. We will explore different themes such as intergenerational trauma, how we can build a supporting community to support our parenting, the richness of radical Jewish culture and how to integrate that into our family life and others. Questions/ Comments, reach out to Dan (dangelbtuch@gmail.com)
This conversation will take place at Shule in person.

Office Hours with Rebecca & Rachel
2023-11-08 16:00 - 18:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Stop by to talk to BWC Executive Director Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein and BWC Board President Rachel Hess.

Intergenerational Dialogue: Looking at Class across Generations
2023-11-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
As we remain in a time of economic uncertainty, economic stability looks very different than it did even just a decade ago. Join us for an opportunity to discuss the relationship between class experience & life stages and how they’ve changed across generations.

Register Here.
Co-sponsored by the Young Adult Committee and Aging in Community Committee

TASC Session - Identity, Race, and Antisemitism
2023-11-12 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Israel-Palestine Committee Meeting: Free Speech Under Threat
2023-11-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The program will focus on the attack on free speech that is currently underway and directed at Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) as well as progressive Jewish groups. The ADL has sent a letter to almost 200 colleges and universities accusing SJP of violating “the prohibition against materially supporting a foreign terrorist organization” with absolutely no evidence. Brandeis has dechartered its chapter of SJP for chanting “From the River to the Sea”. Come learn and mobilize with us!
A new member orientation will follow.
Register for the Zoom Here

Walking Tour: Roadmap to a Beloved Community
2023-11-18 11:00 - 13:00 | 1106 Blue Hill Ave, Boston, MA 02124, USA (Corner of Blue Hill Ave & Ansel Rd)
We’re excited for you to join us Saturday, November 18th, 2023 at 11am for the first event of A Roadmap to a Beloved Community: Interwoven Histories of Jewish & African American Bostonians, a collaborative project between the Afrimerican Culture Initiative Inc , Forum for Racial Equity & Justice, Hyde Park Community Input Board, and the Boston Workers Circle.
As a launching point to this project we would like bring folks together to learn about one of the intersections of this interwoven history in Dorchester. The tour will be guided by long-time local community organizer and founder of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, Lew Finfer, we will learn about and see some of the key places of the historic Jewish community. As well Lew will talk about how the policies of redlining, yellow lining (blockbusting) and urban renewal in the neighborhood caused rifts between and across Boston’s Jewish and African American communities.
We will be meeting at 1106 Blue Hill Ave at the corner of Blue Hill Ave & Ansel Rd. Please fill out the registration form to help us get a sense of the size of the group. Space is limited for the tour, so do sign up as soon as possible!
Register Here.

Shule Session 7
2023-11-19 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Aging in Community
2023-11-19 10:30 - 12:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

BWC Schmooze at Aeronaut
2023-11-27 17:30 - 19:00 | Aeronaut Brewing Company, 14 Tyler St, Somerville, MA, United States
Boston Workers Circle is welcoming new members and our new deputy director Ali Rice! Join us on November 27 from 5:30-7:00 at Aeronaut as we schmooze, check out cool zines, and learn more about what’s coming up at BWC.
RSVP as soon as possible – -the first beer is on us for the first thirty people who register! Whether you’re brand new to the community, have been around for decades. interested in reconnecting, or are just curious about what we’re up to — we’d love to see you there.

RSVP HERE

Jewish-Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2023-11-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join BWC’s Jewish-Muslim Solidarity committee as we renew our configuration and gather to determine next steps in strengthening our ties with our Muslim partners.

Register Here

Gragger Planning Kickoff Meeting
2023-11-30 18:30 - 20:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Calling all artists, actors, party planners, organizers, and Purim fans: Gragger planning is in full swing! Sign ups to join the 5784/2024 Gragger Planning Team are open!
Join us for our kickoff meeting on November 30 from 6:30-8:00 pm in Brookline as we begin building towards our raucous and radical Purim party. Every year our BWC young adult community comes together to create this special event which honors Boston’s LGBTQ+ Jewish community during Purim.
This year’s co-captains are excited to steward a community-based process which will bring people together as we plan. Whether you’re a Gragger veteran or a complete newbie, we want you! If you’re looking for a way to meet friends new and old, create affirming space for our community, build your skills in cultural organizing, and engage in a joyful, community-based process, the Gragger Planning Team is for you!
RSVP HERE!

Shabes Singing: Peace, Salaam, Shalom
2023-12-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us to celebrate Shabes sharing songs of peace to lift our hearts. For this in person event we will gather for a potluck dinner at 6 o’clock. The ritual starts around 6:45 followed by singing together. If you are not comfortable sharing food in a group unmasked feel free to join us for the ritual and music when people will be masked. We will have people from across the Workers Circle community to lead the singing. Everyone will get song sheets so they can sing along.

Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2023-12-03 10:15 - 12:15 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading Kantika by Elizabeth Graver.

Shule Session 8
2023-12-03 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session - BWC History & Mutual Aid
2023-12-03 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Zayen Class Parent Planning Meeting
2023-12-03 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-01-07 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-01-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-02-11 10:45 - 12:15 | MA

Call to Repair: Justice, Healing and Reparations in Massachusetts
2023-12-03 14:00 - 16:00 | MA
On Sunday, December 3, 2-4 PM, The Reparations Interfaith Coalition will host Call to Repair: Justice, Healing and Reparations in Massachusetts. This event is a virtual Interfaith Reparations Gathering bringing together organizations, communities and congregations across Massachusetts to learn and discuss how the reparations movement is progressing locally and how we can move it forward.
At this event, national and local Black leaders in the reparations movement will speak to our shared sense that reparations are not a transaction but rather a spiritual and ethical practice. This event is open to all those interested in building their understanding of and work towards reparations. This is the first event among more to come from the Reparations Interfaith Coalition, a new and currently a predominantly white group of faith and ethically based communities dedicated to moving reparations forward in MA.
We hope to leave you with action ideas for education, advocacy, and ways to make material reparations. This event is part of a national Sacred Reparative Season launched by the Grassroots Reparations Campaign.
Register Here
Co-sponsored by:

Episcopal City Mission, Reparations Community of Practice, First Church Cambridge, Jewish Community of Amherst, Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Western MA Reparations Collective, First Parish UU Arlington

Shule Chanukah/ Khanike Party
2023-12-10 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Khanike/Chanukah Candle Lighting with BWC!
2023-12-12 17:30 - 18:30 | HYRBID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
A freylekhn khanike! Hanuka Alegre! Happy Chanukah! No matter how you say it, celebrate the Festival of Lights with a fun, low-key candle lighting with your Boston Workers Circle community on Tuesday, December 12, from 5:30-6:30 pm at the BWC Office at 6 Webster St. in Brookline.
Feel free to bring dinner, your khanukiye (Chanukah menorah), and candles along with you! This event is perfect both for BWC regulars looking to see old friends and newcomers hoping to make new ones, so join us as we celebrate Chanukah, Khanike, Hanuka, Januca, Xanuqa, etc. (all spellings welcome here!)

Register Here.

IPC Community Meeting
2023-12-12 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
The regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Tuesday Dec. 12 at 7 pm, will focus on a community- building discussion and brainstorming to shape and mobilize for IPC action to address the current moment of catastrophic war on Gaza.
We’ll talk as a large group, brainstorm in small groups, and ideally come out of the meeting with ad hoc groups forming around short term action interests. We’ll also deal with some committee business, including hearing a report back on the IHRA hearing at the State House last Tuesday.
The zoom link for this meeting is here.
Note: The Beyond Redlining program has been postponed to January 9th.

Immigrant Justice Committee Meeting
2023-12-13 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-01-10 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-02-14 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-03-13 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-04-10 18:00 - 18:30, 2024-05-08 18:00 - 18:30 | Zoom
Get Involved To get involved or for more information, join the Immigrant Justice Committee on the second Wednesday of the month on Zoom at 6:00 PM

Join the Zoom here.

Aging in Community Conversation
2023-12-17 10:30 - 12:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

Shule Session 10
2023-12-17 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee
2023-12-19 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join us on Zoom!

Yiddish Sing - Khanike/Chanukah
2023-12-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! This month we will sing lots of Khanike/Chanukah songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Circle Book Group
2024-01-07 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading An Improvised Life: A Memoir by Alan Arkin

Shule Session 11
2024-01-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #7
2024-01-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

IPC Meeting: Beyond The Red Line: Grappling with Jewish Identity & Justice for Palestine
2024-01-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Beyond the Red Line: Grappling with Jewish Identity and Justice for Palestine
Jewish identity in the United States has increasingly become conflated with unwavering support of, allegiance to, and belief in the State of Israel. How then, when we have a strong critique of Israel’s actions (especially in the past few months) or perhaps even of its foundation as a religious or ethnonational state, can we connect meaningfully with our Jewish heritage and find a home in the larger Jewish community? And what can we do when we are pressured to stay within a red line* that may violate our values, or risk expulsion from the larger community?
Come learn about three progressive Jewish communities who have dealt with this challenge, and whose Jewish identity and understanding of justice for Palestine are neither defined nor constrained by the Jewish establishment’s positions on Israel.
Tuesday, December 12 – 7:00 – 8:30 PM
Zoom registration link: https://bit.ly/IPCRedlining
Rabbi Brant Rosen – Tzedek Chicago, IL
Talie Lewis – Co-chair of Kavod Israel/Palestine Task Force, Boston MA
Rabbi Rebecca Zimmerman-Hornstein – Executive Director, Boston Workers Circle, Boston, MA
*The red line, or “to cross the red line,” is a phrase used worldwide to mean a figurative point of no return or line in the sand.

Arts Shabes III
2024-01-19 19:00 - 20:15 | Zoom
Join us for an evening of celebrating Shabes and the arts!
The two featured artists will be Sandy Martin, BWC Operations Director, who will talk about her work with glass blowing and BWC member, Roz Freeman, who will talk about her work in varied media and in community art.
This will be a family friendly gathering, good for older children and teens.
During the small groups participants will be asked to show and tell about a small work of art that has meaning for you. It can be something you created or a small sculpture, textile, painting, piece of jewelry, etc. This will be a family friendly gathering, good for older children and teens. There will also be presentations about two different art forms. Please bring a small work of art (painting, sculpture, jewelry, textile, etc.) created by you or by someone else to show and tell about.
Register Here. Registration is REQUIRED.Our programming is made possible by our incredible members and contributions from our community. We welcome $5-$10 donations per person to ensure we are able to continue hosting our shabes programming; they can be made easily using our digital “pass the hat” form. Donations are not required to attend.

Shule Session 12
2024-01-21 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #8
2024-01-21 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Shule Havdalah
2024-01-27 16:30 - 18:30 | Brookline, MA, USA
Join the Shule community for fun Havdalah activities and ritual together. RSVP for the location here.

Shule Session 13
2024-01-28 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Aging in Community Meeting
2024-01-28 10:30 - 12:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Sunday morning discussion: Oh Say Can You See….and Hear? How aging affects our senses, and our relationships

Parent Conversation: Antisemitism
2024-01-28 10:45 - 12:00 | MA
Parent conversation on Antisemitism led by Rebecca Zimmerman Hornstein

Circle Playtime
2024-01-28 10:45 - 12:15 | MA
Circle Playtime is a free playgroup for families with children ages 2-5 years old. Each session includes fun age-appropriate activities, filled with music-making and storytelling related to a Jewish or social justice holiday. It is followed by open play at the nearby playground.
This session of Circle Playtime will focus on the holiday of Tu B’Shevat.
RSVP HERE.

Tu B'Shvat Seder
2024-01-28 14:00 - 16:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
Join us in person or online via Zoom for a unique Tu B’Shevat seder, marking the “New Year for the Trees.” Readings, songs, and poems will reflect the origins of the seder adapted to progressive secular Jewish life in the 21st century.
This event is pay-what-you-can (suggested donation of $5 to $10+). Registration is required.

Register Here
Donate Here

The Tu B’Shevat Haggadah will be sent to registrants before the seder. All registrants (in person and online) will be invited to actively participate, with the option to read a portion of the Haggadah aloud during the seder. Ritual foods will be provided at the in-person seder.
If you are attending online, here is a list of ritual foods (optional) that we invite you to have during the seder:
Drinks:

Red: red wine, red grape juice, cranberry juice, etc.
White: white wine, white grape juice, apple juice, etc.

Fruits and nuts:

One food with hard shells: pomegranates, oranges, nuts with hard shells; etc.
One food with hard pits: dates, cherries, olives, etc.
One food with no shells or pits: figs, seedless grapes, etc.
One fragrant food (just to smell, not eat): lemon, etc.

Covid Precautions: If you are attending in person, here are the covid safety precautions:

Everyone must be fully vaccinated against covid, including eligible boosters
Everyone must test negative for covid on January 28 before attending the seder
Masks are strongly encouraged (except when eating)
Anyone who is not feeling well should attend online from the comfort of their favorite device

We will not have a potluck (ritual foods will be provided). Questions? Email info@circleboston.org.Co-sponsored by Kavod

Israelism Screening
2024-02-01 19:00 - 22:00 | Bright Family Screening Room, 445 Washington St, Boston, MA, United States
All Bright Lights screenings are FREE and open to the PUBLIC. Seating is on a first come basis and doors open at 6:30pm.
Directed by Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen, documentary, English, United States, 84 minutes, 2023 When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the brutal way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. They join a movement of young American Jews battling the old guard to redefine Judaism’s relationship with Israel, revealing a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity. Discussion with directors Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen to follow. SJ, GD
All Bright Lights screenings and conversations have captions. This film will have OPEN CAPTIONS. The trailer and introduction will have OPEN CAPTIONS (which appears on screen for all) and the conversation will be live captioned by an independent CART provider.
From ArtsEmerson (who manage the cinema): “The Theatres of Emerson College has an optional masking policy for all indoor spaces. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask should feel free to do so in any setting. It is important to respect the individual choices our community members make regarding personal health decisions. Individuals who are experiencing symptoms of respiratory illness should wear a mask around others. Per Box Office and Guest Experience staff requests, masking remains mandatory for FRONT-OF-HOUSE personnel.”

No registration is required.

Hosted by Emerson College’s Bright Lights Cinema Series, co-sponsored by BWC, JVP, Kavod, IfNotNow, Boston Palestine Film Festival

Circle Book Group
2024-02-04 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem: A Novel by Sarit Yishai-Levi

Beginner II (Virtual)
2024-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Details on Yiddish classes are available here.

Intermediate II (Virtual)
2024-02-06 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Advanced Beginner II (Virtual)
2024-02-07 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom

Beginner II (In-Person)
2024-02-07 19:30 - 21:00 | Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA, United States

Roadmap to a Beloved Community: Jewish/African American History Tour
2024-02-10 11:00 - 13:00 | The Way of the Cross Holy Church, 65 Ashton St, Boston, MA, United States
Embark on a journey through the intertwined histories of Dorchester and Mattapan’s African American and Jewish communities with our “Roadmap to a Beloved Community” community event series. Join us on a workshop of Redlining in Dorchester, a walking tour in a former Jewish Temple (Now called Way of the Cross Holy Church) and join in our community discussion where we have the long overdue discussions around unity & forge pathways of understanding. Light refreshments will be served.

Register Here.

Shule Session 14
2024-02-11 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #9
2024-02-11 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Parent Discussion: Antisemitism
2024-02-11 10:45 - 12:15 | Brookline, MA
Join BWC’s Executive Director, Rebecca Zimmerman-Hornstein, Shule parent, Dan Gelbtuch, and former Shule parent, Betsy Abrams, for an information and sharing session for Shule caregivers on Antisemitism. Hear how the BWC has been navigating antisemitism and solidarity work these past few months. It will also be an opportunity to surface questions about antisemitism + solidarity right now, as well as be a place to grapple with some of the complexity of being part of a Jewish community and a person raising a child at this moment.

IPC Conversation on the ICJ Ruling & Next Steps
2024-02-15 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Tentative Agenda:

Reports from subcommittees, ad-hoc groups, etc.
Report about the International Court of Justice decision and what it means
Small-group discussions on the use of the word “genocide”
Brainstorm and feedback on the potential demands that we would put into a new statement about Gaza

As you can see, we intend to have some deep and important discussions at this meeting, so we hope you will be able to attend. In preparation, we recommend the following readings/viewings, etc.

Brant Rosen Op-Ed, Sept. 2023, “On Yom Kippur, Solidarity With Palestinians Is a Sacred Act.
” Rosen makes an argument for using language without fear. While he doesn’t explicitly talk about genocide, he talks about other terms, such as apartheid and settler colonialism.
“The ICJs Ruling Was the First Crack in Israel’s Armor of Impunity.”
Barghouti webinar hosted at Harvard: “Why the BDS movement has never been more important – a discussion with Omar Barghouti.” Barghouti has studied the South Africa anti-apartheid movement and this webinar includes lots of meaty ideas about both this moment and the long-term future; if you don’t have time for the whole thing, watch the first 30 minutes.

Advanced (Virtual)
2024-02-21 20:00 - 21:30 | Zoom

Yiddish Sing Special Edition: All Kinds of Love Songs
2024-02-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish. In honor of Valentine’s Day, we will sing songs of love in all its forms – people, nature, peace, justice, and more!
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.

Shule Session 15
2024-02-25 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Dr. Jeff Bass on Orthopedics and Aging
2024-02-25 10:30 - 12:30 | Zoom
We are very pleased to be welcoming back Dr. Jeffrey Bass, MD on Sunday February 25th at 10:30, on zoom, who this time will give a talk on orthopedic issues associated with aging. His talk will include quite a few topics, including: maintaining fitness as we age, normal joint structure, arthritis treatment and joint health; joint replacement: what should we be asking and what are realistic expectations; effects of overall health on surgical candidacy and prehab vs rehab. Please note: Because this topic is of great interest and we anticipate a lot of questions, the meeting may last longer than 90 minutes, ending at 12:30.
Please email aic@circleboston.org for the zoom link.

Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee Meeting
2024-02-28 19:15 - 20:45, 2024-03-27 19:15 - 20:45, 2024-04-24 19:15 - 20:45 | Zoom
The Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee (JMS) works to build and strengthen constructive, mutually supportive relations between Jews and Muslims in Greater Boston. It is especially focused on Muslims’ and Jews’ mutual interest in continuing to learn about and engage with one another, including on difficult issues, all the while recognizing our common interest in opposing all manifestations of Islamophobia and antisemitism, by standing together in the face of any form of ethnic harassment. The JMSC engages in political action, community education, and cooperative efforts with Boston area Muslims and Jews to foster its goal of deepening Jewish-Muslim understanding and solidarity. Our work is based on our belief that human rights are universal and human communities and individuals share the same rights and responsibilities toward one another.
To find out more about the meeting and get the zoom link, please email jms@circleboston.org

Circle Book Group
2024-03-03 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we’re reading Randy Rainbow’s Playing with Myself.

Shule Session 16
2024-03-03 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #10
2024-03-03 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

"Shule for Adults" Brainstorm Session
2024-03-03 10:45 - 11:45 | MA
“Shule for Adults” during Shule class time is at our fingertips! Join this Shule committee-led parent brainstorm session to imagine learning and skill-share opportunities for parents during Shule time. Come to identify some places you want to grow, meet other people interested in doing learning, or bring an offering you would like to provide to other Shule adults.

Shule Hey Class Protest
2024-03-03 14:00 - 15:30 | Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02133, USA
Shule’s Hey (5th Grade) class is leading an education justice protest along with BWC members, Shule families and friends. Come to the protest in support of the THRIVE Act to remove the high-stakes elements of the MCAS (especially the high-school graduation requirement) that has disproportionately hurt students, teachers and schools. Support the Hey class at our collaborative action with the Mass Teachers Association (MTA).There will be street theater, storytelling, legislators speaking, chanting and intergenerational changemaking!

Shule Session 17
2024-03-10 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Vov B'nai Mitzvah Planning Meeting
2024-03-10 10:45 - 11:45 | Brookline, MA
Vov families meet with Meira to map out initial b’nai mitzvah plans for next year.

Zayen Class Parent Planning Meeting
2024-03-10 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-04-28 10:45 - 12:15, 2024-05-05 10:45 - 12:15 | MA
Zayen class parents meet monthly to plan the B’nai Mitzvah ceremony in June

Wild Burning Rage and Song: Replies to Scottsboro
2024-03-10 19:00 - 21:00 | The Boston Synagogue, 55 Martha Rd, Boston, MA 02114, USA
The Scottsboro Trials stand as one of the most renowned miscarriages of justice in the history of American jurisprudence. Beginning in 1931 with a false accusation of rape against nine Black teenagers, the case went went on to invigorate a nascent Civil Rights movement, earn the international support of Communist Party, and establish itself as a watchword among various strands of the American Left. It inspired reaction from the contemporary world of arts and letters as well, most famously by poets Langston Hughes and Richard Wright and novelist Harper Lee, who adapted its events in To Kill A Mockingbird.
The international, politically-oriented Yiddish intelligentsia of the Thirties was no less galvanized, producing a body of creative response that passionately took up the themes of the trial, juxtaposing its American injustices with a diversity of images, tropes and language imbued with their own distinct histories of oppression.
Wild Burning Rage and Song: Replies to Scottsboro brings this world alive as a concert-lecture featuring Professor Amelia Glaser, author of Songs in Dark Times: Yiddish Poetry of Struggle from Scottsboro to Palestine (Harvard University Press), composer/vocalists Heather Klein and Anthony Russell, and composer/pianist Uri Schreter, performing their new settings of Yiddish and English poetry written in response to the pervasive climate of race prejudice that gave birth to the Scottsboro trials—and other injustices to come.
Register Here.

Radical Yiddish Zingeray
2024-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Join Rad Yiddish and Linda Gritz and Pauli Katz of Boston Workers Circle for an evening of radical Yiddish song! Learn, sing, and discuss activist Yiddish songs of humor and satire, poking fun at those in power, pointing out our foibles, and questioning everything. We will sing old songs with lesser-known verses, old song with new verses, and a new song! Linda Gritz and Pauli Katz, of Boston Workers Circle ,will teach the songs and discuss the historical context that gave rise to them. There will be plenty of time for singing (on mute) and for dialogue.
No prior knowledge of Yiddish necessary. All songs will be presented in yidishe oysyes, Yiddish transliteration, and English translation. CART captioning will be provided.
Register Here.
Co-sponsored by: Rad Yiddish and Queer Yiddish Camp

Shabes: Food and Cultural Identity in Israel/Palestine
2024-03-15 18:30 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join us for a hybrid Shabes, with a gathering and potluck meal at the BWC center in Brookline and a Zoom gathering online.
The UN reports a world-wide food crisis, and as Jews we are focused especially on starvation being inflicted on the people of Gaza and crops being destroyed on the West Bank. So how and why can we focus on good food right now?
In the fall of 2023, Jonathan and Maia Brumberg-Kraus spent a month in the Palestinian Christian neighborhood of Wadi Nisnas in Haifa while he researched the promise and limitations when Palestinian citizens of Israel share their food with Israeli Jews and tourists. Jonathan and Maia explored the food worlds of Nazareth, other Muslim Arab majority towns in Israel’s Galilee region, Tel Aviv, and East Jerusalem. They spoke with Israelis and Palestinians about their food experiences with one another. Jonathan will share what he and Maia learned about food as identity, food as politics, and why for Palestinians promoting and serving their cuisine at home and in the diaspora are acts of political resistance and cultural resilience.
Register here.
Digital Program

Gragger
2024-03-16 19:00 - 23:00 | Spontaneous Celebrations, 45 Danforth St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130, USA
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At the invitation of the great King Ahasuerus and Queen Vashti, maidens, fools, and noblefolk from across the realm are heartily encouraged to attend this Purim’s Shushan Renaissance Faire. Merriment and sumptuous delights are anticipated by all – unless? Perchance the whispers of revolutionary dissent are true–? Verily, a tale of power, intrigue, and great suspense will surely unfold. ‘Tis an evening not to be missed!
Celebrate Purim at this year’s Ren Faire-themed Gragger! Come in your favorite costume – themed or otherwise – and enjoy the radical story that this year’s community has lovingly devised. Ren Faire workers of the world unite! Huzzah!
When: Saturday, March 16, 7-11Where: Spontaneous Celebrations in JP, near the Stony Brook stop on the Orange LineTickets: circleboston.org/gragger
I gotta say folks, this year’s Gragger team is creating an ICONIC shpil based on the Renaissance Faire theme! You are NOT going to want to miss this, so get your tickets ASAP! The inside scoop: our venue this year is a tiny bit smaller, so we expect tickets to sell out very quickly!
Fantastic art is by amazing member Roz Freeman, on insta as @rosalindoesart!

Anti-Racism Study Group
2024-03-18 19:15 - 20:30, 2024-04-15 19:15 - 20:30 | Zoom
The BWC Anti-racism Study Group meets for 90 minutes every month and currently has a schedule of the third Monday of each month at 7:15
The focus is on reading books, and learning through reading and discussion. The booklist is divided into three, somewhat overlapping sections: History, Black Experience and Working on White supremacy, White privilege, and ourselves; Reparations, activism.
We would love to have more people joining us! Members attest to the ever deeper and richer understanding of the struggle for racial equity and justice that has come out of being a part of this group. New insights and understandings come from every book we’ve read. To be added to the email list and for the meeting Zoom link, please email antiracismstudygroup@circleboston.org.
You can find the book list here and the schedule here.

Fundraiser for Shule New York Trip
2024-03-19 16:00 - 22:00 | American Flatbread, 45 Day St, Somerville, MA 02144, USA
Support next year’s Vov class trip to NYC by candlepin bowling and eating pizza. When you order pizza (for eat-in, takeout or delivery), a portion of the money will go to the rising Vov class NYC trip fundraiser. For takeout or delivery, please use the links on this website: https://americanflatbread.com
Check out the Facebook Event for this fundraiser here.

BWC Board Meeting
2024-03-19 19:00 - 21:00, 2024-04-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Members are welcome to attend BWC Board Meetings as non-voting attendees. Please email info@circleboston.org for the Zoom link.

Purim
2024-03-24 | MA

AIC Small Group Discussions
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:00 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Small Group Disussion: As we age, considerations regarding our housing/living arrangements become increasingly important. We will explore together what options we are considering, ranging from aging in place to a variety of other options potentially available to us. As always, guiding questions will support our conversation with one another. Participation:If you would like to participate in person, join us at Boston Workers Circle, 6 Webster St, Brookline. We are in the heart of Coolidge Corner, just off Harvard St. And, parking is easy on Sundays! There is also public transportation via the Green line, only a block away from BWC. For those who prefer to join us via zoom, we will send out a zoom link next week.
For more information contact aic@circleboston.org

Shule Session 18
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Shule/TASC - Purim Party
2024-03-24 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Building A World Beyond Capitalism: BWC Members in the Solidarity Economy, Part I
2024-03-27 19:00 - 20:45 | Zoom
Register Here.
Join us on Wednesday, March 27th, 7-8:45PM for a virtual event with the amazing BWC members working on Solidarity Economy projects aimed at bringing about a world of racial and economic justice outside of the extractive relations of racial capitalism.
In Part I of this two-part series, we will learn from BWC members about their work in the solidarity economy movement. We will hear from Liza Behrendt, leader in the Resource Organizing Project at Movement Sustainability Commons; Enid Eckstein, leader of the PILOT Action Group; Seth Kirshenbaum, leader of Movement Sustainability Commons; Richard Krushnic, leader in the movement for a Public Bank in MA; Eliza Parad, Center for Economic Democracy leader in participatory budgeting; Jonathan Rosenthal, co-founder of Equal Exchange, founder of Just Works Consulting (see also New Economy Coalition); and Jenny Silverman, co-founder of the Dorchester Food Co-op.
In Part II, we will focus on how our community at BWC can get more involved in Solidarity Economy projects and practice Solidarity Economy values in the work we do across our organization.
Register Here.

Yiddish Sing Special Edition: Purim
2024-03-28 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Drop in for this free informal monthly gathering to sing Yiddish songs! All are welcome, regardless of singing ability or knowledge of Yiddish.
Virtual Yiddish Sing – The song booklet will be provided to registrants day of the event. Participants can request songs from the booklet and listen and sing along with their mics muted.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED. Please register here before the event.
For this special edition of Yiddish Sing, we will sing Purim and drinking songs.

Crafty Brunch at BWC!
2024-03-31 11:00 - 13:00 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Join BWC’s Young Adult Community for a cozy brunch with crafting, music, and food! Come for a workshop or to freestyle, or just to hang out as we celebrate our Gragger team.
Register Here.

Storytelling Across Generations
2024-04-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
The Shabes Committee, Teens Acting for Social Change (TASC) and Aging in Community, invite you to an intergenerational storytelling Shabes potluck on April 5th from 6:00 to 7:30 pm at the BWC building.
Our goal is to bring our groups together to create connections within the BWC community and to break down generational barriers. We ask that you bring a dish that has a story or personal significance that you can share with the group. Also, in advance of the event, think about one question you have for participants of the other group.
Register Here.

Circle Book Group
2024-04-07 10:15 - 12:15 | HYBRID — Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Note on Start Times: The Book Group begins at 10:15am for in-person at the BWC Building and 10:30 for folks attending on Zoom.This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.
This month we are reading: The Golem of Brooklyn by Adam Mansbach

Shule Session 19
2024-04-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #12
2024-04-07 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Zayen Presentations
2024-04-07 10:45 - 12:15 | MA
Come hear the Zayen class present their projects on zoom in this hybrid event celebrating the learning of our Zayen class. Please RSVP to get the link. Open to BWC members and Shule families.
RSVP Here.

Kumzits: Adult Shule Book club
2024-04-07 10:45 - 12:15 | Shule Kumzits Room
“The Golem of Brooklyn” Adam Mansbach
Shule parents meet to talk about the Circle Book Group book of the month at a satellite in-person meet-up at Shule. See Shule e-mail for details.
Book Description:In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, a golem is a humanoid being created out of mud or clay and animated through secret prayers. Its sole purpose is to defend the Jewish people against the immediate threat of violence. It is always a rabbi who makes a golem, and always in a time of crisis.
But Len Bronstein is no rabbi—he’s a Brooklyn art teacher who steals a large quantity of clay from his school, gets extremely stoned, and manages to bring his creation to life despite knowing little about Judaism and even less about golems. Unable to communicate with his nine-foot-six, four hundred-pound, Yiddish-speaking guest, Len enlists a bodega clerk and ex-Hasid named Miri Apfelbaum to translate.
Eventually, The Golem learns English by binge-watching Curb Your Enthusiasm after ingesting a massive amount of LSD and reveals that he is a creature with an ancestral memory; he recalls every previous iteration of himself, making The Golem a repository of Jewish history and trauma. He demands to know what crisis has prompted his re-creation and whom must he destroy. When Miri shows him a video of white nationalists marching and chanting “Jews will not replace us,” the answer becomes clear.
The Golem of Brooklyn is an epic romp through Jewish history and the American present that wrestles with the deepest questions of our humanity—the conflicts between faith and skepticism, tribalism and interdependence, and vengeance and healing.

Harvard Natural History Museum Trip in Yiddish
2024-04-14 10:30 - 12:30 | The Harvard Museum of Natural History, 26 Oxford St, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Join fellow Yiddish speakers and students for shmues un shpatsir (chat and stroll) in the Harvard Museum of Natural History. We’ll walk through the galleries and talk informally in Yiddish about what we see. We welcome all levels of Yiddish, from beginners to fluent speakers.
Admission to the Harvard Museum of Natural History is free on Sunday morning for Massachusetts residents–just bring an ID/proof of residency!
Register Here.

Passover Flash Mob Chorus
2024-04-17 15:00 - 17:00 | Downtown Boston – Exact Locations Provided at Rehearsals
We’ve adapted lyrics to a familiar song to call for immediate humanitarian aid to Palestinians and to say: There is a growing American Jewish voice that believes the current rightwing Israeli government is an obstacle to peace, security, and human rights for both Palestinians and Jews. Through making beautiful music, we aim to reach both hearts and minds.
Register Here.

BWC Community Seder
2024-04-20 16:30 - 18:30 | Hellenic Cultural Center, 25 Bigelow Ave, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Boston Workers Circle is hosting our annual seder this year on April 20 at 4:30 pm ET. We’ll be gathering in person at the Hellenic Cultural Center and on Zoom for a wonderful program rooted in our love of Jewish Diaspora culture and social justice. Come for wonderful music, resonant ritual, and warm community as we celebrate Passover together. We have suggested ticket prices, but as with all BWC events, no one is turned away for lack of funds, and we welcome folks to purchase tickets at an amount that meets their needs.
Learn more and register here

BoFIPA Meeting
2024-04-25 18:45 - 20:30 | HYBRID – Boston Workers Circle: Center for Jewish Culture & Social Justice, 6 Webster St, Brookline, MA 02446, USA
Meeting of the BoFIPA (Boston Friends of Israeli Palestinian Alliances) sub-committtee. BoFIPA supports Israeli/Palestinian alliances working for equality and peace.

Shule Session 20
2024-04-28 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

TASC Session #13
2024-04-28 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Faces of Oppression; Faces of Liberation
2024-04-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-06 19:00 - 20:30 | MA
Faces of Oppression; Faces of Liberation: Untangling the Intersections of Antisemitism, White Supremacy, and Transphobia
In this four-part course, teachers Andy Izenson and Heron Greenesmith will expose the faces of oppression impacting our communities: particularly antisemitism, transphobia, and white supremacy. Participants will begin with using their existing understanding and analysis of systems of oppression to enter into an analysis of transphobia. The group will deepen its understanding of gender, power, and violence through lenses both somatic and deeply practical. Ranging from kabbalistic understandings of the gendered body to the landscape of anti-trans feminist activism, this class will bring together a variety of frameworks to paint a comprehensive picture of how our oppressions are interrelated and how our liberation must be as well.
Register Here.

The Jewish Left
2024-05-03 09:00 - 16:00 | Boston University, Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Amid dark days, many have found courage in the rise of a brave new generation of activists reaffirming an old truth: none of us are free until all of us are free. Join Boston University’s CURA: Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs on May 3rd for our inaugural symposium on the Jewish left, showcasing an intergenerational and intersectional movement raising their voices for a ceasefire in Gaza, equal rights for all humans, and rejecting any conflation of anti-semitism and anti-Zionism.
Register Here.

Wake up the Earth with BWC
2024-05-04 | MA

Mayday! May Day! Songs of Hope in Times of Struggle
2024-05-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Eliot Church of Newton UCC, 474 Centre St, Newton, MA 02458, USA
Mayday! May Day! Songs of Hope in Times of StruggleA Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus of Boston Workers CircleFeaturing: Judy Bressler and Hankus NetskyDerek David, Music Director
In-Person & Livestreamed
The world is in distress and sending urgent calls for help! On May 4th we invite you to lift your spirits with the power of music.
A Besere Velt, the vibrant intergenerational Yiddish Chorus of Boston Workers Circle, is excited to announce a spring concert featuring two of the most significant performers of Yiddish music, Judy Bressler and Hankus Netsky. They are founding members of the internationally renowned Klezmer Conservatory Band and leaders in the klezmer music revival.
Join the Host Committee!
Tickets Available Here
Judy Bressler, a third generation performer and vocalist, is one of the most renowned interpreters of Yiddish song in our time, featured on all 10 Klezmer Conservatory Band CDs and was seen in the PBS documentary A Jumpin’ Night In The Garden Of Eden. Being part of Itzhak Perlman’s In The Fiddler’s House tours since 1996, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco Symphony Hall and Boston Symphony Hall.
Hankus Netsky, a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and ethnomusicologist, is co-chair of New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation Department and director of the Klezmer Conservatory Band. He has composed extensively for film, theater, and television and collaborated on major creative projects with Itzhak Perlman, Robin Williams, Joel Grey, Theodore Bikel, and Robert Brustein.
Derek David has been Music Director of A Besere Velt since 2018. An accomplished composer, conductor, and music educator, Derek’s music has been performed in Europe and throughout the United States. With degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory, he is currently Lecturer in Music at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shule Session 21
2024-05-05 10:30 - 12:30 | MA

Circle Book Group
2024-05-05 10:30 - 12:30 | Zoom
This is an open group that welcomes all readers interested in expanding their understanding of the wide variety of Jewish experiences throughout history and across the world. The Zoom information for this meeting will be shared closer to the event via email. To make sure you’re on the Book Group email list, contact the Circle Book Group committee co-chairs at bookgroup@circleboston.org Click here to learn more, see our current book of the month, and view books we’ve read in the past. To make a donation for the Book Group, visit this page.

Lasting Peace: What will it take?
2024-05-08 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
Register Here.It is six months since October 7th, and our hearts are still breaking. How can the recognition of our joint humanity help move the world forward to a resolution of the tragedy taking place in Gaza and Israel?
Please join us for a webinar with leading thinkers and activists on the crisis in the Middle East. This event has been developed through a collaboration between the Islamic Council of New England and the Jewish Muslim Solidarity Committee of the Boston Workers Circle.
Participants:Opening Reflection Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD, Professor of Rabbinic Literature, Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies.
Moderator: Eman Khadra Ansari, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; PICU committee, Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund
Panelists:Susan M. Akram, Clinical Professor & Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Boston University School of Law Leila Farsakh, Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts BostonGregory Khalil, Co-founder & President, Telos; Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of JournalismJon A. Levisohn, Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Assoc. Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis UniversityNadav Weiman, Deputy Director, Breaking the SilenceSpeaker Bios
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, PhD is Professor of Rabbinic Literature and a former chair of the Rabbinics Department in the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies. Cohen’s research is on the border of scholarship and activism. His latest book, Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism, emerges from rabbinic literature and contemporary philosophy to engage concerns of the city: restorative justice, labor, houseleness.
Dr. Cohen is a co-convener of the Black Jewish JusticeAlliance (BJJA) and a member of Clergy for Black Lives. With Clergy for Black Lives, he co-organized one of the largest memorial demonstrations in Downtown Los Angeles after the murder of George Floyd. Dr. Cohen is a commissioner of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission, and an advisor to the Los Angeles County District Attorney as a member of the DA’s Interfaith Advisory Board. Dr. Cohen is the president of the Society of Jewish Ethics, and past co-chair of the board of CLUE (Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice).
Eman Khadra Ansari, M.D. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Eman Ansari is a Palestinian-American pediatric pulmonary and critical care physician, a practicing pediatric emergency physician at Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH), and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She is the head of the PICU committee at PCRF and has been active in the space of health and humanitarian aid to Palestine. She’s a mother of four and lives with her husband and children in Newton, MA.
Susan M. Akram Clinical Professor and Director, International Human Rights Clinic, Boston University School of Law
Professor Susan Akram is a graduate of the University of Michigan (BA), Georgetown University School of Law (JD), Oxford University (MsT), and the Institut International des Droits del’Homme (Diplome). She directs BU Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, in which she supervises students engaged in international advocacy in domestic, international, regional, and UN fora. She teaches or has taught courses in International Human Rights, Refugee and Migration law, US Immigration law and Palestinian Refugees under International Law. She has taught at the American University in Cairo, Egypt, at Al-Quds and Birzeit Universities in Palestine, the Oxford University Refugee Studies Center and the University of Murcia in Spain. She is a double Fulbright Senior Scholar award recipient, to Palestine (1999-2000) and Spain (2021-22). Her research and publications focus on immigration, asylum, refugee, forced migration and human and civil rights issues, with an interest in the Middle East, the Arab, and Muslim world.
Leila Farsakh, Ph.D. Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Boston
New Book: Rethinking Statehood in Palestine
Latest Article: “The Refugee Problem”
Webpage: SelectedWorks – Leila Farsakh
Leila Farsakh is Professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is the editor of Rethinking Statehood in Palestine: Self-Determination and Decolonization Beyond Partition (University of California Press, 2021), and author of Palestinian Labor Migration to Israel: Labour, Land and Occupation, (London: Routledge, second edition, 2012). She has also published widely on the political economy of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and alternative to partition in Israel/Palestine in a wide range of academic journals and non-academic venues. In 2001, she won the Peace and Justice Award from the Cambridge Peace Commission, in Cambridge-Massachusetts.
Gregory Khalil, Co-Founder & President, Telos and Adjunct Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism
Gregory Khalil is the co-founder and President of Telos, a Washington D.C.-based non-profit that equips American leaders and their communities to better engage seemingly intractable conflict. Much of Telos’ work has centered on the role of faith leaders and culture shapers in America’s relationship to Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. Before founding Telos, Greg was a legal and communications adviser to Palestinian leaders on peace negotiations with Israel. Since 2019, Greg has also co-taught a course called “Covering Religion” at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
Jon A. Levisohn, Ph.D. Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Associate Professor of Jewish Educational Thought, Brandeis University
Jon A. Levisohn is a philosopher of education, who focuses primarily on Jewish education. He is on the faculty at Brandeis University, where he chairs his department (which encompasses both Jewish and Islamic studies) and directs a research center that focuses on Jewish education. Among his books and articles, he is the editor of the forthcoming book, The Aims of Religious Education: Catholic, Islamic and Jewish Perspective. For about a decade, he has been active in Encounter, which is dedicated to bringing American and Israeli Jews to meet with Palestinians in the West Bank, and to understand more deeply the Israeli-Palestinian reality.
Nadav Weiman, Deputy Director, Breaking the Silence
Nadav Weiman was born and raised in Tel Aviv. During his army service, he served in a sniper’s team in the special forces of the Nahal brigade, where he attained the rank of staff sergeant. He studied Democratic Education. He worked as a high school history and literature teacher and was the legal guardian and counselor for a home for underprivileged teens in Tel Aviv. Nadav first joined Breaking the Silence as a Testifier-Activist in 2012. In 2019 Nadav became Breaking the Silence’s Deputy Director,
Breaking the Silence (BtS) is an organization of former Israeli soldiers, which collects and utilizes testimonies from soldiers who have served in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 2000. Through testimonies, lectures, and direct-encounter tours, BtS strives to increase opposition to increase opposition to the occupation among audiences in Israel and around the world.
