20 November 2024, 7pm at JW3
Following Khomeini’s seizure of power in Iran in 1979, the Jewish Iranian population fell drastically from 100,000 to 8,000. This evening, in partnership with the Jewish Music Institute, will honour the words of these refugees, with one of them present to tell his story to the audience. There will also be Danielle and Galeet Dardashti, two sisters who have produced an audio documentary, The Nightingale of Iran.
Until 24 November 2024 at the Frankfurt Jewish Museum
On ‘Kristallnacht’, from 9 to 10 November 1938, Nazi troops and their supporters carried out a mass destruction of Jewish sites in Germany. These included the beautiful synagogue of the Israelite Religious Society, inaugurated in 1907. The city of Frankfurt built a bunker in its place in 1942. The Frankfurt Jewish Museum has set up this memorial exhibition at this very location.
East End – Looking into a Jewish Quarter – Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt (juedischesmuseum.de)
Until 13 October 2024 at the Augsburg Jewish Museum
This workshop is the fruit of work carried out by Elias Holl schoolchildren around the feast of Pesach, enabling them to develop a personal approach. In particular, they asked questions about the biblical events evoked during the exit from Egypt and the highlights of the Seder. The results of this work are displayed alongside the objects and documents in the museum throughout the year.
Pessach – Matzah and more – Jüdisches Museum Augsburg Schwaben (jmaugsburg.de)
September 1, 10am at the Institut Maïmonide
As part of these European days, there will be a visit to the medieval Mikveh in Montpellier (10am), followed by a tour of the medieval Jewish Quarter, including the 12th-13th century synagogal building. Finally, there will be a lecture on the theme of ‘Tibbonides, Kimhi… the contribution of Jewish families of Andalusian origin to the Occitan sciences’.
IUMAT – Institut Universitaire Maïmonide – Averroès – Thomas d’Aquin (maimonide-institut.com)
28 July 2024, 1.30 pm to 8 pm
This meeting (in English) of Hebrew liturgical poetry is organised in partnership with the IEMJ. Activities will include a study of piyutim from the Spanish and Portuguese traditions with hazan Daniel Halfon. There will also be a discussion with hazan Jalda Rebling on the sound of piyutim at the time of their creation, and another with Moriah Ferrus on the innovation of piyutim in contemporary times.
29 September 2024 at the Shoah Memorial
This meeting with author Pierre Assouline, actor Vincent Elbaz and cellist Laura Meilland is devoted to Alfred Nakache. This great swimmer, born in Constantine in 1915, rose through the ranks, becoming French and then European champion and beating a world record. He was even selected to represent France at the Olympic Games in Berlin in 1936. Denounced by a rival to the Gestapo, he was arrested and deported to Auschwitz in 1944 with his wife Paule and their daughter Annie. The only survivor, he tried to rebuild his life and even took part in the London Olympics in 1948, strengthened by his Jewish resilience.
Mémorial de la Shoah | Boutique en ligne (memorialdelashoah.org)
Until 11 August at the Shoah Memorial in Drancy
Presented as part of the Paris Olympics this summer, this exhibition highlights the issues of prejudice and discrimination, past and present. How gestures of friendship and support between athletes have left their mark on history just as much as current discriminatory policies. In particular, the victories of Jesse Owens, the black American runner, over Hitler’s use of the Olympics were a global symbol of the destruction of racial prejudice.
Mémorial de la Shoah | Boutique en ligne (memorialdelashoah.org)
19 September 2024, 7.30pm at the House of Yiddish Culture
To celebrate the publication by Bibliothèque Medem of An-ski’s play The Dybbuk, translated by Batia Baum, the Maison de la culture yiddish is organising an evening with three highlights. Firstly, Clarisse Brossard will talk about the author’s ethnographic expeditions to Volhynia and Podolia between 1911 and 1914. Then Arnaud Bikard presents the new translation by Batia Baum. And last but not least, an extract from the play directed and performed in Yiddish by Amélie Moser, Annick Margules and Shahar Fineberg.
Dibouk : soirée exceptionnelle (en présentiel) – programme.yiddish.paris
Until 22 September 2024 at the mahJ
Every four years, the Olympics have inspired many artists to seize the opportunity to capture the ultimate efforts of athletes, crossing bars and ribbons, touching the edges of pools and gymnasiums to surpass themselves in the quest for gold. André Steiner, a Hungarian-born photographer, decathlon champion and swimming coach at the Jewish sports club Hakoah Vienna, did the same in 1930s Paris, capturing athletic bodies in motion for magazines and developing a style.
From 12 September 2024 to 12 June 2025 at JEM Beaugrenelle
Those singing sessions welcomes all singing enthusiasts to take part in its activities without an admission test. A very varied repertoire is offered throughout the year. The repertoire includes traditional songs, musicals, Israeli songs, songs in Ladino and Yiddish. All in the company of Marlène Samoun, the choirmaster.
Voci Copernic à Beaugrenelle – Judaïsme En Mouvement (judaismeenmouvement.org)
12 September 2024 at 8.30pm at JEM Copernic
This JEM evening of reflection welcomes the lawyer and human rights specialist and LCP journalist Myriam Encaoua as moderator. It is part of a series of conferences bringing together expert speakers on current political issues in Israel. François Zimeray will talk in particular about the legal action taken against Hamas and on behalf of the families of hostages.
Conférence JEM Israël avec François Zimeray – Judaïsme En Mouvement (judaismeenmouvement.org)
Registration for courses and workshops on 5 and 8 September 2024
Teachers and facilitators will be on hand to welcome prospective students and introduce them to the Yiddish, Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish and Judeo-Arabic courses offered at Medem. There are also dance, poetry, genealogy, drama and choir workshops to get every day off to a great start!
Journées portes ouvertes du Centre Medem-les 5 et 8 septembre – Centre Medem (centre-medem.org)
22 September 2024, 10.30am at the Musée départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation
This documentary by Lluch de Mons and Ismaël Girard is being screened as part of the Heritage Days. It features footage shot between 22 August and 12 September 1944, looking back at the battles leading up to the liberation of Toulouse, the ceremonies for fallen soldiers and the FFI parade. The film allows viewers to immerse themselves in a fictional reconstruction of a maquis.
Le Musée départemental de la Résistance & de la Déportation | Haute-Garonne
29 August 2024, 8pm at the Musée départemental de la Résistance et de la Déportation
This play by Cyril Gély and directed by Giselle Grange, with Bernard Meyer and Alain Courmont, tells the story of what might have happened at dawn on 25 August 1944 in Paris between German General von Choltitz and Swedish Consul General Raoul Nording. The arrival of Allied troops to liberate Paris sparked debate about the future of the city, threatened with destruction by the occupiers.
Le Musée départemental de la Résistance & de la Déportation | Haute-Garonne
At the Angoulême Comics Museum
90 international artists present 170 original works, some dating back to the 1950s, at the dawn of the mythical publishing house. From generation to generation, the superheroes created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, two children of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, have been shared between comic books and films, tackling social issues and the difficulties of teenage life in the face of a world full of threats and hopes.
Until 22 September 2024 at the Albert Kahn Gardens
This photographic festival brings together eleven artists around the theme of ‘the visual inventory of the world and its variations in the museum’s collections’. Contemporary and historical works are brought together to magnify reality in all its facets. Representations of fears and the world of possible ways out.
Festival Mondes en commun – Musée Albert Kahn (hauts-de-seine.fr)
31 August 2024, from 2pm to midnight in the 11 museums of the Isère département
During this festive day, the Musée de la Résistance et de la Déportation de l’Isère (Isère Resistance and Deportation Museum) will be offering a range of historical events and creative workshops from 2pm to 5.30pm. From 6pm, there will be an evening of dancing, with a children’s ball, a guinguette and a swing ball. Dress code: blue, white and/or red…
Vivre la Libération – La journée festive ! (isere.fr)
8 September 2024, at 3pm
In clear contrast to the emancipation of the 1920s and the suffragettes, the Vichy regime tried to confine women to the social role of wife and mother. This was not accepted by many, particularly those involved in the Resistance. The exhibition provides an insight into the issues at stake at the time, the reactions of these women to this oppression and their commitment to liberating France.
Until 7 September 2024 at the European Centre of Deported Resistance Members
Each of the ten sites of national remembrance will host a work by artist Nicolas Daubanes based on the memory conveyed by the site, in a mission combining transmission and commemoration. Organised in partnership with the three FRACs of the Grand Est region, the exhibition allows visitors to reflect on the history of the former Natzweiler-Struthof concentration camp, tackling the themes of suffering, dehumanisation and resilience.
Exposition d’art contemporain Nicolas Daubanes et les 3 FRAC du Grand Est – Mémorial Struthof
The Institut universitaire Rachi in Troyes is hosting a magnificent exhibition throughout July. The fruit of fifty years’ study by the general inventory, the documents are presented in the form of magnificent photographs with particularly well captions. For its installation at the Institut Rachi, the exhibition has focused on the Champagne and Ardennes regions, offering an opportunity to discover the objects and places of Jewish life. A whole region of little-known treasures presented here.
Institut Universitaire Européen Rachi à Troyes – Grand Est (institut-rachi-troyes.fr)
Presented by Metin Delevi at the Grand Edirne synagogue, this exhibition tells the story of Turkish Jewish cultural heritage during this period. Numerous documents and photos are on display.
28 May 2024 at 6.30pm at the CIG
This presentation is given as part of the ‘Let’s talk literature’ reading circle. It is inspired by essays by the influential intellectual André Neher: ‘Faust and the Maharal of Prague: myth and reality’ and ‘David Gans: 1541-1613, disciple of the Maharal, assistant to Tycho Brahe and Jean Kepler’. The event will be presented by Philippe Zabey.
Cercle de lecture “Parlons littérature” – Communauté Israélite de Genève (comisra.ch)
Until 29 September 2024 at the Jewish Museum Amsterdam
The museum is transforming one of its rooms to host this astonishing exhibition that plays with the boundary between theatre and real life. Video extracts from the time when the young artist, who was murdered during the Shoah, lived are interspersed with photos of her work, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in pre-war Berlin and understand the influence of those years on Salomon’s work, as well as the beauty of her art.
Exhibition Charlotte Salomon in Close-up |… | Jewish Cultural Quarter (jck.nl)
8 June at 2.30pm
Organised by the Musée National de la Résistance et des Droits Humains (National Museum of Resistance and Human Rights), this route of remembrance allows visitors to discover the places of remembrance erected in Esch to recall the dark hours of the Occupation and commemorate the victims of Nazism. Among the sites visited are the museum, the synagogue and Esch town hall.
mnr.lu/manifestation/visite-guidee-du-parcours-de-la-memoire-1430-at-musee-fr
At the Vilna Gaon Museum
This exhibition, dedicated to Kazys Morkunas, presents his stained glass windows and allows visitors to appreciate the reflections and highlights of the colours by the sun’s rays and their varying power and position. Two Stars of David, created by the artist at the beginning of the 21st century, are among the museum’s major pieces. As early as 1953, Morkunas was one of the first Lithuanian artists to experiment with the technique of fusing layers of stained glass. In 1981, he created a 180 m2 work decorating a room in the national parliament.
Exhibit of the month – Vilna Gaon Museum of Jewish History (jmuseum.lt)
Until 9 June 2024 at the Museo Risiera di San Sabba
This exhibition, created after lengthy research, began on the 80th anniversary of the first convoys leaving Trieste. It presents the first political deportations and then those of Italian Jews, showing the places where Italian Jews were deported, with the help of photos and maps. A journey illustrated by the stories of the victims and their executioners.
7 December 1943 Destination Camp – Museo Ebraico di Trieste (museoebraicotrieste.it)
Until 27 October 2024 at the Jewish Museum in Venice
The Jewish Ghetto of Venice is hosting an exhibition on the themes of migration and encounters with others. This theme inspired ten international artists to exhibit their work in three different locations in Italy’s oldest ghetto. The artists on show are Jonathan Prince, Amit Berman, Elisheva Reva, Flora Temnouche, Danny Avidan, Lucas and Tyra Morten, Lihi Turjeman, Debra Werblud, Laure Prouvost and Yael Toren.
I confini dell’alterità – The contours of otherness – Ghetto Venezia
Until 24 June 2024 at the Jewish Museum in Rome
This exhibition examines the fascinating character of Esther, who influenced novels, films on both sides of the Atlantic, plays and musicals. Various megiloth are presented, including astonishing miniature versions. Works from the Italian Renaissance and Baroque paintings refer to Esther, such as those by Michelangelo Buonarroti and Jacopo del Sellaio. The central role of women in historical works and the moral and physical redemption of the Jewish people are among the themes explored.
Beautiful Ester – Jewish Museum of Rome (museoebraico.roma.it)
Until 6 October 2024 at MEIS
The MEIS, which offers a fascinating presentation of Italy’s ancient Jewish history, is inaugurating a space dedicated to contemporary history, with the challenge of sharing the diversity of Jewish life in the 20th century. The exhibition looks at political issues such as access to citizenship in modern Italy, the racial laws of 1938 and the Shoah. But also the people who contributed to the history and culture of the country. All this, thanks to a wealth of archive documents and multimedia sharing.
Jews in Twentieth-Century Italy – MEIS
The aim of this exhibition is to raise awareness of this history, particularly in Italy, a country with close ties to Rhodes at the time. It is being held to mark the 80th anniversary of the deportation of the Jews of Rhodes. The project comprises two complementary elements: a participatory installation and a web portal. The first will be exhibited at the Shoah Memorial in Milan from 10 May to 2 September 2024. Among the activities organised to mark the occasion, on 27 May the Nefesh trio will take the public on a musical journey through the traditions of Rhodes.