New Tel Aviv Series Explores Hidden Treasures of Eastern European Jewry
A new Tel Aviv lecture series exploring Eastern European Jewish heritage will launch on November 20, featuring recent archaeological discoveries and cultural history.
A newly uncovered Jewish chocolate factory in Warsaw, a 1943 underground bunker, and a cache of Judaica discovered beneath a building in Lodz are among the fascinating findings that will take center stage in a new lecture series dedicated to the life and heritage of Eastern European Jewry.
The series, titled "A New Look at the Old World - Eastern European Jewry: Pictures of Life," is a joint initiative of ANU - Museum of the Jewish People and the Sholem Aleichem House. Set to launch on November 20 and run monthly through June 2027, the program will weave together history, literature, cinema, music, and art to explore the vibrant daily life of Jewish communities before World War II.
The lectures will also examine the development of Hebrew and Yiddish culture, mass migration to America, and enduring efforts to preserve a heritage largely devastated by the Holocaust. Prominent guest speakers will include author and translator Benny Mer, who will guide audiences through the streets of pre-war Jewish Warsaw, and Professor Yitzhak Conforti and Professor Avraham Novershtern, who will discuss Yiddish culture in the Soviet Union.
Running on a monthly basis on Friday mornings from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM at ANU in Tel Aviv, the series curated by Rivka Adret will also feature rare historical film screenings documenting Jewish towns in the 1920s and 1930s, alongside musical performances exploring the intersection of Jewish tradition, jazz, and Soviet culture.
