RABIN MEMORIAL
An event to mark the 14th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin will be held at Bialik High School, 10:15 a.m. under the auspices of the Israeli consulate and the Canadian Zionist Federation.
PEACE NOW LEADER
The new director of Peace Now in Israel, Hagit Ofran, speaks at 5035 de Maisonneuve Blvd.,Westmount, 7:30 p.m. Her topic is “The Growth of the Settlements.” The granddaughter of philosopher Yeshiyahu Leibovitz, Ofran is from an observant family.
ISRAEL AND THE MEDIA
Andrea Levin, executive director of CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America), delivers the Elizabeth Shuchat Schwartz Memorial Lecture, Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, 8:15 p.m. on “Israel and the Media: Setting the Record Straight.” 937-9471.
OPEN HOUSE
Congregation Dorshei Emet, the Reconstructionist synagogue, holds a family open house, 4-5:30 p.m. Watch Jen Taylor Freidman as she continues writing Canada’s first Torah to be inscribed by a woman, and learn about the shul’s bar and bat mitzvah programs.
YIDDISH LECTURE
Soviet-born Dov-Ber Kerler, a Yiddish poet and professor of Yiddish studies at Indiana University, gives a lecture in Yiddish titled “Reared in Yiddish, Matured Elsewhere: A Contemporary Yiddish Poet’s Account” at the Jewish Public Library, 2 p.m. He’ll be introduced by Rivka Augenfeld. Tickets, 345-2627, ext. 3006.
HELPING CUBAN JEWS
Stefani Novick and Lois Lieff will talk about “Cuba Chai: The Movement to Aid the Jewish Community in Cuba” at a Shaare Zedek Men’s Club breakfast, 9:30 a.m. The women will describe their mission to bring supplies to the isolated Jewish community of Cuba. 484-1122.
FALL FAIR
The Jewish General Hospital Auxiliary holds its annual fall fair today and tomorrow, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. in the auditorium. Proceeds benefit the JGH’s Women’s Care Centre.
FILM ABOUT SENESH
The documentary Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh is presented by Na’amat Canada Montreal at the CinemaSpace of the Segal Centre for Performing Arts, 7:30 p.m. This new film by Roberta Grossman is the first documentary feature about the heroic poet turned paratrooper. Tickets, 484-0252.
PALLIATIVE CARE
A workshop on palliative care, moderated by social worker Zelda Freitas, will be held at Mount Sinai Hospital’s conference rooms 103-105, 6-8 p.m. It’s sponsored by the Council on Palliative Care. Registration, 499-0345.
MIRTHFUL COEXISTENCE
Jewish comedian Bob Alper, a rabbi, and comedian Mo Amer, a Muslim, share the stage at Shaare Zedek Congregation at 7:30 p.m. “Laugh in Peace” is an evening of non-political humour. Tickets, 484-1122.
ART SHOW BENEFIT
An exhibition of the paintings of Montreal artist Judy Zimlichman opens at Galerie Salamandre, 1090 Pratt Ave., Outremont, noon to 7 p.m., and continues Nov. 4 and 5. All proceeds from the sale of the paintings go to Maison Shalom, a non-profit association that operates group homes for children and young adults with intellectual or physical disabilities. A special evening will also be held Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. Zimlichman says she likes to paint nature in bold colours, with special attention to light. [email protected].
RECTORS AT SHAAR
Luc Vinet and Claude Corbo, rectors, respectively, of the Université de Montréal and the Université du Québec à Montréal, speak at Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, 8:30 p.m., on “Educational Challenges Facing Quebec.” Registration at www.shaarhashomayim.org.
RABBIS CONVERSE
Billed as a “conversation among Jews” rather than a debate, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, executive director of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel, and Rabbi Ronnie Cahana explore “The Jewish State and the Jewish Tradition of Human Rights,” at Congregation Beth-El, 7:30 p.m. Reservations, Shara Rosen, 369-8607.
Rabbi Ascherman also speaks at the Canadian Muslim Forum on Nov. 3 at the Islamic Community Centre in Brossard, and today, 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m., at the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism at McGill University’s law faculty. His Montreal visit is organized by the Friends of Rabbis for Human Rights Montreal.
AGING AND MEMORY
“Aging and Memory” is the topic at the opening meeting of the Congregation Chevra Kadisha B’nai Jacob Beit Hazikaron Sisterhood, at noon. Speakers are Dolly Dastoor and Loraine Mazzella-Maiolo from the McGill Centre for Studies on Aging. Tickets, 482-3366.
ALBERTO MANGUEL AT JPL
Argentine-born Canadian writer Alberto Manguel gives the keynote lecture of Jewish Book Month at the Jewish Public Library, 8 p.m. His topic is “The Golem of South America,” which looks at a central theme in works of writer Jorge Luis Borges about the contradictions of artistic creation. Manguel will be introduced by Janice Steinberg. Tickets, 345-6479.
BOOK REVIEW
Rabbi Leigh Lerner reviews The Dance of the Demons by Esther Singer Kreitman at the Book Lovers’ Forum, Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, 9:30 a.m.
MARTINIS & MANICURES
Jewish Women International of Canada holds its second annual Martinis & Manicures evening for women at the Viking showroom, 8210 Devonshire Rd., Town of Mount Royal, 7-10 p.m. Have a drink (and light supper) and get your nails done, all in support of projects aimed at ending violence against women. Registration, [email protected].
The walls at B’nai Brith House, a low-income seniors’ residence in Côte St. Luc, are a lot brighter with the donation of more than 300 artistically rendered framed photographs by Danny Taran. They’re on view on the seven floors of the building. Taran and his wife, Liane, created a foundation to bring art to public spaces and retirement homes… Israeli-born musician Yoav, a hit at the Montreal International Jewish Festival, gives a concert at Le Cabaret Nov. 18… Monique Polak’s novel What World is Left, based on her Dutch-born mother’s experience in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, is nominated for the Quebec Writers’ Federation prize for children’s and young adult literature. Winner to be announced Nov. 17… The McGill Medical Simulation Centre has been renamed in honour of Arnold and Blema Steinberg, for their longtime championing of medical training at the university, of which Mr. Steinberg is chancellor… If you want to know the true history of smoked meat in Montreal, check out Eiran Harris’ interview in the latest issue of the online Cuizine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures. Harris, archivist emeritus of the Jewish Public Library, gives Lara Rabinovitch, a PhD candidate at the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University, the benefit of his many years of research into the origin and evolution of the delicacy. Harris’ erudition is also acknowledged by David Sax, the Toronto-born, New York-based author of the new book Save the Deli, who quotes Harris’ debunking a myth about who first served up the sandwiches in Montreal. Sax, incidentally, is in Montreal Nov. 5 to promote his book, the idea for which took root while he was a McGill student in 2000-01.
