Thursday, May 17

POLITICAL ACTION

The Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee holds its annual Action Party at Arsenal, 2020 William St., 8 p.m. It’s a chance for young adults to meet elected officials at all levels in an informal setting. Tickets, 938-0514.

MOOT COURT

Grade 10 students of four Jewish high schools compete in the Ruth & Alex Dworkin Moot Court of Jewish Law at the McGill University law faculty moot court at 5:30 p.m., organized by the Bronfman Jewish Education Centre. Students are given a legal case to research and argue, drawing on Jewish ethics and law. This year’s topic is organ transplantation. Reserve, limor.elkoby@bjec. org.

TECH TALK

The Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors offers a class on how to use computer texts and files, 10 a.m.-noon. A class on getting the most out of an iPhone runs from 5-8 p.m. Register at 342-1234, ext. 7348.

JAPANESE CINEMA

Experimental filmmaker Tomonari Nishikawa of Japan screens his work at the SegalCentre’s CinemaSpace, 7:30 p.m. On May 19 at 9 p.m., he’ll present recent 8mm films by other Japanese directors. Tickets, 739-7944.

NUTRITIONAL ADVICE

Chemist Joe Schwarcz speaks on “Nutritional Advice: Is There a Solution to the Confusion?” at Congregation Beth-El at 7:30 p.m.

BOOK LAUNCH

Nancy Richler discusses her latest novel, The Imposter Bride, at the Jewish Public Library at 7:30 p.m. It’s about a young woman who arrives in postwar Montreal from Poland to marry, only to mysteriously abandon her new husband and baby daughter. Norman Ravvin will introduce Richler, who recently returned to her hometown after living in Vancouver for many years. Reserve at 345-6416.

HOLLINGER COLLECTION

The Phelix Hollinger Reference Collection will be inaugurated at Dawson College’s fine arts department, 5 p.m. It’s a gift of 500 reference books and works of art made by Lisa Hollinger on behalf of the estate of her late uncle Phelix Hollinger (1916-1995), an artist and professor at Loyola College.

Sunday, May 20

ETHIOPIAN MISSION

Eight young Jewish Montrealers present photos from their humanitarian mission to Ethiopia in January in the Segal Centre ArtLounge, 5 p.m., at a YAD FedNext Campaign silent auction and vernissage benefiting the Na’eh Youth Outreach Centre in Be’er Sheva. Tickets, www.federationcja.org/journey to ethiopia.

MEDICAL ROBOTICS

Next Generation holds its POP 2012 party to raise money for robot-assisted surgery at the Jewish General Hospital, 10 p.m.at the Imperial Room, 1432 Crescent St. Tickets, Gabriel Kaplansky, 616-9793.

Tuesday, May 22

ENTEBBE HERO

Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story, a new documentary about the daring 1976 Entebbe rescue and the commander who died in the operation, will be shown at a benefit for Kollel Torah MiTzion Montreal at the Imperial Cinema, 7:45 p.m. Guest of honour is Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yiftach Reicher Atir, another leader of the operation. Tickets, 486-5718.

SCHOOL CONCERT

The choirs of Ecole Maïmonide and Solomon Schechter Academy will give a concert of Sephardi and Ashkenazi music to inaugurate the academy’s new campus, a former church, at the corner of Snowdon and Macdonald avenues, 7 p.m. The children will be joined by guest artists, including soprano Sharon Azrieli, Cantor Sidney Dworkin, The Klezmerites  and an Oriental orchestra. Jewish music will be performed on the organ, left as a gift to the school by the previous owners. Tickets,485-0866.

FRIENDSHIP GALA

The Friendship Circle holds its 11th annual gala to honour its 534 teenaged volunteers and the special needs children whose lives they brighten at its Ernest Avrith Centre, 5:30 p.m. Doreen Green, Leslie Greenberg, Laura-Pearl Spivack and Cory Pecker, a pro hockey player in Switzerland, will be inducted into the Circle of Distinction. Tickets, 735-2255.

A QUEBEC JEW

Former Bloc Québécois MP Richard Marceau, a convert to Judaism, talks about his recent memoir, A Quebec Jew, at Congregation Beth Ora’s Community Affairs Speakers’ Forum, 7:30 p.m.

FOR BRIDES AND GROOMS

The Jewish Institute for Brides and Grooms begins a four-part lecture series at Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem, 8 p.m., with “Making Your Marriage Work.” 733-1298.

Wednesday, May 23

SEGAL BASH

Diamonds & Champagne is a black-tie fundraiser for youth arts education and programming at the Segal Centre, starting at 6:30 p.m. and including reception, live entertainment, including a performance by jazz singer Ranee Lee and an after-party, hosted by the centre’s Young Leaders. Grand prize is a diamond valued at $10,000. Tickets, 739-2301.

ETUDES JUIVES

Rabbi Raphael Afilalo gives a French-language seminar on “La prière et les commandements de la Torah dans la Kabbale” from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Beth Hamidrash de  l’ALEPH Centre d’études juives contemporaines in Cummings House. Tickets, 733-4998.

THE SPINOZA PROBLEM

California psychiatrist and best-selling author Irvin D. Yalom launches his new novel, The Spinoza Problem,  7:30 p.m. at the Jewish Public Library. The story explores the inner lives of the Jewish philosopher and German poet Goethe. Tickets, 345-6416.

Thursday, May 24

YOM HASHOAH SEDER

A book signing for The Third Seder: A Haggadah for Yom Hashoah (Vehicule Press), edited by Yehudi Lindeman and Irene Lilienheim Angelico, will be held at Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom at 5 p.m., followed at 6 by a model seder. This unusual Holocaust commemoration has been developed by Montreal’s Second Generation and Child Survivors/ Hidden Children of the Holocaust over some 25 years. Reservations, 937-3575, ext. 213.

NIGGUNIM IN VAUDREUIL

The francophone, anglophone and Jewish communities come together for a concert of traditional chassidic music by Toronto pianist Gershon Wachtel at the historic Maison Trestler in Vaudreuil-Dorion at 8 p.m. Spearheaded by Elaine Steinberg, a longtime area resident, this sponsored concert benefits Hudson Chamber Music, the Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre, and the Maison. Bryna Wasserman, now CEO of New York’s Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre, is guest of honour. Just the Right Note, as the concert is called, aims to celebrate the small, but longtime Jewish presence in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges region. Tickets, 450-510-2203.