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JANUARY 2024 PROGRAMS

CSP

The Walnut Street Synagogue is pleased to be a partner congregation of the Orange County Jewish Community Scholar Program.  Please join us at an upcoming program!

Jews on the Small Screen

This series delves deep into the ever-evolving portrayal of Jewish identity, both its challenges and triumphs, in the medium of American television. From the early endeavors to introduce Jewish culture to mainstream audiences and the complex legacy of antisemitism in post-World War II America to the power of humor in shaping Jewish narratives and the transformation of Jewish female characters beyond traditional stereotypes, these sessions weave together a tapestry of cultural understanding.
Part 1 – From Absent to Invisible: Mainstreaming Jews on Television –
I.  Explaining Jews, Explaining Judaism
II. Bridget and Bernie
III. Everyone knows what a Bris is
IV. Feeling Jewish
Part 2 – Criminalizing Antisemitism
I.  The Shoah in Post-War American Culture
II.  Anti-Semitism as Social Discrimination
III. “Soft” Racism
Part 3 – Laughing at Jews, Laughing with Jews
I.  Antisemitic, Philosemitic, Allosemitic
II.  Die Yiddishe Mama
III.  Seinfeld’s Rabbi
Part 4 – Beyond the Yiddishe Mama
I. Rhoda Morganstern: the Stereotype who wasn’t I
II. Fran Fine: the “JAP” with a Heart of Gold
III. Rachel Menkin: Jewish Self-Confidence
IV. Ziva David: Israeli Strength, Jewish Power
Professor Howard Lupovitch is Professor of History and Director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State University. He was educated at the University of Michigan, and Columbia University (earning a Ph.D. in History from the latter). Over his career, Prof. Lupovitch has taught at Cornell University, Colby College, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Michigan, where he was also a fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. Prof. Lupovitch is the author, most recently, of Transleithanian Paradise: A History of the Jewish Community of Budapest, 1738-1938, and is presently completing a history of the Neolog Movement and researching a new history of the Jews of Detroit.  This program is fully funded by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County
Part 1 – Program video
Part 2 – Program video

Jews on the Silver Screen

Over eight enlightening weeks, we delve into the tapestry of Jewish representation, both overt and subtle, in Hollywood’s history. From the pioneering Jewish visionaries who shaped global cinema to the enduring fascination with biblical narratives and the layers they hold, we uncover the intersections of culture and storytelling. We also confront and deconstruct stereotypes through the lens of Jewish gangsters and explore how cinema has exposed and healed societal ills. As we transition to adaptations of literature and the works of renowned directors like Steven Spielberg, we question the Jewish elements that lie beneath the surface. At the end of the series, we spotlight the roles of Jewish women in the industry and explore both the visible and invisible aspects of Jewishness in film, from unspoken identities to bold declarations.
Part 1 – Entrepreneurs with a Vision
I.  Jews a Motion Pictures: a Global Perspective
II.  Immigrants and Emigres
III. Directors as Social Activists: Leo Hurvitz and George Cukor
Part 2 – The “Heston Effect”: Bible Stories for a Hollywood Audience
I. The American Obsession with the Hebrew Bible
II. Biblical Melodrama: Samson and Delilah and Solomon and Sheba
III. From Heston’s Moses to Prince of Egypt
IV. Ben-Hur: Christian and Jewish Layers
Part 3 – Unmaking/Remaking Stereotypes: Jewish Gangsters as Heroes and Villains
I.  Hyman Rothstein (aka Meyer Lansky) and The Godfather
II. Tough Jews in Once Upon a Time in America 
III. Bugsy Siegal as Jewish Anti-Hero
Part 4 – Exposing and Healing the Ills of Society
I. Gentlemen’s Agreement: How Jewish is too Jewish?
II. The Last Angry Man: The Challenge of Being Principled
III. School Ties: David Green and Elite Society
IV. Erik Lehnsherr (aka Magneto) and the Imperfectability of Humanity
Part 5 – Dumbing Down Literature: The Chosen as Novel and Movie
I. Potok’s Jewish New York
II. Explaining Hasidic Spirituality
III. Rod Steiger’s Rebbe
Part 6 – Spielberg before Schindler: How Jewish?
I.  ET: A Story of Exile and Return?
II. The Twilight Zone: A Jewish View of Aging
III. The Lost Ark and the Battle between Good and Evil
Part 7 – Jewish Women in Movies
I. Marjorie Morningstar
II. Izzy Grossman and the Escape from Delancey Street
III. Woody Allen’s Jewish Mothers
IV. Baby Houseman and the World of the Catskills
Part 8 – Visible and Invisible Jewishness
I.  What’s Up Doc: Barbara Streisand’s Unstated Jewishness
II.  Avalon and the Melting Pot
III. Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller: Masters of Chutzpah
IV. Cher Horowitz — Jewish American Princess
Professor Howard Lupovitch is Professor of History and Director of the Cohn-Haddow Center for Judaic Studies at Wayne State University. He was educated at the University of Michigan, and Columbia University (earning a Ph.D. in History from the latter). Over his career, Prof. Lupovitch has taught at Cornell University, Colby College, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Michigan, where he was also a fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. Prof. Lupovitch is the author, most recently, of Transleithanian Paradise: A History of the Jewish Community of Budapest, 1738-1938, and is presently completing a history of the Neolog Movement and researching a new history of the Jews of Detroit.  This program is fully funded by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County
Part 1 – Program video
Part 2 – Program video

Awakening from the Dream – The Legacy of MLK