20 | NOVEMBER 18 • 2021

T

he 34th annual Ann
Arbor Jewish Book
Festival runs Nov.
21-Dec. 16, and features 24
authors online via Zoom. All
events are free and open to
the public. Registration is not
required.
Noemi Herzig, director of
Jewish Cultural Arts and Adult
Education for the Ann Arbor
JCC, says it’s an eclectic festival
this year.
“I like to mix it up so there’s
something for everybody,
” she
said. “The festival’s purpose is to

enrich people’s lives and knowl-
edge about subjects they like or
new stuff they haven’t explored,
to expand people’s vision and to
bring the Judaism in the book
world to people’s homes in an
easy way.
”
Author events include one
with Ami Ayalon, author of
Friendly Fire, How Israel Became
Its Own Worst Enemy and Its
Hope for the Future, and another

with Daniel Sketch, author of
Can We Talk About Israel?: A
Guide for the Curious, Confused
and Conflicted.
Other events include Jeffrey
Veidlinger, professor of his-
tory and Judaic studies at the
University of Michigan, speak-
ing about his book, In the Midst
of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms
of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the
Holocaust. James McAuley, a
European affairs columnist for
the Washington Post, will join
the festival with a presentation
of his book, The House of Fragile
Things: Jewish Art Collectors and
the Fall of France.
Author Heather Dune
Macadam will be speaking
about her book, 999: The
Extraordinary Young Women of
the First Official Jewish Transport
to Auschwitz, which tells the
story of 999 young, unmarried
women who were tricked into
boarding a train that became

the first official transport to
Auschwitz.
On Dec. 15, former CIA/
FBI agent and Nobel Prize
winner Tracy Walder takes
festival-goers on her journey in
The Unexpected Spy: From CIA
to the FBI, My Secret Life Taking
Down Some of the World’s Most
Notorious Terrorists.
That same evening, Robert
Lefkowitz will talk about his
journey from cardiologist to
legendary scientist and winner
of the Nobel Prize with his
book, A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to Stockholm: The
Adrenaline-Fueled Adventures of
an Accidental Scientist.



The full schedule of author events,

including Zoom links, can be found at

book.jccannarbor.org. For additional

questions, Noemi Herzig can be reached

via email at noemiherzig@jccannarbor.

org.

To listen, call (605) 313-
4107 Access code: 270368#.

CHANUKAH CONCERT
AT THE FRANKLIN
CIDER MILL
For 43 years, Chabad of
Farmington Hills has had a
special relationship with the
Franklin Cider Mill.
Rabbi Chaim Moshe
Bergstein’s son Yitzchok saw
Jack Peltz, owner of Franklin
Cider Mill, and thought he
was Jewish. He asked him if he
wanted to do a mitzvah. Peltz
said yes and did the blessing
on the lulov and etrog. Chabad
of Farmington Hills has been
blessed with the Peltz family’s
kindness ever since, continuing
until today with the third gen-
eration.
On the fourth night
of Chanukah, Chabad of
Farmington Hills will sponsor a

live outdoor Chanukah concert
at the Franklin Cider Mill and
the lighting of a huge 12-foot-
high menorah. The event
cosponsors are Chef Cari, Pro-4
Marketing, 1-800selfstorage,
Kidon Security Services and
Branded Design.
Featured at the concert will
be the Jewish Frankel Academy
Shabbatones, under the direc-
tion of Rabbi Boruch Lazewnik,
and the Rogers Park Band, a
popular group of singers and
musicians from Rogers Park in
Chicago.
A raffle and free toys for the
kids will round out the event.
The Dec. 1 concert will begin
at 5 p.m. The Chanukah lights
will be lit at 5:30.

CHANUKAH
WONDERLAND & MORE
Last year, children in the
community sorely missed the

Chanukah Wonderland put on
by Bais Chabad Torah Center
in West Bloomfield. They will
be happy to hear that this
year, it’s back!
This year, all the holiday
fun, crafts, food and activities
will take place in a heated tent
in the shul’s parking lot.
The tent will be open to the
public Sunday, Nov. 28, and
Sunday, Dec. 5. Admission is
$5.
Bais Chabad will also
hold the Chanukah Parade
of Love & Light at 4 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 2, at Meer
Jewish Apartments in West
Bloomfield. Attendees can
share the festive joy of the
holiday and decorate their
cars and wave their Chanukah
flags as they drive by seniors’
windows. Bais Chabad will
enhance the ride with deli-
cious latkes, donuts and a hot-
dog dinner.
Also, on Dec. 4, at 8 p.m.,

you can enjoy Chanukah on
Ice at the Novi Ice Arena with
Bais Chabad. Skate to Jewish
music, enjoy a kosher dinner
and a beautiful ice sculptured
menorah.
Details available at chanu-
kahwonderlandmi.com.

Rogers
Park Band

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

2021 Ann Arbor Jewish Book Festival
promises to be ‘eclectic.’

For the Love
of Books

OUR COMMUNITY

CHANUKAH HAPPENINGS continued from page 18