28 | JUNE 16 • 2022
OUR COMMUNITY
T
he Hamilton Jewish
Federation and
Hamilton JCC are
presenting a program cele-
brating Jews on film and films
about the Jewish experience
called the J Movie Club. The
club, based in the Ontario
city southwest of Toronto, is
currently in its second ses-
sion and is led by film and
media professor Dr. Benjamin
Wright on the second Tuesday
of each month through Zoom.
The club asks the central
question: What is a Jewish
film? To answer this, Dr.
Wright selected six films from
around the world taking view-
ers from war-torn Poland in
1942 to Israel in 1995, from
New York City in the 1960s
to the 1990s, as well as into
the mind of director David
Cronenberg. Topics include
the representation of Jewish
identity in the Golden Age of
Hollywood, interfaith rela-
tionships, Philip Roth’s Jewish
protagonists, the assassination
of Yitzhak Rabin and more.
Wright holds a Ph.D. in
cultural studies from the
Institute of Comparative
Studies in Literature, Art
and Culture at Carleton
University and was previous-
ly the Provost Postdoctoral
Fellow in the Humanities in
the School of Cinematic Arts
at the University of Southern
California. His writing on
film history has appeared in
numerous academic journals
and book collections. He is
the business development spe-
cialist in continuing education
at the University of Windsor.
The second session began
in May and ends in October.
The first movie shown in
this session was The Syrian
Bride (2004). When Harry Met
Sally (1989) was shown on
June 14, Goodbye, Columbus
(1969) will be shown on July
12, Incitement (2019) on Aug.
9, To Be or Not To Be (1942) on
Sept. 13 and The Fly (1986) on
Oct. 11.
Jazmin Rymberg, program
coordinator for the Hamilton
Jewish Federation, helped
organize the club. “The first
Hamilton’s Jewish Federation and
its JCC present a Jewish Movie Club
viewable anywhere on Zoom.
Love Movies?
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
T
rustees of the
Jewish Women’s
Foundation gathered
on May 18 for their annual
“Women Lighting the Way”
luncheon — the first since
2019 due to the pandemic.
This year’s event, held at the
Detroit Athletic Club, had
a Detroit theme, including
an education update from
Alycia Meriweather, deputy
superintendent of the Detroit
Public Schools Community
District.
In addition, Suzanne
Honda, a Michigan poet,
spoke about serving as a
writer-in-residence for
Inside/Out Literary Arts,
a Detroit-based nonprofit
that fosters creative writing
among Detroit students.
Mara Moss, executive
director of the Jewish
Women’s Foundation,
explained that the group
sought a focus on Detroit
and public education this
year.
Meriweather began by
highlighting her Detroit
roots; she is an alumna of
Detroit Public Schools and
Wayne State University. She
talked about the challenges
that the school district
has faced during recent
years — state management
with a rapid turnover of
superintendents, old and
poorly maintained school
buildings, lack of funding
and, more recently, COVID.
Meriweather said that Dr.
Nilolai Vitti has provided
stability and strong
leadership since being named
district superintendent in
2017. Among other goals,
the district plans to provide
a better physical learning
Debra Singer, JWF chair; Alycia Meriweather, deputy superintendent/
Detroit Public Schools Community District; Mara Moss, JWF executive
director; and Carolyn Iwrey, associate chair.
Jewish Women’s Foundation members
enjoy gathering after COVID hiatus.
‘Women Lighting
the Way’
SHARI S. COHEN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
JOHN HARDWICK