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

