In this presentation we are going to explore the peculiarity of Odessa’s Jewish civilization that was born together with the city. This civilization produced a special atmosphere, behavior, lifestyle, music, sense of humor and even language. We will learn how this new Jewish culture absorbed old values and traditions and mixed it with new European trends, the ambiance of the Black Sea, the Opera Theater and Italian cafés.

Our analysis of the inner world of the Odessa Jewish thinkers, makhers, writers, fathers of Zionism, rabbis, gangsters, etc., will be based on a variety of sources including unique artifacts, private interviews, visual materials and archive documents discovered by the historian Yigal Kotler. Yigal is a Director of Jewish Education at COJECO, PhD candidate at Jewish Theological Seminary of America and the author of the book “Essays of the History of Odessa Jewish Community”.

Light refreshments will be served.

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