The JBC @ The Jewish Federation, Author Series 2023/24 

Thank you so much to eveyone that participated in the 2023/2024 Jewish Book Council Program.

If you missed any of the events, please watch the recordings below.

STAY TUNED WE HAVE MORE GREAT SELECTIONS COMING FOR YOU IN THE FALL!

Details Coming Soon!

David L. Bernstein

Woke Antisemitism

Books still available at The Federation Office; Book Cost: $15
Contact Pam Orange County: Office@jewishorangeny.org or (845)562-7860

Woke Anti­semitism: How a Pro­gres­sive Ide­ol­o­gy Harms Jews

In May 2021, amid anoth­er con­flict with Iran-backed Hamas, Israel took a beat­ing in both the main­stream press and social media. Notwith­stand­ing the rock­et fire aimed at its cit­i­zens, the Jew­ish state was por­trayed as the oppres­sor and the Hamas gov­ern­ment as the oppressed. While Israel has always been sub­ject to exces­sive scruti­ny, this time was dif­fer­ent. What had changed in the ide­o­log­i­cal envi­ron­ment? A vet­er­an Jew­ish advo­ca­cy leader and self-described lib­er­al who has bro­ken with the far left over the adop­tion of woke ide­ol­o­gy, David L. Bern­stein traces the growth of woke ide­ol­o­gy in his life and career from a remote aca­d­e­m­ic study to an inter­na­tion­al post-colo­nial­ist move­ment, then a fad­dish cam­pus ide­ol­o­gy, mor­ph­ing into cor­po­rate diver­si­ty pro­grams to a dom­i­nant ide­ol­o­gy in main­stream insti­tu­tions, includ­ing many Jew­ish orga­ni­za­tions. Bern­stein shows how core ide­o­log­i­cal tenets — such as priv­i­lege, equi­ty, white­ness, and the oppressor/oppressed bina­ry — can be and are weaponized against Jews.

The Cook and the Rab­bi: Recipes and Sto­ries to Cel­e­brate the Jew­ish Holidays

A deli­cious explo­ration of the Jew­ish hol­i­days, with illu­mi­nat­ing con­ver­sa­tions and meals shared by friends: a rab­bi and a cook.

For many belong­ing to the Jew­ish dias­po­ra, under­stand­ing the hol­i­days means light­ing a meno­rah for Chanukah, maybe host­ing a seder dur­ing Passover. But, if cel­e­brat­ed with an under­stand­ing of the sto­ried cus­toms behind the fes­tiv­i­ties, these occa­sions can be so much more than can­dles and matzah. Fol­low­ing the luniso­lar cal­en­dar, James Beard Award-win­ning author Susan Simon and Rab­bi Zoe Zak devote a chap­ter to each of the four­teen hol­i­days. From Seli­chot to Rosh Hashanah, Purim to Pesach, every hol­i­day has his­to­ry, inter­pre­ta­tion, and foods, with kosher recipes that reimag­ine tra­di­tion­al dish­es with flair.

More than a cook­book, The Cook and the Rab­bi is a tes­ta­ment to the resilient ver­sa­til­i­ty of the Jew­ish peo­ple and their tra­di­tions. With Rab­bi Zoe’s thought­ful insight and Susan’s inspired recipes, there’s no end to the ways you might cel­e­brate the hol­i­days and make your per­son­al rela­tion­ship with them uplift­ing, inspir­ing, and deeply ful­fill­ing. Chag Sameach!