February 2024
Yiddish Stories with Lunch Return on Feb. 12
Join us for “Jewish Short Stories from Eastern Europe and Beyond” on Monday, Feb. 12, at 12:30 p.m. in the J.C.C. library. Bring a dairy bag lunch. Coffee and dessert will be available.
Written in English or translated from Yiddish, Hebrew or Russian, these stories come to life in recordings made by leading actors such as Rhea Perlman, Claire Bloom, Carol Kane and Elliott Gould. Each story reflects the wide range of secular, religious, political and cultural experiences of immigrant Jews of Eastern Europe.
Admission is $5. Reservations are due by Friday, Feb. 9. Please call 315-733-2343.
January 2024
Preparing for Our Future
The J.C.C. made a little bit of history this month, executing its most ambitious fundraiser in many years. For the 50th anniversary of the center, we decided to overhaul our typical fundraising efforts to try something completely new, and admittedly, a bit scary. Read more by clicking here.
March 2022
Reynolds Traces Cheese Factory in March 8 Talk
Patrick Reynolds, director of public programs at the Oneida County History Center, will offer a J.C.C. talk with slides on Tuesday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the library. His topic is “Jesse Williams and the Cheese Factory System.”
Just north of Rome, at the site of the current New York State Fish Hatchery, the modern cheese industry was born in 1851. Jesse Williams was a successful farmer and cheese maker, but he believed by working together as cooperative dairies, farmers could maximize their profits. This belief motivated him to start the first cheese factory in the United States, a move that revolutionized agriculture locally and across the nation.
Reynolds is a graduate of the Cooperstown Program with a master of arts in Museum Studies and a bachelor’s in arts in history from SUNY Oneonta. He has worked in museums throughout the U.S., including Hanford Mills Museum, Berks County Historical Society, Rome Historical Society and The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.
This program is sponsored by The Cultural Arts Committee. Admission is free for center members and $5 for nonmembers. Refreshments will be available.
January 2022
Book Rap Discusses McCann’s Novel on Jan. 17
Book Rap will meet on Monday, Jan. 17, at 1:30 p.m. in the J.C.C. auditorium. We will discuss Colum McCann’s novel “Apeirogon.”
Two men, a Palestinian and an Israeli, learn of each other’s stories, recognizing the loss that connects them. Over one day, their lives intertwine as they attempt to use their grief for peace. This novel won a National Jewish Book Award and was listed for a Booker Prize.
Readers are welcome to attend monthly book discussions. This novel is widely available in area libraries. Admission is free for center members and $5 per discussion for nonmembers.
December 2021
Houdini Surfaces in Dec. 14 Movie
Dinner and a movie night begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 14, with Italian fare: pizza, salad, fruit, dessert and beverages. After dinner, meet Houdini, escape artist extraordinaire.
In this 106-minute drama, “Houdini,” Tony Curtis—a talented amateur magician—plays Houdini, and Janet Leigh plays his wife. From his beginnings as a wildman carnival act to the internationally famous artist who escaped from a locked trunk in the icy Detroit River and from a locked cell in Scotland Yard, Harry Houdini emerged as the world’s most captivating magician and escape artist.
This program is sponsored by The Cultural Arts Committee. Admission is $10 for center members and $15 for nonmembers. Reservations are due by Dec. 10.
November 2021
Join Us for Our 2021 Federation Campaign Kick-off
On Sunday, Nov. 7, at 11 a.m., the Jewish Community Federation of the Mohawk Valley cordially invites you to join us in welcoming back Professor Thane Rosenbaum, who will explore current issues in Israel and the Middle East, as well as the relationship between the United States and its long time Middle East ally.
Rosenbaum is an essayist, novelist and law professor. His articles, reviews and essays appear frequently in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, The Daily Beast and other National Publications. He is a columnist for the Jewish Journal of Los Angeles. He serves as the legal analyst for CBS News Radio and can be seen regularly on various cable news shows.
Rosenbaum is the author of Saving Free Speech…From Itself, Payback: The Case for Revenge and The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What’s Right. He has also published five novels including The Golems of Gotham, Second Hand Smoke and Elijah Visible.
No reservations are needed for either of these events. If you are on our mailing list, you will receive a link via e-mail a few days before each program. Please consider a generous gift to our 2021 Federation Campaign.
Kinnel Presents Sea Benefits in Nov. 9 Talk
Robin Kinnel, a former Hamilton College professor, will speak at the J.C.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. His topic is “Medicines From the Sea.”
Kinnel earned an A.B. degree from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After a two-year postdoctorate at Stanford University, he began a 40-year career teaching at Hamilton College. Since 2010, he has been the Silas D. Childs Professor of Chemistry Emeritus.
His research includes the study of bioactive compounds from marine invertebrates, particularly sponges. Recently, he’s been studying solution structures of small peptides, active against estrogen-mediated breast cancer. Kinnel has published articles in various publications, including The Journal of Organic Chemistry, The Journal of Chemical Ecology and The Journal of the American Chemistry Society.
Admission to this talk is free for center members and $5 for nonmembers. Reservations are due by Nov. 8. This program is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Committee.
Book Rap Discusses Goldman’s Novel on Nov. 15
Book Rap will meet on Monday, Nov. 15, at 1:30 p.m. in the J.C.C. auditorium. We will discuss Francisco Goldman’s new novel “Monkey Boy.”
Goldman, author of “The Long Night of White Chickens,” presents an intimate, funny and passionate voice of a boy growing up “halfie” in a predominately white, working class Boston suburb. In this coming-of-age novel, he unearths the hidden cruelties the narrator experiences.
This novel is available in area libraries and online. Book Rap welcomes all readers to monthly discussions. Admission is free for center members and $5 per discussion for nonmembers.
Program on Nov. 16 Delivers Hot Dogs
Dinner and a movie night begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16, with a hot dog dinner: hot dogs, cole slaw, sauerkraut, knishes, fruit and dessert. After dinner, we continue the theme with the film “Famous Nathan.”
This 96-minute film is a Coney Island-inspired, layered, documentary portrait of the life and times of the original Nathan’s Famous, created in 1916 by filmmaker Lloyd Handwerker’s grandparents, Nathan and Ida Handwerker. Thirty years in the making, “Famous Nathan” interweaves archival footage, family photos, home movies, employee interviews and Nathan’s only interview.
This program is sponsored by the Cultural Arts Committee. Admission is $10 for center members and $15 for nonmembers. Reservations are due by Nov. 12.