JCC Presents Lecture Series – Spring 2024

Join us for an illuminating lecture series at the J.

The J Presents lecture series will introduce members to fresh perspectives on media, entertainment and more with outstanding speakers. Each J Presents Session includes an hour-long lecture from one of our esteemed guest speakers, and opportunity for a question-and-answer period with the lecturer, and the chance to socialize and meet new friends.

*Light refreshments will be served

• Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm – Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo: Love and Revolution by Osnat Lippa
• Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 pm – Anne Frank to October 7: How Did We Get Here? What Can We Do? By Lesley Shore
• Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 pm – Broadway Babies, Leading Ladies and Delectable Divas by Allan Price
• Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm – Opera Drinking Songs by Howard Mednick
• Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 pm – Nothing Could Stop Her, the remarkable life story of Ruth Gruber by Rona Arato
• Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 pm – Democracy in Peril by Amnon Zohar

Thursday, May 9 at 7:30 pm – Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo: Love and Revolution by Osnat Lippa

The relationship between the two most important Mexican artists of their generation has been documented in books, films, and plays. However, what distinguishes them is their unique, sometimes radical art, a testament to their creative force and passion. Theirs was not your typical love story… They had messy fights, multiple extra-marital affairs and even divorced in 1939 only to remarry a year later. The duo painted each other for 25 years. What triumphs is their incredible legacy of art and life.

About Osnat Lippa
Osnat was born in Israel but lived most of her adult life outside of Israel in England and North America.
She graduated from London Guildhall University (now London Metropolitan University) in London England with a diploma in Art and Design and continued her studies later on to acquire a Postgraduate diploma in Digital Imaging and Animation in the same institution.
Since moving to Toronto nineteen years ago, she has been teaching art history courses around various educational facilities in Toronto.
As a practicing artist, Osnat participated three times in Toronto’s Nuit Blanche in Spadina House.
Her paintings were exhibited in the Summer Exhibition in the Royal Academy in London in 2021 and 2023, one of the most prestigious open call exhibitions in the world.

Thursday, May 16 at 7:30 pm – Anne Frank to October 7: How Did We Get Here? What Can We Do? By Lesley Shore

Post 9/11 Lesley Shore taught courses on Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Education (OISE/UT) and guided 1300 students through a month-long exhibit she hosted there. At her investigation OISE honoured Holocaust Remembrance Day for the first time in its quietly antisemitic history. The first Israeli Apartheid Week was held at the University of Toronto in spring, 2005. From there it spread to other Canadian universities and then into the US and UK. Telling her personal story, Shore will connect the dots between what she witnessed then and what has happened since October 7 in academic and cultural communities around the world.

About Dr. Lesley Shore
Dr. Lesley Shore was gold medalist in Education at the University of Manitoba, earning both gold medals: one for highest academic standing and the other for best student teaching. She has taught from Kindergarten to grade 12 in public and private schools in Ontario. Earning her doctorate at OISE/UT at 52, Lesley was hired back to teach history, sociology, philosophy, and psychology of education. At 55, as a tenure-track assistant professor of intermediate/secondary English, Lesley designed and taught courses on Anne Frank’s diary that were the pinnacle of her career. She was honoured to chair the Canadian Advisory Board of Facing History & Ourselves for 7 years and is a member of their international Leadership Council. Shore chronicled her journey in Anne Frank Inspires: Passion and Purpose in Teacher Education. She is the devoted single mother of three and Baba to five grandsons and one granddaughter.

Thursday, May 23 at 7:30 pm – Broadway Babies, Leading Ladies and Delectable Divas by Allan Price

Throughout the history of the Broadway musical, hundreds of wonderful female stars have sparkled and gained fame and adoration for their brilliant performances. In this lecture, we’ll cover the early period of Broadway during which such great performers as Fanny Brice, Sophie Tucker, Mae West, Helen Morgan, Ethel Waters and many others moved from vaudeville to Broadway and beyond to radio and Hollywood. This is a fully illustrated lecture featuring audio and video clips of the great songs introduced by these fabulous stars.

About Allan Price
Allan has been an actor for over 50 years, with performances in theatres across Canada as well as credits on film and television. Appearances at the Leah Posluns Theatre included “Funny Girl”, “Gypsy”, “Mame” and “Fiddler on The Roof”. Other Toronto performances include “Cabaret”, “The Odd Couple”, “Jewtopia”, “Old Jews Telling Jokes” and “Death of a Salesman”. Film and TV credits include “Murdoch Mysteries”, “Suits”, “The Boys” and “Ginny and Georgia”.
Allan has been lecturing on Broadway history for “The Life Institute” and other organizations on topics such as “Al Jolson, The World’s Greatest Entertainer”, “Gershwin and Bernstein”, “Oscar Hammerstein II: Plenty of Heart and Plenty of Hope”, and “Cole Porter: Anything Goes”.

Thursday, May 30 at 7:30 pm – Opera Drinking Songs by Howard Mednick

The subject matter of many operas is often a tale of doom and gloom, of murder and revenge, and the heroine often dies of tuberculosis in the end. But many serious and comic operas include riotous, rollicking drinking scenes in a tavern or at a party, where the characters partake in a good beverage and have a good time, along with some great music. We will examine several of these. You will come away with an appreciation for great classical music! Salut! L’Chaim! Cheers!

About Howard Mednick
Howard Mednick is known as a “Classical Music DJ”. He is a retired computer systems consultant, who has been an avid listener of classical and orchestral music for many years. More recently, he has researched and studied many aspects of classical music and has prepared lectures that are informative, entertaining, and fun. He has presented at Baycrest, the LIFE Institute, The Bernard Betel Centre, Lifelong Learning Mississauga, public libraries, social groups, synagogues, and churches in the GTA, and at similar venues in Israel. Howard takes a creative approach to his programs, often with off-the-wall topics, covering everything from Mozart to Mahler. The programs are informative, entertaining, and fun.

Thursday, June 6 at 7:30 pm – Nothing Could Stop Her, the remarkable life story of Ruth Gruber by Rona Arato

In Nothing Could Stop Her, Rona Arato tells the remarkable life story of trailblazing Jewish American journalist Ruth Gruber.
Born in Brooklyn in 1911 to a Jewish family from Russia, Gruber was unstoppable from the start. Intelligent and quick to learn, she graduated high school at fifteen and hitchhiked to Wisconsin to pursue a university degree in German. In Wisconsin, she experienced antisemitism for the first, but not the last, time.
Confronting antisemitism, breaking down barriers, and telling the stories of the Jewish people during the turbulence of the twentieth century became Ruth Gruber’s life calling. After pursuing a doctorate at a German university on the cusp of the Nazis’ coming into power, Gruber participated in bringing one thousand Holocaust survivors to the United States from Italy, helping them get acclimated to their new home at the only refugee camp on American soil during World War II, Fort Ontario at Oswego in upstate New York. From there, Ruth went on to break the story of the refugee ship Exodus to the world. She covered Israel’s war of independence as a journalist and participated in the rescue operation Magic Carpet that brought the Jews of Yemen to Israel. She traveled to Ethiopia and wrote books about the Ethiopian Jews. Active to the end, Gruber lived to the age of 105.
Nothing Could Stop Her is an inspirational biography, revealing the remarkable life of unstoppable Ruth Gruber.

About Rona Arato
Rona Arato is an award-winning author of over 20 children’s books. Many of her books deal with human rights. The Last Train, a Holocaust Story won numerous awards including the Norma Fleck Award as the best Canadian children’s non-fiction book of 2014. She interviewed Holocaust survivors for Steven Spielberg’s Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation. Rona lives in Toronto. Her l book Anti-Semitism and the MS St. Louis deals with Canada’s apology for turning away desperate Jewish refugees in July 1939, thereby condemning them to the Holocaust. Her newest book, Nothing Could Stop Her, the Courageous Life of Ruth Gruber, is a Junior Library Guild Award recipient for 2023.

Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 pm – Democracy in Peril by Amnon Zohar

This lecture explores the challenges and threats faced by democracies in the contemporary world. We will examine the historical, political, social, and economic factors that contribute to the erosion of democratic institutions. All these ingredients can breed autocratic, nationalist, and nativist regimes in countries that heretofore were thriving democracies. Think of India, Israel, Italy, Mexico let alone well entrenched illiberal democracies such as Hungary. We will delve into the various forms of democratic peril and discuss potential strategies to safeguard and strengthen democratic values. Could Canada be next?

About Amnon Zohar

Amnon Zohar is an author, speaker and lecturer on Global Affairs with an emphasis on the Middle East. Amnon is a retired hi-tech entrepreneur. Born and educated in Israel, he is a graduate of the Israeli Military Academy for Computer Sciences. Amnon studied Political Science at York University and International Relations at Tel-Aviv University. He is a champion of Lifelong Learning and has been lecturing in continuing studies institutions and community centres across the GTA.

Questions? Please contact Andrea at andrea@srcentre.ca

*Please note that the rate displayed below is the regular rate; however, once you log into your member account, you will see the special membership price. If applicable.