Long- time OZ member and Vermont Certified Nurse-Midwife Jade Kaplan will discuss her work in April 2023 as a volunteer midwife on the medical team of the humanitarian search and rescue ship Humanity 1. Through a series of slides, Kaplan will illustrate her experience onboard, including her training; the crisis facing migrants desperate to reach Europe; and the rescue of 69 refugees that occurred during her month onboard. She will also discuss some of the causes of this migrant crisis.…

Janie Cohen, past Director of UVM’s Fleming Museum, will speak about the work of a number of artists who experienced the Holocaust directly or indirectly and the varied relationships of their experience to their art. Cohen will discuss, among others, Henryk Ross, who clandestinely photographed life in the Lodz ghetto while serving as the Jewish Council’s official photographer, and Hannelore Baron, a New York artist who witnessed Kristallnacht as a child and then escaped from Germany with her family. View…

Since 2021, the City of Burlington has been working to implement a 10-point housing action plan. The plan includes major housing-related initiatives for institutions (such as UVM); for the South End; and for City-wide implementation. City of Burlington Planning Director Meagan Tuttle and/or other Planning Department staff, will update us on these housing initiatives, and will be available to hear your comments and answer your questions about housing-related issues that Burlington is facing.. View and Print our Lunch & Learn…

Zvi Jankelowitz, the Yiddish Book Center’s Director of Institutional Advancement, will share with us highlights of “Yiddish: A Global Culture,” the Center’s new permanent exhibition, and explain how the Center is at the forefront of technological advances, ensuring the accessibility of Yiddish books to Yiddish and non-Yiddish readers. Zvi will share clips from the Wexler Oral History Project, a growing collection of more than 1,200 video interviews about Yiddish language and culture -- and will also give us a glimpse…

Henrietta Szold was one of the most important Jewish leaders of the 20th century. Her long life, from 1860 to 1945, spanned some of the most turbulent years in modern history. The events of that time shaped the lives of millions of people and are woven into the fabric of Szold’s life story. Long-time OZ member Linda Kopper, who serves as President of Hadassah Vermont, will explore the “two lives” of Henrietta Szold, and discuss how her legacy lives on…

With deep ties to Burlington and Montpelier, Barre’s Jewish families nevertheless forged their own singular identity in a diverse environment of Yankees, Italians, French Canadians, Scots, Spanish, Syrians and other vibrant ethnic groups. Dr. (and Rabbi) Carol Harris-Shapiro (who is also a part-time resident of Barre) will share some of the unique stories of Barre’s Jewish residents and the life of their community, based on information she has gathered from interviews, books and articles, and genealogical research. View and Print…