November 16, 2023 Noon-1:30pm Speaker: Arthur Woolf, UVM Emeritus Associate Professor of Economics, and Former Vermont State Economist. Vermont’s 21st century demographic experience is, and will continue to be, very different from population changes the state experienced in the last half of the 20th century. Vermont is now one of the oldest states in the nation; it has one of the lowest birth rates in the country; and its labor force is lower today than it was fifteen years ago.…

Speaker: Jade Kaplan, Certified Nurse, Midwife & Volunteer on the Rescue Ship Humanity 1 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 in the Central Mediterranean. Kaplan will discuss 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. Register Here About OZ’s Lunch and Learns We…

Speaker: Janie Cohen, consultant, curator, artist, and former director of the Fleming Museum 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, Henry 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…

Speaker: Meagan Tuttle, Planning Director for the City of Burlington. 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. Burlington Planning Director Meagan Tuttle will update us on these housing initiatives, and answer your questions. Register Here About OZ’s Lunch and Learns We gather at Ohavi Zedek’s Social Hall as an in-person event from noon…

Speaker: Zvi Jankelowitz, Director of Institutional Advancement, Yiddish Book Center. In the early 1980’s Aaron Lansky established the Yiddish Book Center to rescue and preserve Yiddish literature. In today’s talk, Zvi Jankelowitz will share with us highlights of “Yiddish: A Global Culture,” the new permanent exhibition at the Center, and explain how the Center is at the forefront of technological advances, ensuring the accessibility of Yiddish books to Yiddish and non-Yiddish readers. Jankelowitz will also discuss the Center’s Wexler Oral…

Speaker: Linda Kopper is a long-time OZ member, and President of Hadassah Vermont (Hadassah being the Women’s Zionist Organization of America founded by Henrietta Szold). The Two Lives of Henrietta Szold 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…

Dr. Carol Harris Shapiro, Rabbi and Professor Emeritus at Temple University in Philadelphia. Dr. Harris-Shapiro’s academic focus has been on American religious communities. She proudly calls Barre, VT, home for half the year. Even before the year 1900 Jews made their home in the Granite City and established a synagogue that served the Jewish community for 33 years. With deep ties to Burlington and Montpelier, Barre’s Jewish families nevertheless forged their own singular identity in a diverse environment of Yankees,…