16 January 2008

San Francisco: Jewish American history, Jan. 27

Jewish history and American history meet in San Francisco, when a Bay Area author and historian presents "A Whirlwind Tour of Jewish American History," on Sunday, January 27, at Congregation Beth Israel-Judea. The program runs from 10am-noon.

Ken Blady will present little known facts about Jewish immigration to America, and traces the Jewish immigrant experience from 1492 to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, the Gold Rush and the major immigration waves of the early 20th century.

Blady's own immigration story begins in Paris with his Yiddish-speaking Hassidic family which settled in Brooklyn, NY, where he grew up. Although he attended yeshiva and a rabbinical seminary, he became a writer, educator and Yiddish translator. His books include "The Jewish Boxers' Hall of Fame," "Jewish Communities in Exotic Places," and translation of "The Journeys of David Toback."

The event is co-presented by the Judah L. Magnes Museum - Western Jewish History Center of Berkeley and the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society. Members of these groups will be available for Q&A during the after-program reception.

For directions and more information, click here.

Read more here.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Schelly I just found your blog. It's wonderful. I am a journalist/historian who has just written a book about the history of the Jewish contribution to the settlement of California. It's a biography of Isaias W. Hellman, the state's most prominent financier who owned a slew of banks in the 19th and 20th century, including Wells Fargo. The book, Towers of Gold: Isaias Hellman and the Creation of California, will be out in Oct. 2008.

    Anyway, I had to do a lot of genealogical research for the book and loved finding connections among Jews around the world.

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  2. Anonymous11:48 AM

    Dear Schelly,

    I am delighted that you posted this blog announcing the talk by Ken Blady which Congregation Beth Israel-Judea, the Magnes Museum and SFBAJGS are hosting this coming Sunday, Jan. 27th from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. I hope many Bay Area Jewish history and genealogy enthusiasts will attend, making the Q & A session and reception that much richer.

    Please note that the 9:30 a.m. start time given in last Friday's Jan. J Weekly article is wrong. The event will begin promptly at 10:00.

    Sonya Hicks, Chair of Adult Education, Congregation Beth Israel-Judea, 625 Brotherhood Way, (off Hwy. 280, near Lake Merced) San Francisco, 94132-2992. www.bij.org

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