Book Club: Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic
On Sunday, December 14 at 10am, our Book Club meets again to discuss Jews in the Los Angeles Mosaic, edited by Karen Wilson.
This collection of six essays on the history of Jews in Los Angeles is edited by our own BCC member Karen Wilson, based on the exhibit she curated at the Gene Autry Center in Griffith Park last year. Listen to Karen Wilson’s interview with KPCC.
This book looks at the mutual influence of people and place as well as examines Jewish engagement with frontier society, yidishe kultur and union activism, ethnic identity and Hollywood movies, Jewish women and local politics, and Jews making music in Los Angeles. The book is illustrated with a wealth of images that illustrate how Jews, operating both at the center and the margins of power, have contributed to the place and myth called Los Angeles.
Because the book discussions take place in members’ homes, space is limited. There will be special Hanukkah brunch offerings for December’s Books and Bagels group. To reserve your space, please email Ginger atginger18@gmail.com
Influenced by popular notions that the West is a place of vanishing Jews and disappearing Judaism, most people draw a blank at the words “Los Angeles Jew.” Yet, the region is home to the second largest number of Jews in North America, and boasts the fourth largest Jewish population in the world, behind only Tel Aviv, New York City, and Jerusalem. Wilson’s book, and its companion exhibition at the Autry National Center, reveals how Los Angeles has shaped Jewish identities and how Jewish Angelenos have shaped the metropolis.
Six incisive essays look at the mutual influence of people and place as they examine Jewish engagement with frontier society, yidishe kultur and union activism, ethnic identity and Hollywood movies, Jewish women and local politics, and Jews making music in Los Angeles. The book is illustrated with a wealth of images that illustrate how Jews, operating both at the center and the margins of power, have contributed to the place and myth called Los Angeles.
