Rocking the Jewish vote
In the 2008 election, Barack Obama won 78 percent of the Jewish vote. Now Republican candidate Mitt Romney is vying to capture a larger share of the Jewish demographic — he has traveled to Israel and has been an open critic of the president’s Middle East policies. How will Romney fare with Jews this election? And which candidate is a better choice from a Jewish perspective? Democratic political consultant Chris Lehane and Republican political consultant-turned-professor Dan Schnur will address these questions in a panel discussion moderated by Sam Lauter of AIPAC on Sept. 10.
6:45 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10 at Farella Braun and Martel, 235 Montgomery St., 17th floor, S.F. Networking at 6 p.m. $18-$72. www.jewishfed.org
sunday/2
“Eating McDonald’s in Tel Aviv.” S.F. State professor Eran Kaplan discusses the changing nature of Israeli culture and its political ramifications. At Congregation Kol Emeth, 4175 Manuela Ave., Palo Alto. 10:15 a.m. Free. www.kolemeth.org.
Book reading. Rabbi Menachem Creditor reads from his children’s book “Avodah: A Yom Kippur Story.” At Afikomen Judaica, 3042 Claremont Ave., Berkeley. 10:30 a.m. Free. www.afikomen.com or (510) 655-1977.
tuesday/4
“The Tree of Dark and the Tree of Light.” Workshop led by Rabbi Tsvi Bar-David on good and evil in the Zohar. At Chochmat HaLev, 2215 Prince St., Berkeley. 7 p.m. $18-$25. www.chochmat.org.
William Gibson. Science fiction writer and author of “Distrust That Particular Flavor” in conversation with U.C. Berkeley professor Ken Goldberg. At JCC of San Francisco, 3200 California St., S.F. 7 p.m. $15-$30. www.jccsf.org.
wednesday/5
John Rothmann. Author and radio talk-show host discusses the current situation in the Middle East and the upcoming presidential election. At Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 7:30 p.m. $13-$25. www.paloaltojcc.org.
Rabbis’ roundtable. Discussion of the binding of Isaac with Rabbis Dennis Eisner of Peninsula Temple Beth El in San Mateo, Nat Ezray of Congregation Beth Jacob in Redwood City, Daniel Feder of Peninsula Temple Sholom in Burlingame and Corey Helfand of Peninsula Sinai Congregation in Foster City. At Peninsula JCC, 800 Foster City Blvd., Foster City. 7 p.m. $7-$10. www.pjcc.org.
thursday/6
Book presentation and signing. For “Napa Valley’s Jewish Heritage.” At St. Helena Public Library, 1492 Library Lane, St. Helena. 6:30 p.m. Also Sept. 9 at Quent Cordair Fine Art Gallery, 1301 First St., Napa. 2 p.m. RSVP to (707) 251-9092 or [email protected].
sunday/9
Discussion of human trafficking ballot initiative. Jewish War Veterans Post 60 sponsors discussion on California Proposition 35. At Moldaw Family Residences, Oshman Family JCC, 3921 Fabian Way, Palo Alto. 11 a.m. Free. (650) 223-7187.
“The Israel/America Political Relationship.” Talk by Michael Citron, assistant area director of AIPAC. At Rossmoor, 3400 Golden Rain Road,Walnut Creek. 4 p.m. Free. (925) 938-4738.
thursday/13
“Jewish Identity in the Space Between.” Writer-in-residence at Contemporary Jewish Museum and j. columnist Dan Schifrin uses audio/visual presentation to discuss how Jewish artists are defined by both Jewish tradition and mainstream culture. At JCC East Bay, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley. 7:30 p.m. $6-$8. www.jcceastbay.org.