“What the festival committee loved about this year’s lineup was the way in which so many of the books make us re-examine our own Jewish identity,” said Riva Gambert, book festival director. “There’s more to being Jewish than ‘Seinfeld’ and bagels, and we purposely chose authors who explored the less charted paths.”
The slate of authors includes Jane Leavy, whose biography “Sandy Koufax, A Lefty’s Legacy,” tells the story of a baseball player who chose Yom Kippur services over pitching the opening game of the 1965 World Series. Mitchell Bard, author of “From Tragedy to Triumph: The Politics Behind the Rescue of Ethiopian Jews,” will reveal little-known secrets behind the 1984 and 1991 rescue operations that brought more than 50,000 Africans to freedom in Israel.
The festival opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2 with Rabbi David Dalin, author of “Jews in American Politics: Retrospectives and Prospects.” He will share his firsthand knowledge of Washington, D.C., politics, tracing the relationship between Israel and America from the presidency of Truman to that of George W. Bush. Dalin, a visiting faculty member in the department of politics at Princeton University, also will explore the behind-the-scenes story of Sen. Joe Lieberman’s candidacy for vice president. Cost is $8.
Leavy will discuss her biography of Koufax at 10 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3. An award-winning former sportswriter for the Washington Post, she interviewed more than 400 people, including Koufax himself. She reveals, for the first time, what drove him to the pinnacle of his sport and then just as quickly into self-imposed exile. The cost is $12, including brunch.
The same day, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., children of all ages are invited to a series of special programs. The KIDZcorner will feature storytellers and puppeteers who enact famous Jewish tales from around the world, complimentary arts and crafts activities, and klezmer. On the program are storytellers Diana Shmiana and Nina Auslander, puppeteer Olga Serova, “Birthday Zoo” with author D. Lee Rose and Serova, and The Klez Tones of Temple Isaiah. Children’s lunches will be available for purchase.
The following day, from 10 a.m. to noon, Victoria Zackheim, author of “The Bone Weaver,” will offer writers’ workshop participants hands-on guidance on turning their family lore into a novel. The workshop is limited to 25 people. The cost is $10.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, Foer will speak about “Everything is Illuminated.” The cost is $8.
Turning to the Mideast situation, Sabi Shabtai, an internationally recognized authority on terrorism, will speak on “Israel and the New War Against Terrorism” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6. The author of “Five Minutes to Midnight,” Shabtai served in the intelligence branch of the Israel Defense Force and was a member of the Israeli Foreign Service. Cost is $8.
Donny Inbar, a California Culinary Academy graduate, will share “Reading the Bible Through Culinary Eyes” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7. Inbar, a translator and dramatist, and the Consulate General of Israel’s cultural attaché, will show how food has played an important and sometimes even pivotal role in the Bible — from the forbidden fruit in the story of the Garden of Eden to the sensual metaphors in the Song of Songs. Cost is $8.
The film version of Primo Levi’s autobiographical novel, “The Reawakening,” will be shown at a free screening at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8. Rabbi Raphael Asher will lead a discussion about Levi and his writing after the showing.
Bard, a foreign policy analyst and the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Middle East Conflict” and “Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict,” will speak about the Ethiopian rescue operation at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9. Cost is $8.
Elizabeth Rosner, author of “The Speed of Light” and a prize-winning poet, will speak about her novel of remembrance at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10. The annual Bilha Sperling Holocaust Education Award will be presented during this program. Cost is $3.
The final event is a luncheon at 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 11, with photojournalist Wolin. Cost is $18.