The Irish and the Jews

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From the Middle Ages and the Annals of Innisfallen to Leopold Bloom, there has been a constant Jewish presence in a millennium of Irish writing. Join us for a fascinating look at this history in a landmark exhibit that has enjoyed a highly successful tour of Ireland this year. “Representation of Jews in Irish Literature” created by Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, VP of Galway University, uncovers a wealth of facts – some disconcerting, some fun. For instance, did you know that, influenced by a 13th century illustration of the “Wandering Jew,” Irish Gothic writer Charles Maturin’s Melmoth the Wanderer was said to be the template for Irish author Bram Stoker’s Dracula?

Ruth Gilligan’s acclaimed novel Nine Folds to a Paper Swan spans three generations of Irish Jewish families in the 1900s. Hear how the writer came across and fictionalized stories of the little-known Jewish community in Ireland.
Poet Simon Lewis, reads from his Hennessy Award-winning poetry collection Jewtown and talks about the Jewish Quarter of the same name in Cork City. Settlers here moved up the ranks, rapidly producing an educated community including a city mayor.

Valerie Lapin, shows short clips of her film Shalom Ireland, which profiles prominent Irish Jews including Robert Briscoe, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of Dublin; Irish-born Rabbi Isaac Herzog, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel. Shalom Ireland tells the untold story of how Irish Jews participated in the creation of both Ireland and Israel.

Panel discussion moderated by Mashey Bernstein. Mashey was raised in an orthodox Jewish family in Dublin, Ireland, and has lived in Santa Barbara, California, for several years. He recently retired from the Writing Program and Film and Media Studies Dept at UCSB.