The Albanian Code (2019)
Documentary by Yael Katzir
Albania. Languages: Albanian, Hebrew, English (English subtitles)
The Albanian Code is a documentary feature about the littleknown saga of the thousands of Jewish refugees saved in
Albania during WWII, due to the courage and humanity of
the Albanian people--mostly Muslims. Most of the rescuers
are no longer living; therefore it is urgent to document for
posterity both saviors and saved and to leave a legacy for
future generations. Premiered in Albania in the presence of
the President. Screened in Paris at the Memorial de la Shoah
and in Manhattan at the JCC.
Winner Kosice International Film Festival 2020

Live virtual discussion and Q&A with film narrator Chef Michael Solomonov on Sunday, March 14th 2-3:00pm EST

Documentary
Director: Roger Sherman
Israel. Language: English (English subtitles). In Search of Israeli Cuisine is a portrait of the Israeli people told through food. It puts a literal face on the culture of Israel. The film profiles chefs, home cooks, vintners, and cheese-makers drawn from the more than 100 cultures that make up Israel today- Jewish, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Druze. A rich and human story of the people emerges from their food.
Winner Audience Award from the Cherry Hill and Palm Beach Jewish Film Festivals in 2016

 

Taste of Israel with a virtual cooking demo of a Moroccan Israeli dish with the engaging gourmet Chef Hunny Khordokovsky.

Chef Hunny Khodorkovsky was born in Israel to parents of Moroccan descent. She grew up in Montreal, lived in Los Angeles and Puerto Rico after getting married, and moved to Detroit in 2012, with her husband and 4 children. Hunny has always been passionate about cooking, learning the basics from her mother. Hunny is a graduate of the culinary program at the Art Institute of Michigan, and worked as executive chef at Friendship Circle's Soul Cafe for 3 years. Currently, together with her business partner Stephanie Friedman, she started HUNNY, a professional chef service, offering cooking classes, demonstrations, events and vacation chef services abroad. Hunny and Stephanie value fresh, seasonal ingredients and innovative, healthy cuisine, especially when cooking for their families. Together, they love connecting with others by creating unique and personal culinary experiences.

 

Linking All Types of Teachers in International Cross Cultural Education.

The Department of Religious Studies and the Religion Exploration Club has invited Dr. Jon Keune to talk about the act of eating together, especially for Hindus of high and low caste, which was quite controversial for much of Indian history. Stories about food are rich places to observe clashing value systems that have motivated people to meet or avoid each other. This talk examines several stories and events in western India over the past five centuries in which food was instrumental for working out competing ideas of the social good: traditional caste hierarchy that aimed to preserve ritual purity norms, versus Hindu devotional (bhakti) assertions that God cares only for a person's love, and not their caste or gender.

Sponsored by the Asian Studies Center, the Department of Religious Studies, and the Religions Exploration Club.

Panelists include (among others): Shiren Al-Adeimi (MSU) and Abdullah Alrebh (GVSU)

**CANCELED** 

Lecture by Professor Kojiro Hirose Associate Professor, Department of Globalization and Humanity

Kojiro Hirose is an associate professor at the National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, Japan. He is concurrently appointed an associate Professor at School of Cultural and Social Studies, the Graduate University for Advanced Studies. He received his Ph.D (Japanese religious history) from Kyoto University in 2000.

Goze were blind female musicians who traveled around Japan with shamisen (stringed instrument). After World War II, with the expansion of welfare services for the disabled and the enhancement of education in schools for the blind, the culture of Gozes came to be considered pre-modern relics with no successors to continue the tradition. With the passing of Haru Kobayashi (1900-2005), known as the "last Goze," this culture of visually-impaired people disappeared. However, is it okay that the Goze culture will be forgotten completely? Hirose will approach the relevance and the possibility of Goze culture from three different angles: touching the sound, touching the color, and touching the heart. Taking a hint from Goze folk songs, clarifying the role that the tactile culture of the visually impaired should play in today's society.

**CANCELLED** 

Summary: Discrimination against Muslim Americans has soared over the last two decades with hostility growing especially acute since 2016 - in no small part due to targeted attacks by policymakers and media. Outsiders at Home offers the first systematic, empirically driven examination of status of Muslim Americans in US democracy, evaluating the topic from a variety of perspectives. To what extent do Muslim Americans face discrimination by legislators, the media, and the general public? What trends do we see over time, and how have conditions shifted? What, if anything, can be done to reverse course? Answering each of these questions, Nazita Lajevardi shows that the rampant, mostly negative discussion of Muslims in media and national discourse has yielded devastating political and social consequences.