• HAGAY HACOHEN
SATURDAY JUNE 19: This is the last day of the Hebrew Book Week (Shvua Hasefer). Could it be you have not picked up even a single new volume to enjoy? If so, why not visit Adraba Books, one of the few stores in the capital where one can find English translations of works by the late Egyptian feminist thinker Nawel El Saadawi. It is also that rare bookstore that offers the groundbreaking 2020 biography on a man who was a German Jew, a convert to Islam, and an early advocate for LGBTQ rights – Hugo Marcus.
The perplexed might do well to seek out another unusual book, this one an autobiography called The Road to Mecca by Muhammad Asad, formerly Leopold Weiss. Asad was another German-speaking Jewish intellectual who found a powerful message in Islam and eventually served Pakistan as a diplomat. Should you seek a good present for a Chicago relative, why not buy a copy of Meiselman: The Lean Years by Jewish-American writer Avner Landes? This excellent store carries books in Hebrew as well in English on a wide variety of topics. Why not inquire about last-minute bargains and sales?
ADRABA BOOKS is at 5 Ben Mimon St. (02) 567-1266, adraba@adrababooks.co.il.
TUESDAY JUNE 22: When Saeed and Farida Golbahar arrived in this country from Iran, they were under the impression they would build the land by living and working in a kibbutz. While this particular dream did not eventually come to pass, the couple opened one of the most influential art galleries in 1970s and 1980s Jerusalem. Gimel Gallery, as it was called, showed works by artists who later became very well known. Among them naive painter Gabriel Cohen, David Reeb and Pinchas Cohen Gan. Today at 5 p.m. a gallery discussion will take place at the Jerusalem Artists House as part of a larger exhibition honoring the significance of Gimel Gallery in Israeli painting. Come meet curator Irena Gordon and dive into the rich body of works presented by what had been, in its day and age, a powerful art space for this nation.
Jerusalem Artists House, 12 Shmuel Hanagid St. (02) 625-3653. Opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free. The exhibition honoring Gimel gallery will be shown until Saturday July 31.
WEDNESDAY JUNE 23: The late Japanese actor Yorozuya Kinnosuke took on not one, but seven different roles to portray seven generations of a single Japanese family in the 1963 film Bushido, Samurai Saga by Tadashi Imai. A renovated reel of this powerful film will be screened today at 9 p.m. as part of the ReFilm Festival, which offers members of the public a unique chance to see restored reels on the silver screen. The films shown include the 1920 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Tuesday at 6 p.m.) the 1943 romantic drama The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Tuesday at 8 p.m.) as well as the 1989 film Do the Right Thing (Tuesday 8:30 p.m.).
Four tickets for the NIS 100. The Jerusalem Cinematheque is at 11 Hebron Rd., (02) 565-4333. The full list can be seen here: jer-cin.org.il/en/lobby/refilm-restored-revisited-rediscovered-rejoice
Thursday June 24: Leviot’s (Lionesses) Yael Levi will bring her innovative exploration of the qanun to the Art Garden at Israel Museum Jerusalem for a special concert that fuses together Turkish and Balkan traditional music with jazz. The short (20 minutes) performance will be held at 8:20 p.m. as part of the larger program at the Jerusalem Jazz Festival. Why not buy a day pass to enjoy some of the other concerts on offer today? They include the groove vibe of Rosa and the Salmons (7:40 p.m.) and Tarrabass (8:10 p.m.), a new musical project led by bass player Hagai Bilitzky and some of the finest classical Arabic music performers Jerusalem has to offer.
Rosa and the Salmons, Leviot and Tarrabass at the Jerusalem Jazz Festival. A full day pass is NIS 200 (senior citizens NIS 175 and students and IDF soldiers NIS 150). The festival takes place from Tuesday to Thursday. See the complete program here: www.jerusalemjazzfestival.org.il/en/
Throwing a good party? Opening an art exhibition or a new bar? Bringing in a guest speaker to introduce a fascinating topic? Why not drop me a line at hagay_hacohen@yahoo.com and let ‘In Jerusalem’ know about it? Send emails with “Jerusalem Highlights” in the subject line. While all information is welcome, receiving such notifications is not a guarantee they will be featured in the column.