Upcoming events
Qesher is an independent initiative introducing different Jewish communities from around the world. Your contributions to the talks allow us to continue with our mission. You can choose from three different admission fees according to your ability. We also donate 10% of the profits of every talk to different projects and institutions.
Learn more about us here. You can also read more about the projects supported thanks to your contribution here.
Sunday, July 28
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Jewish Krakow Part 2: TheKrakow Ghetto and the Revival of Jewish Life
Olga Bokhonovskaya - By the end of the 1930s,
the Jewish community of Krakow constituted about 25% of the city's
population. The streets of the former Krakow
ghetto bear witness to the desperate struggle for survival and the
destruction of this city's Jewish community under Nazi occupation. Join
us on this virtual tour to learn about the most devastating period of
Krakow's Jewish history. You'll
see the places depicted in "Schindler's List", and you will also learn about the revival of Jewish
life after the war and the fall of Communism. Read more and sign up
Thursday, August 1
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Jewish Finland: Home of Kosher Reindeer and Kabbalat Shabbat at Midnight
Mercédesz Czimbalmos and Dóra Pataricza -The Jewish minority of Finland, numbering approximately 1200 people, is organized into two centers in Helsinki and Turku, which makes it one of the northernmost Jewish communities in the world. Finland is one of the few countries with an Eastern European (Litvak) Jewish community that was unaffected by the Holocaust. Its double nature as an Orthodox-rooted yet progressive Jewish congregation also makes it unique in the world. Read more and sign up
Sunday, August 4
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Jews of Burma: The Tribe That Vanished
Misha Gulko - This is the story of the Burmese Jewish community - a community that once flourished but quickly ceased to exist. In its short history, the Burmese Jewish community went through the archetypical Jewish narrative, with inner rifts and mortal danger from the outside. Its members either immigrated or assimilated, but is there still hope for the revival of Jewish life in this distant South-East Asian country? Being a photojournalist, I took on the opportunity to photograph the remains of the Jewish presence in Burma today and the quickly vanishing traces of the Jewish presence in Burma's past. Read more and sign up
FREE EVENT
Tuesday, August 6
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 60 minutes
Qesher Book Club: "Shalom Uganda - A Jewish Community in the Equator"
Janice Masur grew up in a tiny, remote European Jewish community in Kampala, Uganda, under British Imperial rule, with no rabbi or Jewish infrastructure. And yet, this community of only twenty-three families formed a cohesive group that celebrated all Jewish festivals together and upheld their Jewish identity. Sadly, while Kampala Jewry made every effort to survive, it eventually failed and withered under the hot African sun. In "Shalom Uganda: A Jewish Community on the Equator", Masur tells her story of living in this little-known Ashkenazi Jewish community from 1949 to 1961. Because so many Jewish communities were obliterated in the last century, she documents, remembers, and preserves Kampala European Jewry with all the respect that it deserves. This book is the only piece of scholarship on this particular Jewish topic. Read more and sign up for free
Thursday, August 8
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Czeching In: The Rich History and Vibrant Present of Prague's Jewish Community
Emma
Günsberger - Join us on a captivating journey through time as
we uncover the remarkable history of Jews in Czechia and delve deep into the
heart of Prague to discover its vibrant Jewish heritage. Explore Prague's
Jewish Quarter and learn about its history and contemporary life on a virtual
guided tour. Learn about the current
community, their cultural events, community initiatives, and the challenges
they are facing today, which shape the lives of today's Czech Jews. Read more and sign up
Sunday, August 11
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
The Jews of Cuba: Journeys, Stories, Poems
Ruth Behar - My talk will offer a broad perspective on the Jews of Cuba drawing on historical scholarship, ethnography, and literary and artistic visions. We will start with a close look at the formation of the first Jewish communities in the early 20th century and examine the rise and fall of these communities after the Cuban Revolution. The revitalization of Jewish life since the 1990s will lead us to the present day and to how Jews continue to assert their presence on the island in challenging times. We will also spend time exploring the nostalgia felt by Jewish Cubans who left the island but could never forget their beloved Cuba. Read more and sign up
Thursday, August 15
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Desert Roots: Jewish Middle Eastern Music (Concert and Presentation)
Dror Sinai - Dror will take us on a beautiful journey around Yemen, Spain and North Africa from the 10th century until today, through songs of spirit and awe, songs of thanks and songs of love and hope. We will unveil how these chants inspired and connected Jews from different times and places, but with the same longings and spiritual quests. Dror will accompany his singing with a variety of percussion instruments including a Doumbek (an hourglass Middle Eastern drum also known as Tabla or Darbuka) Tar, Duff & Bendir (Mideastern & North African Frame drums) a Riq (Mideastern tambourine), Cajon (box drum) bells, shakers and rattles. Read more and sign up
Sunday, August 18
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Jewish Siberia: Russia's Promised Land
Evgenia Kempinski - Siberia is a giant region of Russia usually associated with frost, snow, prisons and forests. But is it really like that? In this talk, we'll learn about Jewish life on this vast territory during the last 400 years. We'll explore when and how Jews got to Siberia, where they settled, and what they did there. I will also take you to Birobidjan – a Jewish Autonomous region located next to the border with China. Today it is still a unique place where a visitor may find the street signs in Yiddish. Temperatures in Siberia change from extreme cold to extreme hot, and so does the Jewish life there. Read more and sign up
FREE EVENT
Tuesday, August 20
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Qesher Book Club: "The Loving Life: Memoirs of an Iranian-Jewish Woman"
Ilana Ebrahimi Kahen, author of "The Loving Life", presents an insightful exploration of the impact of the 1979 Islamic Revolution on Iran's Jewish minority, detailing how this upheaval challenged their community and altered their lives. Ilana also recounts her journey from Iran to London, focusing on the cultural adaptation process and the preservation of identity within the diaspora. The presentation concludes with valuable lessons learned from Holocaust survivors, emphasizing the importance of inter-generational communication in preserving historical memory. Read more and sign up for free
Thursday, September 5
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
From Mount Ararat to Mount Sinai: The Jews of Armenia
Lasha Shakulashvili - The first contacts between Jews and Armenians date back to antiquity, and there is evidence of Jewish settlements in the Armenian Highlands dating as early as the 1st century BC. Currently, the Jewish community of Armenia is estimated at around 500 – 2000 people, mostly descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who fled Eastern Europe and relocated here, finding a safe haven before and during World War II. This is the story of a community that strives to celebrate Judaism beyond the fact of simply having Jewish roots. Read more and sign up
Sunday, September 8
USA 12:00 pm PT / 3:00 pm ET
UK 8:00 pm / France 09:00 pm / Israel 10:00 pm
The talk will last approximately 90 minutes
Stories from Jewish Barbados, the Pearl of the Caribbean
Neal Rechtman - Join us for a fascinating tour of Jewish Barbados. We will visit the restored Nidhe Israel synagogue (1654), its adjacent cemeteries, and the recently discovered Mikveh. Learn how a group of Sephardic Jews, fleeing the Portuguese Inquisition in Brazil, made their way to Barbados and secured the protection of Oliver Cromwell, the English Protestant leader. This early Sephardic community later grew with new arrivals from England and was key in developing the British sugar industry. After its decline and the mass emigration of Jews from the island, a subsequent wave of Ashkenazi refugees formed the core of today's tiny 50-person community, giving Neal the distinction of being 2% of the entire Jewish population of Barbados. Read more and sign up