Adults > Adult Programs > Arts and Literature

with Paulette Cochet
Experience the fascinating art of painting with watercolor and water-soluble colored pencils. Engage your senses and create personal works while enjoying the freedom of switching from drawing to painting in an instant! Discover the joy of filling your drawings with brush strokes, brilliant washes, and beautiful watercolor effects.

with Paulette Cochet
Discover the amazing versatility and ease of painting with acrylics. Explore a wide range of techniques from thick, luscious brush strokes to fluid and transparent washes. Personal and individual expression is encouraged, with emphasis on composition and color use. All levels welcome.

with Michal Niv
Learn, improve or reacquaint yourself with basic techniques and explore the possibilities in form, surface decoration, and glazing.

Class size is limited. Beginning and intermediate students are welcome.
Additional item: basic materials and firing additional $35

with Shaina Bilow, Certified Knitting Teacher, CYCA
Bring your current projects to this group class for help with tricky techniques and dropped stitches, adjustments to patterns, and social knitting with other talented knitters. Crocheters welcome, too!

with Ruth Padawer, Adjunct Professor, Columbia School of Journalism
This workshop offers you an opportunity to preserve your memories and reflect on your past. Along the way, you’ll gain confidence in your literary voice and learn valuable writing skills. Limited space.

Join the Israeli choir.
Sing along with the conductor and musical director Zvi Klein. Participants must know how to read and sing in Hebrew. Reading musical notes NOT required.

IAC Cinematec was founded by Dr. Etti Inbal to introduce the US public to Israeli films, film makers, and daily life in Israel in an effort to create an Israeli-American community of film fans, who can share in the experience and enjoy dialogues about the films. Films are screened with English subtitles and attended by a guest director, actor, or a film professional, who will discuss issues related to the film in English.


The Oslo Diaries
The Oslo Diaries, directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan (Censored Voices, Sundance 2015) and Guest speaker Gidi Grinstien, Secretary of the Israeli Negotiation Team.

In 1992, with Israeli Paletinian relations at an all-time low and, a small group of Israelis and Palestinians gathered secretly in Oslo. The meetings that lead to The Oslo Accords changed the Middle East forever, they were chronicled only by the negotiators' diaries. This movie bring us a riveting account of 1100 days of secret talks as told by the people who were there at the table. The participants' detailed and often emotional entries recount the political intrigue, fiery rhetoric, unlikely friendships, and overwhelming desire for peace that were the heart of the negotiations.

Featuring never-before-seen footage and exclusive interviews with key players - including the last on-camera conversation with former Israeli president Shimon Peres - the film recounts a geopolitical story, with a narrative voice that is personal and philosophical. Although politics ultimately doomed The Oslo Accords, the story's end for the people of Israel and Palestine remains unwritten.

7:00 - Reception

7:30 - Movie screening followed by discussion

Tickets at the door are $17. Please get your tickets in advance.

with Margery Theroux
Explore the basics of drawing, including line, shading, form, volume and proportion. Start by drawing simple shapes and move on to more complex combinations, working in pencil on paper. Multiple set-ups for different levels. One-on-one attention will be provided.

with JoJo Rubach
Join JoJo as he creates a hearty vegetarian feast fit for “the Queen.”  Some of the flavorful dishes you’ll indulge your taste buds on are Shakshouka, Falafel, Pomegranate and Pistachio Nut Salad, Mejadra, Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Fresh Figs, Quinoa and Tabbouleh. And, to complement the meal, JoJo will serve Pomegranate Margaritas … a perfect drink for this joyful holiday.

with Professor Ben Nelson
Reading and sharing a book with others brings a whole new perspective to the experience. Join us as Ben leads the exploration of these deeply affecting works. We’ll read the following 4 books:

March 20: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
April 17: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
May 15: Straight Man by Richard Russo
June 12: Rabbit Run by John Updike

Come for a day of laughs, lunch and loads of inspiration as three female authors share their ideas. Hear the voices of three strong women with unique stories to tell. Audacious and tenacious, these women will engage, enlighten and entertain.

Angela Himsel: A River Could Be A Tree  (please note, program change)
One of 11 children raised in a farmhouse in Indiana by parents who followed a cult-like branch of Christianity which espoused a Doomsday philosophy, Himsel thought her chance for salvation was strict adherence to the church. She found, on a trip to Israel, that her real connection to God was through Judaism.

Susie Orman Schnall: The Subway Girls
Based on the Miss Subways contest that ran in New York City from 1941 to 1976, this is the story of two strong women, generations apart, who are up against the same struggles to find the balance between ambition, love and happiness. Schnall is also the author of The Balance Project and On Grace.

Alexandra Silber: White Hot Grief Parade
After the death of her father when she was a teen, Al and her mother needed to figure out how to live the rest of their lives. This book is an ode to friendship and its restorative power and the unbreakable bond, even in death, between father and daughter. Silber is a Broadway actress and Grammy nominated singer. She has been in Fiddler on the Roof, Master Class, She Loves Me and Hello Again.

Sponsored in part by the James H. Grossmann Memorial Jewish Book Endowment Fund.

Registration required by March 18.

with Michael Norris, PhD
Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a prodigy in art from childhood to the advanced age of 91. We’ll review Picasso’s changing world through his pictures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from his teenage years through his twenties—including his Blue and Rose periods and his early experimentation that led to Cubism.

Back by popular demand, Chef Merav Dahan will demonstrate not only how to make delicious Moroccan dishes but also how to make the food look great.  You’ll learn how to prepare dishes such as Tagine chicken with vegetables, dried fruit couscous, matbucha and eggplant Baladi salads with Gribetz cookies and mint tea. Merav offers tricks and tidbits while you enjoy sampling each dish. She is founder of Merav’s Cuisine cooking blog and has been teaching the art of preparing healthy kosher recipes for over a decade.

cosponsored with the IAC (Israeli American Council)

with Sally Kohn
As a progressive commentator on Fox News and now CNN, Sally Kohn has made a career out of bridging political differences, learning how to talk civilly to people whose views she disagrees with passionately. Her TED talks have garnered over three million views. In her book, The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity, Kohn researches the roots of hate. She meets with terrorists, white supremacists and even some of her own Twitter trolls, learning some surprising lessons. She confronts her own shameful moments as she points the way toward change. Free for students.

Sponsored in part by the James H. Grossmann Memorial Jewish Book Endowment Fund.