On Sunday, October 27, Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek (CBSRZ) will present an afternoon of poems by Israeli and Palestinian poets on their shared love of the land. The poems will be read by members of the CBSRZ synagogue, interspersed with live music by clarinetist Walter Mamlok and oudh player Robert Nasta. The program is a presentation of The Arts Café at CBSRZ.

Voluntary donations will benefit Hand in Hand, a rare organization dedicated to bilingual Arab-Jewish education. A key part of Israel’s fastest-growing integrated social movement, Hand in Hand aims to demonstrate that Jews and Arabs, Israelis and Palestinians, can live and thrive together. For more information, please visit the website handinhandk12.org.

The reading is in response to the devastation that has left Israel and Gaza in profound pain and turmoil. At times when we are dumbfounded by grief, we turn to writers. The poems offer a window into the wounds of both cultures, from antiquity to the present. Through the poems, it is possible to recognize everyone’s humanity and to imagine a stable society in which people, especially children, are never again subjected to the trauma of war.

A coffee and cake reception will follow the reading.

We ask that, if possible, guests pre-register on the CBSRZ website: CBSRZ.org, or by calling the office (860) 526-8920.