Tune-in to hear our first ever remote broadcast from November 4th, 2013 when we broadcast live with Malcah in-studio at CFRC and Avi joining in from Montreal. We were also joined by Sarah Woolf, a writer and researcher who was recently uninvited from participating in the Le Mood “festival of unexpected Jewish learning, arts and culture.” Woolf was scheduled to moderate two panels – one about a historical walking tour of Montreal’s garment industry and another titled “Where are all the radical Jews?” about the radical history of Montreal Jews and Jewish institutions, until she the panels were cancelled, effectively banning Sarah along with co-panelists Aaron Lakoff, Moishe-Volf Dolman, and Lisa Vinebaum from participating in Le Mood. We spoke to Sarah about the censorship and what she and the other scheduled panel participants did afterwards. Sarah also shared content from the upcoming walking tour about labour organizing and the Montreal garment industry.
The show also features previewed tracks from the new album of Geoff Berner covers, Festival Man, which accompanies his new book by the same title (“Unlistenable Song” covered by Rae Spoon & “The Rich Will Move to the High Ground” covered by Kris Demeanor and Cutest Kitten Ever!). Finally, we rebroadcast an excerpt from our interview last year with Jonah Aline Daniel from Narrow Bridge Candles.
Tune-in to radio613’s 80th episode to hear our feature interview with JB Brager, artist, academic and zine-maker extraordinaire! JB’s latest project is the Doykeit zine series. Doykeit is Yiddish for “hereness,” which references The Bund’s perspective of the need for Jews to make a home and a political commitment to change ‘here and now’. The zines explore how the intersections of a Jewish & queer/feminist identification inform an anti-zionist politic as well as exploring themes of solidarity, identity and more.
The specific theme for Doykeit #2 is Diaspora and submissions are still being accepted! JB is particularly asking for “writing and art that considers one or more of the following topics: diaspora, home and “homeland,” galut, displacement, dispersal, remembrance, intergenerational relationships, borders, nationalism, and violence.” While the zine’s name comes from a Yiddish term, it aims to include “site(s) of diaspora and site(s) of “home”” from around the globe. Read the full call-out here. Note that the submission deadline will remain open until enough submissions are received. Contact JB directly to find out more about their projects and see how you can be involved: sassyfrasscircus@gmail.com.
In addition to our interview with JB, we were lucky to be given two recordings by the authors of pieces found in Doykeit #1.
Listen here for our interview with JB plus MJ Kaufman reading “My grandmother’s queer prayer or how to pronounce the name of God”
And here is Jessica Rosenberg reading “Pesah 5768-5772: ‘hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground'”
In episode 76 of radio613, tune-in to hear an interview with Kathy Wazana, creator and director of the newly released documentary: They Were Promised the Sea. The film deals with the exodus of the majority of the Jewish population of Morocco and the myth of the Jewish/Arab enemy and binary. Kathy Wazana tells us about why she made film, why it is important and what she learned on a journey connecting with the people and places of Morocco, Israel-Palestine, and New York. Our conversation coincided with preparations for a They Were Promised the Sea “Film Party and Mimouna Feast for Peace” hosted by Kathy Wazana, Jehad Aliweiwi, Ameena Sultan, Richard Wazana at Beit Zatoun in Toronto and co-presented with the Toronto Palestine Film Festival.
Please take the time to visit They Were Promised the Sea’ Indiegogo fundraising page here. There, you can find out how a financial contribution will help screen and distribute the film and raise awareness about Jewish/Arab/Muslim co-existence in Morocco and “give voice to those who refuse the separation of Arab and Jew, and who hold the key to the possibility of a new Al Andalus”.
In this episode, you can also hear our on-air Omer counting as we conclude the first Hesed–oriented week of the Omer. If you haven’t had a chance, check out radio613’s archived interview with Rabbi Jill Hammer who developed the Omer Calendar of Biblical Women: https://radio613.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/episode-65-omer-calendar-of-bilblical-women
With music from: Francoise Atlan – “Abdelmoumen” (recording from They Were Promised the Sea) and “La Qod Jara” (from the album Andalussyat) Rabbi Haim Louk – “Essaouira” ((recording from They Were Promised the Sea) and a performance of Had Gadya with The New Jerusalem Orchestra
In the same week that Romani communities commemorated the Roma Holocaust (August 2), countries across Europe pushed through legislation to expel Romanies and destroy their settlements. Systemic racism and day-to-day violence against Roma persist in Europe – and with impunity. Episode 43 features our interview with Robert Kushen, director of the European Roma Rights Centre, who outlines the current and historical climate in Europe for Romanies. Special guest Laura joins the show to situate anti-Roma racism in a Canadian context. Finally, we speak with Rabbi Jonathan Freirich about shared experiences of exile as radio613 discusses the need for developing stronger Jewish-Roma solidarity.
Music from Boban Markovic (“Balkan Fest”) and Gogol Bordello (“Immigrant Punk”).
Canadian and American Remembrance Day and Memorial Day celebrations abound in 2009 with myths and messages from a culture in which war is glorified and soldiers are presented as means of sacrifice. Voices from this week’s show include: a syndicated JTA interview with Sholem Keller – a Jewish veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, famous comedian Jackie Mason’s Memorial Day address, Bob Dylan’s “Masters of War” and real talk and analysis from the radio613 collective.
This week on radio613, an interview with film-maker and film-theorist Dorit Naaman. Dorit’s DiaDocuMEntaRY film series is primarily rooted in and around her hometown, Jerusalem. The series takes a personal and powerful look at issues of displacement, nationalist/colonial narratives, the effects of the “Separation Wall”, erasure of Palestinian/Indigenous life and history, and much more.
Audio from Dorit’s most recent work “Two Houses and a Longing” and music from Ehud Banai, DAM, David D’Or, and Shlomo Bar.
