Employee Confidence in Senior Leadership, Culture, and Engagement Soars When Leaders Communicate Effectively About the Middle East Conflict, New Research Finds CHICAGO, IL – Confidence in senior leadership, alignment with company culture, and overall employee engagement increases 4 to 6 times for organizations that delivered effective communication on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, according to new research conducted by The Harris Poll for The Grossman Group. Yet a survey of U.S. employees found only a small number of employees received any communication regarding the conflict. Just 1-in-5 employees reported that their employer had shared an official internal statement, and only about 1-in-6 employees reported that their manager had directly communicated with them. Notably, a large group of employees reported being affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A majority of employees surveyed – 51 percent – said the issue in the Middle East had personally impacted them. Moreover, half of that group had no friends, colleagues, or other direct ties to the region. “We often hear from CEOs and other top-level leaders that they don’t want to speak out on an issue such as the Middle East because it’s a political issue,” said David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, a Chicago-based leadership and communications consultancy. “That has led many organizations to be tone-deaf to the needs of all employees and concern for their well-being at a time when they’re looking to their leaders to respond in some way.” “In the case of this Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more than half of employees surveyed reported being affected. That’s almost ten times what you might expect from population numbers and five to six times what you might expect from those who said they were directly impacted.” “By not communicating at all, leaders are sending a message as well. Listening and showing that you care is not political. Companies that communicated effectively prioritized employee well-being, which led to significantly higher trust in leadership, confidence and engagement, critical elements for overall business success.”

The overall impact of communication versus no communication The survey found that the more communication employees received, the better they felt about their employer and the company culture. The impact was the strongest when an internal statement was coupled with a manager reaching out to communicate directly with employees. In fact, three outcomes that top leaders strive to foster among their teams – confidence in leadership, a strong culture, and engagement – increased four to six times when employers communicated about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and managers followed up with employees. Highlights of the findings from those who strongly agree their company communicated effectively include:   Employees who said their company did not make a statement reported the following: 10 percent confidence in company leadership 10 percent alignment with the company culture 10 percent overall engagement In contrast, when employees demonstrated best practices in issue communication - with both a company statement and manager outreach - key results increased four to six times for employees: 59 percent had higher confidence in company leadership 54 percent felt better aligned with the company culture 45 percent said overall engagement increased Some form of communication was also far better than no communication. When employees received either manager outreach or an internal company statement, the result was the following, respectively: 32 and 30 percent had higher confidence in company leadership 32 and 29 percent felt better aligned with the company culture 37 and 23 percent said their overall engagement increased

The power of manager outreach The survey also found that when employees reported having a meeting with their manager, the results of those meetings among those who strongly agreed were very meaningful: 43 percent said the conversation made them feel more engaged 42 percent said their manager was empathetic 39 percent felt their manager cared about them personally 39 percent felt more aligned with the company culture When given a list of key elements of best practice communications when issues arise, employees rated their organizations highest when they received communication from their manager. Simply issuing a company statement had a much smaller impact. Key findings include: When leadership issued solely an internal statement, on average, less than a third of employees gave high scores to leaders and strongly agreed that the communication was highly effective With the addition of manager outreach, more than half of employees, on average, strongly agreed that the communication was highly effective Managers do a particularly good job of reinforcing four elements: Showing empathy Clearly explaining the company position Providing additional opportunities for dialogue Following-up on recurrent updates “When managers communicate, they make a big difference, yet few reached out,” Grossman said. “That’s a missed opportunity to communicate with employees at an exceedingly difficult time for them and the world.”

The key components of successful communication The research also included a quantitative survey of 118 communication leaders to determine key components of best practice communications and a content analysis of 68 internal company statements. Communicators identified 12 essential components and rated a sense of concern, empathy and authenticity as the most important components. When the actual internal statements were assessed for those top components, about one-third of the statements didn’t include concern and authenticity, two of the top elements. “Moreover, employee perception of their company’s internal statement suggests that most fell short on all the essential components – with none of the 12 scoring above 39 percent for those who strongly agree,” Grossman said. “Some elements, such as concern and reassurance, scored about 30 percent.  This suggests that – even if those components appeared on paper – employees didn’t give credit for their inclusion.” Survey Methodology  The research included three components:  A survey of 2,154 U.S. employees was conducted online over two waves in late October and early November 2023 and included a sample of both part-time and full-time employees. Data was weighted to the U.S. Census. At the same time, 118 internal communication and senior communication professionals representing a broad spectrum of industries, sizes, and types of organizations were surveyed to determine the ideal elements of internal communication. Finally, 68 internal statements were assessed in a content analysis to determine whether ideal elements were present Visit this page to download key findings from the study and The Grossman Group’s thought leadership on the topic:  https://www.yourthoughtpartner.com/internal-communications-issues-resource-hub.

About The Grossman Group The Grossman Group is an award-winning Chicago-based communications consultancy focusing on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communication. A certified diversity supplier, The Grossman Group has worked with leading organizations, including Amazon, Abbott, FORVIS, Grubhub, McDonald’s, Stanley Black & Decker, among others, to drive transformational change through effective leadership and communication. About David Grossman A leading consultant, speaker and author, David Grossman ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, CSP is one of America's foremost authorities on communication and leadership inside organizations. He is Founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, an award-winning Chicago-based leadership and communications consultancy that focuses on organizational consulting, strategic leadership development and internal communications for Fortune 500 clients. A frequent media source, David provides expert commentary and analysis on employee and leadership issues. He's been featured on "NBC Nightly News," WSJ.com, Today.com, in the Chicago Tribune, the World Economic Forum, LA Times, and CBS MoneyWatch, among others. David’s latest award-winning book, "Heart First: Lasting Leader Lessons from a Year that Changed Everything" features interviews with 30+ leaders inside a variety of organizations, each of whom share extraordinarily candid insights and unique leadership lessons. His leadercommunicator blog has been ranked the #1 blog on communication by Feedspot seven years in a row. Contact:  Kayla Ellsworth Vice President, Marketing The Grossman Group 312.927.4588  kellsworth@yourthoughtpartner.com About The Harris Poll The Harris Poll is a global consulting and market research firm that delivers proven intelligence for transformational times. Responsible for one of the longest-running surveys in the United States, Harris Poll provides unique context and social insights based on analyzing public opinion, motivations, and social sentiment since 1963. It works with clients in three primary areas: building modern corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and data-driven thought leadership. It also delivers industry-leading healthcare insights expertise, specializing in research with patients, caregivers, nurses, physicians, specialists (across over 50 therapeutic areas) payers, hospital decision makers, policymakers, and pharmacists. Its mission is to provide insights and guidance to help leaders make the best decisions possible. To learn more, please visit www.theharrispoll.com. Contact:  Rob Jekielek Managing Director The Harris Poll rob.jekielek@harrispoll.com

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The 31st Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant

Info: www.koshercomedy.com Tickets: www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao Press Room (hi res photos): www.koshercomedy.com/press-room For Immediate Release Media contact: Lisa Geduldig Lisag@igc.org Cell: 415-205-6515 Do Not Publish The 31st Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant In-Person in San Francisco (AND livestreamed)! With Wendy Liebman, Rich Aronovitch, Talia Reese, Lisa Geduldig, and her 92-year young mother Arline Geduldig (by video by Florida) Saturday, December 23 thru Monday, December 25, 2023 Two shows a day: 5pm Dinner Show (5-6pm Dinner / 6-7:30pm Show) Live-stream: 6pm PST (7pm MST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST) 8:30pm Cocktail Show Live-stream: 8:30pm PST (9:30pm MST / 10:30pm CST / 11:30pm EST) Imperial Palace Restaurant, 818 Washington St., San Francisco’s Chinatown Info: www.KosherComedy.com Tickets: $30 - $100  • www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao Partial Proceeds Benefit: Hebrew Free Loan AND Chinatown YMCA Food Pantry San Francisco, CA… Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ is celebrating its 31st Annual Jewish-Comedy-on-Christmas-in-a-Chinese-Restaurant extravaganza on December 23-25, 2023. This San Francisco institution returns to San Francisco’s Chinatown this year to its new home, the Imperial Palace Restaurant, just steps away from the new Chinatown-Rose Pak MUNI Station. (New Asia Restaurant, where Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ had taken place since 1997, its 5th year, closed during the pandemic and converted into a supermarket. The shows were live-streamed in 2020 and 2021 and took place in a synagogue as well as virtually last year for its 30th Anniversary.) Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ returns to its pre-pandemic format over the course of 3 days, with 2 shows a day in a Chinese restaurant banquet room with family-style dining at tables of 10 (appropriately named Barbra Streisand, Jackie Mason, Joan Rivers, Kvetch…) with Lazy Susans. All 6 shows will take place in-person AND virtually (on YouTube Live) again this year, thus catering to the national and international online audiences developed since 2020 as well as to those who prefer to watch from home. Spanning three days (and three decades), this year’s shows feature Wendy Liebman (Carson, Letterman, Leno, Fallon, Kimmel, Hollywood Squares, America's Got Talent), Rich Aronovitch (The Tonight Show, The Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay), Talia Reese (The Wendy Williams Show; Orthodox comedian; former bankruptcy lawyer), Lisa Geduldig (Kung Pao host), and Arline Geduldig (Lisa’s 92 year young mom, by video from Florida). History: Kung Pao Kosher Comedy was created in 1993 by accident by San Francisco comedian, Lisa Geduldig, who was booked to perform at a women’s comedy night in South Hadley, Massachusetts at the Peking Garden Club, what she naturally thought would be a comedy club. But upon her arrival, she discovered that the venue was actually a Chinese Restaurant. After telling Jewish jokes at a Chinese restaurant, a conversation the next day between Lisa and her old summer camp friend, Tobi Sovak, about its irony led to the creation of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy: Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant — a take off on the tradition of Jews going to a Chinese Restaurant and a movie on Christmas. And the rest is history. Kung Pao, which answers the age-old question “What are Jews supposed to do on Christmas?” has garnered both national press and a national following. Now in its 31st year, Kung Pao was the country’s first Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant show and is one of San Francisco’s longest running comedy shows. Many of the great household name Jewish comedians have graced the Kung Pao stage. Henny Youngman performed his last show there in 1997 at 91 years old. Shelley Berman has headlined, as has David Brenner, as have many others in the Who’s Who of Jewish Comedians including Elayne Boosler, Carol Leifer, Wendy Liebman, Cathy Ladman, Judy Gold, Jeff Ross, and Gary Gulman. www.koshercomedy.com/past-comedians. Kung Pao had been operating in San Francisco’s Chinatown every December since its inception in 1993 until the pandemic hit in 2020. The show managed to continue virtually despite Armageddon. Kung Pao began on December 24, 1993 with one show at the Four Seas Restaurant, and then was held for the next three years at Hunan Restaurant. With 91-year old Henny Youngman booked to headline in 1997, Kung Pao moved to New Asia Restaurant as Hunan was up a flight of stairs with no elevator. Many audience members have attended this San Francisco institution for 20+ years while others have attended every year since 1993. Kung Pao has been featured in the NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune… The virtual show was a Pick in the New York Times, The Forward, and Jewish newspapers in cities including Atlanta, Tampa and St. Louis, in addition to the SF Bay Area press. Feeding the soul as well as the stomach. – New York Times A San Francisco institution. – San Francisco Examiner The Dinner Show Menu will feature our signature dish, Kung Pao Chicken, along with 5 other dishes. The Cocktail Show menu consists of a light fare of egg rolls, pot stickers, and dim sum. In-person attendees will receive a custom-made Yiddish proverb fortune cookie with their dinner. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco Chinatown’s has made Kung Pao’s fortune cookies since 1962 and Kung Pao’s since 1994). The Yiddish proverbs include the infamous “With one tuchus, you can’t dance at 2 weddings.” (You can’t be in two places at once.) In July 2020, a few months into the pandemic, Lisa Geduldig, introduced her audiences to online comedy shows with the monthly Lockdown Comedy every third Thursday of the month (and ending on the monthly basis in November 2023 after 3-1/2 years) on Zoom hosted from her mother’s retirement community in Florida where Lisa accidentally found herself marooned for 17 months after going to visit for two weeks that March, just before the pandemic hit. (Lisa has been “commuting” between Florida and San Francisco for the past two years.) Lisa’s 92-year old budding comedian mother, Arline, has been a special guest on Lockdown Comedy and Kung Pao, performing stand up on the show. The duo has received accolades and press: The LA Times ran How A California Comic Launched A Virtual Stand-Up Show and Discovered A New Star: Mom; the San Francisco Examiner ran the article, Kung Pao Kosher Creator Introduces “Lockdown Comedy”: Lisa Geduldig and Her Mom Stream Standup, with Guests, from Florida, and in September, the San Francisco Chronicle did a feature S.F.’s Lisa Geduldig Happily Sharing Comedy Spotlight with A Fresh Talent, Her 90-Year-Old Mother. COMEDIANS’ BIOS: Wendy Liebman took a class called "How to be a Stand-up Comedian" at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education in 1985. Since then, she has performed on Carson, Letterman, Leno, Fallon, Kimmel, Ferguson, and Hollywood Squares, and in clubs across America. Wendy has done specials for HBO, Comedy Central and Showtime, and was a Semi-Finalist on NBC’s America's Got Talent, Season 9.  She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two rescued Jindo dogs, produces “Locally Grown Comedy” at Flappers Comedy Club in Burbank — a monthly show featuring her favorite stand ups, and plays Jonathan Katz’s therapist on his podcast And We’re Back…  Check out her DVD Wendy Liebman: Taller on TV on Amazon. www.WendyLiebman.com. Rich Aronovitch, known for appearances on NBC’s The Tonight Show, The Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay, and HBO's Bomani Jones, is a regular at New York City's Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club. He gained social media fame for his dances, which led to features on NBC's Access Daily and a Tiesto music video, performing with Limp Bizkit at Madison Square Garden, and for the New York Islanders. Recently, he featured on TNT's March Madness Sweet Sixteen Pre-Game Promo and The Food Network’s Worst Cooks In America Season 25 Viral Sensations. www.RichIsFunny.com. Talia Reese ditched the exciting world of bankruptcy law to pursue a more stable path as a stand up comedian, which thrilled her parents to no end. Luckily, her career move has worked out. She been featured on The Wendy Williams Show and Sirius XM and regularly performs at the hottest comedy clubs and events in the US and Canada, and recently performed in Israel. The Orthodox comedian’s jokes have appeared in major news publications and are mentioned frequently on Page Six. The Times of Israel says Talia’s “a rising comedy star who has a polish, panache, and a gift of jab reminiscent of her childhood hero, Joan Rivers.” Her parents were most proud when Talia’s comedy show was called a “Hot Ticket” by the NY Post. www.TaliaReese.com. Arline Geduldig (joining by video from Florida), 92 year young mother of Kung Pao producer, Lisa Geduldig, is a Florida-based budding comedian who took to the (virtual) stage for the first time in July 2020 on her daughter’s monthly Zoom comedy show, Lockdown Comedy; she has been charming audiences on the monthly show ever since. Arline grew up in Brooklyn, raised her kids on Long Island, and retired to Florida, as is Jewish law. She offers her keen observations on aging, hearing aids, and hot young firemen and reminisces about her first kiss. Arline has always been funny, and it was time for her to share her natural humor with her daughter’s audiences.  Lisa Geduldig is a San Francisco-based comedian and the creator, producer, and MC of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ — Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant. Before the pandemic, Lisa had been running Comedy Returns to El Rio, a monthly decade-long comedy show at El Rio in San Francisco where her comedy career began 30+ years ago. Since July 2020, she has been producing Lockdown Comedy every 3rd Thursday of the month on Zoom from the underwear drawer in the guest room at her mother’s retirement community home in Florida, where she accidentally got marooned (in Florida, not in the underwear drawer) for 17 months during the pandemic (and became a fan of the Early Bird special). She has been commuting between Florida and San Francisco for the past two years. Lisa appeared in a Canadian documentary, Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas, which aired on Canadian and European TV in December 2017. She is also a freelance arts publicist in both English and Spanish. SFPublicist.com. BENEFICIARIES:  Over the past 30 years, Kung Pao has raised 10’s of 1000’s of dollars and awareness for countless organizations. In keeping with the Jewish tradition of tzedakah (charity, in Hebrew - tied in with a sense of duty and social responsibility), each year Kung Pao donates partial proceeds to organizations and causes in which we believe. THIS YEAR’S BENEFICIARIES Hebrew Free Loan is a nonprofit that provides interest-free loans to help Jewish individuals in Northern California overcome financial challenges or pursue life dreams. In addition, it offer loans to those in Northern California who meet one of the following criteria, regardless of religious background: Student from a lower income home who is referred by a partner agency; employee of a Jewish organization; business partner or immediate family member of a Jewish individual. As loans are repaid, funds are recycled to make new loans. The organization has proven the success of this model with a repayment rate over 99%. www.hflasf.org/apply/loans-we-offer. Chinatown YMCA Food Pantry: The Chinatown YMCA serves 245 households from the Chinatown area every week through the support of staff and volunteers. The food pantries directly address food insecurity in our community where there is a rising concern. Many of those who reside in our neighborhood experience significant obstacles due to language barriers, knowledge of social services as well as uncertainty of the receipt of these supports will affect their immigration status. With the added complication of the corona virus and an increase of people experiencing uncertainty in income, housing, and health, providing food will address at least one major concern. The food provided by the food pantries support the overall well-being of the individuals receiving it. Enrollment is not based on income, immigration status, or employment. www.ymcasf.org/chinatown-ymca-food-pantry. Some Random Kung Pao Kosher Comedy Facts: • Henny Youngman, The King of One-Liners, headlined in 1997, performing at what ended up being his last show; the 91 year old comedian died two months later in February 1998. • A chapter in the book, A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to be Jewish focuses on Kung Pao. • One couple, after 25 years, got married at the show by a rabbi they met at their table. • One year someone brought a rooster named Vern as an emotional support animal. Really. Calendar Listing: WHAT: The 31st Annual Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant With Wendy Liebman, Rich Aronovitch, Talia Reese, Lisa Geduldig, and her 92-year young mother Arline Geduldig (by video by Florida) WHEN: Saturday, December 23, Sunday, December 24, and Monday, December 25 2 shows a day: In-person Dinner Show: Dinner: 5pm. (Show: 6-7:30pm) Show (in-person and Livestream): 6pm PST /7pm MST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST Cocktail Show In-person and Livestream: 8:30pm PST (9:30pm MST / 10:30pm CST / 11:30pm EST) WHERE: In-person: Imperial Palace Restaurant 818 Washington St. (between Grant & Stockton) Chinatown San Francisco, CA 94108 AND Virtually (on YouTube Live) TICKETS: $30-$100   6pm or 8:30pm Livestream: $30-$75 (pay what you want) 5pm Dinner Show: $90-$100 8:30pm Cocktail Show: $65-$75 www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao INFO: www.KosherComedy.com PARTIAL PROCEEDS BENEFIT: Hebrew Free Loan Association AND Chinatown YMCA Food Pantry

Camp Ramah Sasson Welcomes Families Facing the Challenges of Childhood Cancer

Ramah New England is thrilled to announce the launch of “Camp Ramah Sasson (Joy),” a trailblazing initiative aimed at providing comfort, support, and an immersive Jewish experience for families facing the challenges of childhood cancer. Camp Ramah Sasson, which is open to the entire family at no cost, will be held April 12-14, 2024 on our beautiful campsite in western MA. Through a combination of Shabbat celebration, outdoor fun, and therapeutic activities, Camp Ramah Sasson will provide a nurturing environment for families to come together and forge lasting connections with each other and to the greater Jewish community. Rabbi Ed Gelb, CEO of Ramah New England, shared, “Over the eighteen years of directing Ramah, I have met many families that are facing the challenge of having a child with cancer. Up until now, we have not been able to provide them with the Ramah experience. Now, we hope to bring the community, support, meaning and joy of camp to the entire family and let them know they have a home here.” Camp Ramah Sasson welcomes these families into our larger Ramah New England community.

Through the celebration of Shabbat, traditional camp fun, therapeutic activities, and a supportive environment, Camp Ramah Sasson seeks to uplift families and provide them with a respite from the daily struggles associated with childhood cancer. Families will experience camp together, and will also have opportunities to attend separate programs designed specifically for parents, siblings and children living with cancer. The camp will provide a framework for families to share Jewish experiences, foster emotional healing, and establish an invaluable network of support. Camp Ramah Sasson extends an open invitation to Jewish families that have children in cancer treatment. This program is free of charge to all participating families. We are looking for community partners to help spread the word and recruit families for this unique retreat experience. We are also recruiting camp counselors and medical, therapeutic, and educational professionals who would like to volunteer to staff this life-changing weekend. For more information about Camp Ramah Sasson, inquire about enrollment or volunteer to staff this incredible weekend, please go to campramahsasson.org. About Ramah New England: Ramah New England (RNE) is a non-profit organization that serves over 1,400 Jewish children and teens each summer at its three summer camps. Camp Ramah New England, an overnight summer camp in Palmer, is situated on the shore of a beautiful lake and is surrounded by 100 wooded acres. Each summer, this camp serves 900 campers from across New England, the greater Washington, DC area, Virginia, as well as parts of Maryland and New York. Ramah Day Camp Greater DC and Ramah Day Camp Greater Boston serve hundreds of younger campers in the DC and Boston areas. Additionally, RNE  holds two family camp experiences on its Palmer site. Acceptance and belonging in an immersive and joyful Jewish setting are the hallmarks of the experiences at the RNE camps. www.campramahne.org Press Contact: Riki Wiederhorn Director of Year-Round Programming Ramah New England rikiw@campramahne.org

IN A DIVIDED ISRAEL, WE’RE LEARNING HOW TO ARGUE BETTER

There is a well-known wisecrack in Israel, that everyone argues passionately because we all think we should be Prime Minister. For anyone who has spent time here, the vehemence is palpable, especially lately. As tensions in Israel continue to rise due to the proposed judicial reforms, the nation is growing more and more divided. With elections on the horizon in the United States, there too, the polarities that exist between citizens feel greater than ever.

In this increasingly tense environment, two educator-researchers are actually encouraging people to argue. Yes, you’ve read that correctly: Abi Dauber Sterne and Robbie Gringras are actively teaching people to argue. Moreover, their experience is showing that professionals in all sectors are finding it more and more difficult to address the situation in a constructive way.

Dauber Sterne and Gringras have dedicated the past few years of their careers to training educators and organizational leaders to engage in arguments about contentious issues relating to Israel. Unlike most of us who shy away from confrontation, they see argument as an important and valuable tool not only for mutual understanding, but also to understand more clearly the issues at hand.

Last year, with financial support from The Jim Joseph Foundation, Gringras and Dauber Sterne launched “For the Sake of Argument”, an educational initiative that offers a fresh approach to arguing. To date, they have run training sessions for over 2,000 people around the globe, a mixture of organizational leaders, educators and students. They use fictional, reality-based “argument-stories” to facilitate difficult conversations using tools for healthy confrontations. 

They also published a book entitled Stories for the Sake of Argument which features short stories and questions designed to guide groups discussions about some of the most controversial issues facing Israel today. They continue to email a new story to their followers on a monthly basis to keep the content timely. Recently, stories have focused on the proposed judicial reform and its opponents in Israel. With people around the world trying to understand what all the fuss is about, the new stories help to explain – in a non-pedantic way – what the different approaches may be to aspects of the proposed changes.

“What we’re seeing is that when these conversations are not conducted well, these issues have the potential to break apart the fabric of organizational life and tear apart communities,” Dauber Sterne says. “Our hope is that the story itself will be a facilitator because it’s one step removed. It serves as a buffer in a way and gets us to ask ourselves how the issue plays into our ideological stance,” she explains.

The two colleagues are also in the midst of conducting research on the use of argument. As they create their content, they’re also developing metrics to see which tools work best.

“It may seem ironic, but the more we advocate that argument can be a useful tool, the less tension there will be because people will understand each other more,” says Gringras. “We’re learning so much about the use of argument that want to share what we’ve learned with the world, starting in Israel and amongst Jewish organizations.”

While most of their training sessions have been conducted amongst English-speaking groups from outside of Israel, more Israel-based groups have turned to them recently for workshops.

“Professionals in every sphere, whether they’re teachers or managers in an organization, are finding it more and more difficult to address the situation in a constructive way. They feel that they’re personally and emotionally invested. We have tools that can help them untangle some of the complexity,” says Gringras.

To be sure, Dauber Sterne and Gringras are not starry-eyed. “It doesn’t solve the problem, but it does help create perspective,” Dauber Sterne explains. “We are trying to help people understand how others come to their decisions so that they can learn from each other. It’s vital that we all take an active role in understanding other people’s views in order to hone our own, and to be able to engage more deeply with the subject matter, whether history, culture, or modern-day politics.”

For more information on these workshops and to receive new stories monthly, see https://www.forthesakeofargument.org/.

For all media inquiries, contact: Yehudit Singer-Freud, Yehudit@SingerPublicity.com.

On Israel's 75th Anniversary, the Decade's-Long Odyssey of an Historic World's Fair Sculpture is Commemorated

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: ERIC ASCALON
PHONE: 856.220.0522
EMAIL: eric@ascal.one

---PHOTOS LINKED HERE---

MAY 17, 2023

FROM THE BRITISH MANDATE, TO THE 1939 NEW YORK WORLD’S FAIR, TO CHICAGO; NEXT STOP ISRAEL: AN 84-YEAR ODYSSEY FOR AN HISTORIC ISRAELI SCULPTURE IS COMMEMORATED

On May 28, 1939, at the New York World’s Fair – 84 years ago this month – the Jewish-Palestine Pavilion was dedicated. The pavilion was intended to introduce the world to the concept of a modern Jewish State; which a decade later – after the atrocities of the Holocaust – would become the State of Israel. The pavilion’s façade was adorned with an imposing 14-foot-tall relief sculpture, an Art Deco representation of three figures created by a 26-year-old Israeli sculptor by the name of Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003) (born Moshe Klein). Maurice would go on to become a pioneer of modern Israel’s decorative arts movement. Ascalon’s hand-hammered copper World’s Fair sculpture, entitled “The Scholar, The Laborer, and The Toiler of Soil”, depicted the three vocational facets of a successful civilization: scholarship, industry, and agriculture; three facets that the State of Israel would eventually come to embody.

The pavilion’s opening ceremony featured speeches by its guest of honor Albert Einstein, and New York mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, both of whom spoke from a podium standing beneath Ascalon’s sculpture to a crowd of 100,000. During the fair’s run, the pavilion saw some 2 million visitors. With the start of World War II, logistical and legal constraints made it impossible for the sculpture and the exhibits from the pavilion to make their way back to Israel as originally intended. The sculpture was therefore auctioned off and found a new home at the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning & Leadership in Chicago, where it has remained ever since. Today, the Spertus, together with Maurice Ascalon’s family and a Toronto-based Israeli memorabilia collector and historian David Matlow, are in the process of making arrangements to finally see to the return of Ascalon’s sculpture to Israel for long-term display – completing a round trip that began in the late 1930s.

In honor of the 75^th Anniversary of the State of Israel, and to commemorate the unique artistic and historic importance of Ascalon’s sculpture, a limited edition of 250 replicas of “The Scholar, The Laborer, and the Toiler of Soil”, produced as a 1KG resin cast, are being released for sale this week by Piece of History, an Israeli-based studio that creates unique decorative items with Israeli history and Judaic themes. The intent for this project is to raise awareness among Jewish communities worldwide about the artwork, and to promote its return to Israel.

For more information on the commemorative edition, visit https://www.piece-of-history.com/limitededitions . Additional biographies, historic information, and images are attached/enclosed below.

ABOUT MAURICE ASCALON 

Maurice Ascalon (born Moshe Klein) was born in the eastern Hungarian town of Fehérgyarmat. From an early age, he was drawn to art, which was frowned upon in the Hassidic "shtetl" in which he was raised. When he was 15 years old Ascalon left his boyhood home to study art at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. He took with him an understanding of Jewish rituals and traditions which knowledge he later incorporated in his work.

In 1934, after undertaking his formal artistic training in Brussels and later Milan, Maurice Ascalon immigrated to the land of Israel (then the British Mandate of Palestine). There he met his wife-to-be, Zipora Kartujinsky, a Polish-born Jew, granddaughter to the distinguished cartographer and scientist of the same surname. (Zipora, who died in 1982, became a sculptor in her own right late in her life, creating bas reliefs depicting the shtetl life of her childhood).

In 1939, Maurice Ascalon designed and created the enormous 14-foot-tall hammered repoussé copper relief sculpture of three figures, "The Scholar, The Laborer, and The Toiler of Soil", which adorned the façade of the Jewish-Palestine Pavilion of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Ascalon was commissioned to create this work for the historically significant Pavilion which introduced the world to the concept of a modern Jewish state. (The work is now part of the collection of the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago.)

In the late 1930s, Ascalon founded an Israeli decorative arts manufacturing company, Pal-Bell, which produced trademark bronze and brass menorahs and other Judaic and secular decorative art and functional items that were exported in large numbers worldwide. Maurice Ascalon's designs, some art deco, others more traditional, introduced the use of a chemically induced green patina (verdigris) to Israeli metalwork. During Israel's War for Independence in 1948, he designed munitions for the Israeli army and, at the request of the Israeli government, retrofitted his factory to produce munitions for the war effort. In 1956 Maurice immigrated to the United States.

During the latter part of the 1950s through the 1960s, Maurice resided in New York and Los Angeles. He gained a reputation as a master silversmith, creating for synagogues Torah crowns and other objects of Jewish ceremonial art. For a time, he taught sculpture on the fine arts faculty of the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles.

In the late 1970s, Ascalon relocated to the Philadelphia area where he co-founded Ascalon Studios. It became (and still is today, under the direction of Maurice's son, David Ascalon (b.1945)) a multifaceted art studio dedicated to the design of and creation of site-specific art for worship and public spaces.

In February 2003, Maurice Ascalon celebrated his 90th birthday as a resident of Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he lived with his eldest son, Adir Ascalon (Adir was a surrealist painter and sculptor who collaborated with the noted Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros). In August 2003, Maurice Ascalon succumbed to complications related to Parkinson's disease.

Maurice Ascalon's commissions include permanent installations at worship and public spaces throughout the United States, Mexico, and Israel. His works have been exhibited at and are among the collections of institutions including the Jewish Museum (New York), the Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia, Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership in Chicago, the Eretz Israel Museum in Tel Aviv, and the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. www.ascalonstudios.com

ABOUT DAVID MATLOW

David Matlow is a lawyer at Goodmans in Toronto, the Chair of the Ontario Jewish Archives and is the owner of the world’s largest private collection of Theodor Herzl memorabilia (www.herzlcollection.com).  Through his collection he became interested in the Jewish Palestine Pavilion of the 1939 New York World’s Fair, whose existence was in furtherance of Herzl’s dream for a Jewish homeland.  In researching the Pavilion, Matlow learned that the sculpture still exists, and has been working with the Ascalon family to find a permanent home for it in Israel in order to compete its  80+ year round trip.

ABOUT ASAF HARARI / PIECE OF HISTORY

Piece of History is an Israeli based company which designs and distributes original Zionist memorabilia, merchandise and limited-edition items. It was established in 2009 by souvenir designer Asaf Harari, with the goal to produce contemporary style items that would help strengthen Zionist identity, and make Israel’s history more accessible to people of all ages. For more information, visit www.piece-of-history.com

PHOTO ARCHIVE LINKED HERE:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jw-opSHpjWh5ajQiSPRHFKoz08Lu40C1?usp=share_link

SPECIAL SCREENING OPPORTUNITY FOR AJPA MEMBERS OF LIONSGATE UPCOMING FILM ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET, BASED ON THE JUDY BLUME BOOK LOVED BY MILLIONS

For any AJPA  members who would like to attend an upcoming screening for this film, please follow the link below to view a list of screenings. If you do not see a screening in your area and you would like to preview the film, please inform Corby Pons and he will follow up with you directly.

Watch the trailer HERE

Press materials available to download from EPK.TV HERE

In theaters April 28, 2023

REVIEW EMBARGO:
ALL REVIEWS ARE STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL THURSDAY, APRIL 20TH AT 8AM PT / 11AM ET

SOCIAL EMBARGO:
SOCIAL SENTIMENT IS EMBARGOED UNTIL SATURDAY, APRIL 15th AT 8PM PT / 11PM ET

For Upcoming Screenings Click Here
Enter PW: WITPR
Click: Get Tickets

"The Haftarah and Its Parsha"
by
Richard W. Golden

For some two thousand years, the practice at every Jewish congregation on Shabbos mornings has been to read a weekly portion, the “parsha,” from the Torah followed by a reading from the books of the prophets, the “haftarah.”  Despite the haftarah’s antiquity and universality, we know little about its origin or purpose.  We have no record of who decided which verses would make up the haftarah for each parsha, the reasons for each pairing, or even when the schedule in use today was established.

“The Haftarah and Its Parsha” came about because its author, Richard W. Golden, became curious about the reason for each haftarah-parsha pairing.  A quick review found only cursory discussions of the subject.  A more comprehensive search found that neither traditional nor contemporary writers fully addressed these connections.  After deeper study, Golden discovered that the parsha and haftarah verses themselves provide the best explanation for each pairing. 

This newly released book sets forth what is known about the haftarah’s origins, identifies the relationship between each haftarah and its parsha, and explores how this connection remains pertinent today.  So far as Golden could find, no previous author has given these questions the consideration they merit.

The book’s discussion of each pairing may be read week-by-week in about ten minutes.  It should not be necessary for the reader to have already reviewed that week’s haftarah and parsha, or to be familiar with the text’s original languages.

For further information or to purchase the book, visit www.haftarahparsha.com.   

The book may also be purchased on Amazon.

To contact the author, write to: info@haftarahparsha.com. 

---

Richard W. Golden retired in 2007 after serving for twenty-eight years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the New York State Attorney General.  Since his retirement, Golden has had more time for his long-standing loves of study and travel.  He and his wife, now empty nesters, live in Brooklyn.

The 30th Anniversary of
Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™
Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a (this year, pop-up) Chinese Restaurant

Info: www.koshercomedy.com • Tickets: www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao 

                 Media contact: Lisa Geduldig - lisag@igc.org 
Cell: (415) 205-6515

The 30th Anniversary of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™
Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a (this year, pop-up) Chinese Restaurant

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy Returns In-Person in San Francisco (and livestream)!

With Mark Schiff, Cathy Ladman, Orion Levine, Arline Geduldig, & Lisa Geduldig

Friday, December 23 thru Sunday, December 25, 2022

In-person: 5pm Dinner / 6pm Show

Virtual Show: 6pm PST (7pm MST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST)

At the Kung Pao Room at Congregation Sherith Israel, 2266 California St., San Francisco

Catering by Green Chow Down (For in-person AND Bay Area virtual viewers)

Info: www.KosherComedy.com

Tickets: $30 - $100  • www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao

Partial Proceeds Benefit: SF-Marin Food Bank AND The Center for Reproductive Rights

San Francisco, CA… Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ is celebrating its 30th Anniversary on  December 23-25, 2022! After being presented virtually for the past two years due to the pandemic, Kung Pao returns with in-person shows in San Francisco this year (AND continues its livestream option). Since the New Asia Restaurant where Kung Pao had been held since its 5th year (1997) closed during the pandemic, this year’s milestone shows will take place in a “pop-up” Chinese restaurant, "The Kung Pao Room" at Congregation Sherith Israel in San Francisco. Chinese food catering provided by Green Chow Down.

Spanning three days (and three decades), this annual Jewish-Comedy-on-Christmas-in-a-Chinese-Restaurant tradition will feature Mark Schiff (tours with Seinfeld; was a writer and actor on Mad About You), Cathy Ladman (The Tonight Show guest a gazillion times; Curb Your Enthusiasm; Modern Family; Mad Me), Orion Levine (recent Berkeley to LA transplant; just featured as a New Face at Montreal’s Just for Laughs Comedy Festival), Lisa Geduldig (Kung Pao host), Arline Geduldig (Lisa’s 91 year young mom by video from Florida).

Attendees sit at tables of 10 and eat dinner Chinese banquet style before the show. Table names include Alan King, Barbra Streisand, Catskills, Chutzpah, Fanny Brice, Gefilte Fish, Gilda Radner, Joan Rivers, Kasha Varnishkas, Kvetch, Marx Brothers, and Meshugganah.

History:

Kung Pao Kosher Comedy was created in 1993 by accident by San Francisco comedian, Lisa Geduldig, who was booked to perform at a women’s comedy night in South Hadley, Massachusetts at the Peking Garden Club, what she naturally thought would be a comedy club. But upon her arrival, she discovered that the venue was actually a Chinese Restaurant. After telling Jewish jokes at a Chinese restaurant, a conversation the next day between Lisa and her old summer camp friend, Tobi Sovak, about its irony led to the creation of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy: Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant — a take off on the tradition of Jews going to a Chinese Restaurant and a movie on Christmas. And the rest is history. Kung Pao, which answers the age-old question “What are Jews supposed to do on Christmas?” has garnered both national press and a national following. In celebrating its 30^th Anniversary this December, Kung Pao was the country’s first Jewish comedy on Christmas in a Chinese restaurant show and is one of San Francisco’s longest running comedy shows.

Many of the great household name Jewish comedians have graced the Kung Pao stage. Henny Youngman performed his last show there in 1997 at 91 years old. Shelley Berman has headlined, as has David Brenner, as have many others in the Who’s Who of Jewish Comedians including Elayne Boosler, Carol Leifer, Wendy Liebman, Cathy Ladman, Judy Gold, Jeff Ross, and Gary Gulman. www.koshercomedy.com/past-comedians

Kung Pao has been operating in San Francisco’s Chinatown every December since its inception in 1993 (except for the past two years online due to the pandemic). The event began on December 24, 1993 with one show at the Four Seas Restaurant, and then was held for the next three years at Hunan Restaurant. With 91-year old Henny Youngman booked to headline in 1997, Kung Pao moved to New Asia Restaurant as Hunan was up a flight of stairs with no elevator. Many audience members have attended this San Francisco institution for 20+ years while others have attended every year since 1993. The show was live-streamed on Zoom and YouTube Live the past two years catering to 2000+ people and reaching audiences throughout the country and some internationally during the pandemic.

Kung Pao has been featured in the NY Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune… The virtual show was a Pick in the New York Times, The Forward, and Jewish newspapers in cities including Atlanta, Tampa and St. Louis, in addition to the SF Bay Area press.

Feeding the soul as well as the stomach. – New York Times

A San Francisco institution. – San Francisco Examiner

The Dinner Menu will feature our signature dish Kung Pao Chicken (or Tofu), along with Steamed Cod with Black Bean and Ginger Sauce, Chinese Green Beans with Mushrooms and Onions, Sautéed Eggplant with Red Bell Pepper and Garlic, and Steamed Jasmine Rice. Catering is being provided this year by Green Chow Down, headed up by chef Angela Chou. (Green Chow Down provides catering for local companies including Google, private events, weddings, fundraisers, and bar/bat mitzvahs.) Virtual Kung Pao viewers in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond may order the same menu through Chou’s ChowBox chowboxkungpaokosher.com. In-person attendees and virtual viewers who order the dinner will receive a custom-made Yiddish proverb fortune cookie with their dinner. Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in San Francisco's Chinatown has made fortune cookies since 1962 and Kung Pao’s since 1994. The Yiddish proverbs include the infamous “With one tuchus, you can’t dance at 2 weddings.” (You can’t be in two places at once.) The past two years, the fortune cookies were only virtual (motion graphics).

All in-person attendees will receive Kung Pao swag (a goodie bag) with their ticket: A pair of wooden custom-printed Kung Pao chopsticks custom-ordered from China, a packet of Yiddish-proverb fortune cookies, and more.

In July 2020, a few months into the pandemic, Lisa Geduldig, introduced her audiences to online comedy shows with the monthly Lockdown Comedy every third Thursday of the month (and still running) on Zoom hosted from her mother’s retirement community in Florida where Lisa accidentally found herself marooned for 17 months after going to visit for two weeks that March, just before the pandemic hit. (Lisa has been “commuting” between Florida and San Francisco for the past year.) Lisa’s 91-year old budding comedian mother, Arline, has been a special guest each month, performing on the show. The duo has received national press: The LA Times ran How A California Comic Launched A Virtual Stand-Up Show and Discovered A New Star: Mom; the San Francisco Examiner ran the article, Kung Pao Kosher Creator Introduces “Lockdown Comedy”: Lisa Geduldig and Her Mom Stream Standup, with Guests, from Florida, and in September, the San Francisco Chronicle did a feature S.F.’s Lisa Geduldig Happily Sharing Comedy Spotlight with A Fresh Talent, Her 90-Year-Old Mother.

COMEDIANS’ BIOS:
www.koshercomedy.com/comedians

Mark Schiff is a stand up comedian who has headlined at comedy clubs nationwide, including all the major casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, and has toured worldwide with Jerry Seinfeld for fifteen years. Mark has specials on HBO and Showtime, has appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "Late Night with David Letterman," is featured in Seinfeld’s Netflix special "Jerry Before Seinfeld" and "Live from the Laugh Factory with Dom Irrera," has been a writer and actor on "Mad About You," and has been the featured act at the Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival. He co-edited "I Killed: True Stories of the Road from America’s Top Comics” with Ritch Shydner, is the playwright of "Married People," co-written with Steve Shaffer, which played to sold-out audiences in Los Angeles in 2019, and “The Comic,” which ran in Los Angeles for ten months as well as at the Aspen Comedy Festival, a regular contributor to LA’s Jewish Journal, and the host of the podcast "You Don’t Know Schiff." Mark lives in Los Angeles with his first wife, his fifth dog, and photos of his three sons who have all moved out and have good jobs, yet still manage to call and ask for money. His new book "Why Not? Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah" is available on Amazon. MarkSchiff.com

Cathy Ladman is one of the country's top comedians. Her show is a self-probing vehicle which draws laughter from exposing personal neuroses. Cathy has not only appeared on "The Tonight Show" nine times but was also the only female comic to appear on the last two of Johnny Carson’s "Tonight Show Anniversary" shows. She has made four appearances thus far on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," did her own HBO "One Night Stand" comedy special, and was awarded the American Comedy Award for Best Female Stand Up Comic. A native New Yorker, now living in Los Angeles, Cathy is an acclaimed TV and film actor. Her film credits include "Charlie Wilson’s War," "The Aristocrats," and "White Oleander." Her TV appearances include "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Modern Family," and "Mad Men." She also appeared regularly on "Politically Incorrect" and Comedy Central's "Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist." Besides writing her stand up act and original scripted projects, Cathy was on the writing staffs of "The Caroline Rhea Show" (2002), "Caroline in the City" (different Caroline altogether – 1997), and "Roseanne" (1996). She also wrote an episode of "King of Queens" and other sitcoms. Cathy's comedy focuses on family, growing up, relationships, and real life from a very personal perspective. The Los Angeles Times put it best: "... Ladman has such clever, well-written material and such a breezy, unassuming delivery that it would be easy to overlook just how good she is: Her act seems effortless." CathyLadman.com

Orion Levine is a stand up comedian and actor from the Bay Area, currently based in Los Angeles in a room with unfortunate carpeting. Orion was named a New Face at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival (Montreal) in 2022 and a finalist at the San Francisco International Comedy Competition in 2021. Now he performs all over the country. He created and stars in the popular comedy web series titled Scorp Oner, an ongoing graffiti mockumentary based on his own experiences as an aspiring graffiti writer. OrionLevine.com

Arline Geduldig (joining by video message from Florida), 91 year young mother of Kung Pao producer, Lisa Geduldig, is a Florida-based budding comedian who took to the (virtual) stage for the first time in July 2020 on her daughter’s monthly Zoom comedy show, Lockdown Comedy; she has been charming audiences on the monthly show ever since. Arline grew up in Brooklyn, raised her kids on Long Island, and retired to Florida, as is Jewish law. She offers her keen observations on aging, hearing aids, and hot young firemen and reminisces about her first kiss. Arline has always been funny, and it was time for her to share her natural humor with her daughter’s audiences. 

Lisa Geduldig is a San Francisco-based comedian and the creator, producer, and MC of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™ — Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a Chinese Restaurant. Before the pandemic, Lisa had been running Comedy Returns to El Rio, a monthly decade-long comedy show at El Rio in San Francisco where her comedy career began 30+ years ago. Since July 2020, she has been producing Lockdown Comedy every 3rd Thursday of the month on Zoom from the underwear drawer in the guest room at her mother’s retirement community home in Florida, where she accidentally got marooned (in Florida, not in the underwear drawer) for 17 months during the pandemic (and became a fan of the Early Bird special). She has been commuting between Florida and San Francisco for the past year or so. Lisa appeared in a Canadian documentary, Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas, which aired on Canadian and European TV in December 2017. She is also a freelance arts publicist in both English and Spanish. SFPublicist.com

BENEFICIARIES:

Over the past 29 years, Kung Pao has raised 10’s of 1000’s of dollars and awareness for countless organizations. In keeping with the Jewish tradition of tzedakah (charity, in Hebrew - tied in with a sense of duty and social responsibility), each year Kung Pao donates partial proceeds to organizations and causes in which we believe.

THIS YEAR’S BENEFICIARIES

San Francisco-Marin Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in San Francisco and Marin. Before the pandemic, one in five neighbors was at risk of hunger, the pandemic upended thousands of people’s lives and livelihoods forcing more people than ever before to wonder where their next meal would come from. While we see our community slowly recovering, there is no vaccine for hunger. It will take time for those most impacted by the crisis to get back on their feet. The Food Bank continues to serve more than 50,000 households, compared to 32,000 pre-pandemic, and traffic to the find food page on our website is still up four times what it was pre-pandemic. We’ve met this need so far with the help of community partners, volunteers and other supporters. After more than a year responding to the pandemic, we are focused on returning to solutions that work and continuing to implement services developed during the crisis. It will take a collective effort to ensure we can continue to feed our neighbors facing hunger. www.sfmfoodbank.org

The Center for Reproductive Rights is a global human rights organization of lawyers and advocates who ensure reproductive rights are protected in law as fundamental human rights for the dignity, equality, health, and well-being of every person. Since its founding in 1992, the Center’s game-changing litigation, legal policy, and advocacy work—combined with unparalleled expertise in constitutional, international, and comparative human rights law—has transformed how reproductive rights are understood by courts, governments, and human rights bodies. Through their work across five continents, they have played a critical role in securing legal victories before national courts, United Nations Committees, and regional human rights bodies on reproductive rights issues including access to life-saving obstetrics care, contraception, maternal health, and safe abortion services, as well as the prevention of forced sterilization and child marriage. www.reproductiverights.org

Some Random Kung Pao Kosher Comedy Facts:

• Henny Youngman, The King of One-Liners, headlined in 1997, performing at what ended up being his last show; the 91 year old comedian died two months later in February 1998.
• A chapter in the book, A Kosher Christmas: 'Tis the Season to be Jewish focuses on Kung Pao.
• One couple, after 25 years, got married at the show by a rabbi they met at their table.
• One year someone brought a rooster named Vern as an emotional support animal. Really. 

Calendar Listing:

WHAT: The 30th Anniversary of Kung Pao Kosher Comedy™
Jewish Comedy on Christmas in a (pop-up) Chinese Restaurant

With Mark Schiff, Cathy Ladman, Orion Levine, Arline Geduldig (by video), and Lisa Geduldig

WHEN: Friday, December 23, Saturday, December 24, and Sunday, December 25
In-person: Dinner: 5pm. Show: 6pm.
Show (in-person and Livestream): 6pm PST /7pm MST / 8pm CST / 9pm EST

WHERE: In-person:
The Kung Pao Room
Congregation Sherith Israel
2266 California St. @ Webster
San Francisco, CA 94115

AND Virtually (on YouTube Live)

TICKETS: $30-$100 • www.CityBoxOffice.com/KungPao

INFO:  www.koshercomedy.com

PARTIAL PROCEEDS BENEFIT:
San Francisco-Marin Food Bank AND The Center for Reproductive Rights

Disclaimer: JRelease is a press release service of AJPA. AJPA does not endorse and cannot vouch for material distributed by this service.

Hartman Digital releases Heretic in the House, - A Groundbreaking Podcast Dismantling Stereotypes About Orthodox Jews Hosted by Naomi Seidman on November 21st

For Immediate Release:
November 18, 2022

What happens when the biggest thing in your life is the story that you're trying to put behind you? On Heretic in the House, a limited podcast series, host Naomi Seidman takes us on a deeply moving journey with people who have left the Hassidic community, to uncover their hidden stories.

Seidman is a professor, author, and a 2016 Guggenheim Fellow. Raised ultra-Orthodox, she "left the path" for the outside world when she was eighteen:

"When you leave the Hassidic community, there is a story of leaving and a story of being left behind. People are fascinated by it. On Heretic in the House, we probe why these stories are so captivating for Jews and non-Jews alike and, most importantly, what parts of the story are conspicuously excluded."

America has a fascination with Hasidic Jews, whether in shows like Netflix's Unorthodox, news reports about Orthodox schools, or memoirs but these popular depictions don't tell the whole story; they just tell the story the public wants to hear. What they hide is a complicated dance between Orthodox Judaism and those who leave it, and a web of stereotypes that trap Hasidim, rebels, and the public alike.

The Heretic in the House podcast tells powerful stories about real, complex people, family drama, and challenging personal odysseys. It talks about a truth that you won't see in popular depictions: when people leave Hasidic communities, the door almost never completely shuts behind them. Join us on Heretic in The House as we open that door for the first time.

This podcast is the first in a series of new releases from Hartman Digital, the audio and video production wing of the Shalom Hartman Institute. Included on the slate for later this year; Perfect Jewish Parents podcast, and in early 2023, a new YouTube series, Kosher in America.

The Shalom Hartman Institute is a leading center of Jewish thought and education, serving Israel and North America. The Institute is committed to the big relevant ideas impacting Jewish communities today and to ensuring that Judaism is a compelling force for good in the 21st century. 

For all media inquiries and to interview Seidman: Jan.greenfield@shalomhartman.org

https://www.hartman.org.il/heretic