Mark Oppenheimer, Squirrel Hill

THIS EVENT IS NOW VIRTUAL AND WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED ON ZOOM!

MJCCA Book Fest In Your Living Room Presents
Mark Oppenheimer, Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood

Author Talk & Q & A

Our program will begin with a Kristallnacht Commemoration with Rabbi Brian Glusman

A Cappella Books is the official bookseller of the National JCC Literary Consortium.
Presented in partnership with the National JCC Literary Consortium and The Breman Museum

Squirrel Hill, Pittsburgh, is one of the oldest Jewish neighborhoods in the country, known for its tight-knit community and the profusion of multigenerational families. On October 27, 2018, a gunman killed eleven Jews who were worshipping at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill--the most deadly anti-Semitic attack in American history.

Many neighborhoods would be understandably subsumed by despair and recrimination after such an event, but not this one. Mark Oppenheimer poignantly shifts the focus away from the criminal and his crime, and instead presents the historic, spirited community at the center of this heartbreak. He speaks with residents and nonresidents, Jews and gentiles, survivors and witnesses, teenagers and seniors, activists and historians.

A piercing portrait of the struggles and triumphs of a singular community in the wake of unspeakable tragedy that highlights the hopes, fears, and tensions all Americans must confront on the road to healing.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Oppenheimer is the author of five books, including Knocking on Heaven’s Door: American Religion in the Age of Counterculture and The Newish Jewish Encyclopedia. He was the religion columnist for The New York Times from 2010 to 2016 and has written for The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Mother Jones, The Nation, and The Believer, among other publications. The host of Tablet magazine’s podcast Unorthodox, Oppenheimer has taught at Stanford, Wellesley, and Yale, where since 2006 he has directed the Yale Journalism Initiative. He lives with his family in New Haven, Connecticut.

COVID-19 INFORMATION: Please note that the MJCCA continuously monitors public health guidance and prior to an in-person event reserves the right to make event adjustments accordingly. If an event cannot proceed in person, the program will be postponed to a later date or held virtually. All ticket holders will be notified and tickets transferred accordingly. All attendees must wear masks at Book Festival of the MJCCA events.

All books include shipping to the US and Canada only. Books will be shipped after the event and can take 7 - 10 business days to receive due to Covid-related USPS delays!

EVENT RECORDINGS:
Event recording for ticket holders will be available 24 hours after the event for a limited time; please email bookfestival@atlantajcc.org if you would like a copy.
On-demand recording of the event may be purchased on this ticketing page after the program.