The founder of Haagan Dazs, the role of Estella Solomons in the Easter Rising, the first president of Israel…Adams & Butler is hosting a webinar about Ireland’s lesser known Jewish past on Wednesday, February 2 at 5pm GMT. During the “Jewish Ireland” webinar, embark on a journey to learn more about Jewish heritage in Ireland as well as its fascinating place in the country’s history.
Joining the webinar as a panelist will be acclaimed Jewish film director Valerie Lapin Ganley. Ganley is a two-time Emmy Awards recipient and several of her works revolve around anti-Semitism and Judaism. In 2003, Ganley released her feature-length directorial debut, Shalom Irleand – a one-hour documentary about Ireland’s remarkable, yet little known, Jewish community. This fascinating film chronicles the history of Irish Jewry while celebrating the unique culture created by blending Irish and Jewish traditions. From gun running for the Irish Republican Army during Ireland’s War of Independence to smuggling fellow Jews escaping from the Holocaust into Palestine, Shalom Ireland tells the untold story of how Irish Jews participated in the creation of both Ireland and Israel.
On the webinar, Ganley will be joined by Peter White, Martin McAuley and Ruti Lachs – three of Adams & Butler’s leading Jewish historians.
Lachs is a musician, music teacher, community musician, researcher and writer based in County Cork. She has produced the award winning video Cork Jewish Culture Virtual Walk and has written a musical play set in Cork city’s Jewish community in the early 1900s. She plays klezmer music on accordion and trombone, sings Yiddish songs, performs one-woman shows, runs music workshops for children and adults and teaches piano. Her inside knowledge and deep research of Cork’s Jewish community and culture make her tour of Jewish Cork both historically and culturally interesting and fun.
In the Irish capital, join Peter White and discover the past and present circumstances of Dublin’s Jewish community. Learn about the role of Jews like the British Jewish politician Baron Lionel de Rothschild and rabbis in New York to offer relief aid during the Great Potato Famine and Irish Jews like Estella Solomons who played a major role in the Easter Rising or Easter Rebellion of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence of 1919-1921.
Now, onto Belfast. There is an amazing Jewish history in Belfast, unique in the world – a President, a Chief Rabbi, a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel all came from Belfast. One of the founders of Haagan Dazs lived in Belfast, and the city had a Jewish Lord Mayor 100 years before a Catholic one. Moreover, large Jewish companies started in Belfast. For example, the founders of Beaverbrooks, with no shop to sell from, took to the streets of Belfast with no more than a suitcase full of silverware; and, fueled by boundless ambition and enthusiasm, they began building the foundations for the strong family business that is Beaverbrooks. Today, Beaverbrooks has 71 UK stores and over 900 employees.
Link to join but register here first.
