In Search of Sugihara - Lecture by Hillel Levine at Derfner Museum

Kovno by Jonathan Hammer

In Search of Sugihara will take place June 4, in conjunction with the exhibition, "Jonathan Hammer: Kovno-Kobe," on view in the Derfner Judaica Museum through July 29.

The exhibition includes pastels, drawings, etchings and a bifold screen inspired by events during World War II, when the Japanese Consul in Kovno, Chiune (Sempo) Sugihara, issued 2,140 handwritten travel visas in the summer of 1940 to mostly Polish refugees in the city allowing them to escape from almost certain death.

Monday, June 4, 2012 at 2:00 p.m.

The Hebrew Home at Riverdale in the Biederman Library.

Hillel Levine is Professor of Sociology and Religion at Boston University. He received his rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. in Sociology and Jewish History from Harvard University. From 1973 to 1980 he taught sociology and Jewish history at Yale University, where he founded the program in Judaic Studies. From 1980 to 1982 he was Deputy Director for Museum Planning at the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in Washington. He has held visiting professorships in Japan, China, Poland, the Soviet Union, Brazil, and Israel. Professor Levine has written five books, including ""In Search of Sugihara"" (1996), and many articles on ethnic violence, normative conflict and how they may be resolved. His research provided the basis for an Oscar-winning documentary and two of his books are being made into documentaries and a feature-length dramatization. He is a popular lecturer, guest columnist in newspapers, and makes frequent radio and television appearances. He is also the President of the International Center for Conciliation, an NGO organized to prevent and resolve violent conflicts that are made all the more volatile by disputed histories and memories of past injuries.

As a member of the American Association of Museums, The Hebrew Home at Riverdale is committed to publicly exhibiting its art collection throughout its 19-acre campus, including the Derfner Judaica Museum and a sculpture garden overlooking the Hudson River and Palisades. The Derfner Judaica Museum + The Art Collection provide educational and cultural programming for residents of the Hebrew Home, their families and the general public from throughout New York City, its surrounding suburbs and visitors from elsewhere. The Home is a nonprofit, non-sectarian geriatric center serving more than 3,000 elderly persons through its resources and community service programs.

The Art Collection, Gilbert Pavilion Gallery and grounds are open daily, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
The Derfner Judaica Museum is open, Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Please call (718) 581-1596 for holiday hours.
http://www.hebrewhome.org/art.asp