Booksigning and Talk with Rachel Shabi and Jordan Elgrably

Rachel Shabi, winner of a 2009 National Jewish Book Council award for Not the Enemy: Israel's Jews from Arab Lands, will be reading, signing books and taking questions in an informal event. Born in Israel, raised in the UK and now living in Tel Aviv, Rachel writes for media outlets in the US, Europe and the Middle East, including The Guardian, Salon.com, Jane's Intelligence Digest, al-Jazeera English, al-Ahram, The Jewish Quarterly, the Sunday Times of London and The New Statesman. Jordan Elgrably, also a writer of Sephardi descent, will speak about the Levantince Culture Center in Los Angeles, which he founded in 2001 and now directs.

Both Rachel and Jordan work to educate European and North/South American Jews about the rich traditions, culture and history of the Arab Jews, aka Sephardim and Mizrahim. Both feel that understanding of the roots of Judaism and its deep connections with other groups in the Levant will promote lasting peace and justice between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as Arabs and Muslims worldwide. They are both concerned to see the state of Israel recognize the links it has to the countries and cultures of the Middle East and the Levant.