Berkowitz to speak on blood libel case plays

          Exactly 100 years ago this month, Russian Jew Mendel Beilis was put on trial for the “ritual murder” of a Christian boy.

          This event not only sparked worldwide protests against Russian anti-Semitism and inspired American Jewish author Bernard Malamud’s 1966 novel “The Fixer”; it also became the controversial inspiration for several Yiddish theater works.

          Joel Berkowitz is director of the Sam & Helen Stahl Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and an expert on the Yiddish theater.

          He will speak about the Beilis case and the Yiddish plays and controversies that resulted on Wednesday, Oct. 2, 7 p.m., at Congregation Emanu-El B’ne Jeshurun, 2020 W. Brown Deer Rd. Admission is free.

          The talk will inaugurate a series of Stahl Center events for academic year 2013-14 on the theme “Art & Conflict: Ashkenaz and Beyond.” See future Chronicle issues for other announcements of programs in the series.