Krav Maga is back! This two hour introduction seminar is being offered in response to a real and present need many in our Jewish community are feeling right now: the desire to be more prepared, informed, and capable in uncertain situations.

Before becoming the system for the IDF, Krav Maga was developed as a Jewish civilian self-defense system, designed to work for people of all sizes, strengths, and physical backgrounds. It emphasizes the simplest, most direct responses that align with natural human reactions under stress of a physical assault, rather than relying on complex techniques or physical dominance.

$36/Person TICKETS HERE

This introduction class is led by Jazzy Green, an expert-level Krav Maga Worldwide instructor trained through the international community’s most direct lineage from the creator of the system. Her teaching focuses on efficiency, realism, and understanding — helping students learn not just what to do, but how to access those skills when adrenaline and fear are present.

This seminar is open to those who want a serious, grounded approach to personal safety, taught with respect for the realities people are navigating right now and that Jews have been navigating throughout history. This is not about fear — it’s about preparedness, connection, and taking care of one another. Expect physicality at your level of ability along with technique practice.

Jazzy is particularly looking for students who have interest in the possibility of continued learning in subsequent classes to the point where they can defend a wide range of assaults from any grab to disarming any weapon.

She will soon be offering teen and young adult classes so bring your teen if you would like to introduce it to them with you.

“So one may walk in peace” - Imi Lichtenfeld, creator of Krav Maga

You are welcome to reach out to her with any questions:

jazzy-green.com

“A must for all readers interested in the contemporary American literary scene.” - Kirkus Reviews

Join fellow seniors (and future seniors) to discuss Philip Roth’s 1959 book Goodbye, Columbus. This collection contains the titular novella and five short stories, giving us lots of conversation options. The book, Roth’s first, won the 1960 National Book Award for Fiction, was hailed as a critical success, and raised controversy in and out of Jewish community. Let’s see how it stands up 67 years later! 

EJC Reads — our monthly book club for seniors — meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 11am-noon at EJC. Free. No RSVP required. Snacks & drinks provided.

EJC Daytime Klezmer Jam

Longtime EJC Klez Jammer, Sharon Hennessy has stepped past her role of stalwart accordionist and has organized the next EJC Klezmer Jam. Repertoire and more info here. If you’d like to come please email Sharon.  

When the Ku Klux Klan re-emerged as a mass movement in the early 1920s, the hate group’s main targets were Catholics and other immigrants, but the revived Klan swiftly became the largest, most powerful anti-Semitic force in the nation’s history.

Retired Oregon newspaper reporter Steve Law brings this long-buried and sordid history to life in his new book Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in 1920s Oregon, published by OSU Press.

Author reading, slideshow and discussion, with book signing

to follow Free, all ages. Please register and consider making a

donation to EJC at checkout.

As Rev. Reuben Sawyer, a paid Klan lecturer, told 6,000 Portlanders in a December 1921 lecture, the Klan didn’t see Jews as their enemies, unless they rejected the teachings of Jesus.

The second Klan posed as a mainstream fraternal lodge but was a private corporation whose leaders exploited bigotry against foreigners and minorities to build political power and riches. Law will detail how the Klan toppled an incumbent governor, gained control of the Oregon Legislature and convinced voters to ban private schools—a barely disguised ploy to attack Catholics. A greater share of Oregonians joined the Klan than in any state besides Indiana, and Portland was the hate group’s power base.

Praise for Peddlers of Hate

“Peddlers of Hate: How the Ku Klux Klan Seized Power in

1920s Oregon, a new book by Portland journalist Steve Law, is a

masterful study of how a band of hucksters harnessed

xenophobia to become the state’s dominant political force—a

story with disturbing parallels to the Proud Boys and Make

America Great Again.”

—Chris Lydgate, Portland Monthly

“Yes, as veteran Oregon newsman Steve Law describes in his

eye-opening new book, Peddlers of Hate (OSU Press, 278

pages, $29.95), the Ku Klux Klan was a thing in Oregon in the

early 1920s—a big thing, particularly in Portland. Two burning

crosses 30 feet high once lit up Mount Scott and eight crosses

burned on Mount Tabor, visible to Portlanders for miles around.

The Klan frequently filled Portland’s Municipal Auditorium,

what we now call the Keller, for sold-out recruiting lectures and

initiation ceremonies that turned away thousands for lack of

seats.”

—Matt Buckingham, Willamette Week

“A new, deeply researched book by retired reporter and editor

Steve Law, Peddlers of Hate, provides historical context for one

notorious period in particular—the rise and fall of the Ku Klux

Klan in Oregon. And the similarities to today’s United States are

profound.”

—Jeremiah Hayden, Portland Mercury

Enjoy our free monthly concert series with top musicians!

Aaron Larget-Caplan Guitar America – Revolutionaries and Rockstars

The American story through guitar, poetry, and protest.

Larget-Caplan’s ‘Guitar America – Revolutions in Music’ explores pre-Civil War music through the World Wars, 20th century composers including Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, and John Cage, pop-culture icons Paul Simon and Eddie Van Halen, as well as new works by living composers Ian Wiese, Michael Nix, and Larget-Caplan’s Bill of Rights, Amended, a poetic presentation of the words of James Madison. 

All ages, free, registration requested, consider donating to EJC programming at checkout.

“A riveting artist” (The Washington Post), international guitarist, composer, and Colorado native, Aaron Larget-Caplan performs music from his latest album ‘Guitar America 250 – Revolutionaries and Rockstars’.

Pack a lunch or stop by one of the many pods at 24th and Glisan, bring your food in (no pork or shellfish, please), and come and hear the music! Small concerts that are semi-acoustic and always enlivening. All are welcome. What better thing is there to do on a Friday afternoon?!

Special Co-Sponsor to the concert: Casa Della Zisa Collegium Musica

Casa Della Zisa Collegium Musica is a non-profit is a 501(c) non-profit dedicated to bringing community together through music and cultural exchange.

More about Aaron Larget-Caplan

A daring and trailblazing classical guitarist and composer, Aaron Larget-Caplan searches for the life in music and music in life. He has performed over 1000 concerts in Europe, Russia, Asia, and the USA, premiered over 120 compositions, directs the Spanish music & dance ensemble ¡Con Fuego!, and curates the New Lullaby Project and the Now Musique recital series. His arrangements and recording of the music of John Cage, published by Edition Peters, have received international accolades, and are the first to be sanctioned by the John Cage Trust.

His 12 solo albums have earned 14-million streams, and include albums dedicated to J.S. Bach, Cage, American, Japanese and Spanish romantic and flamenco composers, contemporary composers, and his own music.

As a composer he has arranged and composed over 85 solo and chamber works. His first work for choir and guitar, ‘Cider Meditation,’ was premiered in 2025 by the choir Kantorei in Denver, Colorado. The American Composers Alliance publishes his compositions including his collection of guitar solos, honey cadence, and will issue a collection of piano solo in 2026.

Raised in Colorado, he makes his home in Boston with his wife and muse, Catherine. He is on the faculty at the New England Conservatory.

“Aaron Larget-Caplan is a master arranger and master guitarist. Guitar America 250 is fantastic.” – Fanfare

“Larget-Caplan represents the ideal 21st century artist.” – Network for New Music

“Astounding technical proficiency and artistic delicacy”– Boston Music intelligencer

“Guitar America 250 leads us through a compelling narrative of the bounty of American diversity. It lays out the story of America writ large, encompassing the grandeur of the country without grandiose declaration.” – David Liptak, composer

Rey Abolofia: The Jewish Clarinet

An hour of clarinet music by Verdi, Simeon Bellison, Gershwin, Milhaud, and Steve Reich, who turns ninety this month. Five pieces, five worlds — opera, klezmer, the American songbook, French modernism, and minimalism.

All ages. Suggested $18. Children 12 and under free. TICKETS HERE

At the center is Reich's New York Counterpoint, a cornerstone of the modern clarinet repertoire that is almost never heard the way it was built to be heard. Rey plays the live part against ten clarinet parts he recorded himself, played back through speakers set around the room rather than aimed at the audience from a stage. The sound arrives from every direction at once. You don't so much listen to this music as sit inside it.

Rey introduces each piece from the stage: who wrote it, when, why it belongs on a program called The Jewish Clarinet, and how being Jewish shaped the music.

Program

- Verdi, La forza del destino, arranged for clarinet and piano

- Bellison, Four Hebraic Pictures

- Gershwin, three pieces, arranged for clarinet and piano

- Milhaud, Duo concertant

- Reich, New York Counterpoint

Rey Abolofia, clarinet

Lee Melaugh, piano

Cory Johannsen and Yoni Schultz, sound design.

About Rey Abolofia

Rey Abolofia is Principal Clarinet of the Salem Philharmonia Orchestra and bass clarinetist with the Sunnyside Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in recitals across the United States, Europe, and Africa. He studied clarinet at the Eastman School of Music and holds a Master's degree in Music from Portland State University, magna cum laude.

He is also a historian of the music he plays. His graduate and doctoral work centered on musicology — early music, particularly the vocal repertoire of the fifteenth century, and the intersection of music theory and mathematics — and he teaches music history on the faculty of Music Camps at Wallowa Lake. Rey has taught clarinet privately in Portland for twenty-five years. In 2008 he received the Portland State University President's Award for Outstanding Community Engagement, the highest honor conferred by the University President, for his work in public schools, recitals in local nursing homes, and dedication to his students.

Where Is My Pants: A presentation by Bellows & Squawk on the confluence of Yiddish music, jazz, and American popular song, with maybe a little humor.

Musicians and composers of various ethnic traditions have always listened to and incorporated each other’s ideas. Bellows & Squawk will sing some songs, play a few bits of recordings, and discuss how Yiddish theatre composers quickly absorbed jazz, Latin, and other popular genres, and vice versa. They will sing some Yiddish songs that crossed over to the popular mainstream, and pay a visit to Mickey Katz, among other detours.

Free, All ages, registration requested Please consider donating to EJC to support programming like this at checkout.

Love to read poetry? Drawn to Jewish poets writing in English, Hebrew, and Yiddish in translation? Let's lift the poetry off the page with some communal meaning-making. Quarterly meetings led by group members on books of their choosing.

Join us quarterly on the last Wednesday of the month,

Reading Practice by David Bellm, ISBN: 978-0-9767642-5-0, Discussion led by Trina Gaynon

Feel free to bring your lunch and please plan on making a small donation to EJC each time we meet.  $3-$10 is suggested. No one turned away for lack of funds.  No registration, just come in-person!

 Email bjftighe@hotmail.com with questions

EJC Daytime Klezmer Jam

Longtime EJC Klez Jammer, Sharon Hennessy has stepped past her role of stalwart accordionist and has organized the next EJC Klezmer Jam. Repertoire and more info here. If you’d like to come please email Sharon.  

Hanukkah in a New Light: A Lunch & Learn Series

How did an ancient holiday about cultural uprising become a defining celebration of American Jewish life? Beginning in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah and concluding during the holiday itself, this series invites you to deepen your relationship to the Festival of Lights. Join Dr. Yosef Rosen, the Director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, for a four-session exploration of Hanukkah’s surprising history, evolving rituals, and spiritual possibilities. We’ll investigate its relationship to Christmas and the winter solstice, uncover the history of dreidel play, explore the controversies surrounding public menorah lighting, and unpack how American Jews have transformed the holiday over the past century. Come for fresh perspectives, lively conversation, and a deeper understanding of a familiar holiday. Lunch is provided. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge is needed!

Eastside Jewish Commons

Thursdays: November 5 & 12 and December 3 & 10, 2026

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

$36 Please note you must sign up for ALL four sessions (no drop-ins). TICKETS HERE

The community celebration of Sigd is back at EJC, by popular demand! Join us for the celebration of the Jewish Ethiopian community holiday - Sigd. Sigd is a Jewish holiday that was preserved by Ethiopian Jews for centuries. It centers on the idea of accepting the Torah and yearning for Israel and Jerusalem. The holiday serves as another, more public layer beyond the private introspection of Yom Kippur.

This will be a community celebration! We will learn few Ethiopian dances eat Ethiopian food and participate in the traditional coffee ceremony.

All ages/$10 person (This event has limited attendance so be sure to get your tickets sooner rather than later).Tickets Here.

“Throughout this rich, complex and haunting novel, Horn reminds us that our world poses constant threats to the artist and to art, to the individual and the creative spirit.” - Susann Cokal, The New York Times

A stolen painting. A child prodigy. Jewish life in Soviet Russia. The World to Come weaves all this and more together with Yiddish language, mourning, and folktales. Join fellow seniors (and future seniors) to discuss this “engrossing adventure” by three-time winner of the National Jewish Book Award Dara Horn. Published in 2006, Horn’s second novel propelled her into the spotlight and raised her profile as one of the most important contemporary Jewish novelists.

EJC Reads — our monthly book club for seniors — meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 11am-noon at EJC. Free. No RSVP required. Snacks & drinks provided.

EJC Daytime Klezmer Jam

Longtime EJC Klez Jammer, Sharon Hennessy has stepped past her role of stalwart accordionist and has organized the next EJC Klezmer Jam. Repertoire and more info here. If you’d like to come please email Sharon.  

Hanukkah in a New Light: A Lunch & Learn Series

How did an ancient holiday about cultural uprising become a defining celebration of American Jewish life? Beginning in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah and concluding during the holiday itself, this series invites you to deepen your relationship to the Festival of Lights. Join Dr. Yosef Rosen, the Director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, for a four-session exploration of Hanukkah’s surprising history, evolving rituals, and spiritual possibilities. We’ll investigate its relationship to Christmas and the winter solstice, uncover the history of dreidel play, explore the controversies surrounding public menorah lighting, and unpack how American Jews have transformed the holiday over the past century. Come for fresh perspectives, lively conversation, and a deeper understanding of a familiar holiday. Lunch is provided. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge is needed!

Eastside Jewish Commons

Thursdays: November 5 & 12 and December 3 & 10, 2026

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

$36 Please note you must sign up for ALL four sessions (no drop-ins). TICKETS HERE

Community member David Rutiezer invites all singers and their friends to come and sing at EJC at our first ever vocal jazz jam! Patrick Carr on piano! This will be a fun, supportive space to belt out your favorite show tunes, jazz standards, folk songs, or country western songs accompanied by a professional pianist. Bring sheet music in your key or iRealPro charts, or fake charts. Listeners also welcome.

All ages, free, but tip your pianist! Registration Requested.

David Rutiezer sings and plays keyboard and ukulele, has a background in music therapy, has performed in nursing homes, memory care communities, and rehabilitation centers, and released a music album for children, The Kid in Me, in November 2014. He’s performed and taught Israeli and International folk dancing for people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds across the Pacific Northwest.

Patrick Carr

Patrick Carr was born and raised in a musical family in Nashville, Tennessee. He studied jazz at the University of North Texas, where he taught and directed medium and large ensembles as a teaching fellow. He now lives in Portland, Oregon where he performs regularly with Ron Steen, the Rivkah Ross quartet, and many other local jazz musicians.

See Jane Run, An Indo Story is a solo memoir play written and performed by Dr. Jane Vogel Mantiri and directed by Andrés Alcalá.

Step into the powerful, true story of an Indo (Indonesian-European) refugee child who grows up to reclaim her voice, her history, and her joy. In this intimate, one‑woman show, Jane traces her journey from wartime displacement and family silence to healing, humor, and hard‑won hope, inviting audiences to consider what it really means to belong. There will be a brief talkback after the show.

All Ages $15-$20/person sliding Scale. TICKETS HERE.

See Jane Run is a riveting, raw, and funny refugee immigrant story about the flawed pursuit of the American Dream. Jane takes audiences on a fast-paced and eye-opening journey from her homeland in Indonesia to the United States. Papa tells Jane, “We will all be happy in America. I promise!” As the family flees danger, the trauma and secrets of the past follow them, and their odyssey is filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Watch this Short Video about the production.

Dr. Jane Vogel Mantiri is a retired trauma psychologist, acclaimed Portland actor, social justice activist, and founder of AGE: Advance Gender and Equity in the Arts. Acting credits include Children’s Hour, Speech and Debate, Clean House, and Fred’s Mom in Portlandia. She founded Advance Gender Equity in the Arts (AGE), a Portland-based social justice arts organization created to empower artists who have been marginalized because of gender, age, and race. Jane was awarded the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award by her alma mater, Carroll University. Drawing on a lifetime of advocacy and artistry, she brings the “American Indo Dream” to life with raw honesty, warmth, and unexpected laughter.

Andrés Alcalá is a national award winning actor, director, educator, and teaching artist. He has performed in numerous theaters including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Portland Center Stage, Artist Repertory Theatre, Northwest Children's Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Phoenix Theatre, as well as six years as an associate artist with Childsplay. He has performed in two National Tours, and directed and performed as Ferdinand the Bull on the National Tour. Andrés holds a BFA in acting from Southern Oregon University. He has spent the last 15 years developing his skills as an animation and projection designer for theatre. In addition to being a multi-hypenate artist, Andrés enjoys living life on the road, and spending as much time with his immediate family as possible. He is choosing to focus on artistic work that has a heart.

Hanukkah in a New Light: A Lunch & Learn Series

How did an ancient holiday about cultural uprising become a defining celebration of American Jewish life? Beginning in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah and concluding during the holiday itself, this series invites you to deepen your relationship to the Festival of Lights. Join Dr. Yosef Rosen, the Director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, for a four-session exploration of Hanukkah’s surprising history, evolving rituals, and spiritual possibilities. We’ll investigate its relationship to Christmas and the winter solstice, uncover the history of dreidel play, explore the controversies surrounding public menorah lighting, and unpack how American Jews have transformed the holiday over the past century. Come for fresh perspectives, lively conversation, and a deeper understanding of a familiar holiday. Lunch is provided. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge is needed!

Eastside Jewish Commons

Thursdays: November 5 & 12 and December 3 & 10, 2026

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

$36 Please note you must sign up for ALL four sessions (no drop-ins). TICKETS HERE

“Intelligent, thoughtful, gracefully written and original.” - Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post

What could be more appropriate for a Jewish book club than a book titled People of the Book! Join fellow seniors (and future seniors) for our sixth meeting of EJC Reads as we discuss Pulitzer Prize winning author Geraldine Brooks’ 2008 historical novel. Based in part on a true story, this “tour de force” (San Francisco Chronicle) traces the journey of the Sarajevo Haggadah into the hands of an Australian rare-book expert. Hidden within the binding, a series of tiny artifacts, reveals the book’s storied history and the lengths people will go to save a work of art.

EJC Reads — our monthly book club for seniors — meets on the 2nd Tuesday of every month from 11am-noon at EJC. Free. No RSVP required. Snacks & drinks provided.

Hanukkah in a New Light: A Lunch & Learn Series

How did an ancient holiday about cultural uprising become a defining celebration of American Jewish life? Beginning in the weeks leading up to Hanukkah and concluding during the holiday itself, this series invites you to deepen your relationship to the Festival of Lights. Join Dr. Yosef Rosen, the Director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland, for a four-session exploration of Hanukkah’s surprising history, evolving rituals, and spiritual possibilities. We’ll investigate its relationship to Christmas and the winter solstice, uncover the history of dreidel play, explore the controversies surrounding public menorah lighting, and unpack how American Jews have transformed the holiday over the past century. Come for fresh perspectives, lively conversation, and a deeper understanding of a familiar holiday. Lunch is provided. All are welcome, and no prior knowledge is needed!

Eastside Jewish Commons

Thursdays: November 5 & 12 and December 3 & 10, 2026

11:30 a.m.–1:00 p.m.

$36 Please note you must sign up for ALL four sessions (no drop-ins). TICKETS HERE