FILMS PORTRAYING TWO ISOLATED JEWISH COMMUNITIES AT THE CHATHAM SYNAGOGUE

PRESS RELEASE

The Chatham Synagogue will screen The Fire Within and Baghdad Twist on  November 21 as the latest presentations in its Saturday night film series.

The showings will take place at 8 p.m. in the synagogue, which is located in Chatham Center. Admission is free; a donation of $5 is suggested to cover the cost of refreshments, which will be served during a discussion period following showing of the films.

The Fire Within focuses on the Jewish community in Iquitos, an isolated city in northeastern Peru on the Amazon River. Young Jewish men from Morocco were drawn there in the late 19th century by the rubber growing boom in the rain forest. Many married local women; the film tells the story of their descendants—“judios mestizos”—as they strive for identity and spirituality.

Baghdad Twist centers on a city that is particularly familiar to contemporary Americans but whose Jewish community is barely evident, although it thrived during much of its long history, which dates back to Babylonian times. The documentary compares that vibrant and secur past with its endangered and gloomy present.

The Chatham Synagogue is located on Route 28 just west of Route 66. Further directions are on its website, chathamsynagogue.org.