Taking inspiration from exhibiting artist Laurie Wohl’s Birds of Longing: Exile and Memory, panel participants will speak to the interweaving of words, beliefs, and philosophies amongst the Abrahamic religions. Participants include: Wohl, Maha Elgenaidi from the Islamic Networks Group, Rev. Dr. D. Andrew Kille editor of Reading Between The Lines, and Rabbi Me’irah Susan Iliinsky from VITAS Healthcare.

Birds of Longing interweaves Muslim, Jewish, and Christian poetry and spiritual texts from the period of convivencia (co-existence) in Spain (8th-15th centuries), and from modern Middle Eastern poets, particularly Palestinian and Israeli.

Emphasis is on the common themes and striking parallels between Arabic and Hebrew texts, similarly rich in their poetry of spiritual love, an extensive poetry of exile, and poetry of nostalgia for Andalusia.

The project contains Wohl’s weavings, as well as an audio component which consists of readings in English, Arabic, and Hebrew that are interwoven to create a soundscape illustrating the commonality of the Middle Eastern languages.

All 2015-2016 art exhibits are made possible, in part, by a generous gift from Cookie Addison & Family.
All APJCC programming for Cultural Arts is made possible, in part, by generous gifts from Sylvia & Leonard Metz, Doris & Rick Davis, and Bill Lister.
The APJCC is proud to be a part of the Initiative on Jewish Peoplehood,
co-funded by the Koret Foundation and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture.