Renowned actor and Jewish culture activist Avi Hoffman has created a series of programming that focuses on education, entertainment, tolerance and Holocaust awareness.
There will be events in Miami, other South Florida cities and New York City, with those in April especially significant because it is Holocaust Remembrance Month.
Hoffman, who recently was inducted into the Bronx Jewish Hall of Fame, is working with the University of Miami Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies and the George Feldenkreis Program in Judaic Studies. The eclectic program includes myriad events and panels, which aim to heal the world through education and the arts.
“I have lived and loved South Florida for the past 20 years,” Hoffman said. “I have been given extraordinary opportunities to hone my craft and do what I love. I will always be a Bronx Boychik, but nothing compares to Florida winters.
“In 1980 I graduated from the University of Miami, and now I am blessed to be able to be associated with Dr. Haim Shaked and the University of Miami Miller Center in creating a Yiddishkayt Initiative, acknowledging the contributions of Jewish and Yiddish language and culture on mainstream American history.”
Hoffman, who has been featured in a handful of television shows such as the Miami-based Bloodline and Magic City, as well as Law & Order, is mostly recognized for his award-winning shows that aim to keep the Yiddish language and Jewish culture alive. He thinks his project is now more important than ever.
“As a child of Holocaust survivors and having dedicated so much of my life and career to Holocaust awareness and education, I have always felt a very personal attachment to the words ‘Never Again,’” Hoffman said. “The wild explosion of recent anti-Semitic vandalism and bomb threats and the many acts of hatred and intolerance, make this moment in history more important than ever.
He said that for him these powerful words refer not only to the six million Jews who were murdered, including most of his own family, but also to the six million other victims; the political prisoners, the clergy, the Roma, the LGBTQ and disabled communities as so many others.
“At this moment in history, there are many people, all over the world, of all faiths, genders, cultures and nationalities that feel like victims. My family was not protected and many died, the survivors became refugees of a World War; today’s wars and famines create victims whose lives should be protected. How many have to die before we understand that ‘never again’ Is now.”
Schedule of appearances:
Thursday, Mar. 30, 7:30 p.m., Avi Hoffman will be performing in a reading of Address Unknown. The play demonstrates how the seeds of prejudice take root in an atmosphere of hatred. Las Olas Jewish Center, 1302 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale. For pricing information and ticket purchase visit: bit.ly/2lWLGZU.
Sunday, Apr. 2, 2 p.m., The Dachau Album: An Interfaith Holocaust Project — an interfaith holocaust project interconnecting the worlds of Christianity and Judaism, art and reality, life and death, love, desperation, and the ultimate triumph of hope and the human Spirit. Adolph & Rose Levis Jewish Community Center, 9801 Donna Klein Blvd., Boca Raton. This event is open free to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Tuesday, Apr. 4, 7 p.m., A Happy End!, a popular play written by Iddo Netenyahu about the story of a family in Berlin during the Holocaust. JCAT-The J’s Cultural Arts Theatre, 18900 NE 25 Ave., North Miami Beach. This event is open free to the public on a first-come, fir-serve basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Apr. 12, 11:30 a.m., The Dachau Album: An Interfaith Holocaust Project, Gold Coast Tiger Bay Club, 21798 Cypress Drive, Boca Raton. For pricing information and ticket purchase visit: bit.ly/2mDfzgC.
May 3-21, World Premiere of Broken Snow, An unforgettable tale of two strangers who are brought together by a mystery that will make them question everything about who they are and their father’s shocking history. The World Premiere in Miami, JCAT-The J’s Cultural Arts Theatre, 18900 NE 25 Ave., North Miami Beach. This event is open free to the public on a first-come, first-serve basis. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
The April 12th Tiger Bay Club Luncheon is at the City Fish Market in Boca Raton