OCJCR Book Club – May 19
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) While the Earth Sleeps We Travel by Ahmed M. Badr THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK A groundbreaking collection of poetry, personal narratives, and art from refugee youth around the world. Foreword by actor and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Ben Stiller. Beginning in 2018, Ahmed M. Badr—an […]
OCJCR Book Club – April 14
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) Where We Come From by Oscar Caesares THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK A stunning and timely novel about a Mexican-American family in Brownsville, Texas, that reluctantly becomes involved in smuggling immigrants into the United States. From a distance, the towns along the U.S.-Mexican […]
OCJCR Book Club – March 17
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) America is not the Heart by Elaine Castillo THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK Named one of the best books of the year by NPR, Real Simple, Lit Hub, The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Post, Kirkus Reviews, and The New York Public Library“A […]
OCJCR Book Club – February 10
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears: A Novel by Dinaw Mengestu THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK Like the protagonist of this 2007 debut novel, Dinaw Mengestu came to the United States from Ethiopia, fleeing with his family after the Communist Revolution in 1974, […]
OCJCR Book Club – January 13
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Barbarian Nurseries by Hector Tobar THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK The Barbarian Nurseries examines the class and ethnic divide in modern Southern California. It was a New York Times Notable Book; and a winner of the California Book Award Gold Medal for […]
OCJCR Book Club – November 11
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Ungrateful Refugee: What Immigrants Never Tell You by Dina Nayeri THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “Dina Nayeri’s powerful writing confronts issues that are key to the refugee experience.” ―Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Sympathizer and The Refugees What is it like to […]
OCJCR Book Club – October 7
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives by Viet Thanh Nguyen THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “In this collection of 17 essays (one consisting of cartoons) by writers who were forced to leave their homes, Viet Thanh Nguyen, a Pulitzer-winning novelist and himself […]
OCJCR Book Club – September 9
Register at https://tinyurl.com/OCJCRBookClub. (Books must be purchased separately) Go Back to Where You Came From: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American by Wajahat Ali THE BOOK THE FACILITATOR Sam Kolodezh ABOUT THE BOOK “Go back to where you came from, you terrorist!” This is just one of the many warm, lovely, and […]
Rebuilding Lives Anew: A Tisha b’Av Experience
Register to attend here. Please join us on Sunday, August 7 at 3 pm for our annual Tisha b’Av program at Temple Beth El in South Orange County. As we reflect on the losses Jews have suffered as a persecuted and displaced people many times over, we honor our obligation to help and connect with people […]
Open House
REGISTER HERE Join OCJCR leadership to learn about the myriad ways to become engaged with volunteering to help refugees and asylum seekers. You will have the opportunity to listen to short presentations about each area of OCJCR’s work, meet with committee chairs, ask questions, and let us know how YOU would like to be involved. […]
