NYC Jewish-y Events, April 20 – April 30

ISRAEL STORY LIVE: MIXTAPE
In celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday, the popular Israeli podcast/radio show “Israel Story” — “Israel’s rip-off of ‘This American Life’” as radio host Ira Glass once jokingly called it — is staging a live, multimedia recording of a special Yom Ha’Atzmaut show. Exploring seven decades of local tunes, the episode will feature the origin stories of some of Israel’s most (and least) iconic songs, and unpack the dramas, complexities and social tensions involved with producing them. —  Sunday, April 22, 2 and 6 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444,  jccmanhattan.org.

PITOM

Described by The Village Voice as “equal parts jazz school, seminary school and Nirvana’s ‘School,’” Pitom (“Suddenly” in Hebrew) is a Jewish jazz-punk-sludge metal hybrid that blends influences of avant-garde rock and Jewish klezmer with touches of Frank Zappa, The Melvins and John Zorn’s “Masada.” Zorn, the founder of Tzadik records, described the group as “hard-edged new addition to the legacy of Radical Jewish Culture.” Pioneering klezmer clarinetist David Krakauer presents.— Friday, April 20, 7 p.m., National Sawdust, 80 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn, (646) 779-8455, nationalsawdust.org.

LAST CHANCE: ZURBARÁN’S JACOB AND HIS TWELVE SONS
In writing about the opening of this terrific show, The Jewish Week’s Diane Cole said “the effect of taking [the portraits] in one after another is of a holy procession.” Painted by 17th-century Spanish Golden Age master Francisco de Zurbarán, “Jacob And His Twelve Sons” is an ambitious series of 13 paintings that depict life-size figures from the Old Testament. On loan from Auckland Castle in England’s County Durham, the paintings have never before traveled to the U.S. Don’t miss it. — Closes Sunday, April 22, Frick Collection, 1 E. 70th St., (212) 288-0700, frick.org/exhibitions/Zurbaran.

Theater

THE YIDDISH KING LEAR
Written in 1892 by the “Jewish Shakespeare,” Jacob Gordin, the play centers on Reb Dovidl Moysheles, a Russian-Jewish merchant used and abandoned by all but one of his daughters. — Friday, April 27-May 18, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Metropolitan Playhouse, 220 E. Fourth St.,  (212) 995-8410, metropolitanplayhouse.org.

WARSAW GHETTO MEMORIAL
In honor of the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the Folksbiene presents an evening featuring alums from Camp Hemshekh — a Catskills-based, Yiddish summer camp created by Holocaust survivors; it was active from 1959-78. In English and Yiddish with English supertitles. — Sunday, April 22, 2 p.m., Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, (646) 437-4202, mjhnyc.org.

OLD STOCK: A REFUGEE LOVE STORY

Written by Christian Barry, Hannah Moscovitch and Canadian klezmer-folk sensation Ben Caplan — who also plays the lead role — this music-theater hybrid is inspired by the real-life story of Moscovitch’s great-grandparents, both Romanian Jews, who immigrated to Canada in the early 20th century.—Through April 22, 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St., (212) 279-4200, 59e59.org. $35 and up.

Film

WATCHING THE MOON AT NIGHT
This documentary depicts contemporary terrorism and political attempts to justify it, the emergence of a new form of anti-Semitism, the combustible situation in the present-day Middle East and the aftermath of the Holocaust and its denial. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Bo Persson. — Tuesday, April 24, 7:15 p.m., Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, 334 Amsterdam Ave., (646) 505-4444, jccmanhattan.org.

THE MACAROON KING
This quirky documentary follows “Macaroon King” Arnold Badner as he struggles to keep his Brooklyn Kosher for Passover Bakery afloat. A touching and funny portrait of a Jewish family clinging to its small business as the big city keeps changing all around it. — Sunday, April 22, Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Ave., macaroonkingfilm.com.

Music

ISLE OF KLEZBOS

The acclaimed, all-female klezmer powerhouse “tests the elasticity of the genre” (The New Yorker) with both irreverence and respect. IOK will be joined by special guest singer/songwriter Natalia Zukerman. — Sunday, April 22, 11 a.m. concert, City Winery, 155 Varick St., (212) 608-0555, citywinery.com/newyork/tickets.

THE ASAF YURIA QUINTET

After playing alongside Israeli jazz mavericks such as bassist Omer Avital and saxophonist-clarinetist Anat Cohen, the Israeli-born saxophonist leads his own straight-ahead jazz quintet in a repertoire of jazz standards and original tunes. — Thursday, April 26, 1 – 4 a.m., Smalls Live, 183 W. 10th St., (646) 476-4346, smallslive.com.

CAFE SHAHOR HAZAK

Born in Ethiopia and raised in Israel, the rap duo of cousins Uri Almo and Ilak Sahalo make up Café Shahor Hazak (“Strong Black Coffee” in Hebrew), one of Israel’s most popular young hip-hop groups. —Sunday, April 29, doors 6 p.m., concert 7 p.m., Café Wha?, 115 Macdougal St., (212) 254-3706, cafewha.com.

TALI RUBINSTEIN
The recorder (yes, recorder!) player draws upon her classical training, jazz inclinations and Israeli and Middle Eastern upbringing. Rubinstein “[lays] to rest the notion of the recorder as a beginner’s toy,” said JazzTimes. — Sunday, April 22, 9:15 p.m., Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St., (212) 477-4155, rockwoodmusichall.com.

Special

JEWISH COMIC CON

Hosted by Congregation Kol Israel, in conjunction with the Brooklyn Jewish Art Gallery, the second Jewish Comic Con features appearances by both new and established Jewish artists, special guest speakers and panel discussions. “Pow!!!” an exhibition of superhero-inspired artwork, is part of the event and will remain on display through Friday, May 25. — Sunday, April 29, 8 a.m.-7 p.m., Congregation Kol Israel, 603 St John’s Pl., Brooklyn, (917) 648-4036, jewishcomiccon.org.

Talk

JEWISH MUSIC AND HUMOR
The Jewish Music Forum, a project of the American Society for Jewish Music, presents a daylong conference exploring how music and comedy interact in Jewish subcultures. Featuring noted scholars of Jewish music. — Sunday, April 29, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, jewishmusicforum.org.

WAKING LIONS
Next-gen Israeli author Ayelet Gundar-Goshen’s newly translated novel narrates the aftermath of an Israeli neurosurgeon’s accidental killing of an Eritrean migrant. Goshen will be on hand. — Tuesday, April 24, 7:30 p.m., Jewish Theological Seminary, 3080 Broadway, jtsa.edu.

BROADWAY STREET THE JEWISH WAY

Author Fran Leadon speaks about her book, “Broadway: A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles,” and the ways in which American Jews contributed to making Broadway an iconic street. — Wednesday, April 25, 7 p.m., Center for Jewish History, 15 W. 16th St., (212) 294-8301, cjh.org.

SISTERHOOD OF PAIN AND HOPE
Four bereaved Israeli and Palestinian mothers, founders of “The Parents Circle – Families Forum,” discuss their project and hopes for peace. — Monday, April 30, 7 p.m., Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, 1 E. 65th St., (212) 507-9580, emanuelskirballnyc.org.

Exhibitions

HOME: LENS ON ISRAEL

In a photographic tour celebrating Israel’s 70th birthday, explore the many communities that dwell side-by-side within Israel’s meager 8,000 square miles. Once a month for seven months, the exhibition will rotate through Israel’s diverse communities; this month’s lens is on elderly Jews and Holocaust survivors in Dimona. — Opens Tuesday, April 25 (on display through May 23), 7 p.m., Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center, 1 E. 65th St., (212) 507-9580, emanuelskirballnyc.org.

VIOLATED!
Tackling the charged topic of sexual violence during the Holocaust, “Violated! Women in Holocaust and Genocide” features 47 bold works on sexual violation by 30 artists. Alongside pieces dealing with the Holocaust are some about later genocides and ethnic cleansings — in Bosnia, Darfur, Eritrea, Guatemala, Iraq, Nigeria and Rwanda. — Through May 12, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts Gallery, 31 Mercer St., (212) 226-3232, feldmangallery.com.

SCENES FROM THE COLLECTION
The Jewish Museum has recently reopened its permanent, third-floor collection galleries in what amounts to a serious makeover. Where the old collection aimed to chronicle 4,000 years of Jewish history with a single, linear narrative, the new one is divided into seven different scenes, each revealing various ways in which history and art are shaped by context. — The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Ave., (212) 423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org.

To publish events, submit them to jewishweekcalendar@gmail.com two weeks or more in advance. We cannot guarantee inclusion due to space limitations. Since scheduling changes may occur, we recommend contacting the venue before heading out to an event.