What’s Going On In NYC This Week

LULLABIES AND LOVE SONGS FROM MY LIVING ROOM
Rachel Policar, who played the title character of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene’s production of Yiddish-language operetta “The Golden Bride,” will present an online concert of Yiddish theater favorites with special guest Cameron Johnson, her “Golden Bride” co-star. — Wednesday, July 29. 1 p.m., Folksbiene!LIVE, nytf.org/live/.

BERNARD-HENRI LÉVY IN CONVERSATION WITH THOMAS FRIEDMAN
A French philosopher, activist and filmmaker, Bernard-Henri Lévy is author of more than 30 books, most recently “The Empire and the Five Kings” and “The Genius of Judaism.” Few moments in modern history are riper than this one for his sharp lens and iconoclastic insight. Join Lévy in discussion with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman about his latest book, “Virus in the Age of Madness,” which lays out a complex collision of catastrophes and whether they will lead to the humiliation of democracies. — Wednesday, July 29, 5-6:30 p.m., Virtual Streicker, temple-emanu-el-streicker-center-classes.ticketleap.com/bernard-henri-lvy-in-conversation-with-thomas-friedman/dates/Jul-29-2020_at_0500PM. Free.

VIRTUAL CINEMA: ‘MY POLISH HONEYMOON’

“My Polish Wedding” is a comedy/drama about a young Parisian couple with Jewish origins visiting Poland for the first time. During what is technically their honeymoon, they will attend a memorial ceremony for the Jewish community in Adam’s grandfather’s village, which was destroyed 75 years ago. Anna is hoping to discover more about her own family’s history, which has always been a mystery. — Streaming Friday, July 31-Friday, Aug. 7. Q&A with the filmmaker is Tuesday, Aug. 4, 1 p.m., Israel Film Center. Register for an account at israelfilmcenterstream.org. $12 to stream the film; the Q&A is free.

THE HAMPTON SYNAGOGUE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL: ‘STANDING UP, FALLING DOWN’

Drive-in movies are a new Sunday evening ritual in the tradition of the Hampton Synagogue’s Jewish Film Festival, now in its 18th year. Order a variety of food options in advance at beachbakerycafe.com. This Sunday, Aug. 2, the festival will screen Matt Ratner’s comedy “Standing Up, Falling Down,” starring Ben Schwartz as a struggling comedian forced to move back home to Long Island and Billy Crystal as his new friend, an alcoholic dermatologist. RogerEbert.com calls the film “genuinely funny” and says, “With a movie like this, chemistry is key, and ‘Standing Up, Falling Down’ has got it.” On Aug. 9, there’s Albert Dabah’s “Extra Innings,” based on the true story of a boy caught between his baseball dreams and his loyalty to his Syrian Jewish family. — The festival runs Sundays through Sept. 6, 8:30 p.m., The Hampton Synagogue, Francis S. Gabreski Airport, Sheldon Way, Westhampton Beach, thehamptonsynagogue.org/summer-2020-drive-in-movies/. To register, call Danielle (631) 288-0534 ext.10.

NATAN SHARANSKY & RABBI RICK JACOBS: PRISON, POLITICS AND THE JEWISH PEOPLE

A month before the release of his new book, “Never Alone,” reflections on the journey he’s traveled from Soviet Gulags to the rough-and-tumble of Israeli politics and then to the leadership of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky will join us for an online conversation moderated by Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism. — Monday, Aug. 3, 5 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming/. Free.

HAMPTONS TRUNK SHOW

For more than a dozen years, UJA-Federation has presented the Hamptons Trunk Show, where hundreds flock to shop, connect and raise money for UJA. This year, the show is a virtual experience that UJA promises will rival its big tent event. As always, a percentage of proceeds will benefit UJA and, this year, its response to the ongoing needs created by Covid-19. Each morning at 11 a.m., the show will feature a live segment with trendsetters from the fashion world. — Monday, Aug. 3-Thursday, Aug. 6, UJA-Federation of New York. Register for free at ujafedny.org/event/view/hamptons-trunk-show.

BOOK LAUNCH: ‘MY CAPTAIN AMERICA’

Join author Megan Margulies in an online conversation with Rachel Manley to celebrate the publication of her memoir of her grandfather, “My Captain America.” Joe Simon was a comic book writer, artist, editor and publisher who created memorable characters such as Captain America, the Boy Commandos and Fighting American. Margulies weaves her story growing up on the Upper West Side with the life and career of her adored and spirited grandfather. — Tuesday, Aug. 4, 7-8:30 p.m., Shakespeare & Co., shakeandco.com. Free.

ALAN ZWEIBEL & JUDD APATOW: WHAT’S SO FUNNY ABOUT AMERICA?
For almost half a century, we’ve been laughing at Alan Zweibel’s jokes without even knowing his name because his lines were delivered by Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Garry Shandling and Billy Crystal. One of the original writers for “Saturday Night Live,” Zweibel was rescued from his gig selling material to the last of the Borscht Belt comics for $7 a bit by Lorne Michaels. Wander down comedic memory lane with Zweibel in conversation with Judd Apatow. — Thursday, August 6, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, temple-emanu-el-streicker-center-classes.ticketleap.com/alan-zweibel–judd-apatow-whats-so-funny-about-america/dates/Aug-06-2020_at_0630PM. Free.

SARAH MASLIN NIR: ‘HORSE CRAZY’

“As a Jew, a daughter of immigrants, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, growing up in New York City,” New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir told Horse Illustrated magazine, “I came to the [equestrian] sport as an outsider, and that really plagued me. … So much of my compulsion to be the best at it — and to be deeply part of it — was about passing and assimilating.” Nir will appear in an online discussion about her new coming-of-age memoir, “Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal,” with best-selling author Mary Roach. —  Thursday, Aug. 6, 7-8 p.m., Books Are Magic, booksaremagic.net. Free.

VIRTUAL CINEMA: ‘THE KEEPER’

“The Keeper” tells the incredible but true story of Bert Trautmann, a German soldier and prisoner of war who, against a backdrop of British post-war protest and prejudice, secures the position of goalkeeper at Manchester City, and in doing so becomes a football icon. His signing causes outrage to thousands of fans, many of them Jewish. But Bert receives support from an unexpected direction: Rabbi Alexander Altmann, who fled the Nazis. — Streaming Friday, Aug. 7-Friday, Aug. 14, with a Q&A with the filmmaker on Tuesday, Aug. 11, 1 p.m., Israel Film Center. Register for an account at israelfilmcenterstream.org. $12 to stream the film; the Q&A is free.

‘BEYLE100’

Join a special online concert celebrating the 100th birthday of Yiddish songwriter, poet and singer Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (1920-2013), an NEA National Heritage Fellow. The program, conceived by Binyumen Schaechter and organized in conjunction with the Center for Traditional Music and Dance, will feature many of the Yiddish world’s leading contemporary performers who were influenced by Schaechter-Gottesman, from Alicia Svigals to the duo Sveta Kundish and Patrick Farrell. The Yiddish actor Shane Baker will serve as emcee. — Sunday, Aug. 9, 1:30 p.m., YIVO, yivo.org/Beyle100. Free.

DENNIS ROSS AND MARTIN INDYK: IS THERE ANY LIGHT LEFT AT THE END OF THE MIDEAST TUNNEL?

Two-state solutions, one-state solutions, settlements, annexations —  negotiations from Geneva to Camp David have all come to naught. Two of America’s most experienced diplomatic specialists in the Middle East, Ambassadors Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk, will discuss where we’ve been, where we are and whether there’s anywhere left to go to find peace. Richard Salomon, active in Commanders for Israel’s Security, will moderate the online discussion. — Monday, Aug. 10, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming/. Free.

THIS ISRAELI LIFE: MEHERETA BARUCH-RON IN CONVERSATION WITH KARIN LAGZIEL

Mehereta Baruch-Ron came to Israel as a child from Ethiopia without knowing how to read or write. Eventually she became a contestant on the reality show “The Ambassador,” went on to serve as deputy mayor of Tel Aviv and ran for Knesset under the Meretz party. Baruch-Ron will talk about those events and what came in-between in an online conversation with Karin Lagziel. — Monday, Aug. 10, 12:30 p.m., 92Y, 92y.org/event/this-israeli-life. Free.

SHEILA NEVINS WITH JUDY GOLD

Longtime president of HBO Documentary Films and now head of Documentary Films of MTV Studios, Sheila Nevins is also known for telling it like it is: about being a woman drowning in a sea of testosterone, an older woman in a culture where being over 30 is a sin and how the fortunate turn aging into courage. Culling stories from her best-seller, “You Don’t Look Your Age … and Other Fairy Tales,” Nevins will make you forget that you’ve been housebound for way too long. She will appear in an online conversation with comedian, actor and writer Judy Gold. — Monday, Aug. 11, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming/. Free.

THE FABULOUS RACHEL BROSNAHAN: ‘THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL’

Prim Jewish mother by day, crass comedian on the stages of Greenwich Village clubs by night —the real Midge Maizel, Rachel Brosnahan, appears for an intimate online conversation about the critically acclaimed Amazon series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” that won seven Golden Globes, three of them for her. Moderated by SiriusXM’s Jessica Shaw. — Monday, Aug. 17, 6:30-8 p.m., Virtual Streicker, emanuelnyc.org/streickercenter/upcoming. Free.

‘THE BOOK OF RUTH: MEDIEVAL TO MODERN’

The Joanna S. Rose Illuminated Book of Ruth, measuring nine inches tall and an amazing 18 feet long, is an accordion-fold vellum manuscript of the biblical book about King David’s great-grandmother. It was designed and illuminated by New York artist Barbara Wolff over two years, 2015-17, and is presented online alongside 12 other manuscripts that also illustrate the story of Ruth but date from the 12th-15th centuries. — Through Oct. 4, The Morgan Library & Museum, themorgan.org/exhibitions/book-of-ruth. Free.