Havurah Shalom

Author: Kenneth Kann
Non-Fiction/336 pages

During the heyday of the kibbutz movement, several leftie communities formed in California and New Jersey to practice the Kibbutz lifestyle, sort of. Kenneth Kann is an oral historian who interviewed more than 200 of the former members of the Petaluma commune (Obviously before Petaluma gentrified). He presents the three generations talking about being radical chicken ranchers, their Yiddish cultural life, and their intense political commitments and conflicts. By juxtaposing often opposite views of the same situation, the interviews come alive, and on the whole, it's pretty amusing and also an honest look at a radical Jewish community.

Discussion led by Holly Hoffnung. Nonmembers welcome. RSVP for Zoom info.