In conversation with Mark Hetfield

The Strangers We Became: Lessons in Exile from One of Iraq’s Last Jews

Presented in partnership with HIAS

Ticket Price: $18 without book, $40 with book

Considered an expert on the Iraqi-Jewish archive and diaspora, CYNTHIA KAPLAN SHAMASH was elected to the board of the World Organization of Jews from Iraq in 2011. She was born in Baghdad in 1963, when the Iraqi government requested Jews leave Iraq for Israel, renouncing their Iraqi citizenship and leaving their assets behind. Her moving and timely memoir is a deeply personal, vivid and funny coming-of-age -story about what it means to call a place home.

MARK HETFIELD is the current President and CEO of HIAS. An expert in refugee and immigration law, policy, and programs, Mark has led HIAS’ transformation from an organization focused on Jewish immigrants to a global agency assisting refugees of all faiths and ethnicities. As a result, HIAS currently is a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State.

Light refreshments provided

Sponsored by Helen and David Rubin