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As we commemorate 250 years of American history, we celebrate our hard-won freedoms and our accomplishments. As we contemplate the success of the American experiment, we also take stock of the many challenges our nation has faced. Slavery, antisemitism, immigration, and the treatment of the indigenous population in the new nation’s westward expansion all play a role in our past. There is much to admire and much to consider.
Two films being shown by the Boulder JCC at the Dairy Arts Center on Tuesday, July 28 examine our country’s complicated history, deepening our appreciation for our ancestors. Boulder Jewish Film Festival director Kathryn Bernheimer will introduce and discuss both films. “The Levys of Monticello” will be shown at 1 pm. “The Jews of the Wild West” screens at 3 pm with guest speaker Dee Dee Diamond.
Thomas Jefferson’s inestimable contribution to our founding beliefs and novel governance is explored alongside the lesser-known legacy of the Jewish family that saved his fabled Virginia homestead from ruin in “The Levys of Monticello.” This fascinating documentary explores the crucial role the Levy family played in saving and protecting Monticello for future generations, a role that was for many years erased from history. The film provides a welcome reminder of how American Jews are inextricably linked to our nation’s history.
“The Jews of the Wild West” also reminds us that Jews played a critical role in creating communities and forging a new life in this part of the country. This eye-opening documentary celebrates the impact of Jewish pioneers, mainly immigrants seeking freedom and opportunity who brought their values with them as they helped settle the American West.
Guest speaker Dee Dee Diamond is the great great grandniece of Solomon Bibo, one of the pioneers showcased in the film. Dee Dee traces her family’s fascinating journey from Prussia to America back to 1812, when great, great, great-grandfather Lukas Rosenstein first emigrated to escape conscription in Napoleon’s army.
