8 Nights of Eight Nights
8 Readings, over 8 nights, in 8 different cities, to benefit HIAS-- NIGHT 5 will be at City Winery Chicago on Sunday September 22 -- with 4 more events to follow!
Special Thanks To
8 Readings, over 8 nights, in 8 different cities, to benefit HIAS-- NIGHT 5 will be at City Winery Chicago on Sunday September 22 -- with 4 more events to follow!
In response to the recent massacre at the Tree of Life Synogogue in Pittsburgh, we decided to produce 8 Nights of Eight Nights: a national series of play readings as a fundraiser to benefit HIAS. In the year that has passed since this attack, current events have sadly continued to underscore the importance of remembering the events of the past, to actively work against repeating them
Eight Nights, a new play by Jennifer Maisel, is the story of a nineteen year old German-Jewish refugee who tried to escape Nazi Germany on the SS St. Louis, was sent back to Europe, then survived a concentration camp, to reunite with her father after 10 years. The play takes place over eight nights of Chanukah, over eight decades of her life. It explores the refugee experience, as well as the trauma mirrored in the experiences of the African-American community, the interned Japanese citizens and the current Syrian crisis, and ends just before Trump takes office and institutes his Muslim ban.
With 9 performances in 2019, we are exceeding our goal to deliver the play’s message on a national scale by staging local readings on 8 different nights in 8 different cities across the county over the next year.
Next up!
Night 6: San Francisco CA, 10/12/19
Congregation Sherith Israel. Directed by Ariella Wolfe
Night 7: Davis, CA 10/13/19
About HIAS
The number of forcibly displaced people around the world has doubled in the last 10 years — reaching a new record-breaking high of 120 million people.
Drawing on our Jewish values and history, for more than a century HIAS has been there for refugees when and where they need help most. Now, in more than 20 countries around the world, we provide vital services to refugees and asylum seekers and advocate for their fundamental rights so they can rebuild their lives.
There have never been more people seeking safety and so few places willing to protect and welcome them. Refugees deserve a world in which they find welcome, safety, and opportunity. With your support, we can create it.
Refugees Making a Difference. Watch more from HIAS.
