| Join us on Sunday February 21, 2021 at 4:00 p.m.PST (7:00 p.m. EST) for a conversation with screenwriter and author Ron Leshem, creator of the HBO Max series “Valley of Tears,” the new series shaking Israeli society. Inspired by true events, “Valley of Tears” is a 10-part miniseries depicting the Yom Kippur War through the eyes of young combatants. It tells four emotional and highly personal stories of individuals swept away from their loved ones by the ravages of war, four parallel plotlines, intertwined together into one climactic battle. The series received accolades for its innovation in recreating battle scenes and holds the record for highest budget for any TV show produced in Israel to date. “Our main dream was to go back and create this show which is not only about a war that changed the Middle East — it changed the Israeli society,” says Leshem. “For us, this show is kind of a national reckoning for the Israeli society. And it’s a story that has never been told. The U.S. culture is constantly working on its Vietnam War. But we in Israel never had a single series dealing with our biggest trauma.”
Ron Leshem is a renowned screenwriter, TV producer, and author. He was co-creator of the Israeli TV show Euphoria, which was adapted to HBO, and of which Leshem is co-executive producer, and was also writer and co-creator for the Hulu series No Man’s Land, a drama series which takes place in the midst of the recent civil war in Syria, involving ISIS and the Kurds. Leshem is also the screenwriter of the film Incitement, about the 1995 assassination of Israel’s Prime Minister Yizhak Rabin by Yigal Amir. The film, told from the point of view of the killer, portrays what Amir saw and heard in the two years leading to the tragic day in 1995. Prior to moving to the U.S. Leshem was head of content and programming for Keshet, one of Israel’s main commercial TV network. He was a producer of the successful Israeli TV show “Chatufim”, which later was adapted into the hit TV show “Homeland”. Leshem was also executive producer of NBC’s TV drama “Allegiance”. As an author, Leshem won the Sapir Prize, Israel’s top literary award, for his novel Beaufort, which was on Israel’s bestsellers list for two years. The book was adapted into a film by the same name (coauthored by Leshem), which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Beaufort also won the Berlin International Film Festival Silver Bear for Best Director. Leshem’s second book, The Underground Bazaar, is a richly imagined novel, set in modern-day Teheran. At times appalling, at times funny, this is a tale of love, friendship, and repression. The novel moves between euphoria and paranoia, taking the reader to the black market of Teheran, where one can buy everything that is illicit, to the public squares where adulterous women are executed. Ron currently lives in the states and splits his time between Boston and Los Angeles.
 CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY) & Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA)
To learn about upcoming events this month, visit www.occsp.net. To view past CSP events, check out our YouTube channel and enjoy many sessions at your leisure. |
