Press Contacts: Anne Scher/Alex Wittenberg, 212.423.3271, pressoffice@thejm.org
WHY THE DREYFUS AFFAIR MATTERS
AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM APRIL 15
New York, NY –The Jewish Museum will present a lecture by noted lawyer and author Louis Begley on Why the Dreyfus Affair Matters on Thursday, April 15 at 6:30 pm. At the turn of the 19th century, France was torn apart by the Dreyfus Affair. The wrongful conviction of Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish artillery captain, on charges of high treason occurred during a wave of unprecedented and virulent anti-Semitism in France. His imprisonment in barbaric conditions on Devil’s Island resulted in an equally unprecedented struggle to obtain his freedom and exoneration. Dreyfus’s supporters (including Emile Zola, Anatole France, Georges Clemenceau, and Léon Blum) were pitted against a coalition of militarists, ultra-nationalists, royalists, and above all anti-Semites of every stripe. Novelist and lawyer Louis Begley draws upon his legal expertise to create a riveting account of the famously complex case, and speaks about the lessons the scandal carries now for a society confronting the challenges of terrorism and Guantánamo.
Tickets for this program are $15 for the general public; $12 for students and seniors; and $10 for Jewish Museum members. For further information regarding programs at The Jewish Museum, the public may call 212.423.3337. Tickets for lectures, film screenings, and concerts at The Jewish Museum can be purchased online at the Museum’s Web site, www.thejewishmuseum.org.
Louis Begley is a bestselling novelist and a lawyer. His novels includes Wartime Lies, About Schmidt, and, most recently, Matters of Honor.
An infrared assistive listening system for the hearing impaired is available for programs in the Museum's S. H. and Helen R. Scheuer Auditorium.
Public Programs at The Jewish Museum are supported, in part, by public funds from by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency. The audio-visual system has been funded by The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.
About The Jewish Museum
Widely admired for its exhibitions and educational programs that inspire people of all backgrounds, The Jewish Museum is the preeminent United States institution exploring the intersection of 4,000 years of art and Jewish culture. The Jewish Museum was established in 1904, when Judge Mayer Sulzberger donated 26 ceremonial art objects to The Jewish Theological Seminary of America as the core of a museum collection. Today, the Museum maintains an important collection of 26,000 objects—paintings, sculpture, works on paper, photographs, archaeological artifacts, ceremonial objects, and broadcast media.
General Information
Museum hours are Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, 11am to 5:45pm; Thursday, 11am to 8pm; and Friday, 11am to 4pm. Museum admission is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for senior citizens, $7.50 for students, free for children under 12 and Jewish Museum members. Admission is free on Saturdays. For general information on The Jewish Museum, the public may visit the Museum’s website at http://www.thejewishmuseum.org or call 212.423.3200. The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, Manhattan.
3/24/10
