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Simone Veil Jewish Cultural Center of Montpellier

As an important player in the life of the city and as part of an open-minded approach, the Simone Veil Jewish Cultural Center participates in numerous actions in conjunction with its partners:

  • National Resistance and Deportation Contest
  • Antigone des Associations

It receives support from the city of Montpellier, the Departemanten Council of Hérault, the Regional Council of Occitanie, the Fondation pour the Memory of the Shoah, the Unified Jewish Social Found, the Interministerial Direction of the Fight against Racism Antisemitism and Homophobia and the World Zionist Organization. It is also involved in solidarity actions, notably by organizing a fundraising campaign as part of the Tsedaka operation (support for the most needy).

History

The Simone Veil Jewish Cultural Center of Montpellier is present since 1959 in the heart of the city of Montpellier.

Aims

The organization has the vocation to make known and share a cultural and intellectual heritage around three main objectives:

  • The dissemination of Jewish culture in all its forms, including Israel
  • The fight against antisemitism
  • The respect of the duty of memory

Activities

Annual events are organized, such as:

  • The Night of Letters in partnership with the Emile Zola media library
  • Festivities around Yom Haatsmaout to commemorate the State of Israel at the House of International Relations
  • A symposium whose main purpose is to contribute to the fight against antisemitism. This fight guides the essence of our actions.

All of the activities show the organization’s attachment to the need to make known and to transmit a cultural heritage, a Memory, as well as its anchoring in the life of the City.

Examples of other events organized

Conferences and Brunches

History of antisemitism : The documentary series presented on ARTE in 3 episodes was a great success; the archives, the drawings and the commentary contribute much to the understanding of antisemitism. The documentary was watched and discussed with the designers of the series: the director Jonathan Hayoun and the co-screenwriter Judith Conhen Solal. The meeting was organized by AMJHL in partnership with Maimonides-Averroes-Thomas d’Aquin Institute.

Literary brunch : The Magnificent paints a picture of 80 personalities from the Jewish world, historical or contemporary, with very different backgrounds but with exceptional destinies who have marked their era. 

“Warsaw Warsaw” : This fiction originated in the resistance of the Warsaw ghetto which culminated in the revolt of April 1943. It is based on the story of Emmanuel Ringelblum, social and political activist, man of science who undertook the collective writing of a newspaper, a real weapon of resistance, in iron milk cans buried underground. These archives, 27,000 pages and documents collected in 1669 files, found in 1946 and 1950, known as the “Ringelblum archives” are today part of the UNESCO World Heritage….

Seminars

Symposium 2018-2023 : extremism, France and the Jews, the situation of Jews in Europe, Conspiracy, Freedom of Expression: anew alibi for antisemitism?

Concerts

JAZZ ‘N’ KLEZMER : Elegant, deep and driving, the Nigun Quartet blends ancient Hasidic melodies with the richness, sensitivity and freedom of jazz. Nigun has performed at prestigious venues and jazz festivals throughout Israel, appeared on top jazz stations from the UK to Japan, and received wide international acclaim for his two studio albums. Combining the simplicity of Hasidic melody with the harmonious complexity of jazz, Nigun gently draws his audience into a moving and comprehensive musical experience.

CinemaTov

Persian Lessons : 1942, in occupied France, Gilles is arrested to be deported to a camp in Germany. Just before being shot, he escaped death by swearing to the soldiers that he was not Jewish but Persian. This lie saves him momentarily since one of the camp leaders wishes to learn Farsi for his post-war projects.

My kid : Aaron has dedicated his life to raising his autistic son Uri. Together, they live in a routine cut off from the real world. But Uri is now a young adult, with new wants and needs. While they are on their way to the specialized institute which must accommodate Uri, Aaron decides to run away with him, convinced that his son is not ready for this separation.

Expositions

EXHIBITION – Shoah and comics : Contemporary memory reserves a special place for the Shoah, an event without precedent in history. The characteristic of any event is to be historicized, publicized, in short to become the subject of fiction. The Holocaust could not escape it. Not without caution, errors and trial and error, but also with genius, comics have taken hold of the Shoah. It is this historical and artistic journey in what is commonly called the 9th art that invites you to explore the Shoah and comic strip exhibition, by questioning the visual sources of these representations, their relevance, their scope and their boundaries.

Opening of the exhibition “From the little Jewish tailor…” and screening of the film “An almost peaceful world” : In August 1946, in Paris, in the district of Jewish tailors, a clothing workshop for ladies decided to resume its activities without foreseeing the possible problems that this could pose. Weakened to the extreme but determined to be there, resistant, four women, five men and a few children bet on life with fantasy, lightness.