Houston JCC offers live-stream programs to the region

This month’s Jewish Book and Arts Fair in Houston is now available throughout the South and beyond, thanks to a new initiative of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center of Houston and The Federation of Greater Houston.

Houston Jewish Live is a new portal for Jewish programming produced by Houston Jewish community organizations and agencies, and is being offered to communities far and wide, especially where such programs are too large to undertake.

While the live streaming concept has grown in popularity for agencies across the country, ERJCC President Sam Stolbun made the idea come alive with assistance from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. The Federation has played an integral role in the portal’s creation and hosts the streaming video through Houston Jewish Live. The Federation is also funding the technology for the site, host page design, content development and coding.

“Originally we were looking to streaming our events for people who live in the outlying areas of Houston or for those were unable to attend the event. But we have seen such a growing interest in our programming that we expanded the initiative to reach as many people throughout the south as we could,” said Sam Stolbun, President of the ERJCC.

“We are glad to be a part of this program, which will enable us to broaden the reach of important, relevant Jewish community programs through emerging technologies,” said Federation President and CEO Lee Wunsch. “As a convener and community leader, the Federation sees it as part of our mission to collaborate with our partner agencies, engage the community and educate every generation so our traditions endure.”

The first program was on Oct. 28, the fair’s opening night, with Michael Feinstein. “The Gershwins and Me” is available on-demand on the site.

On Nov. 5 at 8:30 p.m., Matti Friedman will discuss “The Aleppo Codex: A True Story of Obsession, Faith and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible.”

The final program in the series features Stuart Eizenstadt, on “The Future of the Jews: How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel and its Relationship with the United States,” Nov. 11 at 4:30 p.m.

ERJCC live is free to the public via any internet device and can be viewed at www.houstonjewishlive.com. It began live streaming this fall with a Jewish lecture series at Rice University.

Schedule updates are available on Facebook or at erjcchouston.org.