Shorts: Bay Area

Temple Sinai food drive

Just in time for spring break, Oakland's Temple Sinai will donate hundreds of pounds of food to the students and families of Lazear Elementary School in Oakland.

Spring break from class, which begins Monday, April 11, also means a break from the free and subsidized school breakfast and lunch programs. For many low-income students, these food programs provide the only dependable and nutritious meals of the day, program organizers said.

Information: Jason Alderman (510) 528-0110 or Paul Geduldig (510) 451-3263.




Journalist to speak at East Bay dinner

Marie Brenner, an award-winning journalist for Vanity Fair, will be the keynote speaker at "Choices," the annual dinner of the East Bay Women's Philanthropy Division of the Jewish Community Federation of the Greater East Bay.

Brenner won a Front Page Award from the Newswomen's Club of New York for her Vanity Fair article on the rise of anti-Semitism in France written in 2003. She has also written about Muslim women in France and the women of Afghanistan.

The event will begin with a reception 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 14, at The Atrium's Cafe Verbena, 1111 Broadway, Oakland. Information: (510) 839-2900 ext. 203 or www.jfed.org/choices2005. The cost is $75, with a minimum gift of $200 to the annual campaign; $100 for first-time attendees or women under 30.




Weekend of films at Mendocino festival

The Mendocino Coast Jewish Community Film Festival will be held the weekend of April 9 and 10 at the shul, 15071 Caspar Road, Caspar.

"Welcome to the Waks Family," telling the story of one of the largest Orthodox families in Australia, will show at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 9. "Shalom Y'All," about a young man who searches for his Southern Jewish roots, and "L.A. Mohel," a humorous look at three Los Angeles mohels, will follow. "Imaginary Witness" explores the ways in which American movies shape the public's perception of the Holocaust. It will be shown 7 p.m. Sunday, April 10.

Tickets are $8-$18. Information: (707) 937-0341.




Palestinian art on display in S.F.

The first-ever exhibit of Palestinian art shown in the United States was slated to open Thursday, April 7, at the SomArts Cultural Center, and will run through Thursday, April 21.

The exhibit, called "Made in Palestine," was shown in Houston's Station Museum in 2003, and then in Westchester County, N.Y. The show features Palestinian artists from the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Germany and the United States.

"Made in Palestine" will be on display at SomArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan St., San Francisco. Admission is free. Information: www.somarts.org.