Ron Leshem, best-selling author and screenwriter, will speak at the Mandell JCC in West Hartford on April 22.

Ron Leshem will speak at the Mandell JCC in West Hartford. Submitted photo

Submitted by Larah Winn, Mandell JCC

Best-selling author and screenwriter for his novel Beaufort, Ron Leshem will speak at the Mandell JCC event, Israel – Off the Page and on the Screen, Wednesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfied Ave., West Hartford as a part of the Israel Festival.

After three years as a reporter in the West Bank and Gaza, Ron Leshem, Tel Aviv native, was promoted to head of the news division of Israel’s most widely read daily newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, where he also wrote as a military-affairs analyst. By age 26, he was deputy chief editor for Ma’ariv, one of Israel’s three main newspapers, simultaneously writing short stories for Le Monde in France and columns for various European newspapers.

Eventually, Leshem would go on to write his first book, Beaufort. “In this gritty war novel, Leshem chronicles the tumultuous year leading up to Israel’s 2000 withdrawal from Southern Lebanon. The story is told through the eyes of 21-year-old squadron leader, Liraz Liberti (aka Erez), who is tasked with shepherding a motley group of 13 “kids” through their military tours at the historic Israeli outpost, Beaufort. Beaufort is at once a searing coming-of-age story and a novel for our times—one of the most powerful, visceral portraits of the horror, camaraderie, and absurdity of war in modern fiction.”

Beaufort, would later become a major motion picture, receiving critical acclaim, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Leshem, who co-directed the film, has also produced Prisoners of War, the Israeli series that SHOWTIMES’s Homeland is based on. As a part of Israel- Off the Page and on the Screen, Leshem will share his views on Israel exporting TV shows to Hollywood, the ingenuity in Israeli culture, and what is required for a TV show to succeed in the US. A book selling and signing will follow the discussion.

The event is free and open to the community. Please visit www.mandelljcc.org for the complete Israel Festival Brochure. For more information contact Raz Newman, 860-231-6333, [email protected] or contact the Member Services Center, 860-236-4571.

The Mandell Jewish Community Center is open to everyone and supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, a member of the JCC Association of North America. Programs subject to change. For updates, follow the Mandell JCC on Facebook, Twitter and www.mandelljcc.org