Refugee Conversation Precedes Performance of Fiddler on the Roof

The Charlotte Jewish News August 2022

By Amy Lefkof

When “Fiddler on the Roof” came to Charlotte’s Belk Theater, May 31-June 5, the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center decided to host a Community Cue, conversations inspired by the stage, focused on today’s refugee resettlement process and how Charlotteans can support refugees in our area and abroad.

Arlethia Hailstock, community impact manager for the Blumenthal Performing Arts, invited the Jewish Community Refugee Initiative (JCRI) to the pre-show Community Cue on June 1 along with several other local agencies that resettle refugees or provide post-resettlement services, such as International House, Catholic Charities, Carolina Refugee Resettlement Agency (CRRA), and Refugee Support Services (RSS).

The various agencies set up tables at the pre-show event with literature regarding refugees, knitted items for sale made by RSS’s refugee knit together group, and HIAS buttons declaring, “My People Were Refugees Too.” Refugee clients or former refugees resettled by the agencies

enjoyed the pre-show conversation and were then treated to a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof” through an Arts for All grant ticket program. A portion of ticket proceeds from “Fiddler on the Roof” were donated to Charlotte’s International House to support immigrants who have come to call Charlotte home, including those displaced from Ukraine.

Hailstock also arranged for Gene Kavadlo and his wife, Ali Kavadlo, of Viva Klezmer to perform with their band in the Mezzanine Lobby of the Belk Theater. After those in attendance, numbering more than 50, enjoyed refreshments and klezmer tunes such as “Tzena, Tzena, Tzena” and “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön,” they heard a brief presentation by Laura Jones, acting assistant regional director of refugee services with Catholic Charities, about the refugee resettlement process.

Jones highlighted pre-arrival case management (setting up housing, furnishings, and supply of basic food items), arrival needs (airport pickup and initial medical appointments), and post-arrival (first 90 days) resettlement needs (applying for Social Security, food stamps, Medicaid, financial literacy classes, and employment assistance with Jones also cited a startling statistic: in the first months of 2022, more than 100 million individuals were displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations — a record high.

Noting that the Torah mentions the idea of welcoming the stranger no fewer than 36 times and that our people have also been refugees, JCRI encouraged those present to complete Statue of Liberty post-cards, pre-addressed and pre-stamped, to President Biden and North Carolina’s Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr, urging these leaders to support a robust and well-resourced refugee resettlement program.

Annsley Banks, volunteer coordinator at CRRA (which is the only other refugee resettlement agency in Charlotte besides Catholic Charities) and Sarah Stubbs, food and community info coordinator at RSS, explained their organizations’ resettlement and post-resettlement work and volunteer needs, respectively.

At the conclusion of “Fiddler on the Roof,” to reinforce an obvious parallel to the war in Ukraine, Danny Arnold, the actor who played Tevye, took off his costume and returned to the present day by wearing a brightly colored winter coat while the silhouetted cast trudged in a large circle as displaced villagers. From the edicts issued and violent acts undertaken in the name of the czar to the expulsion of the Jews from Anatevka at the musical’s end, the audience understood the comparison to modern-day Ukraine. After receiving a standing ovation, Arnold spoke about the need to show support for the world’s refugees and said that the cast was dedicating the production to those Ukrainians displaced by the war.

To make a donation to assist displaced persons in Ukraine, consider the following organizations: World Central Kitchen https://wck.org JDC-American Joint Distribution Committee Inc. https://www. jdc.org/disasters/ukraine-response/

Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte (In response to the crisis in Ukraine, our local Federation is participating in raising money for the Jewish Federations of North America Ukraine relief fund) https://www.jewishcharlotte.org/

The Jewish Agency for Israel (its ‘Aliyah Express’ program is expediting the immigration process resulting in thousands of Ukrainian olim (immigrants) arriving in Israel) https://www. jewishagency.org/

Feature Photo Caption: Gita, a young woman of Bhutanese heritage but born in a refugee camp in Nepal, holds a Fiddler on the Roof program while sporting a RSS knitted sunflower pin and HIAS sticker that reads, “Refugees Welcome.”