Julie Orringer The first author in the 2020 Beth Shalom Speaker Series is Julie Orringer and her new novel "The Flight Portfolio." Set in 1940, it's the story of real life hero Varian Fry, who traveled to France carrying $3,000 and a list of imperiled artists and writers he hoped to help escape within a few weeks. A Q&A and book signing with the author will follow the event. Free and open to the public.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 28:Yousef Bashir, a Palestinian who now works on Capitol Hill as a policy guy for Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), in Connolly's office on February, 28, 2017 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images) An evening with Yousef Bashir, the Palestinian-American author of "The Words of My Father." Still suffering the effects of a near catastrophic injury at the hands of an anonymous IDF soldier, Yousef made his way to the United States…

Marra Gad In 1970, three-day-old Marra Gad was adopted by a white Jewish family in Chicago. For her parents, it was love at first sight—but they quickly realized the world wasn’t ready for a family like theirs. Gad will share her story and her new book "The Color of Love: A Story of a Mixed-Race Jewish Girl." A Q&A and book signing with the author will follow the event. Free and open to the public.