Doors open at 6:00 pm.

Washington Hebrew is excited to present a special screening of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (2021). Directed by Abigail Graham, and performed by Shakespeare’s Globe, this is an incredible opportunity to see this timeless story in a unique setting. Following the screening, we will have a panel discussion on the representation of antisemitism in the play. Our panelists are:

• Pamela Nadell: Nadell holds the Patrick Clendenen Chair in Women’s and Gender History at American University. Her book America’s Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today won the 2019 National Jewish Book Award’s “Jewish Book of the Year.” W.W. Norton will publish her new book Antisemitism, an American Tradition in October 2025. Past president of the Association for Jewish Studies, she consults to the museum planned for the rebuild of Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life. She was the fourth witness in the Congressional hearing with the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania.
• Meredith Weisel (ADL): As the Vice President, State and Local Advocacy, Weisel leads the development and execution of state and local policy campaigns with a focus primarily on state and municipal legislative, executive and administrative actions. Meredith joined ADL in 2019 in the D.C. Regional office serving most recently as the Regional Director there before joining the National Affairs team in 2025. She is an experienced attorney and government relations professional with an extensive career engaged in public policy and community affairs work. Meredith’s previous experience includes serving as the Director of Maryland Government and Community Relations for the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) of Greater Washington, the principal owner of Weisel Government Relations, LLC, one of the partners at Government Affairs Strategies, LLC, and the Vice President of Public Policy for Maryland and Legal Counsel for the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS® (GCAAR). She holds a B.A. from American University in an interdisciplinary study of Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government and a J.D. from the Widener University School of Law.
• Meredith Jacobs (JWI): Jacobs is CEO of Jewish Women International (JWI), a 125-year-old nonprofit dedicated to ending violence against women and girls. Since assuming the role of CEO in 2020, Jacobs has shepherded the development of numerous JWI initiatives, including the National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Jewish Community. Under her leadership, JWI is spearheading state-wide advocacy efforts to achieve justice lending practices that would give survivors of financial abuse access to bank loans that would set them on the path to long-term economic security.

Tickets are $20 for WHC Members, $25 for Non-members, and $10 for Students.

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Synopsis

Antonio, the Merchant of Venice, borrows money from Shylock, a Jewish moneylender, against a bond of a pound of his flesh. He lends it to Bassiano to woo the wealthy Portia, who is being sold off in a game of luck by her father.

Meanwhile, Shylock’s daughter, Jessica, is attempting to shape her future against her father’s wishes, by marrying a Christian, Lorenzo.

If Shylock plays by others’ rules, can he win? If Jessica joins the rule-makers, can she lose? Or can the powerful simply change the game to suit themselves at every turn?

Running time: 110 mins

Content guidance: This production contains racism, including antisemitism and anti-black racism. It also includes strong language, scenes of a sexual nature, flash photography, and loud noises.

This film was made possible thanks to a generous donation from Shakespeare’s Globe USA, with special thanks to Alan Jones, Christie-Anne Weiss, Ed Winters, Michael Lebovitz, Amy Griggs Kliger, and the Directors of Shakespeare’s Globe USA.