Examine important—and often overlooked or misunderstood—communities of the Jewish world through non-fiction and historical fiction graphic novels, with the people (and cat) in these books representing real people and events.

Along with the primary readings, we will also talk about the history of graphic novels as well as handouts relating to the stories and authors.

The Rabbi's Cat by Joann Sfar (2002)

The preeminent work by one of France’s most celebrated young comics artists, The Rabbi’s Cat tells the wholly unique story of a rabbi, his daughter, and their talking cat—a philosopher brimming with scathing humor and surprising tenderness. Rich with the colors, textures, and flavors of Algeria’s Jewish community, The Rabbi’s Cat brings a lost world vibrantly to life—a time and place where Jews and Arabs coexisted—and peoples it with endearing and thoroughly human characters, and one truly unforgettable cat.

Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up with the Universe by Ken Krimstein (2024)

From the award-winning New Yorker cartoonist, a graphic narrative revealing the pivotal year in Prague when Einstein became “Einstein,” Franz Kafka became “Kafka,” and the world changed forever. In stunning words and pictures, Einstein in Kafkaland reveals the untold story of how their worlds wove together in a cosmic battle for new kinds of truth.

Tunnels by Rutu Modan (2021)

Two-time Eisner Award winner Rutu Modan’s third graphic novel, Tunnels, is her deepest and wildest yet. Backed by extensive research into this real-world treasure hunt, Rutu Modan sets her affecting novel at the center of a political crisis. She posits that the history of biblical Israel lies in one of the most disputed regions in the world, occupied by Israel and contested by Palestine. Often in direct competition, Palestinians and Israelis dig alongside one another, hoping to find the sacred artifact believed to be a conduit to God. Potent and funny, Modan reveals the Middle East as no westerner could.

El Iluminado: A Graphic Novel by Ilan Stavans and Steve Sheinkin (2012)

When young Rolando Perez falls to his death from a cliff outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, the mysteries immediately begin to accumulate. Was he pushed or did he jump? What are the documents that Rolando was willing sacrifice himself to protect from his family, the police, and the Catholic Church? And what does a colorful concha pastry have to do with any of this?

The Golem's Mighty Swing  by James Sturm (2001)

Sturm’s fascination with the invisible America has been the crux of his comics work, exploring the rarely-told or oft-forgotten bits of history that define a country. By reuniting America’s greatest pastime with its hidden history, the graphic novel tells the story of the Stars of David, a barnstorming Jewish baseball team of the depression era. Led by its manager and third baseman, the nomadic team travels from small town to small town providing the thrill of the sport while playing up their religious exoticism as a curio for people to gawk at, heckle, and taunt.

Jew Gangster by Joe Kubert (2005)

From legendary creator Joe Kubert comes this moving coming-of-age story set within Depression-era New York City. Ruby is a handsome young man growing up in a poor Brooklyn Jewish family. When Ruby falls in with a local mobster called Monk, his initial eagerness to make a few dollars to support his saintly, hardworking parents ends up getting him in way over his head in the organized crime world. Now he's caught up in both a war between the Jewish and Italian mobs over unionizing factories and an affair with his dangerous mentor's gorgeous moll.

Facilitator: Dr. David Greenfield is a global educator with a lifelong interest in comics and graphic novels. His interest in the genre led him to teach an honors class about the Jewish Graphic Novel at Loyola Marymount University (probably the first time that a class like this was taught at a Jesuit school!), as well as an online version. He later wrote his doctoral dissertation about using graphic novels in schools to teach students about social justice. Currently he teaches students and teachers about the cognitive benefits of integrating comics and graphic novels in their classes. 

A Los Angeles native and graduate of the Los Angeles Hebrew High School, Dr. Greenfield lived in Israel, earned his BA in Jewish History from the University of Judaism, and his MAED and EdD in Learning Technologies from Pepperdine University.  He lives in L.A. with his two cats, enjoys reading, painting, and riding his bicycle.