In 1978 Bill and his wife Isa left New York City for Los Angeles, first living in Venice Beach before settling in the vibrant Jewish community of Pico Robertson. After raising a family and having a prolific career, Bill considers Los Angeles to be his home. Alongside his project-based photography, Bill also documented his daily Jewish life of raising two sons with Isa, as well as the lives of the friends and community around him – including our host Ruthie, who moved with her family from NYC sometime after Bill migrated. As Bill became more enmeshed in the Jewish community of Los Angeles, his photography was enlisted to support the work of the United Jewish Appeal and the movement to free Soviet Jews. Several of Bill's images depicting modern Jewish life can also be found at the Skirball Museum. Join Bill and Ruthie for our final episode, as they consider the photographs that captured their lives in Los Angeles.

The World in Front of Me is presented by Jay and Gretchen Stein, with generous support from the Knapp Family Foundation, the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation in Honor of Alan Bloch, Scott and Dianne Einhorn, The Karetsky Family, and Michael and Corie Koss.

Image Credit: Dancing Skater, Venice, CA, 1982, Bill Aron

Bill has traveled to Israel numerous times since his first visit as an undergraduate in 1961. In 1980, and again in 2010, he returned, no longer a student, but a professional photographer, seeking to capture everyday life in historic spaces. With each trip, Bill's stories provide a unique perspective of not only an individual growing and maturing, but also his experience witnessing a country age and transform. From a young student hitchhiking to a professional photographer capturing daily life outside the Damascus Gate. We learn how Israel inspired Bill to experiment as an artist, from abstract photography to harnessing new technology to create giant panoramas. Commentary from Michael Brenner, the Lillian Abensohn Chair of Israel Studies at American University in Washington D.C. will provide historical context to the changes that Bill encounters with each passing visit.

The World in Front of Me is presented by Jay and Gretchen Stein, with generous support from the Knapp Family Foundation, the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation in Honor of Alan Bloch, Scott and Dianne Einhorn, The Karetsky Family, and Michael and Corie Koss.

Image Credit: Western Wall, Jerusalem, 1980, Bill Aron.

In 1978 Bill traveled with a group to Cuba looking to document Jewish life there. The Jewish population, once robust and diverse, had shrunken to an estimated 1500 people under the rule of Fidel Castro. Cuba's official atheistic state had driven out or discouraged many people from taking part in a religious life. Upon reaching Havana, Bill discovered that while a handful of synagogues remained open, they had small, aging congregations due to social pressures from the state. The size of the community had no adverse impact on the observance that Bill witnessed; rather, he found that the Cuban Jews he met were passionately dedicated and their services were all the more meaningful. Even more remarkable, Bill found that a skill he had picked up in the Peace Corps became unexpectedly invaluable: his ability to speak Turkish! The Jewish population in Cuba included Turkish-speaking immigrants from the Ottoman Empire, who left or fled due to an increase in antisemitism during the Empire's fall and dissolution. While visiting a synagogue in Havana, Bill met a woman named Celia, and, in an effort to avoid using the state-provided translator, the pair discovered this mutually shared language. AJHS Executive Director Gemma Birnbaum joins us for historical commentary on the Jewish population of Cuba and the country's political relationship with the United States.

The World in Front of Me is presented by Jay and Gretchen Stein, with generous support from the Knapp Family Foundation, the Philip and Muriel Berman Foundation in Honor of Alan Bloch, Scott and Dianne Einhorn, The Karetsky Family, and Michael and Corie Koss.

Image Credit: Celia, Havana, Cuba, 1978, Bill Aron.