Join the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center as we explore the lives of Jewish immigrants arriving in Boston's North End neighborhood at the turn of the 20th century. During this webinar, the JHC's 2026 Curhan Research Scholar, Randall Geller, will investigate emerging relationships with neighboring Italian and Irish residents of Boston’s North End, the complex interactions some had with the Boston Brahmin culture of their day, and the vastly different life experiences of Jews who left the North End as adults. This exploration through JHC archival documents and other period resources will illuminate the impressions these Jewish immigrants had of their country and the communities that made up their new home.

Randall Geller earned a Ph.D. in Israel, Zionism, and Middle Eastern Studies from Brandeis University. He grew up on the South Shore in Plymouth, Massachusetts, and has lived, taught, and conducted research in Israel, Australia, Canada, Morocco, and China, as well as in Texas, Washington, DC, and New York. After initially teaching courses on Israel, Jewish history, and Middle Eastern studies, he has spent nearly a decade primarily teaching and researching U.S. and World History at the university and high school level in the Boston area. His current research focuses on the history of Boston’s Jewish community in the North End from approximately 1880 to 1910.