Order pastries now to celebrate Purim

Temple Emanu-El is taking orders for handmade hamantashen — three-cornered pastries filled with jelly or other garnishes — in honor of the Jewish holiday Purim, which this year falls on March 23 and 24.

The pastries will be ready for pickup March 11 or during the Purim Carnival, which will be held March 13 at the temple, 2550 Pali Highway.

Proceeds will benefit the Jewish Experience Center. Flavors include chocolate, apricot, strawberry and poppy seed, which can be mixed and matched by the half-dozen. Preorders start at $14 a dozen and must be in by Feb. 28. Download the order form at 808ne.ws/ 1XwSIjR.

The Purim carnival, which will feature food, rides and games, will start at 10 a.m. Free parking will also be available at Maemae Elementary School at 319 Wyllie St., with a shuttle to Temple Emanu-El.

Purim commemorates the Book of Esther, which tells the story of Queen Esther’s role in foiling a plot of Haman, the grand vizier of Persia, to have all Jews in the kingdom massacred.

For more information about the hamantashen, contact Jessica Bram at 380-3271 or email eddirector@shaloha.com.

Discussion to focus on Islamophobia

Islamophobia in the United States will be the focus of a panel discussion titled “Religious Scapegoating” at an interfaith Open Table discussion set for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, 2500 Pali Highway.

Abdul-Karim Khan, an Islam history professor at Leeward Community College, will lead the discussion. Other panelists will include Rabbi Peter Schaktman of the Oahu Jewish Ohana, Father Jack Ryan of the Newman Center (a University of Hawaii campus Catholic ministry), Bishop Eric Ma- tsumoto of the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii and Margaret Mann, board president of First Unitarian. The public will be able to ask questions at the event.

The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii and the International Academy for Interfaith Studies are co-sponsors.

In a news release, Khan said, “Scapegoating Islam is economically, politically and strategically a mutually beneficial game between extremist Islamic radicals abroad and anti-Islamic leaders at home. Extremist Christo-political leaders are spewing anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic statements that are spreading anti-American sentiments across the Muslim World.”

For additional information, contact Lily Ordway at 956-463-7020.

Jewish film festival set to open March 5

The annual Kirk Cashmere Jewish Film Festival, which screens films that celebrate and examine the Jewish experience across the globe, is slated to get underway March 5 at the Honolulu Museum of Art.

Featured films will cover topics ranging from musical traditions to philanthropic icons as well as historical events, according to a news release.

The festival will be presented in partnership with Temple Emanu-El. Visit shaloha.com to make a donation or view trailers; call 595-7521 or email honolulu hijff@gmail.com for more information.

The opening-night reception is set for 6 to 7:30 p.m. March 5. Tickets are $15, $12 for museum members, and include pupu with a no-host bar. “Dough” screens at 7:30 p.m. Regular-price tickets are $10, $8 for museum members. A “festival flash pass” includes eight screenings (excluding opening night) for $75, $60 for museum members.

To purchase tickets, visit the Honolulu Museum of Art Jewish Film Festival at 808ne.ws/1VlXXRV.