The Jewish Jail Lady and the Holy Thief: A Story of Addiction, Recovery, and Redemption

Spokane Area Jewish Family Services and Temple Beth Shalom, with the generous support of the Alhadeff Family Charitable Fund, are pleased to present a free public screening of the award-winning documentary The Jewish Jail Lady and The Holy Thief. A Q&A with the stars of the film and a panel discussion with local community leaders on possible solutions in the fight against addiction will follow the screening. Coffee and dessert will be served. The registration link for this event is https://signup.com/go/oTyzazn.

The Jewish Jail Lady and The Holy Thief follows the dark, troubled, often unbelievable pasts of Harriet Rossetto and Rabbi Mark Borovitz. Together they worked to remove the stigma of addiction and build Beit T’Shuvah, a world-renowned, nonprofit addiction recovery center in Los Angeles. (Please note: The film contains some strong language.) This compelling documentary chronicles the life of Harriet, a housewife-turned-social worker who helps incarcerated felons re-enter society, and her partnership with Mark, an ex-con and recovering alcoholic who becomes an ordained rabbi. They go on to save thousands of lives over 35 years of creating and building Beit T’Shuvah. Their efforts have been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including participation in President George W. Bush’s 2004 roundtable on faith and recovery and receiving the Advocates for Action award in 2015 from President Barack Obama.

The Panelists
Harriet Rossetto, LCSW, the founder of Beit T’Shuvah, and Rabbi Mark Borovitz, the CEO and senior rabbi of Beit T’Shuvah, realized their dream of working in harmony to further t’shuvah (return) and recovery. Rabbi Borovitz and Ms. Rossetto are now retired from Beit T’Shuvah and share their wisdom with individuals, institutions, and businesses throughout the country. Other confirmed panelists include Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels; Spokane Regional Health District Health Officer Frank Velázquez, M.D.; Frontier Behavioral Health COO Jan Tokumoto Downing, M.Ed.; and Sandra Altshuler, Ph.D., who served as coordinator of the Spokane County Adult Felony Behavioral Health Therapeutic Drug Courts for a decade. Gonzaga University associate professor of sociology and criminology Michael DeLand, Ph.D., will serve as moderator.