Los Angeles

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.

About “The World in Front of Me”: In the summer of 2025, journalist and writer Ruth Andrew Ellenson sat down with famed photographer Bill Aron, and recorded more than 12 hours of interviews. For nearly 50 years, Bill traveled the world, photographing Jewish communities as near as his home of Los Angeles and as far away as the Soviet Union. From the American South to Cuba, from New York to Jerusalem, Bill captured it all. This series reveals never before heard stories from the artist himself.

Presented by The American Jewish Historical Society. You can find “The World in Front of Me” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app.