+ CONTENTS –

THE JR INTERVIEW: MORE THAN SURVIVING Golda Zafer-Smith interviews Ben Helfgott: Auschwitz survivor, Olympic weight-lifter and inveterate campaigner

CROSSING CULTURES: UNIQUE EVENTS – COMMON EXPERIENCES Mary Kayitesi-Blewitt, of the Ruandan Survivors' Fund, and Karen Pollock of the Holocaust Educational Trust explain what they have learnt from each other

IDENTITY: BEING A JEWISH WOMAN IN 'NOT NORTH' LONDON Joanna Pearl reports on meeting of women of disparate traditions and views but much in common

HERITAGE: ITALIAN DELIGHTS David Clark is reminded by a new guidebook of the rich Jewish heritage of Emilia Romagna

THE JEWS OF CHINA: TIMELINES FOR CHINA'S MAIN JEWISH COMMUNITIES • KAIFENG Reports on visits in 1906 (Oliver Bainbridge) and Alexander Knapp (1996) Ilana Tahan on how Kaifeng Torah scrolls came to the British library • NANJING Karen Primack profiles Professor Xu Xin, champion of Judaism • HARBIN, MANCHURIA Between rock and a hard place: Mara Moustafine on her family's experiences • SHANGHAI Michael Pollack reviews Maisie Mayer's book on the Baghdadi community Jack Lukeman on the miracles which saved the Yeshiva of Mir, and the strange story of 'Two Gun Cohen', bodyguard to Sun-Yatsen • TIANJIN AND BEIJING Zvia Bowman on a childhood interrupted by the Red Guards Ron Gluckman profiles Sidney Shapiro, the oldest Jew in China • HONG KONG The modern community • FIND OUT MORE Places to visit, websites to surf and books to read

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM AN 'IRBUTZ' Jeremy Aron on life in the new urban kibbutz movement

MUSIC: DESTINATION UNKNOWN Lena Stanley-Clamp attends the Krakow première of a work by a young Polish Jew • OF MUSIC AND THE HUMAN SPIRIT Malcolm Miller talks to Christopher Nupen about how he revolutionised TV films about music and about his new DVD We Want the Light • REALISING THE IMPOSSIBLE Laoise Davidson reports on the launch of the Milken Archive of Jewish Music • EAST MEETS WEST Lawrence Joffe on a colloquium about Jewish and Arab music

ART: WHY DID WE BUY IT? Mike Hill explains the Ben Uri's new purchase of David Bomberg's Racehorses • CEIJA STOJKA – SURVIVOR FROM A DIFFERENT WORLD The Jewish Museum Vienna exhibits the art of a Roma survivor

TV/THEATRE/COMEDY: BBC HOLOCAUST DAY COVERAGE • GETTING STAGED Opportunities for playwrights and performers • IVOR DEMBINA The Deborah Smith watches stand-up

BOOKS: Suite Française Irène Némirovsky • Futurizing Jews Tsvi Bisk & Moshe Dror • A Middle Eastern Affair Ellis Douek • Literature in the Wake of the Holocaust Leon I Yudkin • Arthur Szyk Joseph P Ansell • The Devil's Arithmetic Jane Yolan

POETRY: POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan chooses poems by Pamela Lewis and Jo Ezekiel • POETRY REVIEW Michael Baron reviews Stevie Krayer

FOOD: Chicken Kiev à la Harbin – A recipe from China • Simon Falush reviews the Kaifeng Restaurant, Hendon

LAST WORDS: BIBLICAL BORROWINGS Michael Gillis

+ CONTENTS –

WHAT'S NEW: MUSEUM TAKES A STAND • JEWISH SCULPTOR COMMEMORATES FOLEY • INCLUSIVENESS IS NEW SCHOOL'S WATCHWORD

THE JR INTERVIEW: JONATHAN FREEDLAND The high profile and controversial Guardian journalist, is proud of his Jewishness but profoundly annoys many fellow Jews. Janet Levin finds out more about the man, his formative years and his hopes for the future

JUDAISM AND... JUDAISM AND THE VISUAL IMAGE Elliott Tucker puts forward some challenging ideas on the way forward for Jewish art HERITAGE

THE MYSTERY OF THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS Angela Levine recalls the sensational history of the discovery of these incomparably important scrolls and reports on the latest controversy

THE JEWS OF LIBYA: HISTORY Janet Naim tells the story of the community that began in the days of the Roman Empire • THE BEGINNING OF THE END Aldo Habib tells his own personal experience of living through the years of Italian fascism, British administration, and an increasingly hostile environment culminating in exile in 1967 • HERBERT PAGANI The story of the artist/writer/poet/film-maker and his Letter to the Colonel • EVERYDAY LIFE Life as it was lived in the heyday of the community, in words and pictures • PASSOVER TRADITIONS Raphael Luzon details the traditions that are specific to the Libyan community • LOVE AND MARRIAGE Mali Tayar Zekeria and Janet Naim on the colourful betrothal customs • IN LIBYA NOW Raphael Luzon on the glimmers of hope as negotiations with Colonel Gadhaffi begin • RUNNING RISKS FOR THE RECORD The story of the photographers who took illicit photos of the current state of synagogues and cemeteries • THOSE WHO STAYED Pedazur Benatti on the last Jewish residents • FIND OUT MORE Books and websites for further information

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN Golda Zafer-Smith pays a return visit

MUSIC: THE POWER OF SYNAGOGUE MUSIC Stephen Glass waxes lyrical on the role of music in the synagogue and explains why a renaissance is necessary • PARIS KLEZMER Cyril Robinson talks to some of the players in the Jewish music scene in Paris and provides a guide as to where to go to hear the stars

ART: POLISH ARTISTS INSPIRED BY JEWISH TRADITION Henryk Halkowski talks to papercut artist Marta Golab; Lena Stanley-Clamp views the installation of Janusz Marciniak • MARK CHAGALL AND THE BIBLE Monica Bohm-Duchen on the background to the forthcoming Ben Uri exhibition • AMSTERDAM MUSEUM SHOWS OFF ITS SYNAGOGUES Judy Jaffe-Schagen reports

ARTS IN ISRAEL: FROM THE DYBBUK TO BEST FRIENDS Linda Ben Zvi tells the story of theatre in Israel

STORYTELLING: STRANDS OF STORYTELLING Derek Reid celebrates a key part of the fabric of Jewish cultural life • MIRIAM'S CUP Maria Bywater on a new addition to the telling of the Passover story

BOOKS: Kate McLoughlin reviews the latest Cynthia Ozick novel • Judith Mirzoeff reads and hears Einstein's own words • Lynda Harris on an anthology about motherhood • Paul Gross reviews two books that search out the real Israelis • Marge Clouts on the last of Richard Zimler's trilogy • JR Young Readers: The Mystery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

POETRY: POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan chooses poems by Ruth Trilling and Esta Leftonl • POETRY REVIEW Songs from Bialik

FOOD: THE LIBYAN JEWISH KITCHEN Mali Tayar Zakeria

LAST WORDS: LIBYAN JUDEO-ARABIC Raphael Luzon

+ CONTENTS –

SOAPBOX: MUSLIMS AND JEWS Lucien Gubbay looks at Muslim Jewish relations in a historical perspective and draws lessons for the future

THE JR INTERVIEW: MAUREEN LIPMAN The actress talks about her career, her Jewishness and her late husband Jack Rosenthal

JUDAISM AND... JESUS AND JUDAISM Vivian Silverman explains just how Jewish Jesus was

THE JEWS OF LITHUANIA: TIMELINE Aubrey Newman • THE JERUSALEM OF JEWISH ART Roza Bieliauskiene • LIVING IN PRE-WAR VILNIUS Fania Brantsovksy • IN SEARCH OF ROOTS Norma Cohen visits Vilnius and Jonava • CREATIVITY CONTINUES Norma Cohen talks to writers Marcus Zingeris and Violeta Palcinskaite • ADOMAS JACOVSKIS Roza Bieliauskiene on the contemporary artist • THE COMMUNITY TODAY Saul Issroff • AT VILNIUS'S YIDDISH INSTITUTE Norma Cohen talks to a former partisan • Nicole Taylor takes a Yiddish course

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM AN ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST Adela Gertner on the growing interest in animal welfare in Israel

MUSIC: CLASSICAL CD REVIEW Malcolm Miller reviews Eli Zion – from St Petersburg to Jerusalem: Music from the 'New Jewish School' with Jascha Nemtsov and David Geringas and An Die Musik – A Musical Journey with Ralph Kohn • ISRAEL'S HOMEGROWN POP Gaby Wine surveys the rich diversity of popular music in Israel – from Chava Alberstein to Idan Reichal and MC subliminal

DANCE: REACHING THE SUN Malcolm Miller is bowled over by the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's new work

THEATRE: HAT TRICK Young Israeli playwright, Dafna Rubinstein, and her three plays showing in England this summer • TUNNEL VISION Beverley Cohen reviews a project which brings Muslim and Jewish youngsters together

ART: SEEING THE LIGHT Angela Levine on the new spiritual trend in Israeli art and the work of Israel Hadany, Dorrit Feldman, Eran Ehrlich, Zelig Segal, Gali Canaani, Ada Vardi and Natan Dvir • THE THREE-DAY WEEKEND Vitaly Komar explains the philosophy and aims of the new work he brings to the Ben Uri in August

BOOKS: YIDDISH ON THE WING Alexandra Mankowitz shares her enthusiasm for Yiddish with Aaron Lansky, author of Outwitting History • THE STORY OF YIDDISH CIVILISATION Barry Davis reviews Words on Fire. The Unfinished Story of Yiddish by Dovid Katz and Yiddish Civilisation. The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nationby Paul Kriwaczek • EAST END TAPESTRY David Russell reviews An Acre Of Barren Ground by Jeremy Gavron and East End Chroniclesby Ed Glinert • CRYPTIC AND CLEVER Kate McLoughlin on Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Deborah Smith on Alan Isler's Living Proof • ESCAPIST RELIEF My Life in Israel and Other Stories by Debbie Morgenstern reviewed by Marge Clouts. The Healthy Jewish Cookbookby Michael Van Straten reviewed by Janet Levin • JR YOUNG READERS The Adventures of Jeremy and Heddy Leviby Yaffa Ganz reviewed by 10-year-old Nancy Luz Toff

FOOD: A TASTE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN Stephanie Segal reports on a food conference in Jerusalem and brings back a recipe

LAST WORDS: WHO IS A LITVAK? Dovid Katz helps you to guess

+ CONTENTS –

MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Baroness Susan Greenfield tells just how Jewish she is; Arnold Wesker sees a renaissance; Sagi Hartov – the Israeli Embassy's impressario cellist; Stephen Leas makes a synagogue a music centre; Mo Nazam and Serena Leader find Berakah means the same in Hebrew and Arabic

THE JR INTERVIEW: MIKE LEIGH COMES OUT The only interview Mike Leigh has given about his new play and his Jewish identity • AND THE CAST? The cast of Two Thousand Yearson what being in the play has meant for them

LEARNING: THE LIMMUD PHENOMENON Clive Lawton answers questions on how the movement which has shaken the cobwebs out of Anglo-Jewry came about and where it's going • What you need to know to decide whether Limmud is for you • Creative developments in Glasgow and South London

THE JEWS OF CUBA: TIMELINE Gideon Mailer takes us back to the days of the inquisition and Jay Levinson surveys the comings and goings of the 20th century • ADAPTING TO TROPICAL LIFE The different experiences of Ashkenazi and Sephardi immigrants – from Robert Levine's Tropical Diaspora • FROM POLAND TO "LITTTLE AFRICA" Ruth Behar tells her grandmother’s story • CASTRO'S JEWS? Arturo Lopez Levy on how the community adapted to the Revolution and why it is now experiencing a renaissance • ARTURO'S STORY Lopez Levy on the rediscovery of his roots and his work on improving US-Cuban relations • DR JOSE MILLER Richard Smith talks to the community leader • THE PHOTOGRAPHY OF TATIANA SANTOS MENDEZ Remarkable photos of the present community • FIND OUT MORE Tips for the scholar and tourist

SCIENCE: HOW JEWISH WAS EINSTEIN? Hanoch Gutfreund reveals Einstein’s changing attitude to his Jewish identity

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: PAINTING A DREAM Kitty Cohen on the story behind the exhibition of Israeli and Palestinian children’s art coming to London

MUSIC: CLASSICAL CD REVIEW: JEWS WHO MAKE THE WORLD SING Rodney Greenberg celebrates the plethora of Jewish songwriters and suggests why there were so many • JEWS WHO SING TO THE WORLD Stanley Henig brings the greatest of Jewish opera singers into focus • INESSE GALANTE Malcolm Miller talks to the Latvian diva who stormed Moscow with Yiddish song

REVIEW/PREVIEW: David Russell on Two Thousand Years; Preview of UK Jewish Film Festival; Judy Herman on Live and Become Dash Arts season: Judy Herman reviews the play What we did with Weinstein; and the exhibition of Israeli phtography, Conflicted; David Asserson previews Algerian singer, Maurice el Medioni

ART: REDISCOVERED ARTIST: JOASH WOODROW Nicholas Usherwood tells the remarkable story of the Leeds artist whose enormous body of work has recently been rediscovered • RE-VIEWING THE CHILDREN’S HOUSE Angela Levine on an exhibition by artists whose work is highly critical of their kibbutz upbringing

BOOKS: Marge Clouts on Hirsh Goodman’s memoir; Peter Falush on a new history of the Jews; David Russell on Arnold Wesker’s new novel • JR YOUNG READERS Eight-year-old Isabel Benjamin reviews Abraham Regelson’s The Dolls’ Journey to Eretz-Israel

POETRY: REVIEWS George Szirtes' Reel reviewed by Michael Baron; Liz Cashdan on pamphlets by Harold Rosen and Jaqueline Karp • POETRY CHOICE Poems by Joan Michelson and Myra Sklarew

FOOD: A TASTE OF CUBA Two recipes by Michael van Straten • NOVELLINO The new Golder’s Green restaurant reviewed by Golda Zafer-Smith

LAST WORDS: Persian Impressions by Michael Gillis

+ CONTENTS –

WHAT'S NEW: Reports on Muslim/Jewish initiatives in London, preview of Jewish Book Week 2004 and reports on visits of two Israeli educators

SOAP BOX: FEWER MACHERS, MORE UNTERSCHLEPPERS PLEASE Samuel Warshaw puts a tongue in cheek case for a course for followers

DEBATE: SHOULD JEWISH CHILDREN GO TO JEWISH SCHOOLS? Layman Clive Lawton argues for and Rabbi Jonathan Romain against

THE JR INTERVIEW: LESSONS FROM JO WAGERMAN Jo Wagerman, JFS head and first woman chair of the Board of Deputies had a childhood of neglect and abuse. Golda Zafer-Smith finds out how it shaped the person she became

HERITAGE: THE ZION MULE CORPS Peter Marsh on a little known episode of Jewish military history

JUDAISM AND... SECRET SOCIETIES Ariel Abel investigates the origins of Jewish Freemasonry and other secret societies

COMMUNITY – THE JEWS OF GLASGOW: Sir Jeremy Isaacs introduces a feature about the history and culture of a vibrant community. Included is Ida Schuster Berkeley on Avrom Greenbaum and the Jewish Institute Players, a tribute to the Gorbals by Chaim Bermant and pieces on artists Benno Schotz, Hannah Frank, Marianne Grant, Alma and Lyn Wolfson and Eduard Bersudsky of Sharmanka, and musicians including Lev Atlas and Sheila Osborne. See below for poets of Glasgow, food and Scottish Yiddish.

MUSIC: YOUNG MUSICANS HIT THE HIGH NOTES Jewish musicians in their 20s are doing remarkably well. Deborah Smith on Oi Va Voi, Lawrence Joffe on Los Desterrados, Gaby Wine on conductors Ilan Volkov and Benjamin Wolf. ALSO CANTOR Yitzhak Meir Helfgot • ONLY IN AMERICA Malcolm Miller reports from the remarkable New York Festival which saw the commissioning of many new works and stunning concerts in the city's most prestigious venues

FILM: HARWOOD AND HOLLYWOOD Judith Mirzoeff reviews films by Ronald Harwood • FESTIVAL Sonia Zafer-Smith reviews the highlights of the Autumn's UK Jewish Film Festival

ARTS IN ISRAEL: TEL AVIV BAUHAUS Gloria Deutsch explains why Tel Aviv is now a World Cultural Heritage Site

ART: FORGIVE AND DO NOT FORGET Erica Gordon on the background to the Jenny Stolzenberg's procession of ceramic shoes at the Ben Uri

BOOKS: ANTI-SEMITISM ANALYSED Irene Newton reviews three books • NOVELS FROM ISRAEL Reviews of Yehoshua and Horn novels by Judith Mirzoeff and Marge Clouts • BOOK REVIEWS Festival Cookery Marlene Spieler's book reviewed by Stephanie Segal • Bernice RubensDivided Loyalties reviewed by Golda Zafer-Smith • Jewish composers Peter Falush on a new compendium • YOUNG READERS Letters from Rivkaby Karen Hesse

POETRY: GLASGOW DREAMING Ross Bradshaw on the four Glasgow poets Ivor Cutler, Philip Hobsbaum, Ellis Sopher and Arthur Jacobs • POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan chooses from readers' submissions • WHEN IS A POET A JEWISH POET? Michael Baron on Henry Shukman

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM JAFFA 2 Susan Lourenço on a theatre and a bookshop

FOOD: RECIPES Scottish Jewish Strudel and Haggis • REVIEW Cossechok, Glasgow

LAST WORDS: SCOTTISH YIDDISH

+ CONTENTS –

SOAP BOX: WHY CAN'T THE BRITISH BE MORE LIKE THE YANKS? Paul Gross finds some New York Jewish ways more attractive than those back home

DEBATE: ARE JEWISH SCHOOLS A GOOD THING? Neil Freedman (19), Natalie Kirby(20) and Cleo Forstater (11) carry further the debate started by Clive Lawton and Jonathan Romain in our Winter Issue

THE JR INTERVIEW: HELEN BAMBER Golda Zafer-Smith find out how the Human Rights Activist came to devote her life to helping the oppressed

HERITAGE: THE LEGACY OF MAIMONIDES Ilana Tahan on the life and work of the great philosopher, teacher and physician. Illustrated by magnificant manuscripts from the British Library collection.

COMMUNITY – JEWS OF IRAN: TIMELINE A distillation of 2,500 years of history by Jack Lukeman • DISSIMULATION Houman Sarshar describes how the Jewish community survived in a Muslim world • THE PERSIAN JEWISH CARPET From the work of the Persian Jewish carpet collector, Anton Felton • MAHALLEH Houman Sarshar on the Iranian version of the ghetto • A CHILDHOOD OF CONFUSION Gloria Tessler interviews a young man who lived through the Iranian revolution as a child • MUSICIANS OF IRAN Their contribution in conserving Persian classical music • WEDDINGS THAT LAST A WEEK Leah Baer desribes the marriage customs that owe much to local influences • A CULTURAL CHALLENGE The particular problems of the Iranian diaspora • LIFE GOES ON About the way of life of the 30,0000 Jews still in Iran

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM AN 'ANGLO' Gloria Deutsch views Israeli culture from the point of view of an English speaker

MUSIC: JEWS AND BLACK MUSIC Keith Kahn-Harris throws new light on the relationship of Jewish musicians with black culture • FOLLOWING THE FIDDLE Sophie Solomon celebrates the Jewish involvement with the violin, from Jascha Heifetz to its leading role in present day klezmer • METAMORPHOSIS – FOLK INTO ART Jenny Levin describes the research of singer Ruti Halvani into Jewish Art Song

ART: A TASTE OF PEPPER Erica Gordon interviews artist Raphael Pepper whose work sits by the greats of the past in the current Ben Uri exhibition

ARTS IN ISRAEL: SYNAGOGUES BREAK NEW GROUND Angela Levine asks whether contemporary synagogue design in Israel is achieving a new aesthetic

BOOKS: HEARD AT BOOK WEEK A selection of quotes from Derrida to Wedgwood Benn • THE SHORT FROM THE SMALL Deborah Smith, Judith Mirzoeff and Golda Zafer-Smith review collections of short stories published by specialist publishers, David Paul, Loki and Five Leaves Publishing • YOUNG READERS The Silver Sword • STANDING UP TO BE COUNTED • Reviews of I am Jewish – Personal reflections inspired by the last words of Daniel Pearl and Pride v Prejudice – Jewish Doctors and Lawyers in England 1890-1990 • BOOKS OF BEAUTY David Clark reviews Diaspora: Homelands in Exile and Museums of the World. Erica Gordon reviews The Synagogue

POETRY: EPIC, HEROIC AND ROMANTIC Jewels of Judeo-Persian Poetry • POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan chooses from readers' submissions • POETRY REVIEW Collections from Theresa Turk and Joanna Ezekiel

FOOD: IRANIAN DELIGHTS Lamb and Apricot Pilaf and Stuffed Pears • RESTAURANT REVIEW The Greenhouse, Manchester

LAST WORDS: JUDEO-PERSIAN

+ CONTENTS –

WHAT'S NEW: Innovative new museums open in Copenhagen and Krakow; new discoveries of Jewish music announced in Potsdam. Must Jewish heritage be owned by Jews? – report on discussion at Prague conference

SOAP BOX: SELF-HATING JEW. ME? Deborah Smith, a "comfortably affiliated, marrying-in, eating out kind of Jew" deplores intolerance of Guardian readers

DEBATE: BELIEF IS NOT IMPORTANT Clive Lawton claims that it is what we do that matters. Rabbi Sybil Sheridan disagrees

THE JR INTERVIEW: TESTING THE LIMITS Golda-Zafer Smith finds out what is behind Steven Berkoff's belligerent personality and captures some cogent comments on literature and life

JUDAISM AND... DRESS Jack Lukeman finds out what a Scotsman in a kilt and a chassid have in common, and discovers what is law and what is lore in customs of dress

EAST END JEWS: TIMELINE Key dates and facts of Jewish settlement in the East End • RUDOLPH ROCKER Erica Gordon on the German radical who learnt Yiddish to champion Jewish workers • STARS OF THE YIDDISH THEATRE David Mazower's photo-story • FIRST LADY – AND LAST Anna Tzelniker, the last star of the Yiddish theatre, relives a past world. Nicola Taylor listens enthralled. • INDELIBLE STENCL Derek Reid reminisces about the poet who devoted his life to championing Yiddish • I WAS THERE... Ubby Cowan gives a first-hand report of what happened at the Battle of Cable Street, on the streets and on the roof • MAJER BOGDANSKI The 92 year-old singer and composer tells Barry Davis a remarkable story of survival and self-education • IN THE RING Howard Fredrics on East End boxing champions – and the opera he is creating about them • SETTLING BACK IN David Russell finds out from film-maker Elliott Tucker why he has chosen to live in the East End • VISIBLE ECHOS OF A JEWISH PAST The unexpected stories behind buildings still to be seen on East End streets • HIDDEN OASES Julian Litten explores the history of the burial grounds • CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATION Rachel Lasserson reviews Stenclmusic • FIND OUT MORE Organisations, books, websites

ART: FROM WHITECHAPEL BOY TO POST-IMPRESSIONIST Rachel Dickson and Sarah MacDougall explain Alfred Wolmark's conversion from painter of Jewish scenes to post-impressionist • AT THE EYE OF THE CYCLONE Britta Jürgs on why and how Jewish artists are making their presence felt in today's Berlin

ARTS IN ISRAEL: IGAEL TUMARKIN – BAD BOY OF ISRAELI ART Angela Levine talks to the controversial winner of the Israel Prize

EXHIBITION: ARCHITECTURE SPEAKS OUT Judy Jaffe-Schagen reviews Yibaneh! Jewish Identity in Contemporary Architecture, the exhibition which will be touring Europe

FILM AND THEATRE REVIEW: Reviews of the films My Architect and Almost Peaceful and the play The Arab-Israeli Cookbook

MUSIC: TALISMAN Michael Miller previews a new work by Brian Elias which is based on the Hebrew text of a 19th century amulet

BOOKS: REALITY BREAKS INTO AN ENGLISH PARADISE Janet Naim hears forceful words from Israeli Etgar Keret, Palestinian Samir El-Youssef and Britain's Wesker at the Hay Festival • FABULOUS MORALITY Meshal Haqadmoni Erica Gordon reviews a remarkable new translation of medieval morality tales told as animal fables • SURVIVING IN EASTERN EUROPE Judith Mirzoeff reviews film-maker Mira Hamermesh's memoir The River of Angry Dogs; Peter Falush finds many gems in Contemporary Jewish Writing in Hungary • HIDING BEHIND THE CAMERA Michael Mail's Exposure, a novel about photography, set in today's East End, reviewed by Marge Clouts • YOUNG READERS Wondrous Oblivionreviewed by Alexander Newton

POETRY: POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan selects poems by Penny Finestein and Lynette Craig • POETRY REVIEW Anthologies by Rhoda Hodes and Naomi Jaffa

FOOD: RECIPE AND RESTAURANT REVIEW Simon Falush eats at Bevis Marks the Restaurant and acquires the recipe of one of the dishes he enjoyed

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM A BEDOUIN Ishmael Khaldi explains his community's point of view

LAST WORDS: YINGLISH Derek Reid finds a Yiddish argot in the music halls

+ CONTENTS –

WHAT'S NEW: MOVERS AND SHAKERS News about the people who are making things happen: Linda Kelsey, Geraldine Auerbach, Tim Supple, Simon Eder, Michael Hill, Sharman Kadish, Erica Marks and Mel Brickman

SOAP BOX: LET'S DEMOCRATISE GIVING Michael Sinclair argues that charities should rethink the way they raise funds

IDENTITY: THE COMMON FACTOR? David Graham uses recent surveys to explore just what Europe's Jews have in common

THE JR INTERVIEW: WHY? AND WHY NOW? In a revealing interview, Sir Antony Sher talks to Golda Zafer-Smith about South Africa, his Jewish identity and his play Primo

HERITAGE: RENAISSANCE IN CRETE David Clark tells how new life has come to Hania's synagogue

JUDAISM AND… THE AFTER-LIFE Jeremy Rosen pins down the Jewish position

THE JEWS OF SOUTH AFRICA: TIMELINE David Saks on the history of the community • THE OSTRICH FACTOR Rhoda Hodes on the Jews of Oudtshoorn • WHY SOUTH AFRICA OF ALL PLACES? Dan Jacobson on pioneer Sammy Marks • APARTHEID YEARS Marge Clouts reviews Gideon Shimoni's Community and Conscience; Jenny Hartley reviews Hilda Bernstein's memoir The World that was Ours • BRITAIN'S GAIN Some of those who emigrated • OPEN THEATRE IN A CLOSED SOCIETY Janet Suzman on the impact of the Market Theatre and its founder, Barney Simon • WILLIAM KENTRIDGE – RENAISSANCE MAN Robyn Sassen on the contemporary artist, theatre director, film-maker, puppeteer • MORE JEWISHLY VIBRANT THAN EVER Milton Shain and David Saks offer perspectives on the present and future of the community • YIDDISH SONG FOR ALL Robyn Cohen reports on a concert which attracted 2,000 across the ethnic divide • EVERYTHING AND NOTHING HAS CHANGED Matthew Lewin reviews People Who Have Stolen From Me, a book on contemporary Jo'burg by David Cohen • FIND OUT MORE Places to visit and bo**oks to read

MUSIC: MEDITERRANEAN STYLE Malcolm Miller on Paul Ben-Haim and his influence on Israeli music • BARENBOIM'S BEACON Malcolm Miller hears the West-Eastern-Divan Orchestra

ART: INTERNATIONAL JEWISH ARTIST OF THE YEAR Fiona Lawrie reports on the Ben Uri/ Friends of Hebrew University awards • DESIGNS FOR JEWRY? Monica Bohm-Duchen on two exceptional graphic designers: John Heartfield and Abram Games

ARTS IN ISRAEL: THE UMM EL-FAHM GALLERY Susan Lowethal Lourenço on the gallery where Jewish and Arab artists exhibit side by side

THEATRE: TAKING NEW DIRECTION David Russell on three up and coming young directors who are inspired by their Jewish background

FILM: UK JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW Some of the highlights of the largest ever festival. Nicole Taylor reviews Lullaby

BOOKS: REVIEWS A Tale of Love and Darkness Amos Oz; Natasha and other Stories David Bezmozgis; Jews And The Olympics – two books of the same title by Paul Taylor and Paul Yogi Mayer; What Remains to be Seen Multi-Exposure The Making of Henry Howard Jacobson • JR YOUNG READERS Brundibarby Tony Kushner and Maurice Sendak

POETRY: Liz Cashdan chooses from Readers' submissions and reviews Casanova's 72nd Birthdayby Norman Kreitman

FOOD: Moira Schneider reviews Sonata's, Cape Town and presents their recipe for Lamb with Spinach and Cashew Nuts

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM A DOCTOR Katy Marsh writes about ministering to the needs of an immigrant community

LAST WORDS: A QUESTION OF ROOTS Michael Gillis

+ CONTENTS –

WHAT'S NEW: A FILM RENAISSANCE? • EAST END CELEBRATED • A WOW OF A BOOK WEEK • AWARDS GALORE

SOAP BOX: IS CULTURE THE KEY? Lionel Gordon and David Clark find common ground in two new studies which suggest that most Jews are now finding their identity in cultural participation

THE JR INTERVIEW: SKEAPING TO THE MUSIC Golda Zafer-Smith talks to the star of The Burning Bush and Radio 3 presenter about her work and her return to her Jewish roots

COMMUNITY: NIGHTINGALE Erica Gordon explores the class conscious history of the largest and most progressive home for the elderly in Europe. Janet Levin visits its amazing art room and enjoys a book club meeting run by Edwina Currie

THE JEWS OF AUSTRALIA: Margaret Gutman on where the community is now. Erica Gordon on its convict origins and colourful history. Yvonne Fein takes a stroll on Melbourne's Carlisle Street. Helen Beer writes about the thriving Yiddish culture. Don Perlgut surveys the Jewish film scene. The late Karl Duldig, sculptor and painter, is profiled.

JUDAISM AND... CLONING The eminent specialist in medical humanities, Michael Baum, is pleasantly surprised by the views expressed in a lecture given by Rabbi Professor Yitzchok Breitowitz

HERITAGE: AT RISK David Russell on the unique Kehillas Ya'akov synagogue in London's East End and its colourful cast of characters

CITY SPOTLIGHT: JEWISH KRAKOW Barry Lazar on how he came to Kraków with a heart of stone - and fell in love. Rafael Scharf remembers his youth in the city. Michal Galas outlines the history. Marcel Manson makes a tour of the synagogues and makes some recommendations for tourists - including the Jewish Festival in June/July

ART: EITHER OR, NEITHER NOR Curator Alona Pardo on Jewish Artist of the Year Award Winners' new work at the Ben Uri Gallery

MUSIC: INDIAN + JEWISH = Josephine Burton talks to Rohan Kriwacek and John Human about their cooperation in creating a "Third String" from Indian and Jewish music • YIDDISH TANGO Lawrence Joffe writes about Lloica Czackis and the melodies that link the ghettos of Europe with the night clubs of Buenos Aires • SONS OF SEPHARAD Malcolm Miller reviews the new CD by the remarkable ensemble of Sephardi cantors

FILM: Reviews of The Pianist and the Video/DVD Uprising

ARTS IN ISRAEL: VOICES FROM THE MARGINS Gali Gold explains how talented and daring directors are depicting, and indeed contributing to, profound changes in Israeli society

BOOKS: REVIEWS Everything is Illuminated Jonathan Safran Foer • Sacred Eliette Abécassis • Abraham: In Search of the Father of Civilisation Bruce Feiler • The Undark Sky Geoffrey Raisman • From Here to Obscurity Yoel Sheridan • When Life Becomes History Geoffrey Perry • Coralena Michael Mail • ARTIST, POET, SOLDIER Erica Gordon on the life and work of Isaac Rosenberg, to coincide with the Imperial War Museum exhibition Anthem to Doomed Youth • YOUNG READERS Pupils at King David School, Liverpool and JFS in London review I Have Lived A Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson

POETRY: Liz Cashdan chooses from readers' submissions • The Gossamer Wall by Micheal O'Siadhail

FOOD: Restaurant Review Nehama Patkin on Melbourne's long-time Jewish favourite, Sheherazadeplus the recipe for its favourite dish, cholent

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: VIEW FROM THE KIBBUTZ 3 Reggie Pearlson describes the changing regime on Kvar Hanassi - and comments on life in Israel now

**+ CONTENTS – **

WHAT'S NEW: LJCC CULTURAL AWARDS • COMPANY OF ANGELS • NEW DIRECTOR AT THE BEN URI GALLERY • JMI DOES IT AGAIN

SOAP BOX: SECULAR JUDAISM - THE WAY FORWARD? Felix Posen puts the case for secularism; Clive Lawton eloquently argues that it is not an acceptable alternative

THE JR INTERVIEW: THE TIME OF HIS LIFE Golda Zafer-Smith finds out about the formative years and unusual views about religion, art and music of Whitbread Award winner and Evening Standard Arts critic, Norman Lebrecht

JUDAISM AND... BIRTH Michele Klein, author of an award winning book on Jewish childbirth, explains how rituals and customs have helped parents in the past and are seeing a current renaissance

HERITAGE: ART OF THE HAGGADAH Erica Gordon investigates the origins of the Haggadah and how styles of illustration have developed over the centuries. She also talks to facsimile creators, Linda and Michael Falter, about the techniques of their craft

THE JEWS FROM EGYPT: FROM EXODUS TO EXODUS Alec Nacamuli relates the history and the contribution of the Jews in Egypt, from their return under Roman rule to the second Exodus in the 1950s • THE CAIRO GENIZA Maurice Maleh on the amazing record of medieval Jewish life that is now housed at Cambridge University • THE GOOD SUMMER Ellis Douek recreates the atmosphere of Farouk's Egypt as experienced on a family holiday • A LEAVENED PASSOVER Teddy Nahmias recalls celebrating an unusual Passover on his own exodus from Egypt • VICTOR ARWAS An exotic tale featuring fabulous riches, gorgeous objects and larger than life characters • EGYPT IN ISRAEL Victor Sanua with stories of the problematic return of Egyptian Jews to Israel • JEWISH ALEXANDRIA Roger Bilboul on the history and present plight of the community • THE EGYPTIAN DIASPORA Manuela Kleeman explores how the Jews from Egypt fared in the countries in which they settled • GILBERT DE BOTTON Alain de Botton recalls his remarkable father. Janet Levin describes how Gilbert not only revolutionised fund management for the wealthy, but was also a learned bibliophile and benefactor of the arts

ART: A CULTURAL OBSESSION Israeli artist Oz Almog explains what is behind his project of painting portraits of a hundred Jews • TRYING TO BE 20 IN JERUSALEM Photographer Dinu Mendrea tells how he chose his images of life in Jerusalem • CHAGALL IN PARIS Chagall expert, Monica Bohm-Duchen, sees a hidden agenda behind the exhibition at the Grand Palais

MUSIC: BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT Bernard Keeffe on the life and work of the composer whose centenary is celebrated this year • YASMIN LEVY We speak to the Israeli Ladino singer with an extraordinary voice

BOOKS: THE HORSEMAN OF MONTREAL Victor Ramraj on Modechai Richler REVIEWS Jewish Writers of the 20th Century • Janet Levin reviews the long awaited volume. A sample essay (Victor Ramraj on Mordechai Richler) is reprinted and a special offer made to JR subscribers. • THREE WOMEN IN SEARCH OF THEIR PAST Judith Mirzoeff compares first novels by Kate Taylor, Jane Spiro and W Tarleton Klein • ONE MAN, TWO LIVES Robert Gordon highlights the different approaches of the biographies of Primo Levi by Ian Thomson and Carol Angier • BITES FROM BOOK WEEK Highlights from this year's event

POETRY: MEIR WIESELTIER Riasa Domb introduces the Israeli poet • POETRY CHOICE Liz Cashdan chooses from readers' submissions • YOUNG READERS Young reviewers read All-of-a-Kind Familyby Sydney Taylor

FOOD: MY EGYPTIAN PASSOVER Claudia Roden recalls her childhood experiences and gives family recipes

LETTER FROM ISRAEL: THE CHEF'S VIEW Susan Lourenço visits Lechem Erez and talks to owner/chef Erez Komarovsky about the revolution in Israeli food

LAST WORDS: LADINO Hilary Pomeroy gives a history of the language and explains the origin of some well-used words

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