Winter 2024
Life on the border // Kibbutz survivors face the future
Putting together the winter 2024 issue of JR has taken us on a journey that many others have also been on since the horrific events of 7 October. Inside, our Letter from Israel correspondent Pam Peled expresses the howl of fury and grief that many of us have felt since last autumn. We also wanted to explore the myriad other ways that the events have affected those inside and outside Israel and Gaza. In David Leach's powerful essay on the future of Israel's kibbutzim, he speaks to Sofie Berzon MacKie, a survivor of the Hamas attacks on Kibbutz Be'eri and a talented photographer, whose images of the kibbutz before the October attack are currently on display at Jerusalem's Studio Of Her Own gallery – and feature on our cover. You can also read poems from two teenagers – one Palestinian and one Israeli – about how their lives have been affected by the conflict, and hear about the young Londoners who are getting tattooed to display their Jewish pride. Elsewhere we delve into the beauty and richness of Romanian Jewish culture with a tour of Bucharest and a reflection on the state of Jewish heritage in Romania; we hear from broadcaster Ed Stourton about the role of religion in today's society and speak to the director of a new musical about the Battle of Cable Street…
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© Rob Greig
Inking for Israel
Following the attacks of 7 October, some Jews are showing pride in their heritage and solidarity with Israel by tattooing Jewish symbols on their bodies. Alex Galbinski reports. Photo © Rob Greig
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BROWSE THE FULL CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE BELOW
YOUR SAY… Readers’ rants, raves and views on the autumn issue of JR.
WHAT’S NEW Pamela Peled on how Israelis are coping, post-7 October.
FEATURE Meet the Londoners getting tattooed with Jewish symbols.
FEATURE David Leach speaks to some of the survivors of the kibbutz attacks last October.
FEATURE Young Israelis and Palestinians on war and peace.
THE LONG READ In this exclusive piece for JR, David Stromberg translates the only letters known to exist between the writer Esther Kreitman and her brother Isaac Bashevis Singer.
PASSPORT Romania: join a tour of Bucharest, hear about the arts radicals of the 1920s and meet the activists preserving the country’s Jewish heritage.
FILM Cherry Kompot’s Ukrainians abroad; singer Jessie Ware on Yentl.
MUSIC The Chelys Consort throws new light on two little-known 17th-century Sephardi composers.
THEATRE Cable Street – a new musical with a contemporary twist.
ART Meet the Wolpes: artists, designers, jewellers, enamellers and much more. Hephzibah Anderson reports.
BOOKS Ed Stourton on the changing role of religion; what did the break up of the USSR mean for the people living through it?; Streisand’s memoir; the many shadows of Amos Oz.
THANK YOU A big thank you to our donors and supporters.
SEPHARDI RENAISSANCE Miriam Halahmy’s A Boy from Baghdad; Michael Frank speaks to Elizabeth Graver about her new book, Kantika.
WHAT’S HAPPENING Our three-month guide to art, books, film, music, theatre and other cultural events in the UK, Europe and Israel.
FAMILY A new book tells the story of the great escaper Harry Houdini.
MEET THE READER Thelma Ruby in Wimbledon, London.
