CONTENTS
AUTUMN 2024 WWW.JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK
JR
A N D
I N G O L D
G O
F E
Z A R A
O F
H O N O U R
S PA R K S
O F
; C O U RT E SY
I N
I N G O L D
F E
I R M A N
BI M O N
. A A R O N
; S
I L L S
. M
D R
BY
, D O N AT E D
I S TO RY
HI S H
GLO F T U S / B E R N A R D
; B A R B A R A
J E W
I C A N
A M E R
I G O D E R
WI R
; M E
O F
M U S E U M
I O N A L
: A L A M Y
; C O N T E N T S
N AT
I T Z M A N
W E
: T H E
C OV E R
R E D M A N
; B E C KY
I N G O L D
F E
T H E
O N
R AC H E L
14
RENAISSANCE Jewish
A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON JEWISH CULTURE
SPONSORED BY DANGOOR EDUCATION
AUTUMN 2024 £10
RADICALS, SINGERS,
BAKERS & SPIES JEWISH LIFE IN PHILADELPHIA
RAFAEL BEHR SAMANTHA ELLIS BEN MARKOVITS MATTHEW REISZ ANNA PORTER NATHAN ENGLANDER +
AYELET GUNDAR-GOSHEN The ongoing trauma of 7 October NEO-NAZIS & RASTA PARTIES The world of the Punk Professor THE AMERICAN BERSERK Reading Roth as the US goes to vote
On the cover: Menorah at The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, Philadelphia
45
26
32
PHILADELPHIA
PASSPORT SERIES
4 YOUR SAY… Readers’ rants, raves and views on the summer issue of JR.
6 WHAT’S NEW Ayelet GundarGoshen explores how one survivor has been dealing with the trauma of 7 October.
10 FEATURE As Americans prepare to go to the polls, Matthew Shipe revisits Philip Roth’s most overtly political novel, The Plot Against America.
12 FEATURE Writer Nathan Englander, director Patrick Marber and actor Joshua Malina come together to talk about Englander’s provocative new play.
14 PASSPORT Philadelphia: discover how the city ’s Jews helped shape the first US Constitution, delve into Philly’s rich history, take a tour of its best Jewish food stops and meet today’s cultural movers and shakers in the City of Brotherly Love.
26 FILM A Good Jewish Boy is one of the films to watch out for at this year’s UK Jewish Film Festival. Naomi Gryn speaks to its director Noé Debré.
28 MUSIC ‘Punk Professor’ Vivien Goldman on her new book, which spans her career from the anarchic 1970s.
30 THEATRE Josh Azouz’s new play has been dubbed Beckett meets Mean Girls. Samantha Ellis finds out more.
32 ART Matthew Reisz speaks to the artist Barbara Loftus about her candid chronicle of life in pre-war Berlin.
35 BOOKS Rafael Behr meets the journalist Amir Tibon to discuss his book about 7 October; Kafka’s inner life; Shalom Auslander’s memoir; Ottó Komoly’s diaries; and whiskey and matzah in Ireland.
44 THE YIDDISHISTS Our series that uncovers the YIVO archive. This issue: Reds to the rescue!
45 SEPHARDI RENAISSANCE Keith Kahn-Harris speaks to the author of a new book on Israel’s Black Panthers; the mystery Jews of Hervás.
53 WHAT’S HAPPENING Our three-month guide to cultural events in the UK, Europe and Israel.
65 FAMILY A new book tells the tale of the children hidden in a Paris mosque.
66 MEET THE READER Sharon Gubbay Helfer in Montréal, Canada.
AUTUMN 2024 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK 3
C O N T E N T S
