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YOUR SAY… L E T T E R S RENAISSANCE Jewish A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON JEWISH CULTURE SPONSORED BY DANGOOR EDUCATION SUMMER 2024 £10 A HAVEN IN THE TROPICS SINGAPORE + ELIZABETH GRAVER DAVID MAZOWER NAOMI GRYN GABY KOPPEL HETTIE JUDAH JAY PROSSER DAHL: TOO TOXIC TO TEACH? A new play revisits the author's legacy THE LURE OF LE PEN French Jews face the future COSMIC VULVAS Welcome back Judy Chicago! Reactions to our Summer issue SINGAPORE: A HAVEN IN THE TROPICS Singapore summer This summer, thanks to my JR, I travelled to Jewish Singapore and discovered a historic community. I could smell the spices and witness the vibrant religious and social culture without ever leaving my sofa in Scotland! JR is my magic passport to Jewish life all over the world. JOE GOLDBLATT Britain’s wartime refugee record In his article ‘Singapore’s Mahallah’, p15, Jay Prosser states that people were not evacuated from Singapore to Britain when the Japanese captured the city in February 1942 because “Britain was largely turning away or interning as enemy aliens Jewish refugees from Europe”. But by February 1942 Britain had long ceased interning Jewish refugees and most of the internees had been released. The British government was lukewarm about admitting Jewish refugees in the 1930s, but is it fair to say that Britain turned them away? Britain admitted over 70,000 refugees between 1933 and 1939, a good 10 percent of the combined Jewish population of Germany and Austria. About 10,000 of those refugees were admitted in the first five years after 1933, but after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and the pogrom of November 1938 that figure increased to over 60,000 between March 1938 and September 1939. Of the 180,000 Jews of Vienna, some 30,000, were granted admission to Britain, more than were admitted to any other country as a first refuge. Of course, Britain should have taken in more, but whether it deserves blanket condemnation is another matter. The main reason why people were not evacuated from Singapore to Britain was the Japanese submarines that infested the eastern Indian Ocean and the German submarines patrolling the Atlantic approaches to Britain. ANTHONY GRENVILLE Jay Prosser replies: I am grateful for Anthony Grenville’s historically detailed nuancing of my statement about Britain’s attitude to European Jewish refugees. However, my point still holds. Britain did not attempt to evacuate the predominantly Baghdadi Jewish population of Singapore because it considered them ‘Asiatic’. In addition, as they boarded British boats, some Singapore Jewish families were split apart by colonial authorities according to perceived skin colour, with ‘whiter’ members allowed onboard, darker relatives barred (and subsequently killed by the Japanese). The interview with Moshe Elias and May Prosser in the same issue of JR, illustrates this British prejudice against Asian Jews. Zangwill the feminist Adam Rovner (‘Searching for a homeland’, p41) is overstating the case in asserting that “Zangwill is barely remembered today”. Zangwill’s Children of the Ghetto is highly regarded as a realist novel, and in 2008, Professor Meri-Jane Rochelson published an excellent biography: A Jew in the Public Arena; the Career of Israel Zangwill (Wayne State University). Zangwill’s feminism is less remembered – he actively supported the campaign for women’s suffrage in Britain. DR ANNE SUMMERS Please send your letters to: editor@jewishrenaissance.org.uk CATCH UP ON THE GO! SIMPLY SEARCH FOR THE “EXACTLY” APP ON YOUR DEVICE’S APP STORE AND DOWNLOAD. THEN CHOOSE JEWISH RENAISSANCE AS THE MAGAZINE YOU WANT TO READ. YOU’LL NEED YOUR SUBSCRIBER NUMBER TO LOG IN. IF YOU CAN’T FIND THIS, EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS@JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK. 4 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK AUTUMN 2024 JR EDITOR Rebecca Taylor ART DIRECTOR Becky Redman DEPUTY & ONLINE EDITOR Danielle Goldstein ARTS & PODCAST EDITOR Judi Herman EDITORIAL MANAGER Dani Silver OPERATIONS MANAGER Ruth Bankover ADVERTISING & FINANCE MANAGER Lorraine Sheridan SUB EDITORS Judi Herman, Janet Levin, Judith Mirzoeff, Alex Galbinski ILLUSTRATIONS Thomas Fournier PHOTOGRAPHY Christopher Brown WEB DESIGNER Becky Redman PROGRAMME PRODUCER Emma Brand FOUNDER Janet Levin PRESIDENT David Dangoor EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dr Aviva Dautch EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Monica Bohm-Duchen, David Conway, Naomi Gryn, David Herman, Judi Herman, Shoshi Ish-Horowicz, Bea Lewkowicz, Michael Mail, Jacqueline Nicholls EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Geraldine Auerbach MBE Alex Brummer City Editor, Daily Mail Monica Bohm-Duchen Art historian David Glasser Chair, Ben Uri Art Gallery and Museum Judy Ironside MBE Founder & President of UK Jewish Film Jennifer Jankel Chair, Jewish Music Institute Clive Lawton OBE Senior Consultant, Limmud Maureen Lipman Writer and actor Claudia Rubenstein Director, Jewish Book Week Raymond Simonson CEO, JW3 Nitza Spiro Director, Spiro Ark Lena Stanley-Clamp Director, European Association for Jewish Culture Connie Webber Managing Editor, Littman Library Prof Jonathan Webber Jagiellonian University BOARD OF TRUSTEES Hester Abrams, David Benmayer, Patti Collins, Spencer Debson, Andrew Gordon (Chair), Ian Lancaster HON LEGAL ADVISOR Jane Phillips The publisher, editor and members of the committees of Jewish Renaissance wish to make it clear that the views in the articles are those of individual authors and should not be taken to reflect their own opinions. The rights of copyright holders are recognised. Copyright holders we failed to locate should contact us at the address below. Printed in Wales by Pensord. Published by Renaissance Publishing a company limited by guarantee Registered Charity Number 1152871. CONTACT INFORMATION 353-359 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6ET +44 20 7794 5254 WEBSITE www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk EMAIL editor@jewishrenaissance.org.uk advertising@jewishrenaissance.org.uk subscriptions@jewishrenaissance.org.uk SOCIAL Twitter: @JewishRen Instagram: @jewishrenaissance www.facebook.com/JewishRenaissance © Copyright Jewish Renaissance ISSN 1476 1769
page 5
FROM JR’S PRESIDENT As we celebrate the High Holy Days this year, there will undoubtedly be apprehension about how to mark the passing of the old year, which, since 7 October, has brought such sorrow, and the beginning of a new year, which is overshadowed by the possibility of more pain. We will, too, be reflecting on the sad fact that many families cannot share the festivals with their loved ones. Our thoughts are with those still held as hostages and their families, and all those caught up in this conflict. On p6, the magazine explores the events since 7 October through the eyes of one of Israel’s most eminent novelists, Ayelet Gundar-Goshen, who also works as a psychologist. Her description of how one of her patients, a survivor of the Nova festival attack, has been dealing with trauma recounts the hidden human cost of that tragic day. This issue of JR is also a reminder that as we mourn the terrible losses of the past year, around the world Jewish communities are continuing to have a presence. On p14, you can read about Philadelphia’s booming Jewish food scene; we review not one, but two, books on Jewish Ireland (p42) and, this autumn, venues across the UK are celebrating the 27th UK Jewish Film Festival (p26). Literature, theatre, music, film and art can bring us together, strengthen our identities and even connect us with those beyond our community. Wishing you a peaceful new year, OUR AIMS JR encourages engagement with Jewish culture by: Offering intelligent, challenging and exciting content; Uncovering the wealth of activity taking place in Jewish communities around the world; Celebrating the diversity of Jewish experience in the UK and internationally. FROM THE EDITOR On the morning of 7 October 2023, like many in the UK, I awoke to radio reports of the events unfolding in southern Israel. In the quiet calm of my London flat, it was hard to comprehend the brutality, horror and fear that was being unleashed. The details of that attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and around 250 taken hostage, were staggering. And then the Israeli response: a war in Gaza that has caused mass destruction, disease and the deaths of thousands of Palestinians, killed hundreds of young Israeli soldiers and unleashed a wave of antisemitism. Jews across the world are reeling. For many, it has reaffirmed their Jewish identity; others have questioned that identity in relation to Israel’s response. At JR, over the past year, we’ve tried to give expression to these disparate voices: from hearing the raw pain of kibbutz survivors to the poetry of a bewildered Palestinian girl, to Israeli and Palestinian artists voicing their despair through art, to our shocking report on the artists facing ‘cancellation’ because they are Jewish or have expressed views (of any political stripe) on Israel As Jewish media in the diaspora, we need to have a healthy relationship with Israel: supportive but critical when needs be. It is not the job of newspaper editors to be the PR arm of the Israeli government. On p6, we mark this awful anniversary with an intensely personal piece by the Israeli novelist Ayelet Gundar-Goshen (see David’s letter, left). We hear from director Patrick Marber, writer Nathan Englander and actor Josh Malina on the imperative to keep discussing these most sensitive subjects (p12, and see our theatre event, p61) and, on p35, in an interview with Rafael Behr, journalist and 7/10 survivor Amir Tibon offers a powerful reflection on the past year. At JR, we also think it’s imperative to tell the diaspora story of who we are, reflect on Jewish global culture and position ourselves as part of a wider narrative, connected to other minorities. Outside of Israel, we have our own challenges, including the resurgence of the far-right. Meanwhile, as a momentous US election looms, we explore (through the eyes of Philip Roth) the future of American democracy (p10) and visit the birthplace of that democracy – the city of Philadelphia (p14, and see our online series on the US, p55). These are complex issues. In the words of playwright Josh Azouz (p30), sometimes you just have to sit in “the uncomfortable centre, when everyone is screaming at you to take a side”. With hope for the new year, REBECCA TAYLOR, EDITOR rebecca@jewishrenaissance.org.uk TWITTER: @JewishRen; INSTAGRAM: @jewishrenaissance; FACEBOOK: facebook.com/JewishRenaissance R O G E R S ; J U L E S A L A M Y CONTRIBUTORS AYELET GUNDARGOSHEN Israeli novelist Ayelet draws on her other work as a clinical psychologist in a powerful piece on p6, describing how one 7 October survivor is dealing with trauma. Her novels include One Night, Markovitch and the Wingate Prize winner, Waking Lions. Her latest book is The Wolf Hunt. SAMANTHA ELLIS Iraqi-Jewish writer Samantha speaks to the playwright Josh Azouz (p30) about his new play Gigi & Dar opening at the Arcola this autumn. Samantha’s own plays include How to Date a Feminist and her books include How to be a Heroine, and Take Courage: Anne Brontë and the Art of Life. RAFAEL BEHR You can read Rafael’s writing in his columns for the Guardian, where he is a leader writer, and in his book Politics: A Survivor’s Guide – How to Stay Engaged Without Getting Enraged. On p35 he speaks to Amir Tibon, whose new book describes his rescue on 7 October and his ongoing hopes for peace. DR KEITH KAHN-HARRIS Keith is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a senior lecturer at Leo Baeck College and the author of eight books. On p46, he speaks to Asaf Elia-Shalev, the author of a new book on Israel’s Black Panthers – the young Mizrahim who shook up Israel in the 1970s. MATTHEW REISZ On p32, Matthew meets the artist Barbara Loftus, whose monumental project to chronicle her family’s life in Berlin has now been turned into a book. Matthew is a former editor of the Jewish Quarterly and spent 14 years as a staff writer and books editor at Times Higher Education. L E T T E R S AUTUMN 2024 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK 5

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YOUR SAY…

L E T T E R S

RENAISSANCE Jewish

A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON JEWISH CULTURE

SPONSORED BY DANGOOR EDUCATION

SUMMER 2024 £10

A HAVEN IN THE TROPICS SINGAPORE

+

ELIZABETH GRAVER

DAVID MAZOWER NAOMI GRYN

GABY KOPPEL HETTIE JUDAH

JAY PROSSER

DAHL: TOO TOXIC TO TEACH? A new play revisits the author's legacy THE LURE OF LE PEN French Jews face the future

COSMIC VULVAS Welcome back Judy Chicago!

Reactions to our Summer issue SINGAPORE: A HAVEN IN THE TROPICS

Singapore summer This summer, thanks to my JR, I travelled to Jewish Singapore and discovered a historic community. I could smell the spices and witness the vibrant religious and social culture without ever leaving my sofa in Scotland! JR is my magic passport to Jewish life all over the world. JOE GOLDBLATT

Britain’s wartime refugee record In his article ‘Singapore’s Mahallah’, p15, Jay Prosser states that people were not evacuated from Singapore to Britain when the Japanese captured the city in February 1942 because “Britain was largely turning away or interning as enemy aliens Jewish refugees from Europe”. But by February 1942 Britain had long ceased interning Jewish refugees and most of the internees had been released. The British government was lukewarm about admitting Jewish refugees in the 1930s, but is it fair to say that Britain turned them away?

Britain admitted over 70,000 refugees between 1933 and 1939, a good 10 percent of the combined Jewish population of Germany and Austria. About 10,000 of those refugees were admitted in the first five years after 1933, but after Germany annexed Austria in March 1938 and the pogrom of November 1938 that figure increased to over 60,000 between March 1938 and September 1939. Of the 180,000 Jews of Vienna, some 30,000, were granted admission to Britain, more than were admitted to any other country as a first refuge. Of course, Britain should have taken in more, but whether it deserves blanket condemnation is another matter.

The main reason why people were not evacuated from Singapore to Britain was the Japanese submarines that infested the eastern Indian Ocean and the German submarines patrolling the Atlantic approaches to Britain. ANTHONY GRENVILLE

Jay Prosser replies: I am grateful for Anthony Grenville’s historically detailed nuancing of my statement about Britain’s attitude to European Jewish refugees. However, my point still holds. Britain did not attempt to evacuate the predominantly Baghdadi Jewish population of Singapore because it considered them ‘Asiatic’. In addition, as they boarded British boats, some Singapore Jewish families were split apart by colonial authorities according to perceived skin colour, with ‘whiter’ members allowed onboard, darker relatives barred (and subsequently killed by the Japanese). The interview with Moshe Elias and May Prosser in the same issue of JR, illustrates this British prejudice against Asian Jews.

Zangwill the feminist Adam Rovner (‘Searching for a homeland’, p41) is overstating the case in asserting that “Zangwill is barely remembered today”. Zangwill’s Children of the Ghetto is highly regarded as a realist novel, and in 2008, Professor Meri-Jane Rochelson published an excellent biography: A Jew in the Public Arena; the Career of Israel Zangwill (Wayne State University). Zangwill’s feminism is less remembered – he actively supported the campaign for women’s suffrage in Britain. DR ANNE SUMMERS

Please send your letters to: editor@jewishrenaissance.org.uk

CATCH UP ON THE GO! SIMPLY SEARCH FOR THE “EXACTLY” APP ON YOUR DEVICE’S APP STORE AND DOWNLOAD. THEN CHOOSE JEWISH RENAISSANCE AS THE MAGAZINE YOU WANT TO READ. YOU’LL NEED YOUR SUBSCRIBER NUMBER TO LOG IN. IF YOU CAN’T FIND THIS, EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS@JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK.

4 JEWISHRENAISSANCE.ORG.UK AUTUMN 2024

JR

EDITOR Rebecca Taylor ART DIRECTOR Becky Redman DEPUTY & ONLINE EDITOR Danielle Goldstein ARTS & PODCAST EDITOR Judi Herman EDITORIAL MANAGER Dani Silver OPERATIONS MANAGER Ruth Bankover ADVERTISING & FINANCE MANAGER Lorraine Sheridan SUB EDITORS Judi Herman, Janet Levin, Judith Mirzoeff, Alex Galbinski ILLUSTRATIONS Thomas Fournier PHOTOGRAPHY Christopher Brown WEB DESIGNER Becky Redman PROGRAMME PRODUCER Emma Brand

FOUNDER Janet Levin PRESIDENT David Dangoor EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dr Aviva Dautch

EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Monica Bohm-Duchen, David Conway, Naomi Gryn, David Herman, Judi Herman, Shoshi Ish-Horowicz, Bea Lewkowicz, Michael Mail, Jacqueline Nicholls

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Geraldine Auerbach MBE Alex Brummer City Editor, Daily Mail Monica Bohm-Duchen Art historian David Glasser Chair, Ben Uri Art Gallery and Museum Judy Ironside MBE Founder & President of UK Jewish Film Jennifer Jankel Chair, Jewish Music Institute Clive Lawton OBE Senior Consultant, Limmud Maureen Lipman Writer and actor Claudia Rubenstein Director, Jewish Book Week Raymond Simonson CEO, JW3 Nitza Spiro Director, Spiro Ark Lena Stanley-Clamp Director, European Association for Jewish Culture Connie Webber Managing Editor, Littman Library Prof Jonathan Webber Jagiellonian University

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Hester Abrams, David Benmayer, Patti Collins, Spencer Debson, Andrew Gordon (Chair), Ian Lancaster HON LEGAL ADVISOR Jane Phillips The publisher, editor and members of the committees of Jewish Renaissance wish to make it clear that the views in the articles are those of individual authors and should not be taken to reflect their own opinions. The rights of copyright holders are recognised. Copyright holders we failed to locate should contact us at the address below. Printed in Wales by Pensord. Published by Renaissance Publishing a company limited by guarantee Registered Charity Number 1152871.

CONTACT INFORMATION 353-359 Finchley Rd, London NW3 6ET +44 20 7794 5254 WEBSITE www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk EMAIL editor@jewishrenaissance.org.uk advertising@jewishrenaissance.org.uk subscriptions@jewishrenaissance.org.uk SOCIAL Twitter: @JewishRen Instagram: @jewishrenaissance www.facebook.com/JewishRenaissance © Copyright Jewish Renaissance ISSN 1476 1769

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