RENAISSANCEJewish

V O L U M E 1 3 I S S U E 2 J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 3

2 LETTERS 3 FROM THE EDITOR WHAT’S NEW

4 Hungary: Government tries to boost image

Argentina: New Rabbi MP Israel: Move towards Pluralism 6 INNOVATORS The Spiro Story Janet Levin hears about the eventful life of Robin and Nitza 9 THE BENEFACTORS

How to Get the Young to Give David Russell talks to 23-year-old Alexandra Abrams

THE JEWS OF KRAKÓW

12 Jewish Kraków Jonathan Webber Timeline Michal Galas and Agi Legutko The Rema Agi Legutko 13 Pre-War Memories Felik Scharf 14 Growing up in Kraków Views from books by Janina FischlerMartinho and Eva Hoffman Reconstruction Jonathan Webber 16 The Best Job in the World! Janet Levin talks to JCC director Jonathan Ornstein

17 Reassessing Attitudes

Rabbi Avi Baumol 18 Jewish Publishing Reborn Connie Webber interviews Wojtek and Malgosia Ornat 19 Finding a New Identity

Agi Legutko’s Jewish journey 20 Midrash through Art Magda Koralewska tells Janet Levin about novel ways of interpreting Torah 22 Polish Expressions of Loss

David Clark reviews Sefer by Ewa Lipska Unwritten Elegy for Kraków’s Jews Adam Zagajewski’s poem 23 Revisiting David Clark and Marcel Manson explain why they return to Kraków’s Jewish Culture Festival 24 Jewish Place as a Living Phenomenon

Karen Underhill 25 The Festival Jonathan Webber

37 FILM/THEATRE The Book Thief Judi Herman’s review Shiver Judi Herman talks to author

UPROAR! PAGE 40

KRAKÓW PAGE 20

THE BOOK THIEF PAGE 37

MUSIC 38 Reinventing the Cantor Eric Moses explains what cantors should do for their congregations 39 Welcomed with Open Arms Three new London full-time cantors talk about their roles Putting Music at the Heart of the Community Introducing North London’s women cantors ART 40 Uproar! Judi Herman visits the Ben Uri’s exhibition with Moich Abrahams CARTOONISTS 42 Philip Zec David Herman’s look at the life of the popular English wartime cartoonist BOOKS 43 Confessions of a Literary Footballer Rebecca Taylor talks to Jonathan Wilson 44 Nick Barlay’s Scattered Ghosts reviewed by Agi Erdos Monica Bohm Duchen’s Art in the Second World War reviewed by Julia Weiner 46 Royal Jews reviewed by Jonathan Romain

47 Hineni reviewed by Janet Levin 48 Jewish Glasgow: An Illustrated History reviewed by Janet Levin

Books in Brief Rebecca Taylor 49 Maureen Kendler reviews Unscrolled: 54 Writers and Artists Wrestle with the Torah 50 Antony Polonsky’s The Jews in Poland and Russia: A Short History reviewed by David Herman 51 Yossi Klein Halevi: Like Dreamers reviewed by Colin Shindler 52 Malcolm Forbes reviews Jonathan Lethem’s Dissident Gardens 53 Saving Mozart by Raphael Jerusalmy reviewed by Judith Mirzoeff David Salon’s Pschatts reviewed by Vesna Domany Hardy 54 Baghdadian Jews of Bombay by Rachel Manasseh reviewed by Margery Cohen FOOD 55 Vodka Stories Agi Erdos LAST WORDS

56 Es Brent - It Burns Maurice Gebirtig

C E N T R E S E C T I O N : P A G E S 2 7 - 3 6 T H R E E - M O N T H G U I D E T O E V E N T S I N T H E U K A N D B E Y O N D

Cover picture: From Aga Nowak’s modern art Midrash, see page 21