Jewish Renaissance is an independent quarterly magazine published in mid january, April, july, october
ed i t o r a n d d e s i g n janet Levin Deputy editor Agi erdos Po e t r y ed i t o r Liz Cashdan i l l u s t r a t i o n s Nitza felix Computer Art: Carol shields we b s i t e d e s i g n Anne Cotgreave su b s c r i p t i o n s Phillip Lewis or i g i n a l d e s i g n irenewise
edi tor ial Commi t tee emma Bondor, Deborah Brooks, David Clark, Raphael Gee, David herman, judi herman, judithMirzoeff, irene Newton, timRoseman, David Russell
edi tor ial Advisory Board
Geraldine Auerbach MBe Director, Jewish Music Institute Ben Barkow Director,Wiener Library Alex Brummer City Editor, Daily Mail Monica Bohm-Duchen Art Historian Rickie Burman Director, Jewish Museum London Geraldine d’Amico Director, Jewish BookWeek David Glasser Chair, Ben Uri Art Gallery trudy Gold Chief Executive, London Jewish Cultural Centre judy ironside Director, UK Jewish Film Festival Clive Lawton Senior Consultant, Limmud hannah Levinsky-Koevary Hebrew University Maureen LipmanWriter and actor Nitza spiro Director, Spiro Ark Lena stanley-Clamp Director, European Association for Jewish Culture Conniewebber Managing Editor, Littman Library Prof jonathanwebber Jagiellonian University Krakow sir Arnoldwesker Writer
Ma n a g eme n t Commi t t e e Lionel Gordon (Chair), Barrie Grossman, ian Lancaster, Martin Motz, Paulwinner hon Accountant Marks Bloom hon Legal Advisor Anthony Newton
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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.
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Postal address: Jewish Renaissance Po Box 28849, London, sw13 0wA
Website:
www.jewishrenaissance.org.uk
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forces ranged against print journalism at this time. what i have found particularly satisfying is to have proved that stories that celebrate inspirational individuals and positive achievements can make just as engaging and exciting reading as tales of conflict and evil-doing. Also, if the writing quality is good enough you don’t need to have celebrity names on the cover to persuade people to read the magazine. we are taking the opportunity of our tenth anniversary to review the past decade
t
in terms of jewish culture. our reviewers and other cultural commentators pick their highlights – books, art, films etc from anywhere in the world (pages 32 to 37). their choices demonstrate the wonderful creativity that is emanating from israel, particularly in terms of art and film. Most of the other selections have their origins in the Americas. this is not surprising. As Michael Brenner reminds us (what future for the european jew? page 6), there are now not more than 1.5 million jews in europe, including the UK, compared with more than six million in the Americas and nearly six million in israel. Michael Brenner quotes the eminent Paris-based sociologist Diane Pinto as
declaring that the homage paid to the jewish past in europe will not continue indefinitely and jews will lose the centrality that they have had both pre-ww2 and in the recent period of guilt and remembrance. As Brenner says, we have no longer to prove that we are – in our case – more British than the British, better educated and integrated than other minorities. instead, we should take the opportunity to once again become “mediators between the nations and religions of the continent that jews have inhabited in its totality for so many centuries”. Notwithstanding their declining numbers, the jews of europe can make a new kind of contribution in the coming decade. Paradoxically, Brenner also suggests that we should be looking more inwards,
become more jewishly literate and knowlegeable. As Geraldine Auerbach demonstrates (A Decade of jewish Culture page 38), we in Britain are doing well in this regard, despite our small numbers. i hope that in the next decade Jewish Renaissance will continue to play its part
both in highlighting what jews are doing in tikkun olam, repairing the world (see page 5 for one example), and in increasing awareness and knowledge of the diversity and riches of jewish culture. But, most important of all, we shall aim to continue to produce a magazine that our readers look forward to opening and read in its entirety – as so many of you tell us you do now. if you are a subscriber to Jewish Renaissance, you will have received with this
issue a copy of the collection of our own highlights, ‘A Pick of the Decade’. if you have already received one of these with the JC, please donate this to a friend who might be interested or perhaps your dentist’s waiting room? there are still many who do not know about our existence.
A very happy New year to you all.
en years ago, when irene wise, Anne Cotgreave and i struggled to learn to use Quark express to get the first issue of Jewish Renaissance to press, i would not have dreamt that today i would be reporting on a highly successful decade and a readership which is still growing, despite all the
OUR aIMS
To encourage and strengthen the current renaissance in jewish culture To extend knowledge and understanding of the diversity of jewish experience To build bridges between jewish and other cultures
jewish ReNAissANCe oCtoBeR 2011 3
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