Tzili (transl. from Hebrew to German by Stefan Siebers) by Aharon Appelfeld

 

A simple girl from a poor family, situated in an unnamed country - there is a mention of a grandfather in the Carpathian region, and the Danube shore but anything specific -, but in a region whose Jews were wipped out from the face of the Earth, Tzili survived the war while hiding in the forest. The survival instinct helped her and also the survival drove her on her way to Palestine after the war was over. 

The homonymous book by Czernowitz-born Aharon Appelfeld is a non-sentimental story set on the foreground of the Shoah. All her family, except her bed-ridden father disappeared and by instinct, she left the house and either hid in the fields or in the forest, by performing menial works in the houses of local Christians. No one took her for a Jewess, as she always introduced herself as the daugher of Maria, a local prostitute. 

Compared to Katerina, Tzili is more realistic and less reflective on the past. The voice of her own story, she may not have a high self-awareness and her school results were less than mediocre, but maybe this simpleton attitude saved her. She did not think too much, lived her life with a strong will of survival. She may have heard from the village what was going on with the other Jews, but she never looked back, not even to go back to check on her father. Embarking to Palestine is a wise decision because what else can expect her here. 

At the end of the war, she is 15, pregnant with a man, Mark, she encountered while in the forest, another sad soul like her, that left her too without a trace that she loves, and so she loves his family - wife and children - that disappeared. Her human relationships are limited to basic interactions and the shild we may take it as a way to take distance from the rest of the world is just a philosophical artifact of our minds thirsty for human mysteries. In fact, she is just a simple person, with no future and past, just the present.

In Tzili, emotions are created without offering to the reader an emotional writing itself. Descriptions and interactions are the way in which the story takes shape. As a way to write about those terrible times, it helps, although may render the characters empty and cruel.

I had access to the book in an excellent translation from Hebrew into German by Stefan Siebers.

UltraOrthodox

I rarely had the chance to read a book belonging to the emerging Jewish literary genre of OTD-Memoirs with such a gentle and angerless take as Akiva Weingarten´s. Born and raised in the midst of the insular Satmar community in NYC, he eventually moved to Israel languising for knowledge in Bnei Brak while being trapped in the emptiness of a mimetic family life.

With 1000 USD in the pocket, out of it 40 Euro he had to pay the fine for buying the wrong metro ticket, Weingarten arrived in Berlin decided to radically leave behind his past and start anew. Maybe as a doctor. But one can dream when there is no clear proof of academic evaluation, one cannot move forward towards achieving an university profile. Sadly by co-existing in a separate, sometimes antinomic educational system, the members of ultraorthodox groups automatically limit the chances of professional achievement. Of course, there is a subtle way of controlling the knowledge and the information coming in and out the group, a more subsidious kosher filters Weingarten used to promote for a short amount of time, but nevertheless it is a sad reality.

To my knowledge, this is the first such memoir completely written in the German language - Deborah Feldman was first ´famous´ in the English-speaking realm before making a media and publishing career in Germany anyway. Although the explanation of different practices and terminology takes an important part of the book, the focus is on the journey and the search for meaning. Life meaning, once one lives religion and its mental and physical comfort. 

After spending a couple of years in Berlin and graduating from Avraham Geiger Kolleg in Potsdam, Weingarten founded a Besht Yeshiva in Dresden. Named after the initiator of the Hasidism, Baal Shem Tov, the yeshiva is aimed to help people who left Orthodoxy settle in their new life. At the beginning, long before the Shoah, Hasidism was created as a reaction against the ´institutionalisation´ of Jewish institution, represented by the Litvische mainstream at the time. Nowadays, it evolved itself as a very conservative mainstream of Judaism. History repeats itself in a different timeline and with a different approach.

I enjoyed reading UltraOrthodox and I wish the book will be translated into English soon too. It is an intellectually passionate journey that deserves a larger audience, for sure.

Tikkun Olam in Ukraine

Israeli diplomats and institutions are heavily involved in helping and supporting Jewish and non-Jewish refugees and victims of the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a one hour video Zoom organised by the Israeli Consulate in NYC, diplomatic representatives at the embassies in Romania (deputy chief of mission Amir Sagron) and Poland(spokeperson and communications representative Irit Yakhnes) and Ilay Levi, specially dispatched in Moldova shared their experiences and emotional testimonies of what does it mean to be on the forefront of saving lives.

Within the overall frame of the global support offered to Ukraine, Israel - based on the decade long experience of emergency interventions - operates the humanitarian rescue operations. This involves, among others, providing tones of medical supplies, setting up a field hospital - Operation Shining Star with significant support of doctors and health institutions from Israel - aimed at helping people in urgent need of medical interventions. The humanitarian operations involved not only the embassies from countries neighbouring Ukraine, but other diplomatic representations as well. For instance, the six generators delivered via the embassy in Italy, allowing Ukrainian hospital to operate independently from the electricity shortages.

In addition to the consular efforts to rescue Israeli citizens in Ukraine - around 15,000-20,000, not all Jewish, but having an Israeli passport - and the representatives of the Jewish community, Israel, including through various NGOs operating in Ukraine, such as ISRAID, provided general support to people in need, no matter their passport and religion. A significant number of descendants of Righteous Among Nations, non-Jews who saved Jews during WWII, were also allowed the right to relocate to Israel.

´Israel was there´. On the ground, there are human stories of suffering and human solidarity. Pregnant women, children and elderly, with no other option but to be on the road to save their life. During WWII, Jewish refugees often lost their life desperately looking for safety. Now, there is a state ready to help them while doing tikkun olam in an Europe whose heart is bleeding the destruction of war. 

Be Strong and of Good Courage

 

The Israeli leadership portrayed in Be Strong and of Good Courage by Dennis Ross - career diplomat with long experience in the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - and David Makovsky depends at a very great extent of the historical context of the founding of the state of Israel. David Ben-Gurion, Menachem Begin, Yitzak Rabin, Ariel Sharon are usually considered the founding fathers and do represent a certain generation. It is a generation that had to operate under enormous pressure and against a conundrum of inimities and challenges, both internally and externally.

The book follows the historical thread and presents various leadership styles and encounters. While maintaining the historical and geopolitical frame, it displays a variety of arguments explaining one decision or another. Each of the leaders described in the book do have their individual leadership style, mostly inspired by the underground and military experiences - particularly Rabin and Sharon. Given the extraordinary circumstances, judging them through ´normal´/peacetime criteria does not make justice to their times. Knowing more about the context, including the diplomatic unspoken background Ross was largely familiar with, elucidates it.

At the end of the book, I was almost tempted to share nostalgic feeling while comparing ´them´ with ´they´, but finally I realized that it is a very big mistake and in fact, the ´average´ politicians of nowadays are a good sign that no one needs warriors in politics and times turned into a more quiet mood. I suppose that the truth is somewhere in the middle of all this.

Be Strong and of Good Courage do shares a lot of details that may help explaining the many missed opportunities of the ´peace process´, but also the various coordinates that allowed the ´settler movement´ to become such a strong voice within the Israeli politics. Some of the reasons may be, actually, of a very practical nature. The different takes on the relationship with the US, from the very beginning until nowadays is important in the context of Israel´s own state- and national awareness.

Although I much appreciated the well documented narrative, and the interesting political stories brought to life, I was largely disappointed by the writing style. Writing about politics and the Middle East, although it retrains the creative capacity of the writer due to the very complex issues that do not allow too much imaginative tropes, it does not mean that it should be bland and literarily unattractive. More than once I had the feeling that I was just offered some disparate notes on events and characters, that were nissing the thread of a real story.

Rating: 3 stars

Three Graphic Novels with a Jewish Topic

I love the language of the graphic novels as suited to convene a variety of topics, including history and identity and religion. Three topics matching perfectly when it comes to Jewish identity. In the last months I´ve read a couple of graphic novels with Jewish topics that I am happy to further recommend.

The Jewish Brigade by Marvano

This book is the second from the series created by the Belgian cartoonish Marvano. Based on true facts - Jewish soldiers hunting former Nazis in Europe at the end of the war - it recreates the ambiance of incertainty and human confusion at the end of the second World War. In few words and many inspired visual representations, there are a lot of stories told in just a couple of pages: how Jews just escaping the camps were killed by their non-Jewish neighbours, the meeting between the Russian Cold War interests and the ex-Nazis, the ways in which former Nazis escaped Europe and their punishment. Enough history and context to make you curious to find out more about it, especially if not familiar with the intricacies of those times.

Disclaimer: Book offered by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Herzl by Camille de Toledo, illustrated by Alexander Pavlenko

Herzl written by Camille de Toledo and illustrated by Alexander Pavlenko is a story within the story, where a simple human story meets the history in the making. Ilya is a Jew who escaped the pogroms and antisemitism of Europe at a time when Herzl acknowledged the neeed for the Jews to have their own homeland. The drama of the little Ilya is the best argument in favor of such a political move. The text is elaborated and unusually rich for this genre, and the predominantly black/dark illustrations are adding the emotional dramatism to the story. I´ve read the book in the original French language. 

The duo De Toledo-Pavlenko recently published a book inspired by the stories of Isaac Babel which I hope to read it soon.

Jerusalem, Ein Familienporträt by Boaz Yakin, illustrated by Nick Bertozzi

Jerusalem. A Family Portrait - I´ve read it in the German version. Ein Familienporträt - is the result of collaboration between the screenwriter and producer Boaz Yakin and illustrator Nick Bertozzi. Its focus is the story of the Halaby family - originally from Aleppo - living in Jerusalem before and during the creation of the state. The story not only dares to explore a very delicate historical period of time, but reveals so many details that one can rarely find in a ´serious´ history book, such as the story of the Communist Party in ´Palestine´.

Those three books are not only relevant from the purely Jewish history point of view, but there are also important as a way in which historical information can be treated and transmitted through literary/visual support. 

Orthodoxed. A Film by and about Berel Solomon

 

With so many books and testimonies around the web about leaving Orthodox Judaism - in its manifolds and various representations, I often complained that more testimonies about Jews returning to their origins is essential for balancing the facts. Being an Orthodox Jew - Hassidisch, Litvisch etc. - has only a way out and no one wants to go it? In my opinion, it is a false premise, as personally I known many more people who are actually returning to faith, a phenomenon very common among people in their 30s and 40s, in Israel and abroad. There are people who mostly grew up with any or a very limited religious education who in the middle of their life, found themselves lost and in need of guidance. They started alone or as a family, by keeping kosher and Shabbes and learn Torah and create religious families. Without relying on serious data, I may assume that this is a phenomenon predominant among Judaism, as my non-Jewish friends I´ve questioned about similar moves among Muslim or Christian denomination are rather unique and are mostly the result of religious conversions, particularly when it comes to young people.

Last night I was finally offered the chance to see a challenge to the predominant narrative about Jews living the fold, as I watched Orthodoxed - available to watch for free on YouTube - by and about Berel Solomon. Berel Solomon grow up in a culturally Jewish family in Toronto, where, according to his own account, they ate pork chops on the Friday evening Shabbes table. He went to Jewish school and Jewish camps but without a proper religious education. Soon, he become part of a dysfunctional group, got involved in drug trafficking and then got into the nigh club business. He had the mind for business and even launched his own reality show. Until the pressure of his ´empty´ life was too heavy as a burden and he collapsed. 

´Looking for the truth´ he first reached to a Breslov Hassid and ended up - where many baal teshuva end - by Chabad. Diplomatically, he does not mention the group too often, although there is a flash-picture of their 7th Rebbe and he prayed to the ohel in NYC. His rhetoric suits very much the usual Chabadnik enthusted by the return to traditional values and I may say that he sounds a bit too aggressive and show-offish for my taste. After all, the return to religion does not happen overnight and no matter how much one would love to come back to traditional values, technically it is impossible as one needs time to go through the long process of understanding the complex rules of kosher and of Shabbes, among others. But there is a lot of enthusiasm for burning up the stages and starting to catch up with the time of ´unkosher´ life. 

Berel Solomon is now training in Jewish business leadership, and has a religious family. His parents were a bit shocked by his choices - although they seemed not so worried as he was a drug dealer and nightclub entertainer - but nevertheless they got used with his beard, and kapota and kippah. 

Despite my reservations towards any kind of loud declarations of faith, I am glad that a film like Orthodoxed exists and despites its imperfections and shortcomings, it offers a different take on being religious and Jewish in the modern world.

 

Impossible Exodus: Iraqi Jews in Israel

 

Between 1950 and 1951, 123,000 Jews from Iraq moved to Israel, particularly under the pressure of antisemitic turn of events. For the next decade at least, most of them were faced with a different reality that that they might have imagined before: far from being the country of ´milk and honey´, Israel was a pragmatic new state, coping with serious economic and social difficulties, looking for cheap labor force and with a relatively low tolerance towards cultural and social differences. 

Impossible Exodus: Iraqi Jews in Israel is the last volume of a trilogy written by Orit Bashkin featuring the Jewish community in and from Iraq. Very well documented both in terms of history, culture and direct contact with the Iraqi Jews themselves, the book opens up new perspective while countering triumphalistic approaches. ´The Iraqi-Jewish experence in Israel challenges the notion that Israel served as a melting pot for various global Jewish communities´.

There is a lot of material to discuss about in the book. From the extensive description of the conditions suffered by the newly arrived from Iraq, until the disdain unempathic displayed by the Askenazi establishment and the more or less random acts of protest again the measures took, the reader is offered a very detailed insight into the topic. Interestingly for me was the information regarding the connections of Iraqi Jews with the Communist Party in Israel. 

By taking a variety of perspectives - social, political, economic, cultural, anthropologic - the reader is offer a very complex landscape, which far from making conclusions, it re-writes an episode of histoy of both Israel and Jewish communities. It critically treats the data while offering possible explanations of the rift that exists - although at a very low level - between ´European´ and non-European Jews. 

However, the rift is not so black-and-white and rather has to do with specific social discrepancies, as, for instance, within the camps where the Iraqi Jews spent as long as seven years, they met not only other ´Mizrahim´/´Oriental´ Jews, but also Jews coming from Romania or other Eastern European countries. 

Personally, I would have love more comparative approach between, on one hand, the Iraqi Jews in Israel, and the Jews from Yemen or Syria or Egypt, among others. There are a couple of mentions in this respect, but it gives the impression of a special case faced by the Iraqi Jews when, in fact, it was typical for other communities as well.

Nevertheless, Impossible Exodus: Iraqi Jews in Israel is a noteworthy contribution to the current Israel story. By revealing less known and less pleasant episodes of the recent history, it only makes the Israel story easier to understand.