JULY 2016
SALONICA TO ATHENS AND PLACES INBETWEEN
Welcome a new chapter in the 15-year story of Jewish Renaissance magazine, as an eight-page section called Sephardi Renaissance is introduced. In this we provide a focus on the Sephardi world in the UK and beyond, with our debut uncovering a synagogue that’s based in a bus station café. Elsewhere Ottoman merchants and communities both ancient and modern feature in a 14-page Greece special, while nearer to home we head north for the stage version of The Mighty Walzer. Plus radicals, kooks and other 60s upstarts pepper our books section, and film director Mike Leigh writes affectionately about his friendship with the late Arnold Wesker.
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WHAT'S NEW
In or out? We asked readers how they voted in the EU referendum. Here are the results of our JR survey. • Teenage kicks Mike Leigh writes of his friendship with the late playwright Arnold Wesker. • Safe landing Leora Eren Frucht on the Israelis reaching out to refugees on the Greek island of Lesbos
FEATURES
Bonjour Golders Green! Rebecca Schischa meets the French Jews who are calling London their home. • History in the painting As the East End prepares to commemorate 80 years since the Battle of Cable Street, David Rosenberg reveals the remarkable story behind the street’s famous mural
PASSPORT
Greece: what now? Sephardis, such as the Ottoman merchant on our cover, once dominated Greek urban life. That history was swept away under the Nazis. Can Greek Jews survive economic crisis and far-right threats to blossom in the 21st century? JR’s Rebecca Taylor travels the country to find out. • Last of the Romaniotes The ancient community of Ioannina is dwindling but its spirit is strong. • Costa del Salonica Historian Mark Mazower, author of City of Ghosts, reveals how Spanish Sephardis transformed 16th century Salonica into a little slice of Iberia. • Sounds of the city In the early 20th century, Greek urban music – rebetiko – was the hip hop of its day. Gil Karpas speaks to Athenian musician Savina Yannatou, who is reviving these traditional songs
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Listings Our three-month guide to art, books, film, music, theatre and other cultural events in the UK and in Israel this summer
Try this!
Fancy yourself as a DJ? Leeds’ Radio Jcom is a good place to start
THEATRE
Ping pong wizards Judi Herman grabs a bat as the stage adaptation of Howard Jacobson’s novel The Mighty Walzerarrives at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre
FILM
Good as gold As London’s BFI kicks off a season on the award-winning film and TV director Jack Gold, David Herman assesses his prodigious talent.
ART
Curiouser and curiouser Monica Bohm-Duchen explores the eccentric and tiny works of the artist Friedrich Nagler which are on display at Pallant House Gallery.
COMEDY
Gorilla in a kippa Judi Herman meets five wags: Ashley Blaker, Penelope Solomon, Adam Kay, Daniel Cainer and Ivor Dembina, to find out why Jewish comedy is having a ‘moment’ right now.
MUSIC
The lost lands of Levo David Conway’s music festival is attracting musicians from all over the world to a small Slovakian town.
BOOKS
Jumpin’ Jack Flash Peter Watts uncovers the world of 1960s gangsters and glamour in Keiron Pim’s new book on David Litvinoff. • Outsiders Looking In We roundup a clutch of other books on Jewish culture in the 60s: Barbra Streisand: Redefining Beauty, Femininity and Power by Neal Gabler; That Precious Strand of Jewishness that Challenges Authority by Leon Rosselson; and Buckley & Mailer: The Difficult Friendship that Shaped the Sixties by Kevin M Schultz. • Holy murder! Vesna Domany Hardy uncovers the violent world of Bible translation in Harry Freedman’s new book, The Murderous History of Bible Translations. • Chains of Sand Shoshi Ish-Horowicz reviews Jemma Wayne’s provocative new novel that puts contemporary Jewish identity under the spotlight. • A Bad Year for Jam-Making Jonathan Wittenberg’s new book, My Dear Ones: One Family and the Final Solution, is a poignant and intimate account of lives at war, finds David Herman
BOOKS IN BRIEF
Journeys Through the Twentieth Century, Stories from One Family by Daniel C Tabor: One man’s chronicle of his family’s history, from the 19th century Pale to the 20th century’s new state of Israel. • Till we Have Built Jerusalem: Architects of a New City by Adina Hoffman: The story of the three architects who helped build modern Jerusalem: Erich Mendelsohn, Austen St Barbe Harrison and Spyro Houris. • Here I Am by Jonathan Safran Foer: The latest novel by Jonathan Safran Foer is published in September and promises a funny, raunchy romp around an American Jewish family living in Washington DC
FOOD
Thou shalt eat veg The Jewish Vegetarian Society is branching out...
UNEXPECTED ISRAEL
Pomegranates Excerpts from Ruth Corman’s book on the Israel you never hear about
SEPHARDI RENAISSANCE
Synagogue in a bus garage Newbury Park bus station is the unlikely home for a vibrant Jewish community. Michelle Huberman interviews the Essex ‘boys’ who wouldn’t meet anywhere else. • Dancing in Djerba JR’s CEO Janet Levin reports from the frenzy of the annual pilgrimage to Djerba, Tunisia. • Hen(na) party Young couples are reviving an ancient tradition of wedding henna parties. • The Best Place on Earth Lyn Julius applauds Ayelet Tsabari’s groundbreaking short stories. • Yeshiva Kid to Fashion King Rebecca Taylor reports on the latest show at New York’s Jewish Museum, which is celebrating the work of fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi
