Momentous Years: 1947-1948
Speakers: Elisabeth Åsbrink, Jonathan Fenby, Marina Benjamin In 1947, Elisabeth Åsbrink, previous winner of the August Prize, intertwines global events with key moments from her personal history as the daughter of a Hungarian survivor. This was the year when Orwell commenced 1984, Israel was about to be born and Dior created the New Look. Writer […]
One Italian Family’s Fight Against Fascism
Speakers: Caroline Moorehead, Julia Neuberger Award-winning writer Caroline Moorehead, in the concluding volume of her remarkable WW2 Resistance trilogy, draws on the unseen letters and diaries of an extraordinary family in Mussolini’s Italy. The Rosellis, mother and two sons, were in many ways a family like any other, but in their bold and uncompromising resistance […]
Smal Pieces
Speakers: Shoshana Boyd Gelfand, Joanne Limburg Poet Joanne Limburg has produced an exquisite and heart-breaking memoir of her childhood, her Jewishness, her mother’s death, and how she came to terms with her brother’s suicide: ‘I explained to the rabbi that his death was the point of fracture in my world.’ Hilary Mantel has written of […]
Synagogues in the Islamic World
In this exquisite volume Professor Mohammad Gharipour charts the development of synagogues in lands under Muslim rule, from North Africa and Spain to Central Asia and the Middle East. He shines a spotlight on the extraordinary architectural and artistic collaboration between Muslims and Jews in creating spaces for Jewish worship. In conversation with Irving Finkel. […]
The Hebrew Republic: Israel’s Return To History
Speakers: Colin Schindler, Ned Temko In his collection of essays Colin Shindler presents his very personal take on Israel, based on over 50 years of writing on the subject for The New York Times, The Jerusalem Post and the Guardian. This vivid and engaging ‘history’ speaks of Shindler’s deep understanding of the problems of the […]
The Jewish Journey: 4000 Years In 22 Objects
Speakers: Rebecca Abrams, Julia Neuberger Consummate story-teller, Rebecca Abrams, offers tantalising glimpses into Jewish history through the prism of her personal selection from Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum. Many of the objects are little-known treasures and all 22 have remarkable stories spanning 4,000 years of history and covering 14 countries, they trace the evolution of Jewish life […]
The Play’s The Thing
Speakers: Howard Jacobson, Alex Clark, Janet Suzman, Stephen Greenblatt These three towering Shakespeareans who have taught, written about, directed and performed the greatest dramatist of all times, engage in a witty and illuminating exchange about why the pre-eminent playwright and poet is studied, interpreted and translated the world over, providing inspiration for new operas, films, […]
The Rise & Fall Of Adam and Eve
Speakers: Stephen Greenblatt To world-renowned literary critic and Pulitzer Prize-winner, Stephen Greenblatt, the story of Adam and Eve is a prism refracting our most primitive fears and the inspiration for our most glorious works of art. In a richly illustrated talk, he shows how this myth has shaped understanding of our origins and destiny since […]
Three Floors Up
Speakers: Eshkol Nevo, Francesca Segal Set in an upper-middle-class Tel Aviv apartment building, prize-winning author Eshkol Nevo’s brilliant recent novel, translated by Sondra Silverstein, presents a complex and emotionally wrought society, through revealing the turmoil, secrets, unreliable confessions and problematic decisions of the building’s interconnected residents.
Trump on Trial
Speakers: Jonathan Freedland, Howard Jacobson, Simon Schama, Jonny Geller Freedland, Jacobson and Schama take on Donald Trump, at least figuratively, as they compete for bandwidth to expose the latest exploits of the Western World’s most powerful and contentious leader. The inspiration for a satire by Jacobson, a thriller by Freedland and steaming articles by Schama […]
The London Cage
Speakers: Helen Fry, Trudy Gold Helen Fry’s riveting book finally uncovers the fiercely-guarded and controversial military secrets regarding London’s Kensington-based interrogation centre during WWII. She provides sensational evidence to counter official denials concerning the use of ‘truth drugs’ and ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’, bringing dark secrets to light. In conversation with Trudy Gold.
Of Places & People, Art & Literature
Speakers: Alba Arikha, Janet Wolf Alba Arikha and Janet Wolff present their stunning and idiosyncratic coming-of-age memoirs, exploring their family backgrounds, from post-war Manchester to 1980s Paris. They write of lives intellectually and emotionally enriched by those they encounter – in person, on canvas or through books – among them the leading thinkers, artists and […]