Writing on the Wall was born after an impromptu writing workshop led by Professor William Kolbrener after October 7th. Hearing the power of writers’ stories, Writing on the Wall was born. Bill (the Jerusalem religious American) and creative director, Ronit Eitan (the Tel Aviv secular Israeli), agree that fighting antisemitism starts with joining our different voices together through poetry and art. Our diversity is our strength – encounter the complexity and the layered reality that is Israel today.
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BALAGAN
A Magazine of Art, Poetry, and Perspective
BALAGAN, meaning “chaos” in Hebrew, is Writing on the Wall’s new quarterly literary magazine.
Through poetry, art, and storytelling, BALAGAN offers fresh perspectives on identity, culture, and everything in between.
On the Resignation of PEN America’s President
טיק-טוק: תקוותם של חסרי התקווה
Never Again at the World Cup?
נשימה: על יצירת מוזיקה אחרי הבלתי נתפס
שישה הרהורים על נוכחות אנושית
The Bell and The Siren
Tick–Tock: The Hope of the Hopeless
Whiplash: Between Mourning and Celebration
Ba’avor Zeh – For this Moment, Now
The Hierarchy of Shelter
Near Miss
Between the Sirens: Now Accepting Submissions
Flyover
Saturday was my father’s yahrzeit, the first anniversary of his death. I had planned a kiddush at home and was scheduled to speak in synagogue after the reading of Parshat Zachor. Every year on the Shabbat before Purim we read those verses: remember what Amalek did to the people of Israel on their way out […]
Why I Didn’t Cancel Milton
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a class trip to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish students moved easily through a shared historical space, speaking from within their traditions without defensiveness or performance. What made that possible, I suggested, was narrative capacity: the confidence that one can enter a story without […]
10th of Tevet
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Making Noise
PEN America's report "A Silent Moratorium" names Writing on the Wall among the organizations answering the exclusion of Jewish and Israeli writers since October 7th. Three years of work – now on the record. Read it here!
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency featured Hope/Exhale in its Sunday Ideas newsletter – BALAGAN, in the same roundup as The Atlantic and The New York Review of Books. Defining hope on Israeli terms. Read it here!
Our co-founder William Kolbrener in Ynet: after October 7, Israelis started writing – not for international audiences, but for each other. Culture stopped being a luxury and became a necessity. Read it here!
Three issues. Hundreds of voices. One beautiful BALAGAN.
It's not just a magazine — it’s chaos worth framing.
Next step: on the wall.
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Our community is growing, and so is our reach. Haaretz recently featured us for creating a space where writers, artists, and poets can speak freely and share boldly. Read it here!
🎧 This morning, Prof. William Kolbrener and Ronit Eitan of Writing on the Wall joined Howard Feldman on 'Morning Mayhem' for our weekly update. From the violent Barnard College protests to hostage returns and resilience, we break down the week's emotions and events in #Israel.
📲 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧:
In October 2023, Writing on the Wall was born from the urgent need to express our collective scars. Through poetry, prose, and art, ‘Scarred’ explores themes of trauma, resilience, and healing. This series features powerful works from a range of voices, reflecting personal and shared struggles.
Explore the 'Scarred' collection here.
"Not since the Nazis has the vilification of Jews been affirmed with such moral authority. We Israelis will keep writing."
In a recent op-ed for The Times of Israel, Prof. William Kolbrener, Executive Director of Writing on the Wall, critiques the literary boycott of Israeli authors by figures like Sally Rooney, calling it a form of antisemitism. He highlights the resilience of Israeli writers, who continue to share their stories despite rising hostility. Read the full piece here.
We are honored to be featured in StandWithUs’s Holocaust Education Center 2024 Fall program, titled Jewish Resilience and Creativity After October 7. As part of their Express Yourself initiative, they highlight our work empowering people to channel emotions through art and writing. Excited for this partnership!
📢 Check out our latest newsletter - Writing into the New Year! From reflections on resilience and sorrow during Rosh Hashanah to powerful new episodes of Israeli Bytes, we dive deep into what it means to live in today's Israel. Plus, exciting partnerships, projects, and upcoming events! ✨ 👉 Read it here
🎙️ It's here! Our podcast - 'Israeli Bytes' is Live! Our conversations on 'Israeli Bytes' explore the nuance and complexity of Israel today through art and poetry. Tune in now!
We are not the only ones excited about our Miklat Project - check out Michael Rapaport on our own Mendel Horowitz's Helter Shelter!
Professor William Kolbrener talks about rediscovering poetry in 'Restoring Our Poetry, Our Infinite Book'
Professor William Kolbrener writes about his 'miklat' - shelter - in Gimme Shelter
Lahav Harkov, Senior Political correspondent for Jewish Insider came to one of our Writing on the Wall workshops, and wrote this!
