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The Bell and The Siren
Certain sounds are forever programmed in us. Like a siren.
Tick–Tock: The Hope of the Hopeless
The Jewish optimism of hopelessness – kiviti – the hope that remains after all hope is lost.
Whiplash: Between Mourning and Celebration
The line between collective grief and celebration has become so thin that it is difficult to distinguish...
Ba’avor Zeh – For this Moment, Now
From degradation to triumph, from idolatry to the one God, from slavery to freedom, we first remember...
The Hierarchy of Shelter
The private mamad, the building miklat, and the public miklat — the new social hierarchy of the underground
Sirens - by Elana Dorfman
This is becoming all too routine.
Pants! - by Yonina Ziv
I don’t sleep in pajama pants.
Nervous Noshing - by Heddy Abramowitz
"Oh shit, again?"
Our modern-day Haman - by Rachel Eichler Maron
has not been hung
for all to see
The Logistics of a Haircut - by Chavi Woolf Feldman
We see someone running and our instincts kick into overdrive. Our legs move before we even know if the...
Between the Sirens: Now Accepting Submissions
Be a literary witness from wherever you are. We are seeking creative responses - poetry, artwork, and...
Waiting - by Dana Rozman
The feeling of waiting.
Dreams - by Ariel Watson
How does one atone for seeing without warning?
War Within a War - By Sky Sofer
"It's raining ... bombs!"
PSS: Phantom Siren Syndrome - by Ann Bar-Dov
A wartime night. Two AM.
wARTime - by Erez Livne
Soft pastel drawings from the wartime period.
A Five-Year-Old's Perspective on the Iran War - By Anav Silverman Peretz
My middle child, Meron, almost 5, had many questions about the Iran War today.
Siren Tracker in Tel Aviv
Ongoing.
Notes on a Receding Hairline (and Other Highschool Hauntings) - by Avigail Ber
Noam says I should go to my high school reunion for shits and giggles, because no one will know who I...
Miklat photos - by Melissa Fragiadaki
Miklat located in Baka, Jerusalem.
Sofie and the Sirens - by Melissa Fragiadaki
A Story for Children About a Brave but Worried Dog Who Heard Scary Sirens.
The Family - by Tetiana Suchodolska
From Ukraine and Poland - a gesture of solidarity from someone who knows these nights of waiting.
Wake up, Dear Child - by Hanna Yerushalmi
Will you outrun the missile,
make it to the shelter in time?
Art piece by Chavi Feldman
I designed this in between running back and forth to the shelter.
What is the Definition of Fear - by Chavi Feldman
These are my thoughts - most of them formed while sitting in the safe room more than 45 times in the...
Day Six, 10:35 PM - by Jessie Wolfe Zimble
Sitting in a dark room surrounded by people but feeling so alone.
Beer Battered in the Scottish Tradition - by Alexander Fachler
It sure doesn’t feel like war.
Excerpts from Orpheus in Gaza - by Lorrie Sprecher
Preface:
When the war between Israel and Hamas begins, Orpheus and Eurydice are in Israel near the border...
Spring - by Carly Sachs
The lone goose on the grass this morning
Under the Unmasked Sky - by Samantha Pearlman
Missiles aren’t meant to cross a moon this beautiful.
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...
10th of Tevet
Explore the meaning behind the Tenth of Tevet. The fast does not mourn the moment the walls fell, but...
Hanukkah: Reading the Signs
Remember when assimilation was the greatest threat to the Jewish people? Those were the good old days.
Tel Aviv Mon Amour
On a Saturday night thick with protests, guilt, and hunger, going out to eat in Tel Aviv leads to the...
Call Me Carol
In Pluribus, Vince Gilligan’s new series, a zombie hive-mind becomes a mirror for our own slow drift...
Chef's Special: Jamie Geller
I think that since what happened in Gaza, the Iran war, and above all what is happening with the never-ending...
Chef's Special: Erez Komarovsky
I think that since what happened in Gaza, the Iran war, and above all what is happening with the never-ending...
Chef's Special: Avivit Priel Avichai
When you think of Israeli cuisine, how would you describe it? And how, if at all, has it changed for...
Chef's Special: Jacob Herriotts
Can you tell us about your business, and how you found your way into pickling here in Israel?
To tell...
Chef's Special: Gil Dahan
When you think of Israeli cuisine, how would you describe it? And how, if at all, has it changed for...
The Artful Dodger
By Howard Feldman –
It turned out that my parents were liars. And not very good ones. It was the...
How Poe Wrote “Meeting Sheila in the Catskills”
By Larry Lefkowitz –
A recently discovered previously unknown poem written by Edgar Allen Poe
together...
Elderly Cynicism
By Rachel Eichler Maron –
To be humored
is everyone’s destiny
if lucky enough
to live long enough
to...
My Life with Philip Roth
by Michael P. Kramer –
I first met Roth in 1969, which is to say, I began reading Roth in 1969....
Comedian Spotlight: Joel Chasnoff
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
I’ll...
Comedian Spotlight: Nofar Swissa
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
In my...
Comedian Spotlight: Marina Akilov
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
There’s...
Comedian Spotlight: Benji Lovitt
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
I don’t...
Comedian Spotlight: Sagiv Friedman
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
My definition...
Comedian Spotlight: Nadav Hendler
Has your definition of what’s funny changed? Are there some things that are not funny anymore?
My definition...
When You Look at Me
By Tom Levy –
When you look at me,
You don’t know me.
I survived school yard bullying.
I was humiliated...
העגלה הריקה
By Dr Yaakov Mascetti –
בצומת אחת בירושלים,
עם עגלה ריקה,
יושבת אישה מבוגרת
משוחחת עם תמונה.
״אין...
Words Are All That I Have: A Found Poem
By Erika Dreifus –
Words are not enough, not even words like
terrible horrific devastating killing
suffering...
When the Dust Has Settled
By Inbal Singer –
When the dust has settled
The crackly graininess in our eyes
Mixed with tears...
Lemon Harvest in War
By Alden Solovy –
Thin trails of blood
Crisscross my arms.
Lemon trees have thorns,
But I do not...
Just in Case
By Jane Schapiro –
Even my father, the optimist, harbored a just-in-case.
He never let on, but...
How Mom’s Murder Ended the World That Had Been
By Miodrag Kojadinović –
It is my fault. I should have found more
time to care for my mother the...
Pilgrimage
By Maxim D. Shrayer –
Old virile German men and women come to the Holy Land in early November,...
Bad Timing for a Prophet
By David Allard –
For seven years, he sat, squinting,
by the whispering waves of the sea-lagoon,
fingers...
October Words
By Eve Grubin –
I try to speak slant
or bright.
My words meet triangles
of fire, thrown.
Meanings...
Steps to Follow in the Event of an Emergency
By Jane Medved –
When the wind sounds like a siren, find a stairwell
Within a city, in the event,...
One Schnitzel Away
By Ronit Eitan –
The freezer door opens, and the cool air hits me in the face, giving a momentary...
Ep. 1: “From a Face to a Story” with Dr. Yaakov Mascetti
Dr. Yaakov Mascetti, Chair of the Comparative Literature Department at Bar-Ilan University, reflects...
Her Name was Esther
This will be an odd way to begin something humorous, but bear with me. My brother’s mother in law passed...
Jerusalem Caesarean
By Geula Geurts –
for Rachel Goldberg-Polin:
In this city there are women
who’ve had their bellies...
In Rembrandt's Workshop
By Prof. William Kolbrener –
I have been sheltering – with Rembrandt.
My self-portrait came...
No Shelter
By Noa Offek –
I don’t believe in statistics.
Let me rephrase — I have too much respect for potential...
Helter Shelter
By Mendel Horowitz –
My grandparents had their silence,
Noah had his ark.
My neighbors have their...
Life Sentence
By Roy Atadgy –
I’m known to hide in sentences. Living between punctuation, Rubix-cubing words,...
Shelter in Place
By Batnadiv HaKarmi –
May the Place console you
amongst the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
–...
Pikachu Jew
By Erica Landis –
I once dressed up as a giant yellow Pikachu. I was newly in crush with my now...
Gimme Shelter
By Maya Sela – Host of ‘מה שכרוך’ (Ma She’karuch) on KAN Radio
(Original Hebrew text...
War Memorabilia
Written at our April 17th Workshop
Ever since Day 100, my friend Rachel Goldberg-Polin has asked us all...
October 7 Made Me a Driver
Lahav Harkov –
I got my driver’s license at age 35. I put it off and delayed and deferred...
Towers Of Tuna
Gila Green –
“You don’t have to buy anymore tuna,” my 19 year old daughter said....
Would You Step on my Dance Floor with a Machine Gun?
Emilie Vallieres –
The late afternoon light is the one I prefer
It makes the life around so much brighter
The...
Will I Be the One Who Pays?
Boaz Zaidler –
It is not easy for me to write about October 7th without mixing in politics. And though...
The Stench of Death
Dr Mehak Burza –
I was in Phuket, Thailand on October 7 getting ready for a day-long boat ride while...
‘That’ Day
Professor William Kolbrener –
That day my life changed. I stopped writing scholarly articles; I put...
My People, My Son
Erica Landis –
The smell of chlorine.
On my clothes, on the red terry cloth towel.
I can’t stand the...
‘I Wonder What Her Name Is’
Naomi Ruth Henoch –
It’s a leap year. It’s a leap day. It’s one extra day for the hostages to remain...
Oct. 7th has been good for me
Oct. 7th has been good for me.
I was cynical; now I am sober.
I was depressed, now I am very sad.
I was...
Finding God at the Rijksmuseum
Finding God at the Rijksmuseum – William Kolbrener
I spent 15 years studying in yeshiva, but did...
Milk and Honey
i taste blood on my lips when i kiss you my hands, sticky crimson
grasp at your lapels
pleading for attention,
for...
My shoes could be there
Over the past week, several people have asked me about my shoes. I kept my old army boots, and I wear...
Solomon Sousa
Jerusalem Shuk Artist
The Day the University Died
William Kolbrener
The only hope for the Humanities, and the Liberal Arts, and the American University,...
Poetry Against Poets
Naomi Ruth Henoch, written in a WW Workshop the week after October 7
Suspended High Above
My balance hangs between outstretched arms and pointed toes.
My taught muscles work by rote. I am suspended...
My Mother's Stuffing
What do you eat when you’re insides are churning with confusion and disbelief? Wanting to shove...
The Cost of Freedom
I came home that night after midnight, and the thrill of my first genuine escapade into the night since...
The Balm For Soul
The act of cooking, forever estranged.
With war’s cruel hand, traditions do fade,
And meals once...