Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904–1991) was one of the most famous representatives of Yiddish literature and a laureate of the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his works, he touched upon various periods of life of Eastern European Jewry yet some topics interested him constantly since they stemmed from the experiences of the twentieth century. Those were obsession with ideologies and demons; the justification of God who allows the unchangeable to happen; ethical co-existence with others, animals in particular; and a choice not to cause harm. Continue reading
The book by Bella Shaier, an Israeli writer born in Chernivtsi, consists of two novelettes and a short story. The first novelette is dedicated to the Chernivtsi streetlife of the 1960s. Its characters are children yet this delicate psychological work full of precise observations is not for children. The second piece tells about the twenty years of life of two Tel Avivians, Galit and Gordon, touching upon the topics of love, family relations, and unrealizable dreams. The storyline of the short and dramatic story Fortwo revolves around the issues of loneliness, emigration, and family relations and also takes place in Israel.
The book Children’s Mate was shortlisted for the prestigious Israeli Sapir Prize and awarded the prize of the city of Ramat Gan. This is the first complete translation of the book.
The book examines a “vegetarian” period of Ukraine’s Soviet history when the regime had already stopped practising mass repressions, and yet the ideological pillars of late Stalinism, though slightly modified, remained the same. One element of propaganda was the so-called “fight against international Zionism.” The content of Party, state, and secret police documents impresses the reader with its ideological rhetoric and latent antisemitism as well as a combination of distorted reality and lies. Based on the archival collections of the Communist Party, the book shows that the methods of “anti-Zionist” propaganda were too distant from reality and could not influence the minds of those who did not find their place in the tight grip of the Soviet society.
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This anthology contains texts of American Jewish short prose. The book includes a whole century of unique works, beginning with the immigrant fictional literature of the early twentieth century and finishing with the stories of some modern writers. Reading these pages implies getting familiar with the marvellous and diverse literary tradition. The edition begins with the short stories by two profound immigrant writers of the early the twentieth century, Abraham Cahan and Anzia Yezierska. After that, the edition contains selected works of Jewish American authors of recent history such as Isaac Bashevis Singer, Saul Bellow, Grace Paley, Tillie Olsen, Bernard Malamud, and Philip Roth. The anthology ends with the short stories of contemporary writers, whose works illustrate the fascinating variety and life power of the modern Jewish American fictional literature. Continue reading
This guidebook describes locations in cities and villages of Ukraine that are related to the history and culture of Ukrainian Jews. The composition of the guide is based on the geographical principle, thus each chapter defines a given region of the country. Since the histories of the Jewish communities of Ukraine varied, a reader’s perception of the chapters can vary as well. The illustrations of the edition allow observing both cultural sights that exist nowadays and photos of the objects that have not been preserved. Special attention is paid to individuals, for instance, Jewish writers, artists, civil rights leaders, philanthropists, religious activists and righteous men. The book can be especially useful for tourists, who are interested in the Jewish history of the state.
