A major focus in the Jewish imagination for thousands of years, the reality of the State of Israel is complex, involving the negotiation of many conflicting needs within Israel's extraordinarily diverse population:  religious and secular Jews; survivors of the Shoah and their children and grandchildren; more recent Jewish immigrants from every continent, often with distinct traditions of their own; and, of course,  Israeli Arabs, Palestinians in general, and other religious minorities. Here the past interweaves with the present, and future; the aspirations for peace collide with the pressures of war, and the uniquely personal is explored alongside the clearly universal in dramatic, almost visceral ways.    

Join us for a series of discussions of many new and veteran voices among Israeli authors, who explore  these tensions. Each demonstrates that literary creativity, among many other kinds, can both express and illuminate the ongoing hopes and fears of  Israel's multilayered society. Our focus will include fiction writers Savyon Liebrecht, (Apples from the Desert); Aharon Appelfeld,(A Story of a Life);  Shulamit Hareven(The Dessert Trilogy); Etgar Keret (The Bus Driver Who Wanted to be God and other Stories) ;and Martin Fletcher (The List), One Book, One Jewish Community 2011-2012 selection. 

Emilie Passow returns as our facilitator.   

Free and open to the community.  Join us for one, some, or all of the series.