December Mid-Month Report: Guarded Hope

An update from day 436 and some literary things

For new subscribers: On the first of each month, I put out a newsletter with book recommendations, literary events and resources and more. Here’s the Dec 1 newsletter if you missed it. Since October 7, 2023, I’ve also been putting out mid-month updates with reflections from life in Israel, as well as some literary things. (Scroll down for the literary things).

Dear friends,

Each month I wonder, will things have changed so much in two weeks that I’ll feel the need to put out a mid-month update? But things happen quickly in the Middle East, and for now, it seems, I will keep this mid-month report going. A few reflections and resources from the last two weeks:

#BringBibasBack

Last night, our local Modiin hostage gathering hosted Eli and Edna Bibas, parents of Yarden Bibas, grandparents of Kfir and Ariel, in-laws of Shiri. I assume most readers of this newsletter are familiar with the Bibas family, kidnapped from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7th. The image of Shiri protecting her two redhead babies is seared into our collective minds. Ariel and Kfir are the only children who were not returned in the temporary truce of November 2023. Kfir, only 10 months when taken, will soon celebrate his second birthday in captivity. We saw a slideshow that included pictures from Shiri and Yarden’s wedding and other family moments. We watched videos of the boys - Yarden blowing on Kfir’s back, making him giggle with delight, Ariel bouncing a ball, Ariel running in his Batman costume. We heard of how Shiri’s parents were murdered on October 7th, and watched the video of Shiri and the boys being herded away. The mind can’t grasp what this family has been through. As Eli said, the only way to bring them home is through a negotiated deal that brings everyone home. May it come to pass, immediately, without delay.

Inspiring

Throughout the last 14+ months, the young people in this country — the generation with the most at stake, the generation that’s seen its friends and siblings murdered or taken hostage, the generation that’s lost hundreds in battle and seen thousands badly wounded — have been a source of inspiration and pride for many. At the moment, my own daughter is doing her third stint of reserve duty, missing the bulk of her third semester of a demanding engineering degree. Somehow she is balancing it all with grace and determination. Her officer has been as accommodating as possible, letting her out most Thursdays, which is her heaviest class day. The other week, though, she took time out from crisscrossing the country between the army and her studies to spend two hours with the mother of her friends Gali and Ziv Berman, the 27-year-old twins from Kibbutz Kfar Aza who have been held by Hamas for 436 days. Even with the heavy responsibilities on her shoulders, it was a priority for her to show her support for Gali and Ziv’s mother. I told my daughter that she and her friends are inspiring and give me hope for the future. You’ll forgive the humble brag, but I told her she’s our very own superhero, just like in the new(ish) Hatikvah 6 song, Giborei Al.

Guarded hope

There is guarded hope, some optimism in the air, that perhaps - with the ceasefire in Lebanon, with the toppling of the murderous Assad regime in Syria, with Israel’s military successes in taking out Syria’s strategic military capabilities - perhaps an end to the war with Hamas and a return of our hostages is possible. In the last two weeks, Hamas released videos of Edan Alexander and Matan Zangauker, the first signs of life since October 7th. Though, as Sheryl Abbey writes in her most recent column:

Unfortunately, no amount of luck will solve the final, critical conundrum of our war with Hamas—the return of the hostages. For the negotiations to reach a successful conclusion, perseverance, skill, and a genuine commitment to ending the war—with or without “total victory”—are required.

Further reading:

• My friend Steve Klein gives an astute analysis of Assad’s fall: A complex system just got more complicated

• A transcript of Vivian Bercovici’s State of Tel Aviv podcast with Ya’akov Katz (former editor of The Jerusalem Post) on Syria: What the Toppling of the al-Assad Regime Means for Israel

I’ll end this section with a few pictures of things keeping me hopeful. B’sorot tovot. May we hear good news soon.

Top row, first two pictures: packaging citrus at Moshav Tlamim, near Sderot. Picking persimmons in Gan Hadarom. Bottom row: Palmachim beach, beautiful and quiet in December. First wildflowers spotted on a bike ride, סתוונית היורה, Meadow Saffron

Literary Matters

What I’m Reading

Currently reading Amir Tibon’s The Gates of Gaza. Recently finished Alice McDermott’s Absolution, Christine Sneed’s Direct Sunlight, and Chochana Boukhobza’s For the Love of the Father (translated by Nina Boug Lichtenstein). In audiobooks, currently listening to Betsy Lerner’s Shred Sisters and recently finished Benjamin Resnick’s Next Stop. All excellent! Look for my book reviews in the upcoming January 1 newsletter.

Events

I’m excited for two different events today, and a bunch of others coming up.

• At 9:30 am CT / 10:30 am ET / 17:30 Israel time I’ll be meeting with the Hadassah New Orleans Readers’ Circle to discuss The Book of Jeremiah. It is open to the public, and you can register here.

  

• A short while later, I’ll be hosting Literary Modiin’s December event. It’s both in-person and on Zoom (doors open at 19:30 Israel time and the program begins at 20:00 Israel / 1 pm Eastern). Register here to hear from Jane Medved (WAYFARERS), Norrin M. Ripsman (THE ORACLE OF SPRING GARDEN ROAD), and Jennifer Lang (LANDED). If you’re in reasonable driving distance of Modiin, I’d love to see you in person!

Save the dates for additional upcoming Literary Modiin events:

• Sunday January 19 (on Zoom) with Benjamin Resnick, Galina Vromen, and Judy Gruen. Register here,

• Sunday February 16 (on Zoom), with Zeeva Bukai, Lihi Lapid, and Ruth Franklin. Register here.

• Sunday March 23 (in person and on Zoom), with Ayelet Tsabari and Avner Landes - more details coming soon!

2024 Readers’ Choice Survey - Reminder

I’m always looking for good book recommendations, as I’m sure are many of you. For the last three years, I’ve held the annual Readers’ Choice survey, to great response. Many of the books I read this year were a direct result of that survey…so let’s do it again. Please fill out this quick, 2-minute Readers’ Choice survey and list your five favorite books of the year. Note: the books do not need to have been published in 2024, just your five favorite reads. Look for the results in my January newsletter.

More in Jewish literature / Chanukah reading

• It’s still #JewishBookMonth! Check out the Jewish Book Council’s excellent list of how you can celebrate Jewish Book Month, or a few of my book lists: Books by authors hosted by Literary Modiin, Books to read for Jewish American Heritage Month or Canadian Jewish Heritage Month, Read Israeli women.

• The Jewish Fiction Journal’s Chanukah issue is out, with 12 new stories, originally written in 5 languages (including an excerpt from my friend Zeeva Bukai’s upcoming novel, The Anatomy of Exile)

• My own Chanukah short story, Rock of Ages, appeared in Jewish Fiction a few years ago. It’s the first story I wrote for my new novel-in-stories, for which I am currently seeking representation.

Until next time, b’sorot tovot. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to those celebrating. May our hostages return home, our soldiers stay safe, and may we see peace and dignity for everyone in the region soon. Am Yisrael Chai.

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A small way to support my work: Since June 2019, I’ve hosted the monthly Literary Modiin author series, and since April 2020, I’ve been putting out this monthly newsletter. Both represent a significant amount of effort for me, but I love talking about books and promoting other authors, and I’m committed to keeping both of these things FREE for all. I do incur some expenses to keep these up, however, so if you have enjoyed the Literary Modiin events and/or if you enjoy the newsletter or both, and you’d like to support my work in some small, tangible way, I’d be grateful if you’d click on the “Buy Me a Coffee” link below. (If you can’t, that’s fine too)! I appreciate your continued support for these events, book recommendations and my literary musings.

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Julie Zuckerman's debut novel-in-stories, The Book of Jeremiah, was published in May 2019 by Press 53. Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in CRAFT, Tikkun, Jewish Women’s Archives, Crab Orchard Review, The Coil, The SFWP Quarterly, Ellipsis, MoonPark Review, Sixfold, and The MacGuffin, among others. She is the founder and host of Literary Modiin, a monthly author series celebrating fiction, memoir and poetry with Jewish content. A native of Connecticut, she lives in Israel with her husband and four children. www.juliezuckerman.com