Letter in the Night: Thoughts on Israel and Gaza
Book presentation / Reading and conversation
In English

A co-operation of AMCHA Deutschland e.V. and the Barenboim-Said Akademie

The Hamas terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza continue to shake the world. Chaja Polak, one of the outstanding voices of Dutch literature, looks at the Middle East conflict, its history and ramifications with empathy and a deep understanding for the victims. Her essay Letter in the Night examines the complex and emotionally charged events and challenges us to think beyond the boundaries of black and white. She shows that grief and despair know no sides—and that true solutions must be found beyond violence. The book is more than an essay, it is an appeal for dialogue, reflection, and action. Polak makes a passionate case for a future in which empathy and understanding form the foundations for lasting peace.

Chaja Polak, born in 1941, is a writer and visual artist. Her life was profoundly impacted by the persecution of Jews during World War II. Her mother survived Auschwitz, her father died in the camps. She attended Rietveld Academy and made her literary debut in 1989 with Zomaar een vrijdagmiddag. This was followed by the short story collection De tijd van het zwijgen (1990) and the novels De krijtcirkel (1992), Stenen halzen (1994), Tweede vader (1996), Zomersonate (novella, 1997; engl. Summer Sonata), Verloren vrouw (1999) and Over de grens (2002), which was nominated for the Libris Literature Prize. Polak later wrote the short story collection Liefdesmeer (2003), the novel Salka (2004), the poetry collection Verslag van een onaanvaarde dood (2007), the novella Wachten op de schemering (2007) and De verlegen minnaars (2011). The highly acclaimed novel Twintig minuten was published in 2015. Several of Chaja Polak’s books have been nominated for the Libris Literature Prize and translated into English, German, Danish, Italian, and Hungarian.

Born in Tel Aviv in 1974, Shelly Kupferberg grew up in West Berlin and studied journalism, theater, and musicology. She is a journalist and presents various programs on culture and society for Deutschlandfunk Kultur and RBB Kultur radio. She lives in Berlin with her family.