From margins to mainstream: Global Jewry speaks out in new October 7 anthology

The anthology 7 October 2023: Book I is not an easy read. Nor should it be.

It is a complex, emotionally charged, and at times harrowing collection of 43 contributions by Jewish and some non-Jewish writers from around the world, all confronting a central question: What does it mean to speak or remain silent as a Jew, or about Jews, in the wake of trauma?

The 7 October 2023 massacre, and its aftermath, has fractured discourse in Jewish communities globally; this book serves as both a raw wound and a bridge between experiences, geographies, and ideological perspectives.

The editors Marla Brettschneider and Bonita Nathan Sussman work with the Kulanu network, connecting diverse Jewish-affiliated communities, many of them isolated or marginalised in Africa, Asia, and the diaspora more broadly.

These voices, often silenced or unheard, have space here to articulate trauma, memory, loyalty, fear, and resilience. The result is an anthology that is both geographically global and deeply personal.

Several essays stand out not only for their content but also for their context. Accounts from Ethiopian Jews fleeing to refugee camps in Sudan, where they face rape, hunger, and marginalisation, offer a piercing insight into the compounded suffering of minority Jews stranded within larger humanitarian crises.