Over the past five years, there has hardly been a single year in which we have not faced an existential challenge threatening the very existence of the International Writers Festival — from global pandemics, through the events of October 7, to the most recent war with Iran. The dilemma returns each year.
In the decision to postpone lies a deep hope: that the future will be better. That we will read books in peace, listen to great writers from around the world, laugh, drink, and enjoy art. But in the decision to hold the festival under such complex circumstances, with many risks, and in many ways against all odds — there is a different statement: we are not waiting for that better, more idyllic future. Our future is already here, and we choose to live it fully, within the whirlwind of our reality.
We do so because literature is essential to our inner lives, to the flexibility of thought, and to sustaining the belief that the future can, and will, be better.
And so, this year I am especially pleased to welcome you to the opening of the International Writers Festival at Mishkenot Sha’ananim in Jerusalem. This year we will host seven remarkable international authors: Erri De Luca (Italy), Nell Zink (USA), Joseph Finder (USA), Dara Horn (USA), Steven J. Zipperstein (USA), Benjamin Resnick (USA), and Marcelo Birmajer (Argentina).
In previous years, the festival was marked by the events of October 7 and the “Iron Swords” war — events that shook our lives and whose traces remain with us to this day. This year, we are grateful to open the festival without Israeli hostages or captives. To mark this significant milestone, former hostage Eli Sharabi will join us for a conversation with Roni Kuban at the opening event. The event will take place in the presence of the President of the State of Israel, the Mayor of Jerusalem, and the President of the Jerusalem Foundation.
My thanks to the festival team and to the remarkable team at Mishkenot Sha’ananim, who make the impossible possible year after year, and to the Jerusalem Foundation for its steadfast support.
I will conclude with a quote by the great Italian writer Erri De Luca, ahead of his visit to Israel:
“In the past, as a guest in Israel, I felt the deep rumble of a conflict in the making, the suspended danger to civilian lives. My impression today is that Israel stands before a war that may be the last… I come to share this moment with the Israeli public — and to speak about all the other matters, because literature is all the other matters.”
Join us in celebrating all the other matters — the wonderful ones.
Julia