Praise for RUPTURED
Michael Gawenda
Ruptured is a magnificent achievement’ Michael Gawenda, Author of My Life As a Jew
Ruptured is a powerful book
Alice Zaslavsky
‘A testimony of – and testament to – our community’s resilience. You will be gripped, you will be galvanised. You will know you’re not alone.’ Alice Zaslavsky, author of Salad for Days
Yvette Henry Holt
‘Fissured between these pages are necessary voices of pertinacious strength, unwavering courage, solidarity, womanhood, survival and faith — matrilineal, intergenerational, umbilical; Jewish Australian women here and now refuse to be de facto to a united global cloak of denial and silence. Giving rise to their shared essays, thirty-six women bring forth an ancient lantern of light and resilience through the gift of language. Their stories will pause you, conflict you – dare I suggest, embrace you. To be pierced is to be ruptured. To be ruptured is to overcome. To overcome is to heal.’ Yvette Henry Holt, Australian Literary Executive and author of Anonymous Premonition
Professor Catharine Lumby
‘This book is a moving and thoughtful intervention by Jewish women of all political stripes into the unhinging polarisation of the social media age and the resurgence of antisemitism. Read it before you judge it’. Professor Catharine Lumby, author of Frank Moorhouse: A Life
Nina Bassat AM
‘The title says it all – these are cries of pain, of disillusion, of loss of lifelong friendships, of search for identity, and above all, of shattering of trust and confidence. But these are also triumphant voices – of hope, strength, courage, of resilience and reconnection with roots and community. A Magen David reclaimed, a cherished family recipe shared, a renewal of faith and a voice and a tribe rediscovered. At the end of each essay, I wanted to reach out and embrace the woman who had crafted those words, fearlessly and with honesty. Such small threads, but together they weave a tapestry of fearlessness and of dreams for a better world.’ Nina Bassat AM
Robyn Cadwallader
‘By turns hopeful, thoughtful, grieving and painful, these essays by Australian Jewish women challenge us to move beyond our own beliefs, perceptions and context, to that place where simple binaries open out into the many-coloured, multi-faceted, lived experiences of others.’ Robyn Cadwallader, author of The Fire and the Rose
Meg Kenneally
‘There are some events which forever change those they touch. The attacks of October 7, 2023 and their aftermath have reverberated around the world, felt keenly in communities everywhere. In capturing the perspectives of Australian Jewish women, Ruptured provides an important new lens. Horror and grief intersect with resilience and determination through these pages, in a text which deserves a place among the chronicles of this complicated history.’ Meg Kenneally, author of Free
Nova Peris OAM
‘Ruptured is a raw, urgent, and deeply moving collection of stories from over 30 Jewish women in Australia, each navigating life in the wake of October 7. From cultural icons like Deborah Conway to young voices like Noa Gomberg, these women lay bare their fears, their pain, and their resilience in the face of an alarming rise in antisemitism. Their words are harrowing yet necessary—a testament to survival, identity, and the enduring strength of Jewish women who have contributed so much to this country. This book is essential reading for all Australians, particularly women, and women’s groups, to truly grasp the depth of what these women have endured. I urge every reader to listen, learn, and stand against hatred in all its forms.’ Nova Peris OAM OLY
Van Badham
“Contemporary terrors collide with unimaginable histories in this raw, courageous, and unflinching collection from some of Australia’s finest writers.” Van Badham, author of QAnon and On
“The silence of so many non-Jewish Australians about rising antisemitism in Australia after the horror of the October 7 pogrom by Hamas, and the failure to reach out to comfort long-term Jewish friends and colleagues, has broken the hearts and trust of many Jewish women. These marvellous, powerful and heartbreaking essays offer open-hearted readers the opportunity to understand the distress of Jewish women and talk to their Jewish friends and colleagues about counteracting Jew hatred in Australia.” Julie McCrossin AM
“This book is not just a chronicle of pain and upheaval, but a testament to the strength and resilience each woman demonstrates in the struggle to maintain their sense of identity and belonging in contemporary Australia”
“A timely and powerful anthology… This book is not just a chronicle of pain and upheaval, but a testament to the strength and resilience each woman demonstrates in the struggle to maintain their sense of identity and belonging in contemporary Australia”
“An important new book.”
“There are inspirational insights, naked honesty, emotional responses that cut to the bone, intellectual analysis… The editors of this remarkable book assembled a brilliant and extremely diverse cast of writers… I recommend this book, which constitutes a valuable record of heartfelt responses to heartbreaking times.”
Robyn Cadwallader
“By turns hopeful, thoughtful, grieving and painful, these essays by Australian Jewish women challenge us to move beyond our own beliefs, perceptions and context, to that place where simple binaries open out into the many-coloured, multi-faceted, lived experiences of others”. Robyn Cadwallader, author of The Fire and the Rose