Inside the Writers’ Room –
Jewish Literature as a Space
for Encounter, Empathy, and Shifting
Perspectives | January 30, 2026

This workshop took place on January 30.

Literature can be more than entertainment. It can open spaces, shift perspectives, and create encounters beyond political slogans. In this workshop, we explored Jewish and Israeli literature as a distinct space of resonance — not in abstract or theoretical terms, but through texts, voices, and experiences that speak to us directly.

Together with Ariella Chmiel and Linda Rachel Sabiers, we discussed what literature can do, why stories often communicate more than debates, and why it may be especially important today to speak about “Jewish literature.”

Through selected excerpts, we entered into conversation: What emotions do texts evoke? What perspectives do they open? What can we learn about Jewish life without it having to be explicitly explained?

The second interactive part focused on prejudices, clichés, and cultural images. In an open and accessible format, we explored how literature can reproduce stereotypical ideas — or consciously break them open.

The workshop was open to all interested participants, regardless of prior knowledge. At its center were exchange, curiosity, and the experience that literature can change the way we see the world — quietly, but profoundly.