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Tamar Paluch

@tamarpal

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I came across this image by Polish artist Leopold Pilichowski (1925) of women in prayer on Tisha B’Av - it is so gripping. Visuals of Jewish women engaged in ritual practice from early modern times are uncommon. Here we see the weight of grief carried between generations, the sharing of memory and ritual, the closeness of sisterhood. The image is timeless — it transported me to the past and the future all at once, then settled me back in the now.One of the reasons we chose a female lens for Ruptured is because we wanted to capture the stories of how women carry the load of everyday life and history — for their communities, their families, and themselves — especially in a time of crisis. It’s a story as old as time, and I feel like this image evokes it so beautifully. And no matter the “progress” of our era, women’s perspectives remain essential. Our stories still need telling, our voices still need amplification.A fascinating detail: this painting is centered around the firzogerin — a learned woman who translated the Hebrew liturgy into Yiddish so other women could participate in communal prayer with understanding, rather than following silently. It was one of the few formal leadership roles available to women in Ashkenazi synagogue life for centuries. The role largely disappeared with the destruction of European Jewish communities and the rise in women’s literacy throughout the 20th century. by @tamarpal

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2 days ago

This week’s RC hearings focus on policing and protest, so today feels like a good day to share this previously unshared photo.I’ll admit it makes me laugh, but it’s actually not funny at all — me trying to de-escalate an unhinged anti-Israel protestor on the steps of Flinders St Station in June 2024. Read through to understand why it’s still important two years on.We had just finished a vigil for the female hostages, and the police hadn’t turned up. Again. It was the third event where they didn’t show, despite prior coordination. This time we had alerted them the atmosphere might be extra charged — the morning after the military action in Rafah, with anti-Israel protesters shouting “Zionists are terrorists” on those very steps the night before.To be honest, we had a good relationship with police overall. They knew we weren’t troublemakers — not few of our attendees were law-abiding grandmothers. We just wanted to be heard in public spaces as Jews and supporters of Israel… outside of Caulfield Park.These events gave us something vital: belonging and agency. Voice, visibility and representation. One woman hugged me after the Red Cross protest and said, “Thank you for dragging me away from the computer. I needed somewhere to show up.” At Flinders St, an Indigenous woman joined hands with us and cried for the hostages.Yet many in our community stayed away, citing safety fears and lax policing. Really, who could blame them? Meanwhile, the anti-Israel movement mobilised large numbers with no such concerns.The relative absence of visible Jewish voices, I am sure, both emboldened the organisers and reinforced the antizionist narrative. This must be part of the RC conversation — not just policing details and the right to protest, but the profound consequences of public erasure. It took the terror at Bondi for our community to finally be heard. by @tamarpal

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6 days ago

Have you been following the PEN America controversy? They released a very mild report on the exclusion of Jewish and Israeli writers — and within hours, their own president resigned rather than stand behind it 🫪 @megkeene ‘s WSJ op-ed exposed the hypocrisy (links in bio).We’re seeing the same contempt and erasure in swathes of the Australian arts and literary scene. Sometimes loud, but often the quiet kind — the kind that just looks away.We sent 100 copies of Ruptured to leading arts organisations (big props to @alexryvchin for the partnership). How many responses? Six (!!!) mentsches. The silence speaks volumes.Jewish writers and creatives need to be heard! Here’s what each of us can do:📚 Contact local libraries & bookstores — ask for Jewish and Israeli stories🎁 Gift Ruptured and share it with your network🎤 Attend Jewish literary events @shalomcollective_au @melbournejewishbookweek (coming up!)⌨️ Follow our allies - speaking up in this climate is not for the faint hearted by @tamarpal

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8 days ago

Deeply honoured ✨✨✨ @sialala8 @deborahconway @chazanlynette @noeharsel @danivalent @ruby_kranertucci @sharonsztar @wordsbyjesse @galitklas @eliseestherhearst @nina_sanadze @ramonakoval @katetinkalewis @denaamy @irena_ribena @j_unitedau @sidra_mosh @sharonsztar @rachelleunr @noeharsel @noagomberg @nina_sanadze @dr_mindy_sotiri @lanaschwarcz @leekofman @sharonneblum @heylisagoldberg @melinda_jones613 @kyliemooregilbert @kim_rubenstein @joannefedlermedia @wordsbyjesse @jemimamontag @irena_ribena @galitklas @eliseestherhearst @elanabenjaminauthor @danivalent @tamarpal Rabbi Ninio Nicky Stein Julia Meyerowitz-Katz Julie Szego @kerrisackville by @tamarpal

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16 days ago

Lee and I were brought together by the Creatives’ doxxing, when grassroots energy pushed us to act — the urgency to create real-time responses that didn’t require overthinking, funding, or organisational sign-offs.I got involved supporting and interviewing those who were targeted. That’s when I first saw the depths of demoralisation and existential angst that would eventually spread and consume our community at large.This period became the key driver of @internationallwomensday and the community-wide writing platform that Ruptured emerged from. It was a no-brainer to approach Lee. That said, the universe had already made the writing connection for us years earlier, when I took one of her online memoir courses during Covid.Lee has literally been dragged through the mud by some of the fiercest haters in our country. Yet she has held herself with grace and tenacity, choosing to lead when her most natural inclination may have been to reach for the pen, or lose herself in the motherlode (load) of life.It has been such an honour to walk this path with her. I’ve learnt and gained so much from our collaboration, and I know I speak for our broader team, our essayists, and so many in the creative community when I say: Lee, we see you, we support you and thank you.Today Lee will bring her testimony to the Royal Commission — a pivotal moment in Jewish and Australian history. Please send all the love her way❤️⚡️❤️ by @tamarpal

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a month ago

I froze a little when I saw this lineup at @theavenue today.A quiet snapshot of the last three years — and the “whys” for which Ruptured was created. The two ruptures for which our voices cried out.‎קטונתי. We are small beside these towering voices. May the memories of Hersh and Rabbi Eli be for a blinding light in the darkness. @bring.hersh.home @nikkigoldsteinauthor by @tamarpal

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a month ago

First published in Australia. Soon reaching readers around the world!(In Israel is out now! 🇮🇱)Author @tamarpal shares the story behind Ruptured, a powerful book with a message that deserves a global audience!Words that need to be heard 🌎 Authors: Lee Kofman and Tamar Paluch@leekofman @tamarpal Book: Ruptured @ruptured_bookAvailable NOW in 🇮🇱 www.IsraelBooks.com (or DM us 😉)Around the world soon!! www.GefenPublishing.com + www.Amazon.com by @tamarpal

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a month ago

Last night we had yet another sold out @ruptured_book event. There were almost 200 people in attendance at @melbourneholocaustmuseum that generously hosted us. Our book’s contributors, Olympic medalist @jemimamontag and journalists @ruby_kranertucci and Julie Szego were thoughtfully interviewed by the museum’s head of exhibitions Daniel Haumschild.It was a nourishing, wide ranging conversation about the last 2.5 years and how they shaped our essayists. Grief can make you wild, Ruby said. Jemima spoke about the importance of being able to hold at once several contradictory emotions, such as fear and pride. Julie spoke about the strange and dark but still a privilege of going into a battle.What made this event extra special for everyone and for me was to have my brilliant coeditor and friend @tamarpal in person there straight from LA on her brief visit. Tamar opened the event beautifully with the origin story of the book and discussing how the shadow of the holocaust while not being the subject of all of the essays still hovers over the book. I’ve missed having Tamar in Melbourne! by @tamarpal

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a month ago

melbourne palette 🎨 by @tamarpal

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a month ago

Some thoughts on my substack for those who are keen to read about my personal RC submission. When we launched the A Year Like No Other project, our tagline was “write for your heart, write for the future”. It still holds - there’s no time like now… Another 24 hours til submissions close, for those who still haven’t submitted. by @tamarpal

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a month ago

For many years I’ve been trying to write a story about my mother and me — what it meant to live with illness, in the foreshadowing (not just the aftermath) of loss, and with the love and wisdom she carried.As I wrote, I realized I was writing the story from a beginning that was not its true beginning. And so the process of writing has sent me on a journey far back in time through wanderings and exile, and the paths - chosen and not chosen - Jewish women take as they weave the fabric of their lives and our people’s history. October 7 added a whole new dimension of understanding to what - and why - I was writing.I will share more another time but today I’m excited (and a little nervous) to share that one of my essays has been published in Judith magazine. Link in bio. by @tamarpal

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2 months ago

It just so happens I was telling the girls about The Jetsons the other day — how hilarious it is that so many futuristic things are now real.And then tonight Shilo and I literally ran into these guys out on the town! The future is now and sometimes it’s so cute we can laugh about it 🤖🤖🤖 by @tamarpal

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2 months ago