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Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7
In this powerful collection of personal essays, thirty-six Australian Jewish women, including Ramona Koval, Dani Valent and Kylie Moore-Gilbert, reveal how their lives were turned upside down in the wake of October 7 attacks.
Our hope is that these essays, the opportunities they offer to hear and understand us, can become tools for repairing the rupture between our community and the world around us.
The world changed irrevocably on October 7, 2023.
In this powerful collection of essays, thirty-six women, including Ramona Koval, Dani Valent, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Kerri Sackville, Deborah Conway and Rachelle Unreich, reveal how their lives were turned upside down in the wake of the attacks.
From race-walker Jemima Montag's account of competing in the Olympics as a Jewish athlete, to actress Dena Amy Kaplan encountering hostility when she speaks against Jew-hatred, to author Elise Hearst's attempts to find solace in making comedy,
Ruptured showcases compelling true stories where narrators reflect on the profound rift created that day and their attempts to mend it.
Our hope is that these essays, the opportunities they offer to hear and understand us, can become tools for repairing the rupture between our community and the world around us.
The world changed irrevocably on October 7, 2023.
In this powerful collection of essays, thirty-six women, including Ramona Koval, Dani Valent, Kylie Moore-Gilbert, Kerri Sackville, Deborah Conway and Rachelle Unreich, reveal how their lives were turned upside down in the wake of the attacks.
From race-walker Jemima Montag's account of competing in the Olympics as a Jewish athlete, to actress Dena Amy Kaplan encountering hostility when she speaks against Jew-hatred, to author Elise Hearst's attempts to find solace in making comedy,
Ruptured showcases compelling true stories where narrators reflect on the profound rift created that day and their attempts to mend it.
252 pages, Paperback
Published August 1, 2025
20 people are currently reading
64 people want to read
About the author
Lee Kofman
11 books135 followersLee Kofman is the author of 6 books, including the latest, The Writer Laid Bare, as well as creative nonfiction works Imperfect (2019, Affirm Press), which was shortlisted for Nib Literary Award and The Dangerous Bride (2014, Melbourne University Press), editor of Split: True stories of leaving, loss & new beginnings (2019, Ventura Press), an anthology of personal essays longlisted for ABIA 2020 and co-editor of Rebellious Daughters (2016, Ventura Press), an anthology of prominent Australian memoirists. Her short works have been widely published in Australia, UK, Scotland, Israel, Canada and US, including in Best Australian Stories, Best Australian Essays, Griffith Review, Malahat Review and Creative Nonfiction. . Her blog was a finalist for Best Australian Blogs 2014.
Lee has been mentoring writers and teaching creative writing courses since 2003. Her blog about creative processes The Writing Life was a finalist for Best Australian Blogs 2014.
More at www.leekofman.com.au
You can also follow her on Twitter @LeeKofman or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Lee-Kofman-3...
Lee has been mentoring writers and teaching creative writing courses since 2003. Her blog about creative processes The Writing Life was a finalist for Best Australian Blogs 2014.
More at www.leekofman.com.au
You can also follow her on Twitter @LeeKofman or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Lee-Kofman-3...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 25, 2025
”The world is burning but, as the great Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov once wrote, ‘manuscripts don’t burn’...In this book, we seek to preserve a historically significant period, to document in real time the profound change in our private and public lives.”
There are some moments in history that become synonymous with a time and a place. Where you recall exactly where you were and what you were doing when it happened. For the thirty six women whose essay appears in this anthology, that date is October 7, 2023. Just as the world can be defined as “pre” and “post” Covid, for these Jewish Australians, their lives as they knew them were definitely never the same after this date.
The world is a complicated place. Emotions are complex. Identity is the tie that binds but that can also strangle. Where you are born is part of life’s lottery.
This is an honest, powerful and raw collection which show how in an instant the world as you know it can cease to exist. The rupture that occurs where you are no longer sure of where you fit in and how you deal with a traumatic event thousands of kilometres away.
What stood out for me was the loss of friendships - some of many decades - as people began to take sides in a debate most had no clear understanding of. The lack of empathy or concern of friends and colleagues for what they were living through. The abject silence of the feminist movement for not acknowledging what had occurred.
”I’m not sure how to interpret the silence, but it feels like abandonment from where I sit. So many dinners, so many years of sharing family and laughter. What did it add up to in the end?”
Here are stories of women of all ages, with varying degrees of religiosity and diverse cultural backgrounds. I was fascinated to learn that Judaism exists in corners of the globe I had no idea of. The message here being that all people cannot be lumped into a specific type. Just as our hair and eye colour is different, so it is for the women writing of their experiences here, post October 7. They all have different countries of birth, ethnicities, life experiences. Though there is a thread of fear throughout the essays, there is also hope and resilience. Moments of humour, a recipe or two. After all, don’t most people want peace and to share better times with others?
Frighteningly - and sadly - the cold hard stats are not pleasant reading:
”In the year following October 7, antisemitic activity in Australia increased by 316 percent. One in five Australians now holds antisemitic attitudes (the highest rate across the Anglosphere nations).”
Food for thought.
I took my time reading this as it was such an emotive read. I have so many post it notes stuck throughout. This will give you a bird’s eye view of what someone standing next to you in a coffee shop could be going through.
I hope this book gains a wider audience as it’s so important to see how easy it is for society to lapse into behaviours that were long ago deemed should never happen again.
There are some moments in history that become synonymous with a time and a place. Where you recall exactly where you were and what you were doing when it happened. For the thirty six women whose essay appears in this anthology, that date is October 7, 2023. Just as the world can be defined as “pre” and “post” Covid, for these Jewish Australians, their lives as they knew them were definitely never the same after this date.
The world is a complicated place. Emotions are complex. Identity is the tie that binds but that can also strangle. Where you are born is part of life’s lottery.
This is an honest, powerful and raw collection which show how in an instant the world as you know it can cease to exist. The rupture that occurs where you are no longer sure of where you fit in and how you deal with a traumatic event thousands of kilometres away.
What stood out for me was the loss of friendships - some of many decades - as people began to take sides in a debate most had no clear understanding of. The lack of empathy or concern of friends and colleagues for what they were living through. The abject silence of the feminist movement for not acknowledging what had occurred.
”I’m not sure how to interpret the silence, but it feels like abandonment from where I sit. So many dinners, so many years of sharing family and laughter. What did it add up to in the end?”
Here are stories of women of all ages, with varying degrees of religiosity and diverse cultural backgrounds. I was fascinated to learn that Judaism exists in corners of the globe I had no idea of. The message here being that all people cannot be lumped into a specific type. Just as our hair and eye colour is different, so it is for the women writing of their experiences here, post October 7. They all have different countries of birth, ethnicities, life experiences. Though there is a thread of fear throughout the essays, there is also hope and resilience. Moments of humour, a recipe or two. After all, don’t most people want peace and to share better times with others?
Frighteningly - and sadly - the cold hard stats are not pleasant reading:
”In the year following October 7, antisemitic activity in Australia increased by 316 percent. One in five Australians now holds antisemitic attitudes (the highest rate across the Anglosphere nations).”
Food for thought.
I took my time reading this as it was such an emotive read. I have so many post it notes stuck throughout. This will give you a bird’s eye view of what someone standing next to you in a coffee shop could be going through.
I hope this book gains a wider audience as it’s so important to see how easy it is for society to lapse into behaviours that were long ago deemed should never happen again.
August 8, 2025
I wrote this before I'd finished reading the book:
https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/08/02/r...
Now that I've finished, all I can say is that I hope there are many people who will read it too.
https://anzlitlovers.com/2025/08/02/r...
Now that I've finished, all I can say is that I hope there are many people who will read it too.
August 29, 2025
This is a poignant collection of essays that paints a picture of what life has been like for Jewish people in Australia (and around the globe) in a post-October 7 world through the lens of Jewish women. Apart from documenting living history, this book provides insight into the lived experience of Jewish women at a time when their voices have effectively been unwelcome and allows the writers of these essays to reclaim their own stories. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of the impacts of antisemitism, or who are unclear about the connection between anti-zionism and antisemitism.
August 5, 2025
Such an important book!
September 27, 2025
5/5 | Heartbreaking. Soul-crushing. Deeply moving.
In Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7, editors Lee Kofman and Tamar Paluch bring together 36 Australian Jewish women who recount the seismic shifts in their lives since the horrific October 7 massacre.
Each essay offers a unique perspective, capturing the many ways Australian Jews have suffered since the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Children have been bullied with classmates quoting Hitler, artists have been cancelled, writers doxxed, and the community repeatedly gaslit. From Perth to Sydney, Byron Bay to Melbourne, it becomes clear that not a single Jew has been left untouched. The shocking reality is how atrocities that occurred thousands of kilometres away in Israel have profoundly altered the lives of a small minority community in Australia.
Jews have historically been scapegoated through pogroms, inquisitions, and genocide. Yet, they have survived with resilience and hope. This book uncovers the generational trauma still carried, while revealing the antisemitism that lurks within Australian society—antisemitism that surfaced brazenly and rapidly after October 7 in a nation once celebrated for giving sanctuary to Holocaust survivors.
The essays, each three to six pages long, are short but powerful. From the children of Holocaust survivors to families who frantically called loved ones on October 7 only to receive devastating news, to artists and writers who have been publicly shunned, the collection gives voice to anguish and resilience alike. Particularly confronting are the stories from those in the arts community who found themselves cancelled and vilified by cultural circles that once championed understanding, critical thinking and a celebrated position of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It appears if you are Jew post-October 7, you are an exception to the inclusivity. The Australian Arts community should be ashamed.
Whilst every essay is unique, two common threads weave through every account:
1. Shared suffering – No Jew in Australia has been spared the weight of this war. From antisemitism to grief, the dark cloud of hurt and disbelief hangs heavy across the community.
2. Hope and resilience – Pain is born from expectation. The hurt of these women is because they expected more. More compassion, more care, more tolerance, more love. Their disappointment reveals not only betrayal but also the underlying belief in a better humanity that still persists.
As Nova Peris OAM OLY writes on the cover, “This book is essential reading for all Australians.” In a time of deepening divides and growing intolerance, these essays offer a chance to pause, to listen, and to understand. Australia may be ruptured, but only by acknowledging each other’s suffering can we begin to repair, to heal, and to move forward together.
A powerful, essential, and profoundly human collection.
In Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7, editors Lee Kofman and Tamar Paluch bring together 36 Australian Jewish women who recount the seismic shifts in their lives since the horrific October 7 massacre.
Each essay offers a unique perspective, capturing the many ways Australian Jews have suffered since the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. Children have been bullied with classmates quoting Hitler, artists have been cancelled, writers doxxed, and the community repeatedly gaslit. From Perth to Sydney, Byron Bay to Melbourne, it becomes clear that not a single Jew has been left untouched. The shocking reality is how atrocities that occurred thousands of kilometres away in Israel have profoundly altered the lives of a small minority community in Australia.
Jews have historically been scapegoated through pogroms, inquisitions, and genocide. Yet, they have survived with resilience and hope. This book uncovers the generational trauma still carried, while revealing the antisemitism that lurks within Australian society—antisemitism that surfaced brazenly and rapidly after October 7 in a nation once celebrated for giving sanctuary to Holocaust survivors.
The essays, each three to six pages long, are short but powerful. From the children of Holocaust survivors to families who frantically called loved ones on October 7 only to receive devastating news, to artists and writers who have been publicly shunned, the collection gives voice to anguish and resilience alike. Particularly confronting are the stories from those in the arts community who found themselves cancelled and vilified by cultural circles that once championed understanding, critical thinking and a celebrated position of diversity, equity, and inclusion. It appears if you are Jew post-October 7, you are an exception to the inclusivity. The Australian Arts community should be ashamed.
Whilst every essay is unique, two common threads weave through every account:
1. Shared suffering – No Jew in Australia has been spared the weight of this war. From antisemitism to grief, the dark cloud of hurt and disbelief hangs heavy across the community.
2. Hope and resilience – Pain is born from expectation. The hurt of these women is because they expected more. More compassion, more care, more tolerance, more love. Their disappointment reveals not only betrayal but also the underlying belief in a better humanity that still persists.
As Nova Peris OAM OLY writes on the cover, “This book is essential reading for all Australians.” In a time of deepening divides and growing intolerance, these essays offer a chance to pause, to listen, and to understand. Australia may be ruptured, but only by acknowledging each other’s suffering can we begin to repair, to heal, and to move forward together.
A powerful, essential, and profoundly human collection.
September 16, 2025
I think this is a must read for everyone to see into the hearts and minds of Jewish women since 7 October 2023. To hear their heartbreak at neither the abandonment or complete silence of lifelong friends over this war. To have their places of employment or enjoyment, their creative or learning spaces, their children’s schools or sports all violated by online or in your face hate and told with a sadness I cannot comprehend. There are also some light at the end of the tunnel stories, foreseeing hope stories too.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has added ‘…but’ to a sentence on this war without the least concern for the pain it causes to those who’s voices have been largely left out of these conversations.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who has added ‘…but’ to a sentence on this war without the least concern for the pain it causes to those who’s voices have been largely left out of these conversations.
September 28, 2025
I've pondered long and deeply before sharing my reflections on this book.
A collection of essays written by 36 Jewish women, it is bound together by several threads: each woman's deep identifying with her Jewishness (intensified after the attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023); pain and anguish; Australian citizenship; privilege; a high level of education; courage; the ability to express their feelings in writing; feeling disconnected. Perhaps I've missed some and for that I apologise.
The book is beautifully edited and produced - a credit to Lee Kofman, Tamar Paluch and the publishing team.
And my sense is that each writer was given a tight brief, to write about her lived experience without mentioning politics. As a disabled woman, I understand the value of sharing lived experience rather than outside observations or opinions.
My unease grew, though, as I read slowly and carefully. Where was the empathy and compassion for the women and children of Gaza? For Palestinian civilians? For the thousands of Palestinians held hostage by the Israeli government? In some essays, completely absent. In others, mentioned in passing, given a sentence or two. In the final essays of the collection, finally discussed from the heart, with nuance, compassion and a plea for peaceful resolution, a peaceful future for all.
And the othering - not only that felt by these Jewish women and their families, which is deeply distressing, but also their othering of non-Jewish friends (often ex-friends) who many describe as Jew-haters because they have expressed views that encompass the complexity of the conflict.
Ruptured will stay with me for a long time. The pain and anguish. The occasional mentioning that it is through the cracks - the ruptures - that the light gets in; that glimmer of hope. And, sadly, the noticeable near-absence of recognition of the pain and suffering of others.
It's an important, valuable book. I wish I could give it more than 3 stars.
A collection of essays written by 36 Jewish women, it is bound together by several threads: each woman's deep identifying with her Jewishness (intensified after the attacks in Israel on 7 October 2023); pain and anguish; Australian citizenship; privilege; a high level of education; courage; the ability to express their feelings in writing; feeling disconnected. Perhaps I've missed some and for that I apologise.
The book is beautifully edited and produced - a credit to Lee Kofman, Tamar Paluch and the publishing team.
And my sense is that each writer was given a tight brief, to write about her lived experience without mentioning politics. As a disabled woman, I understand the value of sharing lived experience rather than outside observations or opinions.
My unease grew, though, as I read slowly and carefully. Where was the empathy and compassion for the women and children of Gaza? For Palestinian civilians? For the thousands of Palestinians held hostage by the Israeli government? In some essays, completely absent. In others, mentioned in passing, given a sentence or two. In the final essays of the collection, finally discussed from the heart, with nuance, compassion and a plea for peaceful resolution, a peaceful future for all.
And the othering - not only that felt by these Jewish women and their families, which is deeply distressing, but also their othering of non-Jewish friends (often ex-friends) who many describe as Jew-haters because they have expressed views that encompass the complexity of the conflict.
Ruptured will stay with me for a long time. The pain and anguish. The occasional mentioning that it is through the cracks - the ruptures - that the light gets in; that glimmer of hope. And, sadly, the noticeable near-absence of recognition of the pain and suffering of others.
It's an important, valuable book. I wish I could give it more than 3 stars.
August 7, 2025
This powerful collection features the voices of thirty-six Australian Jewish women responding to the October 7 attacks and the subsequent surge of antisemitism. The authors reflect on themes of intergenerational trauma, fear, resilience, and the urgent need to document Jewish experiences in their most authentic form. The writers come from diverse backgrounds, including everyday moms, artists, athletes, and community leaders, all daring to articulate how the world has changed, ranging from shifts in personal relationships to the rise of hostility in daily life.
These stories resonated with me because they illustrate the struggle with grief, anger, feelings of betrayal, and a longing for belonging. While the subject matter can be heavy, this book ultimately showcases resilience. There are glimpses of solidarity, action, and the small ways these women reclaim their agency. If you're seeking a collection that captures the complexity of living through trauma with warmth, clarity, and grace, this one is essential.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://shows.acast.com/moms-dont-hav...
These stories resonated with me because they illustrate the struggle with grief, anger, feelings of betrayal, and a longing for belonging. While the subject matter can be heavy, this book ultimately showcases resilience. There are glimpses of solidarity, action, and the small ways these women reclaim their agency. If you're seeking a collection that captures the complexity of living through trauma with warmth, clarity, and grace, this one is essential.
To listen to my interview with the author, go to my podcast at:
https://shows.acast.com/moms-dont-hav...
October 11, 2025
This book spoke to me, and for me, validating too many elements of my own experience of hostility merely for being Jewish. Can I allow myself to be defiant? How much can I reach out to other people with openness as some of the contributors have somehow managed to do? It seems that whatever position I decide to take requires courage in the aftermath of that inconceivably violent terrorist attack on peaceful civilians in Israel on 7th October 2023.
Antisemitism is one thing, and its increased level of tolerance, and even normalisation, in mainstream media creates a whole different world for me, which this book's contributors describe movingly, thoughtfully, wisely, and from the heart.
I shall be sharing Ruptured widely, in the hope it will open people's hearts and minds.
Antisemitism is one thing, and its increased level of tolerance, and even normalisation, in mainstream media creates a whole different world for me, which this book's contributors describe movingly, thoughtfully, wisely, and from the heart.
I shall be sharing Ruptured widely, in the hope it will open people's hearts and minds.
December 29, 2025
Book to help reflect on the how the Jewish women in Australia have been feeling because of October 7 and the response shown by the Israeli government.
Many women contributed an essay to the book, and their experiences and thoughts are varied, but give insight to the different lengths of time their ancestors have been in Australia and where they lived and the work they did. (Different than some of the common thoughts of various commentators. The different places they migrated from. It took me a while to finish the book, and had been thinking about how they felt thanks to the weekly protest marches in Melbourne and other capital cities, and then the Bondi attack occurred, and I had two essays to finish. Educational and thought provoking.
Many women contributed an essay to the book, and their experiences and thoughts are varied, but give insight to the different lengths of time their ancestors have been in Australia and where they lived and the work they did. (Different than some of the common thoughts of various commentators. The different places they migrated from. It took me a while to finish the book, and had been thinking about how they felt thanks to the weekly protest marches in Melbourne and other capital cities, and then the Bondi attack occurred, and I had two essays to finish. Educational and thought provoking.
August 13, 2025
I devoured this book within two days.
Even though I am not Jewish, I could relate to every single story. Heartbreaking, raw, honest and unflinchingly resilient writing by some of our finest authors.
I am so sorry that this unfair propaganda machine has done this much damage to our Western democracies but also to Jews and their allies everywhere.
I really hope many Australians read this, but sadly, I fear they won't.
A must- read
August 16, 2025
I admire the 36 women whose essays truly resonated with me as they allowed readers into their most personal responses to the October 7 tragedy and, particularly, to the growing antisemitism within Australia. I found the collection so compelling that I read it in its entirety in one day.
December 13, 2025
An important contribution to the literature of post-October 7 life for Jews and Jewish communities around the world. Includes several pieces that reference the writers' experiences as writers/in literary settings.
August 8, 2025
An equal mix of heartbreak and necessity.
Sadly, the very people who should read this book won’t.
Sadly, the very people who should read this book won’t.
December 25, 2025
A powerful and worthwhile book.
December 18, 2025
I was alerted to the existence of this book by Lisa, one of my Chief Reading Enablers. I bought an electronic copy immediately and started to read – slowly.
On 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — slaughtering more than 1,200 Israelis and taking 240 people as hostages.
And, after this horrific event antisemitism in Australia (already on the rise) has markedly increased.
In this book, thirty-six Australian Jewish women write about how their lives have been turned upside down.
I have no answers to the questions which arose as I read the book. I worry for my Jewish friends, and for the innocent civilians of Gaza. The Hamas terrorists started this particular war, and yet Jewish Australians are being ‘othered’ and subject to increasing levels of antisemitism. There is no logic in this.
I hope that this book reaches the wide audience it deserves.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
On 7 October 2023, Hamas terrorists waged the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust — slaughtering more than 1,200 Israelis and taking 240 people as hostages.
And, after this horrific event antisemitism in Australia (already on the rise) has markedly increased.
In this book, thirty-six Australian Jewish women write about how their lives have been turned upside down.
I have no answers to the questions which arose as I read the book. I worry for my Jewish friends, and for the innocent civilians of Gaza. The Hamas terrorists started this particular war, and yet Jewish Australians are being ‘othered’ and subject to increasing levels of antisemitism. There is no logic in this.
I hope that this book reaches the wide audience it deserves.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews