"Here I am, here we are" Jewish Australian women reflect on the rupture of October 7 2023

October 7 has become synonymous with the Hamas attacks on Israel in 2023, in which more than 1200 Jewish people were murdered. What has followed — the hostage crisis, the war in Gaza, and the global response — has reverberated in communities far beyond the Middle East, including here in Australia. For Jewish Australians, it has turned their lives, their careers, their relationships and their identities upside-down. Four Jewish Australian women share their personal experiences of the profound rift they've felt in the wake of that day, and their hopes and attempts to mend it.

This conversation was recorded at Manly Writers' Festival on 22 March 2026.

Speakers

Joanne FedlerAuthor of The Whale's Last Song and more, writing teacher, former lawyer

Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert Research Fellow in Security Studies, Macquarie UniversityAuthor, The Uncaged SkyFormer political prisoner in Iran

Elana Benjamin Author of Indian-Jewish Food, Recipes and Stories from the Back Streets of Bondi, and more

Lee KofmanAuthor of The Writer Laid Bare: Mastering Emotional Honesty in a Writer's Art, Craft and Life and more, writing coach and co-editor, Ruptured: Jewish Women in Australia Reflect on Life Post-October 7

Suellen Dainty (host) Journalist and author, An Invisible Tattoo and more