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With the Jerusalem Biennale canceled due to war, participating artists mount 3 exhibits in New York
(New York Jewish Week) – Every two years, hundreds of artists from all over the world flock to Israel for the Jerusalem Biennale, an art festival that celebrates contemporary Jewish and Israeli artists from all over the world.
Due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, however, the 2023 festival, which was originally supposed to open Thursday, has been tentatively postponed until next spring.
Many of the artists are mounting their shows in their home cities instead. At least five of the Biennale’s exhibits are scheduled to open this week in three continents — North America, South America and Europe — as a satellite version of the festival.
On Thursday, three of the exhibits — “Activate,” “The Seventeen” and “Hallelujah” — will open in New York City, where more than a dozen artists who are featured in the Biennale call home.
The Heller Museum at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, in partnership with the Jewish Arts Salon and the American Sephardi Federation, will host two of the Biennale exhibitions, “Activate” and “The Seventeen.” They will be on view for free at the museum’s East Village location for the next week.
The Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan on the Upper West Side will host a third exhibit, “Hallelujah,” in partnership with the Biennale. The Upper West Side building’s Laurie M. Tisch gallery will show the work beginning Thursday through Dec. 17.
Founded in 2013, the Biennale takes place across the city of Jerusalem and centers contemporary artists whose work references Jewish and Israeli experiences. This year, the Biennale was prepared to bring more than 200 artists to Jerusalem to host 35 exhibitions across the city under the theme of “Iron Flock,” which aims to “identify, through the eyes of curators and artists from all over the world, the movements, ideas, people, and moments that have become our unsaleable cultural assets,” as the Jerusalem Biennale’s website describes it.
“The Jerusalem Biennale became like a pulse, beating steadily every two years. Since 2013, without exception and despite the many challenges, the Jerusalem Biennale has created a platform for contemporary art at the very center of the Jewish world. Until now. It’s as if the heart skips a beat,” Rami Ozeri, the festival’s founder and creator director, said in a press release.
“But even now, after the unspeakable pain of October 7, we have witnessed a huge outpouring of solidarity from around the world,” he added. “Within weeks, our friends and partners have succeeded in mounting in their own cities the exhibitions created for the Jerusalem Biennale. We will continue to nurture the ties of art and culture between Jerusalem and the world today more than ever.”
At the Heller Museum, “Activate: A New York Women’s Perspective,” curated by Israeli artist Hadas Glazer, showcases the work of six New York artists — Siona Benjamin, Goldie Gross, Ronit Levin Delgado, Joan Roth, Chelsea Steinberg Gay and Yona Verwer — who explore “the complexities of life as a woman today,” according to a press release.
Also at the museum, “The Seventeen” spans the 40-year career of Brooklyn-born artist Archie Rand. Curated by Samantha Baskind, the exhibition continues the artist’s explorations of “the Bible and Jewish texts in serialized paintings conceptually informed by twentieth-century culture,” according to the Jewish Art Salon website.
Meanwhile, at the JCC, “Hallelujah” will showcase Israeli artists currently living in New York who have created art about their experiences as immigrants to the United States. On view will be works by Noa Charuvi, Hirut Yosef , Yehudit Feinstein, Yuli Aloni Primor, Gal Cohen, Ken Goshen, Gabriela Vainsencher and Maya Baran.
Other exhibitions that were intended for the Biennale will be mounted at the AMIA Art Space in Buenos Aires and the Jewish Museum of Casale Monferrato in Italy.
Ozeri said in a press release that more of the exhibits will open around the world in the coming months as a plan is made for the Biennale to take place in Jerusalem next year. “This heart will always keep beating,” he said.
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The post With the Jerusalem Biennale canceled due to war, participating artists mount 3 exhibits in New York appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Israel Pounds Gaza City Suburbs, Vows to Press on with Offensive
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike, in Gaza City, August 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Israeli planes and tanks pounded the eastern and northern outskirts of Gaza City overnight Saturday to Sunday, destroying buildings and homes, residents said, as Israeli leaders vowed to press on with a planned offensive on the city.
Witnesses reported the sound of explosions non-stop overnight in the areas of Zeitoun and Shejaia, while tanks shelled houses and roads in the nearby Sabra neighborhood and several buildings were blown up in the northern town of Jabalia.
Fire lit the skies from the direction of the explosions, causing panic, prompting some families to stream out of the city. Others said they would prefer to die and not leave.
The Israeli military said on Sunday that its forces have returned to combat in the Jabalia area in recent days, to dismantle militant tunnels and strengthen control of the area.
It added that the operation there “enables the expansion of combat into additional areas and prevents Hamas terrorists from returning to operate in these areas.”
Israel approved a plan this month to seize control of Gaza City, describing it as the last bastion of Hamas. It is not expected to begin for a few weeks, leaving room for mediators Egypt and Qatar to try and resume ceasefire talks.
Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz on Sunday vowed to press on with the offensive on the city where famine has been declared, which has raised alarm abroad and objections at home. Katz has said that Gaza City will be razed unless Hamas agrees to end the war on Israel’s terms and release all hostages.
Hamas said in a statement on Sunday that Israel’s plan to take over Gaza City showed it wasn’t serious about a ceasefire.
It said a ceasefire agreement was “the only way to return the hostages,” holding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responsible for their lives.
The proposal on the table calls for a 60-day ceasefire and the release of 10 living hostages held in Gaza and of 18 bodies. In turn, Israel would release about 200 long-serving Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Once a temporary ceasefire begins, the proposal is for Hamas and Israel to begin negotiations on a permanent ceasefire that would include the return of the remaining hostages.
On Thursday, Netanyahu said that Israel would immediately resume negotiations for the release of all 50 hostages – of whom Israel believes around 20 are still living – and an end to the nearly two-year-old war but on terms acceptable to Israel.
‘HUNGRY AND AFRAID’
Around half of the enclave’s two million people currently live in Gaza City. A few thousand have already left, carrying their belongings on vehicles and rickshaws.
“I stopped counting the times I had to take my wife and three daughters and leave my home in Gaza City,” said Mohammad, 40, via a chat app. “No place is safe, but I can’t take the risk. If they suddenly begin the invasion, they will use heavy fire.”
Others said they will not leave, no matter what.
“We are not leaving, let them bomb us at home,” said Aya, 31, who has a family of eight, adding that they couldn’t afford to buy a tent or pay for the transportation, even if they did try to leave. “We are hungry, afraid and don’t have money.”
A global hunger monitor said on Friday that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine that will likely spread. Israel has rejected the assessment and says it ignores steps it has taken since late July to increase aid.
The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led gunmen burst into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking 251 hostages.
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Iran Signals Willingness to Scale Back Uranium Enrichment to Ease Tensions
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – Iran may be prepared to significantly reduce its uranium enrichment levels in a bid to stave off renewed UN sanctions and limit the risk of further strikes by Israel and the United States, according to a report published Sunday in The Telegraph.
Citing Iranian sources, the paper said Tehran is considering lowering enrichment from 60% to 20%.
The move is reportedly being championed by Ali Larijani, the newly appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who is holding talks with regime leaders.
“Larijani is trying to convince the system to reduce the level of enrichment in order to avoid further war,” a senior Iranian official told the paper.
The proposal, however, faces stiff resistance from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has long opposed concessions on the nuclear program. Still, the report suggests Iran’s leadership may be open to greater flexibility, including the possibility of reviving engagement with Western powers.
Last month, i24NEWS reported exclusively that a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is expected to travel to Iran. The team of technical experts would seek to resume monitoring of nuclear sites, inspections that have been heavily restricted in recent years.
The development comes amid mounting regional tensions and could represent a critical turning point in the long-running nuclear standoff.
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Major Brush Fire Erupts Near Jerusalem, Evacuations Underway
A view of the new Tel Aviv-Jerusalem fast train seen over the HaArazim Valley (“Valley of Cedars”) just outside of Jerusalem, Sept. 25, 2018. Photo: Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
i24 News – A large brush fire broke out Sunday in the Cedars Valley area, near Route 1 and the Motza interchange, prompting an emergency response from Jerusalem district fire services. Several water-bombing planes were dispatched, and authorities have declared a “fire emergency.”
As a precaution, residents of Mevaseret Zion are being evacuated. Access to the town from Route 1 has already been blocked, and officials are weighing a full closure of the major highway.
Fire crews from the Ha’uma station are on site working to contain the flames, while motorists in the area are urged to heed traffic updates and follow instructions from emergency services.
Eight firefighting aircraft are currently operating above the blaze in support of ground teams. The fire comes amid one of the hottest, driest summers on record, with conditions fueling a series of destructive wildfires across the country.
Officials warn the situation remains critical, as the blaze threatens a vital transportation corridor leading into Jerusalem.