Nicole Krauss: Writing, Identity, and the Struggle to Speak After October 7th

Nicole Krauss is one of the most brilliant and influential American writers of our time. In an intimate and thought-provoking conversation with Tamar Ish Shalom, she opens up about the challenge of finding the right words for the open letter she wrote to the Israeli public after October 7th. She shares her deep concerns about whether, in today’s literary climate, it will still be possible to publish books that explore Jewish identity and Israel—and why a young Nicole Krauss wouldn’t stand a chance in today’s world.

In this compelling discussion, Krauss delves into the prophetic dimension of one of her novels, which depicts the daily reality of missile attacks in Tel Aviv before October 7th, and examines the profound self-denial ingrained in Israeli society. She reflects on why the Jewish American characters in her books are repeatedly drawn to Israel and explores the deep urge to break free from the ‘Jewish chains’—the constraints we, as Jews, have been taught to impose upon ourselves.

Krauss also shares a personal dilemma as a mother: what should she say to her eldest son, who traveled to Paris wearing a bracelet with Jewish symbols? 

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