International Spotlight: Rachel Cockerell in Conversation with Michael Visontay

Sunday August 2, 2026 — 11:30 am

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On June 7th 1907, a ship packed with Russian Jews sets sail not to Jerusalem or New York, but to Galveston, Texas. In a highly inventive style, Cockerell uses exclusively source material to capture history as it unfolds. Melting Point follows her great-grandfather David Jochelmann’s family through two world wars, to London, New York and Jerusalem – as their lives intertwine with some of the most memorable figures of the twentieth century. It is a story that asks what it means to belong, and what can be salvaged from the past. Michael Visontay, Commissioning Editor of The Jewish Independent, leads a captivating conversation with London-based historian and author Rachel Cockerell.

Artists

Rachel Cockerell

Rachel Cockerell was born and raised in London, the sixth of seven children. She did her BA at the Courtauld Institute and her MA at City University. Melting Point is her first non-fiction book. Her research has taken her to Texas, Ohio, New York, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Rachelisa 2026 MacDowell Fellow and has spoken widely about her work on the BBC, CNN, NBC, and at TEDx, as well as at universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Stanford and NYU.
Michael Visontay

Michael Visontay has worked as a writer and senior editor at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian and taught journalism at university. He has written six non-fiction books, including Who Gave You Permission? The memoir of Manny Waks (co-authored), and most recently Noble Fragments: the maverick who broke up the world’s greatest book. Currently he works as Commissioning Editor of The Jewish Independent.