Event Type: MJBW2026

The much anticipated Melbourne Jewish Book Week Opening Night Gala is back!

There’s no singular definition for Jewish humour, but we know it when we hear it. It can be acidic, dark and uncomfortably honest. It can be silly or necessarily subtle. Sometimes we choose to laugh because we know that, otherwise, we will cry.

If you don’t laugh… is a gala evening that brings the community together through moments of humour, irony and reflection. Curated and introduced by the amazing Jessica Bellamy, enjoy an evening of unique stories by authors Rachel Cockerell, Yishay Ishi Ron, Ayelet Tsabari, Ali Berg, Danny Ben Moshe, Katia Ariel, Alan Fyfe and Billy Albert, with live music from Galit Klas and Adrian Banner.

How did Australia become a refuge for alleged Nazi war criminals after WWII, and what happened when investigators set out to find them? This session explores fact, fiction, print and screen through the work of Danny Ben-Moshe, Mark Aarons and Dan Goldberg, moderated by Simon Holloway. From the Special Investigations Unit’s pursuit of justice for Holocaust victims, to the documentaries Our Dad the Nazi Killer and The Hunt for the Last Nazis, and most recently the novel The Watchmaker’s War, this discussion uncovers hidden histories, family secrets and unsettling truths in Australian suburbs.

**Speakers:** Mark Aarons, Danny Ben-Moshe, Dan Goldberg – moderator Simon Holloway

Melbourne poet and literary critic, Tali Lavi and award-winning journalist and author, Jonathan Freedland, discuss his bestselling books – The Traitors Circle: The Rebels Against the Nazis and the Spy Who Betrayed Them, the fascinating true story of a high-society, anti-Nazi resistance network in 1943 Berlin, and The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World, the remarkable, investigative account of Rudolf Vrba, the first witness to reveal the full truth of the Holocaust.

**Category:** International Spotlight
**Speakers:** Closing Conversation: Jonathan Freedland – The Traitors Circle; The Escape Artist – Live Zoom with Tali Lavi

Artificial intelligence is transforming every aspect of modern life, driving innovation, productivity and economic growth. Yet it also raises urgent questions about authenticity, authorship and trust. Join Alan Finkel, former Chief Scientist and founder of the international certification organisation, ProudlyHuman™, and highly esteemed academic publishing director, Nathan Hollier, in conversation with John M Green, business leader and board member, Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre, whose latest thriller, Staged stars an investigator who uses AI!

**Speakers:** Alan Finkel and Nathan Hollier in Conversation with John M Green

A riotous discussion of Jewish books with some of Melbourne’s brightest book stars who will share their favourite recent reads, some hidden gems and all the books they can’t wait to read. You’ll be in for a wide-ranging and totally unpredictable book balagan with wild opinions, laughs and a dangerous increase to the height of your bedside book stack.

**Speakers:** Elise Hearst, Sarah Krasnostein, Dani Valent, Alice Zaslavsky – moderator Bram Presser

How do writers use satire to challenge assumptions, reveal uncomfortable truths and find meaning in a complex world? What is the role of humour, irony and absurdity in storytelling? The Rising Lights is Steve Toltz’ darkly comic and philosophical novel about a former child psychotherapist confronting modern loneliness and artificial intelligence. Alan Fyfe’s The Cross Thieves is a bold, compassionate and razor-sharp story of two hungry boys whose quest for adventure and revenge brims with street spirit. Billy Albert, in Everything Goes to the Dogs, creates an uproarious yet incisive satire of family, money and morality.

**Speakers:** Billy Albert, Alan Fyfe, Steve Toltz – moderator Scott Whitmont

Drawing on powerful stories of institutional abuse, Holocaust survival, incarceration and active military combat, this panel examines the lasting impact of trauma on identity, relationships and family. Guided by esteemed traumatologist Dr Paul Valent, the discussion will explore the causes and consequences of PTSD, the complex journey towards healing, and the vital role of storytelling in deepening understanding, seeking justice and fostering hope.

**Speakers:** Simon Feldman, Alicia Leigh, Yishay Ishi Ron, Ilana Snyder – participating moderator, Paul Valent

Ninety-year-old Raya Goldtwig recounts her childhood and her family’s desperate wartime measures, as if it were yesterday. By contrast, Joe Reich must embark on a forensic search to uncover his father’s Holocaust experience. Jonathan Kanat reveals how secrets from the Holocaust reverberate with devastating impact, long after his mother has settled in Melbourne. And Fiona Kelmann edits her grandmother’s memoir, as well as taking on the sacred role of scribe for another survivor. In telling these Holocaust stories, all four Melbourne-based authors have ensured that we will never forget.

**Speakers:** Raya Goldtwig, Jonathan Kanat, Fiona Kelman, Joe Reich – moderator Daniel Haumschild

From a German-Jewish family spanning more than 300 years, to the little-known proposal for a Jewish homeland in Texas, to a contemporary pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago, this conversation explores journeys of displacement, resilience and self-discovery. Drawing on family archives, historical research and personal experience, the panel examines how migration shapes identity, how communities preserve memory across generations, and what the search for belonging can teach us about Jewish life, past and present.

**Speakers:** Rachel Cockerell, David Marlow, Adam Van Heerden – moderator Michael Visontay

From the Middle East to the Americas, Europe and the Orient, Jewish communities have developed distinct traditions while remaining connected through history and time. Bringing together Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Mizrahi and non-Jewish perspectives, this conversation explores the diversity of Jewish cultures and how this manifests in the stories we tell. What unites us despite our differences, how do others perceive us, and how do we perceive ourselves?

**Speakers:** Merav Fima, Ayalet Tsabari, Sanjiva Wijesinha – moderator Marcelo Maghidman