Tattoos & tefillin // A family portrait
It might be chilly outside, but we've got plenty to keep you busy indoors with our Winter issue. We take an in-depth dive into the Jewish history of the City of London, exploring the new heritage centre that's set to open at Bevis Marks Synagogue; discover the relationship between the City's medieval community and the Tower of London (shock horror, it wasn't always bad); and meet the Jews who live and work in the area today. Plus, ahead of a new play about The Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, we hear from novelist Linda Grant about growing up in Liverpool in the 1960s – and drinking tea with Paul McCartney's dad. We speak to American novelist John Irving about the Jewish protagonist in his new novel, as well as Steve Zipperstein, who talks about his book on Philip Roth, the latest in his Yale Jewish Lives series, and we chat to the social media whizz behind @TheMizrahiStory, an Instagram account that's gone viral. We also head to Manchester to look at the inter-cultural initiatives bringing hope in the aftermath of the terrible attacks at Heaton Park Synagogue… READ MORE
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Brian Epstein with The Beatles during a break from TV filming © Alamy
A cup of tea with Paul's dad, and doing the Cavern Stomp
Please Please Me, which opens at the Kiln theatre this spring, tells the story of the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein. Linda Grant, whose family knew the Epsteins, recalls growing up in 1960s Liverpool © Alamy
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THE PLACES WE'VE COVERED SO FAR
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2025: Ferrara | South Africa (2) | The Channel Islands | Iceland
2024: Philadelphia | Singapore | Argentina (2) | Romania
2023: Germany’s East | Scotland | Brazil (2) | Italy (2)
2022: Lithuania (2) | 100 Years of Modernism | Hong Kong | Afghanistan
2021: South London | Japan | Ireland (2) | Prague
2020: Washington DC | Northern England (2) | Northern England (1) | The Caribbean
2019: Oxford | Turkey (2) | Melbourne | Belgium
2018: Mexico | Vienna (2) | Cambridge | Catalonia
2017: Hungary | Gibraltar | The Netherlands | Russian Revolution
2016: East Africa | Greece | Brighton & Hove | Venice (2)
2015: Ukraine (2) | Portugal | Jewish Radicals | Iran (2)
2014: Britain's South Africans | Paris | World War I | Kraków
2013: Britain's Israelis | Italy (1) | Montreal | Uzbekistan
2012: Brazil (1) | Burma | Berlin (2) | Yorkshire
2011: Rome | India (2) | Georgia USA | St Petersburg
2010: Manchester | Slovakia | Provence | Turkey (1)
2009: Wales | Croatia | Tel Aviv | Munich
2008: Ireland (1) | Spain | Rosh Pinah | Liverpool
2007: Vienna (1) | Denmark | Ethiopia | Jamaica
2006: Hackney | Bulgaria | Morocco | The West Country
2005: Cuba | Lithuania | Libya | China
2004: Glasgow | South Africa | London's East End | Iran (1)
2003: Australia | Salonika | Argentina | Egypt
2002: Venice (1) | India (1) | Ukraine (1) | Leeds
2001: Berlin (1)
SEPHARDI RENAISSANCE
In every issue of JR you'll find our unique seven-page section called Sephardi Renaissance. Here we focus on the Sephardi world throughout the UK and beyond. Read interviews with those from places such as Sudan, Morocco and Egypt and hear about their colourful traditions. Learn about ancient Jewish culture across the Islamic world; listen to the voices of young Sephardim today; and uncover the culture of communities stretching from Shanghai, to Bukhara to Venezuela.
