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“The uncomfortable reality is that preserving an exclusive sphere of influence in the South Pacific is not going to be possible against a regional power that is far stronger than any we have ever confronted, or even contemplated.” HUGH WHITE The sixth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines Australia’s struggle to retain influence among its Pacific island neighbours as foreign powers play a greater role and as small nations brace for the impacts of climate change. Our Sphere of Influence explores the security challenges facing nations in the southern Pacific and whether Australia will need new approaches to secure its relations and interests. Hugh White argues that Australia will be unable to keep China out of the Pacific and must urgently renew its defences. Jenny Hayward-Jones examines whether Scott Morrison’s Pacific “step-up” can reverse Canberra’s declining diplomatic influence. Katerina Teaiwa explores how Australia’s climate change policy undermines ties with its island neighbours. Sean Dorney reports from inside the forgotten Australian colony of Papua New Guinea. Euan Graham proposes how to address Australia’s knowledge gaps about the Chinese leadership and military. Elizabeth Becker reflects on the unique challenges for female foreign correspondents. PLUS Correspondence on AFA5: Are We Asian Yet? from Clive Hamilton, Barry Li and Linda Jaivin.

Successive generations of Israeli writers have charted the hopes of peace and the pain of conflict. What does the nation's writing reveal about the challenges of today? “The process of saying goodbye to these two authors, who had been a visible presence in Israeli society for decades, is far from over.” —Nir Baram The Pen and the Sword explores the efforts by successive generations of Israeli writers to grapple with their nation's difficult political questions. In a probing essay, Israeli novelist Nir Baram examines the remarkable friendship between two giants of Israeli literature – Amos Oz and A.B. Yehoshua – whose lives, writing and passionate disputes reflect their country's recent turbulent history and divides. And leading critic Arik Glasner surveys a younger generation of Israeli writers, whose disparate voices and stories provide a crucial glimpse into Israel today. The issue also includes Steven Nadler's new insights into the excommunication of Spinoza, Michael Vatikiotis's portrait of the Jewish community of pluralist Singapore and book reviews by Irris Makler, Benjamin Balint and Catherine Taylor.

"Whether we like it or not, the challenge of defending Australia will become much harder in the twenty-first century. We are no longer a strategic backwater." MICHAEL WESLEY The fourth issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the challenge of defending Australia at a time of regional uncertainty and rapidly developing military technology. It explores whether the nation's weaponry, intelligence agencies and handling of alliances and diplomacy are up to the task of securing against new vulnerabilities in a fast-changing Asia. Michael Wesleyexamines the state of Australia's security as Asia's power balance shifts. Patrick Walters probes the overhaul of Australia's expanding intelligence agencies. John Birminghamanalyses Australia's weapons capabilities as the military expands its reach. Stephan Fru hling explores Australia's options for developing nuclear weapons to protect its maritime approaches. Jane Perlezdiscusses the West's misjudgement of Xi Jinping, China's leader for life. Matthew Thompsonexamines Rodrigo Duterte's murderous rule in the Philippines. Tess NewtonCain reports on mining in the Pacific region. PLUSCorrespondence from Philips Vermonte, John McCarthy, Andrew MacIntyreand more.

The story of Hebrew -- its origins, revival and continuing evolution - is the story of a people. "Our religion, our story, is, at its heart, a love of this language and a refusal to let it go."--Ben Judah Ivrit explores the remarkable evolution and revival of Hebrew -- a language whose trajectory charts the recent history of the Jewish people. In a colourful, in-depth essay, award-winning writer Ben Judah explores the crucial role of modern Hebrew in defining and reshaping Israel and the Jewish people. He brings key figures to life, including his own ancestors, and contends that, while the dreams of Zionism are a mix of tragic successes and partial failures, the dream of the Hebraists is the one complete triumph. The issue also includes a short story by Isaac Bashevis Singer translated into English for the first time, cultural criticism by Joanna Rakoff about literary accounts of female publishing assistants, an essay by Marta Figlerowicz about the Polish writer and artist Bruno Schulz, and a delicious celebration of Jewish-Italian food by Luisa Weiss.

What challenges does Australia face as the world's great powers battle for a foothold in the Pacific? The latest issue of Australian Foreign Affairs examines the growing rivalry and increasing tension in the Pacific as it becomes a stage for a great-power contest to gain influence and a strategic position in the region. Girt by China looks at the challenges for Canberra as it seeks to strengthen ties with Pacific island countries and to counter moves by China to extend its reach into the waters off northern Australia. Essays include: Great games: The new battle for the Pacific Island diplomacy: China's growing Pacific reach Northern exposure: How to defend Australia's maritime approaches Next deal: Inside Beijing's bid to sign new Pacific pacts PLUS correspondence, The Fix, and more

“For a long time now, the authority of knowledge has been under siege from those who march under the banner of pure belief.” —Simon Schama Welcome to the new JQ. The Return of History investigates rising global populism, and the forces propelling modern nativism and xenophobia. In wide-ranging, lively essays, Simon Schama explores the age-old tropes of Jews as both purveyors of disease and mono-polists of medical wisdom, in the wake of a global pandemic; Holly Case takes us by train to Hungary; Mikołaj Grynberg reflects on Poland’s commitment to forgetting its atrocities; and Deborah Lipstadt puts white supremacy under the microscope, examining its antisemitic DNA. Recently discovered letters about Israel from Isaiah Berlin to Robert Silvers are published here for the first time. In new sections on History and Community, Ian Black revisits a turning point in the Arab–Israeli conflict, and Elliot Perlman traces the roots of the Jewish farmers in Uganda. And in three insightful, erudite book reviews, Hadley Freeman, Benjamin Balint and Robert Manne cast light on second-generation Holocaust memoirs and the work of Paul Celan and Götz Aly. The Return of History is a truly global issue, bringing together esteemed, well-known voices and those you’ll be exhilarated to read for the first time.

“Traditional principles and allegiances have given way to realpolitik.” –Lina Khatib The New Middle East examines the dramatic changes unfolding in the region as new rivalries, blocs and partnerships are formed – based not on ideology, but on pragmatism. In a graceful, elegiac piece, Nir Baram seeks to understand Israelis’ sober realism and their fading hopes for peace with the Palestinians. Lina Khatib astutely questions whether the Middle East has bid farewell to the politics of ideology, and Elie Podeh provides an essential overview of the secret history of Israel’s normalisation agreements. Also in this issue, Nancy Berliner playfully examines the world’s fascination with the Jews of Kaifeng, China, and Magda Teter traces the historical lineage of Simon of Trent and the blood libel. And in their probing book reviews, Anne Sebba and Deborah Levy evaluate stories of the Jewish collectors of pre-war France and Maria Stepanova’s meditation on memory.

"Younger writers were freed to think about specifically Jewish questions. [Their] work has a narrower appeal. Only time will tell if it is also a deeper one." —Adam Kirsch After the Golden Age examines the current generation of leading American Jewish writers as they grapple with questions about religion, Israel, politics and multiculturalism. In a ground-breaking essay, one of America's foremost literary critics, Adam Kirsch, shows how a new wave of writers, including Jonathan Safran Foer, Nicole Krauss and Joshua Cohen, is charting and creating a modern Jewish world that is different from that of Roth, Bellow and Malamud. The issue also includes a report by Kaya Genç on paranoia and conspiracy theories in Erdoğan's Turkey, Jo Glanville on the vanishing Jews of Dublin and a colourful portrait from Patrick Mackie of Mozart's Jewish librettist. Sarah Krasnostein delves into the extraordinary feats of the "enemy aliens" shipped from Britain to Australia in 1940, and George Prochnik explores the worlds of W.G. Sebald and Daniel Mendelsohn.

As war devastates Eastern Europe, the Jews of Ukraine - who have played pivotal roles in modern Jewish culture and Ukrainian political life - face an uncertain future. ‘Ukrainians voted for a mixture of Benny Hill and Boris Johnson, and they somehow wound up with Churchill.’ —Vladislav Davidzon This issue of The Jewish Quarterly explores the rich, tumultuous history of the Jews of Ukraine, who have played a pivotal role in modern Jewish life. Ukraine has been the site of some of the darkest moments in Jewish history, from brutal pogroms to Babi Yar, yet its Jews were central to the foundation of the Hasidic and Zionist movements and to the advancement of Hebrew and Yiddish literature, as well as to the evolution of modern-day Ukraine. In a fascinating essay, Vladislav Davidzon, who has been observing and writing about Ukrainian Jewish life for more than a decade, traces the turbulent history and uncertain future of this community as their country once again fights for its survival. The issue also includes an essay by David Herman reflecting on the first seventy years of The Jewish Quarterly, a feature by Tali Lavi on the Yiddish renaissance unfolding in Australia's most cosmopolitan city, an account by Rabbi Harvey Belovski of a life-changing event that shaped the philosophy of Maimonides, and book reviews by Devorah Baum and Jakub Nowakowski.