Fallout: October 7th and the New Antisemitism
The Jewish Art Salon and the Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art proudly present: Fallout: October 7th and the New Antisemitism.
I co-curated this exhibition and am exhibiting two paintings.
The Window Still Glows: This painting takes a torn painted piece of Ella Elyakim’s hostage poster, the little girl who came home after a few months, and places it beneath the protective shimmer of a golden hamsa and the radiant, fractured light of a stained-glass synagogue window. What used to be a frantic “bring her home” cry in the streets is now quietly protected.
The Window Still Glows, Acrylic and Mixed Media on Canvas, 30” Diameter, 2025
Tethered: The painted fragment of an Israeli hostage poster, bearing the face of Ariel Cunio, freed in October 2025 after two years in captivity, is nestled in the open hand of a hamsa. This symbol is traditionally protective, but here encases the evil of captivity, underscored by a heavy rope suggesting suspension and entrapment.
Tethered, Acrylic on Canvas, 9” × 12”, 2025
Thursday November 20: Reception 6-7pm / Panel Discussion 7-8pm
Philadelphia Museum of Jewish Art
615 North Broad Street; entrance Green Street, Philadelphia
RSVP here.
The events of October 7 and the subsequent war in Gaza represent a crucial turning point in the lives of the Jewish people. This is true, whether in the land of Israel, or in Diaspora communities across the globe. As the war continues, attacks and criticism of Israel have become commonplace in the media, academia, and cultural spaces. Simultaneously antisemitism and its traditional tropes have skyrocketed, falsely linking Zionism with Colonialism and therefore assertions of political and religious illegitimacy, while subjugating Jewish people to implicit, or explicit threats and intimidation. This affects all Jews, regardless of their beliefs and political politics. 28 Jewish artists created visual artworks in a wide variety of mediums and emotional responses to this crisis.
Panel Moderator: Ruth Fine, former curator, National Gallery
Panelists: Yona Verwer, Joel Silverstein, Richard McBee, Jenny Edwards Ber, Goldie Gross.
Curators: Joel Silverstein, Yona Verwer & Richard McBee
Artists: Siona Benjamin, Leah Caroline, Dorit Jordan Dotan, Dena Eber, Jenny Edwards Ber, Micha Eden Erdesz, Caren Garfen, Goldie Gross, Debbie Teicholz Guedalia, Robert Hirsch, Julia Holt, Judith Joseph, Tobi Kahn, Yury Kharchenko, Carol Man, Phillip Maier, Richard McBee, Hana Mendel, Michelle Moore, Yigal Ozeri, Nancy Pantirer, Mark Podwal, Leah Raab, Archie Rand, Joel Silverstein, Yona Verwer, Avraham Vofsi, Gabriel Wolff, Billha Zussman.
Article about the exhibition …”Yona Verwer is the director of the Jewish Art Salon, and she said in the foreword to the exhibit that it is an absolutely necessary show given the rise in antisemitism around the country and world.
“This collection of artworks confronts an urgent issue that remains underexplored in too many cultural spaces today. The rise of new antisemitism, particularly in the wake of the events of Oct. 7, demands our attention, and these powerful works articulate its impact with unflinching clarity and emotional depth,” she said.”
