Serendipity was the subject of the latest ESRAmagazine Short Story Contest launched earlier this year. The standard of entries was so high, our panel of judges had a hard time picking the winning 12. Congratulations to all our winners.
1st: Gaby Fulda
"Paris 1955"
Gaby Fulda was born in Vienna, Austria, and is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. In Vienna she attended the Kautezky Language Institute, studying English and French, passing with a Cambridge A level in English, later on with a BA in History of Art.
She left Vienna in 1968 to move to Manchester, UK, where she got married and still lives. Gaby was inspired to write down what her late mother told her. Besides short stories, she is a poet published in Anthologies. She was also a figurative sculptor, exhibited in the Ben Uri Gallery, (London), Samlesbury Hall and G mex (Manchester). "One of my passions", writes Gaby, "is to defend and advocate Israel, the home in the heart of every Jew ... my uncle fought in the War of Independence of 1948."
2nd: Richelle Shem Tov
"The Clock"
Richelle Shem Tov (née Hirschmann) was born and grew up in Polokwane (Pietersburg), South Africa. She qualified as a Physiotherapist at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. In 1962, at the age of 22, she made aliyah to an ulpan on Kibbutz Maagan Michael.
She later worked in a number of hospitals and clinics, but for the most part at the Sharon Hospital, Petah Tikva, where she worked as a physiotherapist for 24 years, and as head of the department for the last 10 years, until her retirement in 2000. She is a mother of four and grandmother of ten, and lives with her husband, Sabih, in Kiryat Ono, since 1964.
3rd: Racheli Fuld
"Season of Change"
Racheli Fuld was born in Los Angeles, US, and made aliyah in 1993. She holds a BA in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University. Over the years, Racheli has produced web content for companies operating in a variety of industries, including diamonds, technology, travel, and many others. Racheli resides in the outskirts of Jerusalem with her husband and five children.
4th: Marion Lupu
"Sweet Serendipity
Born in Somerset in 1940 (her parents left London on the eve of WWII), Marion knew no Jewish people except her immediate family until they returned to London in 1949. She did a course in Office Management before going to Manchester University to read French and Spanish, and then to Cambridge for a post graduate degree in Education.
Active in the Inter University Jewish Federation (I.U.J.F.), she made aliyah (on the S.S. Herzl) in 1962. Marion taught English at the Technion and the University in Haifa, where she also earned an M.A. in English Language and Linguistics. Now an editor of academic articles, for light relief Marion listens to classical music and writes the occasional short story.
5th: Sue Krisman
"Serendipity"
Sue Krisman lives in London with her husband, Alan, but they also have a home in Netanya, as their daughter lives in Israel with her family.
Sue was previously a broadcaster, writer and reviewer of books and theater. She still tries to keep writing (and loved the ESRA opportunity to do so), and she gives lectures now all over the world. She combines this with volunteering for many charities and spending time in Israel enjoying her family, enjoying ESRA and visiting with precious friends.
6th: Dov Silverman
"Elvis Helps Me Courting"
Dov (Robert) Silverman is a ninth generation Brooklynite. After three years as a US Marine in the Korean War, he worked for 20 years as a Long Island Railroad conductor and an auctioneer, and he established Autar Microfilm Service. He graduated from Stony Brook University, New York, cum laude, at the age of 39.
He and his family settled in Safed in 1972, where he taught English as a Second Language, was a high school principal, lecturer on teaching methods, supervisor of English teachers, and creative writing teacher at universities in Israel and the United States. He served four years as a Safed City Councilman. He is the author of The Fall of the Shogun, a London Times Best Seller. He won a 1988 Suntory Mystery Fiction Award in Japan for Revenge of the Good Shepherds; and his third book, The Kabbalist was published in 2007.
7th: Jessica Strauss
"Beit Lid - January 19, 1995"
Jessica Strauss was born in Chicago in 1945. She moved to Berkeley, California, in 1966. She got her first degree at the University of Illinois at Champaign Urbana, and her further education studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She then taught in San Francisco in their public school system.
In 1968 she got married and came to live in Israel in 1969. For 35 years, Jessica worked as a high school English teacher in Ramat Hasharon and retired in 2006. She has three children, two of whom are in Israel, one in NY, and eight grandchildren, seven of whom live in Israel.
8th: Yonatan Sredni
"California"
A native of Palo Alto, California, Yonatan Sredni has lived in Israel since 1994 and resides in Givat Shmuel. He holds a BA in English from San Diego State University and an MA in Creative Writing from Bar Ilan University. His engaging articles and short stories have appeared in The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel, Israel National News, NoCamels, PR Daily and more.
He is currently Head of English Content in the Publicity & Communications Division of World WIZO in Tel Aviv. His short story California, about a thrilling game of backgammon, is based on a real life experience while serving in reserve duty in the Negev.
9th: Ilan Hirschowitz
"Be Kind to this Daughter of Mine"
Ilan Hirschowitz was born in Johannesburg, SA, and came on aliyah in 1987. He has over 30 years of experience in IT, including Database Administration, technical account management, customer support relationships and DBA management.
Ilan has been a consultant to many international organizations, and is a world renowned specialist in troubleshooting and performance. He has responsibility for the overall well-being of mission critical customers with multiple mainframe products. His primary hobby is Photography, where he captures special moments in time and spectacular landscapes. As a cousin of Norman Mailer, Ilan also has a passion for writing. He lives in Tel Mond with his wife and three children.
10th: Patricia Carmel
"The Garden"
Patricia Carmel, originally from London, UK, made aliyah in 1970. She began her career as a journalist, transitioning to hi tech as a technical communicator in the early 1990s. Revisiting journalism over 20 years later, she wrote a monthly column on Israeli startups for The Jerusalem Post weekend supplement, combining her passion for all things techie with her love of writing.
She began writing fiction a few years ago; three of her stories have been published in an anthology of love stories by local authors. Today, she freelances as a technical writer / editor and video editor. When she's not bonding with her five grandchildren, she volunteers as a medical clown.
11th: Jackie Shulman
"I'm Sorry"
Jackie Shulman (née Grantham) was born in Sunderland, UK. She studied art history in London and made aliyah from Bushey, Herts., in 1979 with her husband David and three young children. The family initially settled in Kfar Saba, where Jackie worked for the city's Social Services for 10 years, and amongst other things, organized a club for Yemenite senior citizens. Later, Jackie opened and ran an antique shop for a couple of years.
In 1994, the family moved to Raanana and Jackie worked as office manager for a medical company for 17 years until her retirement in 2014. She now volunteers in the Raanana ESRA office once a week.
12th: Susan Lowinger
"Clown Masks"
Dr. Susan Lowinger is a clinical child psychologist who works with developmentally disabled children and their families. She is the editor of five non fiction books about the diagnosis and treatment of autistic children, published by ACH Publishing. Presently, she is working on a collection of fiction stories about the meaningful and often unusual experiences of life in Israel.
Susan made aliyah from the US in 1971, and she enjoys exploring the ancient land with her husband and children. She lives in Jerusalem and has also lived in Beer Sheva, Rehovot and Elkana.