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There are Also Optometrists in Tel Aviv

Rina Ouziel-Blumenthal

This book portrays the lives and fates of German Jews during the period of the Nazis’ rise to power. The plot follows Ruth and Ernst, a married couple who manage to escape to Palestine before the outbreak of World War II. It describes their life in Tel Aviv in the 1930s, and the lives of their relatives still in Germany, with all the hardships that they face, as well as their thoughts on personal identity and its strong connection to their home country and its history. The novel deftly embeds its story within the German-Jewish context and relates to historical events, dates and documents while telling the personal story of Ruth and Ernst, their son Ilan and his family.
Representation
The Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature
Title There are Also Optometrists in Tel Aviv
Writer's Last Name Ouziel-Blumenthal
Writer's First Name Rina
Genre Fiction
Publisher (Hebrew) Carmeli
No. Pages pp.
Book title - Hebrew (phonetic) Gam Be-Tel Aviv Yesh Optometristim

  • “In this novel, Blumenthal’s talent reaches an impressive and particularly moving peak…A candid portrayal of the problems encountered by Yekkes (German Jews) in this country…and their ambivalence towards it. ”

    Prof. Moshe Zimmerman, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

  • “In her beautiful, flowing prose Blumenthal paints a broad, multilayered canvas, encompassing the memory and history…of this unique wave of immigrants. ”