A Letter in the Night
Chaja Polak
Translated by Astrid Alben
Essay
Publication: 10 July 2025
ISBN: 9781068680410
In an increasingly polarised world, political divides can feel like yawning chasms, with no common ground on which to find mutual understanding. Nowhere is this more true than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where the ossified opinions borne of intergenerational trauma are reinforced by closed information networks that prevent each side witnessing the suffering of the other. And since the horrific attack committed by Hamas on October 7 and the beginning of Israel’s brutal and bloody assault in response, the remaining space for nuance has been obliterated.
Yet Chaja Polak’s essay 'A Letter in the Night', written in the wake of October 7 and now in its tenth printing in her native Netherlands, seeks to bridge the gap and show the humanity on both sides of this seemingly intractable conflict. A Holocaust survivor, Polak has an intimate relationship with loss and violence and argues that empathy in the face of others’ suffering can and must replace the wish for revenge. A recognition of the pain and dislocation of the other is the only path to reconciliation and, ultimately, peace.
About the Author
Chaja Polak (1941) is a writer and visual artist. As the child of a victim and a survivor of Auschwitz, her life has been largely determined by what was done to her parents. She attended the Rietveld Academy and made her debut in literature in 1989. She wrote novels, stories and poetry. A number of her books were nominated for the Libris Literature Prize and were translated into English, Danish and Italian.
About the Translator
Astrid Alben is a poet, editor and translator. Her translation of Anne Vegter’s 'Island glacier mountain' was awarded an English PEN Translates Award (2022). Her translation of 'Collected Works' by F. van Dixhoorn was published by Broken Sleep Books in 2024, and her translation of Laurine Verweijen’s 'Guesthouse' is forthcoming from The New Menard Press. She is the commissioning international editor for Prototype Publishing. Alben self-translated 'Little Dead Rabbit', which was published as 'Klein dood konijn' (PoëzieCentrum, 2021).
Praise
“Very strong, well balanced and passionate.” – Michael Ignatieff, professor and writer
“Beautiful and clear in language. So honest too, almost painfully so. Chaja Polak looks behind the walls of hate and ignorance and doesn’t shy away from self-examination. I am thoroughly impressed.” – Adriaan van Dis, writer
“Impressive and equipped with a lot of knowledge and arguments. In an intense and moving way, Chaja Polak mirrors her own war experiences with the current experiences of inhabitants of Israel and Gaza. Experiences that will, by necessity, stay with them throughout their lives. War offers no solution; heartfelt dialogue, however difficult, hopefully does.” – Job Cohen, former mayor of Amsterdam, politician
“An essay that has touched me profoundly. It touches on everything that I am constantly thinking about.” – Bertien Minco, director of Westerbork Memorial
“Marvellous and clear and true.” – Anneke Brassinga, poet
“Finished immediately with pent-up sadness.” – Hans Croiset, actor and writer
“Breathless, moved, with great admiration for the beautiful language and style have I read this essay. May it find its way to the many people who sit waiting for a nuanced, thoughtful perspective, and also to those entrenched in one camp or the other.” – Marja Vuijsje, writer
“Chaja Polak jotted down all her "thoughts on Israel and Gaza": confusion and conflicting opinions, information, anger, history, emotion, powerlessness, decisions and non-decisions. How well that works can be read in Letter in the Night.” – Carel Peeters in Vrij Nederland
“Generous and emotional.” – Alexander Rinnooy Kan, Politician
“When you finish Letter in the Night, you realise that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can only be resolved if reasonable voices from both camps engage with each other and show understanding for each other's suffering. Everyone should read this just to realise that.” – Michel Krielaars in NRC
