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A handbag, a stack of books, a dress and a nivea jar against an alternating light blue and orange background, with the S-shaped Schocken logo in the foreground.

JMB Book Club – The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen

As part of the exhibition Inventories. The Legacy of Salman Schocken (in German)

Read along!

In his novel The Netanyahus, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, Joshua Cohen approaches the subject of Jewish identity with exuberant imagination and comedy. The campus novel with the subtitle An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family is based on a true story – the visit of the historian Ben-Zion Netanyahu to a college on the US East Coast in the winter of 1959–60.

Past event

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The W. M. Blumenthal Academy is marked in green

Where

W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)

Where, when, what?

In conversation with literary scholar Sebastian Schirrmeister (University of Hamburg) and Monika Sommerer, head of the JMB library, we will discuss Cohen's masterpiece, which leads us right through the history of Zionism and is perhaps a key to understanding the biography of a very famous family.

The Book

Joshua Cohen: The Netanyahus. An Account of a Minor and Ultimately Even Negligible Episode in the History of a Very Famous Family. Novel (German version: Die Netanjahus oder vielmehr der Bericht über ein nebensächliches und letztlich sogar unbedeutendes Ereignis in der Geschichte einer sehr berühmten Familie, translated into German by Ingo Herzke, published by Schöffling & Co., 2023)

Book cover with a painted ball of people reminiscent of a tree and the inscription: Joshua Cohen: Die Netanjahus.

Book cover of the German translation

Several objects, namely a porcelain box, a handbag, a plate, a gramophone needle box, a dress and a cream jar alternate on an orange and light blue background, with the Schocken logo in the shape of an S above.

Exhibition Inventories: The Legacy of Salman Schocken: Features & Programs

Exhibition Webpage
Inventories (20 May to 12 Oct 2025) – exhibition website with some objects from the exhibition and all audio pieces written and narrated by Joshua Cohen
Accompanying Events & Tours
Curator's tours, JMB Book Club, Finissage and more: Find all dates in our calender
Publications
JMB Journal 27: Inventories: The Legacy of Salman Schocken: An Issue on the Publisher, Patron of the Arts, Zionist, Art Collector and Businessman, Oct 2025
Digital Content
A short interview with Joshua Cohen: Watch the video on our YouTube channel!
Joshua Cohen in Conversation on the Exhibition: Video recording from 20 May 2025
Jewish department stores and their owners on Jewish Places: Visualization on an interactive map
See also
Joshua Cohen, writer
Salman Schocken, publisher and businessman

Where, when, what?

  • WhenWed 2 Jul 2025, 6.30 pm
  • Where W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
    Klaus Mangold Auditorium
    Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
    (Opposite the Museum)
    See location on map
  • Entry fee

    6 €, reduced rate 3 €

  • Language German

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