On Sunday, the Israeli Chamber Project will play some of the music of the German Jewish composer Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916)—the first time his work will be publicly performed in Israel. Miryam Zakheim tells the remarkable story of Gernsheim’s life and how he was forgotten and then rediscovered:

Ohad Sofer . . . was a librarian assisting visitors and readers in the reading halls. One day, he encountered an unusual item in the National Library [of Israel]’s music collection archive: a decorated wooden box. Inside it lay a cushion, upon which rested a metal laurel wreath, alongside a single, neatly folded sheet of paper.

When he carefully unfolded it, he was astonished to find a lock of hair and a few elegantly handwritten words claiming that the hair belonged to none other than Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the Jewish-born composer who had converted to Christianity [as a child] and was the grandson of the famous philosopher Moses Mendelssohn.

This box was part of the collection of a little-known German-Jewish composer named Friedrich Gernsheim. . . .  Sofer delved into the depths of the archive, which includes extensive correspondences with musicians such as Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms. Gradually, he realized that Gernsheim was an exceptionally talented, well-known, and highly respected composer of his time—a close friend of the greatest Romantic musicians of the 19th century, who wrote truly magnificent music.

Ron Ben-Yishai, reporting from a visit to IDF forces in the Gaza Strip, analyzes the state of the fighting, and “the persistent challenge of eradicating an entrenched enemy in a complex urban terrain.”

Hamas, sensing the war’s end, is mounting a final effort to inflict casualties. The IDF now controls 65 percent of Gaza’s territory operationally, with observation, fire dominance, and relative freedom of movement, alongside systematic tunnel destruction. . . . Major P, a reserve company commander, says, “It’s frustrating to hear at home that we’re stagnating. The public doesn’t get that if we stop, Hamas will recover.”

Senior IDF officers cite two reasons for the slow progress: meticulous care to protect hostages, requiring cautious movement and constant intelligence gathering, and avoiding heavy losses, with 22 soldiers killed since June.

Two-and-a-half of Hamas’s five brigades have been dismantled, yet a new hostage deal and IDF withdrawal could allow Hamas to regroup. . . . Hamas is at its lowest military and governing point since its founding, reduced to a fragmented guerrilla force. Yet, without complete disarmament and infrastructure destruction, it could resurge as a threat in years.

At the same time, Ben-Yishai observes, not everything hangs on the IDF:

According to the Southern Command chief Major General Yaron Finkelman, the IDF is close to completing its objectives. In classical military terms, “defeat” means the enemy surrenders—but with a jihadist organization, the benchmark is its ability to operate against Israel.

Despite [the IDF’s] battlefield successes, the broader strategic outcome—especially regarding the hostages—now hinges on decisions from the political leadership. “We’ve done our part,” said a senior officer. “We’ve reached a crossroads where the government must decide where it wants to go—both on the hostage issue and on Gaza’s future.”