Books

Jerusalem highlights: May 1-7

What's new to do in Israel's capital?

Maya Bloch painting
 RACHEL AND JON Goldberg-Polin attend the funeral of their son, Hersh, in Jerusalem.

Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s memoir about her son's murder tops NYT bestseller list

A January 28, 2010 photo shows a copies of "The Catcher in the Rye" by author J.D. Salinger at a bookstore in Washington, DC.

JD Salinger asked publishers to remove references to his Jewish heritage, letters reveal

Don’t travel naked in Switzerland

"Don’t travel naked in Switzerland" and more tips for visiting a foreign country


Peter Beinart’s ‘Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza’ wins PEN America award

Judges said the book “offers a model for writing a new story when inherited narratives no longer hold.” PEN America's CEO left in 2024 after the group published a report accusing Israel of genocide.

Peter Beinart attends the PEN America 62nd Annual Literary Awards at Town Hall on March 31, 2026 in New York City.

'The Arab Case for Israel': Explaining the conflict between Jews and Arabs - review

The Arab Case for Israel is the book that I would recommend above all others for anyone who sincerely wants to understand the entrenched conflict between Jews and Arabs in Israel.

FEDAYEEN OF the PFLP in mountains east of the Jordan River, early 1969. They carry Soviet and Egyptian weapons.

Jewish authors slam Jewish Book Council for ‘bias toward centering Israeli, Zionist voices’

A new open letter signed by 42 authors argues that the Jewish Book Council, which was founded in 1925, should commit itself more to spotlighting Jewish voices who disagree with traditional Zionism.

Jewish book lovers gather at the Jewish Book Council's offices in Manhattan, July 19, 2023.

Novel on antisemitism by Yonit Levi and Bianna Golodryga sells well, but New York Times ignores it

The novel follows three middle schoolers in Chicago and examines how they are affected when Theo’s idol, a soccer player, tweets an antisemitic comment.

Don’t Feed the Lion.

There was always a third Singer: Yiddish literary diamonds revealed - review

Esther Kreitman, sister of Nobel laureate Isaac Bashevis Singer, wrote powerful Yiddish fiction capturing Jewish life, struggle, and survival.

Esther Kreitman (nee Singer), born in 1891 in Biłgoraj, Poland, to a rabbinic family, became a Yiddish-language novelist and short story writer.

A lost novel from 1943 that predicted the Holocaust has been recovered

Friedrich Torberg recorded his image of a German concentration camp in “Mein ist die Rache,” written decades before the capitalized “Holocaust” entered common parlance.

A portrait of Friedrich Torberg, Jan. 1, 1970.

'The Road to October 7': The long centuries of hatred that led to Hamas’s attack - review

This review of The Road to October 7 follows an interview with its author published in the Magazine earlier this month.

Germans read an antisemitic tabloid on a billboard: 'The Jews are our misfortune.' That was in 1935. The Palestinian Authority still teaches hate and violence toward Jews today, the author writes.

Matzah pizza and Miriam star in new children’s books for Passover in 2026

The new books range from Karen Katz’s brightly colored, joyful picture book to an ornately designed volume published by a Chabad-Lubavitch imprint.

New children's books for Passover in 2026 include ones about welcoming guests and women of Jewish history.

Jerusalem highlights: March 20 – March 26

What's new to do in Israel's capital?

Ron Mueck, ‘Boy,’ 1999, shown at a past Venice Biennale (see Tues day).

What history teaches about October 7, according to Rafael Medoff

A renowned historian’s scholarly work examines alarming trends to watch out for.

Cars belonging to Kibbutz Nir Yitzhak members were also mutilated on Oct. 7,  2023.