Literature

Her Jewish grandfather’s shame inspired a prize-winning novel

Sasha Vasilyuk's debut novel, “Your Presence Is Mandatory,” won the $100,000 prize for a story inspired by her father’s father, a Jewish soldier in the Red Army.

Sasha Vasilyuk’s novel, "Your Presence Is Mandatory," was inspired by the story of her grand­fa­ther, right, a Sovi­et World War II sol­dier who nev­er talked about the war.
EHUD BANAI will reflect on his work ‘The Book of Green Onions.’

An unflinching look at a nation in verse

Israelis carry the body of Rabbi Yehuda Amital during his funeral in Jerusalem, on July 09, 2010

'To Be Holy but Human': A look into the life ‘hesder yeshiva’ creator Rabbi Yehuda Amital - review

Loss (illustration)

'Life-Tumbled Shards': A journal on family, loss, and search for self-healing - review


The ‘Lo Bashamayim’ Festival: Not in heaven but in the Galilee

The festival is part of the rehabilitation of the Galilee, according to its artistic director.

‘WE ARE BROTHERS’ solidarity tours, where participants will visit places like the Quneitra Lookout in the Golan Heights, the Naphtali Mountains, and Metula’s Daddo Lookout.

ACUM awards music and literature prizes

Author Etgar Keret and composer Hagar Kadima receive Lifetime Achievement Awards.

 ETGAR KERET receives a Lifetime Achievement award from Roni Kuban.

'The Great Betrayal': Revolutions rarely succeed in the first attempt - review

Fawaz Gerges makes a compelling case that political and economic reform has been stifled by several mutually reinforcing factors.

 ANGRY YOUTHS gather in central Cairo in 2012, protesting thenEgyptian president Islamist Mohamed Morsi, near Tahrir Square, the heart of the 2011 Arab Spring uprising that toppled his predecessor, Hosni Mubarak

'The Triumph of Life': Reimagining the relationship between God and humanity - review

Greenberg’s recently published magnum opus, The Triumph of Life: A Narrative Theology of Judaism, is arguably the most compelling and thought-provoking book to grace the Jewish bookshelf this year. 

 JEWS IN BUDAPEST being rounded up by police in 1944. The Holocaust was a ‘devastating example of the abuse of human power.’

'The Jews, 5,000 Years and Counting:' Jewish history can be funny - review

The Jews: 5,000 Years and Counting achieves an incredible feat: It covers our entire “epic journey through time, space, and guilt” in 224 pages.

BEN-GURION AIRPORT security, Terminal 1, during the COVID-19 pandemic

'Eminent Jews:' Jewish sensibility at its best - review

In his book Eminent Jews, David Denby provides engaging, informative, insightful, mostly, but not entirely, celebratory biographies of four eminent Jews.

 LEONARD BERNSTEIN and Benny Goodman in rehearsal, circa 1940-1949

The Dragon from Chicago: On the American reporting from Nazi Germany - book review

Sigrid Schultz was the historic figure branded “that dragon from Chicago” by Hermann Göring, Hitler’s number two man angered by Schultz’s fearless reporting about the Nazis. 

 HERMANN GÖRING (first row, far L) and other Nazi criminals in the dock at the Nuremberg Trials, 1945-46

Novel set in a war-torn Ukraine wins Sami Rohr prize for Jewish literature

Sasha Vasilyuk's novel is the second book by an immigrant from the former Soviet Union to win the 2025 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature.

 Books (illustrative)

Why Jerusalem Int'l Book Forum Prize winner Michel Houellebecq is drawn to Israel

Acclaimed French writer Michel Houellebecq accepts Jerusalem Prize at Mishkenot Sha’ananim days after visiting Kibbutz Be’eri.

 MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ at Kibbutz Be’eri last week.

The most prolific couples from history, mythology, and fiction - explainer

In many spheres of endeavor, people pair up to maximize their efforts to achieve their goals. So let’s take a look at some dynamic duos.

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in a lobby card for the 1935 film ‘Top Hat’

'Articles of Faith': Faithful to tradition, open to complexity - book review

A recurring theme in Articles of Faith is the delicate balance between upholding rabbinic authority while acknowledging the realities of a post-modern, digitally saturated world.

 Learning in Jerusalem’s Midreshet Lindenbaum, 2018