Literature

Philip Roth’s latest biographer wants Jews to read him again, without the guilt 

Stanford historian Steven J. Zipperstein had already begun work on the biography before the author died in 2018, arguing why Roth remains relevant and vital, especially to current Jewish discourse.

Steven J. Zipperstein said his training as a historian helped him separate truth from fiction in writing his biography of Roth.
Kyle Lukoff in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 04, 2023.

In National Book Awards finalist, Jewish trans boy and golem team up to save the world

 Hebrew Pentateuch (from 900-1188) written in typical Hebrew oriental book hand.

Hebrew Union College, Ohio AG reach deal to protect 600,000 rare books, papers in Jewish collection

THE BLUE Mosque in Kabul.

The Taliban bans women’s books - and too many Afghans applaud - opinion


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.

An unflinching look at a nation in verse

The Metula Poetry Festival will be held in Jerusalem next week.

EHUD BANAI will reflect on his work ‘The Book of Green Onions.’

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

One of a kind: Rav Amital was that unique and unparalleled leader who lived at a time when he was needed the most.

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

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

We are all part of the trauma-filled family of Israel struggling to cope with a divine-given destiny beyond our comprehension. Sometimes God says “No.”

Loss (illustration)

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