History
A Brief and Visual History of Antisemitism
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The world is in crisis: antisemitism, the "longest hatred," is rearing its ugliest heads, again. Although much has been written about the subject, very little has been done to educate the public specifically about antisemitism--existing curricula are either outdated or not comprehensive, and none are designed to be engaging, especially to the younger audiences that need to learn this subject most.
A Brief and Visual History of Antisemitism aims to fill that glaring gap, not merely as a history textbook but as an epidemiological study that analyzes the pathology of the antisemitism virus from ancient to modern times: when, where, and how did antisemitism first emerge?
How did the disease of Jew-hatred spread so far and wide? Why has the hateful virus proven so resilient over time? The goal of this highly visual book is thus not merely to inform
of what has already transpired, but to empower individuals to make sense of the avalanche of anti-Jewish invective in real-time. As an
added feature, Augmented Reality technology allows readers to use their phones (and a free app) to scan highlighted areas and reveal a trove of bonus contents such as archival footage, animations, official documents, and 3D objects that offer immersive perspectives on historical landmarks.
2019 National Jewish Book Award Finalist
[A] fascinating biography . . . a masterly portrait of a titanic yet unfulfilled man . . . this is a gripping study of power, and the loneliness of power. --The Economist
As the founder of Israel, David Ben-Gurion long ago secured his reputation as a leading figure of the twentieth century. Determined from an early age to create a Jewish state, he thereupon took control of the Zionist movement, declared Israel's independence, and navigated his country through wars, controversies and remarkable achievements. And yet Ben-Gurion remains an enigma--he could be driven and imperious, or quizzical and confounding.
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Day after day. Week after week. Year after year. Neshamah after neshamah -- Rabbi Meir Schuster was at the Kosel, the Central Bus Station, the Hebrew University campus, searching for people who were searching for meaning -- and bringing them to places where they would find it.
He was the most unlikely of outreach professionals. He was shy, tongue-tied, inarticulate and decidedly “uncool.” And yet, more than almost anyone, he brought Jews -- thousands, perhaps tens of thousands -- back to their Torah heritage.
A Tap on the Shoulder brings us the stories (so many stories!) of the young men and women who traded their backpacks for Torah. It brings to life a magical moment, the decades when searching youth found meaning and a “baal teshuvah movement” was born.
A Tap on the Shoulder shows us how one man -- with absolute dedication, boundless caring, and almost unbelievable siyata d’Shmaya -- can change the world. One neshamah at a time.
Powerful and moving, A Visit to Moscow is inspired by the true experience of an American rabbi who travels to the Soviet Union in the 1960s, a dangerous time of uncertainty and fear for Jews in the nation.
One of Jewish Insider's Ten Books to Read in May
Yevgenia Nayberg has been longlisted for the 2022 Brightness Illustration Awards!
"With starkly dramatic text and haunting images, author and illustrator convey the devastating oppression of Soviet Jewish life, and the commitment of one Jew to bring their horrifying reality into the light [...] Whether readers are familiar with the harrowing subject matter or learning about it for the first time, Rabbi Grossman's story will immerse them in a harsh world and in the persistent truth-telling needed to bring about change. A Visit to Moscow is highly recommended."
--Jewish Book Council
"Finally, it's worth mentioning a soon-to-be-released graphic narrative called A Visit to Moscow. Adapted by Anna Olswanger from an account by Rabbi Rafael Grossman (1933-2018), the book was inspired by Grossman's actual 1965 journey to the Soviet Union to investigate the persecution of Soviet Jews. That A Visit to Moscow is beautifully illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg, who was born in Ukraine and now lives in New Jersey, makes this encounter with the history of the Soviet Jewry movement, which was so much a part of the later 20th-century American Jewish experience, especially poignant and timely."
--Moment Magazine
"Inspired by real events, the eye-opening and important narrative in this graphic novel are punctuated by the phenomenal illustrations, showing Jewish life in the Soviet Union. Set in 1965, readers will see the power of antisemitism and the incredible courage it takes to live a life of faith under oppression. It shows that, despite living with tyranny and unimaginable sacrifices, one can hold on to their soul and that there is beauty to be found. It's my hope readers will see how critical it is for us to advocate for others and do whatever we can to make a positive difference in this world."
--Wisonsin Jewish Chronicle
"Yevgenia Nayberg's art is evocative and claustrophobic and lives in that liminal space between simple children's book illustration and profound abstract comics work. Her choices in coloring are particularly well-matched to the emotional tone of the narrative. This is ultimately a story of hope--how the actions of one person can reverberate through generations to come--and as story, this is appropriate and uplifting."
--SOLRAD
In 1965, an American rabbi travels to the Soviet Union to investigate reports of persecution of the Jewish community. Moscow welcomes him as a guest--but provides a strict schedule he and the rest of his group must follow.
One afternoon, the rabbi slips away. With an address in hand and almost no knowledge of the Russian language, he embarks on a secret journey that will change his life forever.
Inspired by the true experience of Rabbi Rafael Grossman, A Visit to Moscow captures the formidable perseverance and strength of the Jewish people during the "Let My People Go" movement, a modern exodus that is often overlooked.
All About Eva; A Holocaust-Related Memoir, with a Hollywood Twist Paperback
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Rudy Brook had just passed the German bar exam and married his childhood sweetheart. Hitler's coming to power put an end to Rudy's law career, and his wife, Eva, dashed his Zionist dream, insisting they emigrate to America instead of Palestine. Their arrival in 1938 on Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass) spared them that calamity and the even graver one to follow. But that's only half the story. Eva's connections to the upscale refugee colony in Los Angeles led Rudy to become a gardener to stars such as Judy Garland, and Eva to become a masseuse to other celebrities, actor Alexander Granach among them. Granach was a big name in pre-Nazi Germany and featured in Ninotchka with Greta Garbo. His affair with Eva would wreak havoc on the budding Brook family and leave Eva with a life-altering decision about herself and the author's older brother. Harrowing yet uplifting, All About Eva combines elements of the memoir and the historical novel to tell a compelling tale of three remarkable individuals and the tumultuous times in which they lived.
"All About Eva is a madcap, yet also tragically serious, genre-defying story of a Jewish couple's flight from Nazi Germany to Los Angeles. Sumptuously illustrated, it is a saga of betrayal, intra-Jewish tension, imprisonment, eroticism, and salty , delicious gossip. It ultimately provides a painful yet also rollicking picture of old worlds destroyed and new ones in the making. "
Steven E. Aschheim
author of Brothers and Strangers: The East European Jew in German and German Jewish Consciousness, 1800–1923"What makes this Holocaust survivor tale so fascinating is its focus on a love triangle among three Jewish émigrés: the author's German parents, Rudy and Eva, and Polish actor Alexander Granach. Along the way, we encounter a remarkable array of their friends and clients in Los Angeles: Fritz Lang, Salka Viertel, Lion Feuchtwanger, Peter Lorre, Robert Ryan, Judy Garland, and George and Ira Gershwin. It's a story too amazing to be true, but it is! "
Steven J. Ross
author of Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America"Vincent Brook's considerable film knowledge takes a personal turn in this candid and affecting memoir of his parents, whose tale of escape from Nazified Berlin to Los Angeles illustrates the challenges faced by Hollywood's German-speaking émigré community in the late 1930s and beyond."
Donna Rifkind
author of The Sun and Her Stars: Salka Viertel and Hitler's Exiles in the Golden Age of Hollywood
All Who Go Do Not Return: A Memoir Paperback
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A moving and revealing exploration of ultra-Orthodox Judaism and one man's loss of faith
Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world--only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at eighteen is arranged and several children soon follow. Deen's first transgression--turning on the radio--is small, but his curiosity leads him to the library, and later the Internet. Soon he begins a feverish inquiry into the tenets of his religious beliefs, until, several years later, his faith unravels entirely. Now a heretic, he fears being discovered and ostracized from the only world he knows. His relationship with his family at stake, he is forced into a life of deception, and begins a long struggle to hold on to those he loves most: his five children. In All Who Go Do Not Return, Deen bravely traces his harrowing loss of faith, while offering an illuminating look at a highly secretive world.
Named one of "forty-two books to read before you die" by the Independent (UK)
2015 National Jewish Book Award Winner
2016 Winner of the GLCA New Writers Award in Nonfiction
One of Star Magazine's "Fab 5 Can't-Miss Entertainment Picks "
A moving and revealing exploration of Hasidic life, and one man's struggles with faith, family, and community
Shulem Deen was raised to believe that questions are dangerous. As a member of the Skverers, one of the most insular Hasidic sects in the US, he knows little about the outside world - only that it is to be shunned. His marriage at eighteen is arranged and several children soon follow. Deen's first transgression - turning on the radio - is small, but his curiosity leads him to the library, and later the Internet. Soon he begins a feverish inquiry into the tenets of his religious beliefs, until, several years later, his faith unravels entirely.
Now a heretic, he fears being discovered and ostracized from the only world he knows. His relationship with his family at stake, he is forced into a life of deception, and begins a long struggle to hold on to those he loves most: his five children. InAll Who Go Do Not Return , Deen bravely traces his harrowing loss of faith, while offering an illuminating look at a highly secretive world.
The first comprehensive volume to teach about America's response to the Holocaust through visual media, America and the Holocaust: A Documentary History explores the complex subject through the lens of one hundred important documents that help illuminate and amplify key episodes and issues.
Each chapter pivots on five key documents: two in image form and three in text form. Individual introductions that contextualize the documents are followed by explanatory text, analysis of historical implications, and suggestions for further reading. A concluding state-of-the-field essay documents how scholars have arrived at the presented information. A complementary teacher's guide with questions for discussion is available online. The twenty chapters address a broad range of subjects and events, among them America's response to Hitler's rise, U.S. public opinion about Jews, immigration policy, the Wagner-Rogers bill to save children, American rescuers, news coverage of atrocities, American Jewish and Christian responses to the Holocaust, the campaign for U.S. rescue action, the question of bombing Auschwitz, and liberation. Viewing real documents as a means to understanding core issues will deepen reader involvement with this material. High school and college students as well as general readers of all levels of knowledge will be engaged in understanding this crucial chapter in American history and weighing questions regarding mass atrocities in our own era.
America's Jewish Women: A History from Colonial Times to Today
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Pamela S. Nadell weaves together the complex story of Jewish women in America--from colonial-era matriarch Grace Nathan and her great-granddaughter, poet Emma Lazarus, to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Recounting how Jewish women have been at the forefront of social, economic, and political causes for centuries, Nadell shows them fighting for suffrage, labor unions, civil rights, feminism, and religious rights--shaping a distinctly Jewish American identity.
The first comprehensive history of American Jewish philanthropy and its influence on democracy and capitalism
For years, American Jewish philanthropy has been celebrated as the proudest product of Jewish endeavors in the United States, its virtues extending from the local to the global, the Jewish to the non-Jewish, and modest donations to vast endowments. Yet, as Lila Corwin Berman illuminates in The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex, the history of American Jewish philanthropy reveals the far more complicated reality of changing and uneasy relationships among philanthropy, democracy, and capitalism. With a fresh eye and lucid prose, and relying on previously untapped sources, Berman shows that from its nineteenth-century roots to its apex in the late twentieth century, the American Jewish philanthropic complex tied Jewish institutions to the American state. The government's regulatory efforts--most importantly, tax policies--situated philanthropy at the core of its experiments to maintain the public good without trammeling on the private freedoms of individuals. Jewish philanthropic institutions and leaders gained financial strength, political influence, and state protections within this framework. However, over time, the vast inequalities in resource distribution that marked American state policy became inseparable from philanthropic practice. By the turn of the millennium, Jewish philanthropic institutions reflected the state's growing investment in capitalism against democratic interests. But well before that, Jewish philanthropy had already entered into a tight relationship with the governing forces of American life, reinforcing and even transforming the nation's laws and policies. The American Jewish Philanthropic Complex uncovers how capitalism and private interests came to command authority over the public good, in Jewish life and beyond.
Angels in the Sky: How a Band of Volunteer Airmen Saved the New State of Israel
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In 1948, when the newly founded nation of Israel came under siege from a coalition of Arab states, a band of volunteer airmen from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, and South Africa arrived to help. They were a small group, fewer than 150. Many were World War II veterans; most of them knowingly violated their nations' embargoes on the shipment of arms and aircraft to Israel. The airmen risked everything--their careers, citizenship, and lives--to fight for Israel. The saga of the volunteer airmen in Israel's war of independence stands as one of the most stirring--and little-known--war stories of the past century.
Ani Maamin: Biblical Criticism, Historical Truth, and the Thirteen Principles of Faith
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For two centuries the academic study of the Bible has confronted the believing Jew with the most challenging of questions: Are the accounts of the Tanakh historically accurate? Was there an Exodus? Why does the Torah provide multiple versions of its law and its stories? What are the warrants for believing the Torah is a divine text? Can a Jew seeking intellectual honesty maintain fidelity to the Thirteen Principles of Faith? The credentials Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman brings to address these issues are unparalleled. An internationally acclaimed speaker, writer and educator, Rabbi Berman is also a professor of Tanakh at Bar-Ilan University and the author of two books published by Oxford University Press on the five books of the Torah. This landmark work is the first full-length treatment of these charged issues by an Orthodox thinker, offering the believing Jew an academically and traditionally based approach of spiritual and intellectual integrity.
The first major study to examine the rise to prominence of Jewish architects since 1945 and the connection of their work to the legacy of the Holocaust
Since the end of World War II, Jewish architects have risen to unprecedented international prominence. Whether as modernists, postmodernists, or deconstructivists, architects such as Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry, Louis I. Kahn, Daniel Libeskind, Richard Meier, Moshe Safdie, Robert A.M. Stern, and Stanley Tigerman have made pivotal contributions to postwar architecture. They have also decisively shaped Jewish architectural history, as many of their designs are influenced by Jewish themes, ideas, and imagery. Building After Auschwitz is the first major study to examine the origins of this "new Jewish architecture."Historian Gavriel D. Rosenfeld describes this cultural development as the result of important shifts in Jewish memory and identity since the Holocaust, and cites the rise of postmodernism, multiculturalism, and Holocaust consciousness as a catalyst. In showing how Jewish architects responded to the Nazi genocide in their work, Rosenfeld's study sheds new light on the evolution of Holocaust memory.
Building for Eternity: Life and Legacy of Reb Moshe Reichmann
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"When you left his study, you didn’t just have a generous check: you had dignity, respect, and a new sense of pride in what you were doing."
"I’ve seen people for whom Margaret Thatcher showed respect, and I’ve seen people for whom Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky stood up. But I have known only one man for whom Rav Yaakov would express admiration, and toward whom heads of state would bow. "
It’s the story of a journey to spiritual greatness, to faith, humility, and extraordinary generosity, a story that takes us through construction sites and boardrooms as well as the hallowed halls of yeshivos and batei midrash.
Aristocratic in conduct and speech, Reb Moshe Reichmann treated other people in a way that left them feeling that they had brushed with royalty, elevating himself and those around him. The kindness and attention he invested in his family flowed outward to impact every corner of the Torah world, conveying respect and encouragement along with his donations.
The most respected financiers on earth were in awe of him, yet this same Mr. Reichmann would bow deferentially when speaking to Torah scholars. He was patron to institutions and individuals, giving not just money, but time, attention, and genuine concern. Yisroel Besser, author of many bestselling books, including the unforgettable Just Love Them, brings us a story that will make us newly sensitive to the potential to give that lies within us.
In 1900, in a small Prussian town, a young boy was found murdered, his body dismembered, the blood drained from his limbs. The Christians of the town quickly rose up in violent riots to accuse the Jews of ritual murder--the infamous blood-libel charge that has haunted Jews for centuries. In an absorbing narrative, Helmut Walser Smith reconstructs the murder and the ensuing storm of anti-Semitism that engulfed this otherwise peaceful town. Offering an instructive examination of hatred, bigotry, and mass hysteria, The Butcher's Tale is a modern parable that will be a classic for years to come.
Winner of the Fraenkel Award and a Los Angeles Times Best Book of 2002.
The outrage sparked by the Danish cartoon affair the publication of images of the Prophet Muhammad in the European press was a sharp reminder of the potency of the cartoon in the modern media. It is one of the most popular and effective means of communication. By exaggerating and exasperating, cartoons by their very nature lack neutrality, and the cartoon is an important weapon in the Middle Eastern crisis. In response to the Danish cartoon affair, an Iranian newspaper announced a competition for cartoons about the Holocaust, even though it had nothing to do with Israel or the Jewish people. Antisemitic cartoons have long been rife in the Arab-Muslim media. The September 2001 Durban Conference against Racism, intended to denounce and combat racism in all its forms, also featured the distribution of antisemitic cartoons by an Arab organization, yet this elicited no reaction from Western NGOs at the conference. This event set the author on a trail that revealed thousands of such draw
Chosen Game: A Jewish Basketball History
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A few years after its invention by James Naismith, basketball became the primary sport in the crowded streets of the Jewish neighborhood on New York's Lower East Side. Participating in the new game was a quick and enjoyable way to become Americanized. Jews not only dominated the sport for the next fifty-plus years but were also instrumental in modernizing the game.
Barney Sedran was considered the best player in the country at the City College of New York from 1909 to 1911. In 1927 Abe Saperstein took over management of the Harlem Globetrotters, playing a key role in popularizing and integrating the game. Later he helped found the American Basketball Association and introduced the three-point shot. More recently, Nancy Lieberman played in a men's pro summer league and became the first woman to coach a men's pro team, and Larry Brown became the only coach to win both NCAA and the NBA championships. While the influence of Jewish players, referees, coaches, and administrators has gradually diminished since the mid-1950s, the current basketball scene features numerous Jews in important positions. Through interviews and lively anecdotes from franchise owners, coaches, players, and referees, The Chosen Game explores the contribution of Jews to the evolution of present-day pro basketball.
Jewish History of over 5,000 years in a year by year format, with heavy cross-referencing and exhaustive index.
Easy reading - a browsers delight, with little snippets of fascinating facts.
Documents - in a scholarly manner - the ancestral history of Biblical and Talmudic eras, and provides meticulous and erudite bibliography-references.
Coming to Terms with America: Essays on Jewish History, Religion, and Culture
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Coming to Terms with America examines how Jews have long "straddled two civilizations," endeavoring to be both Jewish and American at once, from the American Revolution to today.
In fifteen engaging essays, Jonathan D. Sarna investigates the many facets of the Jewish-American encounter--what Jews have borrowed from their surroundings, what they have resisted, what they have synthesized, and what they have subverted. Part I surveys how Jews first worked to reconcile Judaism with the country's new democratic ethos and to reconcile their faith-based culture with local metropolitan cultures. Part II analyzes religio-cultural initiatives, many spearheaded by women, and the ongoing tensions between Jewish scholars (who pore over traditional Jewish sources) and activists (who are concerned with applying them). Part III appraises Jewish-Christian relations: "collisions" within the public square and over church-state separation.
Originally written over the span of forty years, many of these essays are considered classics in the field, and several remain fixtures of American Jewish history syllabi. Others appeared in fairly obscure venues and will be discovered here anew. Together, these essays--newly updated for this volume--cull the finest thinking of one of American Jewry's finest historians.
Jonathan D. Sarna is University Professor and the Joseph H. and Belle R. Braun Professor of American Jewish History, as well as the director of the Schusterman Center for Israel Studies at Brandeis University. He is also the chief historian of the National Museum of American Jewish History. Sarna has written, edited, or coedited more than thirty books, including JPS: The Americanization of Jewish Culture 1888-1988 and American Judaism: A History, and is the winner of six awards, including the National Jewish Book Award's Jewish Book of the Year.
Constant Challenge: Sports And American Judaism
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For American Jewish historian Jeffrey S. Gurock, the sports metaphor highlights the challenges that Jewish life has faced in modern American society. Although athletics were once seen as the incursion of a foreign cultural phenomenon into Jewish life, attitudes have shifted in recent generations. What was once branded as an unproductive questionable activity has entered into the American Jewish experience, and has captured the allegiance of Jews on the track, gridiron, diamond, and court. Constant Challenge: Sports and American Judaism brings together nine intriguing essays that explore the different approaches to athletic activities within Jewish life. Together, this anthology identifies and discusses how Jewish communities cope with these challenges, navigating the delicate balance between religious identification and American sports culture.
"The miracle and meaning of Jewish history."
From the Back Cover
From Abraham and the birth of monotheism to the Holocaust and the creations of modern Israel the Jewish people's progress through time violates all the laws of human history. For centuries, some of the greatest minds have come to appreciate the profound impact that this tiny nation has had on humanity and have tried to unlock the great mystery that the Jewish story presents, asking: How did this people survive against all the odds? Crash Course in Jewish History explores the 3,800 years of Jewish existence while answering the great question: Why have the Jewish people been so unique and influential yet so relentlessly hated and persecuted? This volume is not only comprehensive and readable; it is also entertaining and enlightening. Historian and author Rabbi Ken Spiro takes the reader on a fascinating and informative journey through time, highlighting the key lessons of Jewish and world history, and most importantly, the profound relevance that the past holds for the future of both the Jewish people and humanity. Novices and scholars alike will find this book to be thought-provoking and insightful a valuable guide to understanding the challenges we face in the 21st century.
About the Author
Rabbi Ken Spiro is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at Aish HaTorah Jerusalem. In addition, he is a licensed tour guide from the Israel Ministry of Tourism. He graduated from Vassar College with a BA in Russian Language and Literature and did graduate studies at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He has an MA in History from The Vermont College of Norwich University and Rabbinic Ordination from Yeshiva Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem.
He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs such as B.B.C. Radio and TV., The National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, Channel 4 England and Arutz Sheva-Israel National Radio. He is the author of WorldPerfect - The Jewish Impact on Civilization published by HCI books and Crash Course in Jewish History published by Targum Press. His writings and seminars can be accessed on kenspiro.com
Born and raised in the U.S. Ken Spiro has lived in Israel since 1982. A father of five children, he currently lives in Jerusalem.
He has appeared on numerous radio and television programs such as B.B.C. Radio and TV., The National Geographic Channel, The History Channel, Channel 4 England and Arutz Sheva-Israel National Radio. He is the author of WorldPerfect - The Jewish Impact on Civilization published by HCI books and Crash Course in Jewish History published by Targum Press. His writings and seminars can be accessed on kenspiro.com
Born and raised in the U.S. Ken Spiro has lived in Israel since 1982. A father of five children, he currently lives in Jerusalem.
In Crossing Cairo, Rabbi Ruth Sohn has written an exceptional family portrait of the experience of living in Egypt with her husband and children. Advised not to share the fact that they are Jewish, they discover what it means to hide and then increasingly share their identity. Would it be possible to cross the boundaries of language, culture and religion to form real friendships and find a home among Egyptians? As she navigates new routines of daily life to make friends, find an Arabic teacher, and get to know the mysterious veiled woman that came with the rental of their apartment, Sohn takes us on a remarkable journey as she encounters the many faces of Cairo. In the Epilogue she returns to Cairo after the fall of Mubarak to find a newly exuberant and infectious patriotism and hope. Throughout this probing contemplation of self and other in a world that is foreign and in many ways inimical to her own as an American Jew, Sohn shows how even the seemingly mundane events of daily life can yield unexpected discoveries. "With remarkable evenhandedness and...openness, Sohn has written a provocative and mesmerizing book of extraordinary passion and insight. I could not put it down!" Rabbi David Ellenson, President Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a reexamination of the biblical David, legendary warrior, poet, and king, by one of America's most respected rabbis "An excellent study of the most fascinating character in the Old Testament."--Wall Street Journal "A portrait of David that is vibrant and nuanced, full of the complications that marked his life."--Jewish Week Of all the figures in the Bible, David arguably stands out as the most perplexing and enigmatic. He was many things: a warrior who subdued Goliath and the Philistines; a king who united a nation; a poet who created beautiful, sensitive verse; a loyal servant of God who proposed the great Temple and founded the Messianic line; a schemer, deceiver, and adulterer who freely indulged his very human appetites. David Wolpe, whom Newsweek called "the most influential rabbi in America," takes a fresh look at biblical David in an attempt to find coherence in his seemingly contradictory actions and impulses. The author questions why David holds such an exalted place in history and legend, and then proceeds to unravel his complex character based on information found in the book of Samuel and later literature. What emerges is a fascinating portrait of an exceptional human being who, despite his many flaws, was truly beloved by God. About Jewish Lives: Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present. In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award. More praise for Jewish Lives: "Excellent" -New York Times "Exemplary" -Wall Street Journal "Distinguished" -New Yorker "Superb" -The Guardian
At once an ecological phenomenon and a cultural construction, the desert has varied associations within Zionist and Israeli culture. In the Judaic textual tradition, it evokes exile and punishment, yet is also a site for origin myths, the divine presence, and sanctity. Secular Zionism developed its own spin on the duality of the desert as the romantic site of Jews' biblical roots that inspired the Hebrew culture, and as the barren land outside the Jewish settlements in Palestine, featuring them as an oasis of order and technological progress within a symbolic desert.
Yael Zerubavel tells the story of the desert from the early twentieth century to the present, shedding light on romantic-mythical associations, settlement and security concerns, environmental sympathies, and the commodifying tourist gaze. Drawing on literary narratives, educational texts, newspaper articles, tourist materials, films, popular songs, posters, photographs, and cartoons, Zerubavel reveals the complexities and contradictions that mark Israeli society's semiotics of space in relation to the Middle East, and the central role of the "besieged island" trope in Israeli culture and politics.