Books ‘Do we really want to know about human goodness?’Historian Anthony Seldon discusses his new book about the Shoah’s unsung heroes with Etan SmallmanBy Etan Smallman5 min read
Wingate PrizeOctober 7 survivor Amir Tibon scoops 2026 Wingate Prize for ‘The Gates of Gaza’The prize is awarded annually to the book deemed to best communicate ‘the idea of Jewishness to the general reader’By Jamie Shapiro2 min read
BooksWilliam Shakespeare was a ‘Jewish woman of north African descent’, new book claimsEmilia Bassano, England’s first published female poet, has long been associated with the BardBy Siam Goorwich2 min read
Books A timely reminder for all those anti-Israel hysterics: this is what genocide looks likeRobert Low welcomes a robust history of the Holocaust in an era in which the facts are under threatBy Robert Low3 min read
Books How I found the real Philip RothDavid Bennun talks to Steven J. Zipperstein about his new literary biography of the pre-eminent Jewish novelistBy David Bennun6 min read
Books The Jewish woman who parachuted into Nazi-occupied EuropeJennifer Lipman meets the author of a new book about Zionist paratrooper and poet Hannah SeneshBy Jennifer Lipman6 min read
BooksBerlin Shuffle review: Pimps, prostitutes and peddlers in Weimar GermanyHopeless cases, lowlifes and down-and-outs, the atmosphere in the extraordinarily talented Ulrich Boschwitz’s first novel feels like something from Brecht’s The Threepenny OperaBy David Herman2 min read
Auslander review: a tale that supports the theory we don’t belong anywhereThe former journalist Michael Moritz’s family memoir of escape and exile is a triumphBy Jenni Frazer2 min read||January 8, 2026 20:34
Sensory vignettes from Walter Benjamin’s Berlin childhoodThis short book is an excellent introduction to the eminent philosopher’s formative years through the eyes of his child selfBy Mark Glanville2 min read||January 2, 2026 16:40
These dark stories that remind us that Stefan Zweig was one of the greatest Jewish writersSet in different times, from Ancient Rome to 20th century Europe, these stories are a valuable reminder of why he was one of the most famous Jewish writers in the first half of the last centuryBy David Herman2 min read||December 31, 2025 12:48
2025 in review: BooksOur critics’ stand-out Jewish books of the year include eviscerating fiction, assiduously researched history, memoirs and reflections on the lives of poetsBy Robert Low7 min read||December 24, 2025 12:47
Goodbye to Berlin – a lost Jewish Germany is brought back to life in an epic sagaDavid Bennun has high praise for The Effingers, a beautifully subtle novel describing Germany’s slide into NazismBy David Bennun5 min read||December 18, 2025 16:55
Best children’s books for ChanukahAngela Kiverstein picks the seasonal stories that capture young imaginationsBy Angela Kiverstein1 min read||December 12, 2025 14:32
John Irving’s latest: ‘an unapologetically Zionist heroine’The author is to be applauded for exploring fundamental questions of Jewish identity in this era of misguided political correctness, but his manuscript needs a brutal editBy Ben Felsenburg3 min read||December 12, 2025 12:30
‘He was one of the most remarkable writers who ever lived’Called a ‘Polish Franz Kafka’ by Bashevis Singer, Bruno Schulz wrote two books of short stories before he shot dead by an SS officer in 1942. Now the Pushkin Press has released a new anthology of his workBy David Herman2 min read||December 5, 2025 13:33
How being Jewish shaped the career of a Seventies music superstarThis critical biography of Carole King pays close attention to her Jewishness and how, while lightly worn, it informed her life and workBy David Bennun1 min read||December 4, 2025 17:35
