booksChaim Wiezmann: ‘I am now convinced that without him there would be no state of Israel’The brilliant chemist used acetone to advance Zionism in the same way Herzl used journalism, says the co-author of a magisterial new biography of the leaderBy Stephen Pollard5 min read
booksOur Palestine Question, review: An ode to Jews who uttered difficult words in dark timesBy Colin Shindler2 min read
booksKnife by Salman Rushdie, review: What about the other victims of the new fundamentalism?This book is a deeply moving account of a devastating attack and its consequences, but it is also guilty of sins of omissionBy David Herman2 min read
BDSSociety of Authors ‘hijacked by extremists’ after Gaza motion omits HamasJewish writers voiced fears that if the motion passes, the next stop may be boycott of ‘Zionists’ themselvesBy Jane Prinsley6 min read
booksThe Curse of Pietro Houdini, review: Riveting wartime art-heist tale plus philosophyThis is a sweeping work of storytelling bravadoBy Jenni Frazer1 min read
booksMeet the Cuban-Italian Simone de BeauvoirOur critic relishes a novel about a formidable feministBy Amanda Hopkinson2 min read
BooksThe story of King Herod you’ve probably never heardA new book sets history straight about a controversial figureBy Colin Shindler2 min read
Questioning Belief, by Raphael Zarum – review: An essential resource that helps integrate Judaism with modernityA consummate communicator, Zarum tackles medieval thinkers with a light touchBy Harry Freedman2 min read||April 4, 2024 10:53
Wingate winner Elizabeth McCracken: ‘My fear is being boring in the service of accuracy’Elizabeth McCracken on the restlessly shape-shifting novel that won her the literary award for the best book to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general readerBy Claire Allfree5 min read||March 27, 2024 17:28
Review: Shylock’s Venice – An unimprovable bookA rigorous trawl through Venetian archives yields a work that begs for a lavish film adaptationBy Jenni Frazer3 min read||March 21, 2024 10:44
Fury over ‘sickening’ LRB article saying Israel leverages Shoah to ‘slaughter children’Front-page piece draws derision and outrage from Jewish figuresBy Jane Prinsley3 min read||March 18, 2024 16:51
How Jewish refugees changed British childhoodThis is an extraordinary collection of essays about some extraordinary emigré artists and writersBy David Herman2 min read||March 12, 2024 19:15
Final Verdict by Tobias Buck review: ‘Would I have climbed down the watchtower and walked away?’This is insightful on the guilt, complicity and collaboration of the Third Reich’s fellow German travellers, including the author’s own grandfatherBy Colin Shindler2 min read||March 12, 2024 15:51
A love affair in the shadows of the gas chambersThis book reads like a thriller, and if that encourages people to pick it up, good: 79 years on from the liberation of Auschwitz, living memories are fadingBy Jennifer Lipman2 min read||March 8, 2024 10:55
The Fleet Street hack who hobnobbed with Hitler before becoming a spyThe appearance of this book could not be more timely, nor its message more urgentBy Jenni Frazer3 min read||March 8, 2024 10:47
Literary agent claims ‘Half of British publishers will not take books that have any Jewish content’Writer also told a mention of her book was dropped over the 'hassle' involved in mentioning Jews or JudaismBy Jane Prinsley1 min read||March 4, 2024 12:42
