Literature

Over 50 years later, Saul Bellow’s Israel observations remain strikingly relevant - review

The book’s enduring relevance has led its publishers, Penguin Random House, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first appearance by reissuing it in 2026.

THEN-ISRAELI AMBASSADOR to the US, Yitzhak Rabin, and his wife Leah mingle with prime minister Golda Meir and US secretary of state Henry Kissinger, in Washington, 1973 – two years before Saul Bellow visited Israel.
CAR GRAVEYARD at Tekuma.

‘To laugh and cry’: New book combines biblical teachings with personal Oct. 7 reflections - review

FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR: World’s largest industry event.

Getting the word out: The Israeli Institute for Hebrew Literature flies the flag in Frankfurt

Ariana Harwicz attends the "Die My Love" New York premiere at AMC Lincoln Square Theater on Nov. 1, 2025.

More than 350 cultural figures slam Spanish festival for canceling Jewish novelist’s invitation


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

'Yoko: A Biography': Have we underestimated Yoko Ono all along? - review

As more of her albums have been released and the number of art exhibitions has mounted, however, Ono has increasingly been recognized for what one critic called “the breadth, charm, and brilliance."

 JOHN AND Yoko on their honeymoon at the Hilton Amsterdam, March 1969

Terms of enrichment: Wandering into the wonderful world of words

When it comes to cleverly crafted fine lines in prose or poetry, a palindrome is a word, phrase, or sequence of words that reads the same backward as forward, such as 'Madam, I’m Adam.'

Reading a book (Illustrative)

'Letters from Home': Exploring tension among Jews in in the Second Temple era - review

The relationship between the Jewish communities of Egypt and Israel created an underlying tension, not unlike the modern-day relationship between world Jewry and the Jews of the State of Israel.

 A RECONSTRUCTION of the blue-tiled Ishtar Gate, the northern entrance to Babylon, on display at the Pergamon Museum, Berlin.

Rescued from the archives and wrestled into print: Behind Chaim Grade's last Yiddish novel

Finished or not, “Sons and Daughters” is a vivid, Tolstoyan examination of what Kirsch calls “a family struggling with the meaning of Jewishness in the twentieth century.”

Chaim Grade’s "Sons and Daughters" was originally serialized in the 1960s and '70s, in New York–based Yiddish newspapers.

Canarit Audiobooks: An Israeli firm making books more accessible for busy consumers

A new Israeli venture makes literature more accessible and alluring for busy consumers.

 An illustrative image of headphones around books.

Yossi Avni-Levy wins Sapir Prize for Literature

Avni-Levy will receive NIS 180,000 ($50,000) and his novel will be translated into Arabic and another language of his choosing, broadening its reach and fostering cross-cultural dialogue.

 FROM LEFT, winner of the 2024 Sapir Prize, Yossi Avni-Levy, Mifal Hapais chairman Avigdor Itzhaky, former president of the Supreme Court Esther Hayut, Mifal Hapais CEO Benjamin Dreyfus. and winner of the 2024 Sapir Prize for a debut book, Ayal Hayut-Man.