Comic Books: When Life is More Absurd than Art
Israeli illustrator, comic book artist and former editor of the Hebrew edition of MAD magazine Rutu Modan on the real stories behind her award-winning comics and graphic novels. In conversation with fellow comics and graphic novel expert Ariel Kahn, Artistic Director of the National Library of Israel’s Comics Residency project will discuss inventing stories where […]
What’s Next For Ukraine?
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has changed the world. From precipitating a refugee crisis throughout Europe as eight million Ukrainians fled their homes, to increased nuclear fears, the threat of famine in Africa and social and economic unrest in Britain, the impact has been seismic and global. What lies ahead? Editor of The […]
The Lives of Joseph Roth & Stefan Zweig
After Hitler came to power in 1933, celebrated Austrian – and Jewish – writers Joseph Roth and Stefan Zweig were forced to flee; Roth that very day, boarding a train to Paris. The pair enjoyed a peculiar friendship; in exile, the penniless but, in his own estimation, more talented Roth depended on the commercially successful […]
Israel: A History in 100 Cartoons
75 years after the state was established, Israel: A History in 100 Cartoons offers a new, visually exciting and accessible way to understand this unique, complex country and, in particular, the Israel-Palestine conflict. Colin Shindler, a leading authority on Israel Studies whose previous books include The Hebrew Republic and The Rise of the Israeli Right, […]
Leonard Cohen in the Sinai
October 1973: Leonard Cohen is world famous, highly admired – yet unhappy and at a creative dead end. Rather than resort to a more routine rock star response, he swapped his Greek island lifestyle for the chaos and bloodshed of the frontlines of the Yom Kippur War, armed only with his guitar and some local […]
The Future of Food
What we eat has never seemed as crucial – or complicated. Tim Spector is in the top 1% most-cited scientists on the planet; in Food For Life he draws on cutting-edge research to deliver a comprehensive guide to what we should all know about our greatest ally for good health. Broadcaster Dan Saladino won the […]
Lockdowns, Laws & Lost Freedoms
On 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In 11 pages it confined tens of millions of people to their homes, restricting our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus. Never debated in Parliament, it came into force as soon as it was signed, […]
“Funny, you don’t look Jewish”: Authenticity & Identity
Discovering her close friend and boss was a conman prompted Alice Sherwood’s lifelong interest in authenticity and identity, topics she explores in her award-winning book, Authenticity: Reclaiming Reality in a Counterfeit Culture. With a rich range of stories, many of which – from the world’s greatest impostor, the human chameleon who inspired Woody Allen’s Zelig, to the Bronx-born […]
Licoricia: Power & Prejudice
Dubbed ‘totally fascinating, tragic and unforgettable’ by Simon Sebag Montefiore, Licoricia of Winchester, a 13th century Jewish financier, was the most important Jewish woman in medieval England. In turn royal favourite, widow, potentate and prisoner, her extraordinary life took place against a backdrop of civil war, bad government and the ever-present and terrifying spectre of […]
Golda Meir’s Path to Power
In this authoritative, empathetic and ground-breaking biography, Pnina Lahav, in conversation with historian Trudy Gold, re-examines the life of Golda Meir through a feminist lens, focusing on Israel’s first and only female prime minister’s recurring role as a woman standing alone among men. The award-winning author of Judgment in Jerusalem: Chief Justice Simon Agranat and […]
The Collaborators
A Hasidic Jew fixer, a Manchu princess and Himmler’s masseur; each regarded as both heroes and villains due to their wartime acts. Friedrich Weinreb took money from fellow Jews in a deportation-avoiding scam, but is known by supporters as ‘the Dutch Dreyfus’. Kawashima Yoshiko spied for the Japanese secret police in China. Felix Kersten became […]
Philanthropy From Aristotle To Zuckerberg
The super-rich are shaping our world. Award-winning journalist Paul Vallely follows previous bestsellers Bad Samaritans & Pope Francis with Philanthropy. He takes us from the Greek man of honour, the Roman patron, the Jewish prophet and Christian scholastic to the Victorian moralist, the welfare socialist, the celebrity activist and today’s wealthy mega-giver. Exploring the successes, failures and contradictions of philanthrocapitalism, he asked tough questions of […]