Book review

'Kotsuji's Gift': The Japanese scholar who rescued Jewish refugees during World War II - review

The picture is cropped. A Japanese man standing to one side has been cut away. That man is Kotsuji, and the book is the long work of putting him back.

A JEWISH GIRL and her Chinese friends in the Shanghai Ghetto, 1945, from the collection of the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
CHABAD ‘SHLUCHIM’ gather in front of 770 Eastern Parkway, New York, in 2022.

'Engaging the Essence': The Lubavitcher Rebbe as philosopher - review

Disputation between Christian and Jewish scholars. Woodcut by Johann von Armssheim, 1483.

'Joseph Albo': A sweeping map of Jewish belief - review

Gene Shalit

Mustachioed movie critic Gene Shalit dies at age 100


'Fear No Pharaoh': US Jews and slavery – from implicated to appalled - review

In his book Fear No Pharaoh, Richard Kreitner examines the reactions of six Jewish Americans to slavery and the Civil War.

 ‘THE OLD PLANTATION,’ watercolor attributed to John Rose, possibly painted between 1785 and 1795 in the Beaufort District of South Carolina.

'Zionism and Jewish Culture': Getting to the true essence of Jewish nationalism - review

Zionism, Prof. Yitzhak Conforti shows, represents a continuation of an ethnic Jewish community that sustained its distinctiveness throughout centuries in the Diaspora.

 ENGRAVING BY Ephraim Moshe Lilien, produced for the Fifth Zionist Congress, Basel, Switzerland, 1901. The Hebrew inscription reads: ‘May our eyes behold your return in mercy to Zion.’

'Choosing Hope': The importance of hope for contemporary Jews - review

The book offers a brilliant and concise theology of hope which can be useful for us now during these times of so much darkness, despair, and denial.

 An illustrative image of contemporary Jews.

'After Images': The tragedy of Albert Einstein’s cousin Robert - review

The cold-blooded execution of Robert Einstein’s family at the Focardo estate near Florence on August 3, 1944, reached beyond the areas generally depicted in Holocaust literature.

 A memorial commemorating the murder of Robert Einstein's family, located at the Badiuzza cemetery in Italy.

'Savory Flavors': A culinary guidebook to mouthwatering food in Israel - review

The mouthwatering photos of dishes are an intrinsic part of Savory Flavors, along with old photos of Jewish communities.

 WADI REIR. Typical vegetarian dish of the Negev’s Bedouin.

'Propaganda Girls': The women who fought to break Axis powers morale - review

Propaganda Girls: The Secret War of the Women in the OSS by Lisa Rogak reveals yet another untold chapter of the history of women in America.

 HOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES Marlene Dietrich (L) and Rita Hayworth serve food to US soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen, Nov. 1942.

'Takeover': A look at pre-Nazi Germany's last months of democracy - review

The author takes the reader through these last months of democracy, minute by minute, day by day, blow by blow.

 Adolf Hitler speaks in the Lustgarten in Berlin during the Reich presidential election on April 4, 1932.

'Beyond Borders': The story of a fighting Jew - interview

Rudi Haymann highlighted details about the masses of survivors and displaced people not often discussed in the Holocaust.


'Kissing Girls on Shabbat': A frank memoir of a woman's inner turmoil - review

Kissing Girls on Shabbat is a ruthlessly frank memoir of her inner turmoil, trying to live the expected married life with a self-absorbed Gur Hassid.

 An ultra-Orthodox couple are seen walking down the street.

'Books Like Sapphires': A jewel of a collection - review

Brandeis University has just issued Books Like Sapphires, written by Ann Brener, who highlights a selection of the books in the Library of Congress.

 The interior of the Library of Congress.